The Billionaire's Heir (Sucubus For Hire Book 1)

by Michael Don Anderson

  I tossed and turned for a long time before I nearly dozed off. Nearly. Martini curled around my face and roused me. My focus went beyond the cat. Something had changed. I listened with my ears. No sounds except cars down on the street. Maybe a dog barking from far away.

  I switched to my other senses. The metaphysical ones that included tracking prey. My neighbors had finally all fallen into a heavy slumber. Except for one elderly couple who never seemed to sleep. But they were faint impressions of life. Not the source of my sudden apprehension.

  Then I felt it. A flare of power that I could touch. Taste. Not lust. No emotion I could put a label to. Powerful. More than human in the same way that I was more than human. Not one of the undead. Nothing I recognized.

  I touched Martini’s head gently. Ignored her purring to pinpoint the source of that power even as I grew suddenly tired. The strange energy came from someone on the streets nearby. Looking for something. Or someone. And it had found me.

  The energy surged along my preternatural hunger. It ate my anxiety. Spilled warm comfort along my nerves and I fell asleep. All my recent worries wiped from my mind. The way a human dream fades upon waking. My thoughts faded away into the cradle of darkness and I was out.

  Chapter Twelve

  My alarm-clock woke me up with just enough time to shower and get dressed. I felt rested for the first time in weeks. My muscles were knotted. But I couldn’t enjoy the hot water long. Just enough to rinse off the soap. I put on a dark, professional outfit. A little cleavage showing, but otherwise uninviting.

  It was still dark outside. There was hardly any traffic at this time of morning. My car’s engine sounded unnaturally loud in the quiet. No one was awake to hear it. The drive prolonged my sense of feeling at peace. Except for a niggling of excitement at meeting my first werewolf face to face.

  Being preternatural was a two-sided coin. I avoided others like me to avoid their complicated existences. But I was definitely curious about what their lives were like. Was it harder or easier than being a man-eating succubus? Would they know things about my people?

  I rolled my window down to enjoy the ocean breeze. Following the directions on my phone, even though I knew the city well. Without other cars to slow me down, I made it in good time.

  The Gibraltar villa was off of E. Ocean Boulevard and 64th Place. Well-lighted in the pre-dawn. Every wall glowed with subtle blue hues. Mood lighting that served multiple purposes. No shadows for bad guys to hide in. None of it glaringly bright to disturb the occupants. Or their neighbors.

  I parked along the street beside the villa. Getting out quietly in the pre-dawn as a courtesy to the neighborhood. My car lights flashed as I activated the alarm.

  The building was considerably smaller than I’d expected for a man of Henry Gibraltar’s wealth. But it looked expensive. Mediterranean architecture with the Pacific Ocean bordering the southern property line. Palms of various types and heights decorated the yard. The elegant stonework would’ve looked more at home in a European village than in Southern California but I approved. Not that I’d been to Europe. Long flights in isolated cabins full of irritable humans wasn’t the safest choice of travel for someone like me.

  The villa was heavily fortified. Security cameras everywhere. Covering every square inch of the property. Even the nearby street access was under surveillance. Probably to record the comings and goings just in case. A deterrent for common thieves and anyone else who might be tempted to trespass.

  I couldn’t see the ultraviolet barriers framing the narrow windows that Joseph had mentioned. But I believed they were there. Probably inset inside the jambs. Motion detectors were placed near doorways. Black clad security guards patrolled the narrow strip between the villa and its neighbor to the north. I assumed the same was true on the western side.

  Joseph had said that Amperdyne employed a five man team when Vincent had been taken. Now, however, I estimated a minimum of seven. Four outside. At least one watching security cameras that I couldn’t see. And at least two patrolling inside, visible as they passed the windows through the dimly lighted interior.

  Not all of Gibraltar’s protection was in the villa. A black sedan with tinted windows sat parked across the street. I couldn’t see inside the vehicle but I felt them. Two men. Watching. Waiting patiently. Not visiting the neighbors whose house they’d parked in front of. They were watching Gibraltar’s place. Definitely new security. Or Feds. Either was likely.

  I heard a buzzing as I walked up to the gate. I glanced upwards. Saw two small drones approaching. They circled before disappearing again. Red blinking eye of a camera. Aerial surveillance. Made me realize the uselessness of technology in this instance. Vampires wouldn’t have shown up on camera.

  “Miss Savage?”

  I spun, angry that I’d been surprised. Surrounded by all of Gibraltar’s protections, I’d fallen into a false sense of security. A man stood there. Loose-fitting jeans. An oversized polo shirt. Worn running shoes. All of it dark-grey. Harder to see in the dark. It didn’t hide the fact that he was athletic. Lean. Wiry. But powerful. His hair was medium brown. His eyes even darker. I thought I saw a spark of gold in them before he smiled.

  “I’m Anton Thrace. You were expecting me?”

  “Not in the middle of the street.”

  “Sorry about that. We’re not allowed onto the property early. Mr. Gibraltar’s very insistent about that.”

  He studied me. Curious. No sexual interest, despite a quick glance at my breasts. His nostrils flared as he discreetly sniffed the air. Most people wouldn’t have noticed. I wasn’t most people.

  I think he was more concerned about the weapons I wore, hidden out of sight. Gun oil was a distinctive smell. And I cleaned my firearms regularly. This morning I carried the Glock cross-holstered at my side. Under my burgundy leather jacket. The Sig was tucked inside a special holster built into my thigh-high leather boots. They matched the jacket and if necessary, dropping to one knee would put it right within easy reach. People usually figured after they took one weapon off of you, they had them all. Especially a woman.

  I glanced up and down the quiet street. Not happy. I scanned for anyone hiding in the shadows. Ignoring the men in the car. “So we’re stuck standing outside while we talk?”

  He raised a brow and smiled. “I thought a nice walk along the beach would work? I’ve already got my run in.”

  I stared at him. Even if there were only federal agents in that car, Amperdyne knew I was here. Gibraltar’s cameras had spotted me driving up. Confirmation that they’d failed. A walk on the beach out in the open was the last thing I wanted.

  “Option two?”

  He frowned. Clearly he didn’t have an option two. “It really is a lovely night. I don’t get the opportunity very often to just stroll when I’m here.”

  “We go inside the house. Gibraltar said I get full access to it. And I want access to you.”

  He glanced at the villa. His hands pressed together in a nervous dance. “Joseph?”

  It was my turn to frown. He hadn’t raised his voice. But he spoke as if Joseph was listening. As if he knew that the vampire would respond. Not just cameras lined the place. There must’ve been microphones, too.

  I recognized Joseph’s voice from the gate speaker. “Come in. Use the library.”

  A click was followed by a buzz. Anton stepped around me and held the gate open. He bowed slightly but his eyes remained alert. His gaze never stopped moving. Checking the street behind us. The rooftop of the next-door neighbor’s residence. Even the shadows of the alleyway to the far side of the villa.

  I smiled at him. “Thank you.”

  Walking onto the property, I felt the hum of electricity. I wasn’t sure anyone fully human would’ve sensed it. I was surprised that I could. Maybe it was because I fed on energy. Living energy. Sometimes that allowed me to perceive other kinds of power. Even if I couldn’t do more than feel its presence. And this place was wired to the hilt.

  Anton closed the
gate behind us and trotted up to the closest door. He put his palm on a flat screen next to the entrance. A soft click and the door opened. He stepped inside and I followed. Then he closed the door behind me with a final glance outside.

  “You aren’t even on duty and you take your job seriously.”

  He shrugged, unhappily. “Doesn’t matter who’s on duty. Being here makes me responsible.”

  That made sense, so I didn’t comment. He motioned toward an opening to the right. It faced away from the ocean. I felt ahead of me with a splash of sudden hunger. Cold spikes gnawed at my belly. A slight loss of control as I felt the testosterone of someone on the floor above me. Nothing from Thrace.

  Oh, I sensed him there. He was a living man. But it wasn’t only his wolf trapped inside his body. His lifeforce was restrained. Subdued. That intrigued me. But this wasn’t the time for playing preternatural biologist.

  I let my power spill out in front of me. I was willing to risk feeding briefly from someone over being caught in a trap. I took a deep breath. Nothing living waited on the other side of the doorframe. I stepped into the room. Pulling my metaphysical surge back inside me. Thrace hadn’t seemed to notice.

  It was a small library. Twelve feet tall but less than a hundred square feet of floorspace. Every bit of wall was filled with books. Some old and ratty. Others new. Paperbacks. Hardbacks. Handbound manuscripts. Glancing at the titles, it appeared to be mostly non-fiction.

  “I take it people in this family don’t read for pleasure?”

  Anton laughed, surprised by my observation. “I’m not sure they do much of anything for pleasure.”

  He didn’t bother to shut the door behind us as he took a seat in one of the two oversized leather-chairs. He watched me. Like a wolf watching a rabbit. No. Like a wolf watching a new predator entering its territory.

  “Microphones?”

  Anton nodded. I didn’t look around. There would be cameras, too. The man shrugged. “Mr. Gibraltar will want to know what we talked about.”

  I saw something else in his eyes. It said, ‘see, if we’d walked along the beach we could’ve had privacy.’ That made me wonder what he might’ve wanted to say that I wouldn’t hear now. Still, I’d take safety over privacy. Besides, I didn’t care who knew what I asked or what the answers were. Well, anyone except the person who’d taken Vincent. If Thrace had anything urgent to tell me that he didn’t want his boss to know, he’d find a way later.

  “Tell me about Vincent?”

  The werewolf swallowed and frowned. He began to sweat, nervously. His energy changed. I could feel it prickling at my senses. Tried to wake the part of me that fed from men. He smelled of wonderfully appealing testosterone. No longer subdued. Wild in its rush.

  Feeding from him would be different. Not because he was gay. I’d fed from more than one gay man in the past. Accidentally. Never taking too much. Topping off at a nightclub to keep my self-control in check.

  It was just, I’d never met a lycanthrope before. There weren’t that many in Los Angeles County. For a reason. I wasn’t the only one who had to restrain myself. Losing control on a full moon made werewolves less trustworthy than vampires. Fewer survived the transition into legal protections. Given a choice, most people would rather become a well-groomed vampire than a savage beast. I’m not sure I agreed, but statistics supported the trend.

  “What about Vincent?”

  “Why does thinking about him make you nervous, for one?”

  He made a face. Schooled his expression back to indifference. But I could still feel the tug of his testosterone. He wasn’t nearly as good a liar as Joseph. It made sense. Werewolves could smell the truth on people. Each other included. Lying would be a bad thing.

  I tried again with something less confrontational. “How well did you know him?”

  He grew still. Forcing himself into that preternatural stillness. He slowed his heart. Nearly stopped his breathing before answering. His energy stopped rubbing along my skin. Reminding me of Martini. I stared at him hard. How was that possible?

  “I’ve been watching over Mr. Gibraltar for six years. Sometimes that included keeping Vincent safe. He’s a good kid. I wasn’t responsible for his security.”

  Not really an answer. He knew Vincent better than he was letting on. A fact he didn’t want anyone to know about. I shook off my surprise at his ability to block my hunger. Focused on the real questions. Had the boy confided in Thrace about a plan to run away with the Revenants? The werewolf was definitely sympathetic enough.

  “Who do you think took him?”

  “The vampires.” He said it too quickly. Too eagerly. He wanted to blame them. So that I didn’t think Vincent went along willingly? Or to cover for someone else? Or—could Vincent have simply planned an elaborate escape from the life of Gibraltar’s heir? Billions of dollars were hard to hide from.

  “No other suspects?”

  Anton shifted in his seat. He couldn’t get comfortable even though he’d calmed his body. No energy trickled out. He just couldn’t slow down his thoughts. “It’s not the Company, if that’s who you’re thinking.”

  “Amperdyne Technologies?” I wanted to be sure that that’s who he meant by the Company. The same way everyone else called them the ‘Company.’ Mostly, though, I wanted them to hear me say their name aloud. Considering that they’d tried to kill me.

  “Yes. Them.”

  “The same Company that tried to assassinate me earlier last night?”

  Anton flashed with genuine surprise. He hadn’t known. So he wasn’t in league with Gibraltar’s human security. Didn’t mean he wasn’t helping Chilton. Preternaturals tended to stick together. Humans didn’t give us much of a choice. And vampires weren’t nearly as homophobic as lycanthropes.

  “They didn’t! They wouldn’t.” He didn’t sound sure, his gaze flickering up at a wall. One of the hidden cameras. Not the only one surely.

  “Yes. They did.”

  “You aren’t going to the police with that are you?” He was more nervous than before. Terrified was the word for it.

  “They get one free pass. If they make it up to me. Another attempt of any kind and things are going to get incredibly messy. For them I mean.”

  “And if they manage to kill you?”

  I smiled. “Won’t matter. I have multiple redundancies in play to get the word out. Mr. Gibraltar will be forced to fire them. Faking accidents to get rid of people is one thing. A shooting? Even something passing as a mugging? No. My police contacts will know exactly who to look into. My journalist friends will see that proof or none, everything about this case will leak. My discretion only lasts as long as I’m alive.”

  “Why are you telling me?”

  “I’m not.” I finally took a seat. It was more comfortable than I thought. “I don’t care if Amperdyne finds Vincent before me. I get paid for my time. I’m always happy when a victim is returned safely. Men are competitive because they’re insecure. Smart people—and I do mean women—are competitive within themselves. Bettering themselves without regard for besting others. Unless the men in their lives have screwed up their priorities. Sadly, that happens far too often.”

  “So you know you’re being watched. Now you’re doing a public service announcement for women’s lib.” I’d confused him. Distracted him with something political. Something he had little investment in as a gay man. It gave me a baseline for his relaxed, honest expressions.

  “I’m just emphasizing to the Company that I’m not a threat. Even if they mistakenly thought so. That I’ll share my information if it means that Vincent’s safely found. Unless I believe they’re involved. Which, considering that they stand to lose everything, I don’t think they are.”

  I flinched at hearing myself parrot Chandler’s words. But I believed him. I couldn’t figure out any way in which Amperdyne benefited from Vincent’s abduction.

  “In other words, answer your questions as if we aren’t being recorded?” He didn’t seem happy with dropping t
he pretense. Why pretend when everyone knew that’s what we were doing?

  “Please. Now. How well did you know Vincent.”

  “I told you. I’ve known the kid for six years. I like him. Feel sorry for him in fact.”

  “Because he’s cooped up without any freedom?”

  “That. And he can’t be who he is.” Anton twitched as if he didn’t like what he was saying. “Mr. Gibraltar has his whole future planned out. Destination CEO of the Gibraltar Global Empire. Ivy league college before that. No chance to become anything else.”

  “A lot of families make plans for their children. It’s unfortunate that those children don’t get to find their own ways in life. But inheriting a billion dollar company isn’t the worst thing I’ve seen.”

  “Maybe.”

  “So Vincent had motive for wanting to leave?”

  He blinked and swallowed. “The vampires were getting pretty chummy with him. I saw the way his eyes lit up talking to them. Sheltered, he could easily mistake their interest for exciting new friendships.”

  “And that’s the main reason you think it was the vampires that took him?”

  He nodded. “Did he go with them willingly? I don’t know. The law’s puritanical about that stuff. As if a sixteen-year-old doesn’t know his own mind. There’s a reason the age of recognized adulthood was thirteen for centuries.”

  “Puberty means sexual maturity among lycanthropes. I’m not sure any age is suitable for adulthood.” I took out my notepad. “I know more than a few forty-year-olds who aren’t grown up. Now. Let’s get down to details.”

  “Details?”

  “Where were you at the time of Vincent’s abduction?”

  Anton seemed to smile with relief. “I have an alibi.”

  “Not at home alone? Sleeping?” It was most people’s alibi at the time of night in question.