Taken by the Others (25 page)

He must not have liked what he saw in my face. Or maybe one of his vampire powers was to read minds. His expression was bitter enough to choke on and I felt a momentary pang of remorse for having thought so little of him. At every turn I somehow managed to think the worst of him, his motives, and his actions. I felt like I should offer a comforting touch, say something to let him know I didn’t think he was such a bad guy. I needed to apologize, though I wasn’t totally sure what for.

The belt cut in before I could speak. ‘Stop meeting his eyes like an amateur. You should know better by now. Draw on my strength and on the charm you wear, or you’ll lose yourself to him the way the elf has.’

I took a deep breath and did what the belt ordered, averting my gaze and focusing on calming down. Looking away took the edge off the shame. My reaction was unnaturally strong, like a kernel of real emotion had been fanned into an all-out conflagration, meant to override any other thoughts or feelings. How very odd that Royce could manipulate emotions like that. Fear and lust I could understand–but pity and guilt? That didn’t seem his style.

Dawn broke the uncomfortable silence. “It’s late. If you’re planning a confrontation tonight, I would hurry or there will not be time for your vampires to seek shelter from the sun before this is over.”

By my reckoning, it was only a little past midnight. I thought we had plenty of time, but then, I’d never fought a battle like this before, and Royce hadn’t made us privy to his battle plans.

The vampire slowly rose to his feet. I felt a momentary pang as Sara pressed against Arnold’s side, her fingers tightening on his jacket. Royce’s gaze swept over the room, lingering on Sara before settling on me. Averting my eyes, I felt a pull of something, though exactly what emotion he was projecting or what he was willing me to do or think wasn’t clear. The combination of my wariness and the belt and charm’s assistance was halting Royce’s mind games admirably. He closed the distance between us, extending a hand to help me up.

“Shall we go?” he asked.

Chaz made a grumbling sound under his breath when I slid my hand into the vampire’s.

“Sure. I’ll be riding with Arnold and Sara, by the way.”

We hadn’t discussed it, but there was no way I was going to ride with the vampire while he was projecting those weird moods. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was having trouble deciding whether he was disappointed or happy about what was going on and was wavering somewhere in between. He didn’t argue, which was a blessing, but he didn’t let me go once I’d gotten to my feet either. Instead, he lifted my hand up and cradled it between both of his own. I couldn’t pull away without expending more effort than it was worth. I’d never seen him act this way before.

“Are you entirely sure you want to take part in this fight? It is not too late for you and your friends to go.”

Ah. The concern he radiated was so sincere, I couldn’t help but smile and lose some of the tension that had threaded through me when he didn’t let go of my hand. “No, I’m not about to run and hide. This isn’t your fight–it’s ours.”

He returned my smile, his expression shifting to something dark and wicked and oh so bad for you. “So be it.”

With that, he brushed a chaste, gallant kiss on the back of my hand, his lips grazing my knuckles before he released me. Oddly enough, it didn’t bother me in the least. He was just being, well … Royce. Chaz didn’t take it nearly so well, rumbling a low warning.

“Keep your hands off her,” he spat, sliding an arm possessively around my waist. Royce barely glanced at him, a satisfied smirk curving his lips.

I just sighed.

Everyone else got up to file out the front door. Chaz refused to take his arm from around me until we got close to the car. Arnold’s ostentatious sports car did not look so out of place among the convertibles and other high-end vehicles parked on the street and in the driveways around us.

Dawn surprised me again by wanting to come along for the fight. I wasn’t sure what help she could be, but Royce didn’t argue. Sara agreed to give up shotgun to Chaz so the couples could ride together in Arnold’s car. Devon and Tiny had no complaints about riding in the silver sedan with the most dangerous supernatural New York had to offer. Then again, that might be because Dawn didn’t seem to mind sitting between the two men in the back while Royce chauffeured them to our destination. Go figure.

Sara and I did the necessary contortionist acts to squeeze into the back seat of the convertible so we could have our own private discussion while Arnold, Chaz, and Royce discussed our destination outside.

“What gives, Shia?” Sara whispered, not wanting the Others to overhear. “How come you’re working with Royce? I thought you swore off ever having anything to do with him again.”

I didn’t have any graceful way of avoiding her eyes while crammed into the tiny back seat. Hard as it was, I met the concern and fury in those blue eyes. This was worse than confessing to Mom–nobody could throw your own words back at you like your best friend.

“I did,” I admitted. “I had to make an exception for this.”

She twisted in the seat, putting one knee up so she could rest her elbow on it. She twined her enviably straight blond hair around her fingers in a nervous gesture that made her look uncannily like her neurotic sister, Janine.

“You don’t go into this shit lightly. What changed your mind? Why now, months later? Don’t tell me it’s just because of this Max guy.”

“I thought having an ancient vampire after my ass was sufficient excuse to call for backup.”

“Bullshit,” she said, looking pointedly at the belt wrapped around my waist. I huffed and drew the trench coat shut to hide it from view. “You could have called me or Arnold or even Chaz and hidden from this. Instead, you’re playing Lone Ranger and riding in to save the day or whatever. I don’t believe for a second you weren’t thinking of running from this until he got involved.”

“Sara! I don’t always run from my problems.”

Her wry grin wore away the immediate edge of my anger from her “accusations.” Before long, I found myself grinning back.

“Okay, okay. I was pissed at Chaz because he broke off another date with me on Friday night. I thought it would get under his skin if I invited Royce to come to my place. At the time, I needed to know who Max was, so it was a convenient excuse to invite him over.”

Her feigned shock was spoiled by the knowing grin splitting her face. “Ha! I knew it!”

“Oh, shut up,” I said, unsuccessfully smothering a smile. “Anyway, Max backed me into a corner when he kidnapped me. He means business, and I don’t want this to escalate to the point where he hurts my friends and family. Hence our little coup tonight.”

“So how does Chaz feel about you and Royce making nice?” she asked me, her suggestive brow waggle completely ruining the innocent look on her face.

“Oh my God, Sara!”

I gasped in a mix of mock and true horror at the unspoken implications, making her burst into laughter. It was tough to be mad at her when she was laughing so hard. My face felt so hot, I was sure it must have turned as red as my hair. Despite my indignation, before long, the idea had me in giggle fits, too.

Chaz and Arnold opened their doors to join us in the car. They looked a bit surprised at our mirth, which was understandably out of place considering we were about to go into battle against an elder vampire. Their puzzled looks deepened as Sara hid her face behind her hands, trying to control the tears of laughter spilling down her cheeks.

“What’s so funny, girls?” Arnold asked, sliding in and peering at us through the rearview as he started up the car. Once seated, Chaz craned his neck to peer at us in mystery.

It just made us laugh harder.

Chapter 26

An hour later, standing in the parking lot of Twisted Temptations (arguably the most risquй of Royce’s many establishments), surrounded by a bunch of vampires and a handful of Weres, I didn’t feel like laughing anymore. It was bitterly cold. The parking lot of the warehouse-like night club was packed full, so we’d parked a few blocks away. The armor and trench coat weren’t protecting me well from the icy wind blowing through the streets as we hustled to meet the other vamps and Weres. Even the warmth radiating from Chaz’s arm wrapped around my shoulders didn’t help.

From the information John had scraped together, Max had moved into the club early in the evening and replaced all of the regular staffers with his own men. A runner was sent to fetch something from one of the offices here and reported a sign on the door saying the club was closed for a private party. After that, they didn’t hear from him again. To the few hundred people who’d come for some dancing and drinking at the Goth fetish club, being turned away at the door would’ve been disappointing, but normal. Business as usual.

Meanwhile, anyone who was stuck inside when Max took over may not have noticed anything out of the ordinary. Not until it was too late. Vampires and their contracted toys were no doubt still going up on stage, singing, dancing, even stripping or doing some BDSM crap for the amusement of the crowds. The only difference being that none of them answered to Royce.

I couldn’t figure out Max’s reasoning behind taking over a night club. I mean, it was Royce’s property, right? Max couldn’t get his hands on the titles or deeds to the business. Was it meant as a personal affront to Royce? More likely he knew something about the tunnel system that would give him access to the other businesses, and wanted to use this location to stage attacks.

Only three other Weres had showed up to help Chaz. He hadn’t forced the issue, but it was interesting to see how few of the sixty-odd werewolves of the Sunstriker pack were willing to back up their pack leader against vampires without being directly ordered to do so. Of the Weres who did come to our rescue, Simon and Dillon had showed up with Chaz right before Sara got kidnapped earlier this year, and Vincent had come with us a few times when we got together for somebody’s birthday, the debut of the latest action movie, things like that. None of them struck me as being particularly brave or loyal before now. Kudos to them.

More vampires had showed up to help Royce than had been present when he came to rescue me. It made me nervous as hell, and the belt kept interjecting little (and sometimes not so little) hints that it really, really wanted to take some of them down. Considering the thing had the purpose of ridding the world of vamps, I couldn’t say I blamed it. I just wished it would shut up now and then so I could concentrate.

Simon and Dillon went with a few of the vampires to guard the back doors and make sure none of Max’s vamps escaped. The rest of us just went straight for the front door–Chaz and Vincent at either side of me, with Arnold, Sara, Tiny, and Devon at our backs. I don’t know what Dawn hoped to accomplish in a knock-down-drag-out fight, but she was somewhere in the mix of vampires, too.

We could all hear the music pounding from inside, some heavy metal with a lot of bone-shaking bass. There should have been bouncers guarding the front and some lastminute stragglers trying to get in, but the street was oddly deserted. Royce led the way; he didn’t look happy no one was there to greet us. Though there were a few vampires between us, I saw him turn to John with a frown when he tried the front doors. Locked.

John unlocked the bolt so we could get in. The vampires around us didn’t tense up so much as go deathly still in anticipation. I felt the tightening of muscles under my fingers on Chaz’s arm, even through the jacket he was wearing against the bitter chill in the air. We all surged inside as soon as the double doors swung open, Royce in the lead.

The smell of blood was heavy on the air. If I hadn’t had heightened senses from the belt, I might not have noticed, but the acrid, sticky reek was too strong to ignore. I couldn’t ask what anybody else thought of it since the pounding music made conversation impossible.

I pulled a stake from the belt, running my thumb nervously along the leather grip to remind myself I had a weapon, that I could handle this, and it would all be over soon.

As a group, we moved forward cautiously, everyone else’s pace slowing when Royce’s did. When we passed through the hallway and reached the first room in the club, there was nothing much to see. There was no one behind the bar; the plush couches lining the walls were empty, as were the raised stage and two metal cages for dancers in the middle of the room.

If the situation hadn’t been so serious and we weren’t in the middle of looking for Max, I would have made some snarky comments about the dйcor to Royce. The neon whips and silver chains decorating the black walls were a bit much, even for one of his clubs.

Either way, there was nothing to see here. The room wasn’t very big. Directly ahead was a stairwell. There was another hallway to our left, and a screen of thin silver chains to the right obscured the way into the largest dance floor. There were strobe lights flickering through the chains, but I couldn’t see much more than a big, black, empty space beyond. The smell of blood and thicker things had become positively overpowering, so much so that I couldn’t rightly say which direction it came from.

We separated into three groups to investigate. Royce and the majority of his people went into the main dance hall. Arnold, Sara, and Dawn followed him. We’d discussed this tactic earlier over a hastily sketched map of the club’s layout. Max’s main target was Royce. Arnold specialized in intelligence gathering and defensive spellcasting, so it made the most sense for him to stay close to Royce to help buffer up the vamp’s abilities when Max struck. Sara wouldn’t leave Arnold’s side, and he didn’t want her out of his sight, so she stayed with them.