“You might, however, be mistaken for a guide on motor repair.” My smile didn’t change and I managed to keep the sparkle out of my eyes. Not that he could see through my sunglasses. Not in this lighting.
On impulse, I pushed my glasses onto the top of my head. They nestled at the front of my beret, secure. The dancing men were at my back. Safe from my eyes. I wanted to make sure the vampire’s could see my full expressions. It was a rare opportunity to be unguarded so I took it.
He frowned. I saw just a slight twitch of his eyes toward a woman at the table with him. A redhead with a short pixie cut, feathered bangs and sides. He didn’t understand the reference. Apparently he hadn’t learned to work on his own vehicles growing up. I let it sit out there without explanation.
“Please, join us,” said the redhead. To ease Chilton’s discomfort.
I shrugged. I’d won the round. We both knew it.
“Unless you’d rather dance?” asked Dusty hopefully.
He moved away from the gyrating men on the dance floor. They’d bumped him with their backsides as they danced near us. He wasn’t any more comfortable around gay men than Rhoda. Straight and insecure. Or maybe closeted. People tended to run from the things they desired when it frightened them.
“I think sitting’s better. Hard to ask questions while focusing on the music.”
“My apologies for the unorthodox location. I had an engagement scheduled here already.” Chilton stared at Rhoda’s chest. “You were careless?”
“N—no.” Rhoda actually grew frightened.
I didn’t like her reaction to the man. Men had picked on and bullied women most of human history. I tried to remedy that whenever possible. Like Luis with his sister. Vampires were no different.
“She was incredibly brave to take a bullet meant for me. So that I wouldn’t miss this meeting.” I didn’t look at Rhoda. I held Chilton’s gaze.
His frown deepened. “I didn’t ask her to play bodyguard. Our lives are just as valuable as any bleeder.”
“She didn’t jump in front of a bullet if that’s what you mean. She made the shooter think she was me. Took a bullet so that he’d leave and we’d be free to come here. Or didn’t you instruct her to make sure I made it tonight?”
He opened his mouth and shut it. Not happy but unable to express his annoyance without seeming petty. He’d find other ways to punish Rhoda for doing what he’d asked. I could see it in his eyes. I definitely didn’t like Chilton. And it had nothing to do with him being a vampire.
“Xian is watching her apartment, like you asked,” said Dusty. He glanced at me hopefully. “We’ll make sure you make it back in one piece.”
“Thanks.” I couldn’t help but sound droll. Better than derisive I guess. He wasn’t sure whether to smile or not. “I’m a big girl, Dusty. I can defend myself.”
“From a long range sniper rifle?” asked the redhead, flashing her eyes at me innocently.
“Never know.” I smiled at her. The kind of smile women give to their enemies. I didn’t even know her but I knew her type. “I’ve survived a lot of attacks in my life.”
“Enough.” Chilton raised a hand to silence his people. “I know you think we have Vincent Gibraltar hidden away. That we lured him using vampire charms.”
Chilton watched me as he spoke. Holding my gaze. It was the one thing we had in common. Humans should never look either of us in the eyes. For different reasons.
I felt the press of Chilton’s will. A dull ache at the edges of my temples. I relaxed my shoulders. Let my power spill out along my skin. Not toward him. The lust in the room was powerful. I let it soak into me. A controlled taste. Hunger flared in me unexpectedly. My control wavered but Chilton’s power was brushed aside by my own. He and his vampires were dead spots in a room full of sexual energy.
“Shit,” murmured the redhead.
I looked around. The nearest men on the floor hung onto each other. As if suddenly too drunk to stand. I gnashed my teeth together, digging my nails into my palms harder. The pain wasn’t enough. I needed something to numb me. Something—something undead!
“Dusty.”
“Wh—what?”
I grabbed him. Pulled him against me. “Kiss me.”
The young vampire stared at me. Then glanced at Chilton. The Rake must’ve nodded because Dusty suddenly pressed his lips against mine. It was an inexperienced kiss. Chaste at first. Strange because the energy I tasted didn’t include his. Like kissing a cool, flexible plastic doll. Then I stuck my tongue in his mouth. Pricked it against his vampire teeth unintentionally. I wasn’t entirely inexperienced in kissing humans. But this was my first vampire.
I tasted my own blood in that kiss. Ran my hands along his skin. Just as cold as his mouth. Unnatural. Something about him being undead soothed my hunger. Cut me off from the rest of the room.
I felt other hands. Another vampire pressed against me. Rhoda. Reluctantly wrapping her arms around us both. Several other vampires encircled me in a group hug. They’d figured out what I was trying to do. At least, that’s what it seemed like.
My power crept back inside me. The hunger ebbed. I glared at the Rake silently.
“I did not mean to cause that,” said Chilton apologetically. “Merely testing to see if you were immune.”
He thought he’d caused me to lose control. Even though he was wrong about that, he was smart. He’d understood what I was trying to do. I was grateful. I should never have agreed to come inside.
I was glad he couldn’t read my mind. “I’m alright now. You can step back.”
The vampires moved away from me. All but Dusty. He kept his hands on my arms. His chest against my breasts. Staring into my eyes like he was trying to see into my soul.
“You heard her, Dusty. Back off.” Rhoda grabbed him and yanked. Territorially. She liked him. Romantically.
“So beautiful.” He smiled at me. Smitten.
My power didn’t work on the undead. Joseph had said so. I believed him. The undead had nothing to feed me. Dead spots in a sea of living sources of energy.
“What’s happening to him?” Chilton looked at the redhead.
She stared at Dusty for a hard moment then looked at me angrily. “She did something.”
“I didn’t.”
Dusty seemed to come back to himself. Waking from a dream. If he’d actually been enamored, he wouldn’t have shaken it off that easily. “She didn’t do anything. She’s just that good a kisser.”
“As if you’d know what a good kiss was,” said the redhead snidely.
“Leave him alone, Bonnie.” Rhoda stood between Dusty and the other vampire.
“Enough!” Chilton’s tone was threatening. The vampires flinched. Dusty and Rhoda clustered closer together. Even Bonnie kept quiet. “You can search our properties. Talk to our members. But I assure you, we don’t have Vincent.”
“You have motive,” I said.
“Motive?” He studied me puzzled. Then the light went on. He hadn’t expected Joseph to tell me everything. He didn’t smile but he nodded with understanding. “Yes. We want Henry Gibraltar to hire us. To give us a legitimacy we lack in human society. But taking his grandson buys us nothing.”
“How did you know you’re a suspect?”
“Joseph may not be one of our members anymore, but he forgets sometimes. Tries to interfere. He demanded I return the boy unharmed. I laughed in his face.”
“You have any idea who did take Vincent?”
Chilton shrugged. “No ransom has been demanded. It makes the security people look incompetent. I don’t know. I’ve offered to help. Joseph says we aren’t welcome.”
“But you’re going to look anyway.”
I made a note that he knew things that only law enforcement and the family should know. Maybe Joseph did more than demand Vincent’s return. He might’ve given away all the crucial details of the kidnapping. It would give Chilton an out, if the police learned that the Rake happened to know something only the kidnapper should
.
He smiled. “Of course. If we find the boy and return him unharmed, it’ll make Henry indebted to us. Sugar over vinegar, Miss Savage.”
“No other suspects so far?” I began to feel the press of the living men again. Their grinding and arousal pricked at my hunger. I should never have taken that small taste of them.
Chilton started to seem bored again. “A list of Henry’s enemies is as good a place as any.”
I’d already checked that out. So had the FBI. “That’s a pretty long list. Not particularly helpful.”
“Family members wanting a larger share?” He watched my reaction. Looking for leads into his own search. Not just for Vincent. But for the other two grandchildren, if I was right. Which means they weren’t convinced by the paper-trail saying that the siblings had died with the parents.
I smiled. Making my face into a pleasant mask of inscrutability. “Another dead end.”
He frowned. Chewing on his lower lip. “You’ve talked to the other grandchildren?”
It was my turn to stare. Puzzled for effect. He seemed sure that the answer was ‘no.’ If it wasn’t, he was intrigued.
Had they been following me since the restaurant? How else would they know what I’d done or who I’d talked to. And if they’d been at the restaurant, was that because they’d followed Gibraltar there? Or me?
“No. Considering the papers reported them killed with their parents, I know enough to discount them as probable suspects.”
“No need to be misleading, Miss Savage. I know the two survived. Reading between the lines is one of my specialized skills.”
“Even if they were alive, as I said, I know enough to discount inheritance as a motive.”
He nodded as if that answer made more sense. He didn’t know that Blake Mansfield was one of the grandchildren. But he wanted to know who they were. Why?
“Are the other grandchildren of particular interest to you? If they’re actually alive?”
Chilton laughed softly to himself. “Ah, Miss Savage. Who do you think we’d be hired to protect if we find Vincent. The boy, certainly. But not him alone. I was merely curious if the siblings were both still alive.”
“How do you know about them at all?”
“Being vampires doesn’t make us computer illiterate,” sniped Bonnie. “And genealogy websites have a wealth of information these days.”
I nodded. “Easier than going down to City Hall.” I’d have to remember that next time. It would’ve saved me a research trip. And by me, I meant Janet. “If Vincent turns up having been turned—or killed by vampire bite—it’ll mean a federal warrant for your extermination.”
“We don’t have him, Miss Savage.” Chilton’s energy flared but it felt cool against my skin. It forced back my hunger. Better than an unwanted press of undead corpses.
I smiled to show him I wasn’t bothered by his efforts. “One last question for now. Do you have any enemies that might want to frame you?”
Chilton’s brows furrowed. He glanced at Bonnie with a flash of distress. They hadn’t considered that possibility. “A human, no matter how motivated, can’t imitate a vampire bite.”
“Can’t they? Obtain vampire enzymes. Create artificial fangs. Inject the enzyme into the dying body. Drain the blood through the puncture holes. A high-tech company could do it easy.”
“No, Miss Savage. Vampire ‘enzymes’ as you call them, do not survive outside our bodies. They only transfer if the bite is ‘live,’ if you will.”
“But if a vampire were to do it. Say the money was good enough. Your lot could be framed?”
That shook Chilton. He hadn’t considered the possibility that a random vampire would try to incriminate them for cash. People always forgot just how powerful the almighty dollar could be.
“So, any enemies I should look into?” I repeated.
“Other than Amperdyne?” Chilton considered for a moment. “No one in Los Angeles County. No one recently.”
“If anyone springs to mind, can you have your people call my office?” I glared at Rhoda and Dusty. “And no more night visits to my home. Not without calling first.”
Rhoda stared at me as if to say, I took a bullet for you, Bitch. But something in Chilton’s expression made her swallow it. She’d already forgotten that I’d tried to defend her against the Rake. Some women just didn’t like other women. No matter how hard we tried.
“We’ll call first,” agreed Chilton.
“Fine. I’ll see myself out.” I stood and moved quickly to the front of the club. Weaving and dodging the sexy, well-built men. Avoiding contact with their naked chests and bulging arms.
I didn’t run, but the energy was like a weight against me. My stomach grew icy cold, the spiking need stabbing even lower. I clutched my belly, digging my fingertips into the hard muscles there.
My power was weird from a biological perspective. I fed through my skin. Through touch or waves of hunger that flowed out of my entire body. But all the energy I consumed wound up in my stomach. My gut processed that life-force like it was a burger with all the trimmings. Instead of it soaking into my body directly. Guess that had something to do with having a fair amount of human DNA.
I made it outside. Sweating. Palms bleeding from digging my nails into my flesh. I leaned against the brick exterior of the club. Swallowing hard before I strode down the street. Away from the cluster of gay men smoking out front. Laughing. Making out before heading home for more intimate acts.
I used the Uber app on my phone and a driver responded almost instantly. Less than a minute away. Probably expecting a drunken pickup at the club. Still, I didn’t trust that kind of readiness.
When the car pulled up, I peeked inside first. He seemed harmless enough. And he was definitely alone. I got into the four-door SUV and strapped on my seatbelt. Once I was safely on the way home, I reached into my clutch and gripped the handle of my Glock. I stared out the windows at anyone on the street. Ready for anything.
Some people had comfort-food. Me, I had a Glock that would kill a person with one well-placed shot. With my new ammo, even a vampire.
Chapter Eleven
The answering machine was flashing when I walked in the door. The caller ID displayed Janet’s home number. I pressed play as I scanned the condo for Martini. Still hiding. She didn’t like strangers. Vampires were no exception, apparently.
“Anton Thrace can talk to you at five-fifteen at the Gibraltar home. He starts work thirty minutes before dawn so he’ll be able to answer your questions without distractions.” There was a rustling before I heard her annoyed sigh. “I was told not to leave any messages on your cellphone. Apparently the security company can access your mobile calls. But the landline is fine. Something about your answering machine being as old as I am. Call me on your way out the door so that I don’t worry.”
There was a click. The whirr of it rewinding. The next message would automatically record over it since I hadn’t pressed ‘save.’ I dialed Janet from the landline.
“You’re home.” Her voice was breathy. “You got my message.”
“Yes and yes. But if they can intercept my calls, can’t they just listen into my condo with a directional mic?”
“I don’t know. Can they?” Janet sounded flustered. “Go back to sleep, Bob. It’s just Bee.”
“Tell Bob, ‘hi.’” I stared at the curtain and it’s single bullet-hole. By now, Amperdyne would probably suspect that they hadn’t killed me. No police presence. No gunshot victim in any of the nearby hospitals. I had no doubt they were tracking emergency services.
Janet ignored my message to her husband. She knew as well as I did it would just be a barb in his side. She did, however, respond to my question about directional mics. “Does that mean I shouldn’t call you? They can hack your email, too. Gibraltar’s people sounded paranoid. Made me feel the same.”
“I’ll turn the volume down to zero on the machine. They shouldn’t be able to pick up your end of any conversation. I’ll just be careful
in my replies.”
“For how long?” She sounded worried. It warmed my heart that she cared. I usually pretended it didn’t matter. But tonight I wasn’t feeling so cold.
“I don’t know. I’ve never been vulnerable like this before. People interested in me in the past were curious about me as a succubus. Even the hate-groups never needed to spy on me. Not that I’m hard to find. But until now, I’ve never been the target of a long-range sniper attack.”
The fundamentalists from two years ago attacked with handguns, baseball bats and torches. Janet had been on vacation with Bob. My attackers had planned it that way. Killing the daughter of the Devil was one thing. Murdering a fellow human being was more than they could stomach. Small favors.
“This case scares me. When the good guys try to kill you, I don’t know what to do, Bee.”
“I’ll figure that out soon. For now, be careful and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Hang up!” Bob’s voice was muffled but annoyed. Groggy.
“Fine.” Janet forgot to say ‘goodbye.’
I placed the receiver in the cradle and looked at the clock. I’d get four hours sleep. If I was lucky. I checked the deadbolt. Kept the lights off as I made sure all the windows were secure. I found Martini and brought her into the bedroom along with the food dish and water. The interior door had a deadbolt just like the front door. I braced the window with a security rod. It wouldn’t hold someone super-strong, but they’d have to wake me to get inside.
“Be a good kitty.” I put Martini on the bed and set the alarm-clock.
I slipped under the covers and closed my eyes. But I wasn’t sleepy. I could feel the city around me like an irritating buzz. Not that there was anything new about that. I was just wired with the excitement of a new case. A puzzle to solve that actually challenged me. More than cheating spouses and headhunted employees.
I shifted on the silky sheets, unable to find a relaxing pose. The energy of my neighbors crept in on me. The other condos were occupied by ordinary people. Some of them having sex. Men whose loneliness echoed at the edges of my power. I didn’t latch onto any of them. I was in control again. But it was like listening to music just loud enough to disturb my sleep. My nerves tingled with awareness.
The Billionaire's Heir (Sucubus For Hire Book 1) Page 8
