“Don’t tear yourself up over it,” Jess said. “Having cops there didn’t stop him. It only forced him to kill elsewhere.”
“This maniac is rubbing his kills in our faces. We need to catch him,” Britt said, frustration evident in his voice. “You coming, Jess?”
“No. This is your specialty. I’ll visit with Regent and Sampson and see you later.”
He paused. “Maybe I’m wasting my time helping them. If Veronique’s working for the vampires, she wouldn’t want to prove the killer is one of them.”
“I don’t know what she’s doing,” Jess said. “But in my gut, I think she’s doing her duty as a police officer. Veronique is a good cop. Deep down, I don’t believe she’s working against her government.”
“I needed to hear that you still think she’s okay,” Britt said. “I trust your judgment.”
Regent cleared his throat. “Don’t forget, you’re both withholding information from her, too. Namely, Britt’s abilities. She really wants to know how we stopped the demon insurrection. And, like you, her reasons for keeping things from you might be justified. Besides, you both have a sense that she’s a good person. That says a lot.”
Britt swiped his hand across the back of his neck. “My gut says to trust her, too.”
“Then we trust her,” Jess said. “Your gut has never led us into trouble. But believing her doesn’t mean we have to put ourselves at risk. We should continue our research.”
“You’re like a dog with a bone sometimes.” Britt grinned at her.
“I’m right though, aren’t I?”
“You are always right, my love,” he said and glanced at his watch again. “I’d better go.”
“See you later,” she said to Britt.
“I’ll be back well before dusk, I promise.”
Jess hated to see the droop in his shoulders when he left. They needed to find the serial killer soon.
Regent touched her shoulder and she jumped.
“Don’t worry, dear. He won’t let his guard down. His gut is probably right about Veronique, but he’s still not going to take any chances on her until he knows for sure.”
Chapter Ten
MORANA ENTERED the club and immediately searched for Diesel. They wouldn’t open to humans for an hour, and that gave her time to find out what the hell Diesel was doing talking to Vlad, of all vampires.
She found Diesel in the stock room, a huge cavern next to the club. “You’re unusually early, aren’t you?” she said.
Diesel never came in early. At least not this early.
He jumped when she spoke. Her eyes narrowed, and she looked closer at what he was doing. At first glance, she’d thought he was preparing stock to take to the bar for tonight, but now she realized he had two pints of blood on the shelf in front of him. Those were usually under lock and key.
“Diesel?”
He flicked a guilty glance at her, then at the blood. “It’s not what you think,” he said, shoving the bags behind the bottles of wine, as if putting them out of sight would put them out of mind. Not damned likely.
“What are you going to do with that blood?” She stepped closer to him, her eyes narrowing on him. “I thought we were going through blood too fast. What are you doing with it?”
He sighed and bit his lip. “I wanted it for myself?”
“You’re not a good liar. Besides, I’m quite aware of your blood source—I’ve seen you at Club Sanguinn several times lately. There’s no end of willing donors there.”
He squeezed and opened his fingers, looking at the dozen or so rings on his fingers. “I can’t tell you why I need the blood, Morana. Can we leave it at that if I promise not to take any more?”
She spread her feet and put her hands on her hips. “No, we damned well can’t. What’s going on? Wait a minute. This has something to do with Vlad, doesn’t it? Is that why you were arguing with him in the club last night?”
Diesel shifted uncomfortably, not making eye contact.
“Diesel!”
“Okay, okay, yes, it’s because of Vlad. He’s always been the vampire in Paris who ran the clubs. You can’t honestly believe that we’ve been allowed to start up a club without paying for the privilege?”
Her eyes widened. She hadn’t considered herself to be naïve until right now. “Are you serious?”
“Of course, I am. I’ve been paying dues to Vlad for three years, ever since we opened LaCave. It was going well until that sister of yours came to Paris. Now all of a sudden, he’s way more interested in the two of you. He thinks this club might be more valuable than he previously thought, so he’s asking for more blood.”
“But we don’t sell blood regularly. Doesn’t he know that? We’re not undercutting his vampire bars, not stealing his clientele.”
“Are you sure about that?” Diesel said. “In the last month, we’ve been gaining more and more vampires as guests. The serial killer has made them curious, and they’re coming in, checking the place out, as if looking for their next hunting grounds. There are lots of stupid humans out there with no sense of danger.”
“Shit!” she said, looking around then sitting on the top of a keg.
“He’s connected, Morana. He’s powerful.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about this before? I mean, we are partners in this club. I know you ‘bankrolled’ it,” she said, making quotation marks in the air. “But I brought in the clientele.”
“Where do you think I got the money to bankroll it?” he said, sighing. “I’m not an olde vampire with vast resources of wealth. Just an ambitious immigrant who wanted a piece of the pie.”
“You borrowed money from Vlad?”
Diesel nodded. “And, he knows we’re sitting on a gold mine right now. Humans can’t get enough of this place now that it’s being stalked by a vicious killer, which doesn’t make any sense to me—and I’m a frigging bloodsucker.”
She tapped two fingers on the leg of her jeans. “That’s why he comes in here every now and then. He thinks he owns the place, and he’s checking out how busy we are.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I thought I could make the money to pay him back, and then we’d be free to manage our own business.”
She made a face that let him know she thought he was crazy. “No one, and I mean no one, comes out from under a deal like that, especially when it’s made with one of the most powerful vampires in the city. Are you crazy?”
He shrugged, but his head couldn’t hang any lower.
“This isn’t good. I’ve put a lot of my own money into this place, too. I’m damned well not going to put up with being sucked dry by Vlad.”
“And how do you think you can stop him from taking what he thinks is his? His interest rates are too high for us ever to be able to pay him back. I know that now.”
“He seems to have a soft spot for Jess. Maybe I can use that against him in a way that it will benefit us?”
“You’d sell out your own sister?” Diesel said, suddenly looking hopeful.
“Why not? It’s not like we grew up together. She’s a stranger to me.”
“How do you plan to do it?”
She stood again and rubbed her hands together. “I’m not sure yet, but I’ll come up with something.”
“And the blood?”
She made an irritated face. “Pay him off. Give him all the cash we have on hand, too, if it’ll help. Keep him unaware that we are working on a way out of this corrupt deal.”
BRITT LEANED AGAINST a section of cave wall free from skulls and bones where he could see into the club but go unnoticed. A cold chill ran across his flesh when he wondered if he’d found the killer’s place to hunt for his victims.
He’d been down here for hours, looking for any clue, no matter how small. He’d found nothing new at the crime scene, and that discouraged him. He was fed up. That was why he hadn’t left with the cops when they were done but decided to do a little surveillance on his own—a little deeper into the tunnels. After all,
it seemed there was another exit that Vlad had used the other night.
Somehow the killer had gotten these women away from the club without being seen by anyone. He obviously hadn’t used the front door.
He tried not to remember the smiling face of the girl he’d met. He tried not to think about letting her down. He’d been right there in the club when she’d been taken. Or had she been taken after he’d left? He’d never know.
He needed to focus on the people inside the club. And to do that, he had to push his regret to the back of his mind. He needed to be alert.
Real cop work was usually boring. Surveillance meant standing somewhere for hours and watching nothing happen. He sighed and stretched his back muscles, then propped a foot against the wall behind him. Most of these young people had no real sense of mortality. It left them vulnerable. The killer knew that and took advantage of it.
Since he hadn’t made it home as he’d promised Jess, it wasn’t a surprise when a hand slid up his arm and massaged his tense shoulder.
“Evening, lover,” she said in a husky voice that made him instantly interested. He shifted his gaze to her face and smiled into her green eyes.
“Miss me when you woke up?” He touched her chin and lifted her lips to his. She kissed him, but with a wantonness that surprised him. The kiss deepened quickly, and her arms wrapped around him. Then she trapped his face in her hands so securely, he couldn’t stop kissing her even if he wanted to.
Strange that he suddenly felt cornered, compelled to break away. He shouldn’t be fighting this. Why did it feel wrong?
She kissed him again, her tongue tangling with his while her hands explored his body a little too intimately, considering they were in a tunnel where humans travelled. They weren’t secluded enough for this kind of exploration, and it surprised him that she hadn’t considered that fact.
When her hands went for his belt, he physically took her by the upper arms and moved her back. “What’s going on, doll? This is a public place.”
She smiled at him, showing slightly lengthened teeth that indicated her arousal and telegraphed that she’d be ready for more than just a kiss. “Maybe we’d have fun if we got a little more adventurous,” she said, pouting just a little. Her red lipstick was slightly smudged, and he could just imagine what his face must look like.
When he swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, her eyes suddenly sparked in anger. “You didn’t like the kiss?”
“Of course, I did. It was just a little too personal for a place like this. Maybe you’d like to go home and continue what you started?” Even while he said it, his gut reacted. Why wasn’t he less than anxious to get her into bed tonight?
“No, I’d rather do it here,” she said, running her fingers inside his shirt and across his stomach. “This is more fun.”
He glanced at the doorway to the club, which was clearly visible from here—which meant they were also clearly visible to whomever wanted to see. Diesel stared at them from across the club with a dark expression, as if he wanted to kill someone.
Britt’s blood instantly turned to ice, and his head swam with what had just happened. “Goddamn it, you’re Morana!”
Disgust crawled up his throat and threatened to choke him. He wanted to spit the remnants of her kiss onto the floor, but doing that would definitely set her off.
“What are you talking about, Britt? I’m Jess.”
He paused, but only long enough to get his head wrapped around what had just happened. She wasn’t Jess. He should have noticed sooner. He felt physically nauseated at the betrayal.
“Why would you do this to Jess?” he spat. “Why would you hurt your own sister like this?”
“Me? What about you? You were totally into it for a while. Don’t tell me you weren’t.” She pressed her pelvis against his. “I was close enough to tell.”
His teeth ground together hard enough to bend steel. He shoved her away less gently this time. “I didn’t know it was you. Jess will understand that.”
“Will she?” Morana asked cynically, with a slight grin on her wicked mouth and her brows arched over eyes more devious than Jess’s could ever be. Damn it, he should’ve known it wasn’t Jess right away. She’d think that, too.
He’d kissed her twin sister, and he couldn’t take it back. Ever. Bile burned up into his throat.
Would Jess ever forgive him?
He glared at Morana. She’d violated her sister’s trust in the worst way possible. She’d violated his goodwill toward her, even though he’d found it difficult to find goodwill toward her to start with. He’d never forgive her for this. There could only be one reason she’d do this—she wanted to break up his relationship with Jess.
If so, she wasn’t very bright. He didn’t like her before, but he despised her now. And given the way Diesel was glaring at them, Britt was suddenly worried the vampire might tell Jess himself.
“You bitch,” he said out loud, maybe louder than he meant to because several people stopped dancing and stared at them through the cave opening, more witnesses to his betrayal. His gut burned.
Morana merely laughed and ran her hands seductively down hips covered in supple, black leather. “You and Jess seem to have a thing for leather, I kind of get that. It feels good on the skin. How’d it feel on your skin, lover?”
Britt felt physically ill. “How could you do this?”
She grinned at him, but there was an angry glint in her eyes. “Easy,” she said, heading into the club and looking back at him over her shoulder. “But, how could you, I wonder?”
He slammed his palm against the wall and pushed off to go after her. She’d tricked him into betraying the woman he loved. Truth was, there were actual differences that were hard to miss—he should’ve known. Jess might not understand he’d been tricked. Feeling dizzy, he had to stop and lean hard against the wall where the bones were. The room was spinning so viciously, he thought he might puke.
Before he made it to the cavern opening, she was already behind the bar. Even if he had caught up to her, confronting her would only make things worse. “Fuck!” He turned and made his way toward the exit. He needed a frigging shower and a gallon bottle of mouthwash—right now.
As he made his way out, still feeling dizzy, a strong hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.
He didn’t have to guess. He knew who it was. “I didn’t know it was her, Diesel,” he said, holding his head and trying to balance himself. “She tricked me into thinking she was Jess.”
“Really?” Diesel didn’t sound appeased. “There are very obvious differences between her and your girlfriend. Don’t try to tell me you couldn’t tell. She’s not the soft, easy-going vampire you’re involved with,” he said.
Britt wanted to argue but didn’t have the right ammunition. Besides, if he protested too much, he’d only look guiltier.
It was a challenge, but he calmed his voice. “I don’t know why it happened. I certainly wouldn’t have expected Morana to do such a thing, especially since I’ve made it pretty plain that I don’t like her.”
Diesel made a disgusted noise at the back of his throat. “And you don’t think that’d be a turn-on for a vampire like Morana? It’s like waving a red flag at a bull. Are you really that naïve?”
Britt wanted to shove his fist down Diesel’s throat. “Let’s get something straight, Diesel. I have no designs on your woman. She’s not my type, and I’d never knowingly do something like that to Jess. I hate what just happened to me, and now, I have to deal with the fallout.”
Diesel’s expression changed to surprise. “You really didn’t know?” He sounded instantly shocked.
“No, Goddamn it. Maybe she mesmerized me long enough not to notice?”
Diesel slammed one hand into another. “What would be so great about you that she’d do such a thing? She’s not that desperate, surely?”
“Maybe she just wants what her sister has. Have you ever thought of that?”
“Why would she? She’s go
t everything she needs here.”
“And yet she told us that she’s thinking about going to New York.”
“No way!” Diesel instantly took another fighting stance before pushing his face near enough that Britt’s stomach turned again when he got a whiff of the vampire’s foul breath. He’d been feeding and not that long ago.
Even so, Britt managed to maintain outward calm. He didn’t want to kick Diesel’s ass, nor did he want Diesel or Morana to know what kind of skills he had. “I don’t give a fuck what you think,” he said finally. It seemed to be the only thing Diesel understood. “You can just go and fu . . .”
Diesel backed off and waited for Britt to finish, but his sudden action made Britt stop.
“You’ve made your point. You don’t want her.”
“Not even if she was the last woman on the planet,” Britt snarled.
“Geez, good thing Morana didn’t hear you say that. She just might make you sorry for being so disrespectful. She likes men to adore her. To ogle her and desire her, while she plays hard to get.”
“Not my problem,” Britt said.
“So what are you going to do about her?” Diesel asked.
“Ignore her and stay as far away as possible. And, I’m going to have to figure out a way to tell Jess without hurting her. Because if I don’t tell her, I’m pretty goddamned sure Morana will do it for me.”
“Yes, she will. And it might be sooner than you think,” Diesel said, tipping his head at the tunnel behind Britt.
Britt turned to see Jess dressed in tourist clothes heading their way. Even in his stressed-out condition, he noticed the leg-enhancing lightweight beige shorts and a purple T-shirt that clung nicely to her shapely breasts. How could he have mistaken Morana for her? Bile rose in his gullet again.
“What’s wrong?” she asked the minute she saw his face.
“Not a thing,” Britt said. “Diesel and I were just discussing the murder yesterday. I was asking him if he’d seen anyone leave with a blond woman.”
“And did you?” she asked.
“No, I didn’t see anything,” Diesel said. But the change in his voice made Britt turn and stare.
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