Things were finally going the way she wanted them to—at least, that’s what she’d been thinking until she got to work that night and spotted Gervais talking to a vampire at a table near the most remote corner of the cavern.
Even more suspicious, the second he spotted her, he left the man without a backward glance. What the hell?
He joined her behind the bar and began getting clean glasses out of the dishwasher and placing them on the counter.
“Who’s that?” she asked. “The vamp you were talking to in the corner?”
“Dunno, I was just serving him,” Gervais said.
Morana bit back an instant retort. He wasn’t telling her the truth. She thought she had him under her thumb. “It looked like you two were having a heart-to-heart,” she said.
“No. I was just serving a drink,” Gervais said, turning away from her and lining the clean glasses on the counter behind them.
Short of calling him an outright liar, she had little recourse. Her jaw tightened. Damn it.
She reached over and ran a hand seductively along his arm.
He instantly pulled away.
She had to remember he wasn’t Diesel, and he had no interest in her sexually. That was the one downside to this working relationship—he wasn’t easy to manipulate. And now she didn’t trust him, either. Not that she could ever truly trust another vampire, but it was becoming apparent that this one was up to something. But what?
She’d been deciding whether or not to confront him when her damned sister entered the club. “Merde.”
“What’s wrong?” Gervais asked.
Morana slid a quick surveying glare at him. Come to think of it, suddenly he was way too curious. Now that she knew he was up to something, she could have kicked herself for not wondering about him sooner. He’d played her, and she hated that.
Jess made straight for her. Of course.
The bitch looked too much like her these days. Jess had been making herself look more fashionable since she’d come to Paris, and that pissed Morana off even more.
Gervais did a double take when Jess sat at the barstool across from Morana. “Whoa, I’m seeing double tonight? Two beautiful black roses—”
Morana scowled at him.
Jess flashed a quick glance at him. “We haven’t met before,” she said. “My name’s Jess.”
He shrugged, probably because he noticed Morana’s black looks. Without responding, he moved down the long bar toward the human bartenders, giving the sisters some space.
“Why are you here?” Morana asked point blank. She could barely stand being around Jess since she’d left Jess to die at the hands of a demon. It reminded her that she’d been a coward. Vampires weren’t cowards. Not that she’d ever admit that to anyone.
“I’m waiting for Britt,” Jess said. “He’s in the tunnel.”
Morana raised an eyebrow. “Not again? Two days in a row?”
Jess nodded. “Have you seen anyone in the club tonight? Anyone suspicious?”
Morana’s lips thinned. “How would I know? I barely notice the humans—they all look alike to me.”
Jess rolled her eyes cynically, and Morana tightened her fists. “Did you want a drink?”
“No. I’ve already had my sustenance for the day,” she said.
“You only consume once a day?”
Jess nodded.
“How do you manage that? I need to sup at least four times, if not five in order to work among humans.”
“Really? Guess I’m just lucky,” Jess said.
LATELY, JESS HAD been thinking that other than the prayers which helped her to go out in the sunlight, there was very little else about her that was different from other vampires. Especially here in France, where, for the most part, those same vampires seemed more civilized.
“I guess I didn’t realize how lucky I was,” she added, then bit her tongue when Morana’s expression turned cryogenic. “Damn it, Morana. I didn’t mean to make you feel—”
Morana grabbed a cleaning cloth and slapped it up and down the bar in front of her. “As if I care,” she spat. “Do you really think I honestly feel emotions the way you do? That any real vampire does?”
Ouch! That was a deliberate slap in the face. “So, no sign of anyone suspicious?” Jess asked again, changing the subject. Then she noticed Morana’s attention homed in on someone at the back of the bar.
She turned slightly in order to see who it was that Morana had unconsciously given away. Or had it been consciously?
She noted the features of the vampire at the back of the room and realized she’d seen him in Vlad’s club. So, she knew where to find him in order to check him out further.
“We had a pervert in here the other night, trying to pick up really young girls, barely old enough to drink. Samuel, over there,” she said, pointing at a muscle-bound blond bouncer near the main door. “He got rid of him quickly.” She leaned over the bar, closer to Jess. “It would’ve been better if I’d taken him out and showed him how real perversion can get.” Her eyes flashed in wicked humor.
“Would you have merely scared him, then let him go?”
The wickedness turned to hate, and Morana’s eyes narrowed on Jess. “You are such a bitch. Are you trying to set me up as the Underground Killer?”
“Not at all,” Jess said, suddenly cringing. She hadn’t even considered that. “It’s just that I don’t truly understand the vampire lifestyle here in France, even though I’ve been here over two months already.”
“Seems much longer.” Morana grimaced. “That means you’ll be leaving soon, doesn’t it?”
Jess nodded. “End of the month, we should be heading back to the U.S.”
She watched actual joy spread across her sister’s usually surly expression. It looked like Morana wouldn’t miss her when she left. Too bad they hadn’t found anything about their birthparents, though. Sampson had been put on the task, even travelling to Rome for answers. If he couldn’t find information, there wasn’t any to be found. The church that had held their birth records had burned to the ground. End of story.
“Oh, what a surprise! Britt’s here,” Morana said through clenched teeth. “You should run along now. I’m sure he can’t wait to get his hands on you.”
Jess sighed. “I’m sorry, Morana.”
“What? Why are you sorry?”
“I’m sorry for you. You can’t see past the darkness; you only see the bad.”
“I’m an effing you-know-what,” she said, noticing a human waiting nearby for a drink. “So, piss off. You’re annoying me.”
Jess sprang to her feet and considered jumping the bar and teaching Morana a lesson. Instead, she inhaled, turned, and walked away, meeting Britt halfway across the floor.
Her stomach tightened at the worried look on his face.
Chapter Three
“WHAT’S WRONG?” SHE asked. He looked pale. Something about the newest victim had really spooked him.
“Nothing. Just the usual stuff, doll.”
She narrowed her gaze. Had he just lied to her? Yes, she was pretty sure he had. But why? “C’mon! What’s going on? What have you found?”
He put a hand on her lower back and gently nudged her in the direction of the exit. “I’ll tell you outside the club.”
She’d felt his fingers react against her flesh when he mentioned the tunnel. He hated bones, and this place was either going to kill him or cure him of his phobia. Either way, she felt sorry for him. He always had a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead down here, no matter how cool the air. His heart beat at twice its regular rate, too.
It was difficult for him to face, but he’d been in this bone labyrinth more times than she’d ever imagined possible for him. His strength never ceased to impress her.
The
y were halfway to the exit before he slowed his pace, spotted the bones embedded in the tunnel walls, and shuddered. “On the other hand, why don’t we talk up top?”
“Okay,” she said. She knew why.
They climbed through the exit and walked about a block before he slowed down and the sweat on his brow disappeared.
“Do you mind if we go somewhere I can get a drink, first?” he asked.
She narrowed her gaze on him. “Okay.” Whatever he wanted to tell her must be serious.
They went to a sidewalk bar and sat. Britt ordered a beer. He took several mouthfuls before he set the glass down and focused on her. “I’ve figured out the connection between the dead girls,” he said.
Jess leaned forward. “You did? What is it?”
“They’re all twenty-nine,” he said.
Jess hadn’t realized she’d been tense until her muscles relaxed. This wasn’t exactly the horrible news she’d expected. “Is that important?”
“I think this killer is targeting twenty-nine-year-old women for a reason.”
“And that would be?”
He shook his head and stared into his beer. “Damned if I know, but I intend to find out.”
“Did you tell Veronique?”
He nodded. “She doesn’t think it means much. But it does, I know it does. I just have to figure out why.”
“I trust your instincts, Britt. If you think it means something, then I believe it.”
He drained the last of his beer, and she wondered if he’d ask for another. When they’d first met, he’d been well on his way to becoming an alcoholic. But not anymore. He’d changed since he’d become part of her team.
The waiter approached, and he put a hand over his mug. “No, merci,” he said with a very American accent that made her grin.
He sighed and looked up at the sky. “Did you ever think we’d come here and be faced with so many challenges?”
“Not at all. We were afraid we’d be bored.”
Lowering his gaze to hers, he said, “But it’s kept you from going stir-crazy, hasn’t it?”
She nodded, thinking she should try to paste on a guilty look, but she just couldn’t.
“So,” he said. “I forgot to ask you yesterday if you followed the person you saw on the rooftop.”
“No. He’d disappeared by the time you two had gone into the precinct. I figured there’d be no chance in finding whoever it was, so I went to LaCave to see if Morana had noticed anyone suspicious in the bar.”
“And did she?”
Jess tapped a freshly lacquered fingernail on the checkered tablecloth. “That’s the funny thing. She said she hadn’t, but her attention shifted momentarily to a vampire at the back of the room. A vampire I’d seen at Vlad’s place, the last night we were there.”
Britt nearly stood before Jess motioned him back down. “I’d liked to have a chat with him,” he said.
“Me too,” she said. “We could always take a stroll over to Vlad’s bar.”
A jealous expression crossed Britt’s face before he quashed it. “Not my favorite place to go, but in this instance, okay. Do you think this guy might be the killer?”
“No. I don’t think it was that. Morana had a different look on her face—one I’ve never seen on her before. It was fear, mingled with distrust. Whoever this vamp was, she didn’t like him being there. If he’d been a suspect in the killing, I’m sure she would have blabbed instantly. She’s not into saving anyone but herself.”
“I’m glad you see that in her,” Britt said, then looked sorry. “She’s not like you, doll. I’m sorry if that bothers you when I say it.”
Jess grinned. “It would bother me more if she were like me. Then all that work Regent had done to partially save my soul would have meant nothing.”
“But now you realize how special you are?”
Jess considered her words before blurting out a few truths about herself that might hurt Britt. She wasn’t even close to human. She still had evil tendencies and desires. She just managed to keep them at bay—for now. Instead of voicing that, she said instead, “Let’s not get carried away, Brittain.”
“Okay, when you call me Brittain, I know I’m in trouble.” His hand dropped away from her, and he rubbed his upper lip, as if he wanted to kiss her. “Truce?”
“No need. Let’s go.”
Even though he hadn’t admitted it, she knew he hated the fact that they’d have to see Vlad again. “Maybe Vlad will have the vampire trap locations when we get there,” she added, trying to make him feel better.
“Maybe.”
He sounded as if he didn’t trust anything about Vlad, including his so-called knowledge about the vampire traps. “There’s another way to stay safe, you know. If we stick together, you’ll never be trapped anywhere because I’ll be able to get you out,” he said.
Jess stopped walking and waited for him to notice.
He took another few paces before he looked back. “Jess?”
“You know that’s not practical. You can’t always be with me. Sometimes I just need to roam on my own. It’s part of who I am.”
“I know,” he said. “But I had to try.”
They began walking again. By the time they reached the club, it was nearly three in the morning and full of patrons—more than they’d ever seen inside.
They took a table in a corner at the back where they could watch people without being noticed.
Vlad wasn’t around, nor the man Jess had seen at LaCave. Britt ordered another beer, though he didn’t drink much of it. Jess turned down a blood cup.
There were several other vampires back in the darkened end of the bar, but they kept to themselves, muttering quietly as if there was some sort of conspiracy happening.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to these vampires,” she said. “Meeting and drinking together in a civil way.”
“It’s different, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could manage that in New York. Do you think it’d be possible?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I think this type of reason comes with age—the vampires in here are centuries old.”
“Really?” Britt breathed, glancing around the room. “I had no idea.”
“It’s not likely going to happen that way for us any time soon.”
“If that’s the case, then no.”
Britt stopped talking and stared. Jess followed his gaze. Vlad had just stepped into the bar with his hand in a proprietary position on Captain Veronique LaFontaine’s back. She’d just laughed and looked into his eyes. There was no denying the love she exhibited with that gaze.
“Holy crap!”
“I’ll double that,” Jess said. “Now we know we were right about her and Vlad, but it’s not just a romance, is it?”
“I don’t think so,” Britt said. “Turn your head, he’s looking this way.” They both moved quickly so Vlad couldn’t see their faces.
He must not have seen them because he stopped at the bar, got Veronique a drink, and they went into the backroom together.
When the door shut, Jess leaned toward Britt. “See that guy standing guard beside the door? That’s the vamp who was at LaCave. He’s one of Vlad’s henchmen—maybe even a bodyguard.”
“Let’s get out of here before they come out again and see us. I’d like to keep the fact that we’re on to them a secret for a little while. It’ll give us time to find more out.”
“Lead on,” Jess said, and they slipped out of the club without too much notice.
REGENT MISSED SAMPSON’S company. His lab was now in the basement of the building Jess owned, with his apartment on the first floor. Regent could have had the second floor for himself, but he still feared the Church was watching him and he didn’t want to draw undue attention to the fact that
his sister was a vampire.
It was odd, that feeling of being watched he’d been experiencing, but it was still pervasive. If Jess found out, she’d go ballistic and have him followed by someone night and day.
He decided to stay low-key for now. And, if things got out of hand, he’d ask his sister and Britt for help.
He’d thought after helping to take down the demon army, the Church would send him home. But no such luck—they wanted him to fulfill his three-month term before he could return to New York. Did that mean he hadn’t accomplished what they’d expected of him?
He ran a hand over his weary face and let out a long breath. Bored and needing something to do, he roamed around his place. He could always go visit Sampson. They often played chess in the evenings. And the streets were probably safer now that Britt and Jess had eliminated the demons.
He slapped his hands together in a final decision. “Get your hat on, old man,” he said to himself. “You’re going out.” He passed a mirror near the front door and saw an oddly familiar face—a face that looked somewhat like he had at forty-five. Damnation, he’d never get used to this younger body, this younger face. He was in his seventies, and his mind couldn’t revert back to being forty, no matter how his body looked on the outside. He still wished he knew what had happened. He barely remembered being kidnapped and whisked away to Europe last year. In his mind’s eye, he saw some sort of medical room filled with strange equipment, but then the memory was gone, and when he’d returned home, he was a younger man again.
Pushing those haunting thoughts away, he realized he’d forgotten it was the weekend until he started down the sidewalk. Partiers and revelers were in and out of sidewalk bars and taverns. Young people were going in every direction, and he suddenly felt out of his element.
He’d been so deep in thought, he’d crossed several bridges before he realized he had no idea where in heaven he was. He’d wandered into a rundown part of the city. He should have stuck to the main streets, since these side streets could be dangerous in the wee hours of the morning.
Graves of Retribution Page 4
