ʏᴇʟʟᴏᴡ ∆ ᴄᴀᴇsᴀʀ ᴢᴇᴘᴘᴇʟɪ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ∆

∆ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-ɴɪɴᴇ∆

“I’ll call Mr. Speedwagon and Jojo,” Caesar said, standing up with a frown.

“Do you…” I flicked my gaze to my brother as I fell back and sat in front of him, raking a hand over my face. “Do you want to explain why you came to me, 4:30 in the morning, with a dead boy, blood pouring from your face, and a vampire bite on your wrist?”

“Not really,” He sighed.

“Daniel,” I snapped, making both boys jump. “I am not in the fucking mood.”

“I was messing around with some friends. Ej and I decided to head home from drinking. We were gonna go crash at his folks by the harbor when we got attacked by some crazy bitch. She was talking all weird and shit, so we just thought she was a junkie or something. Then she jumped on me and tried to bite my neck.

"I remembered what you told me, about the vampires, so I put my hand there and she bit it instead. Ej pulled her off and then tried to help me up. She hit him and then knocked him back into the harbor. Then some...person….” Daniel ran a hand over his face. “..I don’t know. They came and started fighting this crazy chick. I can’t swear to it...but...Y/n, I’m pretty sure they were a vampire too. I think they killed her. Then they dove in the water and got Ej. They didn’t even say anything before walking away as if nothing had happened.”

“You two get changed,” Caesar said, walking back into the living room. “Speedwagon is in the process of getting two vaccinations. He wants us to meet him at his Foundation. Jojo is on his way.”

“I, uh, I set some clothes in the bathroom for both of you,” I said. “Dry off with some towels.”

Daniel nodded and stood up, helping Ej onto his feet before leading him down the hall. Caesar crouched down in front of me with a small frown. He reached out and brushed his knuckles under my eyes, concern on his face.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“I’m fine,” I sighed, leaning into his palm as he cupped my cheek. “I just wasn’t expecting this is all.”

“Y/n! Your pager’s going off!” Daniel yelled. I dropped my head with a heavy sigh. Caesar stood up and pulled me onto my feet. I trudged back to my room and looked at the small device.

‘Sorry, chick. Need you again. Be here at 5’

“Shit,” I mumbled.

“Go,” Caesar said, making me look towards the door. He swung a jacket around him, slipping his arms through, and shrugged it over his shoulders. “I’ll take care of them.”

“You don’t have to-”

“It’s alright,” He said, walking into my room. My shoulders slumped down as he grabbed my hands. “I don’t mind helping you.”

“You shouldn’t have to, that’s the problem,” I groaned.

“Relax, Y/n. You don’t have to try and do everything by yourself. I know more about vampires, and you know more about helping people,” He said, raising my hands to his lips. He pressed a gentle kiss to my knuckles, making my cheeks warm up.

“C-Caesar..”

“Have a good day at work, amore,” He said softly.

“My shift ends at 5 tonight,” I said, grabbing my purse and badge, pinning it on my shirt as Caesar walked down the hall and outside with me, Daniel, and Ej trailing behind us. “I’ll see you then.”

“I’ll pick you up,” He said, opening the cab door for me.

“One more thing,” I said. He hummed as a response. “Make sure nothing happens to my brother. Please, Caesar.”

“Don’t worry,” He said, leaning down to kiss my cheek. I felt my eyes widen, my face turning red at the action. My stomach fluttered. “Nothing will happen to him.”

“B-Be careful,” I mumbled before slipping inside the cab.

“Always am,” The blonde laughed.

“That’s debatable,”

…

I raked a hand through my fallen hair, yawning as I walked from the hospital. I paused to look at my pager when I heard a whistle to gain my attention. I raised my head, looking around before I spotted a familiar face. Or two, I should say.

“What’s up, cousin--Holy shit,” Joseph gasped as I walked towards them. “You look like a mess!”

“Thanks for stating the obvious, Joseph. I appreciate it,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “What are you two doing here anyway?”

“I said I was picking you up, didn’t I?” Caesar said, pushing off the hood of the black Cadillac.

“You did? I don’t remember,” I sighed. “There’s been so much today. We had another dozen people come in with wounds consisting of vampire bites. There was also a big commotion,”

“What do you mean?” Caesar asked, pushing Joseph away as he opened the passenger door and motioned for me to get inside.

“Well, I guess vampires are becoming the talk. Three people came in claiming they’d been bitten by vampires, but they were only spider bites. It looks like we’re not the only ones hunting them down,” I said as Caesar started the car.

“And they aren’t being quiet about it,” Joseph said, leaning forward. “Speedwagon told us that there had been others who were talking about it.”

“How’s Daniel and his friend?” I asked.

I felt my heart sink into my stomach when Caesar glanced at Joseph through the review mirror and shook his head ever so slightly. I almost didn’t catch it. I turned in my seat to look back at the brunette.

“You better tell me what the hell is going on,” I said, glaring at him.

“Y/n put your seatbelt on,” Caesar said, glancing from me to the road.

“Not until I know about my brother,” I said. “Where are they?”

“Y/n, just relax, alright? Put your seatbelt on,” Joseph said. I glared at both of them before turning back in my seat and pulling the leather strap across my front. I looked over at Caesar before dramatically letting it go. I was tired, worried, and seriously not in the mood.

“It’s on,” I said sarcastically.

“Okay, you can’t freak out-”

“You do realize that when you say that, it doesn’t help anything, don’t you?” Caesar asked, glancing at Joseph in the mirror with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, I get that now,” He sighed.

“Spit it out,” I huffed.

“Daniel is showing signs of vampirism.”