by Janice Jones
“So, you need our help,” Alex stated at Aiden.
“Yes,” Conner answered before Aiden could bark at her. “We need your help. You studied him, tracked him. We need you to do that again.”
“If I do this,” she stated to Conner “No holding back information. No secrets between us and by that I mean you and me.” She extended her hand to him.
Conner didn’t hesitate. As his hand gripped hers, he felt Aiden’s anger and heard Jason’s heart race. “Then we have a deal?”
“Yea, we have a deal,” Alex replied.
“Good,” Conner answered. “I’m just sorry Oren will not make the trip. He was looking forward to it.”
“I’d like to see him,” Alex added as Conner guided them to the seating area a few feet away.
“Let’s relax, shall we,” Conner said as he waved Alex to the empty cushion next to him on the couch. Jason was forced to take the arm chair on one end and Aiden the one at the other as Conner made himself comfortable next to Alex. “Now, you were saying something about wanting to meet with Oren? Don’t you trust us?”
Alex angled her body toward him. She’d learned a few tricks when dealing with vampires, especially the old school ones. They like directness. Try to hide or deceive and they will shut down. And since she couldn’t read their minds, she had to rely on her confidence to get what she wanted from Conner Gale.
“I just want to ask a few questions about that day,” she replied. “He made a stop before returning to the hotel. I’d like to know why.”
The others excused themselves and left the suite.
“How do you know that?” Aiden asked.
Alex turned her attention to him and grinned. “Traffic cam footage.”
“When did you get the footage?” Jason asked, suddenly very interested in the conversation.
“Last night,” she answered.
“And you’re just telling me,” he said. “What does it show exactly?”
“He made a stop at a coffee shop. Went in, met with someone, and came out with a box,” she said. “We think it was the device.”
Jason became uncomfortable. He straightened his posture in the chair and straightened his very straight tie. “I don’t believe he betrayed me.”
“I didn’t say he did, but he made the stop and picked up that package.”
She should have mentioned the discovery before now, but Jason didn’t hold the cards anymore, Conner did. Then she remembered seeing Oren on stage at Creed’s club—that should come out soon too. But without Conner’s permission, she wouldn’t get in to see Oren at all. An angry wave hit Alex’s brain. Jason was pissed.
“Who did he meet?” Conner asked, drawing her attention away from Jason and his anger.
“A woman,” Alex answered. “Erin’s still working on cleaning up the image. Maybe asking him will save us some time.”
“And if I don’t give you permission to see him, question him, what then?” Conner asked in an innocent tone. He took a sip from his glass waiting patiently.
Alex swallowed hard. With an inhale, she reminded herself how the game was played. A show of defiance will get her nothing. But a show of courage and respect for his authority might just get her inside Council chambers where Oren was being kept.
“I’ll keep trying to find out who wants him dead,” she nodded at Jason. “I would think the Council would want us to clear this up before Romania. The only person that may be able to do that is Oren.”
Conner seemed to mull it over, but Aiden was not biting.
“Bullshit,” he hissed. “We saw the same footage and it was crap!”
She smiled at Aiden and his smug arrogance that glowed like a beacon.
“Yeah, I know,” she sighed.
He grinned back. “Then what could you have possibly gotten from it? Even the police weren’t able to make out anything really and it was their equipment.”
“I didn’t get it from the police,” Alex answered.
“Then where it come from,” Conner asked.
“Let’s just say there are all kinds of people watching from above,” she grinned. “You just gotta know who.”
Aiden sat forward in the chair, put his glass down on the cocktail table in front of him and frowned at her. “Government satellites? You’re talking about spy satellites.”
Alex laughed at him. Jason placed his elbows on the arms of his chair and his hands in a prayer pose at his lips to hide his grin. Conner crossed his legs and sipped his drink quietly.
“Well,” she gave him a childish frown. “Yeah.”
Aiden’s devilish grin pushed slightly at the corners of his mouth. “Well, I’m impressed! Did you get the number from the phone that texted you before the explosion too?”
“No,” she sighed again. “It was a burn phone, unfortunately.”
“Lucky for them then, huh,” Aiden did the same.
“That wasn’t luck. Whoever did it wanted me to save him. They’re trying to get my attention. They have it now and next time, I’m pretty sure I won’t get a heads-up.”
“Then you should up your game, little girl,” Aiden replied, picking up his drink again. “Because next time someone will die if you don’t.”
Alex emptied her glass and placed it on the table. “You don’t have to worry about my game, junior. No one’s dying on my watch.”
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Jason knew how arrogant all the men in the Gale family were, but Aiden was the most of the bunch. His appearances in the gossip rags with one beautiful mannequin after another on his arm were more irritating than his tremendous ego.
“Let’s hope you’re as good as you think you are,” Aiden continued. “Or he’s as good as dust already.”
“If you think you can do better, you can take the assignment,” Alex replied.
“I wouldn’t want to make you look bad in front of your people,” Aiden bragged. “Besides, isn’t that what you’re getting paid for?”
“Aiden,” Conner spoke low. “Don’t be rude to our guests.”
“Sorry, Con,” he grinned at Alex.
“Its fine,” she grinned back. “What I do takes skill. I don’t expect a rich man’s son to be able to keep up.”
“I have skills you can only dream of,” Aiden growled.
“Sleeping with the Police Commissioner’s daughter does not take skill,” Alex replied with a frown. “I know too many people that have been there, done her.”
When he stood, so did Jason.
“Enough,” Conner stated. “Would you excuse us, Aiden?”
“My pleasure,” he growled again and left the room.
“You have your meeting,” Conner continued as he stood watching Aiden until he was out of sight. “But don’t think I will let you accuse one of ours without solid evidence. Do you understand me?”
“Yes,” Alex answered as she and Jason stood to shake Conner’s hand.
He led Jason and Alex to the door, then the elevator in silence. As the numbers ticked off, he turned to Jason first, taking him in his embrace. Jason felt Conner’s power through his entire body. When his brain connected to Jason’s, it felt like a hand squeezing his grey matter like a sponge. “Be careful and don’t let your guard down with her.”
“Yes, sire. You can count on me,” Jason’s brain replied quickly. He wanted Conner out of his head. Just like that, he let go and Jason felt slightly dizzy.
Taking both Alex’s hands in his, Conner kissed both her cheeks softly and smiled down on her. “It was very nice to finally meet you,” he said. “I look forward to seeing you again, after you return from Romania.”
She looked confused, but she nodded and stepped closer to Jason as the doors of the elevator opened. They stepped inside together. Conner waved as the doors closed.
“Damn,” she sighed leaning back against the wal
l. “He is . . . all kinds of scary!”
“Yeah, he is,” Jason agreed with a sigh of his own.
He turned to her, still looking stunned. “Why didn’t you tell me about the footage?”
“Because you told me to act like this was important,” she replied, eyes turned up watching the numbers tick down. “If I have to clear everything with you, then I look like I can’t lead a team of sled dogs, not to mention bodyguards.”
He turned forward again shoving his hands in his pockets. She was right.
The doors opened on the bottom floor and they walked through the busy casino side by side. The limo pulled up quickly.
“Well,” Jason finally said to break the tormenting silence. She was thinking about something he wasn’t privy to and it irritated him more than he wanted to admit.
“Well, what?” she asked without even looking at him.
“Aren’t you going to tell me where you’re taking your team tonight at least?”
“Just out for a little quiet fun,” she said.
“There’s no such thing in this town,” he replied, taking her hand. Maybe if he touched her, she’d change her mind and want to stay the night with him. Maybe if he kissed her hand, her wrist, she’d stay in Vegas until they left for Romania. But as she turned her body toward him and he moved in closer, he knew none of that was going to happen.
“Ashblood Manor,” she whispered.
Jason blinked. He thought he’d heard her wrong. She didn’t just say Ashblood Manor. When she didn’t smile or tap his chin playfully, he sat up straight, dropping her hand to the seat as if it was burning, hot silver.
“How do you know about Ashblood?” he asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
“That is a long story,” she said, turning his face to hers.
Her kiss was soft on his lips. The gentle way she smoothed his furrowed brow with her thumb relaxed his brain almost immediately. He pulled her hand from his face and put his forehead to hers. “Be careful, please,” is all he let himself say to her.
“I will, Jason,” she replied with another kiss to his lips. “It’s just business.”
At the front door of his hotel, he gave her a grin and exited the limo. The young people she called her team greeted him, then climbed inside with her. His new bodyguards watched with him as the car pulled away. As it disappeared into Friday night traffic on the Las Vegas Strip, Jason pushed his hands inside his pockets again and strolled slowly toward the elevator with his new bodyguards behind him.
Chapter 38
From all the commotion at the front entrance, Michael knew the humans had arrived. As the young men entered, they were greeted by two escorts: one male, one female. Two young women entered with nervous smiles and trendy outfits. Michael found that today’s twenty-somethings tried way too hard to draw attention to themselves. He was much more attracted to a woman with confidence in herself, not what she was wearing. Then she walked in.
At first, he thought everything he’d read about Alex Stone was right. She did seem arrogant. Her head held high, her walk confident. Then she smiled. Her warm, brown skin glowed under the moody lighting of the foyer. The black dress wrapped around her curves, stopping just above long legs that seemed to shine with direct light on them. Suddenly, Michael wondered what they’d feel like wrapped around him.
Easy, Mike, he thought. She’s not for you. Not that way. He shook the thoughts of a more intimate meeting with her from his brain and moved into the shadows as they passed by him.
They were placed at a quiet table in the corner of the main dining room. The young vampire held her chair and whispered to her as he sat down next to her. She laughed and he looked pleased. As champagne and caviar were quickly placed on their table, they began to drink and talk and laugh with abandon.
He watched for about an hour. They had dinner with coffee after. They continued to laugh and enjoy each other’s company. No one from Bianca’s staff had approached them, other than waiters and the two escorts assigned to them for the night. If they weren’t here for the real fun, then what were they doing here?
Michael took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He couldn’t remember being this nervous about approaching a woman before. But this was different, wasn’t it? She was work, not pleasure. When the others were led toward the Billiard Room, he straightened his tie, his posture and his focus. He could do this. No problem.
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“I’ll have what the lady’s having,” she heard him say in a rich tone, something akin to a Scotch brogue, but very much Americanized. Probably a couple of generations removed from home, this young man could go from a local accent back to his native tongue pretty easily, she figured.
Alex cut a glance at him, raised her glass, and then went back to the thoughts that kept her from being with her companions just a few feet away. Brice Campbell played into this somehow. His name had popped up twice now. That wasn’t a coincidence, it was a solid lead.
On the barstool next to her, the young man looked at her through the mirror behind the bar with a strange expression on his handsome face. It was familiar, but she really didn’t have the inclination to try and figure out why. His icy blue-grey eyes sought acknowledgement of his gesture and his presence.
“Tell the Mistress I said thanks, but no thanks,” she said to his reflection.
A sweet smile played at the edge of his well-formed mouth. He raised the martini glass to those lips, emptied the glass and tapped the bar for a refill. “Are you sure?”
Alex turned on the stool to face her drinking buddy as she emptied her glass as well. Crossing her legs, she was expecting him to do what most men did when faced with legs like hers. But his gaze stayed fixed on her face, his eyes clear and bright. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“Well,” he hummed as he took the fresh martini in long, manicured fingers. “I’m a good listener too.” When the bartender placed a glass in front of Alex, he politely waited for her to pick it up.
“Once in a while chivalry rears its ugly head,” Alex laughed to herself as she tapped his glass with hers. Just when she’d decided one vampire was enough right now, she trips over another in a brothel. He was much different than the pro athletes she’d hooked up with over the years. Where they were bulky muscles and not much else, he was lean, almost wiry. His polished appearance meant nothing really. He was paid to be whatever the Mistress told him to be. Groomed to please the client’s every whim or request.
“Who says I need to talk?” Alex asked.
“I just thought, maybe,” he replied. “Your friends don’t really strike me as very good conversationalists.”
“How would you know that?”
He smiled at her, chuckled. “Because they’re in there and you’re here alone.”
“Maybe I’m not the good conversationalist. Ever thought about that?”
He gave her a thoughtful look. “I did.”
“And?”
He turned on the stool, crossed his legs and brought them to a stop next to hers. Dropping his elbow on the bar, he continued to grin and drink. “And I think you have a lot on your mind. I’m just offering to listen, if you want.”
Who comes to a whorehouse to talk? she thought to herself. Then again, this wasn’t just any whorehouse, and they do whatever, whenever, so maybe it wasn’t so farfetched. “That’s okay,” she replied. “I’m good.”
He turned to the bartender, ordered two more drinks. Normally, she would have declined, but she found herself intrigued by this young vampire gigolo, or whatever you called a male version of a call girl. Sincere interest crept through her. Did the Mistress send him to seduce her or just listen? And what could she possibly tell him about herself that wouldn’t be a breach of protocol or national security at this point?
“How about we move somewhere more comfortable and a little less public,” he said, picking up both glasses with a nod
toward the couch in a quiet corner of the room.
Alex didn’t hesitate to follow her companion toward the dim corner. Again, he waited for her to sit. Once the drinks were safely on the low table in front of them, he unbuttoned his jacket, sat down at a comfortable angle on the couch and picked up the drinks again. Handing one to her, he stared into her eyes silently and somewhat sweetly.
“What do you expect me to say to a perfect stranger?” she asked.
“Whatever you want,” he replied.
_______________
So what if he actually talked to her. He wasn’t told not to, right? Besides, she showed up here, not the other way around. He had tried to take the night off, in case someone missed that memo.
“I’m not sure where to start,” she stated.
She let her shoes drop to the floor then curled her legs underneath her. Michael thought about doing the same, but didn’t. She studied him closely as she sipped the drink. At first, she just looked him over; silently taking inventory, he guessed.
“Start anywhere you want,” he answered. “I’m very interested in what you have to say.”
That was the truth. He wasn’t lying. But it would be easy to lie, wouldn’t it? In every interaction with a human, Michael lied. He had to, didn’t he? For his own safety and that of his kind.
“Are you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
This was no place for the truth, he reminded himself. She thinks you work here. Go with it and you may find out something useful.
Michael placed his empty glass on the table, then took hers and placed it next to his. As he slipped out of his jacket, she eased back into the corner of the couch.
“I miss having conversations with people,” he replied. “Talk to me, Miss . . .”
Well he hadn’t expected to surprise her, but by the sound of her heartbeat, he had. It was thumping at a pretty good pace right now. Was it him or the invitation? Had no one actually talked to her before?