Steal the Moon (22 page)

I shook my head because that just seemed silly. “Can you take me to Mr. Quinn?”

“Yes, mistress,” she replied. “Those are my orders. If you will follow me, he’s waiting for you. Don’t let your eyes stray too far. Things can fool you in here. The building itself wants you to stay. It will do what it can to trap you.”

Jumping down from the barstool, I began to follow the blonde, not taking my eyes off her back. “How do you manage it?”

She glanced behind at me. “After a while, the magic recognizes you and stops trying to trap you. It’s there for humans who wander in and could cause trouble. If you wander in uninvited, you really should expect to never leave. It’s our way.”

It wasn’t my way. I thought some helpful bouncers might be just as effective, or maybe a well-placed exit sign. Several times a year, some adventurous human found their way down to Ether, but the club certainly didn’t try to catch them and hope a club member needed some dinner. Our bouncers politely told the humans to go away. If they showed up more than once, one of the witches put the whammy on them and they forgot all about the experience. And though some of the plants in the grotto might shoot out from the walls and hold me down, it was always a nice experience. I doubted getting caught up in this strange place would ever end nicely.

It was difficult to keep my eyes straight because things kept happening just out of my peripheral vision. Little flashes of color or movement would try to catch my eye. Little whispers bid me to leave the path. A silky voice in my head promised great pleasure if I just snuck behind one of the doors.

Stacy took my hand and pulled firmly. “Ignore it.”

I held on because I didn’t dare let her leave me behind. I was going to kick some vampire ass when I got out of this place because I really didn’t like being as scared I was in that moment.

Stacy smiled at me, and I didn’t like the way her lips curved up. It looked a little like victory, and I hadn’t realized we were playing a game. It was another mistake on my part. She opened a door and pushed me in.

“Here she is, master,” she said. “Just as you ordered.”

“Excellent.” Louis Marini sat in a wing-backed chair.

The door closed behind me, and I suddenly wasn’t worried about what the house would do to me anymore.

Chapter Thirteen

The problem with covert operations is the fact that everything is so damn secretive. It can be almost impossible to tell who knows what and how to react properly to a situation. The last thing you want to do is give away valuable information when the mark is really only trying to size you up a little.

There are three ways to handle a situation like the one I found myself in after nasty bitch Stacy led me into the lion’s den. I could cry and beg and hope Marini didn’t really know anything and was just looking for a forbidden snack. I could assume the bastard knew everything and I was about to get my ass drained. That scenario called for me to find the nearest available piece of wood and try to get it really pointy. The third method was to be patient and try to figure out what the hell was going on. While I actually preferred method number two, I settled for a restless patience.

“Mr. Marini, you wanted something from me?” I asked, keeping my voice somewhat steady but letting a little of my fear seep through. Louis Marini struck me as the kind of vampire who liked to be feared. When dealing with a man such as this, it’s always best to provide him with what he wants or he tends to give you something to be afraid of.

Marini sat down on a plush sofa and offered me the seat next to him. I smoothed down the skirt of my dress and tried to sit in as ladylike a fashion as I could while also giving me an opportunity to run should the need arise. I was already thinking of how I could ditch my shoes. Jimmy Choo doesn’t design with speed in mind. One of these days I was going to force the boys to run a mile in my stilettos and see if they still found them sexy.

Marini gave them a glance that told me he approved. “There are many things I would like from you, Mrs. Donovan. I’ll settle for a little conversation.”

“I thought we already had a little conversation this evening.”

Marini regarded me thoughtfully. “No, we had a small exchange in which your lover controlled the dialogue. The men in your life are carefully controlling you around me. I noticed how the prince brought the conversation back to himself whenever you seemed to be ready to show any kind of personality.”

“Perhaps the prince is simply extremely self-centered.”

“Perhaps,” Marini allowed with a frown that said he didn’t believe it. “Royals tend to believe the world revolves around them, but I think he’s protecting something. I don’t know what that is, but I would like to. It occurred to me last year that you’re in a powerful position, Mrs. Donovan.”

I couldn’t stop my sharp, somewhat bitter laugh. There was little about a companion that screamed power. We were to be pretty and feed our masters. We were not to cause trouble. “I assure you, Mr. Marini, I understand my place. It’s been made clear to me that I’m property. If this is a chastisement then consider me chastened.”

“And what would I be calling you to account for, Mrs. Donovan? Would it be the demon contract you signed?”

“That was an oral contract,” I pointed out quickly. “I never actually signed anything.”

“Or perhaps using our demon hosts to steal onto the Hell plane and release an angel from a powerful ally’s palace?” His litany came out as an accusation, and I found myself getting defensive.

“Halfer was a crappy ally. He tried to steal your precious
Nex Apparatus
. I doubt he was going to have Daniel teach him arts and crafts. Daniel is a vampire killer. Halfer wanted to take out some vamps. And as for the accusations about setting the angel free, no one can prove that. But I have it on the highest authority that if I had pulled that job, Lucifer himself would have thanked me.” He hadn’t actually said anything vaguely resembling a thank you, but he also hadn’t murdered me. Coming from him, it was practically a hug.

“Do you know the name Donna Johnson?” Marini asked, his tone telling me he already knew the answer.

“I might have heard of her.” It was an alias I used from time to time.

“From what I understand, she’s wanted for questioning in a multiple homicide in a small county in Arkansas. There’s a police sketch of her. She bears a remarkable resemblance to you, though the police can find no actual record of her arrest or that of her strikingly attractive partner. Daniel was forced to call in a clean-up crew after the fact. Daniel did an excellent job on the sheriff, but one of the deputies remembered you. He wanted to call in the FBI. You won’t have any problems now. The cleaners are very thorough. We don’t usually have to send them in to clean up after a companion.” Marini seemed merely curious, but there was an undercurrent to this conversation I obviously didn’t understand yet. “Was your accomplice the prince?”

“Yes.” I replied honestly because he seemed to know everything already. I only lied when I was damn sure I could get away with it. I also needed to protect Chad. He had been the one putting the whammy on the authorities, not Daniel. “I’m sure the Council vetted me before I married Daniel. I’m a thief, Mr. Marini. This is the twenty-first century. A woman tends to keep her career even after she’s married. And just to set the record straight, I didn’t kill those witches. That was another demon. I’ve been completely demon free for seven months. That twelve-step program is working.”

“See, if your prince were here I would not be having this amusing conversation with you,” Marini said. “He would have pulled you or pushed you, and your charming mouth would have closed. Perhaps I would have believed Daniel and the prince were enamored of your mere beauty, but then we come to the problem of Marcus. I’ve known Marcus for almost two thousand years, and not once has he lost his head over a beauty with no brain. Marcus likes the clever ones. Marcus loves the difficult ones. Your husband can try to present you as a lovable piece of fluff, but I think any woman with a criminal record like yours has to have a backbone.”

“I believe you’ll find I don’t have a record of any kind.” I’d worked hard to not have a record. The only time I’d been caught by the cops was in Arkansas and that was because I refused to leave Dev behind.

“I assure you, you have a long record with the Council, and we count far more than any human authorities.” Marini leaned forward. “When Daniel Donovan turned, he was an unassuming college student with a flawless academic record. He might have ambled through school, but he was certainly not planning a life of crime. That happened after he reconnected with you.”

“Or maybe it happened after you turned him into a freaking assassin.” My patience was wearing thin. I stood up and glared down at the head of the Council. “Where is the holier-than-thou attitude coming from, Marini? Are you legit? I’m betting that little girl you chew on every night wasn’t legal when you started gnawing. What’s your record like? Let’s start with murder because I’m betting you’ve gone there and I’m thinking it wasn’t just self-defense. There’s kidnapping and forced prostitution.”

“Prostitutes tend to get paid, Mrs. Donovan. We do not pay our companions.”

“Then let’s call it what it is—slavery. Have you read a history book in the last couple of centuries? That was outlawed a long time ago. I might have a record somewhere, but I’m sure it pales in comparison to the atrocities you’ve committed over the years.”

“You assume I am displeased with you,” Marini said, completely nonplussed with my show of temper. “That’s not the case. I’ve spent the last several months wondering what to do about you, Mrs. Donovan. I thought about arranging for a convenient accident, but I decided against it. I think it might make Daniel difficult to control. You’re the best measure we have against his threat. Any other method requires us to kill him. You alone have the power to force him to comply. I’ve decided to bring you into the fold, so to say.”

Now I was really scared. I didn’t think I would like being in the fold. I was damn sure I didn’t want to get pulled any further into the Council’s machinations. Unfortunately, I didn’t think this was going to be the kind of job you get to turn down.

“It occurs to me that you could be an asset. There are certain items I’m interested in acquiring, and I believe you’re the only one who can do the job. You’ll be allowed into places a vampire cannot go.”

“You want me to steal from Faery,” I said flatly. Vampires had been forbidden to enter the mounds centuries before. It was the only place I could think of where I would be more effective than a vampire.

“See, I knew you were a smart girl,” he said, looking satisfied. “I was pleased to hear the prince’s brother is attempting reconciliation. It will make it much easier on you. Tell the prince you wish to see his home. Tell him you need a vacation. I don’t care how you do it, but get him to take you to his mother’s palace. I’ll send my emissary to you with the full details in a few weeks.”

“Why the hell would I do this for you?” I asked more to myself than him.

“You will do it because if you don’t, I’ll kill your husband.” Marini’s tone was flat, and he shrugged a little as though he didn’t really care either way.

“You and what army?” The Council hadn’t had a hell of a lot of luck hurting Danny before.

The head of the Council pulled out a small, palm-sized box, and I knew deep in my heart that he was about to change the game. “This is the only army I need. I’m no fool. I remember how hard it was to kill the last king who rose. That was a long time ago, but modern technology has made it so much easier. I’m going to tell you something that no one else knows. While your husband was with the Council during his training, I realized how dangerous he could be to me. I had a small device surgically attached to his heart during a medical examination. Daniel doesn’t remember it. He was placed under a strong spell for the procedure and, of course, he heals quickly. If I push this little button, a lethal dose of colloidal silver enters his heart and then I no longer have to worry about another king. I prefer to use Mr. Donovan’s talents for as long as possible, but when he becomes troublesome, I will push this button.”

“You could be lying. Vampire bodies expel foreign objects.” My hands were shaking at the thought of Marini holding Daniel’s life in his hands.

“Not if they’re placed there with very strong black magic. I’ve been working with a group of witches for years, preparing for a time when one like Daniel would rise. You can call me a liar all day, but are you willing to test it? I don’t think so. I think you love your husband. If I have read the situation incorrectly, I’m more than happy to get rid of Daniel. I can find another way to force you to do my bidding.” A smug smile crossed his face as he replaced the box in his pocket. “You have a father, I believe. There’s always the prince.”

“You know I’ll do it,” I admitted quietly because I didn’t doubt Louis Marini would do exactly what he said he would.

“Excellent. I’ll send you the information in a few weeks. Use that time to get the prince to agree to grant you access to his
sithein
. I don’t buy his ‘I belong to me’ crap. Nor do I believe he belongs to Daniel. That prince belongs to you as Daniel belongs to you. I’m not such a fool that I can’t see who my real opponent is. I’ve certainly lived long enough to know it would be an enormous mistake to underestimate you merely because you’re female. Most of the deadliest creatures I’ve encountered were women.”