by I. T. Lucas
So far, the method had worked, and Roni had found all four vehicles that had left the place last night. But not all parking lots had hackable surveillance cameras.
“I’ve alerted Roni,” William said. “I just hope that the Mercedes will park somewhere public, and that the parking lot has cameras.”
Magnus put his hands on his thighs and leaned forward. “Did the guys see who was inside?”
“The windows were tinted. They saw the driver, but not clearly, and the passenger had his head down, so they couldn’t see his face.”
That was probably Kalugal. It seemed that the guy had a collection of expensive cars. Last night it had been a Ferrari, and now a Mercedes, which Arwel was willing to bet was the flagship model.
“When are the reinforcements arriving?” he asked.
“Some of them this afternoon and the rest tomorrow.” Magnus shifted in his chair. “The good news is that they are not going to be sleeping here. They will work in shifts and return to the hotel to sleep.”
William turned around. “Someone needs to tell them not to harass Jacki. The resident Three Stooges are already making her uncomfortable. She doesn’t need more admirers.”
“I’ll do that,” Magnus said. “As the father of a young woman, I can speak with authority.”
The guy was taking his role as Ella’s stepfather very seriously. As a mated woman, she had little need of his parenting, but the girl humored him. Or maybe she liked having him as a father figure in her life.
Magnus was a standup guy, or a mensch as Eva would say, and he loved his stepchildren. Whenever he talked about Parker or Ella, his eyes shone with pride.
31
Jin
“I hate this makeup.” Jin started down the stairs with Jacki right behind her. “It feels like I’m wearing a mask.”
Jacki chuckled. “You are. But that’s nothing compared to me. I look like a hag.”
“No, you don’t. Nothing could make you look ugly. Not even this drab getup.”
Despite planning for a simple disguise, Jacki had ended up going all out and turning herself into someone else. She either enjoyed it or was really concerned about being discovered.
The brown wig was best described as mousy, the black-rimmed thick glasses were the uglier of the two pairs Eva had given them, and the clothes Jacki had chosen made her look thirty pounds heavier and fifteen years older.
And that was before the makeup.
She’d smeared on a foundation that was two shades darker than her natural, peachy color, and a lipstick that was a shade lighter than her lips. The effect was a sickly-looking woman whom no one was going to spare a second glance. Not ugly, but not attractive either.
“Jacki, can you come to the office for a moment?” William said without looking directly at them.
“Sure. What do you need me for?”
“A...” He stopped and gaped. “What have you done?” He sounded as if she’d run over his favorite pet.
“It’s called a disguise.”
The guy looked horrified. “For what? The zombie apocalypse?”
Jin laughed. “I told you that you’d gone too far.”
“Nah, it’s good.” Jacki leaned to whisper in Jin’s ear. “The three burly bears are not going to drool over Brownilocks.”
“Aha, now I get it. This is your version of bear spray.”
“Precisely.”
Head held high, Jacki sauntered into the office as if she was a participant in a beauty pageant making her grand entry. “What can I help you with, gentlemen?”
Arwel took one look at her and started laughing. “Jacklin, you’ve outdone yourself.” He then looked at Jin. “You too. But at least yours is not as bad as hers.”
“You mean as good,” Jacki said. “Who is going to recognize me like that, huh?”
“No one.”
William cleared his throat. “Can you come over here and look at the screen?”
Jacki got closer and leaned in. “It’s him.”
“Are you sure?”
“The picture is grainy, but I’m ninety-nine point nine percent sure.”
Peeking over Jacki’s shoulder, Jin looked at the still photo of two guys sitting at a restaurant table, but neither of the men looked like Kalugal. One was an older Chinese gentleman, and the other a thirty-something geeky-looking guy.
“That’s bad news.” William pushed his glasses up his nose. “The restaurant is seventeen miles away from here, and Kalugal’s shroud is still affecting us. Which one is he?”
Jacki pointed at the Chinese guy. “That’s him. Do you see that smirk?”
The guy was indeed smirking, which looked somewhat out of place on the face of a distinguished older gentleman wearing a suit and tie.
“I see it,” William said. “What about it?”
“That’s Kalugal’s signature smirk.” Jacki straightened up. “He had the same expression on the picture you showed me. The one the forensic artist sketched. When in doubt, wait for it. I bet that smirk looks the same no matter what face he is shrouding himself in.”
“Shouldn’t we get going?” Jin asked.
“We are not going to make it in time,” Arwel said. “Besides, it’s not the right environment. We need a crowded place, like a bar or a club.”
Jin leaned against the desk and crossed her arms over her minimizer-bra-flattened chest. “I don’t think we will get another chance today. I put all of this on for nothing.” She waved a hand at her face.
“Not for nothing,” Jacki said. “We needed practice, and I also wanted to ask the guys if it’s obvious that we are wearing ugly-looking makeup.”
William, who up until now had been doing his damnedest not to look at Jacki, lifted his head from the computer screen and then got up and walked closer to her. “I can see that you are wearing makeup, but I would have assumed that you look even worse without it, and that it’s meant to make you look good.”
She smiled, and the radiance of those pearly whites obliterated the ugliness in a flash. “That’s awesome. Thank you.”
“You are welcome.” William pushed his glasses up his nose and returned to his seat.
“When we are out, try not to smile,” Jin said. “Even with all this gunk you look gorgeous when you do that.”
“Right.” Jacki nodded. “I wish there was makeup for teeth. Some yellow tint could have been useful.”
“I heard there was a sighting.” Kri walked into the office and then stopped. “Damn. That’s one hell of a transformation. Both of you. But Jacki, wow.” She shook her head. “It takes guts to make yourself look that bad.”
“Thank you.” Jacki smiled. “Whenever you want to look ugly, I’m your girl.”
Kri nodded. “I wanted to show you two some self-defense moves. But I guess that’s out of the question with all the makeup you have on. You don’t want to sweat it off.”
“I don’t,” Jacki said. “It took over an hour to put on.”
Jin pushed away from the desk. “I need something to distract me from feeling this gunk on my face. I’m going upstairs to start working on my business plan.”
“Can I help?” Jacki asked.
“Sure.”
“I have a few ideas,” Kri said. “If you are interested in hearing them.”
“Of course.” Jin threaded one arm through Kri’s and the other through Jacki’s. “Three brains are better than one.”
“For what?” Vivian walked in.
“We are going upstairs to create a business plan. Do you want to join us?”
Vivian chuckled. “What would I know about clothing for tall women? I have the opposite problem.” She leaned closer and whispered. “Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I shop for clothes in the teen department.”
“I have an idea,” Jacki said. “Perhaps you should design two fashion lines. One for tall women and the other for short ones.”
32
Mey
“How are we going to fit everyone into this small living room?
” Yamanu dropped the groceries on the kitchen counter. “Maybe we should have the party here.”
Mey glanced around the commercial kitchen with its stainless-steel appliances and counters, white cabinets, and concrete floor. They had gotten used to having meals around that long central island, but the place definitely didn’t have the right atmosphere for romance to flourish.
Which was the entire point of arranging the get-together.
“There won’t be that many people. Bhathian and Eva are going to bring Vlad. And Ingrid is coming. We can squeeze eight people in there.”
Regrettably, Eva was going to leave Ethan with her daughter. A couples get-together was not the place for a baby, but Mey would have loved to cuddle him some more.
That was another reason for getting out of the keep as soon as possible. In the village, she would have plenty of opportunities to hold Ethan, and maybe Eva would even let her babysit him from time to time.
“I don’t know what to do about the Guardians that Kian sent over.” Mey leaned against the counter. “The evening is supposed to be about Wendy and Vlad getting to know each other, and Ingrid and Richard to come out and admit that they are a couple. Bringing two bachelors into the mix is going to be counterproductive to what we are trying to achieve.”
Smiling, Yamanu leaned against the counter next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “And what is that exactly?”
She rolled her eyes. “Getting those two out of our hair so we can go home. I’m tired of living here. I need sunshine, and I want to hang out with my new friends in the village café and go out for walks and have some privacy in my own home.”
“You are an optimist. Wendy and Vlad haven’t even met yet, and they might not click. And as for Ingrid and Richard, in my opinion, they are just scratching each other’s itch.”
Regrettably, that was Mey’s impression as well. Ingrid was showing up every day, and the two were spending a lot of time in Richard’s room, but there had been no public displays of affection other than fond glances.
“They seem to like each other, but it’s not like it was for us.”
Yamanu arched a brow. “Was?”
Mey chuckled. “Is. But I’m talking about the falling in love part. That was so fast and intense. A whirlwind romance.”
He pulled her around, so she was wedged between his thighs. “I’m still falling in love with you. As impossible as it seems, I love you more with every passing day.”
Richard walked into the kitchen. “Should I come back later?”
Reluctantly, Mey pushed away from Yamanu’s hard chest. “We need to start working on dinner.”
“That’s why I’m here.” Richard peeked inside one of the grocery bags. “What are we making?” He moved to the next.
“Nothing fancy.” Mey walked over to the center island and started pulling things out. “Dips, cheeses, crackers, salads and finger food. Unless we want to dine here, we can’t have a proper sit-down dinner. Our place is too small.”
Richard lifted a head of lettuce. “What’s wrong with eating here? This counter is big enough for twenty people to dine comfortably, and there will be only ten of us.”
“Eight. I’m not inviting the Guardians.” She looked at Yamanu. “Can you come up with a good excuse? I feel bad about excluding them.”
Yamanu shrugged. “I could tell them the truth.”
Mey tensed. Had he forgotten about keeping Richard and Wendy in the dark about the matchmaking and the reasons for it?
“You can’t just tell them that it’s a couples’ evening. They’ll feel offended.”
She cast Richard a sidelong glance, checking to see if he would react. He and Ingrid had made no official announcement, and in public they acted more like friends than lovers.
But all he did was take the lettuce to the sink. “It’s their job to guard us, right?” He opened the faucet and started rinsing the lettuce leaves one at a time.
Yamanu shook his head. “What I’m going to tell them is that we are introducing Wendy to a nice young man. And since she seems intimidated by big guys with lots of muscles, with them around she might not open up to Vlad.”
“That’s good,” Richard said. “And it’s also true. I usually don’t notice things like that, but you are right. Wendy shies away from big men. It took her a long time to get comfortable around me, and I’m not nearly as big as those two.” He snorted. “They look like they live in the gym.”
“It’s part of their job.” Yamanu flexed. “You want the people guarding you to have muscles.”
“Absolutely.” Richard pulled out a chopping board and a knife. “But it’s not just about the muscles. You are a big guy, and yet Wendy is not intimidated by you.”
Mey put her hand on Yamanu’s arm. “That’s because Yamanu is a sweetheart. Everyone can see how kind he is.”
Richard paused with the chopping knife. “What about me? Do I look kind?”
Mey chuckled. “To me, you seem harmless. But you are not overflowing with kindness.”
“Hey, I’m chopping lettuce for the get-together. That’s nice of me.”
33
Vlad
Vlad stood next to Bhathian’s car, his hand hesitating on the handle of the back passenger door. “I don’t know about this.”
“Just get in.” Bhathian opened the door for Eva. “You know how the saying goes. No guts, no glory.”
There wasn’t going to be any glory regardless of him having the guts to talk to the girl or not.
Girls didn’t like him. They didn’t look at him, and they didn’t talk to him. He was invisible.
“Wendy is a nice girl,” Eva said before getting in. “You’ll like her.”
That wasn’t the problem, but it was too late to back down now.
Stupidly, he’d let Bhathian convince him to meet the girl. The Guardian had played on all of his strings, saying that Wendy was lonely and that she was shy, and the other village males were all too old for her. Maybe even intimidating. And then he’d pulled the trump card of her possibly being a Dormant and perhaps even Vlad’s fated love.
As if that was ever going to happen for him.
He wasn’t lucky like Jackson, and his mate was not waiting for him in the old keep. But he wanted to believe in the fairytale Bhathian had sold him on.
The truth was that he was lonely too.
It was difficult to make friends with humans, especially for someone who looked like him, and his immortal friends were busy living their lives.
Chase had moved to Scotland more than two years ago, Jackson had Tessa and a business to run, and Gordon was away at college.
With a sigh, Vlad opened the door and slid into the back seat.
Eva turned around and smiled at him. “You are not going to be alone with Wendy. Bhathian and I are going to be there, Mey and Yamanu, and Richard and Ingrid. So, if you don’t like her, you don’t even have to talk to her.”
He nodded.
That was good. Not because he expected not to like Wendy, but because he never knew what to talk about with girls.
As Bhathian pulled out of the parking garage, he glanced at him through the rearview mirror. “Do you still remember what I taught you and your buddies in my sex-ed class?”
Vlad felt his ears heat up. Luckily, his long black hair was covering them, as well as half of his face, so no one would notice. “How could I forget? But why do you bring it up now?”
Hopefully, Bhathian didn’t think that Vlad still needed instruction in that area.
He was twenty, for Fates' sakes. Most guys his age had been sexually active for years. But then they didn’t look like lanky vampires. He was six foot five, but most people thought he was shorter because he walked hunched over, he weighed a hundred and forty-two pounds, had paper-white skin, fangs that were elongated even when he wasn’t excited, and eyes that were different colors.
Bhathian chuckled. “I don’t mean the sexual stuff, which is obviously what you were thinking about. Do you reme
mber the relationship advice I gave you and your three clueless buddies?”
Vlad frowned.
The emphasis of the class had been on consent and how important it was not to make assumptions. He’d internalized that, and not because of the horrifying consequences Bhathian had threatened them with. There had been a lot of advice on how to approach kissing a girl, which he had hoped to put into practice.
Regrettably, he hadn’t had a chance to try it out yet.
“Well?” Bhathian prompted.
“I remember the stuff about kissing a girl, and how I was supposed to stop an inch away from her lips and wait for her to close the rest of the distance. That was good advice. It was all about consent, and making sure to get it, not assume it.”
“True. But I also spoke about the importance of communication and respect. As long as you communicate clearly and show Wendy that you respect her, everything is going to be fine. Provided of course that she does the same. If she doesn’t, just walk away.”
Vlad nodded. “Now, I remember. You also said that confidence makes a man seem more attractive to women. Especially when he also has a job because no girl wants a penniless loser."
He was good on the job front. Jackson was paying him well for the part-time baking gig he did at nights, but his confidence was still nonexistent.
Bhathian grinned. “Good memory. So, let’s see what you’ve got. You are a nice guy, so I know you will treat Wendy with respect, you have a job, and you are attending college. You have most of the requirements covered. Now all that’s left is confidence and communication skills.”
“Yeah. Tell me something I don’t know. I don’t have either.”
Eva turned around. “You can fake confidence. Most guys do.”
