Make Me (25 page)

“What did you find out?” my former boyfriend asked. Well, I thought he was my boyfriend at the time. Turned out his definition of commitment meant, “Until demon us do part.” Lola had sent him running.

I stopped on the sidewalk outside and lowered my voice. “The fire demon isn’t here, just his sister. But we think a local succubus is controlling him.”

Dan’s hands clenched into fists. He had no defenses against a lust demon and knew it. “Who? Do you know where she is?”

“Probably at her club,” I said.

He looked really stressed out. “You think that’s where she’s holding my sister?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. The kidnapper did want to meet there to do the exchange.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

“Wait a minute,” Austin said. “If she has a lot of demons in her thrall, it might be difficult to rescue them. We need backup.”

“There’s no time for that,” Dan snapped.

“Backup is coming,” I told them. “A water demon and others who can help.” The Memory Eater, especially, should be a major weapon.

“How long will it take them?” Dan barked.

“Let me find out.” I called Tessa and she told me they’d just left San Antonio. “They should be here in about an hour, sooner if David speeds. Let me tell him to meet us there. It’ll take us half an hour to get there, anyway.”

I texted Pia since David was driving, and got a note saying they’d be there.

“Okay,” Dan said. “Where is this place?”

“You can follow us,” Austin offered.

“Good. But Val will ride with me. I want to know everything she knows.”

Austin smirked at Dan’s obvious attempt to separate me from the bad vampire’s influence, but didn’t say anything. He tipped his hat to me then got in his car. Fang and I climbed into Dan’s vampire-proof Dodge Ram. I’m sure Dan felt safer there, since the truck was coated in silver and vampires couldn’t touch it without burning themselves.

I told Dan as much as I could, but left out the part about the Memory Eater. Sheesh. Now Micah even had me keeping secrets for him. But if she still freaked me out a bit, how would Dan react?

BADLY, IS MY GUESS, Fang said.

Mine, too.

We arrived at the club and found two parking spaces fairly near each other. I got out and Fang followed me.

“Where are you going?” Dan asked.

“I assume we want to plan this out, and since Austin can’t touch your truck without frying, we’ll need to sit in his car.”

Dan grumbled but got out and slammed the door. We walked to Austin’s car and Fang and I got in the back. Lola was still a bit edgy, so letting either of these guys get inside her field wasn’t a good idea.

Dan got in the front and turned around to glare at me. “What if she’s not here? We could be wasting our time waiting for backup.”

“Well, there’s one way to find out,” Austin said. He got out of the car and covered the short distance to the bar in long, easy strides. He went inside, but returned fairly quickly.

“Is she there?” Dan asked.

“No. Dina isn’t performing tonight, and the woman at the door said she’s probably at home.”

“Did you get an address?” Dan asked.

Austin tipped his hat back and grinned. “Well, the little lady didn’t want to give it to me, but I managed to convince her.” He handed a napkin with writing on it to Dan.

I wondered if he’d controlled her mind or if he’d won it from her with his natural charm. He could definitely be charming when it suited him.

Fang snorted. DON’T TELL ME YOU HAVE THE HOTS FOR AUSTIN.

Don’t be ridiculous. He’s a vampire—one of the undead.
It was Lola who had the hots for him. As she did for every man.

SOME MORE THAN OTHERS.

Shut up.

Dan and Austin both plugged the address into their map apps. “Is it near that Mexican restaurant?” I asked.

Dan shook his head. “No, but that doesn’t mean anything. The kidnapper could have called from anywhere, to try and throw us off.”

I reached for the napkin. “Here, let me have that. I’ll tell David there’s a change in plans.”

“Okay.” Dan slapped the dashboard and glanced at Austin. “Let’s go. You drive, I’ll navigate.”

Austin grinned, but did as Dan told him. As we drove to Dina’s house, we made a plan of sorts. I warned Dan I’d have to use Lola on him before any confrontation to keep Dina from enthralling him. He didn’t like it, but at least he saw the necessity.

We pulled up a couple of houses away from Dina’s address in a nice neighborhood. “Do you sense anything, Fang?”

NO. BUT LIGHTS ARE ON IN SOME OF THE WINDOWS.

Yeah, I’d noticed that. “Fang doesn’t sense anything,” I told the men.

“Why don’t you ring the doorbell and we’ll hide on either side?” Dan asked.

“It wouldn’t do any good,” I explained. “You’re men. She’ll be able to sense you, and it will make her suspicious. Remember, we want her to think we don’t suspect her.”

Dan and I had voted not to wait on backup. Since Dina was at home, she wouldn’t have the same firepower to draw on as she would at the club. With any luck, she’d be alone. “Okay, I’m going to have Lola grab onto you now,” I warned Dan. Austin didn’t seem to mind, but I knew Dan would hate it.

I slid Lola’s tendrils into both of them slowly, more cautious than I’d ever been before. Interesting. Austin’s chakras were wide open and welcoming, but Dan’s were stiff and tight. I left them in control of their actions, but held on just enough so that Dina couldn’t get her hooks into them.

They stood behind and slightly to the side of me as I rang the doorbell. It took a few moments, but Dina opened the door wearing a negligee I wouldn’t be caught dead in—baby blue with ruffles and flowers and girly things all over it. And she was showing off that cleavage she was so proud of.

JEALOUS? Fang asked.

Hardly.
Boobs that big would just get in the way.

“Oh, look,” she mocked. “It’s the Slayer, and she’s brought along a couple of snacks. For me?”

How many men did she need, for heaven’s sake? I knew power like this could be heady and addictive, but it was also a great responsibility. One she didn’t seem to know how to handle.

I ignored her attempt to get my goat. And my guys. “No. We have some more questions about the kidnapping and thought you might be able to help us.”

She opened the door wider and pulled someone to her side with a malicious smile. Shade, dressed in nothing but jeans, with bare feet and a defiant expression. My heart clenched.

BOY, SHE REALLY DOESN’T LIKE YOU, Fang said.

No news there. I glanced at Shade, but all he did was glare at me. The hell of it was, I wasn’t sure why. Did he think I was barging in, checking up on him, not trusting him to do his job? Or was it something more personal?

“Do come in,” Dina cooed and waved us to an elegant living room that looked like something straight out of the 1920s, with lots of white, glass, curves, and other Art Deco touches. Business must be doing well. “But not him,” she said, pointing at Fang with a frown. “I don’t want him shedding dog hair all over my house.”

I CAN’T HELP IT, Fang said, sounding embarrassed.

She was just trying to get his goat now, and so I told him
. Ignore her.
Maybe you can sort of check the place out while we talk. Let me know what she’s thinking while you’re at it.

YEAH, AND I’M GONNA SHED ALL OVER EVERYTHING. MAYBE EVEN DO SOMETHING MORE RUDE.

I bit back a laugh and followed Dina into the living room. She plopped down in the love seat and petted Shade like he was a toy dog. The contact ensured that I could look straight into his eyes. Austin and Dan both gave me warning looks, but I knew better than to react. That’s what she wanted.

I DON’T SENSE ANY OTHER DEMONS IN THE HOUSE, Fang reported.

Good.

“So, what do you want this time?” she asked. “I told you I don’t know anything about the kidnapping.” She suddenly froze. “Do you have information that someone is after me?”

I wanted to let her believe that, I really did, but it wasn’t part of the plan. “No, but we have reason to believe the kidnapper is one of your demons—a man.”

“Ridiculous,” she said, relaxing. “My men don’t do anything without my knowledge.”

And that was the problem.
What is she thinking?
I asked Fang.

NOTHING USEFUL. I CAN ONLY CATCH SURFACE THOUGHTS. ASK HER SOMETHING ELSE.

“Well, in case someone slipped by you, I wondered if you’d listen to a message, see if you recognize the voice.” If she did, maybe she’d think about where my friends were being held.

She shrugged. “Why not?” Dina thrust her hand out imperiously, demanding the phone.

I brought up the voice mail and played it.

She frowned. “It does sound familiar, but I’m not sure…” Then her eyes widened and she jumped to her feet, screaming, “You idiot!”

What the hell? Everyone else jumped to their feet, except for Shade.

Dina threw the phone at me and missed. Austin caught it, thank heavens.

Dina raved, “I should have known.”

“Known what?” I asked, confused. This hadn’t gone at all like I expected.

“That’s the mage demon I sent to New Orleans.”

Oh, crap.