Lady & the Vamp ib-3

by Мишель Роуэн

  Gideon nodded at him. "Go on."

  Quinn focused on the podium. When he got to it he slid the bottom door open.

  "Well?" Gideon asked.

  Quinn looked at him. "I was wrong."

  Gideon's lips thinned, and he nodded at his bodyguards.

  Quinn continued. "There isn't ten minutes left. There's three."

  Gideon moved to his side and looked down at the bomb. His expression didn't change from vague annoyance. "I thought Malcolm Price was dead."

  "I wish he was."

  Gideon motioned for someone off on the other side of the stage, a tall man with glasses whose eyes widened as he saw the device.

  "Take care of it," Gideon barked. Without question, the man immediately fell to his knees and began disarming the bomb.

  Then Gideon turned to Quinn. "This is ruining my event."

  He shrugged. "Sorry. So are you going to kill me now?"

  "Yes."

  Quinn grabbed the microphone and addressed the crowd. "There is a bomb in the building. Everyone run for your lives!"

  And despite the fact that they were three hundred of the toughest men and women inAmerica , they immediately scattered screaming in all directions.

  Gideon turned around in a circle, watching the sudden chaos surround him. When he turned back, Quinn had disappeared into the crowd.

  Janie glanced at her watch. How much time was left? Where was Quinn? He should have been back by now.

  "He's been killed." Malcolm's voice bit into her thoughts.

  "Shut up."

  "If he does not disarm it, the bomb will go off in less than two minutes." He smiled cruelly. "I believe we will be fine here, but if you'd prefer, we can leave the building."

  "He'll disarm it."

  "I still would be happy to take care of you, Janie. I am your true sire, after all. I gave you vampire life;

  Quinn simply smoothed out the rough edges."

  Her fists ached to hit him. Knock out some teeth. Live eternally with no teeth—see how he'd like that.

  Not that he was going to live eternally, because she wasso going to kill him and shove that detonator he'd been waving around right down his vampire throat. She just had to wait to make sure Quinn was safe first.

  "Shut. Up." She repeated it with an underlying danger that normally brought perspiration to even the strongest man's brow.

  "As you wish."

  She couldn't help but let out a small, humorless laugh at that. "Yeah, that's what all this is about, isn't it?

  The wish? And what are you planning on wishing for?"

  "I plan to wish for omnipotence."

  She eyed him sideways. "You can get a prescription from your doctor if that's a problem for you."

  "Omnipotence."

  "I know what it means, you freak. Absolute power. But you're already a vampire, so what difference does it make?"

  "All the difference. You see, right now, while I am a greater being with the potential to live eternally,

  there are still side effects. Should I not get enough blood, I will die. Should I be staked or shot with silver, I will die."

  She eyed his neck. "Don't forget about decapitation."

  He raised a hand to touch his throat. "But when I make my wish, none of that will affect me any longer. I can be stabbed with a wooden stake, but it won't kill me. Nothing will kill me. I will have no fears of my end, so I can focus on my ultimate plan."

  "Which is?"

  "Creating a race of greater beings. Those with vampire strength and stamina but the fighting training and instincts of hunters. And they will answer only to me."

  "Maybe you should get a dog. Sounds like you're in serious need of a hobby."

  He ignored that. "And you, Janie. You have recovered very quickly from what happened before."

  "You mean when you tore out my throat and went all happy hour on me? I'm managing."

  "This is why you would make a brilliant addition to my team. Are you certain I can't change your mind?"

  "I already work for a twisted psychotic bastard—why would I want to make a lateral move now?"

  "You would be hard to control, admittedly, but I see great things for your future."

  "I wish I could say the same for you."

  There was a rush of activity suddenly as a mass of people streamed into the casino. Janie and Malcolm were off to one side, in a section of slots reserved for an upcoming tournament. There was no one within hearing distance.

  "They're coming from the theater." Malcolm frowned as he watched the swell of men and women with panicked expressions milling about, heading for the exit.

  Janie's heart clenched. An image filled her mind of three hundred hunters finding a single vampire in their midst—not counting her, since there was no way anyone would be able to tell that she was one of the future fanged at the moment without being told. She shuddered. They would tear Quinn apart limb from limb. Or torture him to get information.

  She really wished she had a weapon at the moment. Even her high heels were upstairs. She curled her hands into fists, every muscle in her body tense.

  If Quinn was dead—her throat constricted—after what had happened between them… then she'd want to die, too.

  After she took out a slough of hunters and Malcolm first, that is.

  She eyed him to see that he was now clicking the detonator. He looked disappointed. Without thinking,

  she kicked it out of his hand and it went flying across the floor.

  "Don't be a sore loser," she said.

  "Just wanted to double-check." He smirked. "But where is your lover now? He may have stopped the bomb, but perhaps the hunters stopped him in return."

  "I've got to go find him," she said, under her breath, more to herself than to Malcolm.

  And then she saw him turn the corner headed their way.

  She felt so much relief that—yes, again—she started to cry.

  Premenstrual. Definitely. Was that even possible now that she was a vampire? Would her body change so that she no longer had normal human problems like getting her period? She didn't know. All she knew was that she was a total emotional wreck. Is that really what she wanted when it came to having Quinn in her life? Her emotions in a constant state of upheaval?

  If that's what it took, then, yeah.

  She sucked in a breath and restrained herself from throwing her arms around him. Had to look strong and unaffected.

  "I'm here," Quinn said, glancing nervously over his shoulder.

  The PA system clicked on, and a voice that introduced himself as the manager of the hotel calmly suggested that everyone inside the building briefly leave the premises due to a bomb threat.

  The voice was calm, but the effect was not. The remainder of the people in the casino gathered their chips and, with panicked expressions, fled to the nearest exits.

  "You found my little present for the hunters?" Malcolm asked dryly.

  "I did."

  "And it was where I told you it would be?"

  "It was."

  "Then my part of the bargain is complete." He held his hand out. "Now, the stone, if you please?"

  Quinn reached into his pocket.

  Tension filled Janie's chest. "Quinn, what are you doing? You can't give it to him!"

  Their eyes met. He might have looked only slightly strained on the surface, but his eyes held a different story. There was a storm going on inside Quinn. But when his gaze settled on her, a small amount of calm came over his expression.

  "I made a deal," he told her.

  "Forget the deal."

  "I can't do that."

  "Do you even know what this piece of shit plans to do with the Eye when he has it? Let me give you a hint. It's not to build children's hospitals inIndia ."

  Quinn hesitated. The stone was clenched in his hand now.

  "I should kill him," he said.

  "Weshould."

  "I am standing right here, you know," Malcolm said. "And I don't take kindly to broken prom
ises."

  The old man twisted around and caught Janie into a choke hold. He was good. He even knew how to use the pressure points in her throat to render her limbs useless.

  Smart guy.

  Her? Not so much. She should have seen this coming from a mile away. She could blame it on severe blood loss, species transformation, and/or her mixed up emotions wrecking havoc on her brain, but there was no excuse for letting this bastard take her by surprise yetagain . If she wasn't so scared, she'd be embarrassed.

  Yet, despite his appearance, he wasn't just another old man. He was a vampire. And before that he'd been a high-ranking hunter. The man was death with a very bad haircut.

  All the more reason he shouldn't be allowed to get his wish.

  "Janie—" Quinn's voice sounded strangled.

  "I will kill her," Malcolm snapped. "Have no doubt. She's so fresh right now that a stake would slide right through her flesh and into her heart like butter."

  He shook his head. "Let her go."

  "Give me the stone."

  "Don't give it to him, Quinn," Janie managed.

  He frowned at her hard. "Why aren't you fighting him?"

  She wasn't even clawing at his arm around her neck. Her limbs were currently useless. It was a rather odd sensation, and not one that filled her with a great sense of girl power.

  "If I would, I could. Pressure points? Didn't you learn about them in training?"

  She felt Malcolm's fangs graze her neck. "Or I could finish draining her," he said. "Right here. She did taste divine earlier. Thestone . Don't make me ask again."

  Without another word, his eyes fixed on Janie's face, Quinn reached into his pocket and pulled out the red stone.

  "Good," Malcolm breathed. "Very good."

  "Quinn—" Janie noticed that his gaze left hers to move over her shoulder. She frowned. "What are you—"

  Suddenly, Malcolm grunted and his grip on her throat loosened. As soon as the feeling rushed back in her body, she pushed away from him.

  She turned to look at Malcolm, who was frozen in place, his arms dropped slackly to his sides. She frowned with confusion as the tip of a wooden stake protruded from his chest, but then it disappeared leaving behind a round blood stain on the front of his now-ruined white shirt.

  Her gaze flicked to what stood behind him. It was the Boss, flanked by two helper drones, one who held a blood-covered stake that he'd just plunged through Malcolm's back and into his heart.

  Malcolm's eyes glazed over and he fell to his knees, and then forward onto his face.

  He was dead.

  The Boss motioned down to him, and a drone dropped to the floor beside the old man and searched him, quickly finding the Eye. He stood up and, with eyes lowered obediently, handed it to the Boss.

  "Parker," the Boss said, his tone even. "Did I not stress how important this is to me? And yet you failed me again."

  Her mouth was as dry as the desert she and Quinn had spent the better part of the afternoon traveling through.

  "I… I—" She felt a tug at her sleeve and turned to see Quinn behind her, concern and worry etched into his expression. His hand moved down protectively to her waist, and he drew her closer to him.

  The Boss's gaze flicked to Quinn. "He's still alive."

  She nodded.

  "I told you to kill him, and you ignored my orders."

  Quinn's hand tightened at her waist. "Janie?"

  She turned and looked at him. "I couldn't do it."

  The Boss nodded his wrinkled skull. "And now, to make things even worse, you are a vampire?" He shook his head. "Pathetic. Truly pathetic."

  She reached to touch her throat, but the marks had disappeared almost completely thanks to the healing balm. "How did you know that?"

  "I can smell it on you from here."

  She looked at Quinn. He shrugged. "I think you smell great."

  The Boss sneered at them. "My seers once told me that you were destined for greatness. Despite your previous shortcomings, I gave you this chance to prove your worth to me. You have failed." His gaze moved to Quinn. "How rude of me not to introduce myself. I am he who shall end your life tonight. Yours and Parker's."

  "Oh, yeah?" Quinn growled. "And I am he who shall end yours first."

  The Boss laughed, a dry cackle that, as per usual, sounded riddled with disease. "Perhaps earlier I would have found you more humorous, but now I am simply weary and ready for this all to be over." He looked at the Eye. "Finally. After a millennium it is mine again."

  "A m-millennium?"

  Janie hated that the man made her stutter with nervousness. This is not how she'd envisioned her final meeting with the Boss.

  The casino, except for them, was completely vacant. No witnesses. She was living on borrowed time now.

  "Yes, Parker. This—" He held up the Eye "—was my staff, you see. And it was taken from me by a tribe of humans who once worshipped me until they betrayed me, a cloak of magic placed over its location for all this time until very recently. They were very good at keeping it from me for so long, but I will have the last laugh."

  "Your staff?"

  "It is part of me. Part of what little power I still have left. It represents that which was taken away from me when I was banished."

  "Banished?" Janie felt very confused, which wasn't really a big stretch from when she'd beensort of confused. "From where?"

  "From Hell." His thin lips twisted into a humorless smile. "I was a high-ranking demon at one time. For many millennia. And then my power was taken from me by Lucifer himself. I was punished. Sent here to the earthly realm. They expected me to wither away into nothingness among insipid, vile humans. The only thing that has kept me alive for all of this time has been hate and my deep desire for revenge."

  "You're a demon?" Janie repeated, feeling cold at the thought. Why that had never occurred to her, she had no idea. She'd always referred to her "boss from hell." She'd never known she'd been speaking literally.

  "Not just a demon," the Boss said, raising his hairless eyebrow. "I answered only to Lucifer."

  "And that's what your wish is?" A cold feeling of dread swept over her. "To be a demon again?"

  "This fragile body that grows weaker by the day. All will soon be restored, and I will get my revenge on all who have betrayed or disappointed me." His eyes narrowed. "And that includes you, Parker."

  "But I found the Eye. Doesn't that count for anything?"

  "You intended on letting your lover use it. Even with my threats toward your sister. You didn't believe that I would follow through?"

  She glanced at Quinn.Her lover .

  The Boss knew everything, didn't he? The thought was not in the least bit comforting.

  Damn seers. She only hoped they didn't have some sort of psychic video connection to YouTube.

  She didn't try to deny what he said, knowing it would be wasted breath. "But you have it now."

  "Yes." He smiled, and then he laughed in a way that made Janie even more nervous than she already was. "All of these creatures in search of the Eye for all of these years, hoping to find it to use it for their own purposes.Any one wish was the rumor, yes?"

  Quinn's grip tightened at her waist.

  "That's what they say," Quinn said. "Make one wish and the Eye grants it."

  "Amusing how information can be twisted over many years to become that of legend and myth. Yes,

  there can be only one wish. However,I am the only one who can make that wish."

  Janie was stunned at this news, and then she glanced at Quinn, whose face had whitened. "You'rethe only one?"

  He smiled wistfully. "Wait until you see me in demon form. I am a thing of horrific beauty."

  She was beginning to think that Malcolm's wish for omnipotence was almost cute compared to her Boss turning full demon.

  But the Eye wasn't complete, was it? Not without the red stone that Quinn still had. Did the Boss even realize that?

  She turned to look up into Quinn's dark blue eyes. His expr
ession was tense, and he hadn't moved from her side since Malcolm had beenslayed .

  Did he know what she was thinking?

  Yes. She could see it in his eyes. He knew. She didn't have to tell him.

  He had to go. He had to run and protect the stone. Take it somewhere that the Boss would never be able to find it. There was a chance that Quinn could escape before the Boss even knew what was going on and what he was missing. A slim chance, but they had to take it.

  Quinn's throat worked as he swallowed. He shook his head almost imperceptibly.

  She could almost read his mind.No, I'm not leaving you. Not like this .

  But she didn't give him a chance. She pushed him, hard, away from her and moved toward her Boss and his helpers to distract them. She didn't look to see if Quinn had taken off. She knew he had.

  "Parker, what are you doing?" the Boss said, frowning. "You're a bit of a freak, do you know that?"

  "I suppose you want to kill me now," she said.

  He raised an eyebrow. "It does sound tempting. But that can wait until after."

  "After you've made your wish."

  "Yes." He looked down at the Eye then, studying its beautiful etched details. If what he said was true, he hadn't seen it in person for ten centuries. His pale, watery eyes appraised its every surface. And then his brow slowly lowered, and he raised his gaze to Janie's.

  He'd noticed the discrepancy.

  "Where is your lover?"

  "Gone."

  "He would leave you to face my wrath alone?"

  She said nothing.

  Then his eyes did the oddest thing. Wherevampires's eyes turned black when they were very hungry, her

  Boss's eyes filled with what appeared to be… fire? A red and orange gleam that froze her inside. She hadn't seen that before. Ever.

  "Bring her," he said, and his helper drones grabbed her on either side, painfully, and dragged her through the deserted casino.

  Chapter 21

  Quinn had escaped. He had the stone. He could run away and try to forget any of this had happened with his safety intact, knowing that the demon he just had the misfortune to meet wouldn't be able to make his wish.

  He stood outside, next to the fountain of the Bellagio as it did its choreographed water dance to Celine