“Perfect,” Bodark interrupted when Blake looked like he might add something. “We will leave you to enjoy your dinner and see you downstairs.” Then they were gone. Dad leaned forward and opened his mouth to speak but I held up my finger to my lips, then touched my ear, and he shifted back in his chair with a frown and a worried glance at their retreating backs.
Dinner was excellent and I fully enjoyed the pan seared Pacific salmon while Dad tried the cioppino and Mom settled on braised chicken. I sipped my water, and ruminated over the fact that the place boasted more than three hundred wines to select from, while I was too concerned about my upcoming meeting downstairs to try even one.
I paid the bill, and when the elevator doors opened the soft sound of jazz and the smell of… musk filled the air. Licking my lips, I followed Dean through the arch and into the dimly lit bar. In for a penny, I thought, and pushed back my shoulders.
Chapter 11
Dad ordered drinks and started a tab at the bar, while the rest of us found a small table in the corner. Again the men tried to disappear into the walls and failed miserably.
“Do you mind, Lexi?” Dad asked after he delivered the drinks. He held Mom’s chair when I shrugged and I watched them cross the room to the dance floor. They looked good together.
“Incoming,” Dean muttered and I glanced up from the Shirley Temple my Dad had ordered.... and how embarrassing was that I wondered?... and watched Blake glide out of the shadows across the floor toward me. I leaned back slightly and made a point of looking behind him, surprised that he’d beat the others to my table and wondering if he hadn’t killed them to do so.
“Shall we?” he asked, holding my chair and assisting me to my feet when I nodded, his accent sent a shiver up my spine. I was all for getting this show on the road. Hopefully I’d learn something that might prevent Jace and Gareth from strangling me later. I glanced around the room, taking care to ensure there were no immortals present, beside my parents, who were so involved with each other I doubted they’d notice if the building fell down around them. Nope, only pale or no auras present. A good sign that I didn’t need to shield.
“I don’t have much time, so I’ll get right to the point,” he told me as he pulled me onto the floor and twirled me into his arms to the smoky sounds of jazz. “I think we can help each other.”
“Oh? I wasn’t aware I needed help,” I replied as his cheek brushed my temple. He was only a few inches taller than me which made it easier on him since he didn’t have to bend far to reach me.
He pulled back and looked down while I shifted my gaze to a point just to the left of his eyes. “I wish you wouldn’t do that,” he muttered. I shrugged and he sighed and pulled me back in. I was content to wait for him to make his pitch. He’d come to me, not the other way around. In negotiating, patience is a good thing. I was interested in hearing his proposition and curious to know what he thought I could do for him. By his tone I was guessing it wasn’t my person he was interested in, although with Vamps it wasn’t always easy to tell. We danced for several minutes until he sighed and whispered, “Things have been… deteriorating. Something needs to be done.”
I thought about his comment for a minute and replied, “Are you aware that we were attacked in our bed about a week ago by more than a dozen underage Vamps?”
“Really?” he commented, his voice not exhibiting any emotion.
“They were just babies. No one enjoys slaughter.”
“Word reached us that someone powerful enough to scatter the crowd had entered the club and not come back out. Someone young and very beautiful. Belinda wasn’t amused; apparently she has history with the Guardians. You can thank her for your late night visit. Of course, after last night I wouldn’t be surprised if the next group he sends might be so easily dealt with.”
“So it wasn’t Belinda who sent them, it was your Master?” Blake pulled back again and looked down at me then nodded. “How did they get in?” I demanded. That old adage about Vampires not entering your home without an invitation was still true, and Jace and Gareth definitely lived in the third level, even if there were numerous tunnels leading in and out. I assumed we weren’t going to mention his name. If Valentine had sired Blake, there was a bond between them and I didn’t want to call his attention to us. Of course I had no guarantee he wasn’t listening in via Blake at that moment anyway, so it might just be a worthless exercise. Even more interesting is that Belinda seemed to have some sway over him.
“Kajsa,” he replied and I stared up at him in confusion.
“I believe your Elf cut off her lover’s head,” he told me calmly.
I thought… Troll! Was that her name? I don’t believe anyone ever told me. “Oh, I see. And that makes you responsible for restoring Ricky’s memories?” I frowned when he shook his head.
“No we had nothing to do with that. We thought he was dead, last night was surprising.”
So, who did we have to thank for restoring his memories? Interesting.
“But I was the one that healed Marcus and I could have killed Belinda. So why send anyone after Jace and Gareth? I’m not aware that either of them have done anything to warrant his animosity.”
“They exist,” he told me abruptly, then hesitated for a moment and added more softly. “And now, so do you and your Father.”
Ricky must not have had the chance to tell them how I’d killed Kajsa, otherwise they would have known long before now about my shape shifting abilities. It didn’t matter now. In for a penny I thought again. It was either Amras or me, I wasn’t sorry. I’d made the conscious decision earlier to introduce my Father, a decision Blake had just warned me I might live to regret. “So he wants us dead?”
Blake shook his head again. “Not dead… enslaved. He’s become consumed with madness. I’m afraid when he learns about you….”
“He will want me too, and not just as bait for the others,” I finished for him and felt him nod. “He has power over them?” I asked, and again he nodded. “Has it something to do with the necklace he wears?”
“It is a focus,” he answered softly. “More than that I am not allowed to say.”
“What will you do?”
“What I have always done… survive.”
“And I should help you how?”
“Old guard… new guard. The Council is coming to town. They are concerned. Rumors have reached them. I need space to maneuver and a token assurance of support would be welcomed.”
He was talking about taking over Valentine’s operation and using the Vampire Council to do it. It could well cause a blood bath in the streets! “What manner of token?”
His voice went low and sexy, the syllables wrapped in a sultry coating of heavy southern charm as he replied. “I’m sure we can come up with something,” his hand caressed my back and ghosted over my skin. I stiffened slightly, shocked at his interest. I had not expected it and it made me angry.
“And we get?” Outraged I struggled to control my voice. To give me over to Blake would be more than a small token. Everyone who knows Dragons knows they are territorial, especially with their woman. I might go to Blake on my own since I was not formally mated. But we had an agreement, not exclusive but still, to expect Jace and Gareth to hand me over to him to merely seal the deal? That would be tantamount to their signing a contract in blood saying Blake had not only their support, but their best wishes in eliminating Valentine. I suspected the only thing that might save Blake is that he hadn’t actually spoken the words, only implied them. Jace and Gareth were not going to be amused.
“The Drakes will be safe… all of them. And the Red will be released. Status quo will be reinstated,” he assured me. The song came to an end and he stepped back and bowed. “I must have an answer by next week. Tell the Drakes the Council arrives in ten days. Alan knows how to contact me. I apologize, but I must leave you here. The press has caught your scent and will be arriving soon. It would not do to have our picture appear together on tomorrow’s front page. It was a plea
sure,” he assured me then fled the dance floor, leaving me standing there gritting my teeth.
The scent of wolf filled my nostrils and I turned and glanced up at Bodark. He winced and coerced my resistant body into his arms as the band eased into another song. “I hope that look isn’t for me, Princess?”
“Are you here to strike a bargain for a night in my bed, too?” I asked sharply. “I have now been offered secrets and veiled threats against those I care for. What have you got to offer?” My voice was low and harsh. My head felt like it was ready to explode, I was that angry.
“I’m no horse trader. I am a predator. I see what I want and I take it. However, I’d like to think we could take a more romantic approach to sharing your bed.” he told me, his voice sounding amused. “Might I hope by your wonderfully flashing eyes that you were not impressed with either offer?”
I sighed when his hand pressed against my back and pulled me in a little tighter to his body. “The offers will be considered. It’s Blake’s token pledge I object to.”
“I suppose we’ve come a long way from tying your scarf around an arm,” he replied lightly. And I couldn’t help thinking I’d like to tie it around Valentine’s neck! As that would be the most expedient way to eliminate all of our troubles.
“Bodark, what is going on?”
He made a humming noise in his throat and moved us farther away from the other few couples on the floor, giving us space in which to talk softly. “Valentine appears to have gone round the bend,” he replied. “It happens to older Vamps once in a blue moon.” he added then shrugged. “We started noticing things were wrong about six months ago.”
“What kind of things?”
He took a second to think about it then answered. “Shipments went missing. A breakdown in communications. A higher than normal number of turnings, and those that were turned were much younger than is allowed. Whispers of strange rituals, and then our people started disappearing. At first we didn’t think too much of it, a lion here, a wolf there. This is a big town and people have accidents, they go missing or move sometimes without letting others know. And then the muttering started. Joe had a beer with Steve and one of them mentions Fred hasn’t been seen in three weeks and Tim hasn’t shown up for work this week. People simply comparing stories over some nuts and a hot dog at the ball game. When we started doing a tally it was alarming. Fifty or sixty unaccounted for just across the weres, and wicken. We have no way of knowing if regular humans are involved, and the Dwarfs and what few fey we have in the city refuse to speak with us. I was hoping one of the Dwarfs might talk to you. Help us determine if it’s only former humans, and those humans with powers that are affected.”
I nodded and told him. “I think perhaps Dten might. If you think you can arrange a meeting?”
He grinned down at me. “Yes, I think I can arrange that. When are you available?”
“Tomorrow is too soon, and tomorrow night… I don’t think it will be possible, I’m not sure if he’ll even be there. I’ll be gone after that. I can’t say for how long, a few days maybe. It will have to wait until I return.”
Bodark glanced down at me. “Going on a trip?” he inquired, his eyes curious. I bit my lip and nodded as I thought of Amras and the upcoming visit to the Queen. “You look worried all of a sudden and there is a shadow in your eyes. Is there anything I can do to assist you?” he asked gently.
“No, unless you can convince a Queen to give up her subject,” I muttered. Bodark didn’t know what to say to that so he simply shook his head and held me as we slowly danced around the floor. I gave myself a mental shake and asked, “I am not going to be visited by your mate am I? Because that would be rather awkward.”
He chuckled and gave me a squeeze. “When you change subjects you really change subjects!” He winked when I turned my head sideways and lifted an eyebrow. “No, I have not chosen an alpha. Much to the annoyance of my pack.”
“Can’t choose amongst the lot, eh?” I teased.
“Let’s just say, when I took over there wasn’t a large female population to select from. The previous leader… had a preference for men,” he replied with a grimace. “It’s been nearly eight years, and luring females here has been more difficult than you can imagine. Some days I think it would be easier if I could hand pick a human to turn. But I don’t want your Drake’s Hunters down on us. And honestly, turning a human can cause more problems than it solves.”
“So why did you come here?”
He shrugged. “Their leader was weak… I wanted a pack. There was no chance of that happening where I was. It seemed a good solution.”
“And why did you come to San Francisco?” he asked.
“To get away from my Mother!” I told him, then grinned when he laughed and glanced across the floor at my parents. “Seriously, living with Mom at twenty four was just wrong.”
“You are twenty four?” he asked, his voice sounding surprised.
“Actually I’m much older than that… I’m twenty five. And I’ve been living not five miles from here for more than a year.”
“I would have thought….,” and his voice trailed off. When I glanced up at him he seemed deep in thought.
“Did you think I was older? Younger?” I asked, wondering which it was. Elves and Dragons took longer to reach maturity and I could see where someone might easily mistake my age. Growing up I’d been careful to shimmer and show my Plain Jane face so that I always looked the age I was supposed to be. But as myself, I had to admit at times I didn’t look much older than a teenager.
“How did we miss you for an entire year?” he finally wondered out loud, his voice sounding bewildered.
“Oh, well that,” I told him then gave him a secretive smile. “That is for me to know,” I teased.
“Twenty five… ah, so young,” he muttered. “The Elves were always secretive, have they started having children again in their mounds these past fifty years?” he asked.
“No, I wasn’t born in the Sidhe,” I told him, feeling a little uncomfortable in admitting it, especially when he sucked in a breath and stared down at me in surprise. Then simply shook his head.
“It is all too much for this poor old wolf’s brain,” he remarked.
“Old?” I chuckled and jerked my chin in my parent’s direction. “That’s old.” I told him and grinned when he laughed.
The song came to an end. “I suppose it wouldn’t be polite of me to keep you out here to myself all night, though I am sorely tempted.” he told me and glanced toward my table in the corner. Alan and Jared were seated at the next one over. Both of them were watching us and I had to wonder how much of our conversation they had picked up on. The club wasn’t all that big and we hadn’t exactly been whispering. Bodark motioned for me to precede him and I took two steps and stopped, watching as Alan rose to his feet and threaded his way smoothly through the chairs. Bodark sighed and waited for him to join us, he was quite the gentleman, not leaving me stranded on the dance floor, and I smiled up at him to let him know I appreciated his manners. He leaned down and kissed my temple. “So young,” he muttered and I reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. I liked Bodark. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Save me a dance.” I told him and grinned at the pleased look in his eyes.
“Lexi,” Alan purred as he nodded to Bodark, who rolled his eyes and winked at me, then left for the table in the corner. With his hand at my back Alan moved us onto the floor and me into his arms. We swayed with the music for several seconds before he leaned down and whispered, “Jaguars do not take permanent Queens.”
“Hmmm, I believe your friends in the wild can make love more than a hundred times a day and only last an average of nine seconds. It… might explain why,” I told him in an amused tone. Across the room I heard Bodark’s burst of laughter and glanced over Alan’s shoulder to see him leaning on his elbow with his hand over his mouth. His eyes stared back at me and his shoulders were shaking. Obviously he could hear everything being said and now I was pretty sure Alan and
Jared had too, as well as my guards.
He turned me and replied, “Forget the contract. Come home with me tonight and let me prove that that is not the case,” he whispered, his voice going low and dangerous. I felt his pull immediately, licked my lips and forced myself to breathe.
“You keep that up and I’ll call my Father over here to deal with you, Sir,” I warned him and I glanced toward Dad, only to find he was staring straight at us. “See? He already doesn’t like you.” Alan turned me so his back was no longer facing my Father. He seemed to stiffen slightly and eased some room between the two of us. Obviously Dad was giving him the look and I had to bite the inside of my cheek not to laugh.
“I see that you remain well guarded even without your others in tow.”
“Yeah well, Dads new at this so I’d be more worried about him at the moment than the others. Except Kit that is. Dten is right. You don’t want to meet him in a dark alley.”
Alan looked irritated at my comment. “Then I suppose I’ll have to wait to hear your decision once you read the contract.”
I nodded and concentrated on the music, just enjoying the feel of dancing around the floor to the sultry beat. I wondered what Jace and Gareth were up to and if they were having any luck. I wasn’t worried about them, not with the other four at their backs. There wasn’t much the six of them couldn’t take on together. Kit and Owen would ensure their safety. Alan stopped abruptly and I opened my eyes and noticed a hand on Alan’s shoulder, and well shaped fingers digging into his muscles. Lifting my face I looked into Kit’s blazing red eyes and wondered how long he’d been standing there.
“Long enough,” he informed me angrily. He looked so mad I thought he might actually start vibrating any second.
Across the room Bodark and Jared both rose from their chairs with alarmed expressions, while my guards moved to block them from reaching us. I wasn’t sure if Bodark and Jared were more worried about Alan or me, since neither knew who Kit was. Luckily my men must have recognized him and I could see Dean talking to them, probably explaining Kit. My guards were brave but I wasn’t sure four of them would be enough to hold back two proven leaders. I spared a reassuring look to Bodark who backed off and crossed his arms over his chest but remained standing, his eyes glued to us. Jared took his cue from Bodark and the two of them stood quietly within the circle of my men.
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