Blood Red Roulette

by Jana Denardo

  Luc tried to remember what happened. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t forget the image of Arrigo tonguing Siobhan. The cold way Da had dispatched him was burned into his brain too. He’d left with the pretty woman with blue hair, hadn’t he? God, did she drug him and roll him? His cloudy head felt like it, but that could be the concussion.

  Why would she? He obviously had nothing anyone wanted. Then again why was he in a damn tub? A shiver crept up over him as he realized: Arrigo’s ex was blonde. Fuck, that would be reason enough for her to drug and dump him somewhere.

  Luc listened closely, hearing nothing. Was Julia still around? No, that wasn’t her name. She was Eleni, right? She had attacked him. He was almost sure of it. The more he tried to remember, the more slippery the memories got. Luc felt her on top of him, hurting him. Did she have a Taser? Something had put him down. Something had hurt. Was there a guy with her? He thought he’d heard a man’s voice the night before.

  After managing to get up, Luc swayed on his feet. He found no water in the toilet but peed in it anyway. There was no water in the sink either. He stumbled out into the hall and noticed the house looked unfinished. Where the hell was he? Luc felt he was alone, somehow just as sure as he was starving. He followed the hall to an empty living room. Sunlight poured through curtainless windows.

  Luc gave up trying to figure out how he got there and lurched toward the door. Pain flared over him like he’d been set on fire as soon as he stepped out of the shadow. He screamed, and staggered back, panting. What the hell? He’d never felt anything like it. Luc ran for the door, and the bathed-in-acid feeling washed over him again. The smell of a feral hog on the barbecue hit Luc as he backed up. He raised his hand. The skin on it reddened and blistered like he’d been terribly sunburned. He gently touched his face and found blisters there too.

  “Quoi?” He couldn’t see or hear anyone about. It couldn’t be some freak with battery acid, and why would anyone do that? What could be burning him?

  Luc made a third dash for the door only to retreat to the shadows, burned even worse. He shook, nearly in tears. He was in an empty house, trapped with a dead phone and no answers to be found. Fear gripped him straight down to the bones.

  GIVEN HIS dark mood, Arrigo shouldn’t be around others, but Siobhan wasn’t about to let that happen. Michael was out following Luc’s trail from Fremont Street, but no one was hopeful he’d be successful. Siobhan dragged Arrigo to the other end of Fremont. Arrigo had no luck trying to track down Luc, and there had been no more messages from Eleni. Arrigo had called Anna to light a fire under Craig’s ass to get more Chiaroscuro members out there. Once he sent only Sykes to help track Eleni after Hanako’s death, Craig had all but shut Arrigo down. When Anna was through with Craig, Arrigo expected to see a completely new regent for their area. If Luc was dead, Arrigo might go to Los Angeles and take his own pound of flesh from the regent. He hadn’t informed Shani about Luc being taken. To get Luc back, he knew they’d have to walk into a vampire’s lair, and that was no place to send a Normal, even if they somehow stumbled over Eleni when the Chiaroscuro hadn’t. He wanted to keep Shani safe.

  At Shifty’s, Diana, one of the owners along with her lover, Pearce, waited for Arrigo at the door. She beckoned him inside. On the door someone had posted a sign, reading: closed for a death in the family. It sent a shudder through Arrigo, but it had the desired effect: No tourists. The interior was populated by at least a dozen vampires, werewolves, and probably a few witches and fae folk.

  “They’re all willing to help. No one is thrilled a rogue vampire is killing and kidnapping willy-nilly,” Diana said, sauntering up to the bar. She leaned against the brass railing, tossing her long black hair over her shoulder. “Tell us where we should be looking, Arrigo. Do you have any ideas where to start?”

  “None. We have a list of my hangouts and my friends. I’ll text it to everyone. I know Eleni has had contact with my friend, Taabu, and Levi at the Beat. I’ve convinced Taabu to go visit some relatives out East for a week or two. Hopefully she’ll be safe.” Arrigo’s voice almost cracked. He took a deep breath and continued.

  “She killed a woman I knew at Between the Covers, and two from the Scarlet Kiss, and you all know she killed a member of my Chiaroscuro team, Hanako. It’s possible she also killed a young lady on the Strip just for the hell of it, since I didn’t know her. Eleni has killed people close to me in the past. Yesterday morning she texted me to ask if I knew where my friend Luc was. I have every reason to believe Eleni kidnapped him. It’s been over a day and we still haven’t found him. I have no idea where she would have taken him, but I have a suspicion she knows exactly where I live, and she has a Renfield.”

  “We can send you a relatively new picture of Eleni, a picture of Luc, and my sketch of the suspected Renfield,” Siobhan put in. “Michael, one of our team, is already hunting Luc. The last place we saw him was here at Shifty’s.”

  “Have you checked with his family?” Diana asked.

  “I don’t have a number for them, and they wouldn’t open the door at the house. They don’t exactly like me. They haven’t been answering at work.” Arrigo hated how that sounded. “I’ve been by the bar, and Luc isn’t there. I haven’t spoken to his family yet because I damn well know Eleni’s text meant she has Luc.”

  “I’m assuming he’s not answering the cell,” Pearce asked. The neon palm tree and beer cooler hanging above the bar cast shadows over Pearce’s pale face. Pearce and Diana were werecougars and the bar’s shifter namesakes.

  “He was pissed at me. We tried using Michael and Siobhan’s cells since he wouldn’t know those numbers.”

  “Arrigo and I need to go to the bar where they work.” Siobhan rubbed Arrigo’s arm. “They know us there. They don’t like us, but they’re not smart enough to keep their mouths shut.”

  Diana nodded. “Do that. Send us the list and the pictures, and we’ll get out there. We should have done this sooner. You know how people are. It’s not our problem until it is.”

  After texting all the pertinent information, he and Siobhan walked out to his motorcycle. She climbed on behind him, and he took off toward the crappier side of town. The Alibi was packed, forcing him to park on the street. Arrigo didn’t mind. More people meant there was less chance Luc’s relatives would do something asinine, or at least he hoped. No one looked twice at them until they got to the bar. Travis, that asshole friend of Henri’s, was there, smirking at them.

  Arrigo ignored him, but Siobhan curled her lip, giving him such a look Travis dropped his gaze. Both Henri and Luc’s father—Arrigo still didn’t know the man’s name—worked behind the bar. Henri spotted him first.

  Arrigo didn’t give him time to spout nonsense. “Is Luc here?”

  “Haven’t seen him since you and he had that little screaming match on Fremont.” Henri’s eyes danced, obviously thrilled.

  “You queens know how to make a scene.” Travis laughed until Luc’s father rapped his knuckles with the end of a whiskey bottle. Luc was right about his father not wanting people to think his son was gay. Travis jerked away, edging closer to Siobhan, who jammed him back on his stool. Travis started to get up, his macho pride offended judging by the way he puffed up, but Siobhan settled him with another look.

  “You’re sure he’s gone.” Arrigo wanted to reach across the bar and strangle him.

  “He came back here,” Luc’s father said, “then the lazy couillon left with some blue-haired tattooed chick. Never seen him have so many women after him.” He cast a glance at Siobhan who glared back.

  The blood meal in Arrigo’s stomach felt clotted and sour. Had Eleni worn that much of disguise? Why not? Grimacing, he asked, “Did he say where he was going?”

  “What business it of yours?” Luc’s father eyed him.

  “The woman might be my crazy ex, and Luc could be in trouble,” Arrigo replied as evenly as he could. He doubted Luc’s relatives cared, and the lack of change in their expressions confirmed it.

&
nbsp; “The day my boy can’t handle a woman will be his last in this family,” the man snarled. Arrigo wondered if he really believed that was a threat instead of a blessing. “I have no idea where they went. I was busy tossing jackasses out of my bar.”

  “He never came back home. Maybe he got lucky.” Henri flashed Arrigo a shit-eating grin.

  Arrigo’s gut tightened. Lucky was the last thing Luc had gotten. “Thank you for your time. He’s not answering our calls. I’d suggest calling the cops if he’s not back tomorrow since that would be two days since any of us last saw him.” He figured there was no chance they’d do that, no risk of a human cop coming across Eleni. At least they knew where Luc had last been seen.

  “We’ll keep that in mind.” Henri’s tone said they were done talking.

  Arrigo didn’t need Siobhan’s tap on his arm to make him turn around and leave. Once they were outside, he said, “We need to get one of the trackers down here.”

  Siobhan nodded. “I’ll make the call.”

  Arrigo couldn’t escape the feeling it was already far too late.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  THEY’D HAD no luck finding either Eleni or Luc in the thirty-six hours since Eleni had sent Arrigo the text. Arrigo had been out since before noon. His skin stank of sunblock, a concession to how many hours he’d have to be out in it. Even so, any part of him exposed tingled, blazing an angry red.

  He didn’t know why his mind turned to the abandoned houses. In days of old, forgotten cemeteries, vegetation-swallowed churches, and ghost towns had made excellent hiding places for his kind. Ever since the housing bust, his new hometown had been in dire straits with far too many abandoned homes. Where better to hide with a kidnap victim? He hoped it was a kidnapping. He wasn’t ready to find Luc’s body. Arrigo held out hope Luc lived since Eleni hadn’t hid a body yet. She wanted Arrigo to know.

  Eleni made no attempts to show herself as Arrigo wended his way through the eerie, empty subdivision. The rank scent of stagnated pools assaulted his nose, and the rustle of something—rat, stray dog, or cat but nothing much bigger than that. This place resembled the last three abandoned areas he had checked out. Three times had not been a charm. Four wasn’t looking much better. Just a few more houses, and he would go back to his car.

  The front door lock didn’t stand much of a chance against his gloved hand, but to his surprise, his strength wasn’t needed. This door opened. Arrigo corralled his hopes. An unlocked door didn’t mean this house was Eleni’s hideout. It likely meant someone had been inside to rob it of its copper or crashed there to do drugs. He sensed no older vampires around.

  Arrigo caught the sound of staggering footsteps: an addict maybe, or if he was lucky, Eleni with Luc. Someone appeared in the hallway off the living room, but rather than jumping Arrigo, he darted in the other direction. Arrigo raced after him, recognizing Luc. Luc tripped, sprawling on the floor. Scrambling desperately to get away, he crawled down the hallway. Arrigo grabbed him up.

  “Luc!” he cried, fighting to keep a hold of Luc who flailed against him. “Luc, calm down. It’s me, Arrigo.”

  If Luc heard and understood, he showed no signs. He punched Arrigo in the face and clawed at Arrigo’s long hair. Luc whipped Arrigo’s head around, and Arrigo threw his forearm up to keep his skull from driving into a wall. His fangs flashed down as his temper ignited. He fought back his inner predator, practically tasting the fear radiating off Luc.

  “Luc, don’t fight me,” Arrigo said, asserting his psyche onto Luc’s. He calmed down, falling under Arrigo’s control. He knew better than to try to talk to him. A quick look at him confirmed Arrigo’s fears. Arrigo stripped off his own shirt and tugged it over Luc’s head to help shield him from the sun. He guided Luc back to the car, lying him down in the back seat, ignoring Luc’s moans of pain as the sun burned him. He took a blanket out of the trunk he kept for emergencies and completely covered Luc with it, after reclaiming his shirt. Arrigo drove quickly back to Veer Towers. At least Luc would be safe going from the car in the underground parking lot to the elevator.

  He left Luc—still hypnotized—standing in the doorway and closed all the window treatments in the condo. After sitting Luc on the bed, Arrigo turned on the lights, hissing at what he saw. Luc looked famished, his tortured skin drawn taut over his face, neck, and hands, red, blistered, and oozing, smeared with dirt and stinking of sweat. Dark rings circled eyes red from hemorrhaged vessels. Sweat and grease matted his blond curls. Eleni’s final revenge had been to abandon Luc. Only the survival instincts born with the vampiric transformation saved his life. He had obviously holed up once the sun rose, but not until after he’d been burned. Luc had been lucky he had been close to cover whenever the sun came up. Possibly Eleni had left him in a closet, and the sunlight had been filtered through glass when it hit Luc’s skin.

  “You need to eat. Sit and don’t move,” Arrigo ordered. Knowing Luc couldn’t disobey that mental command, he headed out. Luc needed more than Arrigo’s blood to nourish him. Fledgling vampires were voracious eaters, fully capable of draining four pints easily. He needed to get Luc dinner, preferably one who wasn’t alcohol pickled. Leaving the apartment, he headed to the Scarlet Kiss, giving Siobhan a call to tell her he’d found Luc and in the condition he was in. She promised to relay the message. The first guy to cross Arrigo’s path smelled high on ecstasy. His nose always warned him of sicknesses and toxins in the blood. The second, a pale-skinned woman, her hair dyed an intense black, eagerly followed Arrigo home, admiring how “authentic” his fangs were.

  He put her under his dominion before they entered the apartment. She sat meekly on the bed with Luc. The young lady would remember nothing of this night except she had gotten a little drunk in the Scarlet Kiss.

  “Luc, you need to eat,” Arrigo instructed, releasing almost all of his control over him. Luc looked up at him, calm now, but confused.

  “I… can’t,” he said. “Something’s wrong. The Lutin got me.”

  “I don’t know what a Lutin is, Luc.”

  Luc wagged his head, glancing around. “How did I get here? Where is here?”

  “My condo. I brought you here,” Arrigo replied.

  Luc seemed to be aware of the girl on the bed next to him for the first time. “She’s not moving. Did the Lutin get her too?”

  “Not actually.” Arrigo wondered if he’d have to be controlled again. “You need to eat now.”

  “Can’t.” Luc held out his burned hand. “The sun did this. Something is wrong with me.”

  “I know.” Arrigo sat behind Luc. He put a hand on Luc’s arm. “You can eat. Your body knows how to do it, like this.” He opened his mouth. His blood teeth came down smoothly.

  Luc leaned back in horror, crashing into the girl. “What are you?”

  “I am what you’ve become, a vampire. Do this for me, and I’ll explain,” Arrigo promised.

  “No, can’t be real.” Luc thrashed his head. He struggled away from Arrigo, nearly spilling off the bed. Arrigo hauled him back onto the mattress.

  “Trust me, it’s real. Concentrate on your teeth, imagine them lowering,” Arrigo said, raising his own again.

  Too weak to fight, Luc tried to mimic Arrigo. Tears rolled down his gaunt cheeks as he moaned in pain. Blood ran from the roof of his mouth as he tried to force the blood teeth down. Arrigo pulled Luc against him.

  “I know it hurts,” he encouraged. Making the passages for the teeth was like piercing one’s ears, rotating the studs to keep the holes open. The teeth had to be lowered and raised many times before the passages were formed. It would be exquisitely painful for months. He wondered if Luc was too weak to do it. If that was the case, he’d open a vein for Luc. Finally, Luc’s teeth descended in a bloody birth. Red-tinge drool trickled past his full lips and down over his chin.

  “Bite her here and drink,” Arrigo said, tapping the docile girl’s neck.

  “I can’t. She’ll die. It’s a sin,” he protested weakly. “I’m maudit.”
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  Arrigo sighed. Of course! Most Cajuns were devout Catholics. He thought he remembered Luc saying something about it. “To hell with sin. You’ll die if you don’t, suicide by starvation. That’s a worse sin,” he countered. “And you’re not going to kill her. I won’t let you.”

  Luc looked at the pale skin of the woman’s short neck in confusion. Arrigo pointed again. “Stab down like a doctor giving a shot. Don’t tear. Come out, then suck the wound.”

  Luc did as instructed, hesitantly at first, then as the blood flowed over his tongue, he took her ardently into his arms, sucking wildly. Arrigo had to forcibly separate him from the Goth girl.

  “That’s enough. You’ll kill her if you don’t stop,” he said, standing the girl up. The wounds in her neck were already clotting off. Arrigo led her downstairs and hailed a cab to return her to the Scarlet Kiss. Her mind would return to her when she arrived. He was skilled enough to hold on for extended distances. When he returned to the bedroom, he found Luc licking the blood from the back of his hand where he had wiped his face.

  “I’m still hungry,” Luc complained. He looked calmer even if his hands still shook slightly. “And I don’t understand anything.”

  “I know. But she couldn’t give you more without danger to herself. There’s never a need for you to kill your victims. We’ll eat more later. You need to get cleaned up. Take a shower first, and then we’ll talk.”

  Luc didn’t argue, moving mechanically past the curtain as Arrigo showed him the way between the open-concept bathroom and bedroom. As Luc showered, Arrigo put a bathrobe on the vanity for him. Arrigo went into the spare bedroom and set about lightproofing it. All of his windows were heavily tinted and had thick darkening curtains. While he could stand some light, Luc wouldn’t be able to handle any.

  He went into the closet and pulled out some old paneling he kept around for the times when his younger vampire friends visited. One side of the paneling had been painted over decoratively to face out, in case someone complained to the housing authority. He put it over the window, the print facing the street, and nailed it there, thoroughly obliterating any light. Luc could stay there safely now.