by Dannika Dark
Blue threw back her head and slowly whispered, “Shut up.”
Now I knew what Viktor meant about Shepherd offending random people on the street. Shepherd had a crude way of speaking, even in polite conversation.
“First of all, Viktor didn’t say no sex in the house. He just said no sex with partners. Secondly, I never said I was going to have sex.” I laughed because the thought was too hilarious. “I just know how to lure them to—”
“Her spiderweb,” Christian finished with a mirthless laugh. “Then the black widow can sink her fangs into her prey and spin him inside a little cocoon. Maybe we should have called you Black Widow instead of the Shadow.”
Viktor regarded me for a moment. “I agree with Raven. Consider this a test.”
Christian chimed in. “Think carefully, Viktor. If they catch her or Darius finds out about us, all your hard work is ruined in one night. She’s too green to send in.”
“Let’s not be dramatic. She killed two men who were on our list. If she screws up, she’s out.”
I sat back, thinking this seemed too easy. “So all you want to know is where this guy Darius stays each night? That’s all?”
“Da, but I don’t want you killing his guards. He will panic and change his routine. I’ll send Christian with you to charm him for information and then scrub his memory.”
“Does he hire other Breeds?”
“As far as what we’ve seen, they are all Mage. He employs dangerous men, so keep that in mind. We know the pubs they frequent, but their schedule fluctuates.” Viktor stroked his beard. “I need to see what you have to offer us before I can make decisions about your future with Keystone. Can you handle it?”
“If I can handle a shopping cart with a trick wheel on Black Friday, I can handle just about anything.”
His brows furrowed, and I laughed.
“Never mind. Bad joke. Just take me to where they hang out, and I’ll do the rest. Do I get paid for these jobs?”
“Your payment will be deposited into an account.”
“Can I have an advance? I’m starving.”
Gem eyed my sausage. “I’ll fix you something better. We have a—”
“No, don’t bother. I won’t eat it.”
Christian stood up and strode toward the table. “She only dines off other people’s plates, so maybe you need to make yourself some breakfast and watch her in action.”
I felt a flush in my cheeks and rubbed my eyes, hoping no one noticed. “If I can’t earn my food, I take what people discard. I’m sorry if you have a problem with that, but it’s not about me being stubborn. This is the only honor I have, so someone telling me that it’s ridiculous is offensive. Eating isn’t something I need to do as often as the rest of you, so it’s usually not a big deal. I don’t have things handed to me on a silver platter, and it’s not easy to buy a meal when no one will hire you except to sweep up the kitchen as a one-time favor because they feel sorry for you. I’m not going to apologize for it. That’ll change once I start working more jobs for you—if I’m hired. But as it stands, I feel like an outsider. If you give me an advance on the money, I’ll buy my own meals until I’m officially hired.”
“Very well,” Viktor said, a hint of admiration in his voice. He took the sausage from my plate and bit into it. “Many centuries ago, there were warriors who lived by the same code. Sometimes when a man takes another man’s life, even for the sake of good, he clings to the things that make him feel like there is still honor and goodness in him. I will give you an advance and leave the card in your room. I have my own account; we don’t do business dealings through a separate institution.”
“Sounds good.”
Viktor stood up. “We begin tonight. Until then, feel free to go into any room with unlocked doors,” he said to me. “We have many things to offer.”
“Such as?”
Blue’s brows arched, drawing attention to her sapphire eyes. “Did you see the pool in the courtyard? It’s a little cold for swimming, but it’s heated. There’s also a rock-climbing room and billiard room.”
“And a bar,” Shepherd added, rising to his feet.
Christian patted him on the shoulder, and they swaggered out. “You read my mind.”
I spent the full day exploring the mansion and got lost three times. I went outside and circled the grounds, but a dense wave of fog rolled in. Before it started to rain, I hurried back to the house.
Blue wasn’t kidding about the rooms. I found one with billiard tables, dartboards, shuffleboard, and game tables, including one with a chessboard. I sat down and studied the chess pieces, wondering which one I was in the grand scheme of things. Steam rose from the heated pool outside, but I wasn’t much of a swimmer, so I just admired it from inside. The courtyard wasn’t a perfect rectangle and branched around as if it might be L-shaped.
The kid inside me wanted to skip down the halls and sing, but the pessimist kept reminding me that I was just a girl from the trailer park who had no business living this kind of lavish lifestyle. I’d grown up on the side of the tracks that even the cops didn’t visit.
After my self-guided tour, I found a room with a large window, and sofas boxing in the fireplace.
Christian poked his head through the open door in the right-hand corner from where I was sitting. “Sounds like a little mouse scurrying up here with all that trampling you’ve been doing.”
I ignored him, still curled up and staring at the empty fireplace on my left.
“Cat got your tongue?” Christian circled around the modern grey sectional and sat on the opposite side, crossing his ankles on the ottoman. He made an L shape with his index finger and thumb, then rested his chin between them. “Think you can handle the big leagues?”
“Are you offended by my Breed, gender, or the fact you’re no longer working solo? Something tells me you’re not trying to save a young girl from a dangerous life of espionage, so which is it?”
Christian retrieved a small piece of candy from his pocket and tucked the wrapper away.
“How long have you been doing this?” I asked.
He crunched on the candy. “A few months.”
I laughed. “That hardly makes you a pro. What did you do before this, stand-up comedy?”
“I was a guard.”
“Who did you work for?”
He groaned and rubbed the side of his face. “Not that kind of guard. A bodyguard contracts his professional services; he’s not an employee. Most people hire Vampires since we’re not easily detected and don’t require sleep. We protect their lives with our own until our services are no longer needed.”
“Your last gig must have been a doozy if you ended up here instead. Did you rush through a hail of bullets and fling your body over his, only to find it was too late?”
Christian dodged my gaze. “He was a she, and she was no longer in need of my services.”
There was a lot of implication wrapped up in that tidy little sentence. “And did you still need hers?”
He tipped his head to the side and tapped his fingers on the armrest. “You remind me of her in just one way. She always had to have the last word.” Christian bit down on his candy and put his feet on the floor, widening his long legs. “Why so glum this afternoon? Where’s that pocketful of sunshine you always carry around?”
I gave him the finger.
“Ah, there it is.” He chuckled softly and reclined his head.
Christian looked like he’d taken a pair of scissors to the collar of his thin sweater to make it wider. It showed off his collarbones and drew attention to his dark features.
“Tell me, Raven, will it be the dress tonight or the sweats? Because I’ve seen your wardrobe, and it’s astonishingly limited.”
“The black dress hasn’t failed me yet.”
“I seem to recall a few failures on the night we met.”
I put my feet flat on the floor. “Pickings were slim. Food is one thing, but I don’t fail when I’m on the hunt for justice.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Ah… justice. Tell me more about that.”
I pulled my long hair around to one side. “What exactly is your job tonight, to keep an eye on me? Do you have a scorecard in your pocket to keep track of all my points?”
“I’m your guard, remember?”
“Be my backup if you want, but I don’t need a guard. I never have.”
When I stood up to leave, Christian sprang to his feet and blocked my exit.
“No need to get your knickers in a bunch. And for feck’s sake, you can look me in the eye. I’m not going to charm you.”
“Are you going to wear that?” I asked, pointing at the loose threads hanging from his neckline.
He flashed a dark smile. “Hasn’t failed me yet.”
“I guess if you’re going to be a bad dresser, go for gold.”
“You’re a chirpy little bird.” He lowered his head, looking down his nose at me. When he hooked his finger beneath my chin to tilt my head up, I looked away. “And a pretty one at that.”
I stumbled backward, almost tripping over the edge of the sofa. “Stop trying to rattle me. I know what you’re trying to do. You want me to fail.”
“Is that so? My job is to make sure that you don’t blow our cover tonight. You might think that’s a swank little dress, but on the night we met, you smelled like the cheap soap they use in public toilets. So I hope this time around, you take a little more care with your appearance. Viktor didn’t flesh out the details, but let me clarify a few things. If you’re painted into a corner and start chatting about our group, you’ll put us all in danger. Maybe you don’t give a shite, but I do. No matter what happens—if they strap you to a train track or dangle you off an airplane wheel—don’t mention names, locations, what we do, or how we like our eggs cooked. You need to develop total fecking amnesia.”
“Don’t let this body fool you, Vamp. I’ve also got brains.”
Christian wasn’t just trying to rattle me; he wanted to sabotage me. I could see in his eyes that he didn’t trust me, and that made him a threat.
Even though Vampires didn’t give off energy like other Breeds, I could have sworn that I felt a magnetic buzz that tingled across my skin. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and I didn’t bother to slow down my heart, which was thumping a fraction harder than it had been just a moment before.
But he said nothing, and I left it at nothing.
Chapter 9
That night, I armed myself with a push dagger strapped to my inner thigh. It was small enough that my black dress could conceal it, but there wasn’t room for any other weapons. While daggers were convenient, my fangs and ability to pull energy were the tools I relied on most.
I knocked back the tequila, practically rinsing my mouth out with it. The scented oils from my bath earlier made my legs look spectacular, and I crossed them as I scanned the room.
Christian nodded toward the main entrance. “Now that’s a door of a woman.”
I furrowed my brow at the odd expression and glanced at a woman who could have been a linebacker. “Are you ever nice to people of the female persuasion?”
“Of course I am.” He leaned toward me and pointed. “I was nice to that one, that one, and the bonnie one in the white dress was especially nice to me.”
I blinked in surprise and he laughed, shaking his head and facing forward again.
A waitress appeared and placed a basket of food in front of Christian. “Are you the footlong?”
He slowly turned, undressing her with his eyes. “Ten, actually. But I’ve heard it feels like twelve.”
“And hot dog number three,” she said, setting a basket in front of me and strutting off.
Christian nearly spit out his drink as he looked over at my meal. “Have you got worms? A parasite maybe? I don’t see where you put it all.”
I took a bite, careful not to smudge my lipstick. “I work better when I’m fed.”
“I thought you were too good for bar hot dogs.”
I licked my finger. “If I didn’t have on lipstick, I would have ordered the Angus burger with extra cheese.”
“You could just order the whole heifer.”
We’d arrived early so as not to raise suspicion. It gave me time to hang out, have a few drinks, and mingle, which made me less anxious. Viktor wasn’t sure if Darius’s men would show up, but an hour earlier, Christian’s eyes had slanted toward three men entering the bar. He gave me a subtle nod, and I spent my time assessing the group. I wanted the weak link in the chain, so I first had to figure out who that was and then how to lure him away from his group.
These guys had their sunglasses on, making it impossible for Christian to get close enough. Even if he could, a Vampire didn’t have the ability to charm three people at once since they had to look them directly in the eye. Viktor warned us that outside the bar, they were always on alert, ready to stake or stab anything within a ten-foot radius.
This was the first time I’d sat down with Christian, so we pretended to be strangers who happened to be eating beside each other.
I’d watched him seducing beautiful women for an hour, and they were quite smitten with him. At one point, he’d backed a brunette up against a wall and placed his hand on her hip while whispering in her ear. He looked at her so differently than the way he looked at me, which was usually with cold indifference.
So much for having a guard.
Through process of elimination, I narrowed down the leader to the jerk who kept snapping his fingers at the waitress and pointing at their empty glasses. Out of the other two guys, the little one was my initial target, but he was so shy he’d look away when a woman walked past. Getting him alone would be as easy as bathing a cat.
That left contestant number three, who was tall, dark, and not so handsome. He had a face only a mother could love… after six shots of whiskey. Two missing teeth, a crooked nose, and sweaty.
Oh, how I loathed the sweaty guys. Not the ones with that fine sheen of what I liked to call “man mist” but the ones with fat drops of sweat rolling down their temples, even in a blizzard.
He was attentive with the waitress and admired the women who sauntered past their table. None had given him the green light, so he remained seated. It appeared this guy was searching for an opportunity but didn’t want to take a chance with rejection.
Separating him from his buddies was going to be a challenge that required a little ingenuity.
I hopped off my barstool and slid my plate toward Christian. “You can finish my hot dog.”
As I strutted across the bar, my peripheral caught my target’s head turning in my direction. I made brief eye contact with him and smiled coyly, making sure he saw my interest. My destination was a jukebox just a few tables over. Breed bars loved jukeboxes, so I leaned over and gave him a nice view of my ass as I studied the song selection.
After counting to ten, I straightened up and pretended to fix my hair in the mirror, searching for an opportunity around me. When I saw a man on my right heading my way with a pint in hand, I sprang into action and crashed into him.
“Ah, shit!” he grumbled, the glass shattering on the floor.
Beer splashed all over my dress, and I gasped, stepping back with a horrified expression.
Darius’s man rose from his chair and stalked in our direction. I could tell he was the kind of guy who wanted to be the badass in life, and maybe that suit made him feel more important than everyone else in a low-class bar.
“Why don’t you apologize to the lady?” he said.
The man with the empty glass didn’t look like he wanted trouble.
Especially after Darius’s goon opened his jacket and showed him a gun and two daggers.
And now I knew what he was armed with.
The man nodded at me apologetically and backed away, his hands raised in a defensive gesture.
While Darius’s man watched him with a sharp eye, I used the heel of my shoe to slice the t
op of my left foot.
“Thank you so much,” I said, playing the damsel in distress.
I started to turn and stumbled so he’d catch me. We both looked down at my bleeding foot, but I made sure to keep our body contact nice and tight.
I lifted my gaze with an amorous look in my eyes. “Will you help me to the bathroom? My Creator is going to be furious if this beer stains my dress. And my shoe is covered in blood—he spent so much money.”
This simple little statement conveyed two things. One, that I was a Mage—the main reason he’d find me attractive. Two, that I was still under the care of my Creator, which meant I was new in the Breed world and a little more naïve. Mage men didn’t get excited over the prospect of sex so much as binding—the exchange of sexual energy through holding hands.
The man eagerly hooked his arm around my waist and led me to the bathroom. “You’re a Mage?”
“Just last year,” I said. “This is the first time he’s let me out with no escort. He wants to see if I’m ready to be independent. If I go home like this, he’ll never agree to it.”
“Maybe I can lend you a little of my light.”
I gave him my best doe-eyed look. “I’ve never taken light from a stranger. Do you think that’s okay?”
I could practically hear him growling with anticipation.
Viktor had given me a brown contact lens for my blue eye so my mismatched gaze wouldn’t become a distraction, but it was annoying the shit out of me. I kept winking as if I had some kind of facial tic.
“Do you live with your Creator?” he asked.
The crowd thinned in the hallway, and we chose the private bathroom instead of the public one.
“I’m in the same building, but I have my own apartment. He’s slowly weaning me from being so dependent on him, but he still likes to lavish me with gifts,” I said with a coquettish smile. “What’s your name? I’m Bella.”
The private bathroom door closed behind him, and without looking, I knew he was hard.
“Owen.”