by C. L. Quinn
“Thanks. Later.”
Moments after ringing off, Mies’s contact info came up and Will dialed the number immediately.
“Hi, my name is Will. You were recommended by a friend in Boston. Yeah, I need some research done at once. Can you help me?”
Not too far from Will’s hotel room, Thalasia sat nursing a chai tea at a sidewalk table at a favored café she’d found right after they arrived in Vegas.
He wasn’t going to come, she was sure of it. There was something about Gio that was too perfect, not because he was vampire, but because he was too good for a girl like her. Before Villioth had blood-bonded her, she’d been a failure; what her mother had called a woman of loose morals. Someone as kind, as honorable, as Gio wouldn’t have any interest in her type. Well, yeah, to fuck of course, but to be really interested in her as a person? Never.
Lifting her cup, she grimaced, laughing out loud to herself. “I’d be lucky if he’d even fuck me.”
“So would I.”
Thalasia couldn’t move. He’d actually shown up and heard her self-pitying comment? She was mortified.
Her eyes on her mug, in her peripheral vision, she saw him come around from behind her to take the other seat at her table.
“Hello.”
Damn, even his voice got to her!
“Hello,” she barked. Might as well address the comment. She lifted big earnest eyes to his.
“So, uh, I really didn’t think you’d come, and so, uh, I’m sorry for that crass statement.”
“Was it crass? It sounded like a wish.”
“Yeah, well, wishes usually don’t come true, so it was just stupid.”
“I came. I didn’t tell you that I wouldn’t, and I didn’t want to stand you up.”
“So you’re just being polite.” Thalasia drained her teacup. “I hate polite.”
“Then tell me what you like.”
God, he was too good for her! Not only was he out of her league, she’d been sent to betray him and his friends.
She pushed her chair back so quickly it tilted over.
“I can’t do this.”
Gio stood, his brows drawn together. “Can’t do what?”
Thalasia moved close. Fuck, he even smelled amazing.
“Look. Believe me when I say, you don’t want anything to do with me. Walk away, handsome. And, uh, watch your back. And your friend’s backs. Something bad is coming for you.”
When she turned to leave, Gio grabbed her shoulders. She noticed he didn’t hurt her, but she couldn’t pull free either.
“Stop.”
He was trying to compel her, but with the amount of vampire blood and a compulsion from Villioth to refuse other compulsions, she was able to resist.
“Gio, you’re a good man, but you’re fighting out of your weight class. I’ve been forbidden to tell you anything specific, just know that your boss is my boss’s target.”
“Who’s your boss? What does he want?”
“I want to tell you, but I can’t.”
“Come with me. Olivia can…”
“Excuse me.”
A rotund man bumped hard into Gio, knocking him against the table. Thalasia, shocked, watched as the man grabbed Gio, now unconscious, and lowered him into his chair, seamlessly resting his head on his arms on the tabletop. Instantly, he grabbed Thalasia’s shoulders and pushed her past the café.
“What the fuck!” she yelled.
“Quiet. I’m with Villioth. He had me tail you to keep an eye on the situation.”
“I was just doing what he told me to do.”
The man’s smile crooked, he cackled. “Yeah, sure. Look it ain’t my job to get you killed, lady, so I’m not telling him that you were about to spill to this guy. You’re gonna have to cover your own ass. I just had to cover mine.”
Was this guy for real? She didn’t recognize him, but if he did tell Villioth about her conversation with Gio, it was goodbye World.
“I wasn’t gonna spill. I can’t, I’m compelled.”
“I know, but we both know there are ways around a direct order. Anyway, I’m done here. Good luck back at the hub.”
After he disappeared into the traffic, she eased closer and peered at Gio from behind another wide man. Someone had noticed he hadn’t moved and was poking his shoulder. Shit, she’d better get gone.
Gio would be fine, no matter what the guy had done to him, it couldn’t kill a vampire permanently.
Fifteen minutes later above the city
Gio woke in an emergency lift-car, strapped to a trolley.
“Shit,” he whispered. Someone had tazed him with enough high voltage to electrocute him. Someone who knew he was vampire. It didn’t make any sense that it was his beautiful date, she’d been warning him off something. Either way, he was en route to the hospital on the edge of Vegas, an enormous medical complex vampires avoided.
He looked up at the single attendant, a youthful redheaded girl with pale creamy skin. “Hi.”
“Oh, hi, you’re awake. Good. We’re monitoring your vitals and are currently on our way to Vegas Med. Do you have any idea why you passed out?”
“Yeah. Would you unstrap me?”
The girl looked back at Gio after checking his latest vitals. “It’s not wise. So why did you lose consciousness?”
“Look at me please.”
“Sir…” Frustrated, she looked directly into his eyes.
“Release me.”
Once she had, Gio moved to the front of the car. When the driver saw him, he smiled.
“Feeling better?”
“Yes. Return me to Serenity Tower.”
Without delay, the pilot complied.
Feeling for his fone, Gio was grateful to find he still had it and dialed a number.
“Sam,” he said, when it picked up. “My fone may have been compromised, but you need to secure Olivia and those close to her. Thanks. I’ll explain when I’m back in about twenty minutes.”
So the threat was real, and he’d just been a target. There was no reason to trust Thalasia, other than the attempt to warn him. He’d just have to wait to see how things turned out to find out if she was bad news or a victim too. It wasn’t the first time he’d felt stung by the dangerous nature of compulsion.
Back on the ground, he used the same ability he’d just condemned to send the EMS vehicle back to the hospital. Using the private elevator to the top floor, he was outside Olivia’s room in minutes.
Sam chimed him in, his face a study of interest, concern, and impatience. “Fill us in.”
Olivia sat on the sofa, her feet up, Corri and Vaz beside her. Brigitte, at the bar pouring drinks, looked up.
“Anybody want anything?”
Rochelle strolled from the galley. “You okay, Gee?”
“I’m okay, but wait until you hear about my adventure tonight.”
Fifteen minutes later, Sam bolted up, his fone in his hand. “I want all surveillance feeds on a café on Capital Lane called Tosh. I need feeds at approximately midnight, and then entrance and exit feeds for the two hours leading up to that timeframe and leading away. I’ll be in the office in half an hour to review them.”
He looked at Gio. “You say you met her at Persistence the night before? Okay, we have a starting point for her contact.”
Sam looked at Olivia and rolled his eyes, a hand smacking his forehead. “I don’t suppose it’ll make any difference whether I ask you guys to stay clear of the clubs or any common schedules until I check out this threat?”
Her smile guileless, Olivia nodded. “Of course it will, Sam. Whatever you suggest.”
“Oh, now you’re just playing with me like a cat toy.”
Corri laughed. “Sam, go do your job. We’ll all stay here. There’s plenty we can do from this floor.”
“It’s just that it’s obvious we’re dealing with a ruthless asshole and he knows how to take down vampires. A little prudence never hurts.”
Olivia, groaning as Brigitte rubbed her ank
les, caught his gaze. “I really have nowhere I need to go, so I’ll stay here. Go take care of business, but keep me informed.”
“You know I will, and thank you for keeping me from worrying about you while I worry about you.”
“You’re a doll, Sam. Go. I think we all will take a nice swim.”
Gio followed Sam to the door. “I’m coming with you, in case there’s anything I can contribute. I might see something you miss only because I was there.”
Sam nodded.
After they left, Corri turned on Olivia. “Good job playing it cool.”
“I deserve an award. Listen, Corri, we haven’t discussed this, I know you think it’ll upset me, but I’ve been thinking about the people who had you abducted and dumped in the desert. What if they had been watching you afterward, followed you, saw Will rescue you, and then bring you back to Serenity Tower. I know, it’s a long shot, but if it happened like that, what if those same people or person who took you, took Will and Dani? For the same goal, to find out what I am. They’re human, the kidnapper might have wisened up and decided to try compulsion on humans who know me. They wouldn’t have known that compulsion doesn’t work on Will or Dani.”
“But why take so long to decide to abduct them? Will was down there for over a month.”
“Maybe because I flew down. Because I became a part of their story. Maybe it was my joining them that brought the kidnappers to Will and Dani. Dear gods, it is likely all my fault. Will is dead because I decided to follow him.”
“Stop that right now. Your choices aren’t responsible for this creep’s behavior. This is first blood trouble. You told me once that there is a long history of first blood threats, that’s why you guys stay hidden. It isn’t you.”
Pushing from the sofa, Olivia grabbed her drink. “Let’s get in the pool. I need to calm down for Jasper’s sake, I’ve upset him. Vaz, could you bring my fone?”
Vaz nodded, but he wasn’t paying attention. Corri noticed how distracted he was.
“Liv, we’ll join you and Brigitte in a moment. Vaz, what’s on your mind?”
“Something that you just said, that there are always threats to the first bloods. There was a vampire, the owner of the Warehouse Erotica in Corsica, you remember? He found out that Koen could use compulsion on a vampire. He offered to help search for you, but only if I would reveal how Koen could do that. I knew before we located you that he couldn’t be trusted and Koen came back to do a final compulsion to purge his memories. He shouldn’t remember the events with Koen. And yet…”
“You think it’s possible he’s involved?”
“Damn, it seems unlikely, but we’ve seen unlikely things happen too many times to ignore it. Yeah, it’s possible. I have no idea what his link to Olivia might be, but I’m going to find out.”
“Not alone, you’re not.”
“Corri…”
“Call Koen, or Tam, or Dez. Or at least take Bas with you.”
“You’re bossy, you know that.”
“If you’re right, he’s already killed for this secret. You need back up.”
“All right. I’ll call Bas and see if he will fly over with Koen.”
“Okay, then. Let’s go help Olivia get rid of the crazy idea that she’s responsible for Will’s death. And you like me bossy.”
A small office in the old section of the Vegas strip
“Here’s what I found. I tracked covert messages on the Black web.”
Will leaned over Michael’s shoulder. “Gotts Wettbewerb? What’s that?”
“It’s German. It means God’s Competition. It’s the name of a covercorp, which used to be called shell companies a long time ago. In this case, it doesn’t actually exist, but any, uh, unsavory business, your Locktite guy for instance, is processed through the covercorp. They’re supposed to be impossible to trace back to the real user.”
One word he said got Will’s attention.
“Supposed to?”
“Yup. Unless you’re fucking amazing with hackable tech. And it’s all hackable to me.”
“So you have him? The guy who hired Locktite?”
“Take a look.”
Michael Conner turned his vidscreen to face Will. He couldn’t believe he had his information this quickly. It had only been 24 hours ago that he’d contacted Conner to ask if he could help him.
“Villioth Worldwide Entertainment.”
“Yup. And here are his Las Vegas offices. Now, I tell ya, though, you better take a small army. Look at this.”
Michael pointed to a line-item list deeper on the page.
“I don’t know what the guy does, but he hires a lot of mercenaries. Good folks, folks not lookin’ to fuck others, they don’t usually do that. So, what I mean is, he’s real, real bad news.”
“I can’t explain how much this means. You wouldn’t let me negotiate your fee last night. What do I owe you?”
“Paid. Mies helped me out two years ago, something I can never repay him for, so he needs me to help a friend, especially something this easy, no charge. I’m happy to do it. Also, it’s nice to ruin a bad guy’s night.”
“Much appreciated, Michael. I’m in your debt, then, so if you need something from me, let me know.”
“That I will do. Good luck, Will.”
At Serenity Tower
Sam punched the button announcing his arrival at Corri and Vaz’s apartment. He’d been summoned there tonight, and with this recent threat he was actively dealing with, he hoped it would be quick.
The door slid back and Sam moved in quickly to see Corri and Vaz waiting just inside. Vaz nodded to him.
“Would you like some Scotch? It’s old, horribly expensive, and heady.”
“Sure. You guys always have the best booze. Not too much, though.”
As Vaz walked to the bar to get the drinks, Sam smiled to Corri, then looked back to Vaz.
“You said you have some news for me?”
“Yes, we do. I think I may know who’s behind these abductions and the threat to the first bloods.”
“Interesting. We’re still tracing back vid-feeds. What do you have?”
“The name and location of the man who may be responsible. You remember the problems we had in Corsica? The owner of the club where Corri disappeared from was a vampire named Frederick Villioth. He accidently recorded Koen using compulsion on him and insisted I tell him how he was able to do it. I didn’t, of course, and Koen used compulsion again to purge any memory of him. The man has clubs here in Vegas, and I think, somehow, he knows Olivia is first blood. I believe it may be why Corri was taken and abused, and why Will and Dani were taken in Brazil.”
Vaz held up his fone. “I have his address. Bas and Koen are on their way here as we speak. Do you want to come with us?”
“You bet your hairy vampire ass.”
“Thought you’d say that.” Vaz winced. “Although, not, uh, in exactly those terms.”
“Hey, a guy gets excited about getting the villain.”
“I hope I’m right, and I hope I’m not. It pisses me off to think that asshole fell through our fingers, and we could have stopped all this, and yet, at least if he is the culprit, we can stop it here and now.”
An hour later…
“This is it.” Koen glanced at Vaz as they pulled up outside the address Vaz had given him.
“It’s unassuming. Isn’t this an old warehouse? Seems underwhelming from what I remember of him. I would have expected his offices to be in some fancy high rise.”
“I would have expected him to be a neutralized asshole, but I was wrong.” Koen had been pissed at the idea that he might not have squashed Villioth as a potential threat back in Corsica.
“Enough recriminations. Let’s go find him and see if Vaz is right,” Olivia barked. “Besides, I have to go to the bathroom.”
“You shouldn’t have come.”
“Koen, I’m indestructible, this man might have killed the father of my child, I’m hot, and I have to pee. Don’t fuck w
ith me, just someone help me out of this van.”
Olivia, feeling the weight of her child, and, not unlike other first blood mothers, found it unacceptable that her vampire nature didn’t protect her from the same stupid issues that a human mother had to deal with during pregnancy.
Bas understood completely, having lived through four pregnancies with his first blood mate. “Here, Liv, I’ll help you.”
“There’s my gentleman. Thank you, Bas.” Olivia took his warm hand as she stepped from the van that carried Koen, Vaz, Sam, Bas, and herself to confront Frederick Villioth.
Koen paused as they headed to the back entrance of the large building. “I know you’re nearly invincible, but you’re still an expectant mother, and family. Please, Olivia, let me be the big strapping hero and protect you. Would you stay behind me?”
“Yes, Koen, I’ll let you be the hero, but if Villioth is responsible for Will’s death, I won’t keep that promise.”
“I get that. Bas, Vaz, take point and take us in.”
Easily moving past the locked doors, they found an expansive space stretching in both directions, nearly empty of merchandise, people, or anything else.
“Fuck, you could hear a pin drop.” Koen moved to a corridor on his left, carefully peering down it. “Office doors. We’ll have to search each, but it means we give up the valuable element of surprise. We have to go door to door.”
Breaking her first promise, Olivia stepped around him.
“Then we check each one. There are five of us, of which four can be anywhere in seconds, so if you find him, run into him, call the others at once. We’ve seen Villioth’s profile picture, so we know who we’re looking for.”
Olivia’s pragmatic plan met agreement without anyone responding. In an orderly fashion, they moved down the corridor, opened doors, entered, then proceeded on to the next. At the end of the corridor, the five gathered.
“Well, that’s unnerving. Not one person, and little evidence that anyone actually works there.”
