Heartless (Crossbreed Series Book 9)

by Dannika Dark

  “Bullshit.”

  He leaned forward and laced his fingers together. “You underestimate how persuasive you can be. Anyhow, I never could make another quite like you, so I decided to retire and give this city exactly what it needs.”

  “Porn?”

  He tilted his head to the side. “Do you see anyone having sex? What we do here transcends intercourse. Sensory exchange is allowed. Binding is allowed.” His hazel eyes sparkled. “I sometimes wonder what that might be like, but I’m not a Mage. Have you ever done it?”

  “That’s none of your business.” Incensed by the personal questions, I decided to threaten him with the truth. “My boss knows who you are.”

  “I doubt he knows anything about me. Nobody does.”

  “Then I’ll tell him.”

  “I think you’re smarter than that. Even if he knew, what could he do? I’m an upstanding businessman, and you have no physical evidence against me for any crime. I scrubbed every youngling I ever made so they wouldn’t remember me. And they wanted to be with me. They sought a new life and asked for my blood. Just like you did.”

  “You tricked me. I’m sure you did the same with them, but I guess it doesn’t matter.”

  Houdini stood up and approached a long counter to my right. When he opened up a lower cabinet, a light popped on like in a refrigerator. After pulling out a bottle of milk, he looked over his shoulder at me. “Would you like some?”

  “No.”

  He poured it into a glass, his back to me. “Then perhaps you’d like a cup of coffee to sober up.”

  “I’m not drunk.”

  He wandered back to his seat. “I’ve watched you pilfer my alcohol when you think nobody’s looking. Has this job been that difficult? It’s nothing you haven’t seen before.” He took a long drink and turned his chair halfway to look at the screen. “You’d think after centuries, people would grow weary of tits and ass. I have a wealthy customer who’s over five thousand years old. He could be spending his time anywhere in the world, but there he is in the dungeon, getting whipped by a woman he dresses in a red wig and royal garb. He supplies the clothes himself, and it makes me wonder where they came from. Sometimes I think this place isn’t about sexual fulfillment but a house of lost souls. Many come for fun and exploration, but the older ones just want to role-play some long-lost memory from their past.”

  “If you hate it so much, why did you open up a sex club?”

  “Fantasy club,” he said before facing me again. “I have particular standards and won’t put up with raunchy behavior. Full nudity isn’t allowed on the open floors. Waist up is fine, but I have furniture to consider. Private rooms are the only places you can engage in the next level of play. I have some customers who just stop by for the Sensor-spiked drinks and the atmosphere.”

  “You should have just opened up a bar.”

  “But then I wouldn’t be able to charge a membership fee. When I tire of this place, I’ll sell it for a small fortune. Always go where the money is, Raven. If there’s anything I can teach you, it’s to acquire assets. But… we’ve been over this before. Someday you’ll either thank me or kick yourself, because in the end, wealth is the only thing that’ll bring you comfort. People come and go. Societies come and go. Inventions, fashion—all the modern conveniences that have spoiled you will be gone in a hundred years, and you may not be equipped to survive in an unknown future. Don’t belong to anyone, because when they’re gone, you won’t know how to fend for yourself. You’ll wind up working in places like this and living in the Bricks.” He took another sip of his milk and licked his lips. “Districts like those have a bad reputation, but you misunderstand their purpose. It’s not just a place for criminals; it’s a refuge for those who are ill-equipped to survive in today’s world. They don’t understand the technology. They don’t agree with the rules of the establishment, and I’m fairly certain that you don’t entirely agree with them either. But living in the Bricks will isolate you from living free.”

  “Don’t you live in the Bricks?”

  He gave me an enigmatic smile and sat back. “I live lots of places, Butterfly.”

  “Are you behind the missing girls? It wouldn’t be the first time that girls go missing when you’re around.”

  His face went rigid, and he reached for his milk. “Do you really think I’d be stupid enough to recruit my own staff in nefarious activities?”

  I barked out a laugh. “Since when are you above cage fighting? I bet it’s a lucrative investment, and it’s probably easier to vet potential candidates in a place where you see them every day.”

  “You think you have me all figured out, don’t you?” He wiped his upper lip. “It’s illegal.”

  “You and I both know that you don’t obey the law.”

  “Neither do you.”

  I uncrossed my legs and leaned in. “Simone said one of the girls came in here to see you and was never seen again.”

  Houdini’s dark eyebrows slanted over his hazel eyes before he tipped his head back. “Ah. You mean Willow. I caught her sneaking into one of the rooms upstairs and performing sex acts for money. That’s against my rules. She was escorted out the back door and banned for life. I don’t give second chances.”

  I glanced up at the moving images. “So if you’re not behind it, show me the footage of the night the girls disappeared. Maybe I’ll recognize someone they were talking to.”

  He polished off his milk and stood up. “I would, except that I don’t record anything.”

  “You run all these cameras and don’t record?”

  He set his glass in the sink. “It’s against the law.” After a moment of silence, he turned around and rested his hands on the counter behind him. “You might not believe this, but I’d like to run my club without the higher authority sticking its nose into my business. I have no choice but to conform. That’s what smart men do. Those who balk about their circumstance will never adapt.”

  “What’s the point of cameras if you don’t record?” I threw up my hand. “Never mind. I think I can guess.”

  Houdini snorted. “I’m sure you can. The cameras are all hidden; not even my staff knows about them. There’s no law against running them so long as they aren’t recording. They came with the establishment.”

  I put my foot on his desk and then crossed my other one over it. “I’ve got a job to do, so any information you can give me would be great.”

  Houdini approached the desk and leaned against it, next to my feet. “I told the Regulators everything I know. Now you’re here. What an auspicious sign.”

  “You didn’t specifically ask for us?”

  “I asked for them to let me handle it, but the Mageri got involved when they heard about the deaths. You know how difficult they can be, so I agreed to work with the higher authority and hire undercover investigators. Then I heard a Mage with black hair showed up, so I had to come see for myself. Better it was you than one of the others on your team.”

  When he touched the heel of my boot, I put my feet on the floor.

  “What a pity your Irishman couldn’t join you,” he said. “But I don’t allow Vampires.”

  “Hypocrite.”

  “No one knows what I am. Not many here even know who I am. It keeps them on their toes if they think I might be in the crowd watching.”

  He rested his palms on the desk and fell silent. Random images from the screens behind him lit up the room. Women dancing, men serving, someone getting paddled in a hallway, a woman strapped in a bizarre swing. As I watched a man with a ball gag crawl down a hallway behind his mistress, I realized how completely tame those rituals were in comparison to what was going on in the private rooms. Why in the world did Houdini watch this stuff? I remembered him once telling me how nudity bored him, and yet here he was, running a fantasy club.

  “Do you still have my key?” he asked.

  “You shouldn’t obsess over something that never belonged to you.”

  His fingers gripped the edge of
the desk until I heard the wood pop. “I only want what’s mine.”

  I stood up and circled behind his chair, briefly glancing up at the screens before staring at the back of Houdini’s head. “I’m here to figure out why girls are dropping like flies. I heard some of your staff fled before questioning. Something’s going on around here, and I don’t see how you couldn’t know about it.”

  He swiveled around, and the apathetic look on his face gave little of his thoughts away. “Because I’m rarely here. And what do I care? My only concern is filling the positions and keeping this place profitable. What my employees do in their spare time doesn’t interest me.”

  “Even if it kills them?”

  “You have a dangerous job, Raven. You could die. Does that mean your boss is a sadistic monster?” Houdini gave a one-sided smile, the kind that crept up your face when you had a wicked idea. “Maybe I should be concerned and save you. Is that what you want? Someone to rescue you from your decisions?”

  “You’ve made your point.” The sincerity in his question made me take a step back. “When Christian finds out you’re here, he’ll kill you.”

  “That wouldn’t be productive to your investigation. Would you really jeopardize everything? Come on now. The higher authority would arrest your partner and break apart your organization. Poe doesn’t strike me as impetuous, but people have been known to surprise me.” He put his fingers in the pockets of his jeans and smiled. “I do love surprises. Perhaps I’m being too restrictive on club rules. I don’t see any reason we need to keep the Vampire ban in place. Do you?”

  I saw where he was going with this, and I wasn’t on board with the plan. “I’m not here to change your rules. If you let in Vamps, people will stop coming. It might scare away the person hiring your girls, and we’ll never catch him. So unless you want to obstruct our search, I’d suggest you keep the rules as they are.”

  He tilted his head to the side. “Good point. I sometimes forget how clever you are. Clever, clever.” His eyes skated down, and he looked displeased with my attire. “Hurry back, Butterfly. Trouble is brewing.”

  I put my hands on my hips. “What do you mean?”

  Houdini gestured up at a brawl happening on one of the screens. “Another asinine display. You better take care of that before it gets out of control.”

  “Why don’t you hire bouncers so the bartenders can do their job?”

  “I have enough employees as it is. The whole point of a business is to profit. If I hire competent bartenders, who needs bouncers? We’ve had more of these fights lately, and I can’t seem to find a Mage who will stay.”

  “Yeah, maybe you should do something about that.”

  Houdini swaggered around the desk and kept his eyes locked on mine. “Your pupils are slow to dilate.”

  I gave him an indignant sigh. “It’s past my shift, and I’m tired.”

  “You’re here to track a recruiter, but just remember to follow my rules. I won’t have you influencing my people. If anyone asks, you were in here getting a verbal warning for drinking on the job.”

  I subtly shook my head. “Since when does Chaos like rules?”

  Amusement played on his features as he tugged on his ear stud. “I do miss our chats. Most immortals aren’t as candid and take offense to everything. I hope someday we can be as close as we were the night we met. Perhaps the fates want us together after all.”

  I strutted toward the door. As I gripped the knob, I looked over my shoulder. I didn’t like keeping secrets from Christian. He didn’t hold Houdini in high regard to begin with, but after my maker had kidnapped and sold me back to my Creator, all bets were off. Christian had never made any specific threats, but I knew if given the chance, he’d end Houdini. And frankly, I didn’t know how to feel about that.

  Houdini turned away to watch the commotion on three cameras. “See you when I see you.”

  Chapter 11

  My adrenaline spiked as I tunneled through the crowd. A ring of onlookers had formed around the lounge area, some standing on their tiptoes to see.

  “We should leave,” one man said to his companion. “I can’t get involved in this.” They quickly turned away and fought against the rising tide of spectators.

  I elbowed my way to the front and saw the group who’d ordered the Red Apple drinks. Only five were causing a scene.

  Flynn and his men pushed the crowd back, trying to get them to leave. One of the Red Apple boys waved a broken beer bottle at a pissed-off shirtless man. After slashing the man’s chest, the Lone Musketeer slashed his own chest and laughed maniacally. The shirtless guy looked unfazed, and I couldn’t even tell if he was bleeding since his chest was so hairy that a small mouse could have nested in there. His eyes were locked on the brunette pinned beneath another Red Apple boy. By the possessive look on his face, that was his woman. Or at least that was the impression she had given him at some point. Had she been screaming or beating her fists against the buffoon on top of her, the furry boyfriend might have exploded into action. It was unclear whether she was drunk on magic, but as the man pounded his hips into hers on the red sofa, she moaned. They weren’t simulating sex, and they were both into it. That titillated the onlookers.

  Rena crept up behind the Lone Musketeer, who was still wielding the broken bottle, and put her hands on his back. His eyes rounded as the red glow on her palms swelled. He pivoted, but instead of slicing her throat with the shard, he blasted her with Mage energy using his free hand. Rena hurtled backward as if pulled by invisible rope.

  Simone fought her way through the crowd until she reached me.

  “What the hell happened?” I asked her. “I’ve only been gone a few minutes.”

  “There were only five at the table. They lied about how many were in their group. That means each one of them had two Red Apples. Flynn! Get everyone out.”

  Flynn pushed at the bevy of onlookers. “Stand back, the lot of you! There’s nothing to see. Get your jollies off in another room,” he said, trying to maintain order. Some obeyed, but the vast majority wanted to watch.

  The hairy guy grimaced when the Lone Musketeer cut his chest again.

  “I bet that’s her boyfriend,” I said to Simone.

  “Let’s hope he’s not a Shifter.” She took out her nose ring and put it inside her bra. “See that guy who looks like Sonny Crockett?”

  “Sonny who?”

  She turned to me matter-of-factly as chaos erupted around us. “Don Johnson played him.” Met with my blank stare, she looked at me in disbelief. “Don Johnson? Miami Vice? None of that rings a bell?”

  “I don’t watch a lot of movies.”

  She gave a contemptuous sigh. “Some days I weep for humanity. He’s the one in the blue shirt and grey sports jacket. The one grabbing everyone’s wrist.”

  “What about him?”

  “He juiced a man unconscious, and now he’s trying to find another Mage. His bald friend over there is doing the same.”

  “Are they all the same Breed?”

  Simone scanned the scene. “I don’t know about Romeo on the couch or him.”

  I followed her gaze to a long-haired man who looked like someone from an old rock band. He stripped off his suit jacket and white button-up shirt, his hands drenched in blood and his eyes wild with delight.

  “That one disemboweled a man. That’s how this whole thing started.”

  “Holy shit. Right in the middle of the club?”

  Simone took a deep breath, her hands shaking as she wrung them. “Luckily it was a Shifter, and he’s mostly healed. But I almost got torn apart carrying him to a private room.”

  Three puncture marks branded her shoulder, but she didn’t seem to know they were there.

  “The juicers knocked out two of my people already. They’re looking for a female Mage they can bind with and are blasting everyone in the process. The one at nine o’clock holding the beer bottle—blood excites him. The woman on the sofa is willing, so the man fucking her is the least of my co
ncerns. We don’t have the authority to kill these men. They’ll shut us down.”

  I could see why they were hesitating. For one, they didn’t have anyone qualified to handle this level of violence. Most of the workers were busy trying to lead customers away, and we anxiously waited for them to disperse. The fewer people around, the fewer potential victims.

  Simone snapped her fingers at Flynn. “Lock the stairwells. Don’t let anyone down until we get this contained.”

  Flynn relayed the command to three of his crew. I spotted Claude scooping up women like ice cream and heading to the back door.

  What kind of fuckery was about to unfold? Five men juiced up on toxic levels of sensory magic, which amplified their desires, whether that was sex, juicing, or violence. And not a single Mage employee in sight to help me out.

  “Clyde!” I shouted, relieved I hadn’t blurted out his real name in the heat of the moment.

  Still in his gold shorts, Claude sliced through the thinning crowd until he reached us.

  I looked between him and Simone. “How many Chitahs are on the floor?”

  She shook her head. “Workers? Clyde’s the only one. We have a few upstairs, but we’ve had trouble in the past with them flipping their switch.”

  “Think you can take down a Mage?” I asked him. “No killing.”

  He let only his top two canines elongate. “I think I can handle it.”

  I gave him a pointed look. “Don’t flip your switch, and don’t put more venom in him than two fangs. If you do, it’ll shut down this club, and we’re all screwed.” I glanced at the room. “Take out Sonny Crockett.”

  He glanced at a man rising from an unconscious body on the floor. “Don Johnson over there in the jacket?”

  “See?” Simone said, judging me with her coffee-colored eyes.

  “Can you handle the Lone Musketeer with the broken beer bottle?” I asked her.

  She looked down to where Rena lay on the floor, still knocked out from the blast of energy. “Why not the humping fool on the couch? Seems like we should take out the easy ones first.”