Adam looked ready to object, but I cocked my head, giving him full-on puppy eyes, and he swallowed whatever argument he’d been ready to make. “All right. What about you though? What are you gonna do for dinner?”
I patted his chest and gave him a sly wink. “Don’t you worry about me, Mr. St. James.”
He smiled. “I thought that was part of my boyfriend job description?”
I laughed and popped up on my toes to press a quick kiss to his lips. “I’ll be good. I promise. Lacey called a little while ago. I’ll go meet her.”
Adam gave me a skeptical frown but before he could prod for more information, his dad called for him from the other room, following a series of whoops. He turned back to me. “I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah. Of course.”
He kissed my forehead before letting me go. He paused at the kitchen door and a fuzzy orange paw appeared in the crack. With a smile, he pushed the door open wide enough for Boots to wiggle the rest of himself into the kitchen. “Have fun with Lacey.”
“Bet you’d never thought you’d say something like that, huh?”
He chuckled and waved to me and then left me alone in the kitchen.
Once alone, I leaned into the counter and sucked in a deep breath. Boots rammed into my shins and I bent down to pet him on the head. “Don’t worry, Bootsie. I wouldn’t dream of leaving without making sure you were well fed first.”
He meowed and I laughed to myself on the way to his food cupboard. “It’s nice to know that some things never change, Bootsie.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I followed Lacey’s instructions and, with a little help from the Larkspur, managed to arrive at the abandoned liquor store roughly twenty minutes after her phone call. I expected her to huff and fuss about my tardiness all the same, but the odds were good that whoever it was she wanted me to meet was still within her sights. A gust of wind kicked up as I walked around to the loading door at the back of the building.
I tugged the collar of my coat up around my neck and wondered what the dress code would be on the other side of the door. Lacey hadn’t said anything—and would likely comment on my wardrobe choices no matter what I wore—but I wondered if I should have changed into something a little less American Eagle and a little more Saks Fifth Avenue. After all, vamps like glamour. It was part of their claim to fame: utterly terrifying but impossibly chic.
The large garage-style door was shut tight and, without a clear window or knob, I wasn’t sure where to knock. I delivered two hard raps to the center of the door, thankful for the thick gloves on my hands that protected me from the biting chill of the metal sheet. When a moment of silence passed, a swarm of butterflies escaped and rocketed around my stomach as I looked around. Was I in the wrong place? I dismissed the theory. This was the only abandoned liquor store off the highway. Lacey’s instructions had been too specific for me to have made a mistake. As I was debating my next move, a bright flood light burst on from above the door. I shielded my eyes against the sudden harsh light.
“Password?” a deep voice demanded.
I jumped and spun around to find myself squared off with a tall, broad-shouldered vampire who looked like he’d spent the night sucking on a lemon. “Um—gingersnaps?”
The vampire blinked coolly as he sized me up. “Who’re you here with?”
A chill ran down my spine. “I’m not. It’s just me.”
He crossed his arms and I tried not to stare at his thickly muscled his arms, each of which were roughly the size of small tree trunks. Yeah … he could snap me in half without even trying. I didn’t know much about this elusive Raven club, but they had excellent taste in bouncers.
I mustered up every ounce of courage I had and conjured a simple orb of light. I bounced it casually between my hands and met the bouncer’s eyes. “I gave you the password. You gonna let me in or not?”
After a long moment, he took a step to the side and let me in through a door that hadn’t been visible before. I blinked at its sudden appearance, automatically analyzing what kind of charm had been applied to make the door invisible. The bouncer issued a warning as he moved aside to let me through. “Stay out of trouble, witch.”
I smothered the light in my palms. “Noted,” I muttered, snaking past without brushing up against him.
As I hurried down the hallway, my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. A closer look revealed a space that was much larger than it should have been, considering the limits of the physical building. Some pretty serious magic had been invested in the creation of the large, sprawling club. How had this place existed under my nose all this time without even so much as a whisper of it reaching my ears? After all, up until Harvey torpedoed my business, I’d been right in the center of the local supernatural population. I couldn’t believe it had never come up in conversation. I ached at the thought of how many potential customers lurked in the corners of the large room. I’d missed out on all of them.
The club was painted a deep shade of red and illuminated with soft, glowing lights that floated and moved like fairies were skating through the air overhead. A large dance floor dominated most of the room, and from my spot along the wall, I watched the cluster of dancers as they swayed together to the same hypnotic beats I’d heard while on the phone with Lacey.
Along the opposite wall, a bar spanned the length of the room, lined with twenty-plus bar stools floating in mid-air. I watched as a tall, lanky woman hopped daintily onto one of the stools and marveled as it automatically adjusted to account for her size, holding her at exactly the right height. A dark-skinned bartender with a dazzling smile approached the woman and, moments later, handed her a goblet of deep red liquid. The woman laughed at something he said as he leaned in to serve it to her.
Everything was mesmerizing, but I forced myself to snap out of it and start my search for Lacey. I was only here to get ahead in the case, not to drink and dance. That is, assuming they even had something other than six different types of synthetic blood on tap. I scanned the dance floor, trying to pick out her familiar face as the lights above moved and swayed.
“Holly!”
I twisted in the direction of the sound of my name and found Lacey rushing at me. As expected, she was decked out in a skin-tight black dress that highlighted her luminescent skin and made her long blonde hair stand out like creamy satin in contrast. She slowed her pace as she neared and my cheeks went red as she scanned my own outfit. “That’s what you decided to wear?” she hissed in a low voice. Her ski-jump nose wrinkled as she gave me another once over before snaking her arm through mine and dragging me out of the entryway.
“I didn’t have time to change,” I protested, yanking my arm free from hers.
“Weren’t you with Adam’s parents earlier?”
“Yeah. So?”
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Holly. I should give you classes.”
We walked as she lectured me on my fashion sense until we reached a booth hidden in shadows in the corner of the club. My lips locked together as I found myself staring into a pair of eyes so dark they looked black. Lacey slid into the booth and snapped her wrist for me to sit beside her. The man in the booth appraised me with a suave, secretive smile and he inclined his head. “Ms. Boldt?”
I laced my hands together under the table. There was something unnerving about the vampire sitting across from me. He was stunning; almost beautiful. His features were perfectly sculpted and his dark hair and eyes lent him an air of mystery and danger. “Yes. And you are?”
He smiled wide enough that the sharp tips of his fangs peeked out and a shiver ran down my spine. “Dread.”
“Is that your name of more of a general warning?”
Lacey tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder, apparently unaffected by the man across from us. “Dread is a member of the Molder House. He’s Greyson Molder’s second.”
I nodded, like I had any idea what that meant. “Lacey said you have information on Paul Banks’ murder,” I said,
wanting to get to the meat of the conversation so I could scramble away from Dread’s intense stare.
Dread leaned back in his seat and casually spun the crystal glass on the table in front of him. “That depends.”
“On?” My eyebrows furrowed together. “I’m not sure I follow.”
Dread took a maddeningly slow sip of his faux blood cocktail before leaning in. He dropped his voice another octave lower, “Ms. Boldt, I don’t know what you know about this situation, but you’ve obviously gotten in deep enough for it to have led you here. And your instincts, or whatever led you to this point, were right. I do indeed know who killed Paul.”
“You do?” I whispered.
Dread grinned and nodded slowly. “I do. But information like that doesn’t come cheap, Ms. Boldt.”
I glanced at Lacey and she shifted in her seat, refusing to make eye contact with me. What was going on here? My heart slammed in my chest and my stomach caved in on itself. “What would the price be, Mr. Dread?” I gulped. I was afraid of the answer; human blood was a delicacy that bordered on addiction for many vampires.
Dread laughed and despite, his warm and polished exterior, the sound was cold and chilling. “I assure you, it’s not what you’re thinking, Ms. Boldt. Blood is a cheap commodity that can be had just by walking out this door and charming the first person that attracts me.”
Well, that was unsettling.
At least he didn’t want mine. A sigh of relief hitched in my throat as Dread’s eyes narrowed and locked with mine. “I need a favor.”
“What do you need from me?” I asked, giving Lacey another sideways glance. She wouldn’t have set me up, ut maybe she hadn’t been aware there would be something expected of me.
“You’re still working with that SPA agent, right?”
I swallowed hard. How did he know about Harvey? That was all supposed to be a secret. Nobody should have known about my involvement with him, not even that he was my assigned agent.
Dread smiled and took another long sip, happy to let me squirm a moment longer. He tutted, then said, “Come on, Ms. Boldt. We both want the same things here. Don’t be shy.” He set down his crystal glass and turned the stem in his fingers. His mesmerizing gaze never dropped from mine. “I want the SPA out of town, and from what I know of your history, you must want the same thing. Come on—tell me I’m wrong.”
I looked at Lacey and she stared at the table.
“Ms. Vaughn didn’t rat you out,” Dread interjected, glancing at Lacey. “If that’s what you’re worried about. The Molder House doesn’t concern themselves with underlings but there are certain names we listen for. Boldt is one of them.”
“Underlings?” I snarled. Magic pooled in my palms, hot and fast.
Dread merely shrugged. “If you want the name of Paul’s murderer, then I need you to go along with my plan and not share the source of this information with the SPA. We would like the Vampire Council to handle this situation.”
“So it was a vampire that killed Paul? What about Naomi Givens?”
Dread didn’t blink. He held my gaze for a long moment before asking, “Do we have a deal, Ms. Boldt?”
I couldn’t lie to a vampire. That was not a bridge I wanted to burn. Vampires were ruthless and didn’t take kindly to those who double-crossed them. If I agreed to his terms, then I would be backing out of my deal with Harvey. If I did that, I’d never have a chance to get my potion business back.
I pushed up from the table. “I’m sorry to have wasted your time, Mr. Dread, but I can’t agree to those terms.”
“Holly—” Lacey said, reaching for me.
I whipped around at the touch of her hands. “Lacey, how could you think I’d agree to this? You know that I can’t afford trouble with the SPA. I can’t trust some underground council to bring justice for Paul and probably for Naomi too, wherever she is.”
Dread looked completely unruffled by the entire turn of events. It apparently didn’t matter to him whether or not the murder went unsolved forever—fact that only incensed me further. “Have it your way, Ms. Boldt. But if the killer isn’t stopped, this won’t be the only body you’re going to have on your hands. You really want that on your conscience?”
I stopped at the end of the table and slammed my hands to the table. Bolts of magic bounced against the surface of the wood with a loud crack and I could feel eyeballs on me. I dropped my voice low, “I would say the same to you, but we both know your kind don’t have souls. And I’m pretty sure that’s a prerequisite to having a conscious.”
“Holly!” Lacey snapped.
I glanced at her. “I’m sorry, Lacey, but I’m not going to be blackmailed by this … this …”
“Monster?” Dread offered with a sneer.
“If the fangs fit …”
He smirked, then carelessly shrugged a shoulder. “Hey, I tried to help.”
“Yourself, maybe.”
Lacey scoffed and pushed up from her own seat. “This is the last time I get involved in one of your little Nancy Drew capers, Holly.” She stalked off in a huff.
Dread chuckled. “Making friends all over town tonight, huh Boldt?”
I glared at him and pushed off the table. “I don’t need your information to pin this on one of your esteemed members. I have Georgia and I have the Thraxis medallion. I’ll trust that the SPA will deal with you. A few drops of their highest level truth serum will have you spilling your guts in front of the council like that—” I snapped my fingers inches from his face.
Dread struck like a viper and grabbed my wrist in a vice-like clench. “What do you know about the Thraxis?” he growled.
I yanked my arm but his grip help tight. “Let go of me and I’ll repeat myself. Then I’m out of here or your friends are gonna get a little fireworks show,” I said, keeping my own voice low as I held up my opposite hand to reveal the pool of bright orange magic.
He released me and asked again, “What do you know about the Thraxis?”
“I know where it is and I’m pretty sure I can get more information out of its current owner than I could ever have gotten out of you.”
Dread’s smirk was gone, leaving his expression icy and stern. “Where is it? Who has it?”
I took a half step back, surprised by his sudden interest. “Why? What do you want with it?”
“It’s a House heirloom and it’s missing. It’s my duty, as a Molder, to retrieve it.”
Apparently a case of the right hand not knowing what the left was doing. Greyson Molder was the last one in possession of the medallion, and he’d given it to his paramour. I struggled to keep from smiling as I leaned in and said, “Tell me who killed Paul and I’ll tell you who has the necklace.”
Dread frowned. “Greyson Molder killed Paul Banks.”
The information rattled through my system. The satisfaction of playing the game, and winning, dissipated in light of Dread’s answer. The smile slid off my face as I realized the ramifications of what I’d just been told.
Dread continued flatly, “They were doing some business dealings together. I don’t know all the details. But a couple of weeks ago, things went south. Greyson killed him.”
I tried to keep my face from revealing my surprise. “What about Naomi?”
Dread smiled coldly. “She’s one of us. She was in on it from the beginning. She lured Banks to that hotel and Greyson was already waiting in the room.”
I cringed. It was too cruel to fathom.
“Now, witch, tell me where the medallion is.”
“You’ll have to ask your boss about that,” I said before storming away from the table. To my surprise, Dread didn’t follow.
I didn’t bother looking for Lacey. I hurried for the exit and pushed out, grateful for the first sharp breath of frost-laced air. Someone was lying and if the web of deceit didn’t get untangled soon, there was more than just one life on the line.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
When I arrived back at the manor, things quickly shifted gears. Evan
geline greeted me at the door, her arm linked with a man who looked to be a few years older than she was. He had rosy cheeks, sandy blonde hair, and megawatt smile. She beamed and said, “Holly, this is Teddy.”
“Teddy? Oh, right!” I slapped my hand over my face and shook my head. The lawyer. “I’m sorry. Long night.”
“That’s all right,” Teddy said, flashing what I guessed was his signature smile. He offered me a hand and I shook it. “It’s nice to meet you, Holly. Evangeline said you needed some help with a Haven Council issue?”
I nodded and gave Evangeline a distracted smile. “That’s right. Umm, I forgot you were coming in tonight. I really appreciate you being here but my mind is a little full right now.”
Evangeline patted Teddy on the arm and smiled up at him. “That’s all right, Holly. We were actually going to get something for dinner and catch up. But I wanted you guys to meet first. Are you free tomorrow so you two can meet up?”
“Um, I work until three and then I promised Adam we’d have dinner with his parents,” I replied, glancing past Evangeline’s shoulder to see if Adam was in earshot. The manor had plenty of room for all of us to sprawl out, but was quiet enough that I concluded Adam and his parents were still out to dinner. He was likely exposing them to the wonders of McNally’s. “But let’s say four o’clock. Would that work?”
Teddy smiled. “Of course, Ms. Boldt.”
“Oh, please, call me Holly.”
“All right, Holly. We’ll meet then and figure out a plan of attack.”
I nodded. “Thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”
Evangeline tugged on Teddy’s arm, guiding him toward the open door, and they waved before ducking out into the night. I shut the door behind them and went down the hall to my room.
Boots was snoring softly, curled up in a tight ball in the center of my bed. I didn’t even stop to kick out of my shoes before flopping down beside Boots’ warm body. He stirred slightly and I laid a hand over his back until he was lulled back to sleep. In the silence, I let my mind unwind, spiraling through all the thoughts and theories and worries that I’d shoved to the back. But the longer I drifted, the more confused I became.
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