“Hmm.” Gavin tugged at his lip. “Could be human or vampire. I’m guessing vampire since most humans like to preen.”
“My thoughts too.”
Gavin frowned.
“What are you thinking?” Ben asked.
“How big are they?”
“The paintings? I’d estimate… four by six feet unframed. They’re large.”
“Oil on canvas?”
“Yes.”
Gavin rapped his fingers on the bar. “Look for the shippers.”
“The shippers?”
“Yes. Who moved the paintings to the museum? They had to come from somewhere. Was it here in the city? Overseas? Two canvases that size are going to require a large crate. Look for the shipping company.”
“Good idea,” Ben said. “Great idea, in fact.”
“Do you know anyone at the museum? Anyone who works there?”
“No,” Ben said. “But Chloe might. She has a lot of dance friends who work at theaters, museums, stuff like that.”
“Ask her. And I can ask around. Are you informing the O’Briens about this?”
“And risk them looking too closely? It’s none of their business. From what I can tell, if Ennis O’Brien gets a hint of anything related to valuable art in this city, he’ll stick his nose where it doesn’t belong. No thank you.”
Gavin chuckled. “You do like playing dangerously, don’t you?” He clinked his glass against Ben’s. “Watch out, young Vecchio. You’re getting more and more like your partner every day.”
Chloe was stretching out her legs when the front door opened upstairs. The minute she heard steps on the stairs, she knew it was Ben. He was heavier than Tenzin and made way more noise. Hell, now that Tenzin wasn’t hiding her ability to fly, she snuck up on Chloe more often than not.
The lower floor of the loft was more training area than residence. One bedroom and a large bathroom had been built at the far end, and carpenters were framing out a second room for her in the other corner. The rest of the loft was taken up with mats, mirrors, and row upon row of weapons.
There was no sun shining through the high windows. There never was. They’d all been blacked out. From the hands on the clock, Chloe knew it was nighttime. An hour earlier, Tenzin had disappeared into the sky, and Chloe started practicing basic stretches and routine exercises to strengthen her knee.
“Hey,” Ben said from the bottom of the stairs. “Can I join you?”
She had one leg stretched straight up toward her ear. “Are you saying you can do this too? I had no idea.”
He smiled and toed off his shoes. The man was incorrigible. Far too charming for his own good.
And arrogant. And bossy.
Damn. She wasn’t harboring any lingering feelings over the man, but did he have to be so appealing? It made it harder to stay mad at him. “How’s your vampire friend?”
“Which one?” he asked.
“The one who’s not your roommate. The one who offered me a job.”
Ben groaned. “Who told you that? Please don’t work for Gavin.”
“Why not? I still have no idea what I’m getting paid working for Tenzin.”
“She’ll probably pay you a ridiculous amount of gold or something. Don’t worry about money.”
“Gold?”
“It’s not a big deal. I can help you sell it.”
“That is not reassuring.” She lowered her leg. “You know, I made good money waiting tables.”
“Yeah, because you’re gorgeous and friendly. The same reasons you’d constantly be hit up at Gavin’s pub to be a blood donor.”
Her eyes went wide. “Blood donor? Tenzin didn’t mention anything about that.”
Ben looked slightly embarrassed. “Okay, you wouldn’t have to be a donor. Gavin leaves it up to individual employees. But a lot of his servers supplement their income that way because it pays well.”
“How well?” Wait, had she asked that? Chloe shook her head. “Ben, whether I take the job at your friend’s place or not, the point is, you shouldn’t have tried to hide it from me. You’re not my dad.”
“No, I’m not. Your dad is an overbearing asshole who never liked me. Also, we’ve had sex, so that would be wrong on many levels.”
“And you’re not being overbearing?” She stretched her other leg. She was barely feeling the pain in her kneecap anymore. Only at the end of a long practice session and first thing in the morning did it bother her.
Ben unbuttoned his shirt and stripped down to his undershirt. “If I’m overbearing, it’s because I know this world better than you and I’m cautious. You’re important to me, Chloe.”
“Tom used to say that kind of stuff to me too.” She winced as soon as the words left her mouth. That wasn’t fair.
“Hey! Don’t compare me to that asshole. I would never hit you.”
“You’re right.” She lowered her leg. “That was over the line, and I’m sorry. But you have to admit, Ben, you’re more than happy to control me. I’m sure you think it’s for my own good, but—”
“It is for your own good. And before you start in on me being sexist, I’d like to point out that I’d be just as concerned if it was a male friend in this world.”
She crossed her arms. “From what I’ve seen, all your male friends are vampires.”
“Maybe. Probably.” He frowned. “Is that important?”
“I don’t know,” Chloe muttered, “but it seemed weird and I wanted to point it out.”
He couldn’t hide his smile. “Listen, this world…”
“What?”
“It’s strange. And beautiful sometimes. Fascinating. Seductive. And it can be dangerous. Very, very dangerous. I know Tenzin explained all the reasons she went over my head and told you, but I had good reasons to keep you in the dark.” He stood behind her and lifted her arms up, stretching her shoulders. “Good?”
“Good.” It felt closer to amazing. It also gave her an idea. Ben was in great shape, but he was also tense as hell. She felt it in his shoulders every time he gave her a hug. “Have you ever done a dancing stretch routine before?”
“No. Should I?”
“It’s the best stretch out there.” She pulled him over to the center of the mat. “Take off your pants.”
“What?” He laughed.
“You’re wearing boxers or something right?” Chloe grinned. “You don’t want to ruin your dress pants. Just take them off.”
He unbuttoned with a flourish. “Chloe, if you wanted my pants off, all you had to do is ask.”
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Romeo. Lie on the mat faceup, with your arms stretched out.”
Chloe hopped up and went over to put on music, choosing a quiet piece by Arvo Pärt for viola and piano. Chloe couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Ben really relaxed. He worried about everything. He constantly wore a facade except for the few times she saw him talking or fighting with Tenzin. Every night he came home, she saw the weight on his shoulders grow heavier.
Time to ease up a little, Benny.
The resonant strains of the viola filled the room, and Chloe went to the center of the mat and lay next to Ben. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the routine she’d learned as a child. “Reach your right arm out, stretch as far as you can, then fold it across your body and reach for your opposite wrist.” She turned her face and saw Ben following her movements. “Good. Hold it.”
He held it. Then he stretched wide again and repeated the movement with the opposite arm, his eyes locked on her, following her movements.
“Bring your knees up to your chest.”
He struggled with that one. His quads were probably tight.
“As far as you can,” Chloe said. “We’ll work up to this one.” She curled into a fetal position, lying on her left side. “And stretch out…”
Ben followed each of her movements as she curled and stretched on the ground. They flipped over and pressed up, stretching hamstrings and calves. His breathing went from labored
and tight to rhythmic and long.
“Right arm up. Kind of like warrior pose in yoga.”
He followed her as they came to their feet, moved in sync with her as she shook out the last of the tension holding her from rest.
“Do you do this every night?” he asked as they returned to the floor and the simple stretches they’d started with.
“I try to.” Chloe lifted up her right leg and flexed the toe up. “I sleep better when I do.”
He let out a long breath. “Sometimes I don’t sleep well.”
“I think you often don’t sleep well.” She rolled over to him and smoothed a finger between his eyebrows. “You need to relax. Take care of yourself too.”
Ben smiled sadly. “I used to sleep better. Before I came back here.”
“Have you seen them?”
He shook his head.
Chloe knew she was one of the few people in the world who knew just how awful Ben’s biological parents were. She might not have known about the vampires, but she knew about that. “Do you want to see them?”
“No.” He sighed. “Yes. I don’t know. Morbid curiosity.”
“I get it.”
“Do you want me to ask Gio about your mom and dad?”
She shrugged. “If you want to. I still talk to my aunt sometimes. I get the highlights. Or lowlights, if we’re going to be accurate. They still sound like miserable people I don’t want to spend my life with.”
Ben reached over and tugged the end of a curl. “We’re a pair, huh?”
“I get you, Ben. I always have.”
“I know. I didn’t tell very many people about my life. Now you finally know the whole of it.”
“Maybe someone needed to,” Chloe said. “Maybe that’s why she did it.”
Ben sat up. “Don’t make her noble. I’ve made that mistake too many times, Chloe. Tenzin is… complicated.”
Chloe sat up and wondered if Ben knew just how true that statement was.
She loved him, but he could be remarkably oblivious at times.
“For now”—Tenzin spoke to Chloe’s reflection in the mirror—“we’ll work on strengthening poses. Eventually we’ll move up to combat training.”
Chloe mirrored her position. “How long will that take?”
“Don’t count the days. Focus on making your body as strong as you can. You’re already in excellent shape and far above average flexibility. Focus on making your body strong. Focus on simple postures. Combat postures will flow from that.”
“I don’t want anyone to ever beat me up again,” she said quietly. “Never.” She could still feel the sting of Tom’s slap on her face. Still hear the echo of her finger popping when he broke it.
“That may not be feasible,” Tenzin said. “I don’t know what your fate is. I can promise that you will not be defenseless. If someone hurts you, you’ll be able to hurt them too.”
Blunt honesty felt better than platitudes. “Fair enough.”
“Good. Now I’m going to show you a posture, and I want you to hold it for a minute.”
They practiced for a half an hour. It was slow. It was deliberate.
“I’m exhausted,” Chloe said, slumping against a wall and drinking from a jug of water.
“Stillness can be more exhausting than movement,” Tenzin said, squatting in front of her. “We’ll stop here tonight.”
Chloe nodded and kept drinking water. Every muscle in her body ached. “Were you a fighter?” she asked. “Did you learn this as a human?”
Tenzin laughed. “No.”
“When did you learn?”
“Many years later.” She turned to Chloe. “I was a victim for a long, long time. Then I wasn’t.”
Chloe had a feeling that Tenzin had outlived her attackers many times over. “Do you like it?”
“Not being a victim? Yes.”
“No, do you like being a vampire?”
Tenzin frowned. “I don’t know if anyone has ever asked me that. Do you like being human?”
“Yes.” Chloe smiled. “I love sunshine and the smell of rain. I love the feeling of wind on my face. I love the sound of children at the playground.”
Something Chloe had said made Tenzin blink. An instant later, she was standing by the stairs. “Come,” the vampire said. “I’ll make you food. The sun will be over the edge of the upstairs windows soon, and I want to cook.”
Chloe followed her up the stairs. Tenzin, she’d learned, loved to cook. And she was a good cook. Chloe wondered what had set her off.
“Talk to me about your dress for the gala,” Chloe said as Tenzin got out a bowl and some eggs.
Chloe had been informed the day before that she’d be going to a gala with Tenzin and Ben. Officially, it was an art fund-raiser. Unofficially, it was an event heavily attended by immortal society.
That’s right. Chloe was going to a vampire ball. Was she excited? Very. Was she nervous? Hell yes. She hadn’t been to anything resembling an elegant party since she’d left her parents’ home. And her parents’ parties always filled her with dread and anxiety because she’d be surrounded by people she hated.
This party would be far, far different, but Chloe was short on evening wear and wondering if Tenzin had any suggestions.
“I’m making my dress,” Tenzin said.
“But what does it look like?”
“You’ve seen it. I’m using the green silk.”
Chloe dropped her water bottle. “Not the green thing.” Oh no. No no no no.
“What?”
“Tenzin, you can’t be serious.”
She frowned. “What’s wrong with my dress?”
“It’s not really a dress. It’s more like… a robe.”
Tenzin shrugged. “And?”
It was probable that at some point in her very long life, the dress that Tenzin was making was perfectly acceptable evening wear. In fact, there was a certain elegance to the way the silk draped and the carefully sewn folds of fabric in the sleeves. Chloe was sure that sometime, somewhere, Tenzin’s green dress would be the height of fashion.
But that place was not twenty-first-century Manhattan.
Chloe walked to her messenger bag and pulled out her notebook. “I’m calling Arnold.”
“Who is Arnold?”
“He makes dance costumes and he’s a genius. He can make dresses for us, but I need to call him right now. Also, you’re getting your hair cut tomorrow night at ten o’clock. Do not fly away and leave me hanging. Breanna switched clients around to fit us in before the gala.”
Tenzin had stopped moving.
“What?”
“You’re ordering me around?” Tenzin asked. “For dress appointments?”
Chloe stopped writing and looked up. “I thought I was supposed to be your assistant.”
“You are.”
“Then yeah, Tenzin. I’m ordering you around for dress appointments. Do you want to fit in at this gala or not?”
“I don’t care about fitting in.”
“Fine, but…” How to frame this for a thousands-of-years-old predator? “Think of it this way. If you wear your green… dress to the gala, every person in the ballroom will be looking at you. Do you want that?” It was just a hunch, but Chloe was guessing that Tenzin would much rather blend.
“No.” Tenzin’s lip curled. “I never fit in at these events. This is why I don’t usually attend them. When I do go, everyone stares even if I keep my mouth closed. At my father’s house, they bow. I hate the bowing.”
Chloe knew she’d have to tread carefully. “I don’t know anything about the vampire world, but I do—unfortunately—know about society. I’m guessing part of the attention you get at events is unavoidable.” Like the bowing. What was that about? “You are a really powerful vampire, right?”
Tenzin nodded.
“But part of that you could probably avoid if you just looked more…”
Tenzin raised an eyebrow. “More what?”
“Modern.” Chloe walked over car
efully. “Style your hair.” She lifted thick strands from Tenzin’s shoulders. “You have, like, the world’s most gorgeous neck. If you wore your hair shorter, you’d show it off.”
Tenzin frowned, but she didn’t injure Chloe, which Chloe took as a positive sign. “And if you wear clothes that are more modern—things that would blend in at a gala like this—you’d be beautiful, but not particularly noticeable. Do you know what I mean?”
Tenzin nodded slowly. “You’re talking about field-appropriate camouflage.”
Chloe blinked. “Uh… yeah. I guess I am.”
Tenzin continued to nod. “You are modern. And stylish for this era.”
“I like to think so.”
“Therefore, you can teach me about appropriate social dressing as camouflage. Help me to perfect my human mask for this era.”
Chloe said, “Something like that, yeah.”
“I approve of this.” Tenzin patted Chloe’s cheek. “You are an excellent assistant. Just be aware I cannot alter my face to create large lips, though yours are very lovely and fit your face well. But vampires cannot have facial surgery.”
“Okay?” What just happened? “You don’t need plastic surgery,” Chloe said. “Please ignore anyone who tells you that. You’re already gorgeous.”
“Thank you. Will I need to wear cosmetics for my disguise?”
Chloe examined Tenzin’s pale face. It was very, very pale. “We probably want to add a little color. Breanna can help us out with that too.”
Tenzin smiled. “You have an excellent team. I knew making you my assistant would work out well. If these are long-term associates, I’ll pay them. Otherwise we can use their skills for this job, and I’ll wipe their memory afterward.”
Chloe cleared her throat and tried not to laugh. “These are long-term associates. We should probably pay them and not wipe their memory.”
“Good thinking. There’s no telling how many of these events Ben will force on me.”
14
“A gala?” Emilie’s smile was incandescent. “Really?”
“A summer gala to benefit Historic New York,” he said. “The sponsors of the surrealist exhibit, remember?”
“Of course I remember,” she said. “Ben, this is wonderful. Do you think someone who works there would know about Midnight Labyrinth? Know anything about Emil’s work?”
Midnight Labyrinth: An Elemental Legacy Novel Page 15
