ChapterTwo
February 1890
London, England
As Leopold "Leo" Yates adjusted his necktie and tugged down his waistcoat, he watched from the first-floor balcony as patrons below played cards, spun the roulette wheel, and rolled dice across green baize tables. It was early yet for a Saturday evening, but the paranormals of London—and a few humans as well—would start showing up in droves over the next hour or two.
And then his profits would roll in. The more they did, the more he could invest toward making his territory in London's East End—the vampire section—less filthy. Sanitation and better housing were his current goals, although it wouldn't be easy. People, as a whole, resisted change.
Something he'd learned over the past eighty-four years of life.
His dark-haired, brown-eyed man of operations, John Sakamoto, walked over and stood next to him. After the half-vampire leaned against the railing, he spoke without preamble. "Our mysterious rival is all but giving away money with winnings again tonight, even at this early hour."
Leo grunted. A few weeks ago, someone had opened a gaming hell just outside Leo's territory in London. Since he had an accord with the shifters and fae witches—in which they'd divided up the businesses between them in the city—and the humans wouldn't dare provoke him so boldly, the rival had to be an outsider of some sort. Whoever it was, the bastard had to have bollocks to challenge Leo, the vampire lord who ruled over his kind in the south of England.
Maybe some would think it naive for Leo to trust the shifters and fae witches to keep to their agreement. But until the truce ten years ago, the East End of London had been a violent, dangerous place full of paranormals fighting each other for supremacy and killing far too many innocents in the process.
However, that had been his father's reign, not his.
Not wanting to give the dead bastard any of his thoughts, he turned toward John to focus on his present set of problems. "Have our spies reported anything new?"
John shrugged. "Just the usual—the hell's mostly full of paranormals and every person ends up winning at some point during their visit. As far as they can tell, no one leaves with less money than they entered with."
Leo frowned. "That can't last much longer. Not with the electric lights and toilets, and all of the other expensive modern conveniences they have. The upkeep alone will be enormous, and no hell is a charitable institution."
John leaned more against the railing and crossed his arms over his chest. "Even so, the patrons could get used to things like lights and inside plumbing and not come back here. I suspect soon enough the rival establishment will start to favor the house, and the patrons won't even notice. It's an expensive and risky plan, but unfortunately it might pay off for them in the long run."
Leo glanced around at the gas lamps on the walls and the chandelier high above the tall room, flickering with candles. He'd thought it more important to get piss and shit off the streets and out of holes in gardens inside his territory rather than installing electric lights or water closets into his gaming hell.
John sighed. "I know it's a waste when you want to tear down the latest set of tenements and build better housing nearby. But we can't do any of that if all your customers leave."
Leo kept his gaze on the activity below. "What does Charlotte say?"
Charlotte Sakamoto was John's sister and Leo's bookkeeper. Some dismissed her because of being female, but she was brilliant with numbers and Leo trusted her recommendations.
John replied, "Profits are down, but it's nowhere near dire yet."
"But?"
"But you might have to delay the groundbreaking for the large row of housing you were supposed to start building in two months' time."
He grunted. "We'll see about that."
If his profits continued their decline, Leo might have to reach out to his brother Laurie and see about expanding the pleasure house section of his business empire. Humans, in particular, liked coming to find a willing paranormal partner for a night or two and were willing to pay handsomely for the chance. Although he hoped it didn't come to that because the more pleasure houses he built in his section of London, the more the humans and their government would keep a closer eye on him. And Leo rather liked keeping them out of his business as much as possible.
He looked straight at John. "Just keep me updated with everything our spies find."
John raised his brows. "Have you thought about my suggestion to reach out to Banks?"
Matilda Banks was the unofficial fourth "Dark Lord of London"—the other three being himself and the leaders of the fae witches and shifters—although the female half-vampire had resisted any sort of invitation to talk and be included in the East End truce.
She was also the best information gatherer in the city, with spies everywhere.
However, word was she hated paranormals and identified most with her human side because of her human mother. Although little else was known about her, no matter how hard he and the other two lords searched. Her people were loyal to a fault. "I'll give it another week or two before I make that decision. The fewer people who know my detailed concerns—I've no doubt she knows the basics already—the better. You know how enemies love to pounce on a weakness. And given how unpredictable Banks is, she might even form an alliance against me."
John nodded. "I'll keep you abreast of any news I hear." He stood up from the railing. "However, right now I need to conduct my next check of the back rooms before a fight, or worse, breaks out. Some of the young vampires and shifters are determined to prove themselves today."
"Good luck," Leo said as he shook his head at the folly of the young.