Vices and Venom (Twilight Fan Fiction)

Chapter Thirteen: Forward

Jacob's POV:

Two days had passed since Halston had trapped us in her mind, and she had yet to let anyone in outside of Cassian. I wouldn't lie, the situation infuriated me, but I kept my anger at bay by alternating my time between the pack and monitoring the reports of disappearing humans in the Seattle area.

When I sat at the kitchen table, I noticed the picture of a woman on the front cover. She was pretty, even in black and white, and had a nice smile. She had been missing since Halston got into that altercation with the other vampires. I wondered if she had mentioned it to the bloodsucker that hovered around the house.

"No. She hasn't mentioned it." Edward's voice was indifferent, and it was hard to tell when I got under his skin. The only times I knew I could get a rise out of him was when I thought about Halston and her begging me to touch her when she returned from Hawaii.

"Now? Jacob, people are dying."

I gave him a calculated look, deciding how to respond. "I'm aware of the cost. Halston was attacked by vampires the night she was drunk. Said there were two or three of them or something. They were going to take her with them," a low growl sounded from Edward, and I nodded in agreement, "then they were dead, according to Cassian. I don't know what happened there, but he might be able to share those thoughts with you so we have images of the vampires we need to look out for." "I can do that." He walked down the stairs at just the right moment, and a part of me wondered if he was listening to our conversation. It was likely that he was constantly listening, Halston too. So why didn't she come down?When he looked at me, Cassian snatched the paper from my hands, scanning the cover."Hey!" I protested, but Edward was at his side in an instant. "She was at the club?" Edward asked, looking at the girl on the cover of the newspaper. "Positive. Jacelyn Poppy Chase." He read the name aloud. It was Halston's turn to walk down the steps, clearly brought out of hiding due to the missing girl. Without hesitation, Cassian gave her the paper, and she ran her hand down the front, clearly bothered by this news. "She said a man got her access to the club and opened a tab in his name." "Well, it's not like we can just go down to whatever club that was and ask for that information." I pointed out, knowing no club owner would willingly provide that information to us. Cassian and Halston shared a look of amusement, and when she turned to me, she looked like I was on the short end of a joke. "I might know the owner." "She might be the owner." Cassian stood behind her and shrugged with a bullshit smile on his face. Halston's POV:The club was vacant at noon outside of a few security guards hired to ensure no one snuck into the building, two bartenders prepping for the night, and the chefs in the kitchen. The man Cassian gave more than a ton of money looked up in surprise when he saw us walk in. He blinked twice, trying to process how this many attractive people were in the same friend group. It made me smile to hear his thoughts, and for a fleeting moment, I wanted to toy with him. "Hi." I smiled, slipping into the seat before him and watching his reaction. I had opted to wear a baby blue suit tailored to my body, with a white lace bodysuit that dipped just low enough to show the apex of my breasts."Um, hi." He smiled, running a shaky hand in his hair. "Aren't you going to offer me a drink?" I tilted my head to the side, and despite the bar being closed, the bartender quickly produced a margarita. My index finger traced the rim of the glass while pieces of the salt stuck to me before sucking it off. "You remembered.""You're kind of hard to forget." He looked between me, then the three men standing behind me. I laughed, "Yeah, I get that a lot." A small sigh left my body, and I sipped the drink. "The girl I was with that night. Do you remember her?"His eyes widened, then he shook his head. "No. There's too many faces to remember everyone."

I nodded, "then why is your heart rate accelerating?" The glass being sat down on the black marble countertop echoed through the now lifeless bar.

"You need to leave. We're not open." He tried to be more forceful with his words, but they did nothing but amuse me. "We're open when I say we're open." "You're not the boss."