Demetri bypassed the main entrance to the closed nightclub and headed down the back alleyway until he came to a locked door with an electronic keypad for a lock. He didn't touch the keys with his hand, instead he mentally depressed each number in sequence using his mental skills. Anyone foolish enough to touch the keypad received a rather nasty electric shock, not enough to kill a human but enough to dissuade them from ever trying to touch it again.
The lock disengaged and he swung the door open, stepping into the private area of the nightclub. He sauntered casually along the long corridor until he came to the office. He smiled as he entered, feeling a little like he was coming home. It had been a while since he'd visited. He hadn't been there since Mara had come into his life.
The twins were in the office as he expected them to be, well, he'd been certain Andrei would be there but Alexei may have been away on an assignment for The Council. Since Caleb and himself had stopped taking jobs from The Council, Alexei had been in vast demand as being the next best enforcer to get things done. He knew his friend was not unhappy about it either. He liked the work and went about it with a ruthless efficiency. Demetri couldn't ever imagine Alexei taking on an assignment and falling in love with his human mark the way he had. Still, if someone had told him he would do that exact same thing he would have booked them into the closest insane asylum. Maybe he shouldn't be so quick to write his friend off.
The two vampires looked up when he entered and both smiled with pleasure at seeing him. They were fraternal twins rather than identical ones but it was plain to see that they were brothers. They had the same aristocratic, beautiful, strong features, the same deep brown eyes, but Alexei's hair was golden blond whereas Andrei's was light brown.
They were big men, tall and powerfully built, all muscle and not a inch of fat anywhere to be seen. When they moved it was with an almost feline grace which seemed at odds with their powerful physiques. Demetri returned their smiles with a warm one of his own. He had truly missed them and it felt good to be in their company again.
"You two have anything on at the moment?" he asked pulling up a leather chair and sitting beside Alexei. His friend was sitting in a matching chair facing his brother who was behind the desk littered with papers. They had obviously been going through work to do with the club. Andrei owned and ran it with the odd contribution from Alexei from time to time. Whether Alexei had put any of his personal funds into the place Demetri didn't know, but Andrei always listened to whatever his twin had to say, whether or not he actually implemented any of the suggestions. Most of Alexei's time was spent on assignments for The Council.
"What's the job?" Alexei asked with little preamble, his brown eyes lighting up slightly with interest. Demetri hadn't asked for their help in a long time, not since the Janick job, and that had been a lot of fun. He was curious to know who had pissed his friend off so much this time that he was coming to them for some help.
"Richard Graves," Demetri answered, watching their faces closely. They both started in surprise, their eyes going wide. They knew who Graves was of course. They also knew he had run with Graves and his cronies for a while too, that they had been friends once.
Andrei frowned slightly and pursed his lips with a shrewd look in his eyes. "Jesus Demetri, you don't half make life difficult for yourself," he sighed softly shaking his head. "I thought you liked Graves."
"I did," Demetri drawled quietly with a smile. "But I like my other friends even more and he's fucking with them at the moment. I've had a word with him about it but he's not going to pay any heed to my warning. So, is Graves too big a fish for you two to tangle with?"
Alexei snorted at the question. "Whatever you need, Demetri," he answered quickly. He didn't care who he was up against. If his friend wanted his help then he would help him.
Andrei was slightly more cautious though and had good reason to be. He had a secret, one he couldn't even tell his brother about yet. He needed to be sure that what he was agreeing to wouldn't impact on his secret. He met Demetri's eyes unwaveringly. "Details first," he said drolly.
Demetri wasn't put out by Andrei's reaction. He always was the more cautious of the two brothers and he'd expected some questions about the job. He steepled his fingers and tapped his lips lightly before smiling again. "You know Caleb Sired his woman?" he began. When they nodded he continued. "Well, Annie's brother is part of The Hanlon pack. His mate Lacey used to be Graves' woman. He's coming to take her back and he's willing to destroy the pack to get her."
"So what does that have to do with you?" Alexei asked coldly, feeling some of his interest starting to wane. He couldn't stand Weres of any variety and knew his friend wasn't particularly fond of them either. So his getting involved was a bit of a mystery.
"I've adopted Annie," Demetri sighed softly. "She's family now. She's insisting on being involved because of her brother therefore Caleb is involved by default. Which makes it doubly my issue now."
"Caleb shouldn't let his youngling lead him around by the balls," Alexei growled in disgust. "He should teach her properly so she knows her place in the scheme of things. If he doesn't have the stomach for it I'd be happy to lend a hand."
Demetri's stiffened so quickly Andrei shot him a worried look. The air in the room seemed to drop a few degrees as the friendly smile slipped from his face and his lips tightened. His head slowly turned to the left and he pierced Alexei with a cold, hard gaze. "That will be the one and only time you speak of Annie like that, Alexei," he said in a soft, dangerous tone. "You seem to have misheard me when I said Annie was family now. Any pain she feels is a pain done to me. Are we clear on that?"
Alexei met his gaze with his own hard eyes, his displeasure clear to see as his nostril flared slightly. They locked eyes for several tense seconds causing Andrei to shift uncomfortably as he watched them. Alexei finally nodded and looked away, still clearly unhappy but not willing to press the issue any further.
