Steal the Day (30 page)

“I promise I am stake free.” I would never bother to carry a stake. They were far too easy to find in the field.

Kim stared at me, a surprised look in her eyes. “You threatened to stake Marcus?”

“He pissed me off. So did some dude named Ivan and like five other fangs. It was a rough night.”

“Sounds like it. I’ve heard a couple of rumors about you. I hope you don’t think me impolite, but I have to ask. Is it true you’re a criminal?” Kim leaned in, waiting for my answer.

“I prefer to think of myself as a liberator of enslaved objects. If I make a profit off of it, then everybody wins.” Except the mark, of course, but that went without saying.

“That is so cool.” Kim asked Zack for another drink. “I wish I could do something like that. I was a fourth grade teacher when I was kidnapped and sold to the highest bidder. Did that come off as bitter? I meant it that way.”

“Now, Kimberly, someone would think you are not content,” Marcus commented.

Kim smiled mysteriously. “Well, I was lucky. Henri’s not so bad. But the other companions are boring sheep, so don’t be surprised I’m excited by the possibility of having someone cool to talk to.”

“So what are we supposed to do at something like this?” From what I could see, the men were either talking business or staring at strippers, and the women were busy viewing each other with a sort of controlled hostility.

“I believe you are supposed to look beautiful and remain silent, but you aren’t going to do that, are you?” Marcus seemed excited at the prospect of me behaving badly. It made me wonder what type of women Marcus usually hung out with.

I opened my clutch and pulled out one of the ten hundred dollar bills Dev had made sure I had. I flashed it at Zack. “Hey, can you break that into fives for me?”

“Normally no, but I will certainly do it for you,” Zack replied and was handing over a bundle of fresh cash.

I looked at Kim with a gleam in my eye. “Want to go stuff fives in a stripper’s G-string?”

“Do you think we could get a lap dance?” She started looking around the room.

“I bet Marcus here could arrange that for us,” I said in my most flirtatious voice.

Marcus took a deep breath and held a hand out to let us lead the way. “Ladies, I assure you, if I was capable of having a heart attack, I would.”

As almost all female patrons are in a strip club, Kim and I were a big hit with the strippers. I also think it helped that we were the only non-vampires offering up cash. Kim and I were halfway through our first round of fives when the music was turned off suddenly, and all eyes turned toward the stage. Roman walked out, a microphone in his hand.

“Gentlemen, welcome to Descent,” Roman said, his voice a flat monotone. “I have been instructed that there will be an offering this evening, followed by a formal presentation.”

I heard Kim’s sharp intake of breath. Her skin drained of color as a fine tremble began.

“Ladies, let’s find your husbands.” Marcus drew me from my seat, his hand cupping my elbow, pulling me away from the stage.

All around me there was a sudden buzz in the air.

“What does that mean?” I’d never heard the terms before. Niko had mentioned he wanted to talk about Daniel’s presentation. Was something happening with Danny?

Marcus didn’t have to lead me far. Daniel was at my side very quickly, grabbing my hand.

“It means that a new companion has been discovered, and she’ll be offered for auction tonight,” Daniel explained, his face scanning the crowd as if looking for something to go wrong. “It’s time for you to head back up to the suite. I’ll have Neil meet you at the elevator. I have to stay in case there’s trouble.”

Marcus laid a hand on Daniel’s arm. “She should see, Daniel. This is her world now. The position you wish her to have is not one for the weak or faint of heart. She is neither.” Marcus turned to me. “Zoey, the girl will be brought in and auctioned to the highest bidder. There will be a formal presentation. It is a public showing. There is nothing you can do to help this woman. The only thing you can do is cause a great deal of trouble for your husband. Can you watch and not act?”

I nodded, my heart in my throat. I did need to see it. I needed to understand why we were going to fight. I looked at Kim. Her fun was done for the night. “Did you go through this?”

“Yes.” Her eyes trailed toward the stage.

Suddenly there was a blond-haired vampire pulling at Kim’s hand. He was only as tall as Kim and while attractive, it was in a bland sort of way. There was no mistaking his anxiety for his wife.

“Let’s go, Kim,” he said as he tugged her out of her chair. His accent was German or Dutch, perhaps.

He looked around and realized who he was standing next to. He took a huge step back from Daniel but placed himself squarely in front of his wife. “Mr. Donovan, if she has done something to displease you, I would appreciate it if you dealt with me.”

Daniel looked down at the smaller man with an annoyed expression. “What the hell are you talking about, Henri?”

“He isn’t upset with Kim,” Marcus said. “I told you he isn’t someone to be afraid of.”

“I was making friends with his wife, Henri.” Kim’s eyes kept straying to the stage.

Henri stared at me for a moment, but then he shook his head at his wife. “Jesus, Kim, when you look for trouble you find it. No offense, sir.”

Daniel flashed the vampire a genuine smile, and it seemed to startle Henri. “None taken, Henri. She is trouble. But I would appreciate it if you would allow your wife to visit mine. Zoey doesn’t know anyone here. She could use a friend.”

Henri looked to Marcus, who nodded, and the blond vampire seemed to relax a bit. “Of course. Perhaps they could have lunch, but I’ll take her to our room now. She doesn’t need to see this.”

Henri and Kim were gone in a second, disappearing into the crowd. All around us other guests moved in to get close to the stage.

Daniel leaned toward his patron. “Are you going to bid? You could use a companion. You need to be as strong as possible.”

Marcus didn’t take his eyes off the stage. “No. We need to reserve our cash for later. This will get very expensive. It’s been a while since a new companion was discovered.”

“It won’t touch your wealth. You’re not the strongest vampire in the first place. Companion blood would make you strong for the fight.”

“I said no, Daniel,” Marcus returned sharply. “Trust me, this is the right course.”

“Fine.” Daniel glared at his patron. “We’ll do as you wish, but make sure that is your reason, Marcus, and not because you’re pining over something you can’t have.”

I would have asked Daniel what that meant, but a vampire in formal wear took the stage. The auction was about to begin.

Chapter Nineteen

Roman and the staff disappeared, moving like smoke through the room until only the vampires and companions were left. This was a private ritual and no one outside the vampire world was welcome.

We weren’t bidding, so we ended up toward the back of the crowd. Daniel slipped his arm around my waist, pulling me against him. Marcus took up a position on the other side, and we were given a wide berth even as the crowd began to move toward the stage. The women stayed in the background, though very few of them were left. Most of the companions who stayed behind took up seats near the bar, continuing their drinking and soft talk. I was the single female in a sea of eager males, but I was forgotten in the rush to get a look at the fresh meat.

A tall vampire took the stage, his body lean, an elegant predator. A deep voice came over the microphone. “Good evening, gentlemen. I welcome you to the presentation of a new companion. It is an event to be grateful for.”

“His name is Sebastian,” Marcus whispered, indicating the vampire on stage. “He facilitates all of the Council’s public rituals.”

Dressed in a form-fitting tuxedo, Sebastian’s long limbs gestured around the stage in a dramatic fashion. “This companion is offered for auction by Trent Walker. The proceeds will be divided between Mr. Walker and the Council.”

It seemed an odd thing to say. I intended to take advantage of this learning opportunity. “Does this Trent person already have a companion?”

“No. He’s single.” Daniel didn’t look at me, his eyes steady on the stage.

“Why would this Trent person give up rights to her? I thought it was a finders, keepers thing.”

It had been that way between Daniel and me. Daniel was the first vamp to get his fangs in me, and the Council honored his rights. At the time, we had no idea what we were doing. Daniel was hungry, and I was his lover. I’d been lucky Dallas wasn’t a vampire haven. It was just coincidence that I’d never run into a vampire or what had happened to Kim, what was about to happen to this woman, would have been my fate.

“Trent Walker is very young,” Marcus explained. “He serves one of the Council members, which is why he’s here. It’s very likely he found the companion while he was trying to kill time. He couldn’t hold her on his own. A stronger vampire would challenge him, and these challenges are to the death. It’s better that he sells her and takes the finder’s fee. In a couple of hundred years, perhaps he will be strong enough.”

Daniel hugged me tightly to him, and I felt him lay a kiss on my hair. We were thinking the same thing. We might bitch and moan and complain about the cards fate had dealt us, but those aces saved us from so much heartache. Daniel would never have been pragmatic enough to sell me. He would have defended me. He would have died in a duel had he not risen as he had.

“Without further ado,” Sebastian was saying, holding his hand to the stage entrance, “allow me to present the lovely Meredith.”

Two vampires led a woman dressed only in a robe out onto the stage. She seemed dazed and very bewildered, her eyes turning from the bright lights. She didn’t fight, merely allowed them to lead her out, her bare feet shuffling along.

I wondered where she’d been when Trent Walker plucked her from her life. Had she been playing the slots or dancing the night away? I wondered who would be looking for her, missing her.

Sebastian looked down at the woman and smiled. It was the way a snake would smile, if a snake could. He touched her cheek, turning her eyes up to look into his. “Sweet Meredith, welcome to your family.”

Meredith beamed suddenly. “Hello,” she said, and though her voice was shaky, it held no real fear. Sebastian was working some of that good old vampire persuasion on her.

“She’s so young.” Her face held the flush of youth, her skin perfectly smooth.

“I assure you she is of age,” Marcus replied. “If she wasn’t, she would have been flown to Paris and all of this would have taken place in the catacombs. She would have been held at the Council stronghold until she turned eighteen. The Council is careful. The last thing they wish is to involve the human authorities. If anyone finds this woman while she’s here, it will be assumed she has taken a new lover. There will be nothing criminal about her abduction when Sebastian is through. He is very thorough.”

I bet he was. He softly spoke to his victim, a hand on her shoulder, as though she was a beloved daughter. She looked up at him with adoring eyes, agreeing with everything he said. The two vampires who had delivered her were able to retreat. Meredith now took center stage.

“The men at the front are unattached. They’ll be the ones bidding on this companion.” Marcus turned slightly to nod at Daniel. “You should be ready. There will more than likely be trouble. There have been rumblings about the lack of companions. The men, they are hungry.”

Daniel pulled a pair of thick leather gloves out of his pocket. He tugged them over his hands. “If I ask for the sword, Z, please don’t hesitate.”

I nodded. We had decided I should carry the silver sword the Council had gifted him with when he’d become their officially sanctioned assassin. It was some important ancient weapon that only the
Nex Apparatus
could carry. Kelly convinced him it ruined the line of his jacket.

My heart started to thump inside my chest. Vampires surrounded us on every side. If it all went crazy, Daniel would be the one wading into a sea of ancient killers.

The crowd swelled toward the front of the stage as Meredith moved forward. I wondered what Sebastian had her seeing. I wondered if she would remember any of this tomorrow or if she would wake up in some vampire’s bed and wonder how the hell she’d become a blood bank. After Kim’s reaction, I thought not. She would remember everything. Her compliance in the humiliation would make the reality of her situation so much worse.

“Come forward, companion,” Sebastian intoned smoothly. “Come forward and present yourself to your masters. Can you feel their excitement? They want so much to see your sweet flesh, Meredith. Are you going to deny them?”

Meredith shook her head as though such a thing was unthinkable. She shrugged out of her robe and wore nothing beneath it. Her naked body was presented for the debate and discussion of the men who decided just how much she was worth. I felt her degradation like it was my own. Indignation sparked through me, and I felt my face heating up.