“You learned all that in two hours?”
She shrugged. “He was eager to talk about himself and his friends. I’m a good listener when I feel I need to be. Also, I read Arthur’s in-depth dossier on him.”
“And you?”
“I wasn’t interested in sharing. This was a business deal between my sire and his. It was never meant to be a real marriage. It was never going to be a marriage, as far as I was concerned. But Ricci and Trevor got greedy. With my death, they’ll be one step closer to taking over the whole southeast territory.
“My clan won’t sit back and wait. Violence will become a way of life, and the whole area may explode, because the clan will think it’s mandatory to seek vengeance for my death. Which means humans may be dragged into it. Other species.”
“Unless your clan gets Ricci first.”
“Arthur had a chance. He chose to save me instead. He has a sense of the big picture when others see only the wealth and power gained by being the leader of such a huge territory. He views wiping out an entire clan as genocide, and wants to avoid it if possible.”
He’d never heard such a claim. “Forgive me, but I’ve never met an altruistic vampire. Most are solely involved in their own small corner of the world.”
She shot him a narrow-eyed look. “Arthur is eight hundred years old. He’s seen war, pestilence, and hardship. He wants what’s best for our species. If we mean to survive, we need to learn to blend into the rest of society instead of hiding. Meet with him and let him tell you himself. But you might want to do so quickly.” She struggled to her feet and gripped the edge of the desk.
Hunter rushed with vampiric speed to her side. He rested one hand against the small of her back while the other caught and held her arm to steady her. She smelled of orange blossoms. The feminine feel of her curves triggered an electric rush of awareness. She was smaller than he first thought, possibly only a hundred and fifteen pounds. The three-inch heels on her boots made her seem taller, but it couldn’t add any bulk to her slender frame.
“I’m fine.” She seemed more embarrassed than upset by the momentary weakness. She tilted her head back to look up at him, and their eyes locked.
Her unusual violet eyes darkened, then dropped away, her throat working as she swallowed. “I don’t have time to waste. I’ve already started a search for Trevor myself, so if you’re going to help me, you need to do it quickly.”
She shifted away, and he released her.
“I’m aware of the time issue. And you said if. I thought the whole point of this interview was for me to work for you.”
The distrust in her expression was open. “I don’t know who you work for, Mr. Knox, but I know it’s not just another private detective agency.”
He canted his head in surprise. “Why do you say that?”
“You’re wearing a three-thousand-dollar suit, and the Jaguar you drive is worth close to seventy thousand. I watched you pull up in it. You couldn’t afford either one on a PI’s salary.”
She was no naïve, protected, adopted daughter of a wealthy Master Vampire. The shrewd suspicion in her gaze almost triggered a smile. “I’m independently wealthy, Ms. Stewart.” Which wasn’t a lie. “I do what I do because it’s a challenge, and I enjoy helping people get the justice they deserve.”
“The stakes for this investigation are higher than just stolen property or a missing person.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“Mr. Haines is investigating what happened at the wedding for the local Vampire Council.”
“I’m sure there’s nothing to be worried about.”
“I’m not worried. Harry Adcock is a fool and a coward. When the fighting broke out, the old buzzard ran and hid. As far as I’m concerned, he can take a flying leap onto a sharp stake, ass first.”
“Since he’s a member of the Vampire Council, you may want to be careful of what you say about him.”
“If I live, he may want to be careful. I have video of him standing directly behind Trevor while he prepared to stake me. Adcock ran away even though he had an opportunity to help. He’d better think long and hard about this. If he pushes it, I’ll release that video, and I’ll own his position on the Council.”
Hunter struggled between a sense of outrage on her behalf and amusement. Even ill, she had more passion and strength than Adcock, who was hundreds of years old. “I hope you’ve shared the video with Roger.”
“Yes. I have. When would you like to speak with Arthur?”
“Tomorrow night, if possible.”
“Do you have a card? I’ll have him call you and set up a time.”
“Certainly.” He slipped a business card out of the inner pocket of his suit jacket and handed it to her. It had nothing on it but his name and number. She tucked it into her jeans pocket and bent to retrieve a motorcycle helmet off the floor. She held it against her hip under her arm, and he stepped back to make room for her to slip out from behind the desk.
“May I see your neck?”
She tilted her head and tugged the turtleneck down, baring her throat. The fang marks hadn’t healed, and the bruise covered an area from her jaw to her collarbone.
Concern pinched him. There was no substance he knew of that could cause such damage. If the flesh started rotting… She wouldn’t be able to recover. Rage fired through him at the deliberate cruelty of what had been done. He fought the urge to draw her close.
“I thought Trevor was just wiping away the blood from his bite. He rubbed poison into the wound with his thumb. It will not heal.”
He swallowed back his anger with difficulty while trying to keep his expression neutral. “Would you be open to having a physician I know examine you?”
Those violet eyes scanned his face again. “Yes.”
“Good. I’ll set it up right away.” He was reluctant to let her go. Someone might be impatient for her to die and try to hurry things along out in the parking lot. “I’ll see you out.”
They walked down the hall to the waiting area. The PI agency’s receptionist, Calamity, rose. As usual, her pale blonde hair tumbled around her shoulders in disarray, but she seemed well organized.
“It was good to see you again, Phoebe,” she said. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
Phoebe paused to give her a nod. “I appreciate the offer. Let me know the next time you do an evening youth seminar, and I’ll help out.”
The young witch’s eyes glazed with tears for a moment before she regained control. “Thanks, I will.”
His curiosity piqued, Hunter waited until they were outside to ask, “How do you know Calamity?”
“We became friends when I first transitioned. I didn’t know it isn’t really an accepted thing for a vampire to be friends with a witch. I thought we were all sort of in the same boat, being outside the realm of humankind.” She gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Some of the younger witches have questions about vampires, and I help separate the truth from the myth. She does classes at the school to help them accept their powers and understand some of the other preternatural beings they may come in contact with. Prejudice is all about fear and ignorance.”
“How long have you been one of us?”
“Fifty-seven years.”
His brows rose. She had the poise and power of a much older vampire. Was it because of her gifts, or the strength of her personality? “I’ll have more questions for you tomorrow. I don’t want to tire you too much tonight. I’d like a copy of the dossier on Trevor Ricci, a list of the guests who attended the wedding, and the records of Stewart’s upper management team when we meet.”
Phoebe brushed back strands of the streaked mahogany hair which had fallen across her face. “Don’t hold back, please. You need to push hard, because I may not have much time.”
He fought the urge to comfort her. He was a stranger, and she didn’t seem the type to welcome it. But he was drawn to her. He’d never before seen a vampire with violet eyes or with mahogany-streaked blond hair. Or one t
he Vampire Council could not intimidate.
“There are some other arrangements I have to make before I speak with Stewart and get his views on the bigger picture.” He purposely used her description of the elder vampire. And it would give Hunter time to close out a couple of other cases and bring his boss up to speed on this development.
“I’ll give him your card and ask him to call you right away.”
She stepped down off the stairs, and he followed. She glanced back.
“I don’t like the idea of you being out here alone.”
The streetlight touched the blond in her hair with highlights, but cast her features in shadow. “I’m not alone.” She signaled, and two large vampires emerged from the shadows of the doorways across the street. He hadn’t even sensed them. He’d have to ask tomorrow how they’d masked their power. “There are two more behind you.”
He twisted around to look behind him. They were each twenty or thirty feet away, but they were there. Large, powerfully built, and close enough to cover the distance in a matter of seconds, should he threaten her. He was either losing his edge, or there was something else going on here. He’d figure out what it was once he delved more deeply into the investigation and her.
“What time do you usually rise?” he asked.
“Nine. The one thing I find the most frustrating is sleeping so many hours. It’s just so—boring.”
“The older you are, the less you’ll sleep.” If she lived. “I’ll be there before nine—Ms. Stewart.” He barely caught himself before calling her Phoebe.
Her eyes caught the glow of the streetlight, and he sensed her wrestling with her emotions for a moment before she murmured, “Thank you.”
He stood back, watching her put on her helmet and fasten the chinstrap. She threw up a hand, started the Harley Davidson street bike, knocked up the kickstand with her heel, and shot out of the parking lot like a bat out of hell. The other motorcycles fell in behind her, their roar like lions joining the hunt.
Hunter turned on his heel and retraced his steps to Roger’s office. He tapped on the door and immediately heard an invitation to enter. “I need a copy of the wedding video Phoebe gave you, a picture of her fiancé, and any information you’ve compiled on him. I’ll get a list of the guests from her tomorrow.”
Roger grinned. “I knew you’d take the job.”
He had to maintain a professional distance, but it was going to be hard. She was beautiful and vulnerable right now. “I’m going after this asshole, and when I find him, after he’s given up the poison, I’m going to see him staked. Whatever this is, it’s deadly to us all.”
CHAPTER 4
PHOEBE ENTERED THE house and tossed her motorcycle keys into the sterling silver dish on the hall table. Something Hunter said had triggered a cascade of thoughts, one right after another. He believed someone here was involved. He wouldn’t have asked for dossiers on the staff and business team otherwise…but who?
She paused to listen to the familiar ebb and flow of the house. Someone was in the kitchen, more than likely the housekeeper, Penelope, who was human. She loved her tea, and Phoebe heard the familiar sounds of the whistling teapot, and a spoon clanking against a cup.
“Good evening, Miss Phoebe.”
Luke’s Rhett Butler Georgia accent had a smile springing to her face, and she twisted around to face him. The room tilted, and she grabbed the edge of the table to save herself from hitting the floor.
Strong hands caught her arm and waist and held her steady. “Hey, take it easy, Phoebe.”
She kept her eyes closed until the world quit spinning, and she felt it safe to open them. She tilted her head back to look up into Luke’s thin, boyish face to see his blond curls had been shorn recently to a close cap against his head. He looked older with the new style. “When did you get back?”
He flashed her a smile. “Just a few hours ago. I was surprised you weren’t here.”
Usually she was an open book to him, but Arthur had cautioned her about sharing too much with anyone. “I had to get out for a while. Cabin fever was getting me down, so I took a ride on my motorcycle.”
He frowned. “Not alone.”
“No. The Hamiltons went with me.”
“Good. They don’t have much finesse, but they’re deadly enough.” He rested a hand on her shoulder. “How are you feeling?”
Like staked shit. “I’m fine. Just a little dizzy sometimes.”
He pinched her chin, turned her head, and tugged the turtleneck away to look at her neck. “It doesn’t look any worse.”
But it wasn’t getting any better. It throbbed like a heartbeat. She felt tired much of the time. And no matter how much blood she drank, it didn’t heal.
She pulled away. “I’m tired of talking about it. I need to give Arthur a message right now, but then maybe we can go for a run.”
He frowned. “Are you sure it’s a good idea?”
“I’m not putting my life on hold because of this.” She pointed at her throat. “I might as well light myself on fire if I do that. I need as much normal as possible.”
“Okay. I get it. I’ll go change and wait for you out by the patio.”
“Thanks, Luke.”
She waited until he had climbed the grand staircase to the second floor before she shrugged her leather jacket off, hung it in the hall closet, and rested back against the door.
What frightened her most was if her body became too weak to do any of the things she loved, because then she’d be trapped in her room. She’d be damned if she’d lie around so the servants and visitors could watch while she got weaker and weaker. To add even more horror to it, she could be on the brink of death for weeks. Her vampire constitution wouldn’t stop trying to heal itself until there was nothing left to heal.
She wouldn’t end her pain, because to commit suicide by sun went against every survival instinct in her vampire body. But mostly she wouldn’t because it would give the Ricci clan what they wanted. Trevor would be second in line to control Stewart clan territory. Just as Trevor’s death would offer her the same position in the Ricci clan. It was to be a stalemate situation to ensure one side had just as much to lose as the other. Should both of them die…
She brushed a weary hand over her forehead. If vampires could get headaches, the ramifications of this tangled mess would have given her one.
She’d suspected all along that Trevor was going to be a pain in the ass. Had she known how big a hemorrhoid, she’d have staked him and gladly accepted her punishment.
She turned left and went down the hall to the library, tapping on the closed door.
Arthur opened the door himself. “Come in, Phoebe.”
He shut the door and drew her to one of the two large leather couches facing each other in the center of the room. A large, square coffee table sat between them. “What did Roger say?”
“The Vampire Council has asked Roger to look into what happened at the wedding. They seem to be more concerned about the fire than they are about Trevor’s attempted coup and the poison.”
Arthur’s expression remained unconcerned as he tugged at one sleeve of his sports coat. “That was to be expected, since Harry Adcock was there. He is beyond incompetent, and unable to see anything beyond the threat to his own useless neck.”
She certainly agreed with that. “Roger passed my case onto someone else. His name is Hunter Knox.”
Arthur leaned back against the soft leather. “What do you think of him?”
Her sire didn’t need to hear how sexy she found him. Piercing gray eyes, dark brown hair, a chiseled jaw, a nose with just a little bit of a hook so his face wasn’t too pretty, but handsome anyway, and a mouth she could spend hours just looking at, but would prefer to get much more intimately acquainted with. He had a deep voice, just hoarse enough to give her chills if he whispered in her ear. Being poisoned hadn’t done a thing to her libido. Her heart started to race.
“He’s at least two hundred years old, tall, intense. He seemed
very focused. He wants to meet with us tomorrow evening.” She pulled the card out of her jeans pocket and offered it to him. “I told him you’d call and arrange a time for him to come to the house.”
“Very well.”
“He wants another doctor to examine me.”
“It can’t hurt to get a second opinion,” Arthur said. The hope she read in his face was hard to bear.
“I told him it would be fine. Maybe this doctor will be more up-to-date on things like this than Dr. Simons.”
She was a realist. She knew how she felt. If they couldn’t find Trevor within the week, she would have to make peace with her death.
“I’m sorry, Phoebe. I should have never placed you in such a position. I truly thought I was doing the right thing. Not just for us, but for all vampire kind.”
She clamped off the quick rush of resentment and pain. “You weren’t to know Trevor was so clever, Arthur. He had me fooled as well. But I really do wish you’d staked Ricci.”
“To wipe out an entire bloodline would be genocide, Phoebe, and not something I can contemplate lightly. It would have killed twenty percent of Ricci’s people, and left the clan in chaos.”
Wouldn’t that have been a good thing?
What did it say about her that she could so easily have made that choice? But it had been in the heat of battle. And in the end, she did call back the fire. “You wouldn’t have had to stake him through the heart, just a knee or somewhere especially painful.”
Arthur smiled broadly enough to show fang. “I could have done so, had he not flown off like the vulture he is. I was too concerned for you to follow and exact revenge.”
Phoebe brushed an imaginary piece of lint off her sweater sleeve and fought back the threatened tears. “They would have expected you to do it, and might have tried to ambush you. It’s good you didn’t.”
“I expected them to make some kind of move, Phoebe, but not this. You tried to warn me, and I didn’t listen. I’m truly sorry.”
“You weren’t to know. I was on the lookout for trouble to come from Ricci’s guests, not Trevor. I miscalculated, too.”
Magic and Mayhem: Once Bitten, Twice Shy (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Have Wand, Will Travel Book 2) Page 3
