Sun Poisoned (The Sunshine Series) by Nikki Rae Page A

newspaper-wrapped rectangle. It’s so big that he has to stretch the full length of his arms around it in order to hold on. Malakhi moves out of the way, finding the armchair in the corner and curling up on it. Myles sets the huge thing down against the coffee table in front of me, leaning it against its edge.
    “ What is that?” I ask.
    “ It’s for you,” he states, sitting down next to me.
    I stare at the mass of black and white paper. “What is it?”
    Myles laughs a little. “Open it.”
    I shake my head. “Bribe me later.”
    He sighs, but he doesn’t seem mad. “Evan told me he wanted to ask you to hang out with Ava today,” Myles says. “I was hoping he would put it off until tomorrow so I could tell you about it first.” He wraps an arm around my shoulder and I lean into him. “I also asked Jamie not to give you the checks yet.”
    “ Why did you never tell me that you co-owned the club?” I ask. “Is that how we got on the band list? How we got paid so much money?”
    His hand is in my hair. “I was going to tell you,” he says. “I held off because I thought you would draw those exact conclusions.”
    “ Well, are there any truth in them?” I want to look at him, but I don’t.
    Myles shakes his head. “It’s not in my control who plays here anymore. It used to be, when we first formed it, but now it’s mainly up to the other bands. It works out better that way.”
    “ So they what, vote or something?”
    “ Pretty much,” he says. “Everyone listens to demos, then they vote.”
    “ Okay,” I say.  ”You’re going to have to explain to me how everything works.”
    “ Alright,” he says, readjusting his position so we’re facing each other. “There are owners, like me and Evan. Then there are the people below him that handle the bands’ days and times, like Jaime,” he waits to see if I have questions. I don’t, so he continues. “Then there are the bands that have been playing here for a long time, like Honus, and bands that come through once in a while when they’re on tour, for example.”
    “ Okay…”
    “ The higher up bands—if you will—get to be more involved in how the club functions. They get to decide who will play, how often, and how much they’ll be paid.”
    “ So,” I say. “It wasn’t just you and Evan out-voting Jamie?”
    Myles laughs a little. “I guess it may have seemed that way,” he says. “We three have final say, but no.” He pauses, thinking. “A lot of the bands sell T-shirts and CDs at their shows,” he glances at me. “As you already know. That also factors into how much they get paid.”
    “ But we don’t have merch.”
    Myles grins. “Not yet,” he says. “But when you do, you’ll get paid more.”
    “ So what does the club get out of it?” I have to ask.
    “ The club gets a percentage, but trust me, most of it goes to the bands. Vampires don’t often need a lot of money. Especially older ones.”
    Whoa. I thought we were talking about the club, not this.
    “ Wait. So are you telling me…”
    “ That we’re like stereotypical rich vampires?” he asks. “Some of us. Kind of.” He shrugs.
    I sigh, not wanting to believe it. “Why didn’t you tell me that either?”
    “ I don’t know. I didn’t want to A—overload you with information, or B—make it seem like I was a different person, or that I was,” He runs a hand through his hair, “I don’t know, bragging?”
    I just sit back on the couch, soaking it in and nodding. “Okay.”
    We’re quiet for a few moments. I’m trying to take everything in and I’m guessing he’s trying to figure out what I think of all of this.
    “Do you want to know anything else?” Myles asks.
    “ Is Ava Evan’s donor?” I blurt out. I wasn’t even aware that I was thinking it, but there it is.
    Myles’ face becomes more serious. He was expecting more questions about Midnight. Not this. “No.”
    “ I wouldn’t ask, but. . .”
    Myles shakes his head. “Ava’s