by Lisa Olsen
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
*
Operating under the premise that there was safety in numbers, we all decided to go out as a group the next night. Bishop had to beg off, of course, but Felix and Thomas were keen to take us to a vampire bar called Pandora’s Cross. Even Rob seemed to brighten at the prospect, and I took it he’d been there plenty of times before.
Bridget was super excited to go because Felix bought her a new dress to wear, cut in a 1940’s style, black with little red cherries all over it. She practically bounced in the chair as I rolled her hair to complete the period look. I got into the spirit of things too with one of the dresses I’d brought, a red number that fit the time period fairly well and she helped me with a heavy dark liner at the eye. With bright red lipstick, I could definitely say, we both looked like something out of history books.
Felix looked every inch the gangster in another one if his pin striped suits, this one cut to a more retro style and the fedora completed the picture. Rob wore his suit again, the change in tie being the only bow to the era. Only Thomas looked completely out of place in his modern suit, but he was in a giddy mood, oblivious as usual. We all piled into the Towncar with Rob behind the wheel, spirits high as we left the mansion behind us.
Pandora’s Cross was a Big Band themed bar, complete with live music and a dance floor. Vampires, all dressed for the occasion, were pressed together and swaying to In the Mood when we arrived. Almost immediately we were accosted by the doorman, but in a good way.
“Well strike me down if it ain’t Rob! How long’s it been? Five… six years?”
“Hello, Charley, long time no see,” Rob shook his hand with a wide grin, pulling him into a one armed hug.
“Great to see ya, old man,” Charley beamed. “And who do we have here?”
“This here’s a lady of quality, so you’d best mind your manners or we’ll have words.” Rob punched the big vampire in the gut and the man bent in an over exaggerated manner.
“Anyone can see that just by lookin’ at her,” Charley grinned. “Charley Boone, at your service.” He sketched a half bow at me and I returned the smile.
“Anja Gudrun, pleased to meet you.”
“Oh a Yank! What kind of company you runnin’ with these days?” he winked. “Pleased ta meetcha, miss.”
“Speakin’ of Yanks,” Rob grinned. I hadn’t seen him smile so much in a month. “As it so happens, we’re overrun tonight. Allow me to introduce Thomas Lyons, Felix Hannover and the lovely Bridget, also late of the West.”
Charley’s eyes grew wide, and I could tell he recognized the names. “Welcome to my humble establishment, your Grace,” he bowed lower. “Let me show you to the finest table.”
“Now this is a place I can relax in,” Felix nodded his approval, leading our group deeper inside. Once we were into the club proper, there were plenty of people who recognized our group, but everybody knew Rob. It took him twice as long to travel the same distance, he kept getting stopped by people who wanted to say hello. By the time he got to the table, Felix had already pulled Bridget onto the dance floor and Thomas was poring over a list of drinks like he was about to make a life or death decision.
I shifted to make room for Rob, and his beer arrived seconds later from a chatty waitress who definitely appeared to be on friendly terms with him. It was the most I’d ever heard him speak in public, and he was much more smiley than he was back at home.
“Is there anybody you don’t know?” I leaned over to ask while the waitress took a break from flirting with him to take Tommy’s drink order.
Rob shrugged, raising his beer to another well wisher from across the room. “These are my old stomping grounds. I know a fair amount of people.”
“You like this place, don’t you? You seem so much more comfortable than you do at the Hart.”
“A lot of good memories come from this place.”
Suddenly I was dying to ask him about them, but Thomas stole my attention, talking my ear off on a movie about female baseball players during the war. That segued into a conversation about Madonna and his crush on the actress/singer. Apparently he’d met her once and wanted to turn her in the worst way, but Felix had nixed the idea. Thank goodness for small favors.
I’m sure my eyes had started to glaze over when Rob rose to his feet, holding out a hand to me. “Come on then, let’s have a dance.”
“You dance?” I blinked, trying to get over the shock of the invitation.
“A bit.” He jerked his head towards the dance floor. “Let’s show ‘em how it’s done, yeah?”
“Alright.” Slipping my hand into his, I muttered my apologies to Thomas who continued to mutter into his drink about the songstress. The song was a lively one I didn’t recognize, with a strong beat, great for dancing to. True to his word, Rob seemed to know all the right moves, easily spinning me out and back before we’d taken more than two steps onto the dance floor. I didn’t have all that much experience with that style of dance, but it was easy to follow his lead. Not that we tried any of the more ambitious moves. I probably would have broken my head open if he’d tried to swing me around into the air, but we navigated the dance floor fairly well if I do say so myself.
The music changed, and Rob pulled me close without skipping a beat. Now this song I did know, Mood Indigo, and I couldn’t help but hum as we swayed back and forth.
“Fancy a turn up there on the stage? It could be easily arranged,” he said after a few bars.
“Me, sing with the band? No thanks,” I declined. Though how cool would that be? Singing old songs with a band who, in all likelihood, had actually been around in the 40’s? Not for the first time, I cursed my stupid performance anxiety.
“You change your mind, say the word. Wouldn’t mind hearing you sing again.”
“Thanks,” I said softly, laying my head on his shoulder as I looked up at the band with longing. How I envied them their stage presence. I felt his arm tighten around my waist, and I started to think maybe I was getting a bit too close to Rob. It was only a dance, but I knew Bishop would go ballistic if he saw us like that. Lifting my head, I put a few inches of space between us. If Rob noticed the shift, he gave no sign of it.
“Thanks for taking us out here tonight, this place is great.”
Rob responded with a wink, but didn’t say more.
“I feel kind of bad you having to stick around the house so much though. If you wanted some time off to go visit your friends, I’m sure we could figure out a way.”
“It’s my job, remember?”
How could I forget? Idly, I wondered if he reported to Jakob with any regularity. Did he fill him in on my activities? “How is Jakob? Have you talked to him lately?”
“He’s still out of sorts I imagine.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt him.” That part was true enough.
“No one ever said you did.”
“You can’t help who you love or who you don’t,” I sighed.
“Truer words were never spoken…” he murmured, and I looked over at Bridget, dancing with her head on Felix’s shoulder. Had he developed feelings for her after all, now that she was with someone else?
“I hope things are okay with you and Bridget now,” I ventured, probing deeper when he didn’t say anything. “Or did you discover she’s your one and only love?”
“That spot’s already taken.”
“It is?” I pulled back to look at him. “Really? By who?” He had a girl? Now I felt extra bad for keeping him away from his regular life.
“It’s not important.” He tried to dismiss it and my heart went out to him.
“Of course it is! I’m so sorry you can’t be with her because you’re stuck with me all the time.”
His lips twitched. “I’m used to it.”
“I guess you are, at that,” I sighed. It must suck to be at the beck and call of a powerful vampire. “Is she back in the states? Your girl?”
“No, she’s here right enoug
h… just out of reach.”
“Well, you might get a break sooner than you think.”
“How’s that?” Rob asked, his head canted to one side and I leaned in to talk softer.
“I don’t want to say anything until it’s official, but Bishop might be making some changes that will free you up sooner than later.”
“Do tell…” His brows rose a fraction.
“That’s all there is to tell for now, but I promise, you’ll be among the first to know.” The music ended, and I let Rob steer me off the dance floor, until I caught sight of something that made me stand in my tracks.
“Change your mind about another dance?” Rob asked, but my attention was fixed on an all too familiar sight. Jasper and Maggie had arrived at some point, and the nasty vamp had her shoved against the wall, yelling about something I couldn’t quite follow. “A bad business, that,” Rob muttered.
While we watched, Jasper wrenched her arm painfully behind her back, propelling her towards the dance floor. Maggie’s big hazel eyes filled with tears, but she didn’t say a word, doing her best to keep up on tottering heels. “Can’t you do something about that? Please?” Bishop had to bow to certain social conventions, but surely Rob wasn’t bound by the same rules, was he?
“Can’t, not here. Not without things getting… messy,” Rob replied, and I knew I had to step up myself, consequences schmonsequences.
Striding forward, I put myself in their path. “Let her go.”
Jasper looked up with an annoyed snarl. “Mind your own fucking business.”
“I’m making it my business.” I side stepped when he did, refusing to drop it. “I said, let her go.” To my utter surprise, he did. Maggie froze like a deer in the headlights, not sure what to do with her sudden freedom. Jasper looked ready to throttle me and maybe, a little bewildered, like he couldn’t believe I’d challenged him.
“Who do you think you are, telling me what I can and can’t do?”
My insides shook so hard I thought my teeth might start to rattle, but somehow I found the strength to stand up to him. “I’m Anja Gudrun, daughter of Carys, daughter of Jakob, and I am ordering you to leave Maggie alone. She’s under my protection now. If you ever so much as touch her again, I’ll show you first hand what happened to Aleksandr Kursik. Does that name ring any bells for you?”
Jasper’s eyes bugged out of his head as he stood there, seething with rage, but he didn’t so much as lift a hand towards me. “It does,” he bit out.
“Then you know I have zero problems ending you, apart from getting blood on my dress.”
“I’d be happy to buy you a new one,” Felix volunteered. That’s when I noticed, I had a crowd gathered on either side of me.
“Rob, please escort Mr. Banes off the premises,” I asked without taking my eyes off of Jasper. Somehow I had the feeling if I looked away he might try something sneaky. “I want him out of my sight.”
“You heard the lady,” Felix grinned. “Time to take out the trash. I’ll give you a hand, pal.” Rob and Felix flanked Jasper, catching hold of his arms. Between the two of them, it was an easy enough task. I didn’t really think that would be the end of it, but hopefully my reputation would carry me long enough for Bishop to back me up.
“Are you okay?” I asked Maggie, who only had eyes for the sight of Jasper being frog marched out of there.
“What did you… my parents…”
I drew her aside as the crowd started to return to normal. “Hey, it’s going to be fine. I have a friend who promised to take care of it. We’ll get them to safety, don’t worry.” Maybe that was overstating Bishop’s promise to look into it, but I couldn’t take back my actions now.
Some of the tension went out of Maggie’s body and her shoulders slumped forward. “I guess I belong to you now.”
“No, you belong to yourself, that’s the whole point. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do anymore. If you want me to help you get away from here I will. But if you want to walk out that door and never look back, that’s fine too.”
“I can’t go anywhere until I know my parents are safe. Then… I hardly know,” Maggie blinked in bewilderment.
“Way to represent, girl,” Bridget crowed, her grin a mile wide. “I knew you had it in you.” I hoped like anything she was right. I hoped I hadn’t made a bad situation horribly worse. “Everybody’s talking about it. There’s a new sheriff in town.”
Bishop was going to kill me…
Chapter Eighteen
I opened my mouth to downplay the show of bravado, but it froze at seeing my blonde watcher by the bar. Was he following me? Or was he interested in Maggie for some reason? Had he overheard us talking about her plight in the garden the other night? “Maggie, do you know that guy? The blonde one in the hoodie? The one… headed our way.” Crap!
“No… I don’t think so.” Maggie shook her head.
My mouth went dry as he approached, his direct gaze squarely on me. “Is everything okay here?” He sounded American, and up close I placed him in his late twenties or early thirties. The cut of his jaw was lean and I could guess he was in good physical condition under the shapeless hoodie and jacket.
“It is now,” Bridget smiled invitingly, but the guy didn’t so much as glance at her.
“Seems like you have a thing for the underdog,” he smiled faintly. Definitely American. Huh, I wouldn’t have guessed that. I didn’t catch danger from him, but there was something a little off about the intensity of his stare.
“It’s fine, just a domestic dispute. I took care of it. I’m Anja,” I said, hoping for his name in return.
“Yeah, I know,” he grinned. “So does everybody in here after tonight.”
He had me there and I could feel my cheeks growing warmer. “Well, like you said, I have a thing for the underdog. And you are?”
“Impressed. Can I buy you a drink?”
Was that all it was? He was hitting on me? “No thanks. I think we’d better be heading back. Come on, Maggie, we should get you home. Bridget, are you coming?”
“I’m feeling kinda thirsty.” She gave the guy a hopeful look but he continued to ignore her.
“That’s too bad, I’m thinking we have a lot in common.” He gave a mournful sigh of disappointment.
“Sorry. I see Felix by the door…” I prompted, not wanting to leave her behind.
A roll of the eyes was given. “Yeah, alright fine.” Bridget let me lead her away and Maggie followed complacently. “I still say you should have let me get that guy’s number. That kind of hotness is too good to waste.”
I didn’t think he was all that hot. Good looking, sure, but then again, we didn’t usually have the same taste in men. “What about Felix?” I whispered before we reached the guys by the door.
Bridget gave an unladylike snort. “Oh come on, we both know he’s not that into me.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I’m not an idiot, Anja. Maybe I never went to real college, but I know a little something about men. I’m just a flavor of the month. Literally.”
“Either way, it’s not the safest practice to take up with random guys that approach you in a vampire bar.”
“Come on, An, you gotta live a little. Besides, it wasn’t me he hit on, it was you,” she said, nudging me with her elbow. “Gonna give your cop boyfriend some competition, huh?”
Oh great, that was all I needed, for it to get back to Bishop. He’d never let me out of his sight again. “If you say anything about it within Bishop’s hearing, I swear I’ll rip out your tongue.”
“You’re so butch now. I kinda like it,” she laughed, unfazed by the empty threat.
“Yep, that’s me, ferocious beast. Rawr,” I deadpanned, glad when she let it drop. We hustled back to Felix, who was trying to coax Thomas to the door.
“Made a new friend?” Rob asked when I reached him.
“You know Maggie,” I introduced him, but he shook his head.
“I meant the blok
e you was having a bit of a palaver with.”
“I guess so.” I looked back to see the guy still watching me while he nursed his beer. “Do you know him?”
“No, should I?”
“It seems like you know everyone else.”
“Too right. Would you like me to have a few words with him?”
“No, it’s not that big of a deal, I was just wondering. I’ve seen him around the city and back at the mansion.”
“Makes sense, him being a vampire and all. Ain’t nothing to get your knickers in a knot over. You’re bound to have picked up a few new admirers from tonight’s display.”
“Um, about that… what are the odds we can keep this on the down low?” I fixed him with my most winsome smile, but Rob didn’t offer much consolation.
“I’d say close to zip once our friend Jasper goes crying to Corley about it.”
“I was afraid of that.”
“There’s nothing for it, what’s done is done. You’re golden though, you heard what the Elder said, you’re a friend of Vetis. Corley won’t cross you. Not out in the open like, at any rate.”
Super. “Alright, we should get back to the house and see what kind of damage control needs doing. Maggie, you’d better stay with me until we find your parents.” The pale girl nodded meekly and I hoped she’d snap out of it with enough distance from Jasper. Hopefully he hadn’t permanently broken her spirit.
Felix, Bridget, and Thomas elected to try another club instead of going back to the mansion just yet, and Rob promised to send another car to take them home later. So much for strength in numbers.
Avoiding the main hall when we got back to the house, I succeeded in drawing Maggie out over a game of cards and got her to teach me how to play Faro, with Rob playing banker. It wasn’t hard to suck at the game, and her confidence grew each time she had to correct one of my stupid mistakes. She really perked up when I got the brilliant idea to call Tucker in, and we teamed up to play Hearts. The naturally timid girl became all that much more vocal in trying to draw out the ultra-shy werewolf.
We spent a few hours playing cards until it grew late enough that Maggie dozed off and Tucker carried her into my bedroom to lie down, settling on the floor by the bottom of the bed to snooze off himself. After that, Rob and I amused ourselves by going back to gin rummy.
