Maybe he did, but Cassidy didn’t. How could someone be unwilling to help the girl? “She could die,” Cassidy said.
The woman collected Dante’s money and walked away. Cassidy gazed after her in disbelief. She knew people and vamps could be cruel, but this indifference was somehow worse. At least they could fight against cruelty; there was no way to fight someone who didn’t care.
“She’s not going to tell us,” Cassidy murmured.
“She has to protect her customers,” Dante said.
Dante stroked Cassidy’s waist when her sorrow-filled eyes met his. Forget being concerned about her safety; now he wished he hadn’t brought her because he didn’t want her exposed to these patrons. Years of being a police officer and hunting for the missing had brought him into contact with some of the worst forms of human and vampire life; Cassidy shouldn’t be exposed to that.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go?” he asked.
“I’m sure,” she murmured.
“We’re going to run into a lot of walls in here. It’s the nature of the beast.”
“Hmm,” Cassidy muttered, and lifting his glass, she sipped his whiskey.
The liquid burned down her throat, but she somehow managed to refrain from making a face or choking before she set the drink on the bar again. At the end of the twenty-foot bar, the bartender waved at someone standing in the shadows before returning with Dante’s change.
She set his money on the bar and walked away. Dante left the money where it was as a tall vampire rose from one of the booths and walked over to meet the bartender at the end of the bar. The bartender said a few words to him and jerked her head in their direction before walking away to pour more drinks.
“Now what?” Cassidy asked.
Dante studied the occupants of the bar as he waited for the vamp to approach them. No one in this place was going to tell him if they’d seen Julie.
Lifting his glass of whiskey, he finished off the contents and pushed it back toward the bartender as he prepared himself for a possible fight with the vamp approaching them. No matter what happened, he would get Cassidy safely out of here.
When the vamp who spoke with the bartender sidled up to the bar and stopped a foot away, Dante nudged Cassidy back a little and lowered his hand from her waist. It would take less than a second to get his stake out, but unfortunately, he only saw one way out of this place, and that was back through the crowd and employees. He doubted they would take kindly to him staking someone in here.
The vamp, a tall man with ebony skin and glasses shadowing his eyes, nodded at Dante as he rested his elbow on the bar. Dante nodded back, and Cassidy smiled.
“I hear you’re looking for someone,” the vamp said.
“I am,” Dante replied.
“Trouble isn’t welcome in this place, and we take care of it fast.”
“I’m not looking for trouble. I’m just searching for a sixteen-year-old girl whose mother wants her home.”
The man removed his glasses to reveal one brown eye and one white eye. Dante suspected the white eye was dead, probably from an injury sustained while the vamp was still human.
“Some kids have a good reason to run away from home,” the man said.
“Not this one,” Dante assured him. “This is a little girl who got lost after her dad died in a car accident.”
The man’s jaw clenched, and a muscle jumped in his cheek as he shifted his attention to the blood on the back wall. He clasped his hands on the bar and rested his forearms on the surface.
“I lost my dad as a kid too,” the man muttered.
Cassidy didn’t speak; she barely dared to breathe as she waited to see what the vampire would say.
“Did Opal know why you were coming here?” the vamp asked.
“We told her we were looking for a party,” Dante said.
“You shouldn’t have lied to Opal.”
Before coming here, Cassidy was so committed to helping Dante that she hadn’t considered the consequences of using her brother’s name to gain access. Now, she kicked herself in the ass for her recklessness. Kyle would never be allowed in here again. He was going to be so pissed at her, and she would deserve it.
Fear for her brother caused her to blurt out her words. “That’s my fault. I wanted to help find Julie.”
“And how do you know about this place?” the vamp asked. “I’ve never seen you in here before; believe me, I’d remember that.”
Dante edged Cassidy another step back as the vamp pinned her with his stare.
“From a friend,” Cassidy lied. Opal knew the truth already and would tell this guy, but she couldn’t rat her brother out. “He’s been here before.”
“If I were you, I’d tell your friend that Zan says not to come here again.”
Cassidy gulped. “I will.”
Zan stared at her for a minute before his gaze returned to Dante. “A lot of kids go missing.”
“And some of them choose to stay missing, while others don’t have a choice. I want to know if Julie has a choice,” Dante said.
Zan unclasped his hands and rose away from the bar. This close to him, Dante judged them to be about the same height and weight. It would be a well-matched fight, and he suspected neither of them would fight fair.
“Let me see the picture,” Zan said.
Dante removed the picture from his pocket and slid it across the bar to the vamp. Zan hesitated a few seconds before resting his fingers on the photo and pulling it closer.
Cassidy studied Zan as he glanced at the image. His white eye was a little unnerving, but he was extremely handsome with his high cheekbones, full lips, and a lean build. His hair was styled in tight braids that went down the back of his head to his shoulders. Part of what looked like a dragon tattoo was on the side of his skull.
He didn’t smell like a Savage, and she didn’t get the impression he was a violent man, but he exuded a don’t mess with me aura. She suspected Zan didn’t look for a fight, but he didn’t take shit from anyone either.
“She’s a pretty girl,” Zan said and pushed the picture back toward Dante.
Dante took it and returned it to his pocket. “She is.”
Zan rubbed his chin. “I made some stupid decisions when I was sixteen.”
“Didn’t we all?”
“Yeah, but unfortunately, some spend the rest of their lives paying for those decisions. No one should have to do that. She was in here…” Zan rubbed his chin as he stared at the wall. “Two or three weeks ago with Preston; it might have been sooner, but I haven’t seen them since.”
Dante stiffened at the name. Was this Preston the PB from Julie’s journal? “Who’s Preston?”
“He’s a pretty boy vamp who thinks his shit doesn’t stink, but he’s handsome, so all the girls love him. I think he’s a douchebag.”
“Does he come here often?” Dante asked.
“The party isn’t always here, but I’ve seen him a couple of dozen or so times over the year,” Zan said. “He used to come in with Jasmine, but she hasn’t been around in a while.”
“Who’s Jasmine?”
“She’s a vamp.” Zan looked around the bar before focusing on him again. “You asked if I’ve seen the girl, and I gave you my answer.”
Dante kept a lid on his frustration. He was lucky Zan was telling him anything; if he got impatient about it, the man wouldn’t say anything more and would most likely kick them out of here. However, Zan did reveal it had been a while since he saw Jasmine. Which meant two people involved with Preston were missing.
He had to find this guy.
“When was the last time you saw Preston?” he asked.
“With your girl.”
“Is there any pattern as to when he’ll show up?”
“Nope.”
“Can I convince you to call me if he comes in again?”
“Nope.”
Dante refused to give in to his irritation with the man. He would leave here with more information than when h
e arrived and would find another way to locate Preston.
“I’m going to leave my card with you in case Julie shows up again,” Dante said.
Zan’s face remained expressionless as Dante removed his wallet and pulled out a card with his number and email on it. There was no name. Often, he wrote either his name or Dan Vares on it, but he didn’t bother to do that now. Giving Zan his fake name would prove to be a bad idea if the man ever learned the truth, and he wasn’t ready to give out his real name.
He slid the white card to Zan. The vamp rested his fingers on it and pulled it closer to himself. He stared at it like he was trying to decide if it was poisonous before putting it in his pocket.
“What’s down the hallways?” Dante asked.
“The bathrooms are down one, and pleasure awaits down the other. Your lady friend doesn’t look like she would find them all that appealing, but I can get you a room if you’d like.”
Cassidy’s skin crawled at the idea of going back there, but she couldn’t deny the prospect of being anywhere private with Dante was as tempting as Pandora’s box. She tried to keep her discomfort and excitement hidden, but she knew she failed when Dante rested his hand on her hip again.
Dante touched Cassidy in the hopes of soothing the unease emanating from her. She was the most alluring woman he’d ever encountered, and he planned to learn more about her, but it would not be in a place like this.
“Thanks for the offer, but we’ll pass,” Dante said.
“Then I don’t see any reason for the two of you to remain here,” Zan said.
“Neither do I. I’ll call a taxi, and we’ll be on our way.”
“I suggest calling from outside.”
Before Dante could reply, a shout came from one of the booths.
Chapter Twelve
A vampire stood on a bench seat in a booth and leapt across the table at another vamp. The tackled man let out a garbled shout before hitting the ground. Their feet caught the table in the center of the booth and flipped it into the air. The table hit the wall as the candle smashed against the floor, and the melted wax extinguished its flame.
As they rolled across the ground, they knocked a stool out from under a woman vampire. She hit the ground with a loud cry, and as the two fighters continued to pummel each other, she hammered her boot into one of their faces. Blood from the vamp’s broken nose sprayed the woman and floor; the scent of it caused more heads to turn in their direction.
“You assholes!” the large, male vamp with the woman shouted as he rose from the table so fast it fell over and nearly hit the fighters. “I’m going to kill you!”
“Shit,” Zan hissed as he pushed himself away from the bar. “Bull! I need your help over here.”
Zan stalked toward the vamps pummeling each other as the vamp guarding the door rose from his stool. The name Bull was entirely appropriate for the bouncer, Cassidy decided. Reaching the chaos, Zan grabbed one of the original fighters by the back of his shirt, plucked him off the ground, and tossed him aside like he was no more than an annoying fly.
“It’s time for us to go,” Dante said and nudged Cassidy away from the bar.
If he were on his own, he’d repay Zan for talking to him by helping to break up the fight, but he had to get Cassidy out of here before things got out of control. Which it looked like they were about to do as, lured by the scent of blood and potential violence, more vamps crept closer to the fight. And others, who weren’t quick enough to get out of the way, were inadvertently pulled into it, like the couple at the table.
However, before they could make it more than ten feet toward the door, a vamp staggered into their path. Blood spilled from the vamp’s nose and mouth. Before the man could recover his balance, the woman knocked from her stool pounced on him. Like a cat taking down a moth, she dragged the vamp to the ground. Blood flew through the air as the woman pummeled his face.
Dante pulled Cassidy away from the fighters rolling toward them. Bull and Zan tossed vamps aside, but panic was spreading as the fight spilled onto the dance floor. Humans scattered as they tried to get out of the way, but when one of them fell and cut her hand on a piece of glass, five heads turned toward her.
Cassidy gasped as, stimulated by the thrill of the blood, something snapped in one of the vamps. The man leapt on the human and, pinning her shoulders to the ground, sank his fangs into her throat. The woman’s feet kicked feebly against the ground as her hands stopped beating the man’s back.
“No!” Cassidy cried and lunged forward.
Dante jerked her back as a group of vamps nearly crashed into her. Clasping and tearing at each other, the vamps were all locked together as they tried to kill each other. Screams filled the air as the humans playing pretend suddenly realized none of this was any fun.
Dante looked for a place where he could put Cassidy while he tried to get to the woman who didn’t have much time left to live, but there was nowhere. He couldn’t drag her across the room, but he couldn’t let the vamp kill the woman either.
The speaker across the room rocked on its stand before crashing against the floor. Fiery sparks shot into the air from the toppled speaker. Dante wrapped his arm securely around Cassidy’s waist and pinned her against his side as he sidestepped another group of fighters.
With no other choice, Dante kept her against him as he navigated the sea of violence. He couldn’t let the vampire slaughter the woman. When a vamp stumbled back and nearly hit them, he shoved the man out of the way and back toward the brawl spilling out from the center of the room.
When a fist launched at him, Dante pushed Cassidy down, but he didn’t get completely out of the way. The blow glanced across his cheek and ear. The vamp who hit him was already gone. He ignored the ringing in his ear as he closed in on the vampire still draining the woman dry; all her movements had ceased.
Don’t be too late. Don’t be too late. He hadn’t been able to save Maya; he would save this woman.
Reluctantly, he released Cassidy, grasped the vamp’s throat, and squeezed. The vamp retracted his fangs and recoiled as Dante crushed his windpipe. Lifting him off the woman, Dante threw him into the growing melee.
The vamp skidded across the floor on his ass before vanishing into the crush of fighters. Dante turned to the woman to find Cassidy kneeling at her side. When Cassidy lifted her eyes to him, tears shimmered in them, and she shook her head.
“Fuck!” Dante exploded as anguish filled him. He’d failed someone else… again, but he would not fail Cassidy.
Another vamp burst out of the crowd and raced toward Cassidy. She leapt to her feet, spun, and kicked the vamp so violently in the head he faceplanted into the floor without having time to get his hands out. Blood spilled from his broken nose as teeth broke off and skittered across the ground.
Dante almost smiled as he held his hand out to her, but the sight of the woman’s body stopped him. However, Cassidy wasn’t kidding; she could take care of herself really well. When Cassidy slid her hand into his, he pulled her away from the body of the unmoving vamp. She’d knocked him out cold.
Turning back toward the door, he stifled a groan when he saw the brawling mass of vamps and humans. Most of the humans were trying to flee when they got caught up in the fight.
While Bull focused on trying to free a human from the vampire draining him dry, another vamp lifted a table and bashed it into Bull’s back. Unprepared for the blow, the bouncer hit the ground with a thud.
Bull got his arms under him and started to push himself up, but when the vamp hit him again, Bull collapsed. Zan emerged from the crowd, ripped the table from the vamp’s hands, and turned it around to smash the flat side into the vamp’s face.
Dante drew Cassidy against his chest and sheltered her there as he shoved his way through the crush of bodies. He couldn’t see the door, but he moved in the general direction of its location.
Cassidy clung to Dante’s shirt as she kept her head pressed against the solid wall of muscle beneath. Something hard and r
ound under his shirt poked her cheek, but she didn’t have time to figure out what it was as he kept one arm locked around her while he used the other to shove vamps out of the way.
The place had erupted into chaos as screams and the scent of blood filled the air. Fighters and those trying to flee stumbled and ran around them as a growing sense of urgency pulsated through the building, along with the scent of smoke. Cassidy had no idea where the smoke scent was coming from, and she didn’t bother to look; she remained focused on getting out of there.
Cassidy gasped when a woman, hit by a staggering vamp, was thrown back and into a table. The table upended, and the contents slid off to crash against the floor. The humans who were hiding under the table scrambled to get out of the way. One of the women crawled through the glass as she tried to avoid more of the fighters.
“We have to help her!” Cassidy cried.
She lunged forward, but Dante snatched her back in time to avoid a stool that had become a missile. The passing projectile blew the hair back from her face before it crashed into the wall and shattered. Cassidy threw her arms up to protect herself from the shards of wood that shot out, but before they could hit her, Dante pulled her down to shield her.
The corded muscles of his arms and chest flexed around her as he grunted and flinched. Something had hit him.
Chapter Thirteen
“Are you okay?” she demanded.
“Fine,” he muttered as he released her and rose. “We have to get out of here.”
Yes, they did, because beneath the increasing scent of blood, she could now smell fire as flames crackled. It was only a matter of time before the vamps stopped fighting each other and stampeded for the door. She didn’t know if there were any other exits, and they couldn’t waste time trying to find them.
Keeping his arm locked around her waist, Dante propelled Cassidy forward as more vamps and humans pushed toward the door while others joined the fight. He ignored the grinding of bone created by the wooden piece of stool embedded beneath his shoulder blade. He would deal with it later.
Relentless (Vampire Awakenings Book 11) Page 7
