by M. J. Scott
“Still?” Dan and Marco locked up together for several hours was not a good thing. Esme, unusually, looked tired. “
Should it be taking this long?”
She shrugged, her scent—heat and steamy green—edged with the same static annoyance I imagined must be spiking through mine. “Vampire politics are delicate right now.”
O-kay. So perhaps I’d skip my goodbyes. Me blundering in and putting Dan on edge wasn’t going to help matters. “Then can you tell Dan goodbye for me? I have to get back to the office.”
Her mouth twisted a little but she nodded, smoothing a stray piece of hair back into her French twist with a jerk. Definitely not her usual calm collected self. Something was bothering our were jaguar.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
Violet-blue eyes met mine but then she shrugged again with her peculiar feline grace. “Everything’s fine. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
From her tone I figured fine in this case meant the fucked up kind, not ‘situation all good.’But I didn’t have time for a girl talk. Something else to feel guilty about. I sighed as I headed for the exit. My path took me right past the conference room and the door swung open just as I got there.
Unfortunately, it was Marco who stepped out. “Ashley, cara, buona sera.” Green eyes smiled at me.
Perfect. To Marco, Italian good manners and charm were as natural as breathing. But to certain male werewolves—and, if I was honest, to my female instincts—his old world approach came off as flirting. “Lord Marco,” I said warily, trying to see if Dan was behind him. “I hope your meeting went well.”
“I could say the same to you.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant. My face must have showed my confusion.
He tilted his head. “Your meeting, with Lord Esteban last night? Was it productive?”
My eyes narrowed at a point between his eyebrows. Was this just politeness, was he digging or was there something else entirely going on? Dan’s face appeared behind Marco and I decided now wasn’t the time to find out.
“It was fine,” I said. “I think I can help him with his, um, issue.”
“Excellent,” Marco said with a smile. “A mutually beneficial conclusion.” He inclined his head in a gesture more bow than nod and moved a little closer.
I moved back, pressing my lips together. I really wanted to tell him what he could do with his mutually beneficial conclusion but I wasn’t up to picking a fight with an Old One tonight. Or ever, really. “I should be going.”
“Wait,” Dan said. “Going where, exactly?”
Something in his tone made me think he knew already. Damn. Jase had told on me. “Infradark. It’s one of Esteban’s clubs.”
They both frowned, green eyes and silver ones registering identical levels of disapproval.
“Jase is going with me,” I added defensively. “It will be fine.”
“That’s what you said last night,” Dan said flatly.
Marco swung round to face Dan. “There was a problem last night?”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Dan and I spoke at the same time. He was louder.
Marco’s attention remained fixed on him. “And?”
There was a lot of Old One in that tone. He expected the question to be answered.
“Esteban decided it would be fun to give Ashley a demonstration of his powers,” Dan said.
That brought Marco’s green eyes back to me. “You were not shielded, cara?”
Great, now I was going to be lectured by Marco on top of everything else. “I wasn’t aware that there was anything to shield from,” I pointed out. “Nobody told me.”
“You were not hurt?” Marco said.
This time I beat Dan to the response. “No. Nothing physical.”
Marco rolled his shoulders, the gesture a peculiarly fluid demonstration of irritation. “I did not think Esteban would offer you any disrespect.”
I really didn’t want to be the cause of an argument between two Old Ones. “He was just showing me who was boss.”
Marco’s expression didn’t change. “In this situation, I am the boss.”
I swallowed, my throat suddenly dust-dry. It was going to be bad enough working for Esteban without having him angry at me for telling tales. “Of course, but I can handle him.”
“I don’t like you going there tonight,” Dan said.
“I’m not going to Maelstrom, I’m going to Infradark. Jase says it’s a wannabe club. I doubt Lord Esteban will be there.” He wouldn’t waste his powers on a bunch of posers, surely? He’d stay where the real action was. “Anyway, I’m not going alone, Jase is coming with me.”
“Jason?” Marco and Dan exchanged a long look. “It would be better to take more than one.”
“Esteban agreed to one assistant. And he expressly said no FBI.” I stared at Dan, trying to will him to be reasonable.
Marco cocked his head at me. “I could accompany you.”
“What?” This time Dan and I spoke in unison. I sounded surprised. Dan’s tone was more a pissed off growl.
Green eyes warmed and my hands curled into tight balls. Marco was enjoying this. Or enjoying annoying Dan, at least.
“Lord Esteban cannot object to me,” Marco said.
That was true. But Dan sure could. I looked at Dan, waited for him to protest. Instead he stayed silent while his scent grew smokier and smokier. Marco could probably read that anger as clearly as I could but it didn’t seem to bother him.
“After what we have discussed this afternoon, Daniel Gibson, you do not want her unguarded,” Marco prodded.
A growl rumbled in Dan’s throat. “No.”
Every muscle in my back tensed. Dan agreeing with Marco? Not good. “What exactly did you discuss?” I demanded.
“Many things,” Marco said smoothly. “But to cut to the chase, as you say, I agree with your wolf that this morning’s incident is disquieting.”
Shit. Marco was worried about me too? I folded my arms, more to make myself feel better than any defiance. “Did you get the tapes from Esteban?” I asked Dan.
He shook his head. “No. Not yet.”
“Then what’s changed?”
Marco cleared his throat softly. “Let us say that our instincts are in agreement, Ashley.”
“You think there’s a threat? To me?” I wanted to hear them say it.
Dan rubbed his wrist. “We think there’s cause for concern.”
“Do you think Esteban is involved?”
Marco shrugged and Dan frowned.
“There is no proof either way,” Marco said. “Still, his clubs are not safe. They skirt the wrong side of the line.”
“Off the grid. Easy to infiltrate if you’re a skilled hacker,” Dan added.
I fought a shiver. “Okay, I get it. So, Marco comes with me?” An Old One wasn’t too shabby as bodyguards went.
Another growl rumbled from Dan.
“You can’t have it both ways,” I said. “You want me to have more backup. You can’t come. Neither can anyone else from the Taskforce. Marco can.”
“Fine,” he said eventually. “But you’re taking this.” He held out a small black disc.
I took it. “What is it?” I rolled it in my fingers, peering at a circle of shiny black plastic about the size of a nickel, but fatter. The center had a small indent, making it look like a tiny black mutant donut.
“Panic button. Hit that and there’ll be agents with you in five minutes max.”
Five minutes was a long time if something went wrong in a dark club. Particularly anything that an Old One couldn’t protect me from. The agents weren’t likely to find anything but a very chewed-on Ashley corpse if I ran into that kind of trouble. But if carrying it made Dan feel better then I’d carry it. I closed my fingers around the disc. It was still warm from Dan’s hand. That made my heart warm a little too.
“Thanks.” I slipped the button into the pocket of my jacket.
“Use it,” he said warn
ingly. “For anything that makes you nervous. Anything.”
His eyes slid toward Marco and I fought the urge not to roll mine. Marco was not going to leap on me and try and have his wicked way with me. I didn’t think for a moment he was actually interested in me in that way. His flirtatious manner was, as far as I could tell, part innate, part enjoying tweaking a werewolf’s—Dan’s—tail. Even if I was wrong about it, if Marco did try anything, I was hardly going to just stand there and let him.
“Perhaps I shall wait for you by the elevator, cara,” Marco said diplomatically. “I have my car here.”
Marco’s limo was better than having to pay a taxi a bonus to take me to a dark club. I nodded and Marco glided away.
Dan stayed silent, the smell of smoke still rolling around him.
“I could say something about being hoist on your own petard,” I said sweetly. “But I won’t.”
Another growl vibrated in his throat and I sighed. “I don’t want to fight, Dan. You’re the one who brought the subject up in front of Marco. I’m taking the protection. You should be happy.”
“I’m never happy when you’re with vampires,” he said softly, arms folded tightly enough that his biceps strained the fabric of his suit.
“Even Jase?” I tried to lighten the mood.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “Jase gets a pass. Nobody else.”
“I know this is hard,” I said. “But we just have to get through it.” I hoped we could get through it. The alternative didn’t bear thinking about. I’d let Dan go once before and it had nearly killed me. I wasn’t sure I could do it again.
After a moment, Dan uncrossed his arms, rolled his shoulders and nodded. “It will get better.”
I wanted to believe him. But I couldn’t see how it would unless he forgave me for going to Marco. Which, given the front and center position Marco had just taken in my life, seemed unlikely to happen any time soon. We were going to keep going round and round until one of us broke. I didn’t want it to be me. Despite my doubts, I wasn’t ready to let go of Dan. In fact, I didn’t know if I could let go of him, even if I wanted to. So I lied. “Yes.”
It earned me a proper smile. I couldn’t tell whether it was ‘thanks for trying to make me feel better’ or ‘I believe you.’ I smiled back and reached out to straighten his tie. Or rather, to use my straightening his tie as an excuse to touch him. Things seemed to work better for us when we focused on the physical.
He bore my girly fussing without comment until I dropped my hands.
“Finished?” he asked dryly.
“Hardly.” I grinned up at him, grabbed his tie again and yanked his head down to kiss him goodbye. Screw behaving well in the office, sometimes a girl needs a good pulse-pounding lip-lock to take her mind off all the crap.
Chapter Five
The trip to Infradark was largely silent. As Marco’s driver wound his way into one of the dodgier areas of town, cold tendrils of anxiety wound their way around my spine, making the skin on the back of my neck crawl.
Another dark club.
Too soon. My mind kept flashing back to Esteban and Maelstrom, the memories a confused blur of lust and panic and the smell of blood. The faint scent of vampire that filled the car, like a hint of acid beneath the expensive colognes that both Marco and Jase wore, didn’t help.
The wolf interpreted that scent as a threat and put my senses on high alert. Even the small warm bump of the panic button in my pocket didn’t relax me, no matter how often I told myself that Esteban wouldn’t be at Infradark.
The limo headed down a narrow street, then pulled to a halt beneath the one operating streetlight that shed a yellowish pool of light over the entrance to an even narrower alley. The driver’s voice came through the intercom. “This is as close as I can get, sir.”
I fought the temptation to snarl. I didn’t want to walk down a dark alley in this part of town even with a couple of vamps as bodyguards. For one thing, I was bound to get something disgusting on my shoes. But it wasn’t as if we could change the laws of physics and make the limo suddenly skinny enough to navigate the alley.
Reluctantly, I climbed out of the car. The darkness beyond the thin light from the streetlight seemed to press around me and the smell of trash was overwhelming. Someone hadn’t been emptying their dumpsters.
I wrinkled my nose and tried not to breathe. Wolf senses aren’t always a good thing. The only thing that made me feel better was the matching expression of distaste on Marco’s face. “So where is this place?”
Jase pointed toward the darkest end of the street. “Down the alley.”
From where I stood, the mouth of the alley had a faint reddish glow as if there was a neon sign or something lighting it from within. About as inviting as the gates of hell. But I had no choice but to walk straight into them. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Stay close to me.” Jase headed down the street and I took his advice, hugging his side like a puppy following its owner. As we neared the alley, the smell of trash was joined by an equally charming mix of stale alcohol, vomit and urine. I stopped, half-gagging. Stupid wolf nose.
Though you’d have to be a human without a nose not to notice the stink. Maybe Esteban was losing money because this place was a total dump.
“Gee, Jase,” I said. “You take me to all the best places.”
“Hey. You’re the one taking me.” He smiled down at me and offered an arm. “Shall we?”
“I guess.” It had to smell better inside the club. At least, I hoped it did. We rounded the corner, Marco at our heels, into the dull glow of red neon spelling out Infradark over a nondescript doorway in an equally nondescript brick building. Spilling down the alley in the opposite direction from us was a long line of people dressed in black, black, and more black.
Maybe black cut off your sense of smell. If so, I was obviously wearing the wrong shade of black.
Marco ignored the line and headed for the bouncer. Happily for my nose, the bouncer seemed to know who he was. The threadbare black velvet rope barring the door was lifted at warp speed and before I had time to really think what I was about to do, I crossed the threshold.
The interior of the club wasn’t any more appetizing than the exterior. Shabby was putting it nicely. The dim lighting wasn’t dim enough to hide the dingy paint and battered looking tables and chairs. Each step I took, my shoes stuck to whatever the hell had soaked into the carpet. Whatever Esteban was spending his money on, it wasn’t this club.
The place reeked of half-smoked cigarettes, sweat and stale beer. The stink wasn’t as bad as the alley but still not pleasant. But it didn’t reek of blood and fear like Maelstrom so maybe Jase was right, maybe this was a wannabe club. Fine by me. Maybe we’d get out of here all in one piece after all.
Marco scanned the room with one quick lookand apparently he didn’t see or sense anything that upset him because he gave me a small nod.
Permission to proceed, I assumed. “Jase, what was the name of the manager?”
“Arthur Dempsey.”
“Okay, why don’t you go to the bar and ask where we can find him?” No point trying to do it myself, Jase and Marco would both just protest.
Jase nodded and headed into the gloom.
Which left me alone with Marco. I tipped my head in the direction Jase had gone. “He won’t be long.”
“I do not mind.”
I raised an eyebrow. “This is hardly the sort of place I’d expect you to enjoy.” I tried to decipher his bland expression. Despite the seemingly uninterested face, he seemed just a little too...satisfied, that was it...to be here. “Why did you insist on coming?”
“Like I said at the office of the FBI, I agree with Daniel Gibson. This place is somewhat pericoloso—dangerous.”
It was a little too glib. He was making me nervous. “Why do you care what happens to me?”
Marco smiled at me, all Italian charm. “Let’s just say I am protecting my investment, cara.”
His
investment? Me? I bristled a little. Sure I owed him but that didn’t make me his property. “I thought this cleared things between us?”
He raised an eyebrow at me, gaze dropping to my throat. I looked away, trying not to think about the blood debt.
“Who says I am talking about only you?” His eyes flicked to Jase, threading his way through the crowd back to us.
Jase? “You’re here to protect Jason?” I almost laughed. Then frowned. What the hell was Marco teaching Jase and what the hell kind of powers did Jase have if he was valuable enough for Marco to keep an eye on him? And who did he need protecting from here?
The answer appeared like magic. Niko. Looking better than ever in a body-hugging black T-shirt and jeans. “Good evening, Ms. Keenan, Mr. Trent.” He bowed, slanting a gaze at Jase as he did so.
I didn’t return the greeting. Instead I watched Marco who was looking at Niko with something close to distrust.
“Nikolai, I wasn’t expecting you,” I said.
“It is a night for surprises,” Niko purred. He cocked his head at Lord Marco. “Always a pleasure to see you in one of our establishments, my lord Marco. Can I fetch you a...refreshment?”
I didn’t want to know what a refreshment might mean in a dark club. Because, quite possibly, it would be a real live human rather than stored or manufactured blood.
Marco frowned at Niko. “I am fine, as I am. Why are you here?” His tone should’ve frozen Niko on the spot, which only confirmed my feelings where Niko was concerned. If Marco didn’t like him, then he had to be very bad news.
“My lord Esteban thought I could assist Ms. Keenan and Mr. Trent.” His eyes strayed again to Jason and he smiled. It made him look unnaturally beautiful, an effect only amplified by our grimy surroundings. Looking at Niko in this place was like finding the statue of David in a trailer park.
Jase returned the gaze. His expression didn’t change but something about his posture made my heart sink. He was attracted to Niko, despite my warnings.
“I doubt Ms. Keenan has much use for a less than talented painter,” Marco said. “Managing finances has never been your strong point.”
There was a definite sting in his tone now and I wondered again about Niko’s history. Maybe Marco would tell me if I asked nicely. I could use any help I could get to keep Jase from getting entangled.