BloodlustandMetal (10 page)

Stefano appeared as unappealing as always to me with his
pale face, cold eyes and pointy nose. His scent was as pungent as ever, what I
thought all vampires smelled like—the dead. His taste in clothing was peculiar.
He favored English tweed, which I thought far too subdued for a vampire I
believed to be hundreds of years old.

The tension was thick enough to have a physical presence.
But then Stefano cut through it when he asked her a question, sounding more
like a parent than whatever their relationship was. “What the hell did you do
to your hair?”

“Stefano,” Layla began. “I know you think I did something to
betray you, but I didn’t. I never would. Why would I do that to you when you’ve
been so good to me?”

I stayed out of it and tried to remain objective as I
watched their interaction.

“That’s what made it cut so deep. I took you in, cared for
you, treated you like family,” Stefano said. “And how do you thank me? You
turned on me. Stole from me.”

“Stefano, listen to me, please. I didn’t steal anything. I
would never take anything from you. I appreciate everything you’ve done for
me.”

“Money can make villains out of the sweetest ones amongst
us. Especially those who don’t have it.”

My eyes followed from one to the other. Both appeared to
believe what they were saying. Layla pleading her innocence; Stefano believing
her guilty. Both his pain and his thirst for vengeance smoldered under the veil
of his thinly controlled emotions.

“Stefano, how can I prove it to you that it wasn’t me?”

“You can’t. Your actions spoke for you. The painting
disappeared and so did you. All you can do at this point is give me my painting
back and hope I take it into consideration when contemplating a suitable
punishment.”

“Stefano, I will do all I can to help you get it back, but I
didn’t take it. I had to run. I heard you suspected me. I tried calling to
explain to you, but your rage was palpable over the phone. You wouldn’t listen
to my explanation. You swore you’d kill me for betraying you. I saw no other
option than to run.”

“Oh Layla, your mistrust in me is unwarranted. Since when
have I ever shown anything toward you but fatherly affection?”

If Layla’s description of the phone conversation was
accurate, that might have been one moment. I, however, kept my opinion to myself.

“I don’t know why you’re so sure it was me. Someone is
obviously trying to set me up.”

“I expected you’d say that. Pass the blame onto someone
else.” He waved his hand. “Go ahead. You have two minutes to give me your
defense.”

I’d seen conversations like this play out in a similar
fashion more times than I could count. Usually I tried to get my payment and
get out of there before it happened, but in most cases, reunion emotions were
high. And the blame game had to be played out before I exited as a slightly
richer man.

“I heard you suspected I’d stolen something from you,
although I wasn’t even sure what it was until I called you. I was warned that
my life was in danger and I had to run.”

“Who told you this? No, never mind. It’s probably a lie to
begin with.”

“Stefano, no,” she pleaded. “I wouldn’t lie to you.”

This time, it was more difficult to me to remain impassive.
I tried not to look at Layla as she defended herself, but failed. There she
was, looking so fragile, vulnerable and hurt, not looking at all like the
strong vampire I knew she could be. Hell, I’d experienced the fury—and the
passion—in her delicate limbs myself. Now it took all my willpower not to go
over and cradle her in my arms, pull her into my chest and tell her it was
going to be all right.

Because it wasn’t going to be.

“Why did you do it?” Stefano continued. “The money was so
important to you?” He motioned around the room. “Living here wasn’t enough?”

“I didn’t, Stefano. I swear on it.”

“Would you swear on your own grave?”

“I would.”

“Ha! That’s nothing but an empty expression coming from a
vampire. How many of us have graves? And if we do, they’re empty. Or not our
bodies.”

“Then I swear on whatever you want me to swear on! It was
somebody else.”

“And you do you think it might be?”

I watched Stefano for a change in his reaction. Was he about
to listen to her? Would he even entertain the notion that it could be someone
else? Or was he humoring her since he’d already condemned her in his mind?

“I don’t want to throw out accusations, but it could be
anyone.”

“Go on.” He held his hand out as if encouraging her to spill
her line of thought. “Like who?”

She tapped her chin. “Any of us who live here could have
been involved. Or it could have been an outside job.”

“All the evidence points to you, my dear.”

“Why? I don’t get it. It could be anyone you know, Stefano.
Even someone else in this house.”

“Did I leave out the most incriminating parts?” He chuckled
in a mocking manner. “How silly of me. Eyewitness accounts.”

“From who?”

“From so many resources that it’s impossible for you to
refute. You were seen looking at the painting while discussing it over the
phone. You were heard discussing some sort of financial transaction over the
phone. You were seen leaving the house with a package that matches the size of
the painting.”

Layla appeared taken aback. “Not one of these things ever
happened, Stefano!” She took a few deep breaths before continuing. “I’m not
accusing anyone, but for the sake of argument, let me show you how it’s
possible. Lee and Garrett. What’s to say that either one of them—or both—didn’t
hatch a plan? Then there’s Jon. Or even Gayle. Any one of them could have been
involved. Then me, as the newcomer, could easily be framed to take the blame.”

“They’ve been loyal to me for years. Garrett has been with
me the shortest time, but still, eleven years is long enough for me to know him
well. Gayle has been with me for a century. And during that time, they’ve never
given me reason to suspect them of anything. They’ve been handsomely paid for
their services, more so than they would elsewhere, so I’ve given them no reason
to want to steal from me. And Gayle, she’s my life partner. She has everything
she wants or needs. You, on the other hand, just lived here. You didn’t have a
job or a way of making money.”

“I was in between jobs. They cut me as a bartender and I was
exploring new options. Considering I can only work nights, it cut down on the
avenues I could pursue.”

Stefano raised his hand to stop her. “I wasn’t finished.
You’ve only been with me for a couple of years. You’re young, you’re broke,
you’re skittish and haven’t even grown accustomed to becoming a vampire. You
have never proved any loyalty to me. And worst of all, you ran away.”

“I had to. Lee and Garrett warned me you were going to kill
me.”

“So that’s who warned you,” Stefano said. “I’ll deal with
them later. You know, you’re lucky. If I saw you the day I saw the painting was
gone, you’d be nothing but ashes right now. You know how much I loved that
painting, not to mention its value.”

Layla gave up trying to appear tough. “I know you do. I’m
sorry about what you think I’ve done, but I swear to you, I didn’t.”

“Enough. I’ve spent enough time and money trying to find you
and get my painting back. I left finding you to the shifter here.” He nodded my
way. “His reputation is well-known. So although he’s expensive, I knew if
anyone could find you, it was the shifter. And finding you was the key to
finding my painting.”

Although a client was giving me a nod for my qualifications,
something didn’t feel right. Knowing I was the one who brought Layla to face
this circumstance left a heavy feeling deep in my gut. For all my rules about
staying out of the affairs of clients and just doing my job, I started to feel
like the bad guy. Over all these years, I’d justified my services as finding
the bad guy—or girl—and bringing them to justice. Yes, most of the time justice
was served by another bad guy or girl, but it wasn’t for me to judge. Now for
the first time, I was rankled by complicity in the situation. Maybe Layla was
innocent. If she was telling the truth, then I brought her into a very messy
situation. One she probably wouldn’t have been in without me getting involved.
She’d pulled off her cover as Angelica for months. Who’s to say she would ever
have been found?

Stefano continued, “Now that you’re here, I’m sure we can
get to the bottom of it in no time. In my experience, torture can get anyone to
talk. Some take longer than others. But they all break eventually.”

“Hey,” I said, stepping in. Although I was breaking my rule
on not getting involved in my clients’ affairs—especially vampire affairs—I
couldn’t just stand by and listen to him threaten her with torture.

Stefano looked at me as if noticing me for the first time.
“Good work finding her, Mr. St. Clair. I will pay your fee promptly so you can
go.”

“Torturing her isn’t going to help find anything,” I said
before I knew what I was doing.

“Mr. St. Clair,” Stefano spoke to me as if I were a child.
“Of course it will.”

“Why don’t we start with the easy solutions before the messy
ones?”

“What are you proposing?” Stefano asked, as if amused.

“If she sold a painting, there should be a money trail
somewhere. Why don’t we start by looking in her bank account?”

Stefano squinted as he considered my proposal. “Let’s all go
into my study.”

Layla

What the hell was Devon doing?

I walked into the study with Stefano right behind me,
waiting for something to happen. Would he strike at me now? Or did he want
something from me first?

His study was filled with a massive mahogany desk with a
laptop on it he never really figured out how to use. He was too old-fashioned
to understand this wave of technology and often had me log in to websites to
check things for him.

Stefano pointed to a chair in front of his desk.

“Log in to your bank account.”

“No problem,” I said, sitting down. “You’ll see the usual
piddly amount that’s always in there.”

“Don’t talk back to me, Layla. My patience is already worn
quite thin with you.”

I pulled up the chair to the computer desk and opened up a
browser on the laptop. Then I entered the URL for my bank and entered my user
name and password.

“What the heck?” I said after reading the message.

“What is it?” Stefano asked.

“I can’t get in.”

“How convenient,” Stefano drawled out. “Perhaps you’ve
forgotten your password. Or maybe you’re not entering the correct one for a
reason.”

“No, it’s not that. I know what they are and I entered them
exactly. Why wouldn’t I? I have nothing to hide. But look. My account is
locked.”

Stefano leaned forward to read the notification on the
screen. “Your account has been locked for security reasons. Contact a customer
service representative for more assistance.” He looked at me, eyes blazing red
with fury. “What is going on, Layla? What game are you playing?”

“Stefano, I assure you this isn’t a game. I haven’t logged
in to my account since before I left.”

“Apparently you think I’m stupid. Where else do you keep
your money? You must have another account.”

I shook my head. “Stefano, I don’t know why my account is
locked. The only thing I can think of is somebody else has tried to gain access
and that’s why they locked it down.”

Stefano put his fingers on his chin. “Call them. Talk to
customer service at once.”

“I doubt there will be anyone available for me to talk to at
this hour, but I’ll try.”

I used the phone on his desk to place the call and listened
to the automated message. “Nobody is available to take my call. I have to wait
until the morning.”

Stefano moved over to me quicker than any human would
register and put his hands around my neck. “Where is the painting, Layla? Did
you sell it? Tell me now.”

Although I didn’t need oxygen to breathe, the constriction
of the blood vessels to my brain elicited a very human response from me. Panic
of not getting any air. Fear of dying. I tried to pry his hands from my neck,
but it was useless.

“Hey, hey,” Devon interrupted. “This isn’t going to help
find it.”

“Stay out of this,” Stefano said. “You’ve done your job.” At
least he released the grip on my throat.

“Just give me a chance,” I pleaded through a thin voice.
“Let me figure out what’s going on.”

“I’m pretty sure we can find out where the money is very
quickly if I just apply a little pressure,” Stefano said.

“You can apply all kinds of pressure on me, Stefano, but
that won’t help you find the painting. I had nothing to do with it so I have no
idea where it is. But if you let me help you look for it, then there’s a chance
I can find it. Get it back to you.”

“Now why should I do that?” Stefano said. “You’ve been gone
almost two months now? You’ve had all this time to clear your name if you’re as
innocent as you plead.”

“I was on the run!” I pleaded. “I knew you were after me,
going to kill me! I didn’t have a choice—or the opportunity—to investigate when
I was just trying to stay alive.”

“A painting worth five million pounds is gone. I’ve been a
very patient man trying to resolve this matter. And my patience is wearing
thin. What makes you think anything will be different if I let you
‘investigate’ as you call it?”

“Something is going on with my bank account, as you can see.
If I had a boatload of money I was trying to access, I sure as hell wouldn’t
have locked myself out of my own account.”

“Layla, one thing I realized since you disappeared is that I
must have underestimated you. I think you’re a lot more calculating than I
believed and not as sweet as your demeanor would suggest. What guarantee do I
have that you won’t run? You can easily slip away the way you did last time,
like a devious little thief in the night.”

“Because I’ll be with her this time,” Devon said.

Both Stefano and I slowly looked at Devon as if he’d grown
another head.

“Excuse me?” Stefano said.

“What she didn’t have last time is me. I can help her find
the money. That’s what I’m good at, tracking things—as well as people—down.”

“Why would you do that?” Stefano asked.

“Because if anyone can find the painting or the money, it’s
me.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The same guy who’d
kidnapped me and brought me to Stefano was now volunteering to help me find the
money and save my hide. This didn’t make any sense. No sense at all.

“I paid you to bring her to me,” Stefano said. “Not to help
her find what she stole. Is this some ploy for more money?”

“I’m not asking for any additional payment,” Devon said.
“Just asking for some time.”

Stefano’s eyes narrowed as he appraised Devon. The look that
came over his face made me think he chocked him up to be a lunatic.

“And what guarantee do I have that you both won’t run as
soon as you leave here?” Stefano asked. “She may have offered you a bigger
chunk of my money to help her hide.”

“That wouldn’t make any sense since I brought her back to
you tonight. Consider me still on the job. Forget we even came here tonight and
just think of it as I’m still bringing Layla back to you. The only difference
is that I’m throwing in a freebie by hunting down what was stolen as well.”

By now my mouth was wide open. What was Devon doing? Was he
on my side? On Stefano’s side? His own side? Or had he just lost his
godforsaken mind?

“Are you all right in the head?” Stefano asked. “I know
shapeshifters have their own rules of society, but what you’re proposing
doesn’t make a grain of sense. You can leave right now with your money, forget
all about this and go on to the next job. But instead you’re prolonging this.
Why do you care one way or the other? What’s in it for you?”

Devon shook his head. “I’m not sure myself. Perhaps I’m
interesting in finding out what happened to the painting. Perhaps I think she’s
deserves a shot at clearing her name. Either way, it feels like the right thing
to do.”

“You don’t have feelings for her, do you?” Then Stefano
laughed. “What am I saying? Of course not! A shapeshifter and a vampire? Ha ha
ha. As if that even had a chance in hell. Never mind. Stupid question.”

Were our two species so doomed at the chance of any sort of
relationship? Sure, he changed into an animal and I was immortal. But when the
heart wants something…

What was I
thinking
?
I didn’t want him. He was an asshole. One who kidnapped me, drugged me. I could
go on describing the many ways he’d wronged me. I wanted a chance to live. If
he was foolish enough to help me survive, then let him deal with it.

Focus on survival.

“I also have one thing you don’t have. I can move around in
daylight. Your search is hampered without someone like me, someone who can move
around easily in the day.”

“We’ve managed for centuries. And we’ve adjusted to the
modern world.”

“You still don’t have the same access I do. You must remain
under cover of darkness.”

“I don’t see how that will help track down my painting.
Everything is done via computers these days.”

“I can start by taking Layla to the bank this morning. Have
her bring ID, talk to a representative in person. They’re much more likely to
give information to someone who can prove who she is in person rather than
someone whose account is locked and possibly compromised.”

Stefano was silent as he considered the opportunity Devon
proposed.

“So what’s it going to be, Stefano? Are you going to let us
look for your money? Or just torment a young woman who has no idea where it is?
One is much more productive than the other. And it requires much less work on
your part.”

“Fine. Go off on your little adventure then. Twenty-four
hours. And if you’re not back and are doing this as some ruse to cheat me, I
will hire an army of bounty hunters to track the two of you down and kill you
upon sight.”

“Thank you, Stefano,” I said, focusing on the chance to
survive a little longer rather than the promised death threat.

“Come on,” Devon said.

We left Stefano’s house and I wanted to scream my joy into
the English night, one I thought I might never see again after entering
Stefano’s house. I turned to Devon, threw my arms around his neck and said,
“Thank you!”

He laughed. “I should save your life more often. You’re much
nicer to be around. You’re welcome.”

“One question,” I asked. “Why did you do that? Why are you
helping me?”

He shrugged. His uncommunicative responses brought up more
questions. I would have thought he’d use this opening to reveal why he had the
sudden change of heart, or mind, or whatever reasoning it was that had him
working with me instead of against me.

After several moments of me staring at him waiting for a
response, he said. “That’s a good question. “I honestly don’t know.”

I looked at his face, which wore an expression that said he
was as perplexed about his actions as I was.

“So what’s our first step?”

“I don’t have a plan besides the bank,” he said. “Do you?”

“Um, no.”

Our eyes locked, both of us seeming to ask the same
question.

What the hell do we do now?

On the drive away from Stefano’s, I asked Devon, “Did you
finally realize I’m innocent?”

“No.” Another one-word reply. He was driving me crazy.

“You do believe me though, right? I didn’t steal anything
from Stefano.”

“No. I think you took the painting.”

“Then why would you help me?”

“Not sure really. Maybe you realized you made a mistake.”

“Devon, I don’t know what the hell is going on. Now the
account is locked for security reasons and I don’t know why.”

“I do.”

“How?”

“I’m the one who locked it.”

I stared at him again, unable to process what he just told
me. “Why would you lock my account?”

“Because while I was tracking you down, I discovered that a
good chunk of money had been transferred in there. Stefano hadn’t hired me to
find the painting or the money, just you. He was so convinced that finding you
would lead him to what was stolen. I like to think ahead. So if the job was
easy enough, I was going to ask him for more money to track down what happened.
I’m not really sure why I offered to do so now for free.”

“Why? What’s in there?”

“Five million incriminating goddamn pounds was in there. But
now it’s gone.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but didn’t know where exactly
to start. “Five million pounds went into my account? By who? And where did it
go?”

“Save the innocent act for Stefano, sweetheart. You should
be the one answering questions, not asking them.”

“How did you find all this out? Are you hacking into all my
personal affairs?”

“I should be the one asking you the questions. How many
times do I have to tell you this, my dear? It’s what I do. I’m a bounty hunter,
I have connections, and I’m good with computers.”

“So where’s the money now?”

“That is the question I am supposed to ask you.”

“I don’t know!” I said. “I don’t even know how it got in
there to begin with!”

When he smirked, I added, “If you think I’m guilty of
stealing the money, why would you help me?”

“I don’t know. It’s not my job to judge or take sides, but
to find people or things. Maybe I’m curious. Maybe I want to know what happened
and how you pulled it off.” He leaned closer, just inches from my face so our
eyes locked and for an instant I was reminded of when we had sex earlier. “Or
maybe you do something to me, Layla Costa. Something that I don’t even
understand myself.”

“For the last time, Devon, I didn’t take anything from
Stefano! I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a thief. And I’m not as good at
computers as you. I had no idea until two goddamn minutes ago that so much
money was ever in my bank account. And if I did, don’t you think I would have
used some when I was on the run? I’m sure with your Sherlock Holmes computer
shit you must have realized I never even logged into an ATM since I left. Trust
me, I could have used some money along the way.”

“Or maybe Stefano is right and you’re smarter and much more
calculating than either of us realize.”

“Piss off, Devon! If you’re not here to help me, but just to
satisfy some freakish curiosity, go the fuck to hell! I have twenty-four hours
to figure out what happened before I wind up as ashes and I don’t need to waste
it with someone who’s just here to watch my downfall.”

“Hey, calm down, sweetheart! I’m not here to watch you go
down. I said I’d help you because I want to help you. So stop overreacting like
some ungrateful brat and tell me what really happened.”

Trying to calm my overwhelming emotions, I took three deep
breaths. They were a vestige of being a human that didn’t have any
physiological effect on vampires, but they still worked psychologically, like a
placebo effect. “I don’t know what happened, Devon. I honestly don’t. If you’re
such a computer whiz, can’t you figure it out?”

“I can have leads try to trace where the money went. It gets
more complicated the farther you get from the source.”