by Jana Denardo
The interminable crawl back to the Veer put him in a foul mood by the time he reached his penthouse. After kicking his shoes off at the door, Arrigo stomped over to his couch. He had only a few hours before Siobhan would arrive. In a fit of stubbornness, she had wanted to rent a car and not be dependent on him even though he owned more than one vehicle. Still, it would be helpful to have other vehicles to chase the rogue down. He’d be glad to have a good nondescript car. He owned several, but he was flashy by nature. His cars might be noticed. If the rogue hadn’t attack Taabu at random, she could be stalking him and might notice his usual vehicle since presumably she’d already seen it.
Gaius jumped up on the couch with him the moment Arrigo sat down. Arrigo stroked the cat.
“I’m going to kill her, Gaius. She hurt a person I care about. It could have been coincidence, and Taabu was a target of opportunity,” Arrigo snarled, halting his petting. Gaius nipped his hand until he started petting again. A rich purr was his reward. “But if this vampire is after me and mine, I will make her regret it. Don’t you worry, my friend. No one is getting in here and snacking on cat.”
Arrigo pried himself off the couch after a few minutes, then set about getting the guest room ready for Siobhan.
Chapter Eight
DESPITE SIOBHAN’S late arrival to the Veer—after hours of being stuck in an airport when her flight was delayed—the exhaustion in her eyes melted away when Arrigo filled her in on Taabu’s attack. She helped him add a few more names to the list of women who might want to hurt him.
Siobhan cited jet lag as her excuse to turn down his offer for dinner at the Tao in the Venetian, so he left her resting on his couch with the promise she’d call Craig, the regent, with the list. As he drove to the shop, Arrigo wondered if he might spot anything he missed the first time. Nothing turned up in his search. He left the shop and went to Taabu’s house but discovered nothing of note. No lights were on at Between the Covers, his favorite bookstore, so he headed on to the Alibi. Neither Luc nor his brother was about. Their father and a man Arrigo had never seen before worked the bar.
The rogue vampire could be anywhere. Frustrated and at a loss for what to do next, Arrigo decided instead to go for dinner, feeling the need for actual food. It was nice that food helped diminish the amount of blood needed to sustain him. Arrigo wondered if the Normals imagined vampires might get hungry for good spicy Indian food. He’d noticed that most vampires he knew gravitated to salty and spicy foods to supplement their dietary needs. Deciding barbecue sounded good, Arrigo headed to Ellis Island. The restaurant inside made some great ribs, but he’d forgotten about the karaoke. It was even more crowded than usual. His mind was truly elsewhere.
Arrigo actually liked karaoke, not so much to sing himself—he sort of sucked—but to watch people having fun. It was a great way to connect with life, something difficult for vampires. Unlike Supernaturals with human life spans, vampires often found themselves adrift in time. Even being here, there was a separation between him and life, crammed into a small two-seater table by himself.
Arrigo concentrated on his ribs and the microbrew while he waited for the karaoke to start. His head jerked up when he heard a familiar voice. Two tables away, at one of the large seatings, Luc sat with his brother and several other young men and women, obviously in a partying mood. Luc’s black eye stood out vividly on his face, but his clothing was slightly more upscale than usual, a T-shirt and jeans that didn’t look threadbare.
Arrigo glanced around the crowded restaurant, trying to find any signs of a vampire. He didn’t sense any, but in a crowd like this, it was difficult. Arrigo doubted she was around, but he didn’t think he should bother Luc in front of his friends, as much as he wanted to. As old as he was, he should be in better control of his urges. If the attack on Taabu hadn’t been random and the vampire was out to hurt his friends, would she know about Luc? Should he keep his distance? The worst part was he’d have no way of knowing until something happened. He’d need to have another conversation with the Chiaroscuro about sending operatives to Vegas.
“Luc, who is the hottie at the other table?” he heard a big-bosomed girl in a Harley T-shirt ask, purposely pitched loud enough for him to hear. She lounged against Luc’s shoulder. “He was looking at you.”
“Yeah, Luc, who is he?” Henri’s tone made Arrigo wince. This could be problematic.
“That’s Mr. Giancarlo. He’s been around the bar a few times,” Luc said. “You’ve seen him, Henri.”
“Come on over here, handsome.” Harley-girl waved at him, ignoring the glares of the diners between them.
“I’m about done, but thank you,” Arrigo said, figuring he’d already caused enough trouble. Fuck. Nothing today is going right.
“Bring it over here. There’s plenty of room.” To prove her point, Harley-girl pushed Luc over to the empty chair, clearing a space between them.
Rather than create a further scene, Arrigo hopped tables, taking his beer with him. He was done with the ribs. “Luc’s right. I have seen you around the Alibi,” he said directly to Henri. He could tell Henri didn’t like him, trying to intimidate Arrigo with a glare. It would take far more than that. “I’m Arrigo.”
When Henri did nothing but stare, Luc hurriedly said, “That’s my brother, Henri, and these are his friends, Daphne.” He pointed to the twiggy brunette seated next to Henri. Arrigo wondered if she had an eating disorder. “This is Clark and Lisa.” Luc indicated the Harley-girl and the guy with a scraggly beard next to her, then rounded it out by nodding to a couple who looked enough alike to be related. “Travis and Carrie.”
“Nice to meet you all. Thanks for inviting me to join you.” Arrigo tried to be pleasant.
Daphne hungrily swept her blue-eyed gaze over him. The attention served to darken Henri’s demeanor. “Luc, you’re a naughty boy keeping your friend all to yourself.”
“You have it wrong,” Arrigo said before Luc could do anything other than shift around uncomfortably. “We’re not friends. I’ve only ever seen him a couple times at the Alibi. He’s poured me a few beers. I think we’ve only spoken once, maybe twice.”
“Enough for him to know your name.” Henri turned his hot glare on his brother.
“His name’s different,” Luc said quietly, not meeting Henri’s eyes. “I remembered it.”
“You don’t look like the biker type,” Travis said, looking about as pleased as Henri that Lisa had invited Arrigo over. “Looks like it might be a little too wild for you.”
“Not at all.” Arrigo met the challenging look with one of his own, thinking he needed to extricate himself from this quickly before these idiots decided they needed to prove their manhood or something equally foolish. “I own a Harley,” he added truthfully, keeping the fact he owned a Harley 1969 XLCH Sportster to himself. If they knew he owned a vintage bike, he wouldn’t put it past Henri and his friends to try to roll him for money the first chance they got.
Travis blinked, backing down the testosterone a bit. “Really?”
“Really. I’ve taken it to Sturgis and Daytona Beach more than once. Haven’t had it out in a while, though. I live in town. I usually walk to work. I should take it for a ride,” Arrigo said, forcing the pleasantness again.
“Oh, they’re starting,” Daphne said, pointing to the karaoke stage. “I want to sing tonight.”
Arrigo relaxed a bit, grateful for the change of topic.
“Will you be singing, Arrigo?” Lisa asked.
“I prefer to listen.”
Daphne shushed them and then pored over the karaoke sheets on the table, trying to pick her song. Luc busied himself looking anywhere but directly at Arrigo, who tried to escape. However, the waitress came over, and Henri ordered them all another round. He didn’t take Arrigo’s no for an answer.
Arrigo contented himself with listening to a bad rendition of “Hungry Eyes,” keeping his own eyes on the crowd, almost wishing the rogue would crash the party. It would be a relief from the tension. Mayb
e Henri could die in the battle. Arrigo knew he should be ashamed of that thought. He couldn’t escape the feeling Luc would be better off without his brother, and Arrigo was just inhumane enough not to feel bad about the dark stray thought.
“I think I’ll try ‘Oops!… I Did It Again,’” Daphne said. “I can’t be the only one singing. You guys have to try something.”
Henri slid the sheets toward Luc. “Yeah, pick something, little brother. I think they have some ABBA on there. You candi barres like them.”
Luc’s gaze could have ignited the karaoke book as his face reddened, the flush half lost in the bruises. He stiffly pushed back from the table and fished out his wallet, tossing a few fives on the table.
“Here, my part of dinner. I’m not in the mood for singing. I’m going to hit the slots.”
“Your loss,” Travis said.
“I’ll see you guys later. Goodbye, Arrigo,” Luc said, visibly gathering his dignity as he left. Henri’s friends didn’t even hold their snickers until after Luc was out of earshot.
Arrigo wanted to go, to be as far from these unpleasant people as he could. But he knew if he followed Luc, he’d be buying the young man a lot of trouble. Instead he drank a third beer and let Daphne feel up his thigh, fairly sure she knew exactly the jealous rage she was working Henri into.
“Sorry, Daphne. I won’t be able to hear you sing,” Arrigo said after his third beer was half-gone. “I have some friends coming in today. I need to get home and make sure the guest bedrooms are ready.” It sounded both believable and lame. He didn’t wait around for protests. He wondered if he could find Luc, provided the young man was still in the building. Ellis Island wasn’t particularly large for a casino on the Strip.
He finally did find Luc playing the Cleopatra slots, the cheapest version; granted sometimes penny slots could still be several dollars a pull. Since Luc sat at the end of the row, Arrigo put his arm against the machine, gazing down at the blond. Luc fixed his blue eyes on Arrigo.
“Sorry you got roped into that shit,” Luc said, his finger absently tapping the spin button.
Arrigo waved him off. “It’s all right. I doubt you have much control over them.”
“No, they’re Henri’s friends. They asked me along to mess with me.” Luc sighed, his hand dropping to his lap. “Sorry my brother was such a giant crotte.”
“Also not your fault,” Arrigo assured him. “Why do you go with them if they only ask you along to torment you?”
Luc shot him a curious look and then turned his gaze to the scarabs on the slot machine’s display. “It’s easier that way.”
“Want to go somewhere we can talk?” Arrigo asked, thinking the beating Luc wore now wasn’t the first he’d ever gotten.
Luc glanced back in the direction of where his brother and their friends were. “No offense, but if Henri sees us talking, there’ll be problems. I’d like to, though.”
“He doesn’t like you having friends?”
“Not really.” Luc shrugged.
“Are you going back to the karaoke? We could leave. Paris is just up the street. I have to go back that way anyhow,” Arrigo said, listening to the wrong head. He knew this wasn’t safe for Luc.
“I rode up here with them.” Luc hesitated, tapping the spin button again.
“I’ll pay for the cab. You shouldn’t have to stay here when you don’t want to.”
Luc side-eyed him. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
“Because… I have no good reason other than I want to,” Arrigo said, thinking that sounded better than “because you need it.”
Luc hit the cash-out button, and then said with a nervous quiver in his voice, “I’ll go tell Henri I’m going home on my own. He’ll think I took a bus.”
“I’ll wait for you outside.”
It didn’t take Luc long to join Arrigo outside. It wasn’t particularly late, and tourists were still all over the place. No predatory eyes raised his hackles. Usually Arrigo had a good sense about that sort of thing. So how had he missed someone stalking him around the city? Maybe the attack on Taabu was coincidence or maybe Vegas was just that big, with enough resident Supernaturals that Arrigo had dismissed any chance encounters.
“I could go home by bus,” Luc said as they walked. “You don’t have to pay for a cab.”
“I thought we covered the whole ‘it’s not a big deal to me’ thing when I bought those waters.” Arrigo grinned in the dark.
“True, true. Okay, thanks, and thanks for getting me out of there. I thought there was gonna be a fight the way Travis and Henri were baiting you,” Luc said. “That would suck. You don’t deserve it, and somehow I’d get blamed if Henri got himself arrested.”
“I can handle myself,” Arrigo assured him. “But yes, I’m glad it didn’t end in a fight. Did Henri give you those bruises? He thinks you’re gay and you like me, doesn’t he?”
Luc stumbled to a stop. Arrigo felt his gaze on him. Luc made a disgusted noise, then started walking again. “Guess it doesn’t take a detective to figure out what Henri thinks. Don’t know if he thinks I like you, but yeah, he thinks I’m gay.”
“Are you?” Arrigo grimaced at his own ham-handed way of handling a delicate topic.
Sighing, Luc shrugged. “I don’t know what I am some days. Is that why you’re being so nice to me? Is it a come-on?”
Arrigo studied their surroundings again before answering, telling himself he was searching for the rogue or maybe Luc’s brother. The only thing in sight was the glittering lights of Bally’s and Paris. He actually liked Paris’s gaudy “hot-air balloon” better than the replica Eiffel Tower. Only in Vegas could one walk from Ellis Island to Paris, then on to Venice or Egypt. In spite of its sunniness, Arrigo loved it, but none of those thoughts were getting him closer to a response for Luc.
“To be completely honest, only in part. Yes, I think you’re cute, but if you’re not interested, that doesn’t mean I’d stop holding out a helping hand, unless you wanted me to go away.”
“Nah, I don’t want that,” Luc said quietly, then fell silent. He studied the tourists as they walked along the sidewalk, careful not to look at Arrigo.
Arrigo let the silence stretch until they reached the hot-air balloon. He stopped in its bright lights. “Want to try your luck in here?”
“Ain’t lucky with slots.” Luc pouted. “Already used up my stake.”
“The house always wins,” Arrigo said in agreement.
“Arrigo, you really think I’m cute?” The light played across Luc’s face, his eyes huge. He seemed one second from bolting.
Arrigo smiled, hoping to put him at ease. “I do, and what little I’ve gotten to know about you, I like.”
“You don’t really know me,” Luc muttered, staring at his feet. “You’re so far above me.”
Arrigo scowled. “I’m wealthier. That’s not the same thing.”
“Could have fooled me.” Luc’s chin came up. “I’m poor, and I’m dumb. Why would anyone want a couillon like me?”
“I doubt you’re dumb,” Arrigo said quickly, realizing he had no proof. Luc could be as stupid as a stone for all he knew.
Luc sneered. “Like I said, you don’t know me.”
“I’d like to.”
Luc ran a hand through his hair, fingers catching on the pale curls. “I like girls.”
Arrigo kept his disappointment to himself. “I said that wouldn’t change my desire to help you.”
“But I like guys too,” Luc whispered. “Heard my whole life how wrong that is. I don’t want to be like this, but I am.”
“There will always be someone there to tell you what you think and feel is wrong, Luc, no matter what it is. Some of it’s ignorance, some of it is their strong belief in something that runs counter to it, some are plain hateful.”
Luc snorted. “My da and brother are that last one. If they knew I even told you this much,
this bleue would be nothing.” He gestured to his face.
“Why d
o you stay with them, then?” Arrigo rested a hand on Luc’s shoulder. Luc didn’t pull away but averted his gaze.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Luc shuddered under Arrigo’s touch.
“It’s okay to be bisexual, Luc. I am. It’s pretty much all good to me.”
“I wish I could be so free,” Luc said, gazing up at the Paris casino’s Eiffel Tower.
With the blue and yellow lights of Paris’s hot-air balloon bright behind him, Luc looked so vulnerable. Arrigo couldn’t help himself. He leaned in, brushing his lips against Luc’s. When Luc didn’t withdraw, Arrigo deepened the kiss. He slipped his arms around Luc, pulling him close as Arrigo’s tongue pushed into Luc’s mouth. Luc moaned into Arrigo’s kiss as his muscular body moved against Arrigo’s. Arrigo’s blood flooded downward, and he didn’t want to let go when Luc pushed back. Arrigo fought the urge to hold on, to take the sex and blood he wanted, and released him.
“I wanted to do that since I first saw you,” Luc panted.
“The feeling’s mutual.” Arrigo stroked Luc’s cheek.
“I can’t… I’m not ready for this. I don’t….” Luc shook his head, his desire and the conflict it caused evident on his face.
“It’s all right, Luc. I’m not going to rush you into anything.” Arrigo wanted to continue, but it wouldn’t be fair.
“I better get home.” A frantic edge sharpened Luc’s motions as he glanced around, presumably for a cab.
“You don’t want to go in and play?” Arrigo hoped to hold the young man here, easing him over his fears.