We Own the Night (The Night Songs Collection Book 3) (7 page)

Alone.

He took down Blade.

He shouldn’t have been able to do that.

Open wounds bled on his face. He wiped them clean with his shirt. “We’ve reached an understanding.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “And we should be able to start the show on time.”

T
he closer we got to The Sin City Vampire Club, the madder I got at myself. This damsel in distress thing was nothing short of pathetic. I couldn’t expect Tristan and his band of merry men to come and rescue me every time I got myself in trouble. Tristan might be strong, but he wasn’t a leader. Tristan was the master of passive aggressive behavior. It was time to show him, and everyone else, who was boss.

He kissed me as he slung his guitar strap over his shoulder.

“Have a great show.” I wound my fingers around a lock of his hair that had landed on my shoulder. “I’m going to have Tony bring me to Embrace.”

“You’re going to do what?!” Tristan acted like he didn’t hear me correctly. “Like hell you are.”

“You can’t order me around, remember? I’m the boss.” I went up on my tiptoes to kiss him again, ignoring his slack-jawed look of shock. “And after I signed your paperwork, I own Embrace. It would be irresponsible of me not to go.”

Rumor had already spread that Tristan was back with the band because the waiting crowd had already reached a fever pitch. These girls didn’t waste any time.

He might not be a leader, but the minute the lights went down on that stage, he was a fantastic actor. Drunk on the enthusiasm of the crowd, he played into all of their fantasies. Teasing, leaning, preening, and strutting. The crowd begged for more, and he delivered everything they asked for.

I could have my own private show anytime I wanted. Yet, it was still hard to tear my eyes away from the surveillance screens in Tony’s security office. I needed to focus on convincing Tony that taking me to Embrace was indeed a good idea.

“No way.” Tony looked at me like I’d just asked him to poison the entire audience. “The boss will have a fit.”

“I’m the boss.” I reminded him. “And if you don’t want
me
to have a fit, you’ll do as I say.”

When were any of these people going to start taking me seriously?

This was the first time I’d been back to Embrace since I was officially no longer an employee. I’d been here as a vampire, but not since I knew Talis was gone. And before I knew that Blade was batting for Team Undead. Not since I knew that I had to take this place by storm.

I took a deep breath and threw my shoulders back before opening the door.

“You don’t have to do this, Callie, if you don’t think you’re ready.” Tony hovered in my shadow.

“Is anyone ever ready for this? I just need to do it.” I shot him a dirty look as I countered his vote of no confidence. Pulling the door open harder than I needed to, I hoped it slammed shut in his face.

Everyone turned around to look at me as I walked through the bar. I wished I’d dressed for the occasion. Ripped jeans and sneakers didn’t scream power. Tristan and I might have kept the change in guard quiet, but Blade certainly hadn’t when he tried to insert himself into Immortal Dilemma. I met some of their eyes, just to see how they reacted. I knew all these vampires, I’d served them drinks for months. That’s all they thought of me as, a barmaid. Possibly Tristan’s playmate. Not their leader.

I’d love to think that I didn’t have to worry about what they thought, but I did. I couldn’t afford to have any more people think of me as weak. I had my hands full with one challenger, and I was about to poke my nose in the business of another clan leader.

One patron I’d never seen before met my stare. Long dirty blonde hair and a full beard to match, he sat stiffly in his spiked motorcycle jacket. Neither of us blinked. My skin prickled with anxiety. With one look, I knew that man was dangerous. I only turned away from him to make sure I didn’t walk into a barstool.

“Look who’s here!” Lennon pulled herself up by her arms so she could lean over the bar to kiss my cheek. I wiped off her red lipstick. “Whatcha doin, doll? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

More like a monster. “Something like that. Who’s that guy?” I jerked my head in the mystery biker’s direction.

“That’s Cash Logan. He’s a magician.” Lennon fanned herself. I guess the mourning period was over.

A girl I’d never seen before behind the bar eyed me suspiciously. My replacement. I smiled at her, just wide enough to bare my fangs. She startled and looked away quickly, going back to her work.

“Oh! I’m so rude. Callie, this is Melanie. The one I was telling you about.” Immediately, I felt like a bitch. She looked like a nice enough girl, surprisingly normal with a dark brown bob and minimal makeup. I’d expected some glamazon rock star’s girlfriend. Even if it didn’t describe me, either.

Melanie approached me cautiously, but held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“I’m just kind of sad to see someone else doing my job.” I needed to smooth over my earlier threat. This leader thing definitely came with growing pains. “I miss it here.” I turned my attention back to Lennon. “Is Peter hanging around?”

She sighed. “Unfortunately. I hate even looking at him. He’s set up camp in Jack’s office.”

Poor Jack. His office was always being overrun by overzealous vampires. It was a wonder he ever got any work done.

I didn’t even break my pace when I opened the door.

“Get out,” I said firmly, as I crossed my arms. Peter looked up in shock and I loved it. Mission accomplished.

“You think you’re going to cut your baby teeth on me, little girl?” His eyes flared as I met his stare.

“How long were you going to have your clan suck me dry before you told me Blade killed Talis?” My voice shook as I talked, and I had to put all my energy into not yelling. “This is my bar now, and I want you out of it.”

“You loved every minute of it,” he sneered, still not moving.

“Like hell. It killed me inside. But I did it to help someone I had no idea was beyond help. Did you really think I’d never find out what you were up to? That you were just fucking with me? Maybe you should have planned for that day. Because it’s here, Peter.”

Peter finally rose, his meaty body cast a shadow over me. He came in too close, his face just inches from mine, but I refused to flinch. “Blade knew what he wanted when he came to me, unlike you. I partner with strength, and take out weakness. That’s what leaders do.”

He spit when he talked. My stomach churned.

“Get out. Now. This is my bar now, and I don’t want the shadow of your fat ass darkening its doorstep. I don’t want to see any members of your clan here, and I don’t want to see Blade here. And I don’t want your leadership advice. Do you understand me? Go.”

“Your bar?” he scoffed.

“Mine. Shut up and leave.” I felt my eyes burn and glow. Were they red like Blade’s had been? I hoped so.

I only broke my stare with Peter to point to the door.

“This isn’t how Talis did business, little girl.” The acid dripped off of his words as he made his way to the door. “You have no idea what kind of trouble you’re stirring up.”

“Neither did you, Peter.” I sat in Jack’s chair. “Neither did you.”

I’d never sat behind the desk before. I balanced on the edge of the chair, not feeling comfortable enough to sink back and let it swallow me. The leather stunk of Peter: tobacco, sweat, and animal blood. Nauseating. This place needed incense, flowers, and an exorcism.

Absentmindedly, I began leafing through the piles of paperwork on the desk. I didn’t feel right doing it, but after all, it was my business now. Everything was. Most of it was restocking forms for alcohol, bills, and mundane stuff like that. Some of it looked more involved. I tossed it aside, not yet ready to deal with it.

Someone knocked on the door almost too softly for me to be certain of what it was.

“Come in?” I hoped to see Tony come through the door. I’d had enough Embrace for one evening.

“Hi.” Melanie peeked around the door. “Is this a good time?”

“Not really,” I felt bad as her face fell. I of all people knew how hard it was to be a human in this world. “But come in. What’s up?”

Melanie sensed her window of opportunity was narrow and quickly sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. “Thanks. I’m just going to cut to the chase. Lennon’s told me about you, and what you’ve, um, become, and I need to ask a favor of you.”

Big surprise. She wanted something from me. I admired her bravery.

“Okay.” My curiosity peaked. “What kind of favor?”

Melanie took a deep breath. “I don’t know if you know anything about me, but I’m wanted for murder. Two murders.” She paused to see my reaction, and seemed pleased that I didn’t have one. Once I moved past the human realm, death didn’t shock me anymore. Sad, but true. Been there, done that. Lived to tell about it.

She continued. “My boyfriend, Ryder Maddox, he’s a part of Talis’s clan, which I guess is your clan now. Talis was going to offer me protection, before everything went haywire with Blade.”

“What do you know about what happened with Blade?” I asked slowly. Maybe Melanie could be as useful to me as I could be to her.

Her posture deflated and she looked down at her hands. “I was here the night it happened. You were, too.”

My eyes widened. “I was?”

“Yeah. You saw us come in, I think. You were on the bar, Tristan was on top of you. You saw Talis come in with Blade. I’m sure you wouldn’t remember the rest of us being there, but I remember you slapping Tristan when you saw everyone come in with Talis.”

I nodded and bit my lip. That night. Would I have been able to stop anything if Jack would’ve let me in that room? Would Blade have gone for me instead? “Was Blade still human then?”

“I’m not sure. He was so strong, he overpowered her easily. Could a human do that?”

“I don’t think so.” Blade had been the kind of strong that came from manual labor, not from being a gym rat. Definitely not strong enough to take out a vampire clan leader. Somehow, I felt better that the last thing he saw as a human wasn’t me laying under Tristan in a room full of people. “What did he do?”

“She wanted to show me what happened when someone betrayed her.” Melanie wouldn’t meet my eyes. “He’d been beaten up pretty badly already, but she was going to do something else to him. She had him on his knees. Talis was so tiny, he still almost came up to her shoulders. He tore her heart right out of her chest.”

I sucked in a sharp breath at the visual. Just like Blade said. Is that what he’d done to Janelle and Jacey? Or those poor prostitutes he lured to the Strat?

Is that what he’d planned to do to me?

“Somehow, he managed to light her body on fire. I don’t know what happened. You guys move so fast sometimes, I can’t comprehend it all. And I was in total shock, to see a beating heart outside of someone’s body. He licked it, the heart, as he watched Talis’ body melt.”

All the blood in my body rushed to my stomach as I listened to her. Did vampires puke? We were dangerously close to finding out.

“Then he threw the heart in the fire, and it all just disappeared.” Tears ran down Melanie’s cheeks. “I don’t know how. I never asked Ryder, this is the first time I’ve really talked about what I saw. It was just too horrible. But I think you need to know.”

I nodded. Keep your composure, Callie. “So what is it that you want me to do for you?”

“Ryder said that Talis controlled the cops in Las Vegas.” She looked hopeful. “Ryder and the guys in Soul Divider are the only vampires I know, so all I know about vampires is what they’ve told me. They don’t have all the answers. I’m not a bad person, Callie. I know you don’t know me, but I caught my boyfriend in bed with another woman. I just went crazy with rage. I’m not a killer.” The tears flowed again.

Now it was my turn to look away. I’d done things I wasn’t proud of, too. And most of them involved sex and passion. I had no place to judge this girl.

Vampires weren’t meant to be monogamous
. Tristan’s voice echoed in my head. I hated it and felt comforted by its justification all at the same time.

I didn’t have time to mull over my sins at that moment. This girl needed an answer. And she reminded me of something very important. I didn’t only have a bar, or a band, or a hotel in my arsenal, I had the entire city. And I knew what they needed to be protected from, even if I wasn’t quite sure how to do it.