by V. A. Dold
“I will. I promise.”
“Okay, well if you want to stay with me the offer still stands.”
“I know, and I appreciate it. I’m staying at one of Etie’s houses surrounded by badass vampires, so I think I’m safe.”
“Perfect. No one will get to you there. I need to go, I have a lot of work to do today. Stay alive. If you die on me, I’ll kill you,” Karen growled.
Willa laughed. “I’ll do that. Talk to you later, sweetie.”
She knew what Karen was talking about. She’d had a nagging feeling something was stalking her. Something evil and persistent, this way comes. She shook off the trepidation. She was safe in Etie’s home, and she planned to explore every inch of it today. Even the basement if she could find it.
Dressed and ready for the day, she scooped Shadow off the bed and headed for the kitchen. He needed to be fed, and she needed coffee. A gallon of it.
She grinned when she saw Etie sitting at the kitchen table, sipping coffee and reading the paper. He wasn’t kidding when he said he had a Pepé Le Pew mug, though the Roadrunner pajama pants were unexpected.
He set his paper aside, a bright smile erasing his serious resting face. “Good morning, beautiful. Did you sleep well?”
“I did. How about you?” she asked as she sat Shadow’s food bowl on the floor, and he dove into it headfirst like he hadn’t eaten in a week.
God was definitely male and a biased son of a gun. A man should never look that lickable before a shower and a shave. She walked over and ran a finger along his jawline. “A five o’clock shadow looks really yummy on you.”
He rubbed at the stubble and cocked his head a little. “You think so? I can keep it if you want me to.”
“I do. Scruff is sexy. Who knows you might get lucky,” she said with a wink as she headed for the coffee maker.
“That settles it. I’m keeping the whiskers.”
Willa took the chair next to his and blew on her coffee to cool it. “So, what are your plans for the day?”
“I have to make a few calls, answer emails, and meet with my men at the bayou house. How about you?”
“I’m going to soak in the grandeur of this mansion. I plan to take my time in each and every room.”
Etie chuckled. “Based on your blissed-out expression, I’m sure you will have a good time. About tonight. I would like to take you out on the town. Would you care to listen to some excellent music and perhaps have a dance or two with me?”
“I don’t know. I’m not the best dancer. No, that’s being generous. I could give Elaine on Seinfeld a run for her money.”
“We’ll dance the slow songs, and I’ll let you stand on my feet,” he teased.
She shook her head, laughing at him. “You’re persistent and a glutton for punishment, aren’t you?”
“When it comes to you? Always.”
Willa tapped her ceramic mug with a fingernail. “I had a visitor this morning.”
Etienne shot out of his chair. “What! Were you harmed?”
“No, not that kind of visitor. Sit down and take a breath.”
She waited for him to retake his seat before recounting Amalia’s appearance in the bedroom.
Etie nodded. “She was always a generous woman. It does not surprise me that she would want to comfort and reassure you. But I’m surprised she is still around. I haven’t seen her in over six months.”
“She had the warmest, most loving energy I’ve ever felt. Though I doubt either of us will see her again, she said she is about to be reborn into a family in Wisconsin.”
Etie chuckled. “Wisconsin? That will be a dramatic change for her. She was always a city girl through and through.”
“I’m sure she’ll love it. She was very excited about being alive again.”
“She mentioned something about that when we last talked. But enough about her, I want to talk about us. Are you going to go dancing with me or not?” he asked as he pulled her from her chair and onto his lap.
Etie started to kiss and nibble her neck. Still, she managed to breathe out, “I would love to.”
Etie held her hand as he drove them to a club on Frenchmen Street, which was only a block or two past Esplanade Avenue. When he pulled into a reserved parking space outside a run-down brick building with a sign hanging on for its life by one hook, she raised her brows. “Guardian Gadgets? This… doesn’t look like a nightclub.”
He smiled at her and exited the car. Then he bent to look back at her. “Looks can be deceiving. The derelict appearance is a cover for what’s inside. There’s a dance club in there, I promise.”
She peered up at the building as he helped her from the car. “Is anything manufactured here?”
“Not a darn thing,” he said with a grin.
She grinned back and chuckled. “Your cover might be better if”—she glanced at the sign again—“gadgets were actually made here.”
He shrugged. “We haven’t had an issue with the way we camouflage the club up to now, so I think we’re safe. The supernaturals in this city tire of the human bars and need a place where they can let their hair down, or out, in some cases.”
She swallowed hard. “I’m not even going to ask what kind of creatures you’re referring to. In this case, ignorance is bliss.”
He took her hand and led her to a side door, looking hard at the shadows. Something was making his neck itch. “There’s no need to be afraid. You’re with me, and I’ll be at your side the entire time.” Then he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Have I mentioned that I love the little black dress you’re wearing? I can’t wait to take it off of you.”
She bit her lip and looked up at him “Play your cards right and I’ll let you.”
He kissed her and whispered, “I never lose at cards.” Then he stopped in front of a rusted door at the opposite end of the building.
“Give me a moment before we go in.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and texted Darius.
We are at the club. Three behind the dumpster.
We are on the way.
Take them alive if possible.
Will do. Have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.
Etienne tucked his phone away, retook her hand, and pushed the door open. Willa’s eyes went wide. The lights and sounds of the nightclub enveloped them. The beat vibrated through his body even though the volume was well below what was played in a human bar.
He smiled when she pressed her body against his and gawked at the menagerie of patrons.
“Wow. Just wow.”
“I gave Angelika free rein here as well. She likes… bling.”
“I’d say. She must be a fan of the rat pack and old-time Vegas.”
Chandeliers littered the ceiling. Gold-leafed woodwork alternated with floor-to-ceiling mirrored panels that reflected the undulating bodies on the dance floor. And it looked like someone threw up red velvet on all of the furniture. The outrageous chairs and couches were placed around coffee tables into conversational groupings, which was pretty nice actually.
“What’s with that?” she asked and nodded at one grouping that was roped off.
“My private table,” he answered as he unclipped the golden rope that was slung between iron posts.
The instant her butt made contact with the sofa cushion a waitress appeared as if out of thin air. Willa’s brows rose, and she glanced at Etie in question.
His lips twitched as if he was suppressing a laugh. “What would you like to drink?”
“Whisky coke.”
“I’ll have the same.”
The girl nodded. “Sure thing.” Then, poof, she was gone again, only this time Willa was ready for it. The waitress didn’t so much disappear as become a blur when she shot from them to the bar across the room.
“What the hell, Etie?”
“She’s a faerie. They tend to flit from place to place.”
“You call that flitting? It’s more like zooming.”
He chuckled and pulled her close until she was
tucked against his side. “I suppose you’re right.”
She enjoyed the band for a minute and smiled. “I like it here. At the clubs around the French Quarter, they always play the music so loud you can’t hear yourself think. Here, we can actually have a conversation without shouting.”
“Supernatural hearing is very acute. Loud sounds are painful. We don’t need nor want the music at a volume that the people on the next block over can hear it.”
Willa winced and shook her head. “No one needs music that loud.”
The faerie reappeared with their drinks and disappeared just as quickly.
“That’s going to take some getting used to,” Willa said with a laugh, then took a sip, and sighed.
“Then I won’t tell you about the other things a faerie can do,” he teased.
She kept a tight grip on her cocktail, an indication of her nervousness and held up her free hand. “I don’t even want to know.” That was when she took a closer look at the people around them and took a healthy gulp of her drink.
He followed her gaze to a shifter who had partially changed to a bear. “As I said before, the supernaturals like to come here and let their hair down.”
“Will he attack us?”
“No. He’s just having a good time. So is that faerie over there.” He pointed at a man in the middle of the dance floor who had sprouted iridescent purple wings.
She leaned forward as if that would give her a better view. “His wings are beautiful.”
Etienne followed her lead and rested his forearms on his knees. “He’s nowhere near as beautiful as you.”
Willa turned her head to find herself nose to nose with him. “Thank you, Etie.”
He raised a finger and suddenly the faerie waitress was back with a fresh round.
“Nice! You’re pretty handy to have around.”
He gave her a cocky grin as he stirred his drink. “It’s nice to know that I’m good for something.”
“Willa!” a woman’s voice shrieked right before Karen rushed over and plopped into one of the chairs.
“Hey, Karen! What are you doing here?”
“Hanging out, of course, the same as you.” She shivered dramatically and added, “I had to get away from all of the kissy face going on at the house.”
Etie’s brows shot up at her comment. “I didn’t know that love was a bad thing.”
Karen sighed. “It isn’t unless you are the only one without a partner.”
Etie reached across Willa to pat Karen’s knee. “Your special man is coming. I’m sure of it.”
“Lord, I hope so.” Karen plumped a throw pillow and stuffed it behind her back and then wiggled until she was satisfied. “This is cozy. Almost like being at home, but better. There are single men here.”
Willa snuggled into Etie and grinned up at him. “I agree. With the cozy part, anyway.”
He put a finger under her chin and kissed her soundly. “I agree, as well.”
Karen got to her feet and jabbed her fists onto her hips. “That’s it. I can’t take it anymore. I left the house to get away from kissing.” She held a hand out to Willa resolutely. “Come and dance with me.”
Etienne made to get to his feet and stopped when Karen pointed a finger at him. “No men allowed.”
He gave her a regal nod and relaxed back into the couch and sipped his drink. Willa was a lovely sight. For all of her talk of dancing like Ellen on Seinfeld, she moved in time to the music, gracefully, passionately, not caring who was watching.
She gave her body up to the beat with sheer abandon. He admired her ability to shamelessly live life by her own rules.
Laughing at something Karen said, she bent low, so her rainbow of hair fell forward and then jerked back up and flipped all of that magnificent color over her head and let it settle around her shoulders in a silken cloud. Both women began to dance sensuously, using stripper moves he hadn’t known she possessed.
Etienne sat forward to take in the show as well as keep an eye on the men in the bar. That was his woman. There would be no touching by any of them.
Willa’s dance moves ignited a firestorm of fantasies that Etienne intended to reenact once he got her home.
She looked at him and winked. He watched as she said something to Karen, who then nodded. Smiling, Willa turned her attention back to him and crooked a finger.
He didn’t have to be asked twice. Etienne shot to his feet and made his way through the crowd to his woman.
Just as he reached the ladies, a slow song started. Karen huffed out an unladylike noise and stomped back to her chair.
Etie took hold of her waist and leaned in close. “Dance with me.” His voice was very low. Sultry. His eyes held hers, and her stomach somersaulted.
Willa concentrated to keep up. The man had mad skills. He waltzed her around the floor, people moving out of his way and then standing around the edge to watch. He swung her away and then twirled her back in close, her back to his front.
A couple minutes later, the tempo changed, and he was tangoing her from one end of the floor to the other. She gasped when he flipped her around, so her breasts were smashed against his hard chest. Then slowly, ever so slowly he dipped her and kissed her neck.
Just when she thought she had the hang of the difficult dance, the tempo changed again, and she burst out laughing. Gamely, she joined Etie in a rousing attempt at the Charleston.
Breathing hard, she was thankful when the music switched back to a waltz again. It felt good to be back in his arms. When she giggled, he gave her a strange look.
“I was just thinking that dancing with you is like dancing with one of the professionals on that show Dancing with the Stars. Then I remembered that you’re famous in this town, so technically, I am dancing with a star.”
Etienne snorted. Actually snorted. “You are a very eccentric woman, Willa. But you’re my kind of eccentric.”
Max and Xander were making their way down Bourbon Street when two mounted policemen waved them down. Changing their intended direction, the vampires met the policemen around a corner where they could talk away from the crowd.
“Mr. Monet, Mr. Beck,” one officer said in greeting as the other offered a nod. “Do you have a moment?”
Xander glanced around to ensure their privacy. “Of course. How can we be of service, gentlemen?”
“There have been several attacks on women over the past few nights.” The officer glanced at Max and then back at Xander before he leaned down in the saddle to whisper, “Vampire attacks.”
Xander stiffened. Max hissed. Their demeanors shifted from cordial to dangerous. The policemen knew without asking that whoever was attacking women were in far more danger from these men than they would ever be from the local law enforcement.
Max schooled his expression. When he spoke, his voice was calm and even, “Thank you. It will be taken care of.”
The officers nodded in answer and turned their mounts back toward Bourbon Street, acting for all to see as if they hadn’t just had a most unusual conversation.
“This is worse than we thought,” Xander murmured low enough for only Max to hear.
“I’ll report in with Darius and give him a heads up.”
Max started down the side street they had veered onto, then raised a hand and called over his shoulder, “While you do that, I’m going to take a turn around the block. I’ll meet you a block down.”
“I can walk and talk at the same time,” Xander pointed out.
“Find a quiet place and make your call. I’m a big boy. I’ll be fine.”
Max was halfway down the block when he heard a woman in distress. He took off at a dead run, determined to rescue the woman. If he was lucky, bag a vampire while he was at it.
“Want some help?” Xander yelled.
“I’ve got it.”
The moment Max was too deep into the dead-end alley to make a quick retreat, he knew he had fallen for a trap. The cries of a woman in need had triggered all of his protective instinc
ts, and he had responded. When Xander offered to go with him, he had waved his friend off expecting to deal with a human mugger or rapist. He didn’t need help beating the crap out of a human who needed a lesson in actions and consequences.
Over the decades, he had rescued countless human women who had drunk too much and found themselves in a dangerous situation. This was not one of them.
Yes, the woman was honestly terrified and had good reason to be, but she was merely a pawn. She was bait to draw him into their trap. What made the predicament more problematic was, one of the four vampires facing off with him had a knife to the woman’s throat. His woman’s throat.
He sized up the three circling him, pulled the hilt of his sword from his belt and released the blade. The magic in the weapon instantly transformed the ten ounces of harmless hilt into ten pounds of deadly sword. All three vampires followed suit, pulling silver-plated blades from their pockets and waistbands.
The one to his left lunged. Then leapt back to avoid the arcing swing of Max’s blade as it sang a low humming song through the humid night air.
A second lunged and then the third. He knew they were testing him, watching for a tell, hoping for a weakness. He had none. Tells and weaknesses had been trained out of him long ago.
All three rushed him at once. He parried strike after strike, hissing when a blade grazed his ribs. This was a situation manufactured to separate him for his team sweeping the French Quarter. Divide and conquer was as old as time itself. He knew better than to enter a dark, enclosed space without back up, but his arrogance had gotten him into trouble. Again.
He heard Xander’s feet pounding the pavement. His friend and comrade in arms must have heard the sounds of metal on metal and put two and two together. He could always count on Xander to have his back.
This was going to get messy before they were done. It wouldn’t do to have humans passing on the sidewalk beyond the alley witnessing the battle. Slowly, he backed deeper into the shadows, drawing the unknown vampires with him.
Max was ready for the next attack, all the while dividing his focus between the three coming at him and the one holding his muierimei captive. He primed for the fight, taking a breath to steady his heartbeat, and flexed his sword arm as he planted his feet shoulder-width apart.