by Jess Haines
Royce even posted a calendar on his Web site of his scheduled appearances at his various establishments. Yes, a vampire celebrity with a Web site, what a novelty. When I first met him, I’d used that as a tool to figure out where to find him. These days, I also used it to figure out where not to be when I needed to check out the club scene in search of cheating lovers or shady business partners.
Some of the crazies like Jack the White Hat probably used it to find ways to corner or hurt him. The police have done more to protect the Others in the last few years, cracking down on the overzealous groups like the White Hats. In addition, Royce and a few other supernaturals had slapped lawsuits on those who discriminated against or attacked them, further curbing such delightful White Hat activities as burning down known Other establishments and hangouts, riots, beatings, even murder. That didn’t stop all of them, of course, but things were starting to settle down and the anti-Other crowd was beginning to look worse than the creatures they hated so much.
Sometimes the Others gave the general human populace good reason to be afraid of them. Despite their nature, they had rights now, and could walk the street like anyone else, but having legal citizenship didn’t do a thing to change the fact that Weres and vampires and even magi were monsters straight out of fairy tales. Weres could tear you apart bare-handed, even when they weren’t shifted. Vampires survived by drinking blood. Magi could twist and bend reality to their whims.
None of those were human traits, and even when you did your best to put those things aside, they would always be dangerous and inhuman.
Six months earlier, I’d seen firsthand how horrifically inhuman they were. I would carry scars across my chest and stomach until the day I die thanks to fighting with a crazy sorcerer, his bitch of a vampire girlfriend, the leader of the Moonwalker tribe, and last but certainly not least, Alec Royce.
I did not want to deal with other supernaturals. It was more than the scars left behind from my last up-close and personal experience. These things are scary. Some of them enjoy eating people. You don’t fool around with monsters like that voluntarily unless you know you’ll come out on top. Even then, your judgment would be questionable, at least in my book.
With those thoughts in mind, it no longer felt like such a great idea to be in my office all by myself after hours. Deciding the rest of my work could wait until Monday, I scooped up the Pryce paperwork, tucked it all back in its file, and tossed it into my pending basket on the corner of my desk. There were other businesses in the building, but they were mostly marketing firms and dentist offices, and I doubted anyone else was here this late on a Friday.
Grabbing my purse, cell, and keys, I turned off all the lights, set the alarm, and headed down to my car. Once in the parking lot, huddling in my jacket against the chill autumn wind, I thought about Chaz. He was my boyfriend, yes, but he was also a Were. Did I really want to have a werewolf alone with me in my apartment after tonight?
Yes. Yes I did. Unlike a human, Chaz had kept me safe from some threats that were too much for a deadbolt or a burglar alarm to keep out. There were some perks to having a monster on your side.
Not that I’d ever call him a monster to his face.
No matter how well behaved he might be, I knew it was there. I’d seen it. Touched it. Rolled my fingers through the fur, felt the weight of that not-man, not-wolf body. Known that, if not for his control over the pack he led, I’d have been nothing more than food to the rest of them. I’d also watched him fight another shifted Were, one much bigger and scarier than he was, keeping it away from me long enough to save everyone’s ass.
Chaz had also been useful in tracking down some of my clients’ marks. After the showdown against David Borowsky and his band of enslaved Weres made the news, a whole bunch of Others contacted H&W seeking our services. Sara and I decided we’d take the work, as long as it didn’t look too risky, unlike the majority of PI firms who won’t touch anything Other-related. I don’t have as much of an issue helping Weres and magi as I used to, though vampires still go to the back of the line. And for the most part, I don’t socialize with Others, since I still consider the majority of them scarier than Michael Myers with a machete and a grudge.
Chaz is the exception to my “keep the hell away from anything with fur or fangs” policy. Since he’d saved my life, it was hard to think of him as a bad guy. And we’d dated before, until he revealed what he was after we’d been together four or five months, and I freaked out and dumped him. This was admittedly a stupid move on my part. I came to realize this when I finally saw past my own blind idiocy that he cared about me and was showing me he trusted me with knowing what he was. Of course, it took him rescuing me, and helping me save Sara from the clutches of a mad sorcerer, to bring me around, but hey, at least I saw past the fur. Right?
We weren’t contracted. I refused to sign the papers that opened me up to being changed into a werewolf. It also meant we couldn’t do the nasty, but that didn’t bug me so much. Chaz hasn’t been brave enough to bring the subject up again, and I was happy to put off making a decision that involved the possibility of me being turned into an Other for as long as possible.
Contracts were all that saved humans from indiscriminately being eaten or injured by Others. The laws governing the wording of the contracts also made it abundantly clear that no Other was to chance turning a human, accidentally or otherwise, into one of their own. Given the passions attendant to things like sex and feeding, it prevented any Other from getting intimate with a human until they had all their legal ducks in a row.
In other words, Chaz and I might hug or kiss each other, but if we were going to do the horizontal tango, it would require a far greater commitment to him than I was willing to give at the moment. Dating was one thing–the kind of courage it would take to put my life in his hands quite another.
After mulling all this over, I realized that Chaz might know something about this Max Carlyle guy. He didn’t speak of it often but I knew he kept on top of the supernatural community’s secret goings-on. I figured I’d ask him about it when he came by later that night.
The whole ride home, I wondered who this Max person was, and what he wanted with me. Also, why did Jack care so much about me? Even though my business would be a great front for the mostly illegal activities of the White Hats, it didn’t explain why he kept pestering me or why he considered me such a threat. What connection did he have with Max Carlyle, if any? What was the connection between this newcomer and Alec Royce?
None of these questions could be answered easily, which didn’t improve my mood. By the time I pulled into my parking space at home, I’d resolved that tonight was going to be a stress-free evening with my boyfriend and that I’d worry about it all tomorrow.
Chapter 3
By nine thirty, I was getting pissed. Chaz was supposed to have shown up hours ago. He wasn’t picking up when I called. I’d turned my cell back on once I got home–no missed calls, voice mails, or text messages. Nothing on the answering machine at home. I even checked my e-mail–nothing but spam. That made two no-call-no-shows from him so far this month.
Where was he?
The last time it happened, he said it was pack business. Nothing to worry myself about. Something unavoidable. Something like when he called in his pack mates to help deal with David Borowsky, psychotic sorcerer extraordinaire, and his unwilling pack of lap-Weres. Nothing I wanted to get involved in, or know anything about.
After a while, annoyed and tired of waiting, I ordered Chinese from down the street and sat down in front of my computer. Curiosity getting the better of me, I did a Web search for any information about Max Carlyle. Nothing came up except hits that I was pretty sure had nothing to do with the person Jack had been talking about. A movie character? Surely not.
I leaned back in the chair and stared at the ceiling. Royce knew something about this guy. Jack knew something about this guy. The idea of talking to either one of them wasn’t appealing. Chaz might know something, but I was mor
e than a little ticked off at his inability to pick up a phone to call me and say, “Sorry, honey, running late,” or even a simple “An emergency came up, I won’t be around.” For his sake, his butt better be rotting in a gutter somewhere or I was seriously going to rip him a new one the next time I saw him.
Out of my three choices, Royce seemed the least offensive of the bunch. Chaz would hate that I’d called him. He’d hate it even more if I set up a meeting with him.
I reached for my cell.
“Well, this is decidedly unexpected,” came the dryly amused response from the other end of the line.
“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry about what I said, and hanging up on you earlier.”
“An apology?” he said, his quiet laughter making me grit my teeth. “I must admit, I did not anticipate this from you.”
“Listen, I know I made a mistake. You don’t have to rub it in. Are you still willing to meet with me or not?”
“Of course. We’ll put that little faux pas behind us. I realize it may be a trifle late for you, but I would suggest we meet as soon as possible so you understand what you will be dealing with once Max gets into town. What would be convenient for you?”
I spoke without thinking. “You know where my apartment is. Why don’t you just come over?”
“I need to wrap some things up at the office, but I can be there in about an hour.”
“Okay. See you then.”
After he hung up, I stared at the cell phone cradled in my hand. I’d just invited Alec Royce, the oldest and most powerful vampire in the United States, to come to my apartment.
Guess it beat waiting for Chaz to show up.
With that thought in mind, I got off my butt and started tidying up the place. I shoved loose papers lying around on my desk into a drawer and turned off the computer monitor. I loaded the dishes piled in the sink into the dishwasher, then grabbed my shoes from by the door and my jacket off the arm of the couch and tossed them in the bedroom closet. I figured that would do well enough for the fastidious Royce.
Part of me even wanted to pass by the mirror to see how I looked. The rest of me knew it was stupid and that this was for unofficial business, not a client or even a friend. Besides, I didn’t want to give Royce the wrong idea. As good as the vampire looked, he was a vampire. You know the sort. The typical tall, dark, and handsome man who also happens to be an evil, bloodsucking creature of the night. Not the type of guy you take home to Mom. Not like Chaz.
Figuring it wouldn’t hurt to take some precautions, I dug into my dresser and pulled out one of my guns. I’d picked them up way back when I thought Royce was trying to kill me. Turned out at the time Royce just wanted to make me his living slave and it was someone else who was out to kill me. Funny how these things turn out.
While I was in the drawer, I ran my fingertips over the leather belt with three matching silver stakes in their sheaths. I could literally feel discontent radiating from the thing.
“Sorry,” I said, feeling more apologetic toward the inanimate object than I was toward the vampire a few minutes ago. “Maybe after Royce is gone, I’ll take you out. Not right now.”
There was a brief sense of anger, but the bad vibes and discontent dissipated. Still, I could practically hear it grumbling. The spirit inhabiting the thing was not happy being cooped up in my drawer. Sometimes I took it out and wore it around the apartment when I was alone. The only way for it to experience life was through the one wearing it, and I was the first person to take any notice of what it wanted for the last fifteen years or so. It had been a while since the last time I took it out. I felt bad leaving it rotting with my winter clothes, but I couldn’t exactly walk around the city with a bunch of deadly weapons wrapped around my waist.
Then again, this was New York.
Whatever. I’d worry about the belt’s hurt feelings later, after I was done dealing with Royce. Sliding the drawer shut, I headed out to the living room and set the gun on an end table. Just in case the vamp got any funny ideas. I wasn’t as good a shot without the belt, but I figured the visible threat would serve better than any words I could dish out. Aside from which, if it got to the point where I needed to use the gun to deal with Royce, I was royally screwed anyway.
Next came perfume. I went into the bathroom and dug around under the sink until I found one of the small glass vials that held cinnamon-and clove-scented liquid. It gleamed a pale golden hue in the harsh fluorescent light. Dabbing a couple of drops onto my wrist, I rubbed it into the skin and then applied some to my throat, right above the pulse point.
The Amber Kiss perfume was a concoction made by some alchemists centuries ago that keeps Others from being able to pick up the wearer’s scent and suppresses the appetite of a vampire. It makes me smell less like food, basically. I liked the way the stuff smelled, though Chaz didn’t and complained that it made him sneeze. I didn’t need it to protect against him, of course, but I would wear it if it worked on vamps and other, hungrier, Weres. Fortunately for me, my encounters with such creatures were infrequent enough that I had a supply to last a few lifetimes.
Lastly, I adjusted the little black charm I was wearing so it lay hidden under my blouse. According to Arnold, it kept magi and vamps from using their mind-mojo on me.
Arnold, Sara’s current beau, had given me all of the stuff I used as protection against Others. He also happened to be head of the security section for The Circle, the East Coast’s premier coven of actively practicing magi.
Frankly, I wouldn’t be alive right now if not for all the help Arnold had given me the last few months. It was with the help of his magic, his ideas, and his choice of weaponry that I made it out on top fighting against the Borowsky kid and his girlfriend. I was also glad Arnold and Sara had hooked up. They’d taken a much-needed vacation out to Sara’s property in the Hamptons for the last two weeks and were due back on Sunday. I wouldn’t pester him with questions until they were back. Hopefully Royce would be cooperative enough as to let me know exactly what was going on before I had to resort to bugging Arnold about it. Knowing the vampire, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
I knew very well that Royce’s modus operandi was essentially “manipulate first, ask questions later.” He’d see my contacting him as an opportunity of some kind and use it to the hilt. The only question was how he intended to go about it. I’d have to be on my toes to make sure I didn’t fall for any of his tricks or machinations.
Like it or not, we were still contractually bound. As far as I knew, we were not in any danger that might lead him to needing me or my skill set. However, there was a chance he might try to talk me into working for him. I had the feeling he was afraid of me, and that was why he was always trying to find a way to get me under his thumb. Better to control that which you fear than be ruled by it, right? Was I playing right into his clutches by inviting him over?
Well, yes.
However, unlike the first few times we’d met, this time I knew exactly what he was capable of and would be on guard. I’d been able to avoid his manipulations in the past, so with some ingenuity, a little luck, and by keeping alert for his tricks, I should be able to do it again.
While I rubbed the last little bit of the Amber Kiss into my skin, I could hear my cell chiming from the other room. A text message.
When I opened it up, I saw it was from Chaz. I glanced at the time; it was already past eleven. Bastard.
SORRY ABOUT 2NITE. PACK EMERG. WILL CALL U LATER. RAIN CHECK 4 SAT? LOVE U.
Disgusted, I tossed the phone back down on the table. He was three hours late getting back to me. I’d answer him when I was good and ready.
Muttering darkly, I huffed over to the couch and sat down. I flicked on the TV but didn’t focus on the screen as I stared. I wasn’t sure why I was so mad. I mean, things came up at work all the time that made me late for our dates. It wasn’t entirely fair of me to be pissed at him for putting his responsibility to his pack first–but I could not let go of my anger.
About five mi
nutes after I sat down, I heard a brisk rapping. I remembered the Chinese food I’d ordered that felt like a decade ago, and my stomach growled right on cue.
“One sec, be right there!” I jumped up and hurried to the door, snagging up my purse on the way to pay the delivery guy.
I pulled open the door, and was met by the glowing red eyes and bared fangs of a very pissed-off-looking vampire.
Chapter 4
I screamed and backpedaled as the vamp reached out for me, tripping over my own feet and landing on my ass as he was blasted back by the shields Arnold had thoughtfully installed for me.
“Fuck!” the thing exclaimed, bringing singed, reddened fingers to its mouth to suck on.
I couldn’t help but stare, open-mouthed, wondering where the hell this guy had come from. Supernatural power aside, he was built like a linebacker and looked like he could have snapped me in two without breaking a sweat while he was still alive. Trying to contemplate how strong he must be now with added vampiric strength was terrifying.
“Who the hell are you?”
He looked up from his injured hands to glare at me, his eyes still glowing that fierce red. I flinched when he raised a fist the size of my head to send a shockwave through the barrier as he punched it. “Come to me!” he demanded, staring right into my eyes.