All That Falls (6 page)

“Are you safe there?” Cerise asked.

“It’s Merrick’s club. He’s with me,” she said, as if that answered the question.

“And you’re okay with him?” Cerise asked skeptically.

“Yes, I’m very well. How are you? How are things there?”

“They’re all right. You’re missed.”

“Oh, that’s—It’s nice of you to say.”

“When you first answered the phone, I heard music playing. What song was that?”

“Nothing you would have heard before. Merrick has a friend who’s a musician, and he wrote it.”

“I think I’ve heard it before.”

“You do? I can’t imagine. It’s called ‘Paradise Lost’ because some of the lyrics are from Milton. As far as I know it’s never been recorded. Unless someone made a bootleg. The guitarist from the band that usually plays weekends here cut his hand, and we convinced Lysander to come down and play a set with them. But he’s only been onstage for about twenty minutes.”

“Lysander,” Cerise said. “Tall? Blond? Leather pants and lots of scars?”

“You
have
seen him,” Alissa said, her surprise evident.

“Speaking of being seen, you wanted to see me. Let’s do it tonight.”

“Tonight?” Alissa asked. “You’ll never get Etherlin Security
to clear an impromptu trip to the Sliver at eleven thirty at night.”

“Let me worry about ES. Can I visit you tonight or not?” Cerise said. She didn’t like the fact that Alissa had more freedom of movement than she did.

“Of course. Do you want to meet in the Grand Hotel or at Clarity?”

“Neither. I want to come to Crimson. You’re safe there. I would be, too, right?”

“Well—yes, of course, Merrick wouldn’t let anything happen to you in his club, but are you sure you want to come into the Varden?”

“Can you arrange for my safe passage from the Sliver to the Varden and back?”

“Yes, if that’s what you want. Merrick and I will pick you up. Where?”

“I’ll wait in the lobby of the Grand. I can be there in thirty minutes.”

“All right. We’ll be there.”

“Great, and one other thing?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t tell Merrick’s friend that I’m coming.”

When Alissa didn’t respond, Cerise added hastily, “See you soon,” and she ended the call before there could be more discussion. She slid the phone into her pocket. She passed the mirror and gave herself a brief inspection. Dark hair with its black cherry hue curled softly around her face and shoulders, kohl rimmed her eyes, and wine-colored lipstick accented her full lips. She wore a tailored shirt with a maroon scarf and black leather pants. She went to her closet and pulled on high-heeled boots that would take her from five foot ten to well over six feet. Then she opened a large jewelry box and took out a couple of bangle bracelets and a 9 mm filled with vampire-killing bullets. She tucked it into the back of her leather pants and covered it with her shirt. She shoved a thousand dollars, her ID, and a tube of Black Honey lipstick into her pocket.

On her way out the bedroom door, she almost bumped into her sister.

“Hey,” Dorie said. “You’re going out? Can I come?”

“No,” Cerise said, not breaking her stride down the hall.

“Why not?”

“I’m going to a bar to hear a band.”

“So? If I’m with you they’ll let me in. Like they did—”

“That was a one-time thing for your sixteenth birthday,” Cerise said, hurrying down the stairs.

“What’s your problem lately?” Dorie snapped.

Cerise shrugged.

“Look, I didn’t make up what I said. Alissa stole the Wreath, and she locked Troy and me in that interrogation room,” Dorie said.

“Alissa returned the Wreath.”

“Yeah, but she still took it! And she hooked up with a filthy ventala who practically tore my throat open.”

Cerise glanced pointedly at Dorie’s unmarked neck. Dorie flushed.

“You act like you don’t even care about that!” Dorie snapped. “You act like you blame me for her being gone. She wasn’t even your friend. I’m your sister. Plus we still don’t know what happened to Grant Easton. Everyone just walks around here like that night never happened.”

“Alissa sent the Etherlin Council a letter of explanation. Whatever she says happened that night must have proven true when they investigated because they’re leaving her alone.”

“Bull! They might be leaving her alone so there’s no scandal. What about the fact that Grant Easton, Alissa’s boyfriend, disappeared on the same night she took off with a ventala? I think she and that ventala killed Grant so they could get out of the Etherlin. And Dad and the EC are letting her get away with it.”

“There were pools of blood in fourteen different spots in the woods. We all heard the helicopters. If those were ventala helicopters and we were under siege, why didn’t they come for us? I think Merrick and his people stopped the ventala syndicate from doing whatever they had planned. There have been rumors that Merrick’s broken off from the syndicate.”

“Who cares!” Dorie yelled. “Who cares about a vampire half-breed? I want to know why you’re always defending her.”

“Because I don’t think she did anything to hurt anyone but herself.”

“But you do believe she went off with him willingly. That
taints the whole community. And when the media catches on, it’s going to be a huge scandal that reflects badly on all of us.”

Cerise rolled her eyes. “You’re spending too much time with Spinmaster Troy. All of life isn’t about getting good press.” Even though Troy was a friend of Cerise’s, too, she knew how single-minded he could be when it came to preserving the muses’ moneymaking brands. The memory of Griffin’s last night crept across Cerise’s mind. Troy, who usually discouraged the muses from drinking too much, had bought two rounds of shots. There had been something off about the way Troy had behaved that night at the bar. Cerise’s brows drew together.

“Troy cares about the Etherlin,” Dorie said, breaking into Cerise’s thoughts. “He cares about it more than Alissa North ever did. And Alissa’s certainly not going to be able to live up to her responsibilities as a muse while living with a bloodsucking murderer. He’s probably drained her dry by now.”

She sounded just fine on the phone,
Cerise thought, but she did feel a small twinge of anxiety. It was somewhat insane of her to tread into the heart of the Varden—ventala territory. But Cerise was the muse of rock stars and world-class athletes. She inspired the bold and considered herself one of them. To fully be who she was though, she had to get her power back. There was no way she was leaving Griffin’s songbook with a fallen angel or anyone else.

“Nothing to say to that, huh?” Dorie clucked her tongue. “Well, if he does kill her by drinking all her blood, it’s her own fault.”

Cerise clenched her teeth, knowing that she’d be similarly blamed if her reckless behavior led to trouble, and she wished that for once her drama-dredging little sister would just shut her mouth.

“It’s not a good idea,” Merrick said, running a thumb across his handsome jaw. Alissa’s vision was still a bit blurry at times from an injury to her eyes, but her mind filled in what she couldn’t completely see.

“She expects me to be there,” she said as her heart beat quicker.

“It could be a trap. Etherlin Security might be there to take you back.”

“You know I won’t go with them.”

“They might not give you a choice.”

Alissa stepped forward and put her hands on his face. When her mouth was close to his, she whispered, “You’d never let them take me. And if they managed to, I’d escape and come back to you or you’d come in and get me.” She pressed her lips to his and the kiss was as sweet as ever. “I promised Cerise I’d be there. It means so much to me to see her.”

Merrick sighed. “You’ll stay in the car with Ox while I go in to get her.”

“That might be—she might not be comfortable leaving the hotel with you if I’m not there.”

His jaw tightened. “Then she’ll stay in the Sliver.”

“James—” she implored.

It was his turn to take her face in his hands. His thumbs brushed outward from the corners of her eyes, the light touch saying what he didn’t; he wouldn’t risk her being hurt again so soon after she’d been blinded and had almost been lost to him forever. James Merrick could walk without blinking into a battle with creatures so deadly they were kept caged in hell. Risking his own life had never been a problem, not since a brutal childhood. But he did care about one thing, and Alissa was lucky enough to be that one thing.

“You’ll stay in the car, Alissa,” he said softly.

“All right.”

He brushed his lips over hers, and she whispered against his mouth, “I love you.”

The kiss deepened until time stood still.

Finally remembering they were in a public lobby, she drew back. “Anything more than that and we’ll have to charge money for the show.”

“Mmm. How will you spend your half?” he asked, stealing another quick kiss.

She chuckled. “We have to go.”

“If you say so,” Merrick murmured, but he didn’t hesitate to raise his phone and call his bodyguard, Mr. Orvin, whose unfortunate but somewhat appropriate nickname was Ox.

After that call, Merrick slid a small earpiece into his ear
and pressed a button on his phone. “Tony, how do the cameras look?” Merrick paused to listen.

Ox lumbered forward with purpose, causing a large potted palm to sway in his wake. He didn’t walk so much as advance like a linebacker, unconcerned with grace or style. He had an objective and obstacles in his path had best move lest they be crushed. Despite his bodybuilder bulk and severe ice blond crew cut, he had a nice smile that he never failed to offer her.

Alissa returned his smile. “Sorry to pull you away from the music, Mr. Orvin. Lysander’s an amazing musician.”

“I was ready for a little air,” Ox said with a shrug. “I’m tone-deaf. Besides, I can’t get anywhere with the cute new waitress with him onstage. All the girls’ eyes are glued on him like they just saw their first diamond.”

“Oh,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “Well, if it’s any consolation, he’s not really competition. I’m sure that when he comes offstage, he’ll disappear without talking to any of the women.”

Ox shrugged again. “Whatever. So where are we going? Last night I told the boss you’d probably like the new Spanish restaurant that opened down the block. Couple of the boys and me went there for dinner Monday night. Never had paella before. It’s good as hell.”

“That would be really nice, but actually we’re going to the Sliver to pick up a friend of mine.”

“A friend of yours?” Ox said, his voice rising with interest. “A muse friend of yours?”

Merrick held out a hand to stop their conversation, and Ox immediately fell silent and looked around the lobby to be sure no one was close enough to be listening. Into his phone Merrick said, “Yeah, Tony, we’re going out. I want two sets of eyes on the monitors until I say otherwise.”

Convincing an aspirant to smuggle her out of the Etherlin in the trunk of his car had not been a problem, but it did leave her hair pretty mussed. Cerise finger-combed her waves while trying to stay out of sight.

“Oh my God. It’s Merrick,” the girl at the front desk said to her coworker, who paled.

Cerise glanced at the front door. Sure enough, clad in sunglasses and a fifteen-thousand-dollar suit, the notorious ventala enforcer-turned-seducer-of-an-unattainable-muse strode into the lobby like he owned the place.

The way he moved reminded her of someone else from his side of the wall.

No wonder they’re friends. They both move like they could edge out lions as the biggest predators on the block.

Merrick spotted her, and he walked to her. Her heart pounded a little faster. She might be armed, but she didn’t have any illusions about which of them would be able to draw blood first. His skills were legendary. She had faith though that Alissa wouldn’t have pulled her into a trap. If Alissa trusted Merrick, it was a safe bet that he wouldn’t attack Cerise.

“Where’s Alissa?” Cerise asked.

“I’ll take you to her,” he said, glancing around as if he thought someone might be lying in wait. She didn’t blame him for that. If Etherlin Security had been with her, they might have shot him on sight. She wasn’t sure what their orders were with
regard to Merrick, which was exactly why she hadn’t brought them along. Well, that and the fact that they would never have let her go into the Varden to see her mysterious musician.

“Lead the way,” she said. He cocked a brow above the rim of his sunglasses, clearly surprised that she didn’t act skittish. Well, she’d come this far. She didn’t intend to lose her nerve at the last minute. And she didn’t intend to show she was nervous. Rule number one of being a superstar…never let them see you sweat.

“The moon too bright for you tonight?” she asked as they crossed the lobby.

“You’re the rock-and-roll muse. I expected to be blinded by your sequined jumpsuit.”

She grinned.

Bright spotlights lit the hotel’s front walk, and she suspected that those lights were what his eyes actually objected to.

She had to admire his icy cool. Her veins were pulsing full of muse blood, but he’d barely given her a second glance. Her stride slowed. Shouldn’t it be more of a struggle for him? What if he really was keeping Alissa prisoner and feeding off her? What if he’d forced or tricked Alissa into baiting a trap for Cerise? Alissa wouldn’t willingly have done it, but torture made people do what they normally wouldn’t. Alissa’s voice had been smooth and cool, but all the muses had had media training. They knew how to seem calm under duress.

Cerise slowed and slid a hand under the back of her shirt. She gripped the gun.

“You’re quite a departure from Alissa’s usual type,” Cerise said. “She spent most of her life on the arm of Dudley Do-Right for a reason. How long do you think you can keep her in your world?”

He turned and stared at her.

“She’ll last a lot longer than you will if you decide to raise that gun.”

Cerise’s heart thudded. How had he known? He’d been facing the other way when she reached for the gun. She’d slid the safety off soundlessly.

He lowered his sunglasses and locked eyes with her. His eyes were glacial cold.