by C. L. Quinn
The room was heaven to her. One day, she hoped to share it with Will. While her confident promises to Will in Brazil had assured him they would be together someday, she didn’t know when that might be. Or if it would be.
Destiny kept her hand in the lives of those she guided, Olivia had no doubt, but Destiny was also capricious and often couldn’t be trusted.
A deep sigh filled the quiet space.
“Que sera, sera,” she whispered aloud, an homage to an old song she loved. What will be, will be.
Standing, she dropped her traveling clothes on the floor and lifted a lightweight dress from her closet. Thin, a pale rose that looked incredible with her dark hair, the fabric clung to her body and highlighted her full curves.
“Will would love this.” After she slid the dress over her head, she wandered back into her living space, surprised to see two of her guests already seated on the sofa.
“Rochelle! Hi, Gio. How are you two settling in?”
The displaced vampires from Corri’s bizarre kidnapping and forced conversion had come to Las Vegas with Vaz, and after a nice reunion with Corri, Olivia had found them both jobs in the building. So far, she’d been impressed with their strong work ethic, and how well they performed those jobs. By now, they were on track to become permanent, valued members of her extended family.
Rochelle popped up and gave her a hearty hug.
“Lovin’ this scene, Liv. I’m really good at handling your patrons at the cafe. And I’m surprised how much I enjoy it. Hey, is it okay if I open your bar?”
“Sure.” Olivia turned to the dark-haired man who suddenly stood and lowered his head in a bow.
“Ms. Olivia.”
Gio. The epitome of a gentleman. Beneath that polite quiet exterior, she imagined the heart of a truly sexy beast beat time waiting for the day it could come out and play. He was handsome enough, that was obvious, but he kept everything bottled up. One day, she thought.
“Evening, Gio. And how about you, are you happy here?”
“I’m grateful for the opportunity you gave me. And yes, I am relieved to live a normal life again. You gave me the right job, Ms. Olivia. I am. Happy here, I mean.”
“Wonderful. And, Gio, it’s just Olivia. We don’t stand on formality here. We’re all family.”
“Forgive me. I’m just grateful for my benefactress and for the freedom you’ve given me and my friends. Of course, I’ll try to loosen up.”
Olivia tugged at his shirt collar. “Try to, please. And go get something sinfully alcoholic to drink. Relax, Gio, life is good now. You will always be my hero because you are the one that got Corri away from that motherfucker. Let me take care of you.”
“I could have done nothing different.”
“That tells me all I need to know about you. Gio, I think you have a big future here with me. Go, get that drink.”
When the door opened again, Corri led Vaz through, already having a good night. He’d changed so much since the tortured man he’d been when he showed up desperate to find Corri months ago.
While she kept her welcoming smile in place, it struck her that love, when it goes right, will do that for you.
“Welcome, everyone, come on in. This girl has been gone too long, so let’s celebrate my return. Now, where’s that feast?”
SIX BLOCKS AWAY
“Sir, I have two for you. They are definitely what you wanted.”
“Just two?” Frederick inquired, expecting a greater number from his man in Brazil.
“They’re all you need, sir. These two are the closest to the vampires you want to know about. If I attempt to take more, they will discover my presence, and then the mission’s blown.”
“Sensible. That’s why I hired you. Locktite, bring them to me. The jet has been dispatched.”
“As discussed. You’re still in the same building?”
“Off Sunset and Wisteria, yes.”
“I will see you tonight.”
Closing the call without the standard greeting, Frederick Villioth dropped onto a hard chair, relieved. Soon, he would have two humans he could control by compulsion to find out what they knew about the supervamps, or whatever the hell they were.
Finally, maybe he would get his answers. Kidnapping people was distasteful, not something he would ordinarily condone, but he had been presented with no other option. He couldn’t just go up to the vampire Olivia and ask what hell she was, not with the violent reaction from that one in Corsica who had the same mysterious skills.
“Did you get anything yet?”
Thalasia entered, and as usual, her voice heralded her arrival. The woman did amazing things with that mouth, but the incessant gabbing was not one of them. It was a pleasant voice, but she did prattle on.
“Perhaps,” Frederick answered. “My man is bringing two humans for me to interrogate. Ah, I do hate that word.”
Thalasia hopped up on the top of the bar counter, swinging her long legs, red spiked heels striking the wood.
“Interrogate? But you do it so well.”
“Doesn’t mean I enjoy it. However, in this case, it must be done.”
“Oh, for that hot vampire babe. Why don’t you just go ask her?”
“Because, dear lady, I am quite certain she would use her unbelievable skill to compel me, which she should not be able to do, and purge my memory of her altogether.”
“Like that big guy in Corsica. Yeah, he was pretty spectacular. Well, you’ll get her.”
“I don’t need to get her, I would just like to be in the loop and understand what she and that Koen are.”
“Yeah, I know. Fred, I’ve never seen you fail. Once you get what you want, are you going to do what you promised? Are you going to convert me?”
It had been an impromptu promise back in Corsica, and he didn’t answer. Dialing his fone again, he spoke as soon as it engaged. “Elmo, prepare restraints for two humans.”
“Locktite bringing them in?”
“He is. Tonight.”
“Yeah, they’ll be ready. He gonna tranq ‘em?”
Lord. “Yes, he gonna tranq ‘em.”
“Okay. I’ll get to it.”
Finally. He’d had three teams working on this mystery since he’d first observed the owner of Serenity Tower use compulsion on a vampire. When it had happened again in Corsica, he’d made a deal with a vampire named Vaz. He would help Vaz find a rogue vampire in exchange for the information on how it was possible for a vampire to compel a vampire, but the asshole had reneged and disappeared. He’d distrusted Frederick, and bolted.
Frederick admitted that there was reason to distrust him. His motives were rarely pure, hadn’t even been when he’d still been human, but that didn’t make him evil.
His only option had been to return to the female vampire he knew was unique, to watch and wait for the opportunity for something, anything, to reveal what she was.
After kidnapping her closest vampire ally with failed results, he’d known his best avenue was to find a human being on her inner circle. Humans could be compelled and he would easily have his story. Tonight was one for celebration.
Thalasia’s voice interrupted again. “Are you going to take me out of this building finally? Or can I go on my own? I’m bored.”
“You remember why we came here?”
“Yeah. You met a vampire who can control…”
“Compel.”
“Right. Same difference, really. You met a vampire who can do what they shouldn’t be able to do, and you being you, you can’t let it go until you know how they can.”
A long sigh of exasperation preceded his nod. “Yes, me being me, I need answers. When I became vampire three hundred years ago, the things I could do that mere humans could not blew me away. It still did until I realized that apparently there is yet another level higher to achieve.”
“And you have to be at the highest level, right Fred?”
“My dear Thalasia, a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for
?”
Fred watched his favorite blood-bond, her huge eyes wide open as she listened to him. She’d never understand the Robert Browning reference, but it was fine, she was good at fucking and that’s all he needed her for. The moment when he’d considered bringing her over had passed. He liked the brazen woman, but a commitment of several lifetimes with her around, he couldn’t see it. He wouldn’t tell her, of course, why disappoint the poor thing.
“So they get here tonight?” she asked abruptly.
“Yes, and it won’t be the failure it was when my first team took Olivia’s vampire friend. I’m practically vibrating with excitement. You see, after being alive for centuries, very little surprises a vampire. This, however, exhilarates me like Christmas day used to when I was a child. Oh, to find something new after all these years.”
“I can imagine.”
Frederick noticed Thalasia’s eyes as she spoke, a depth undefined and never before seen. He could almost believe she could.
Serenity Tower’s New Night Club
“Whoo-hoo!”
Rochelle was in her element, dancing on stage, the frighteningly brief dress in danger of sliding off with the next cha-cha move, her arms flailing above her head as she wiggled and turned.
Corri and Olivia held onto each other, they were laughing so hard at Rochelle’s antics. Dancing around Rochelle and at least half a dozen other women, eight perfectly buff human men wearing only the briefest of briefs tried to do their job entertaining the clients in the club.
“Where did you find these men?” Olivia asked.
“Hot, hot, hot, aren’t they? I was talking to Cairine about produce the other day and told her that I was looking for male dancers for your new club and she mentioned that a lot of the workers in Australia were really ripped. So I called Eras and he sent me some pics. Whoa, hell yeah, so I contacted them to see if anyone was interested. Forty men were thrilled to send me audition vids. I picked these eight for a limited engagement just to see how it went.”
“Excellent choice, it’s a hit.”
Their eyes back on the hired dancers, they noticed Rochelle with a dark-skinned man she was practically humping as they danced.
“I think Ro would agree.”
Sighing, Corri pushed from her seat. Rochelle had limited inhibitions, and humans were less comfortable with blatant public sex displays, even in this type of setting, so she knew she’d better rein her in.
“Unless we want to see more of Rochelle than that tube top she’s using for a dress covers, I’d better go get her.”
“If there weren’t so many humans attending, I’d say let her be, but yes, I think we need to cool her down.”
Sipping one of Corri’s unique concoctions, Olivia relaxed back into a plush chair identical to every other chair in the club. This newest club, Persistence, had been designed for the optimum experience of pleasure and stimulation. Overt sexual acts were kept from the main part of the club, but a series of nicely dressed rooms lined the back where people could go to get a happy ending. Her staff was replete with skilled, lovely people of all shapes and sizes, a world palette of skin tones, and any combination of genders. It was an upscale, safe place to explore sexual pleasures.
Now up on the stage, Corri had her arms around Rochelle, trying to detangle her from the Australian dancer. Rochelle, drunk, horny, pulled Corri close, her hands around her friend’s waist as Corri led her off the stage.
“Uh, sweetie, let’s set you up with a partner.”
“I want the gorgeous Aussie.”
“Sorry, honey, he’s a dancer, not a server. You know you won’t be disappointed here.”
“Yeah, I know. I miss our days together in the orgies sometimes, Cor.”
“Yes, but it’s much better now. We’re free and happy.”
“True. Okay, but I want dark chocolate tonight. I want someone beautifully roasted like me.”
“How about Clyde?”
Rochelle slid a hand down her chest, stopping at her nipples. “Oh, yeah, Clyde is exactly what I want.”
“Come with me, Ro, but, uh, keep your clothes on until I close the door behind you two.”
Rochelle laughed too loud, stomping after Corri, eager now to get to the suites in the Pleasure Center of the club.
Leading Rochelle through the crowd, flashbacks of her days with Rocky’s troupe, endless sex, naked people everywhere, it struck her as strange that they weren’t all bad memories. Much of the time near the end, Rocky had left them alone, so she and Rochelle had just enjoyed young vampire life in Italy. Of course, it couldn’t compare to the joy she had now with Vaz at her side and Olivia as family. Happier now than she ever thought possible after she’d been kidnapped and forcibly converted, she was grateful she didn’t suffer post-traumatic issues from that horrible experience.
Clyde, a large man with dark skin and hazel eyes, looked up as they approached the Center. When he saw Rochelle, he smiled.
“Ro. Shell,” he purred. “I hoped you’d come see me again soon.”
“Not soon enough, hot buns.” Rochelle hooked him with an arm and yanked him into Suite 3, waving behind her back at Corri as the door closed.
Corri sighed and smiled. “Someday, you’re going to fall in love, my friend, and your world will change again.”
AT IFE’S COMPOUND IN BRAZIL
“José has located their fones. Come on, we’ll take the lift-car.” Scottie already had the keyfob in her hand and one foot out the door, with Brigitte, Ife, and Torin following on her heels.
Gliding through the dark skies, this lift-car had been fitted with extra lighting beneath the vehicle that, when flipped on, provided efficient ground-directed search lights. Most cars in cities had little use for this type of retro-fit, but ninety percent of the reclaimed Amazon basin was naturally pitch dark again now that the mega-corporations had been forced out. Ife considered that one of her finest achievements.
Using the ground lights, Scottie found the rocky ridge where José had tracked their fones to, and, landing carefully in the limited space, she killed the engine. The sudden silence seemed ominous as the four passengers, using hand-held lights, searched the ground for their friends, the fones, or any evidence to let them know where they could be.
“Here,” Scottie called out moments into the search.
“Dani’s fone. Oh, fuck! She’d never leave this behind. Something has definitely happened to them.”
Brigitte’s imagination started firing off ideas, scenarios, history, and her head snapped up. “Is there a chance they were swallowed by the earth like before?”
No one answered because no one had the answer, so they continued the search wordlessly, radiating out from the center of the area where Dani’s fone had lain abandoned. Scottie stood to the side of the ledge, searching through it in case there were any photos, notes, or clues as to their fate. Finally, she turned it off. “Nothing here, guys. Keep looking for Will’s.”
Five minutes later, Torin barked out, “Got it!,” and everyone gathered around him as he opened up the main screen and began to scroll through any recent entries or photos. He was about to announce the same thing Scottie had when a photo came up next as he searched. It stopped him there, stunned. The image was of Olivia, naked, wet, rising from a pool in a cave he did not recognize. He knew it had to have been taken when they both disappeared in that second collapse a few days ago.
God, she was luminous! He knew in that moment why his friend had been so quiet these past two weeks. He was in love with Olivia.
Brigitte watched Torin staring at the fone after a long pause, silent. “What is it?”
Closing off the device, he glanced up casually.
“Nothing. Just the usual lame pics. Nothing helpful.”
Torin glanced at Ife as he finished and put the fone into his pocket. Once Brigitte wandered away, he touched her arm. “Did you know?”
Ife nodded. “But neither of them had admitted it by then. I don’t know if they really have yet. Of course,
now Will’s missing, and, no Torin, I don’t think he’s run off to join Olivia in Vegas. I truly think that he and Dani are in trouble.”
“Okay. I think so too, but…”
He fished the fone out and turned it toward Ife to reveal the photo Will had taken of Olivia. “I wish someone had told me. I would never have gone after her if I’d known.”
“You’re a good man, Torin. Will knows that. He trusts you and wanted you to be happy. Let’s just focus on finding them and you two will work this out.”
A simple nod let Ife know that Torin agreed, and she watched him turn the fone back off and pocket it. As he walked away, she turned from him to face the barely lit valley below. The photo had been taken by a man in love, but it was of a woman in love with that man, too. She hoped like hell this would have a happy ending.
Dizziness moved through her head out of nowhere, and she knew that a spiritual guide was trying to send her an image. Once it arrived in her head, she moaned. No, no happy ending from what the spirit world revealed. Ife didn’t care, they needed to do all they could to find Will and Dani.
Scottie walked toward her out of the darkness, the others close behind. “There’s nothing here to let us know where they are or what might have happened to them.”
“Okay, here’s the next important question. Brigitte, has Will ever taken your blood?”
A slight shake of Brigitte’s head answered.
“Does anyone know if Dani has fed on vampire blood?”
“I doubt it. She hasn’t really been with anyone since we all got together. I’m sure she hasn’t been with a vampire.”
“You’re probably right. Why don’t you all get back in the car and I’ll be right there.”
Torin watched her as he walked toward the car, well aware of what she was going to do.
Once everyone was clear, she hit another button and waited for an answer, but the call went to voicemail.
“Olivia, I have an urgent question. It involves Will and Dani’s safety, so text me the second you get this message.”
