Stakes & Stilettos ib-4 Read online

  "Coming through!" George slid past us carrying a tray heavily laden with drinks.

  "Actually, I didn't know all the details," I said.

  "The casino burned to the ground from hellfire. Hell-fire! How bizarre is that?"

  "Hellfire. Huh." I was only half listening to her.

  "That's what killed Gideon. Hellfire. Apparently it completely and totally incinerated his body. There was nothing left behind. It was a closed casket with only a picture and a pair of shoes inside."

  Veronique pointed directly at me and Barry glowered. Damn. I wish my vampire hearing was better. I tried to pretend I wasn't paying attention, so I turned to Amy.

  "So… this Gideon update. How did you hear this? Is it on the Vampire Hunters of

  America website?"

  "No. Actually Quinn called ten minutes ago. He wanted to talk to you but I knew you were busy."

  "Quinn? He called here! That's the second time this week."

  She nodded. "He also called to say he's getting married and he thinks he's coming back to

  Toronto to do it since everyone else on the continent hates him or wants him dead. Those were his words. We're all invited to the wedding." She clapped her hands. "I love weddings!"

  "Married?" That finally got my full attention. "Quinn's getting married? Quinn? To who?"

  "That really nice girl who was your bodyguard. Janie." She touched her now-flaxen pixie cut. "She liked my pink hair."

  Janie had been a liar, a double-crosser, and she'd tried to kill me by handing my ass over on a silver platter to her master vampire boss, Nicolai. Well, then she ended up saving me.

  And now she was engaged to Quinn?

  Three weeks. Seriously. Three weeks and Quinn had gotten over me that quickly?

  I laughed out loud and shook my head. "Well, more power to him. I guess."

  "Yeah, so he called and told me about his engagement, and about the Gideon thing. He thought you should know."

  Gideon. If there was ever a name I never wanted to hear again of a man I'd never even had the displeasure to actually meet in real life, that was the one.

  Buh-bye, Gideon, I thought. Can't say that I'll miss you.

  Veronique leaned over and air kissed Barry on both his cheeks, then she swung her ermine stole over one shoulder and walked out of the club.

  "Okay, thanks for the update," I said. "I've got to go convince Veronique that Thierry and

  I belong together."

  "Sure. Good luck with that" she said, although she didn't sound all that convinced.

  I quickly followed Veronique until she left the club entirely and was outside the red door in the alley.

  "Veronique, wait," I called after her.

  She turned and raised a perfectly penciled-in eyebrow. "Did you wish to speak with me, my dear?"

  "Actually, yeah. Do you mind?"

  "Why should I mind?" A smile grew on her full red lips. "Come." She held out a hand to me. "We shall have a drink together. There is a café down the street."

  Well, that was friendlier than I'd expected.

  The café was the same one I'd gone to with Heather and her boyfriend the night I'd been staked. I tensed as soon as I saw its sign, the French Connection, glimmering in the near distance. But I didn't say anything. I sucked it up and ordered a coffee when we went inside. Black. Veronique ordered a latte and a croissant with apricot preserves.

  I never realized that she was one of the lucky vamps, even at her age, who could still stomach solid food. Apparently that trait was on a biological lottery system and Veronique had come out as a winner. Figures.

  "Barry told me more about your unfortunate situation," she said. "How are you managing?"

  "I'm much better now." I decided not to share my news about the gold chain with her.

  "I remember when the nightwalkers roamed the earth. It was a different time."

  "And they were all wiped out."

  "That is correct."

  "Because of the information that Thierry gave the hunters."

  She studied me for a moment. "That is also true. In part. At the time I didn't agree with his decision. To me, even though the nightwalkers were fierce creatures who gave the rest of us a reputation as monsters, a reputation that has lasted to this very day, I didn't feel he was right in his actions. In fact, I accused him of being a traitor to his own kind. However, my opinion did change over time."

  "Why is that?"

  "One could not reason with a nightwalker. I, myself, was nearly a victim of one." She absently touched her throat as her expression shadowed. "It was a man who appeared very handsome and charming until we were alone. He restrained me with ropes and he very nearly tore out my throat despite my pleas for him to release me."

  My stomach sank at that. "Oh, my God, that's horrible. How did you get away?"

  "The Red Devil came to my rescue."

  I must have looked surprised because she laughed lightly. "Yes," she said. "I have also heard that you have recently come in contact with him. That he has reappeared after so many years in hiding. It is a wonderful thing."

  I didn't tell her Thierry's theory that he was a total and complete fraud. I gripped the hot mug of coffee in front of me. "So the Red Devil saved you."

  She nodded gravely. "I would not be sitting across from you right now if he hadn't. I still remember the night vividly, as if it was not so long ago." She visibly shivered. "He was incredible. So tall, so handsome, so virile."

  "So handsome?" I repeated. "You saw his face?"

  She frowned slightly. "No, actually I didn't. He wore a mask. A red mask. But I have no doubt that underneath he was the most handsome man on earth." She pushed the croissant around the plate absently but didn't take a bite. "I will never forget that he saved my life.

  At the time, he suggested that we become lovers, as he was so taken with me, but I had to decline. Still, I sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have such a charming and wonderful man in my life."

  I wondered what had happened to the mask. My Red Devil just wore the scarf over his face. "He saved my life, too."

  "Yes, I heard that as well."

  "From Barry."

  She nodded. "Barry tells me many interesting things about you, my dear."

  My jaw tightened. "Yeah, I'm sure he does."

  She studied me. "He tells me, for example, that you are very much in love with my husband."

  That surprised me. Barry told her that? I wonder what the catch was.

  "It's true," I said simply. "I love him. I'm sorry if that hurts you."

  She smiled. "Why ever would it hurt me?"

  "Well, you are married to him."

  She waved her hand dismissively. "You are not the first woman to fall in love with my husband and I am sure you will not be the last. His cool exterior attracts as many as it repels. What he sees as a defense mechanism to keep others away from him, for their own safety as he likes to think, tends to sometimes act as a magnet to those lacking an instinct of self-preservation and common sense."

  The smell of cinnamon drifted under my nose as the baker behind the counter removed a tray of freshly baked biscotti from the oven.

  "Do you think I'm lacking an instinct of self-preservation because I'm in love with Thierry?" I asked dryly. "Or just common sense?"

  "I'm not entirely sure."

  "What else did Barry tell you?" I took a sip of my bitter coffee. "Just for the record, he really doesn't like me, so whatever he's said about me should be taken with a big old grain of salt."

  "I'm not so sure about that, my dear. He, too, puts forth a rather harsh exterior. When one has been alive for so long, dealing with the daily struggles of a vampire's existence, one must put up a certain façade, and barricades against those who may lead us to harm."

  "If you say so."

  I heard the bell over the door as a couple, bundled up in winter clothes, entered the café.

  They approached the counter to place their order.

  Veroniqu
e slid her index finger around the rim of her latte. "Barry tells me that when you first came into Thierry's life he believed you to be a silly, insipid creature who was interested only in Thierry's power and money. He did not trust you and he did not understand why Thierry would willingly want to spend time with you. And when he found that you had raised Thierry's bloodlust to the surface, something that Thierry has fought to keep under control for a century, he was not pleased. He wanted you gone from his master's life."

  "Yeah, this isn't news. He told me as much to my face." I remembered a small red face, clenched fists, and a great deal of foot stomping.

  "But you refused to leave. You refused to leave even when my husband attempted to end things between you for good—he even went so far as to sell Haven so he could leave the country entirely. Why is that?"

  When had I lost control of this conversation? Had I even been in control to begin with?

  This was so annoying. I felt like I was on trial.

  I shrugged a shoulder. "I can be a bit stubborn at times. I'll admit it."

  Her gaze was steady on me. "You remind me a great deal of someone."

  I shifted in my seat. "Oh, yeah? Do I really want to know?"

  Her lips curled. "You remind me of myself."

  "Really?"

  Her gaze moved down and then back up as if she was appraising my value on the open market. "Some will see a stubborn woman and believe she is an inconvenience. But I see something different. I see someone who knows what she wants. A woman of decisiveness.

  With a strength of spirit. There are many vampires I have met over the years, Sarah. Many female vampires. There has only been one master vampire who happens to be female because the rest have succumbed to weakness at the hands of a hunter."

  I blinked. "You?"

  She nodded. "It takes a great deal more than luck to have lived as long as I have. I had my doubts about you, Sarah. At first glance I had to agree with Barry's assessment. You amused me, and I thought you were an interesting diversion for Thierry, but that was all.

  And though it has only been a very short time, all things considered, I feel that I must re-

  evaluate my opinion of you. I don't believe you are interested in my husband only for self-

  serving reasons."

  "I'm not," I said quickly.

  "No, you're not." She tilted her beautiful face to the side. "You truly love him."

  I nodded. My throat felt tight. "I'm sorry."

  "Don't be sorry. One should never be sorry for falling in love." Her eyes got that faraway look. "Because of Marcellus, I know what true love feels like. It is all-encompassing. It is obsession. It can be utter pain and absolute bliss."

  I nodded. "That about sums it up."

  There was a slight crease between her eyebrows as she concentrated on me. "I have never felt that with Thierry. That deep love. He has never caused my heart to be elated at his presence. Nor has he ever caused my heart to break. After Marcellus's death, my heart cooled to all others. Perhaps that is one of the reasons I have lived for so long. My head has not been turned by emotion. I have been able to make decisions based on survival, not because of a need for romance."

  I didn't exactly know what to say to that so I said nothing at all and took another sip of my coffee.

  Her gaze was still focused on me. "It is a mystery, is it not?"

  "What?"

  "Love. The world around us finds it so easy to hate each other. There is hate bleeding from every part of the earth. But love can heal all. Why is it so difficult to accept that?"

  "You got me."

  She licked her lips and played absently with the rim of her untouched latte. "Barry told me something else. Something I found most interesting indeed."

  "What's that?"

  "He believes Thierry loves you in return."

  I swallowed a gulp of coffee so quickly that it burned my throat. "He actually said that?

  Barry?"

  She nodded. "That gives me great pause. For as long as I've known my husband, I have never known him to show deep emotion for anything. In fact, I thought he was impervious to such a thing. I found that to be as great a strength as it was a disappointment. That I did not love him didn't mean that I didn't wish for him to love me. It is a power a woman has—the love of a man. Her greatest power. For to have the love of a powerful man is to wield that power at your whim."

  I shook my head. "I don't want to wield any power. Seriously. Not exactly a hobby of mine."

  She took a breath in and let it out, and then a smile replaced her serious expression. She took a twenty-dollar bill out of her wallet and placed it on the table. "It has been a pleasant conversation, my dear. We must do this again while I'm in town. Now, I shall retire to my suite for the remainder of the evening."

  "But you didn't even eat your croissant."

  She smiled. "I don't eat, Sarah. But there is no reason why it shouldn't appear as if I can."

  I stood up at the same time she did and was about to say something else when she leaned toward me to air kiss both of my cheeks.

  "Son soir, mon amie."

  I followed her out onto the sidewalk where she was able to summon a taxi with an elegant wave of her hand.

  "So what does this mean?" I asked, now smiling at how well our conversation had turned out. "Are you going to sign the annulment?"

  She turned to face me. "Of course not."

  My smile dropped away. "You're not? But I thought you understood. I thought you believed that Thierry and I are in love and want to be together."

  She patted my face as one might do with a slow child who didn't understand why she couldn't sit on the family dog. "I told you before, my dear, love has very little to do with a successful marriage. It is much more than that."

  "But—"

  "No, no. Listen to me. I understand your feelings. You and Thierry should be together as much as you like. You have my blessing to be as happy as is possible. But my marriage shall not end over such a small thing as a ten-week relationship. It simply cannot be."

  I frowned. "Look, if this is about money, I'm sure Thierry can arrange some sort of alimony to keep you in the style you are accustomed to, or however that works."

  She opened the back door of the taxi that now idled at the curb and looked over her shoulder. The amusement in her eyes was vast. "My dear, I am the one with all the money in our marriage. Thierry's finances have dwindled of late because of the fortune he has lost from losing so many nightclubs in town. His holdings in other cities have also burned to the ground. Due to the secret nature of owning vampire-related establishments, none of that property was properly insured. To my knowledge, all he has left of his personal fortune is what he will make from the sale of Haven. It is a good thing that it sold; otherwise it would have soon gone out of business anyhow."

  I felt stunned by that. "I don't believe it."

  She smiled. "If anyone would be getting money from our marriage ending, it would be him. But since that is not an option, all is well with the world. You see? This is the way it must be. Good night, my dear."

  She got into the cab and closed the door. It drove away from the curb. I watched it fade into the distance until I couldn't see it anymore.

  Well, that went really well.

  Thierry was almost broke? When the hell did that happen? And why hadn't he said anything to me?

  She was probably wrong. I mean, didn't he have a ton of cash in his pocket just the other night? Besides, how could a nearly seven-hundred-year-old vampire not have a huge nest egg just waiting for any potential financial difficulties?

  Yeah, she was wrong. Had to be.

  I felt deflated about the annulment, but I guess it didn't really matter. It would have been nice. I'd actually had a vision of myself wearing a long white gown and walking down an aisle to meet a tuxedo-clad Thierry with rose petals being thrown at my feet. I'd always wanted a fairytale wedding.

  Unfortunately, I was more than a half a millennium too late to get
to my Prince Charming before he was already snapped up by a woman who didn't believe that love was an important element in a successful marriage. Sure. Just my luck.

  It didn't matter.

  What mattered was that my trauma of the week had been fixed thanks to the gold chain.

  Maybe it wasn't the cure, but it was a reasonable fix as far as I was concerned. And

  Thierry and I were still together. Everything else would have been extra icing on a cake that was already extremely tasty just the way it was.

  I breathed out and watched the cloud of frozen air drift up and dissipate into the night air.

  Then I turned and walked the block and a half back to Haven.

  Yeah, everything was cool, I decided as I trudged along, mentally kicking myself for the fiftieth time that I hadn't worn more comfortable shoes. Then again, who would have thought I would be out for a stroll after having coffee with my boyfriend's wife? On

  Valentine's Day?

  All alone.

  In the dark.

  At nearly ten o'clock at night.

  With no bodyguard to speak of.

  Again.

  I stopped and turned around. Did I hear footsteps?

  I picked up my pace.

  The alley to the secret entrance of Haven was just ahead, and I relaxed slightly as I turned the corner before skidding to a stop.

  "Sarah," the Red Devil said. He leaned against the cold brick wall. I recognized him immediately due to the scarf that completely obliterated his identity.

  All I really knew about him was that he was tall. Really tall. And well built. Not too muscular and not too skinny. Athletic. That was all I could tell, since he was dressed from head to toe in warm winter clothing, including black leather gloves. Exactly the same as the last time I'd seen him.

  Only this time he stood under a streetlamp. As he looked at me I could now see that he had green eyes—the only thing visible under that scarf.

  "Hey," I said, and I was very glad that my voice sounded steady and unshaken considering he'd just scared the living undead out of me. "How's it going?"