Eveillez: Deny Your Blood Lust Read Online Free
coven?"
"Not much. I stay out of that shit."
"Isn't your bar is the center of social activity for all the vampires ?"
"Perhaps, but Luxure is neutral, and I work hard to keep it that way. I purposefully stay away from the coven drama. All are welcome here, whether they are Human Vampires, blood fetishists, or people who just like to dress up. My goal has always been to provide a safe environment for the entire vampire subculture."
From his research, he'd learned Armand was the ambassador for safe blood-play. He'd lectured across the country, written articles… He was the fucking safety police when it came to blood. Still, his past was far from clean.
"Funny. That didn't seem to be your goal in L.A. about fourteen years ago. You were one of the primary suspects in the murder of Natalie Brinks."
"Natalie is the reason La Luxure exists. And I believe 'primary suspect' is a gross exaggeration."
"So, Natalie wasn't your lover, and you weren't at the party where she died?" Armand was correct, "primary suspect" was an exaggeration. He had only been the primary suspect for about five minutes.
"Yes we were lovers, but more importantly, we were friends. At that time in my life I had more lovers than friends." There was no humor in his words.
"Her death was very similar to Melanie Young's."
"I know," he said darkly. "I begged her to leave with me, and she refused. I wish I'd forced her into the taxi. In fact, I'd give anything to go back and change it." He smiled sadly. "Not many days go by when I don't regret my decision that night."
His alibi had been pretty rock solid. A call to the taxi company, several witnesses watching him get in the cab … but even if it hadn't been, like Melissa Schwartz's death last year, the most the prosecution had been able to charge the perps with was involuntary manslaughter . The New Orleans police had gotten lucky with Melissa's case. She had enough drugs in her system that if Aaron Jones had actually called for help instead of leaving her on the street, they wouldn't have had a case at all.
"With your history," Kevin said, "you can understand why I have a hard time believing you when you say you don't have insight into the covens."
"This is a relatively small community, so yes, I am familiar. But coven is a generic term. Surely you know that. You can replace it with family, or circle of friends, or clique ." Armand held out his hands. "If you like, you may call Luxure my coven."
"Did you know Lohr was dangerous? You did warn your wife to stay away from him."
"I knew he was eccentric and had a disturbing love affair with blood. I also knew he associated strongly with the mythological vampire, but I didn't know for sure he was dangerous. His behavior bothered me enough to not want Julia around him. Trust me, Detective, if I'd thought for a second he was kidnapping, torturing, and killing women, I guarantee you he'd be dead, and I'd be talking to you from behind a Plexiglas window."
The seething hatred burning in the other man's eyes told Kevin he wasn't joking. Johnson had been right about one thing—Armand obviously policed his group. And he was probably pretty good at it.
"So, you didn't know about the other victims?" Or victim, according to the disturbing photos they'd found in Lohr's warehouse.
"What?" All color drained from Armand's face.
"We suspect there might be another victim."
His lips became non-existent and his hands clenched into fists. The cords on his neck rose and his fists began to tremble. He closed his eyes and seemed to will his muscles to relax.
Armand Laroque was obviously a man with a temper, one he seemed to be trying to keep under control. Given his own recent history, Kevin could respect that.
His question was answered, though. Armand did not know about other victims.
"Would you like a shot of whiskey, Detective?" he asked out of the blue.
The question caught him off guard. "Um…" He'd only added the one shot to his coffee. Surely, Armand didn't know
"Not much. I stay out of that shit."
"Isn't your bar is the center of social activity for all the vampires ?"
"Perhaps, but Luxure is neutral, and I work hard to keep it that way. I purposefully stay away from the coven drama. All are welcome here, whether they are Human Vampires, blood fetishists, or people who just like to dress up. My goal has always been to provide a safe environment for the entire vampire subculture."
From his research, he'd learned Armand was the ambassador for safe blood-play. He'd lectured across the country, written articles… He was the fucking safety police when it came to blood. Still, his past was far from clean.
"Funny. That didn't seem to be your goal in L.A. about fourteen years ago. You were one of the primary suspects in the murder of Natalie Brinks."
"Natalie is the reason La Luxure exists. And I believe 'primary suspect' is a gross exaggeration."
"So, Natalie wasn't your lover, and you weren't at the party where she died?" Armand was correct, "primary suspect" was an exaggeration. He had only been the primary suspect for about five minutes.
"Yes we were lovers, but more importantly, we were friends. At that time in my life I had more lovers than friends." There was no humor in his words.
"Her death was very similar to Melanie Young's."
"I know," he said darkly. "I begged her to leave with me, and she refused. I wish I'd forced her into the taxi. In fact, I'd give anything to go back and change it." He smiled sadly. "Not many days go by when I don't regret my decision that night."
His alibi had been pretty rock solid. A call to the taxi company, several witnesses watching him get in the cab … but even if it hadn't been, like Melissa Schwartz's death last year, the most the prosecution had been able to charge the perps with was involuntary manslaughter . The New Orleans police had gotten lucky with Melissa's case. She had enough drugs in her system that if Aaron Jones had actually called for help instead of leaving her on the street, they wouldn't have had a case at all.
"With your history," Kevin said, "you can understand why I have a hard time believing you when you say you don't have insight into the covens."
"This is a relatively small community, so yes, I am familiar. But coven is a generic term. Surely you know that. You can replace it with family, or circle of friends, or clique ." Armand held out his hands. "If you like, you may call Luxure my coven."
"Did you know Lohr was dangerous? You did warn your wife to stay away from him."
"I knew he was eccentric and had a disturbing love affair with blood. I also knew he associated strongly with the mythological vampire, but I didn't know for sure he was dangerous. His behavior bothered me enough to not want Julia around him. Trust me, Detective, if I'd thought for a second he was kidnapping, torturing, and killing women, I guarantee you he'd be dead, and I'd be talking to you from behind a Plexiglas window."
The seething hatred burning in the other man's eyes told Kevin he wasn't joking. Johnson had been right about one thing—Armand obviously policed his group. And he was probably pretty good at it.
"So, you didn't know about the other victims?" Or victim, according to the disturbing photos they'd found in Lohr's warehouse.
"What?" All color drained from Armand's face.
"We suspect there might be another victim."
His lips became non-existent and his hands clenched into fists. The cords on his neck rose and his fists began to tremble. He closed his eyes and seemed to will his muscles to relax.
Armand Laroque was obviously a man with a temper, one he seemed to be trying to keep under control. Given his own recent history, Kevin could respect that.
His question was answered, though. Armand did not know about other victims.
"Would you like a shot of whiskey, Detective?" he asked out of the blue.
The question caught him off guard. "Um…" He'd only added the one shot to his coffee. Surely, Armand didn't know
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