Crimson Debt: Book 1 in the Born to Darkness series (29 page)

“What kind of trouble?” I thought of him
saying that the Empress would not be pleased to receive Roderick’s
remains. “Are other vampires involved?” I asked. “Are they coming
after him?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s the way he’s
acting…the way he looks.”

“Why—what is he doing?”

“All week he’s been talking to legal people
about the club, calling staff in and thanking them for all their
hard service. He even told me he hoped I would have a very happy
life and gave me some tips on how to be a more effective
vampire.”

I was drawing a blank. “So?”

“So? Addison, it’s like…like he’s saying
goodbye.”

“So maybe he’s selling the club,” I said,
though I couldn’t imagine Corbin giving it up—
Under the Fang
was his baby.

“It doesn’t feel like that,” Taylor said
quietly. “It feels like he’s setting his affairs in order.”

“What? But he’s perfectly fine.” I thought of
Corbin the last time I had seen him—he had been the picture of
vampire health.

“No, he’s not,” Taylor said. “In fact,
especially in the past day or two, well, he doesn’t look so
good.”

“You’re saying he’s sick? Vampire’s don’t get
sick.”

“Corbin is. He’s different, Addison. Paler
than usual. Quieter. I haven’t seen him feed once in the past
week.”

“So maybe he’s just hungry.”

The thought that Corbin might be starving
himself for love of me occurred but I pushed it away. As gratifying
as it might be, there was no way it could happen. Corbin, like all
vampires, was a purely practical creature. There was no way he
would go on a hunger strike just for me, especially when he had
pushed me so neatly out of his life himself.

“No, that’s the thing,” Addison protested,
breaking my train of thought. “I honestly think he’s
not
hungry. I saw one of the glam-girls offer him her wrist last night.
She was all, ‘Drink, my Master.’ But he pushed her away and said,
‘Forgive me. I have no appetite.’ Now does that sound like Corbin
to you?”

I had to admit it didn’t. Corbin had never
been one to turn down a free snack. So what was going on?

“Maybe I should come down and just have a
look around,” I said.

“Yes, please do. Maybe I’m just imagining
things but…I don’t think so.” Taylor sounded upset. “I’m really
worried about him, Addison.”

“All right.” I looked at my watch. “My shift
starts in a few minutes. I’ll make
Under the Fang
my first
stop.”

“I thought he asked you to get another
Auditor to inspect him?”

“He did.” I cleared my throat. “I
just…haven’t gotten around it yet.”

“Okay, see you in a few,” she said and hung
up.

The trip to
Under the Fang
didn’t take
long and before I knew it I was striding over the familiar red,
black, and silver dance floor. The glam-booths were full, as usual,
and there were lines of humans eagerly waiting to be glammed by the
bored looking vampires but they didn’t hold my attention.

I ignored the pounding beat of the music and
the laughing patrons—it was like I didn’t even see them. Instead I
looked at the raised dais where Corbin usually sat and remembered
how he had taken me over his knee and spanked me there. I had been
furious at him but then afterward when he had healed me so
gently…and then the next night in his office…
No, stop thinking
about it,
I told myself sternly.
You’re just here to check
on him and then you’ll be on your way.

Lifting my chin, I left the dance floor and
followed the long hallway down to the business end of the club
where Corbin kept his office and daylight hiding place. It was
unnaturally quiet with none of the hustle and bustle I remembered
from a regular club night. Where was his staff? Then, suddenly when
I was a few feet from his office door, I heard familiar voices.

“But Master, please—I do not wish to leave
you,” said the first voice, which sounded like the little
curly-haired androgynous vamp that was Corbin’s assistant.

“I know you don’t, Antoine, but I’m afraid
you have no choice.” That was definitely Corbin and he sounded
tired. No, not just tired—unbearably weary, as though he could
barely make himself speak. What in the world could have happened to
make him sound that way?

“I will stay by your side, no matter what! I
will go with you, wherever it is you are going.”

“Antoine…” Corbin sighed heavily. “I’m sorry
my little friend but where I am going, you cannot follow.”

I frowned. Was Corbin planning a trip?

“It’s that witch, isn’t it? That LaRoux
woman—she did something to you.” The assistant’s voice sounded high
and unhappy. “I could tell by looking at her that something about
her wasn’t right. Please, Master—what did she do? You haven’t been
right since that night. Did she put you under a spell or—”

“She did nothing I didn’t ask her to do,”
Corbin said sharply. “Antoine, you forget yourself. You are
overstepping your boundaries.”

“Forgive me, Master.” The little assistant
seemed to be almost sobbing now. “It’s just that I am trying to
understand what is happening. Why you are sending us all away—”

“You don’t need to understand, Antoine. You
only need to obey. Now go and check on the figures I asked you to
get. Everything must be in good working order before I pass
the
Fang
on to its new owner.”

Hearing that knocked me back a step. Could it
be true? Was Corbin actually selling out and moving on? But why?
What the hell was going on?

Just then the little curly-haired assistant
came stumbling out of the office in a very un-vampiric display of
clumsiness. There were smudges of red on his cheeks and I realized
he’d been crying. He looked up at me briefly.

“Hello, Mistress,” he muttered before going
on down the hall toward the bar and dance floor.

Mystified, I walked up to Corbin’s office and
rapped lightly on the open door.

“It’s me—can I come in?”

Corbin was sitting at his desk, pouring over
some paperwork. When he looked up, I saw with a shock that Taylor
had been right. He really
did
look terrible.

His eyes were red-rimmed and their lovely
silver-blue color seemed dulled somehow. His face was paler than
usual too and there were lines around his mouth and under his eyes
I had never noticed before. In short, he looked less than perfect
and that wasn’t like Corbin. If he was human, I would have said he
looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks. But vampires don’t really
need sleep so what was going on?

“Addison,” he said, frowning when he saw it
was me. “What are you doing here?”

I leaned against the doorframe and crossed my
arms over my chest.

“I’m here because Taylor called and asked me
to come over.”

“Then why are you not speaking to her instead
of bothering me?” he demanded. “I am very busy just now, as you can
see.”

“Uh-huh.” I nodded, refusing to let his
rudeness drive me off. “What’s this I hear about you packing up and
moving on?”

“It is none of your business, that is what it
is. Now if you have nothing constructive to say, I must ask you to
leave and stop wasting my oh-so-valuable time.”

“Corbin, what’s
wrong
with you?” I
stepped into his office and went to stand in front of his desk. It
was stacked with paperwork and he had a laptop open on one corner.
On the other corner, I noticed the black stake. Just looking at it
made me shiver—the silver runes were still red but I couldn’t help
noticing that the red was darker now, less blood red and more
maroon. An idea began to form in my head…an idea about that damn
stake. But I sensed that I couldn’t ask Corbin about it
directly.

“Seriously,” I said, trying to keep my tone
light. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” He looked irritated. “It’s only
that I have much to do and a very short time to get it done.”

“Before you leave, you mean,” I said and a
lump formed in my throat. “Corbin…will I ever see you again?”

He shook his head briefly. “No one will.”

“What is
that
supposed to mean? Where
are you going?”

“Someplace very unpleasant, I assure you,” he
snapped. “Addison, please—”

“Are you thirsty? Is that it?” I came around
the desk to stand in front of him and held out my wrist. “Drink,” I
said. “If…if you want to.”

For a moment he just looked at me and then he
took my hand in his. I was surprised at how cold his skin was.
Despite being a vampire, Corbin had always seemed to run hot but
now, touching him was like touching a block of ice.

“Addison,” he said softly. “I’m touched—truly
I am. But what I need, you cannot give me. No one can.”

“But…what is it that you need?” I asked,
mystified and seriously worried.

Corbin only shook his head and dropped my
hand. “Right now I need you to leave me alone to work. I will ask
you for the last time, why did Taylor ask you to come here?”

“Because she’s thirsty,” I said, improvising
on the spot. “Really thirsty—where the hell is Victor? Does he
intend to let her starve?”

Corbin sighed and ran long fingers through
his hair. “My understanding is that he is putting the finishing
touches on the house he was building for himself. When he gets it
done, he will bring Taylor to live with him for the remainder of
their three month period of ownership.”

“Well, he’s taking too damn long,” I said,
putting my hands on my hips. “You need to call him and tell him
so.”

“All right—I will do it.” He sighed in
obvious irritation. “I will add it to the extremely long list of
other things I must get done before I—”

“Before you what?” I prompted. “Go on.”

“Never mind.” Corbin looked around in
irritation. “Where is Antoine? I asked for those figures ages
ago.”

“Maybe he’s crying somewhere,” I said
quietly. “He looked pretty upset when I saw him.”

“You are probably right.” Corbin sighed and
stood up abruptly. “I will have to go find him—I do not have time
for histrionics.” He looked at me. “Addison, you need to go. I
promise I will call Victor on your friend’s behalf but for now, I
would prefer if you left my establishment.”

“Why?” I demanded. “You afraid I’ll give you
a citation for being rude?”

“No,” he said shortly. “It’s simply too
painful for me to see you.”

“Too painful?” I said softly. “What…what do
you mean by that? I thought—”

He gave me a long, level look. “You know what
I mean, Addison. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

He was starting to leave the office and he
clearly expected me to come with him. I had to think fast.

“Do you mind if I use your restroom before I
go?” I asked, trying to keep my voice cool and professional. “The
regular bathrooms here are always full of people making out and
trading gossip about which vamp is the best at glam-sex. It’s
disgusting.”

“Fine.” He sighed. “But close the office door
when you leave.”

“All right, I wi—” I started to say but he
was already gone, moving faster than my eyes could follow out of
the office and down the hall.

The minute he was gone, I walked over and
opened and closed the bathroom door loudly, just in case he was
still within earshot. Then I walked quietly back to the desk and
looked at the stake again. I had a feeling it held half the answer
to what was going on with Corbin. And I had a pretty good idea
where to get the other half.

I didn’t want to touch the weird thing with
my bare hand so I pulled the sleeve of my suit jacket down and
wrapped it around my hand before picking it up. Sure enough, it
seemed to writhe in my grip like a lazy snake. The sensation made
me want to gag and I nearly dropped it. But this was
important—something was going on and I was determined to get to the
bottom of it, damn it!

I had originally been planning to stuff the
thing down the back of my pants and let my jacket conceal it as I
walked out of
the Fang
with it. But now I found I couldn’t
stand the thought of the weird stake so close to me. It seemed
dangerous somehow, as though it was a predator that was mostly full
but wouldn’t mind taking another bite or two if another prey
happened along and offered itself.

Instead of trying to carry it like a
concealed weapon, I put it back on the desk and took my jacket off
all together. Then I gathered it up and hid it in the jacket’s
folds, making sure not to let it touch my skin as I walked casually
out of Corbin’s office.

My heart was in my throat the entire time as
I made my way out of the crowded club. I was sure at any minute
Corbin would pop up in front of me and demand to know why I was
stealing the stake. I didn’t see him at all, however—probably he
was somewhere still dealing with Antoine.

I blessed the little vampire assistant and
promised myself I’d be nicer to him next time I saw him—if there
was
a next time. Corbin had made it pretty clear he didn’t
want to see me again before he left, which hurt. But I was sure
there was something behind his rejection. Something strange and not
right and I was determined to find out what it was.

It didn’t take long to find the witch’s
house—not when I was able to search her immediately on the PD’s
database. Gwendolyn LaRoux lived on the fringes of Ybor City—the
oldest and most historic part of Tampa. At the turn of the last
century, it used to be home to Cuban immigrants and cigar
factories. Now it’s mostly a party spot for the college crowd with
a few kink clubs, tattoo parlors, and cigar bars thrown in for the
tourists.

The whole area had gotten pretty run down but
lately there had been a big effort toward beatification. Many of
the old wooden bungalows had been remodeled and some had been torn
down to make way for cute little cookie-cutter townhouses in all
the pastel shades of the rainbow.