Carson sighed as he walked through the club doors. The bouncer gave him a stiff nod, saying nothing about what the mood was like beyond the doors. Walking through the empty club, Carson gazed at the bar, wishing he could spend hours drinking. He hated the alcohol that was infused with blood but thought that if it could dull his mood and the world around him, then it would be worth it.

Moving to the rear door, he delved down into the darkness. Staff lingered in the corridor, waiting for their official start time. Momentarily, he glanced at the clock and realised that it was past that. With a heavy frown, Carson had the lazy staff moving.

As he walked to the doors to Gamichee's office, Carson thought that if the staff were more interested in looking at their phones, it meant that Gamichee wasn't here. It was a thought that was relieving, momentarily, of course. He'd soon walk into this place, and when Gamichee figured out that Carson had failed at his task yet again, he'd get angry.

Pushing the key into the lock, Carson turned it and frowned. The key wasn't working. Pulling it out, he tried the handle and realised that the door was not locked. After pocketing the key, Carson pulled out his gun and slowly pushed open the door. Within seconds, he could hear the raucous laughter, and it made Carson smile. Shaking his head, he stepped into the ostentatious lobby and closed the door.

In Gamichee's office, set up at the poker table, were the four that he'd been searching for all day. Carson stopped and looked at the mess, wondering what Gamichee would say when he came in here and saw it. Adley had found the stash of corn chips, crumbs littered the floor around him, and the once pristine felt table. The crumbs mattered little when the dip was more concerning. The dip was in the green felt. Carson thought there would be no way he could get that out or even hide it. To make the situation worse, Adley's fingers were touching the poker chips, putting dip all over them as well. The dip was being spread from one side of the table to the other.

When the group saw that they had company, they turned with a smile. Raising their drinks with a cheer, Carson grimaced as the liquid dribbled onto the floor and the poker table. The cards were now ruined, but that didn't matter. Not when they'd gotten into Gamichee's private reserve. Lennon and Merissa were drinking blood that had been refined into a drink that mimicked the taste of whiskey. No one was allowed to drink it unless Gamichee offered it to them. He tried to ignore it, but there was another bottle on the floor. They'd clearly been here for a long time.

Stepping into the area, Carson put the gun away and sighed.

"How long have you been here?"

"Since you broke into our home. By the way, are you going to pay to fix the door?"

"No." he said tersely. "You knew we'd come after you. Where's the boss?"

Lennon shrugged, ignoring the question.

"What are we doing here? You know I can't let you walk out the door, right?"

The game stopped suddenly. Carson cautiously watched as they turned to look at him.

"You seriously thought that you could break in here and expect to leave of your own free will when we found out?"

"I don't recall doing anything wrong," Ris murmured as she stood from her seat. "However, if you'd like to tell me what the reason is, then perhaps the beating you get won't weigh so heavily on me. Wait,"

She paused, then smiled with an evil glint in her eyes.

"I just remembered that I don't care. So, I guess we're good for Adley to go a little crazy."

Lennon stood, dragging Lyla from her seat. A second had barely passed before Adley flipped the table up, sending poker chips, cards and food everywhere. The insanely expensive bottle of alcohol smashed and flooded over the floor. One of the legs on the table broke. Cards were wet. Not that it really mattered when they'd been bent and covered in sticky fingers. He turned and picked up his trademark weapon. Carson's eyes widened at the sight of the baseball bat. Adley loved his bat, Betsy. On the sly, Carson had heard that Betsy was also dubbed the nutcracker. He didn't want to know how it earned that name, fearing that the werewolf was using it to crack heads.

Carson turned to the door. The only chance he had against a pissed-off werewolf was the security guards. He'd barely taken a step when a shot rang out. Carson froze, waiting for the pain to start. When nothing felt wrong, he turned and saw Lyla pointing a gun at him. She smiled supremely at him.

"Sit down, princess." She purred. "We're going to have fun watching Adley tear this place apart. See, we're looking for something, and we figure that it's going to take a little muscle to expose it."

"There's nothing here."

Lennon pushed a chair out, staring at Carson as he waited for the vampire to sit down.

"This is just an office for the club." He protested.

Still, he sat down. After all, they had a gun aimed at him, and Carson knew he'd be on the ground before he could even reach for his.

"Pretty sure that's a lie," Ris said.

"Don't do this, Merissa. You will regret this more than anyone else in this room."

The statement intrigued Lyla.

She frowned at Lennon for more information. His response was a frown of his own while shaking his head.

Lennon heavily rested his hands on Carson's shoulders while Lyla pulled the gun and searched his pockets.

"I feel rather deprived. I wanted to see you burn today." She whispered in his ear. "Never smelled burnt vampire before."

Reaching into his pocket, Lyla pulled the keys out and smiled at Carson.

"When you find your car, you'll know what kind of mood I'm in. If it's in the condition that you remember it, I'm in a good mood, and I drove it. If I'm pissed off, you'll know because Adley will have driven it."

Carson looked at the werewolf who was sniffing where the cupboard doors met the floor. He hoped that the conversation would be a distraction.

Adley perked up when he heard that he might get to drive Carson's car. It was a mighty fine piece of machinery that he'd spent many nights drooling over. The thought of driving it sent a shiver up his spine. Carson looked at the smirk on Adley's face and knew that he'd never see his car again.

The smile on Adley's face didn't last long. He'd caught the scent of something interesting.