by Мишель Роуэн
I shouldn’t be dreaming about kissing Quinn. Not with everything else going on.
No way. No how.
I shook my head as if to shake out the mental image and turned around one more time looking for Janie.
“It’s so weird. I was just talking to somebody and she disappeared.”
“Like magic, disappear?”
“No.” I frowned. “Like she waited for my back to be turned so she could escape from me. But, since she’s one of my bodyguards, that wouldn’t exactly fit the job description. I’m not that annoying, am I?”
“Truthfully?” His grin widened, then slowly disappeared as a frown swapped places with it.
“Bodyguards? What do you need bodyguards for?”
I cleared my throat. “Mostly to keep me from getting killed.”
“No, seriously.”
“Actually, I’m being totally serious.” I let my shopping bags rest on the sidewalk for a moment and scanned the general area for any sign of Janie or Lenny. Neither was anywhere to be seen.
I told Quinn everything. Absolutely everything, from the rumors, to Nicolai’s offer, to my damn apartment blowing up, to my currently MIA bodyguards. I let it out in a long tirade that left me exhausted just by saying it, let alone living it.
Actually, once it was all out, I felt a bit better. It was like verbal therapy.
I looked at Quinn to get his reaction. His face was red, his expression tense. “Why are you walking around on the streets? You should be inside somewhere safe, instead of . . . ” He eyed my bags “You’re shopping ? Why the hell are you shopping at a time like this?”
I bit my lip. “Thierry gave me his credit card to buy some new clothes, since all of mine have gone up in smoke.”
His expression darkened and he swore loudly. “That son of a bitch. What the hell is he thinking, letting you expose yourself like this?”
I stiffened. “Well, for one thing, nobodylets me do anything. I make my own decisions.”
“Do you?” He glowered at me and let a long breath hiss out between his teeth. “Sarah, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re being a total idiot.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Gee, why ever would you think I’d takethat the wrong way?”
“Dammit, Sarah. I’m seriously worried about you. Thierry obviously isn’t worried enough.” He looked around. “He’s the real idiot. Maybe more than that, if you ask me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The reason I was looking for you . . . ” he hesitated and glanced around our general surroundings at a few people passing us by like we were nothing out of the ordinary. He adjusted his sunglasses. “There have been five highly suspicious murders in Toronto alone in the past week. Bodies drained of blood.
Puncture marks on the necks. Same MO as a few cities I’ve visited the last couple weeks. Two were hunters. I recognized them when I snuck into the morgue last night. Two were human. One, I’m positive,
was a vamp. But an old one. Nothing much left once the bastard finished his meal.”
I frowned. “Why haven’t I heard anything about this? Hold on, you snuck into the morgue?”
“The police will try to keep it out of the papers until they have some leads. They obviously don’t. And they won’t. This guy is good. He’s wandering around taking whatever he wants, whenever he wants it.
Probably has been doing the same thing for hundreds of years.”
I shifted my weight to my other foot, feeling uncomfortable just thinking about something so terrible.
“And you said you’ve been looking for me, because?”
He licked his lips before he continued. I couldn’t see his eyes. “Where was Thierry the night before last?”
I actually laughed. “You can’t honestly believe he had anything to do with this.”
Quinn shrugged. “I originally wanted to talk to him to see if he could hook me up with some of his informants. But then I got thinking. I’ve read some interesting things about your boyfriend’s long life. He hasn’t always been a cranberry-juice-drinking nightclub owner, you know. I’m not ruling out any suspects.”
“Yeah, well Columbo, you might want to check out this Nicolai guy who just came to town. Thierry says he’s a dangerous elder vamp. He does look a bit shifty.”
“Oh, Thierry says that, huh? Well it must be true then.”
I gave him a look. “I’m not even going to have this discussion with you.”
“So he was with you the night before last?”
“That’s none of your business. Look, Quinn, I know you’re trying to be helpful. But Thierry’s a good man. Almost too good, if you ask me. He hired bodyguards to keep me safe till all of this blows over.
One of them even said she’d teach me some self-defense.”
He waved off my words. “Forget them. Considerme your new freelance bodyguard.”
“You’d do that?”
“Of course I would.” He glanced around the street and then met my eyes. Well, our dark sunglasses met each other, anyhow. “If you really trust Thierry, then I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. I’ll look elsewhere. See what I can dig up. And if you want to learn some self-defense, I can teach you. That’s sort of what I do, you know.”
“Well—”
“In fact, I think that’s an excellent idea. If you insist on putting yourself into these dumbass situations . . .”
I frowned. “Dumbass?”
“Let me rephrase that.” A smile twigged at his lips. “Stupidsituations . . . ”
My frown deepened. “Hey!”
“Then you should at least know how to protect yourself.” His smile got bigger. “And I’m an excellent teacher.”
“You’re willing to teach me self-defense.”
He closed the distance between us with a step and reached out to stroke the side of my face. “Of course
I would. And we can start whenever you—”
Lenny appeared out of nowhere and tackled Quinn to the sidewalk. He had a knife out, pressed to
Quinn’s throat.
“Lenny, no!” I grabbed his huge python of an arm. “He’s a friend of mine.”
Lenny eased the pressure of the blade off Quinn’s neck, leaving behind a thin line of red. Quinn bared his fangs and growled angrily at his attacker, pushing him off so he could stand up.
We’d attracted a bit of attention. People were passing us—at a safe distance—with their mouths open in shock. Cars slowed on the street as they drove by.
“He grabbed you,” Lenny explained.
I frowned at him. “He didn’t grab me. And besides, where were you a while ago when I got dragged into the alleyway by the hunter?”
“I . . . uh . . . had to . . . um. Nature called.” He touched his right ear and I noticed that he wore one of those tiny communication earpieces. “Janie said it would be all right.”
I felt frustration welling up inside me. “Quinn, are you okay?”
He gingerly touched his wounded neck. “Never better.”
I shook my head. “You probably regret coming back to Toronto, don’t you?”
He tore his narrow-eyed gaze away from the bodyguard to look at me. His expression softened. “Not at all. Shit like this just makes life a little more interesting.” He turned back to Lenny. “Touch me again,
asshole, and it’ll be the last thing you do. And if you’re being paid to watch Sarah’s back, I suggest you pull your head out of your ass. If she comes to any harm, you’ll have me to answer to.”
Lenny smirked. “Oh, yeah, and who in the hell do you think you are?”
“I’m a lot of things, depending on my frame of mind. And right now, I’m thinking I could be your worst nightmare.”
Lenny’s eyes narrowed. “Funny, you just look like a nobody to me.” He glanced at me. “Ma’am, I think it would be best if I saw you home. I’ve called a taxi.”
He didn’t wait for an answer, instead moving away to give us a little privacy.
&nbs
p; I glanced at Quinn. “I guess I’ll go back to George’s for now. That’s where I’m staying. I’ll be okay.”
He didn’t say anything, instead nodding stiffly, his arms crossed in front of him.
“Listen,” I said after a moment. “Don’t pay any attention to Lenny. He was just being a jerk.”
Quinn snorted. “Lenny? Is that his name?” He shook his head and sighed slowly, a long exhalation that froze the cold air in front of him. “He’s right, you know.”
“About what?”
“About me being a nobody.”
“What are you talking about?”
He was quiet for a moment. “I deserve it. I . . . ” He absently rubbed a hand over his mouth. “I thought coming back to Toronto, looking into the murders, would give me purpose again, but I’m just . . . I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”
I touched his shoulder. “Is everything okay?”
“With what? Adjusting to my new status of being a little long in the tooth?” He took a shaky breath. “I’m managing.”
“No cure for what ails us, you know.”
Quinn had been my partner in trying to find the cure for vampirism. Unfortunately, the trail led us to a dead end. Emphasis on the dead. And that was the end of that pipe dream.
“No, there isn’t. So I guess we don’t have much of a choice in the matter, do we?”
“No, I guess we don’t.”
He adjusted his sunglasses and managed to smile a little at me. “That’s why people like us have to stick together. We’ve got a lot in common, you and me.”
“Yeah, I guess we kind of do.”
He looked at me fiercely. “That’s why I don’t want you to do anything stupid and get yourself killed.
You hear me?”
The cab pulled up alongside us. Lenny approached and stood, arms folded, beside me.
Quinn helped me get all my bags into the backseat. I was about to get in, but he grabbed my hand to stop me.
“Sarah . . . ” His voice trailed off and he looked at me so intensely that for a second I thought he might bite me.
“Uh huh?”
“When I’m with you I don’t feel like a nobody. I want you to be safe, Sarah, no matter what. I promise to teach you a few things that will bring any man to his knees.” A grin curled up the side of his lips. “That came out a little differently than it sounded in my head. I meant ‘teach you self-defense moves,’ of course.”
I nodded a little too quickly and despite the chill in the air, felt my cheeks warm. “Of course.
Self-defense. Kung fu and all that. I totally understood what you meant.”
“Good.”
I nodded again. “Okay, I guess I’ll see you soon, Quinn.”
He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it, sending a hot tingle coursing all the way through my body.
“You can count on it,” he said. Then he turned, and walked away.
I sat down heavily in the backseat of the cab thinking that I just might be in deep, deep trouble.
Chapter 7
Thierry called,” George announced as I got back to the house. “You left your cell phone here.”
“What?” I said, too distracted and flustered by seeing Quinn and by the rest of my afternoon to focus.
George was sprawled on the sofa. Barkley was sprawled out next to him. They were both watching
What Not to Wear . “He says to meet him at the club at six-thirty. Oh, and your insurance agent called,
too. I wrote her number down somewhere.”
“Theclub ?” I frowned. That’s where Thierry wanted to meet for our date? I was hoping for something a little less familiar.
He eyed my shopping bags. “So, did you buy anything for me?”
I dropped my bags by the front door. “No. Sorry. But I did buy a great black dress for my date with
Thierry.”
“That’s why you’re meeting him at the club? For a date?” George eyed me with bland curiosity.
“So?”
He glanced back at the TV screen for a second. The makeover candidate was crying over her shortened hair as if the world was ending. “I’m sorry, but don’t you have way more important things to worry about right now than that?”
I blinked at him. “Can you be more specific? I have so many things to worry about I think I’m forgetting to worry.”
He blinked back at me. “I mean attending to me. Hanging out with me. I am morbidly depressed about my lacking love life, remember?”
I almost laughed at that. Not quite, but almost. “Of course. I’m so sorry. I guess I got so distracted with my apartment getting blown to smithereens, thus throwing my life into a state of confusion and uncertainty, that I forgot about how lonely your Saturday night was going to be.”
“I forgive you. But I’m free tomorrow night if you want to do something.” He shifted position on the sofa so he could see me better. “So is Quinn available?”
“Pardon me?”
“I would go out with him sometime if he was interested.”
“Quinn’s not gay.”
He gave me a knowing smile. “Just give me time.”
I nodded. “And this conversation is now at an end.”
“Not that I could wedge myself between the two of you. Seriously, honey, it’s just not fair for the rest of us when you monopolize two hot men.”
“Excuse me?”
“The way you draped yourself over the poor boy last night just to make Thierry jealous. Shameless.” He shook his head. “I totally and completely approve.”
I felt my cheeks flush. “I wasn’t trying to make him jealous.”
“Uh huh. Right. Well, when you end up breaking poor Quinn’s heart—again— I will certainly be there to help him pick up whatever pieces he wants me to handle with care.”
I frowned deeply. I wasn’t trying to make Thierry jealous last night. I wasn’t. That was ridiculous.
Or was it?
Time to change the subject.
“Amy told me today that she thinks that Barry’s cheating on her.”
George’s back straightened and he twisted to look at me. “You don’t say.”
“I do say. But I’m sure it’s not true. Maybe if I clear the guy’s name he won’t hate me so much. I’m going to investigate the situation tomorrow. Can you believe it?”
He nodded slowly. “Of course I can. Barry is undeniably charismatic.”
I scrunched my nose. “Seriously?”
“Not as charismatic as Thierry, but I suppose you already know that. Even though I was surprised he wasn’t here when I got up this morning.”
I shuffled my feet. “He had to leave.”
“Obviously.”
“I’ve known him for two months and I feel like I don’t know anything about him. That’s part of the reason for the date tonight. I want to know everything I can about him.”
George grabbed the TV guide and flipped through it. “He’s very private about his past, you know.”
“I know. But —”
“Sometimes you just have to accept people for what they are up front. Dig too deeply and you might not like what you find. Sounds superficial, but that’s just the kind of guy I am. I mean, look at me and
Barkley. I’ve decided to tolerate him because I know thatyou like him.”
I smiled at the two of them. “You guys look like you’re getting cozy.”
George leaned forward to scratch Barkley’s head. “I don’t like dogs.”
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Dog lover.”
He shot me a look. “Oh, by the way, somebody tried to deliver something for you earlier but nobody was home. He left a slip that said he’ll be back tomorrow. On a Sunday? Who delivers on a Sunday?”
I froze. “Who was it? What were they trying to deliver? Was it ticking? Did the delivery guy look like a hunter?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t really pay that much attention. You know, you’re getting a little paranoid, Sarah.”
“Whatever you say.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “All right, this is me getting ready for my date now. If that’s okay with you?’
He waved a hand. “You do what you have to do. Just remember what I said. Don’t try to pry too deeply in Thierry’s business. Even though he doesn’t look it, he’s really old and set in his ways. Old guys get crotchety about their privacy.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I dragged the bags into my temporary bedroom and then went through my loot from the day’s shopping spree. All things considered, I’d done okay. It came nowhere close to replacing my old wardrobe. God,
I was going to mourn that for a long, long time, along with everything else I’d lost—especially my shard.
Somebody had to pay, and I’m not just talking credit.
I’d bought something special to wear tonight, even though the thought that we weren’t going anywhere better than Haven an hour and a half before it opened to the general vampire public was a little disappointing.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to set foot in any club for the next few days after that horrible dream I’d had.
Even though I know it wasn’t real, seeing Thierry staked right before my eyes had really shaken me to my core. And my core was already shaken to begin with. I wish I could just forget about Peter once and for all. I shouldn’t feel guilt for what happened. He’d deserved it. It had been self-defense—it was him or me.
I shivered at the memory.
Thierry had taken care of the body. All the bodies, really. He had some serious contacts pretty much everywhere, so when he needed something done, all he had to do was flip open his silver cell phone and call those who would assist with whatever problem there might be.
Just like he’d been on the phone last night with his contacts dealing with his latest problem. Otherwise known as me.
I sighed. He probably thought I was just one big bother.
I pulled out the black dress I’d bought during my shopping extravaganza—the kind of black dress that was chic and sophisticated while still being low-cut and sexy enough for me to not want to wear in front of my mother.
Maybe it was wrong to go through with my date with Thierry after everything that had happened. I mean, it was less than twenty-four hours since my apartment and all my belongings had gone up in flames.