Ripper (23 page)

“
Dove sei stato per tutta la mia vita
?” he asked, his dark eyes warm and his lips curling into a smile meant strictly for me.

I had no idea what he was saying, but I liked the way he said it.

“What the hell was that about, Marcus?” Zack asked, though he was still looking at me.

Marcus curled my arm around his. He shrugged negligently. “The wolf and I had a small difference of opinion. You should tell your master that the wolves are getting restless. He will have problems with them.”

“And you? Were you intending to let that wolf tear you apart?” Zack asked.

“He would not have been allowed to do so,” Marcus said in a low, seductive voice. “Kelsey would never have allowed the big bad wolf to harm me. I was perfectly safe.”

Zack’s eyes narrowed as he looked at us. “Yes, I think she can hold her own. You’re lucky you took that check from Dev or I’d be forced to kick your butt for carrying in here. As long as you’re working for the boss, you’ll be allowed a gun in the club. Now, I think it’s late. I’ve been informed to call Stacy at the club and make arrangements for you to meet with her tomorrow night.” Zack held out his hand. “Let me have your cell. I’ll program my number in and you can call me if you need anything.”

I reached in my bag and pulled the phone out.

The wolf quickly entered his numbers and handed it back. “I need to get home. My wife is going to have my head staying out so late. My daughter won’t go to sleep until I kiss her good night, so Lisa is dealing with one cranky baby girl. Why don’t you escort Ms. Atwood home? She has a big day ahead of her tomorrow.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Marcus said. “Come along, Kelsey.”

I was tired and I’d gotten everything I was going to get out of tonight. I had four of five girls ID’d and an invitation to get into the club. It was probably time to call it a night.

“Do I get to ride in the Bentley?” That was one sweet car.

“If that is your preference, then certainly.” He led me out of the lounge.

It was getting late and the crowd was starting to thin out. I wondered if Gray had already gone to bed, if he’d already forgotten about me. Maybe he’d called up an old girlfriend.

“You are thinking of the demon?” Marcus’s face was a polite mask once more.

“No,” I lied. “I was thinking about the case. Maybe Quinn is wrong and I should talk openly about it. Maybe if the wolves knew it couldn’t be a vampire they would back off.”

“I doubt it,” the vampire replied, patting my arm. “That small faction of wolves wouldn’t be swayed by your evidence. If they discovered there had been murders and they had been conducted during daylight hours they would simply accuse me or the king himself.”

I thought about what I hadn’t told the vampire. Maybe it was time for full disclosure. “What if they knew the murders were being committed by a copycat?”

Marcus stopped. “Who is the murderer copying?”

“This is so cliché,” I said with a sigh. “He could try being a little more original. He seems to like his murders old school, this guy. He’s gone back to the original, if you know what I mean. He’s pretending to be Jack the Ripper.”

Any color Marcus had drained quickly.

“That’s bad?”

“Oh, Kelsey,” Marcus said with a shake of his head. “That’s bad for all of us. I doubt he is performing the killings himself since some have been in daylight, but if he isn’t involved it will be a miracle.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“His name is Alexander Sharpe.”

“Joanne met with an Alexander on a couple of occasions.” I got that thrill that came with knowing I was on the right track.

“I’m sure she did.”

“Why are you so sure he’s involved?”

“Because Alexander Sharpe was Jack the Ripper,” Marcus replied simply. “Now, he is a vampire. He might also be the one who brings down the king.”

Chapter Ten

“Seriously?” I stopped almost in the middle of the dance floor. “Jack the Ripper is a vampire?”

Marcus gave me a stern look and pulled me along. “Keep your voice down, Kelsey. There are always ears listening here. We can talk about this in the car. Wait for me at the bar. I must go and retrieve my keys. Try not to cause trouble.”

“I didn’t try to cause trouble before,” I said, aware of the grumpiness in my attitude.

The vampire ran his index finger along the curve of my cheek. “You don’t have to try,
bella
. I’m certain that trouble simply follows you.”

“Well, I hid from it for about ten years, so maybe it’s making up for lost time¸” I replied with a sad smile.

Marcus ordered the bartender to attend me with an imperious wave of his hand. “Give my
bella ragazza
anything she would like. I will return shortly.”

I managed to hop up on the barstool with minimum effort. I’d practiced the move a lot. “How about a cup of coffee?”

What can I say? I was trying to do what the vampire wanted of me. I was trying to be good. Something about Marcus Vorenus calmed me. I wanted my head perfectly clear for our ride home and not because I worried he would try something. I enjoyed talking to him. He seemed to accept that I was a hot mess and perversely it made me less of one.

The bartender poured a cup and I let the smell wash over me as I tugged off my heels. I let my poor toes breathe for the first time in hours.

“Hello.” A deep voice caught my attention. I looked up as a man slid onto the stool beside me.

I took a quick sip of coffee. The new guy sent a smile my way. The bartender didn’t even try to offer him anything. I wondered if we were getting close to last call. “Hi.”

“I’m Michael.”

“Good for you.” I pulled out my phone. It was almost 3:00 a.m. No wonder I was tired.

“I haven’t seen you around here before.” His voice was all kinds of dark chocolate deep, and I sensed his infinite patience. “A pretty girl like you, I would have noticed. Are you from out of town?”

“I’m from suburbia.” I was a little shocked by the growing revelation that I was getting hit on. When it rained it poured. I turned to the newcomer and took him in. He appeared to be roughly twenty-five, with naturally wholesome good looks. His hair was a medium brown and his eyes green. He was pretty and if I hadn’t been surrounded by manly men like Gray and Marcus, I likely would have been totally taken in. “Vampire?”

“Only if you like vampires, honey,” came his sure reply. “Why don’t you let me buy you a drink and we can discuss the situation.”

Yep, he was a vampire all right. I was all about the vamp tonight. “I’m pretty sure my escort would have a problem with that.”

“Escort, huh? You’re definitely new here,” Michael said with a satisfied smile. “As I happen to know no one’s managed to get through the approval process lately, you’re fair game.” I felt a warm rush across my skin. “Let’s go back to my place. I’ll take good care of you. You’ll like me, honey.”

I could hear his voice inside my head. It whispered to me and told me all the ways he would care for me. Surprisingly, sex was only a part of it. He wanted to take care of me, to see to my needs and ensure my happiness. I wouldn’t have to do anything but allow him to make me happy. His magic was warm and soothing and I wasn’t having it. Remembering how I’d shoved the guy out of my head before, I mentally threw a wall up and the whispering stopped.

Michael jerked back. “How did you do that?”

Before I could answer, Michael was out of his barstool and being tossed across two sets of tables. Luckily the place was close to empty and Michael hit the ground yards from where he’d started. Marcus bore down on him like a hawk after a bunny.

“You think to take what I’ve claimed?
Figlio di puttana
!”

Michael had the good sense to try to placate the enraged vampire. His hands were out defensively as he got to his feet. “I’m so sorry, Marcus. I didn’t know you had taken a lover.”

“And my Kelsey did not mention this fact to you?” His tightly controlled body turned to me and I was really glad I could answer him with complete honesty.

“I told him my escort would be mad.” I didn’t bother getting out of my chair. Marcus had this one handled.

The vampire shook his head like I’d explained something. “You’ll have to excuse my mistress. She’s new and has not had time to fully understand our ways. I will, of course, tutor her.”

“What did I do wrong?” I asked, curious because Marcus’s rage was deflating.

“An escort is merely a date.” Marcus smoothed out the lines of suit. He walked over to me and helped me down. Without my heels, I was significantly shorter than the vampire. With the shoes we’d been almost evenly matched, but now he looked down on me and I got the feeling he liked being taller. “The proper word to explain my relationship to you is master.”

I couldn’t help it. I snorted. It was not an attractive sound. “As if.”

Marcus’s lips curled up in what I took for a sign of his amusement. “It’s a euphemism, of course. Everyone knows who the true master in the relationship is.”

Michael had picked himself up and looked like a kicked puppy. “Sorry. I thought…”

“You thought she was alone,” Marcus allowed. “You thought she was soft and beautiful and if she was here and alone then she was looking.”

“I thought I’d hit the jackpot,” Michael said with a sad shrug. “Guess I’ll go to the club for dinner. I hate that damn club. What do I have to do, Marcus? I’ve tried three times to get women approved and I get turned down. I’m sick of being alone.”

Marcus looked at the younger vampire, compassion in his dark eyes. “I understand. I’ll talk to the king tomorrow. I have several females in my employ back home in Venice. They would love to have a vampire for a lover. Their families served me for centuries. Would you like to meet one of them?”

Michael perked up fast. “Seriously, you would do that for me?”

“I would, if only to keep your eyes off my lovely Kelsey,” Marcus said with a slight bow.

Michael grinned and nodded my way. “Well, I can look at her all I like, but I promise I won’t try persuasion on her anymore. She kicked me out of her head faster than I could start my proposal. What is she? Is she a witch? She’s damn powerful.”

“Yes, she is,” Marcus murmured and he quickly assured Michael he would get back to him about the woman and led me off.

He strode toward the door of the club, sweeping me along in my bare feet. The doorman nodded as Marcus hurried through. I jogged to keep up with him.

“Are you upset with me?” He was suddenly in a big hurry to end our evening. I pulled back. Maybe he’d figured out how bad traffic could be and he didn’t want to drive thirty to forty-five minutes to take me home. “Look, Vorenus, I’ll call a cab if it’s too much trouble.”

He continued on, not looking back at me and I’d had enough. I planted both feet and ceased moving. The vampire turned, his eyes flaring with anger. I pulled my hand out of his.

“What did I do?” Where had I gone wrong this time? At least I’d understood how I pissed Gray off. Was Marcus that upset that I’d gotten some words wrong? It didn’t seem like that would make him mad, but I didn’t understand protocol.

“I’m not an idiot, Ms. Atwood.” The vampire’s eyes seemed to rake over me, and there was no admiration in them. “Perhaps I am since I spent the evening mooning over a
piccola puttana
. Tell Devinshea his plan did not work.”

“What does that mean?” I pulled away from the man I’d been becoming friends with. I should have walked away, but I wanted to know what he’d called me. I had a sneaking suspicion and it made my heart hurt. Stupid that I’d gotten so close to him in the course of a few hours. “If you want to insult me at least do it in a language I understand. Be a man. What did you call me?”

“Little whore.”

I’d wanted to see what he was like when his guard was down and I was getting it in full measure now.

I reached out and slapped him full on across the face, enjoying the satisfying crack of flesh against flesh. I pulled myself up to my full height and really wished I’d worn something other than a stupid dress. I’d have felt less vulnerable if I’d worn jeans and a T-shirt. I would have been myself and I would have remembered to not trust people. I’d stared at myself in the mirror at Gray’s place and thought that looking pretty made me pretty, but it didn’t. I was still my father’s daughter and I still couldn’t find someone to accept me as I was.

“Fuck you, vampire,” I said with all the anger I could manage through the hurt. When the hell was I going to learn? I tried to stalk past him. I would get to the garage with as much dignity as I had left and I would call a cab. I hoped I had enough cash. I doubted they would take my IOU until I could cash the faery’s check.

“Tell me you’re not working for the prince.” Marcus grabbed my arm.

“I’m not telling you anything except good-bye.”

“You seriously expect me to believe that you are innocent? That you aren’t working with him?”

“I don’t give a shit what you believe. Let me go.” I managed to get my arm out of his hold.

“You’re a witch with the power to avoid persuasion,” the vampire accused. “Persuasion is my talent, but you know that. You’re the perfect person to send to me. You can tell your boss that until I hear the words from the king, I won’t leave. If the king wants me gone then I’ll go, but Devinshea can’t trick me into doing something to get me banished. He’ll have to try something else.”