Bitten & Smitten

by Michelle Rowen

  “You’ve come back,” he said blandly, as though he hadn’t just overheard every word of my little rant.

  “Just like a bad penny.” Then I frowned. Where did that expression come from, anyhow? I’m not sure I even used it right.

  “Did you want to see me?”

  “Not particularly.” I was recovering my composure. Hey, it came and it went. Mostly, these days it went. “But I do need to speak with you.”

  “Then perhaps you could have simply used the telephone.”

  I sighed. “Hindsight is twenty-twenty. Now, not to sound like Joan Rivers or anything, but can we talk?”

  “Of course.” He motioned toward his booth in the corner.

  I shook my head. “In your office? I’d prefer something a little more private.” He raised an eyebrow and I glowered at his amused expression. “Not that kind of private.”

  “Unfortunately, my office is in use right now for another private matter.”

  Then I guessed the booth would have to do. I didn’t want to debate conversation locations for much longer. Just talking to Thierry was making me nervous, and not particularly in a good way. I wanted this over with as fast as possible, so I slid into the booth and George brought us over a couple of drinks. He winked at me before he left us alone.

  “So,” Thierry said after a moment, “what is it you wish to speak with me about… in private?”

  Was it wrong that I wanted to kiss him, even after everything that had happened? Rain kisses on his beautiful face and down his neck and along the edge of his oh-so-black silk shirt. Tuck his stray dark hair behind his ear and whisper how I felt about him, loud enough so only he could hear it?

  Yes, it was wrong. It was very, very wrong.

  “It’s about the hunters,” I finally said.

  “What about the hunters?” He seemed surprised, as if he’d expected me to bring up another subject. What other subject could I possibly have to talk to Thierry de Bennicoeur about? Hmm, let me think.

  “They’re planning something this year. Something big. Big enough that they believe that they can kill every last vampire in the city this time around.”

  He pursed his lips. “Yes, I already know all of that.”

  “You do?” Of course he’d know that. He was the master, after all. He probably just knew things through osmosis or that vampire telepathy I’d been hoping for.

  “Was that all, Sarah?”

  “No, that’s not all. I also have it on good authority that there’s a vampire who’s selling the rest of us out. Feeding information to the hunters.”

  He took a sip of his cranberry juice and then placed it back soundlessly on the table. “And who are you getting your information from, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  “You don’t believe me?”

  “It’s not simply a matter of believing or not. It is a harsh accusation to say that there is a traitor in our midst. I simply wish to know who is telling you these things and what proof they may have.”

  I felt the sudden urge to lie, or make up some outrageous story about where I’d heard the rumor. But I didn’t. “Quinn told me.”

  Thierry leaned against the back of the booth. “Quinn.”

  “That’s right.”

  “The hunter who is now a vampire.”

  “Thanks for the recap. Yes, that’s him.”

  “When did he tell you this?”

  This time I took a sip of my own drink before answering. George had been nice enough to bring me over a newbie special, heavy on the “special” rather than the “newbie.” I guess I was officially ready for the grown-up vampire drinks.

  “Tonight,” I answered after a moment.

  “Tonight.”

  “You don’t have to repeat everything I say.”

  “It helps me to understand you better. And when you saw Quinn tonight, where were you? Did he search you out to give you this piece of questionable information?”

  “No.” I struggled to keep my face as blank as his. “Actually, we were on a date.”

  His expression gave nothing away, not that I expected it to. What, did I think he was going to leap out of his seat in a rage of jealousy? Not bloody likely.

  “I didn’t realize that the two of you were dating.”

  I shrugged. “You know what they say about opposites attracting.”

  “Yes, that is very true. So, the two of you, is this serious? This relationship between vampire and ex-vampire hunter?”

  “Well, we’re not planning on getting married, or anything like that,” I said with special emphasis on the married part.

  “And you trust this… Quinn?”

  Good question. Did I trust him? Not particularly. Did I think he was lying when he told me about the hunter’s plans? No, it was the truth. That much I had faith in.

  “I believe him.”

  “I didn’t ask if you believe him. I asked if you trust him.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Frankly, Thierry, I’m having a little trouble trusting anybody these days. Call me crazy.”

  “And you decided that you needed to tell me this news. Why come to me?”

  I shrugged again. “You seem to be the man everyone answers to around here. They call you master, for God’s sake. Like, what century is this? Anyhow, I just figured that you would be the one to tell something like this to. So consider yourself told. My job is done. I don’t want anything to do with it. In fact, if I can move up my trip to Mexico, I’ll be out of here before any of this even goes down.”

  “You’re planning on leaving the country, are you?”

  “The tickets have been bought for three months. Amy and me, that’s my best friend, not that you care, we’ve been planning it for ages. I was thinking about canceling, but now I think that it’s the best idea ever to get out of this city.”

  “Perhaps you should invite Quinn to accompany you.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “You seem quite obsessed with that little tidbit of information, huh? That I and Quinn are together. Well, can you blame me? He’s so incredibly hot. And dangerous. And sexy. What girl could resist?”

  The corner of his mouth raised into a slight resemblance of a smile. “My, my, he sounds like quite a catch.”

  “He is,” I said. “And, hey, to top it all off, he’s not suicidal or married.”

  His jaw tightened.

  I saw George approach to my left. “Sarah, sorry to interrupt, but you have a phone call.”

  “I do? I mean, of course I do. Yes, I will be right there. Thanks, George.” I turned back to Thierry. “Well, I think I’ve said all I came here to say, and a dash extra. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an important phone call to take.”

  I turned away.

  “Sarah,” Thierry said, and I turned back.

  “What?”

  Our eyes met and I felt the fight go out of me. He stared at me for a long moment. “Nothing. Take your phone call.”

  I walked blindly to the bar while working on reducing the big lump in my throat. The phone was off the hook, and I picked it up and held it to my ear.

  “Hello?” I noticed my voice was a little funny.

  “Sarah?” Amy said. “Is that you? Your voice sounds a little funny.”

  We were always on the same wavelength, Amy and me. Well, almost always.

  “Yeah, it’s me. Where are you?”

  “I left. Sorry I didn’t say anything to you first.”

  I sighed. “It was Barry, wasn’t it? He is such a little prick. Did he insult you?”

  “No, nothing like that.” She giggled. “He’s with me right now.”

  “You’re with Barry? The little freak from the front?”

  “Don’t be mean.” Her voice was stern. “I’m so glad you introduced us.”

  “I didn’t introduce you. Don’t blame me.”

  “Blame you? I want to thank you! I thought Peter was wonderful, but Barry is spectacular.”

  “Spectacular? Are we talking about the same guy? The Napoleon Bonaparte
of Toronto? Did he drug you, or something?”

  “Sarah,” she scolded. “You need to learn to look past the external. You’re so superficial.”

  “Yeah, that’s me. Superficial Sarah.”

  “You know, I never believed in love at first sight before, but, Sarah, he’s got such beautiful eyes. I could die.”

  “You’re making me feel sick to my stomach. Where are you?”

  “Never mind about that. I’m having a good time, and I just didn’t want you to worry about me.”

  I simply didn’t have enough time or energy to worry about Amy. I had so many of my own problems that I was thinking about alphabetizing them. “Can you do me a favor?”

  “Sure, anything.”

  “Can you give Barry a message for me?”

  “Mmm-hmm. Let me grab a pen.”

  “You don’t need a pen for this. Just tell him that if he hurts you in any way, I’m going to kill him, varnish him, and stick him on my parents’ front lawn. He’d make a fantastic garden gnome.”

  “I’m not going to tell him that! You’re horrible.”

  “Love you, too. Have fun.”

  “I’ll call you. Maybe we can go out on another double date.”

  I paused. “I think I’d rather throw myself on a bed of sharp chopsticks.”

  “Oooh, great idea. We’ll have Chinese food next time.”

  I hung up the phone. The lump in my throat had relocated to my stomach. Maybe I should rethink my choice of best friends. Anyone who would be romantically interested in Barry had to have some serious mental issues. And it wasn’t just the fact he was short. He was just so… so Barry. That was some serious ick factor at any height.

  I figured I’d just go home. No reason to stick around the club any longer. I’d said all I wanted to. Come to think of it, I’d said a lot more than I’d wanted to. Not that any of it mattered.

  I saw a flash of long, wavy, dark hair out of the corner of my eye. It was Veronique, and she was making the rounds, stopping at the tables to do the schmooze thing. I didn’t want her to spot me. She must have just arrived, since I hadn’t seen her until now. She was sort of hard to miss.

  I moved to the far side of the bar and into the hallway that ended at Thierry’s office. She hadn’t spotted me, and I breathed a slow sigh of relief. Maybe I’d just duck out the back door. No reason I had to go out the same way I came in.

  Just then, I heard a loud crash. I almost didn’t hear it over the music. The band hadn’t stopped playing since I’d gotten there. Right now, they were doing a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil”—only with a female singer and a jazz feel. I wondered fleetingly if the band members were also vampires. Had to be. There was no way Thierry would hire them if they weren’t.

  The sound came from Thierry’s office. I moved toward it, straining to hear anything else. What did he say was going on in there? A private matter of some kind?

  My eyes widened as I heard someone yelling indiscernible words and then another crash. My hand found the door handle and I turned it. I put my hand flat on the door to push it open slowly.

  You know what they say about curiosity killing the cat? Well, I was hoping that curiosity didn’t keep any wooden stakes on hand.

  Chapter 19

  I recognized one of the men immediately. It was Dan, the lawyer, the one who’d saved me from Quinn and then turned him into a vampire. There were also three other men in the room. Two I’d never seen before, but when they moved out of the way, I recognized the third. It was Melanie’s new boyfriend. I think his name was Eugene, the apprentice vampire hunter.

  He was tied to a chair in the middle of the room and he stared at me with wide, frightened eyes. His glasses were broken and hanging off his face.

  Dan turned to me as I opened the door, and his expression lit up. “Sarah.” His voice was warm and friendly. “So good to see you again. Guys, this is Sarah.”

  “Hi, Sarah,” the other two said in unison.

  “What the hell is going on in here?” I managed.

  “I thought that door was locked,” Dan said. He didn’t seem too concerned about it.

  “Yeah,” one of his friends said. “I thought so, too. Weird, huh?”

  I felt my face flush with anger. “Does Thierry know what you guys are doing in here? Maybe I should go get him.”

  “Yeah, you do that, sweetheart,” one of the other guys said. “The thing is, the master told us to do this. That’s why we’re in his office.” He turned to the other. “She’s cute, but kind of dumb. Just the way I like ‘em.”

  My eyes widened. “He told you to do this?” I backed up a step and felt someone behind me. I turned around.

  “Why did you come back here?” Thierry’s voice was calm.

  “You… you told them to do this? How could you?”

  “You shouldn’t have seen this.”

  “Untie him right now,” I said quietly. “And let him leave.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You can’t or you won’t?”

  “Very well, I won’t. He is one of the hunters. We need to extract information from him about their master plan.”

  I snorted at that. “From him?”

  “You know him?” He raised a dark eyebrow. “Ah, perhaps you are dating him as well.”

  I ignored that. “Eugene isn’t one of the main group of hunters. He’s only a wannabe. He could barely hurt a fly, let alone a vampire. He’s harmless.”

  “I am! I’m harmless,” Eugene squeaked, but was silenced by Dan cracking his knuckles loud enough for everyone to hear.

  Thierry turned his gaze to me. “That does not mean he wouldn’t know anything that could help us.”

  “Has he told you anything yet?”

  Thierry glanced at Dan.

  Dan shook his head. “Nothing useful.”

  “That’s because he doesn’t know anything,” I said. “Just stop messing around and let him go. Please.”

  Thierry paused before he answered, “No.”

  “Why not? Give me one good reason why you won’t let him go when you know bloody well he’s not going to tell you anything that you don’t already know. All you’re doing is scaring him half to death.”

  “I don’t need to justify my decisions to you, Sarah. But, very well. I won’t let him go because I refuse to have another human out there who knows the location of this club.”

  I frowned so deeply it hurt. “So, if you’re not going to let him go, then what does that mean? You can’t keep him here forever.”

  “We shall do what needs to be done to protect our kind.”

  I felt cold at his words. “Oh, my God. You’re planning on killing him, aren’t you? You’re no better than the hunters themselves. I won’t stand by and let this happen.”

  “Then you had best leave.”

  Thierry turned away from me. I couldn’t bare to look at Eugene again. I knew Thierry’s decision was final. If I continued to argue with him, all I’d end up doing was wasting my breath and looking like a whiny brat who didn’t care about the fate of “her kind.” Whatever the hell that meant.

  I left the office and slammed the door behind me, wishing that Thierry’s head had been caught in the middle. I was so furious I couldn’t think straight. I took a moment before I went back out to the club and walked through the crowd directly to the bar.

  Zelda smiled at me. “I thought you’d left already.”

  “Do you know what’s going on in Thierry’s office?”

  “No, what?”

  I studied her for a moment. “Never mind.”

  “Are you okay?”

  I shook my head, feeling stunned and damaged by what I’d just seen. “No. I haven’t been okay for nearly a week. I hate this. I hate all of this. Listen”—I looked up to meet her gaze—“about that cure thing we were talking about earlier, do you have any information for me? Maybe somebody I could talk to about it?”

  She stopped mixing the margarita she was working on. �
�Are you serious?”

  “Deadly.”

  She appeared to think about it for a moment, then grabbed a napkin that had the Midnight Eclipse logo on it. “Do you have a pen?”

  I opened up my little purse and pushed past the two quarters and the shard that lay inside. “Yeah, here.” I handed one to her.

  She scribbled a name and number down. “Last time I heard anything about it, this is the guy you needed to contact. I don’t know if he’s still around, but it’s a start.” She pushed the napkin across the top of the bar to me. I picked it up, folded it, and tucked it into my purse.

  “Thank you.”

  She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “It’s not that bad. Being a vampire. You’ve hardly given it a chance at all.”

  “I just like to have options. Thanks again, Zelda. You’re a real friend.”

  I stood up and began making my way toward the exit. I was going to go home and, if I could get any sleep tonight, I was going to sleep on it. I knew that all I’d be able to see when I closed my eyes was Eugene, tied to the chair and looking like a helpless, geeky puppy.

  “I know how you must feel,” a cool, soothing voice said. I looked up through my teary, blurred vision. Veronique leaned against an empty nearby table. Her long hair was pushed past one shoulder like a dark waterfall. “It is unfortunate what men do in the name of war.”

  “You can say that again.”

  “I have witnessed many wars in my time, and it is always the same. There are those who fight and those who get hurt. In the end both sides lose, even if it’s just a piece of their souls.”

  I blinked at her. “Yeah, whatever you say. I’m going home.”

  “You aren’t waiting tables this evening?”

  “I’m not a waitress.”

  “I thought that you were an employee here.”

  “You thought wrong. I helped out the other night, but that was it.”

  “When you showed up at the club with Thierry early today… you are friends, yes?”

  “Friends.” I snorted at that. “Yeah, we’re friends. At least I thought we were before I just saw the little piece of male posturing in his office.”