Bite Of The Truth: The Black Fan, #2

By Laura Greenwood

If the truth about who Sonia is becomes clear to the wrong vampire, she could lose her life.

When Sonia came to the city, she only intended to stay for a day. Now she's been living a secret life for months, and it's about to catch up with her. 

Sonia is determined to keep her true identity secret, while making a life for herself as receptionist of the Black Fan, and falling for vampire, Levi. 

When her boss asks a favour of her, the truth comes out, and she could end up losing everything. Can she stop the fallout before it's too late?

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Bite Of The Truth is part of The Black Fan, a paranormal romance series including vampires and a dystopian setting. It includes a secret identity, a vampire with a past, and a revelation that could change everything.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Drowlgon Press
• Release date: Mar 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393877974

Laura Greenwood

Laura is a USA Today Bestselling Author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and fantasy romance. When she's not writing, she drinks a lot of tea, tries to resist French macarons, and works towards a diploma in Egyptology. She lives in the UK, where most of her books are set. Laura specialises in quick reads, with healthy relationships and consent positive moments regardless of if she's writing light-hearted romance, mythology-heavy urban fantasy, or anything in between. You can find a full book list and more information on her website, or in The Paranormal Council Facebook Group. Happy Reading!

Book preview

Chapter One

I smile widely until the clients are through the curtain and away from the reception area of the Black Fan, then I let it fall. It's not that I'm not happy working here, I am. Very. Lady Catherine is good to me and despite the curious look in her eye from time to time, she's never asked too many questions about who I really am.

Which is safer for all of us. I can't imagine she'll be particularly happy knowing I'm the Mayor's sister when she's running the rebellion out of her brothel. Not that I'm going to turn her in. For a start, the men and women who work here are my friends. They took me in and made me one of their own even as my own sister closed her doors to me. And that's before I take into account how I feel about Reese's awful city. I don't know where she got the idea for this place, but she needs to be stopped. While she's still my sister and I don't like the idea of anything bad happening to her for that reason alone, the longer I've lived in the City of Blood, the more certain I am that she needs to be stopped.

Before, she was a mild family embarrassment. Now, she's causing all kinds of problems for humans and vampires alike. It's been nearly thirty years since she started this insanity. It's definitely time for it to end.

Footsteps sound from behind me, calling me back from my thoughts. I shouldn't focus on things like that while I'm supposed to be working, it could lead to dangerous conversations.

Everything okay, Sonia? Catherine asks as she glides into the room in one of her signature dresses. Every time I see her, I feel as if I'm on the set of a period drama and not in a twenty-first-century brothel.

It is. The final clients have arrived for Bindi and Elijah. They've just gone through.

Ah, the married couple?

I nod. They seem excited.

This is their first time. They told me that they've been talking about doing something like this for a couple of decades but they've only just done something about it. They heard about our nack for discretion. She doesn't manage to wipe the smug look off her face before I see it. She's normally much better at hiding her emotions, but when it comes to the Black Fan, she struggles. She built this place from the ground up, long before the City of Blood grew around it. She prides herself on taking care of the people working for her so they don't fall foul of the same situations she found herself in.

I'm glad we can accommodate them. And I mean it. I can't say I ever imagined myself working in a brothel, but now that I do, I can see the need for them.

When run properly, it's not all about the sex. Most of the reason people come here is because they want to feel alive. Cared for. Like the Harrisons, the couple who have just gone through to the comfortable waiting room. They want to do something that makes their marriage stronger. Which is especially necessary when there are vampires involved. It's not that we're a particularly kinky bunch. I imagine most of us are fairly tame when it comes down to it. But we have long lives, and that often leads to older vampires experimenting with things they'd never have tried in their youth.

We try and accommodate anyone so long as it doesn't endanger any of the staff, she reminds me.

I dip my head. I've used that line on so many clients that I've long since lost count.

But I didn't come down here to tell you how to do your job, I don't believe in that kind of micromanaging.

Oh? I raise an eyebrow. She normally calls us into an office when she wants to discuss things.

Have you thought more about attending the Mayor's parties with us? I don't expect you to take clients, but it would be good to have another set of eyes on what's going on, especially with the activities we're taking on here, she says.

My heart sinks. There's a small part of me that wants to say yes to her, even if it's just for another chance to try and convince my sister to stop with the games and end the City of Blood once and for all. It's a fool's errand, and I know better than to risk it.

So far, no one has noticed the similarities between my looks and Reese's. I always wear a different style of clothing to her, and my hair is still my natural blonde instead of her darker shade. With the subtle differences in our features, I think it's easy to miss the fact we're related. But put us in the same room and it's impossible to miss. I can't risk anyone finding out I'm her sister. Not only will it paint a giant target on my back, but it'll cause all kinds of problems for Catherine and the resistance.

I don't think they're for me, I say, not giving in to the impulse to go.

That's a shame. I think you'd be a real asset to the team if you did.

I'm sorry.

She waves away my apology. Don't worry about it, Sonia. I gave you the choice and it's up to you to make it. I won't force anyone to do anything they don't want to.

I appreciate that.

More than she can possibly know. I wouldn't call my family controlling, but there could be times when they tried to persuade me to do one thing or another. Weirdly, I kind of liked the idea that they can't reach me within the city walls, even if they're the ones who encouraged me to come here in the first place.

Let me know if you change your mind, Catherine says, bringing me away from the memories of my family. The choice is all yours. She sweeps out of the room before I can answer, which is probably for the best. I'm not sure what I'd say.

I turn my attention back to my tasks. I won't have to deal with any of the clients for another couple of hours, so I can do some of the small admin tasks that always seem to mount up over the week to make the time pass.

Chapter Two

I pace back and forth, wondering whether I should give Levi a call. I have the Black Fan mostly to myself, and it would be a shame to waste the opportunity for some time alone with him. Especially when Catherine and most of the others are out at the Mayor's party doing their thing and finding new clients. It's highly unlikely that any of the clients will come back here tonight, that's not how the parties work. And even if they do, the appointments will be processed by the courtesans themselves and not by me.

Which leaves me with very little to do.

Perhaps instead of calling Levi, I should look into better ways to approach Reese. I know she's busy tonight, but maybe that will make it easier to get into her mansion?

I push the thought aside. It's a waste of time, and I know it. The place is guarded more heavily than anywhere I've ever seen in my life.