High Stakes (20 page)

‘Impossible,’ he says dismissively. I catch the glimmer of doubt, however.

‘Jane. Linda. Bella. Letitia.’ I tick their names off on my fingers. ‘What happened to them?’ He doesn’t answer. He knows exactly who they were. ‘They disappeared, didn’t they? Four powerful vampire women who vanished in broad daylight. Don’t you care what happens to your underlings?’

‘If a Kakos daemon didn’t get them, then it was one of the other Families,’ he snarls. ‘Trying to undermine me.’

I shake my head. ‘Unlike you, the other Families have been cooperating with us. It wasn’t them. We’ve checked the dates and the pattern. The Jubilee Park attacker abducted your vampires. Look into my eyes. Am I lying?’

His face twists. ‘And did this attacker also abduct and rape Andrew?’

My brow furrows. ‘Who?’

Medici’s voice drops. ‘He disappeared in the middle of a street near Covent Garden a month ago. Not too far from where your pitiful office is located, I believe.’

I know who he’s referring to; I knocked Andrew unconscious and Michael disposed of him. It’s been a point of contention between us. I lift up my chin. ‘No.’ I want to add that Michael didn’t abduct Dahlia and turn her into an unwilling bloodguzzler either but that would be giving away too much.

‘I see the look in your eyes,’ he hisses. ‘You despise me. You think I’m weak.’ He shakes his head. ‘You’re the one who’s weak and you’re bringing every other Family down with you. What do you think will happen when you start meeting the humans halfway? When the Families give up the power that they’ve fought for centuries? You’re just a little girl, you have no idea what you’re doing.’ He towers over me. ‘You’ll bring us all down.’

‘You can’t live in the nineteenth century forever. If you don’t compromise, every vampire is doomed.’

‘Compromise? We’re the most powerful beings on this planet. We don’t compromise.’

I think of X. ‘Vampires aren’t the most powerful and you know it. But I’m not here to discuss that. Terence Miller,’ I remind him. ‘Where is he?’

‘I don’t fucking know.’

There’s a muffled crash and a scream outside. The door behind me rattles and I leap out of the way as the lock splinters and it springs open. A thunderous looking Michael glares at us.

‘Hi there!’ I chirp. He’s early. Why couldn’t he have waited another five sodding minutes?

Moneypenny appears behind him. ‘I’m sorry, my Lord. He wouldn’t take no for an answer. He just barged in…’

Medici holds up his hand. ‘It doesn’t matter. Leave us.’

She squeaks out something that might have been ‘as you wish’ and disappears.

‘I might have guessed,’ he sneers. ‘Where the dwarf goes, you won’t be far behind, Montserrat. You should stop hanging onto her apron strings.’

‘Let her go,’ Michael growls.

I roll my eyes heavenward. ‘I’m not his prisoner. We’re having a conversation.’ I look at Michael pointedly. ‘Could you give us a few more minutes?’

‘You asked me to come.’

‘No,’ I snap, ‘I asked you to be around for back up. Not to smash your way in here like a battering ram. I’m not a damsel in distress, I’m trying to do my sodding job.’

‘You should have spoken to me first.’

I sigh, exasperated. ‘How many times do I have to say it? You’re not my boss.’

Medici chuckles. Michael and I turn and stare at him. ‘Look at you two,’ he says. ‘You should get a room, you know.’

‘We’re friends.’

Medici nods. ‘Right. Of course you are.’

‘Where is Terence Miller?’ I ask again. With Michael’s arrival, I feel my control of the situation slipping but I’m not going to leave without the information I came for.

My good Samaritan, now sporting a rather unsightly bruise, appears at the door, gasping for breath. ‘My Lord, the Blackman woman. She’s here. She…’ His eyes fall on me and his voice falters. He also notices that the door is hanging off its hinges.

‘Hey,’ I say. ‘Sorry about earlier. It wasn’t personal.’

His eyes swing to Medici who appears vaguely irritated. ‘Joseph, find out for me if we have a Terence née Miller, will you?’

‘Yes, my Lord.’

I raise an eyebrow. He has them well trained. ‘Thank you,’ I say as poor Joseph departs to do his bidding.

‘Let’s get one thing straight, Blackman,’ Medici says. ‘You have broken into my house. You have defiled my Family name.’ Michael opens his mouth to speak but Medici jabs a thumb in his direction. ‘You are no better.’ His eyes harden. ‘We are not friends. I have no wish to do you any favours. If what you say is true, I shall deal with this Terence myself.’

‘Actually, if you have him, it would be better if you handed him over.’

‘The law hasn’t changed while we’ve been talking, has it? We still maintain Family rights?’

I curse inwardly. Foxworthy will kill me if Miller is the perp and we don’t get to speak to him. ‘Yes,’ I say through gritted teeth, ‘but…’

‘Then there are no buts.’ Medici strokes his chin. ‘How did you get in here with no one noticing?’

I press my lips together. He’ll find the trapdoor and the wall I bulldozed my way through easily enough. It doesn’t mean I need to spell it out for him, though.

‘You’re a very irksome child,’ he tells me.

I shrug. ‘You wouldn’t have talked to me if I’d tried to make an appointment.’

‘You are probably right.’ He looks at Michael. ‘You should keep better control of your people.’

‘She doesn’t belong to me,’ Michael replies. I almost stagger back in exaggerated shock. ‘Anyway, my people don’t go around raping and killing defenceless women.’

‘My vampires are not defenceless,’ Medici spits.

Maybe I should tell them that it might not have been the vampires’ fault if they became victims. If Miller had O’Connell’s special handcuffs, as I suspect, they couldn’t have guarded themselves against him. But at that moment Joseph returns, awkwardly clearing his throat.

‘Well?’ Medici demands. ‘Is he one of ours?’

‘He applied, my Lord. At the last minute the recruiter decided he wasn’t suitable. There was too much,’ Joseph swallows, ‘anger inside him.’

Medici looks at us, satisfied. ‘Our recruitment policy holds true. Better than I can say for yours, Montserrat. That stupid girl you took on caused all these problems between us.’

I’m about to respond that no one could have foreseen Nikki’s actions but Michael jabs me in the ribs. ‘Do you have an address for him? Terence Miller?’ he asks.

Medici speaks before Joseph can breathe a word. ‘Don’t give it to them. I will deal with this Miller myself. He will learn what it means to cross the Medici Family.’

Shit. Shit. Shit. I’m not going to let that happen. Miller might not even be the perp; right now, he’s only a suspect. I step back, angling myself appropriately. Just as it dawns on Joseph what I’m about to do and he tries to move away, I snatch the piece of paper he’s holding. 23 Arton Road. I rip off the address and stuff it into my mouth, chewing until I can swallow the damn thing. Let him find it now.

Medici gives me an exasperated look. ‘Joseph, print out another copy of that, will you?’ My heart drops. I’m a total idiot. ‘It’s daylight, Ms Blackman, and you’re barely three months old. How do you think you’ll reach Miller before I do?’

I close my eyes briefly. The bloody vampire Lord has a point. ‘23 Arton Road,’ I tell Michael. ‘Phone Inspector Foxworthy.’

Michael watches me with hooded eyes. ‘I will. What are you going to do?’

I reach up onto my tiptoes and peck him on the cheek. ‘Run, of course,’ I say. Then I push Joseph out of the way and sprint.

*

I know where I’m going this time but, alerted to my presence either by the noise or Joseph and Miss Moneypenny, the corridors are now full of Medici bloodguzzlers. The first ones I reach are so surprised that I get past them without incident but when Medici roars, the others spring into action. One female vamp grabs hold of my sleeve. I pull away from her and run. A large, burly bloodguzzler steps into my path so I dive and slide through the gap between his legs. I curve my ankle round his leg once I’m through and catch him off balance; he crashes to the floor.

‘The bigger they are, the harder they fall,’ I mutter.

There’s a stampede of feet as the others charge after me. I twist right, making it to the staircase. Instead of running down the stairs, I leap up, angle my toes forward and slide down the banister on my feet. Before I reach the end I jump off, gaining an extra couple of metres on my pursuers. I’ll need them if I’m going to get the trapdoor open again.

I pick up speed as I hurtle down the corridor. I yank the small table and vase down behind me to make another barrier and fling myself into the last room, slamming the door shut behind me. There’s no lock, but I grab one of the boxes and push it against the door. It won’t hold more than a few seconds.

Ripping up the rug, I open the trapdoor, drop down and land next to my improvised ladder. Then I run to the hole in the wall. It’s a good thing I’m petite; the hole won’t be large enough for most of the Medici vampires to get through. I dive forward, hands outstretched so I can wriggle through as quickly as possible.

I’ve almost made it when I feel an iron grip around my boot. I pull frantically, trying to free myself, but my captor is too sodding strong. I’m still tugging, aware that I’m losing the tussle, when I feel the boot loosen. I reach back and unfasten the side zip. My foot is free. With one sock flapping, I run unevenly down the tunnel and back to the train line. I can hear shouts and curses behind me, together with falling plaster as the Medici vampires smash their way through the wall.

I crash into the door at the end, my palms sweaty as I twist the doorknob to pull it open. There’s a rush of air as a train whizzes past. I brace myself then, the second the last carriage is upon me, I jump. I grab hold of the train’s door in the nick of time, clinging on with all my might. The pale face of a commuter stares out at me in shock but I ignore him, twisting round as a horde of Medici vampires burst out of the door I just exited. Several of them run in the direction of the train, but they won’t catch up with me now. I give them a wave, grinning as they’re swallowed up by the darkness. Then I reach down and pull off my other boot. I’ll run faster without it.

And if I’m going to get to Arton Road before Medici and his goons, I’m going to have to run fast.

Chapter Sixteen: Burn

The train screeches to a halt as it arrives at the next station. I’m on the wrong line for Arton Road but I can change here. I can travel quickly using the underground network but it’s rush hour and I’ve got hundreds of commuters against me. And I’ve no idea what on earth I’ll do when I reach my destination. It’s a good two or three hundred metres from the station entrance to Miller’s house. In theory I can cover that distance in seconds but the sun is out and I’ll self-combust almost immediately.

Concentrating on getting as close as I can, I vault onto the platform. It’s densely packed with people and, while the majority wait patiently for other passengers to disembark before they push onto the train, many are none too impressed as I squeeze past them, banging into elbows and warm bodies. It doesn’t take long for someone to spot that I’m not human and shout out; immediately others jump to the side and clear a path. They might be moving out of my way for the wrong reasons but it’s damn helpful.

I abandon the escalator in favour of the stairs, taking the steps four at a time. I swerve round a woman who has her nose buried in her Kindle as she ambles slowly towards me and I reach the top quickly. Unfortunately, my timing is awful: another trainload of passengers is coming down the corridor and out into the waiting world. I have to fight another tidal surge of humanity to cross the station and get to the platform I require.

As I round the corner, more people flood in my direction. I curse loudly, ignoring the startled – then fearful – looks I receive in return. ‘I’m a fucking bloodguzzler!’ I yell. ‘Get out of the way!’

This time it doesn’t work. Instead, everyone who hears me freezes. Those with earphones don’t and start colliding with others in a bizarre rendition of fairground dodgems. There are just too many damn people. I glance up, noting the fluorescent strip lights bolted to the ceiling. It’ll slow me down and I may well end up arse over tit, but anything will be faster than continuing to push against the crowds. I take a deep breath and launch upwards, grabbing the long bulb with my hands. I shimmy along, ignoring the searing burn in my palms. When I reach the end of the first one, I swing my legs to gain enough momentum to leap to the next. My socks scuff heads and several people shriek; I’m not sure if it’s because I’m ruining their city hairdos or because they’re worried about what damage a vampire’s feet will do to them.

I drop down as the crowds start to thin. The next staircase down to the platform is a few feet away. I hear the rumble of another train pulling in and I know I only have seconds. I pull my limbs back and fling my body forward. The second my toes touch the top step, I sail into the air and clear the first flight of stairs in one jump. I spring forward and do the same to the next, before pelting round the corner just as the train doors begin to close. I make it just in time, knocking down one poor man as I smash into his. The doors shut and the train slides off.

I help the man to his feet, apologising profusely. He blinks at me. ‘You’re a vampire.’

Out of the corner of my eye, I note the people around me flinch away. ‘Yes,’ I pant, trying to catch my breath. ‘I am.’

He squints. ‘You’re Bo Blackman. The one who left her Family.’

Shit. ‘That’s me. A lone wolf. But,’ I add hastily, ‘I can still call on plenty of back up if I need it. In case you were thinking of trying anything.’

He laughs. ‘No. But could you give me your autograph?’

I start. ‘What?’

‘Your autograph. You’ll be on the cover of
Time
before you know it and I want to prove I met you in person.’

‘Er…’ I’m completely nonplussed. Unable to dredge up a good reason to refuse, I agree. ‘Okay.’

He takes a pen out of his briefcase and hands it to me.