Fanged & Fabulous ib-2 Page 24

  He studied me for another moment, then stood up from his stool and walked close to me so we were only inches apart. He looked down the length of me and ran his hand lightly along the side of my neck,along the light marks that still remained from Thierry’s bite. Then Quinn pulled me against him and he kissed me long and hard.

  When we parted he looked at me for another moment and a small grin pulled at the side of his mouth.

  “I never believed you were actually in love with that asshole.”

  I blinked up at him, a little stunned. “What?”

  “I though you were just imagining it. Because he was such a mystery man. Women like that. I know it.

  But I didn’t know it was real, thought it was just a passing fancy. Until now.”

  “Quinn, what are you—?”

  He held up a hand. “This is difficult enough as it is without being interrupted every three seconds.”

  I frowned.

  “I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what you said to me yesterday. About how I’ve taken my situation, my shitty life, and morphed it into this big torch I’m carrying for you? That what I was really feeling was just gratitude because you gave me the time of day when everybody else turned their backs on me? I thought you were just saying that because you wanted me to leave you the hell alone. That you still resented me for trying to . . . to kill you. For my shitty mistakes I’ve made in my life. But now I see . . . you were right.”

  “I was?”

  “Yeah. I convinced myself that I had a thing for you because it made things so much easier. Gave me something to focus on. A goal. But now I see that it’s never going to happen. Sure, I could take you up on your offer. We could be together . . . ” He cocked his head to the side and grinned. “And I would do my damnedest to make you very happy. Every night. Maybe several times a night.”

  I felt my face flush. “Quinn—”

  “But it wouldn’t be real. It wouldn’t be like what you feel for Thierry. And when I’m with a woman I want it to be real. If I can’t have all of you, Sarah, I don’t want anything.”

  I nodded after a moment. “I’m . . . I’m sorry, Quinn. Really. I am.”

  “Just answer me one thing, Sarah. Are you really, seriously in love with Thierry? Even knowing what he is and what he’s capable of? Even knowing it’s not going to be a smooth road for you?”

  I felt my eyes well up again. “Yes.”

  He nodded, but there was no smile to back it up. “Then that settles it.”

  A hulk approached to stand between us. He had a wooden stake in one hand. “Hey, I know who you are. You’re Sarah Dearly. The Slayer of—”

  Quinn grabbed the guy by the neck and whacked his head on the side of the bar. The hulk fell to the ground in an unconscious heap. Then Quinn took a deep breath and looked at me. “Okay, so let’s go rescue your boyfriend.”

  All I could do was stare at my would-be assassin with a gaping open mouth, and nod in agreement.

  We arrived at the Paragon Theater quickly and parked George’s car—a twenty-year-old red

  Mustang—out in front. I hadn’t realized the other day that the theater wasn’t the only thing that was abandoned. The whole damn neighborhood seemed to be.

  “Do you think they miss us from the party yet?” George asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “You’re sure they’re here?” Quinn led the way to the back of the theater, where, I’d told him, there was a way to get in.

  “Almost positive. But I sure as hell hope so. Just follow me. And try to be quiet.”

  I walked along the sidewalk, feeling the chill of the night cut through to my skin. Being a vampire meant that regular cold didn’t bug me too much, but this felt colder than normal. It was mid-January and the theater was located near a side road that led directly to the lake. When the wind picked up it was positively frigid.

  I knew this was where Janie would take Thierry. If I was a psycho, crazy assassin who wanted to extract her revenge in a dramatic fashion in front of an audience, then a stage would definitely be my choice.

  We entered through the broken back door. It was dark inside. Really dark. Quinn lit a Zippo lighter that didn’t help much, but I could see the hallway we had taken yesterday. I felt along the wall as we walked until I could see something up ahead. We’d made our way around to the front. Where the ticket booth was an empty ghost of what once was. A few small lights that resembled candles were on, set into the walls. I wondered when was the last time this theater had been open. Why hadn’t anyone bought the property? It had just been left, as it was, for at least fifty years. Sad.

  Quinn pushed open a door that led to the main theater. I caught a quick glimpse at the stage and took in a quick breath. There was a spotlight on and it was aimed at the stage.

  And I was right. This was the place.

  George and I stopped walking and looked at Quinn, who’d already seen what was down there.

  Thierry was sitting on a chair in the middle of the stage. I squinted and focused my sharper vampire vision to see that his hands were restrained behind him, his head slumped forward to indicate that he was unconscious. I clenched my teeth. Janie was going to pay for this.

  “There he is,” George whispered. “Let’s go down there and get him.”

  “Wait,” Quinn said. “This is too easy. It’s obviously a trap.”

  I nodded. “I agree.”

  “Wow,” a voice said from behind us. “Three vampires to figure that out. How many vamps does it take to change a light bulb?”

  I turned around slowly. Janie stood ten feet away, alone, with her hand on her hip, looking surprisingly relaxed. She grinned at me.

  “This was your plan?” I said. “Get me out here and then insult me? Good plan. Fantastic.”

  “Thanks so much.”

  I chanced another look over in Thierry’s direction.

  “He’s not dead, if that’s what you’re wondering,” she commented. “Vamps his age, you know, they just disintegrate. Not much left behind, but it’s so hard to get out of cashmere, you have no idea. You’ll notice that I’m wearing jeans tonight.”

  I turned back to face her. “Okay, you’ve made your point.”

  “Oh, and what point is that?”

  “I only wish you could have talked to me. We could have resolved this issue just between the two of us.

  It didn’t have to come to this.”

  “What issue? You mean the one about you killing my brother?”

  “It was self-defense. He was trying to kill me.”

  She nodded. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

  My eyes narrowed. “Having a hard time with that since you blew up my apartment.”

  She smirked at me. “Much as I’d like to lay claim to that little event, I didn’t do it. If I had, you wouldn’t be talking to me right now, since when I do something, I do it right. That was just some hunters into pyrotechnics.”

  “What Sarah said about Peter is true,” Quinn said. “She didn’t have any other choice.”

  Janie shot him a look. “Well, Michael, long time no see.”

  “Michael?” George said.

  “That’s his first name,” I told him.

  “Learn something new every day.”

  Quinn took a step forward. “Janie, why don’t you just stand down? You don’t have a chance here.

  You’re a smart girl, you must be able to see that, right?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’ll get to you in a second, handsome. Now, Sarah, honey, what were you saying about my brother and it being self-defense? I’m certainly willing to listen to any and all arguments before I pass final judgment.”

  “When was the last time you saw your brother?” I asked.

  Her expression tensed. “It was a few years ago, actually. He was excited about going on the tour with the other hunters. Get to see the world, and all that.”

  I nodded. “I’m guessing he was probably a really nice guy once upon a time. And I kn
ow you’re his little sister and you guys were probably close back then, but those few years must have changed him, Janie.

  The Peter I got to meet wasn’t nice. He wasn’t somebody you could reason with. He was a cold-blooded murderer.”

  Her lips thinned. “Takes one to know one.”

  “Do you think I wanted to do what I did? If he’d given me any other choice, I would have taken it. But at that moment, it was him or me, and I chose me.”

  She nodded stiffly. “How did you do it?”

  I licked my dry lips. “A gun.”

  She continued to nod. “I see. Well, I promise when I gut your boyfriend, I’ll be as gentle as possible.

  You’re more than welcome to watch.”

  Anger rose to heat my cheeks. I stepped forward, but Quinn put his arm out to stop me.

  “Janie, she’s telling the truth. Peter was all messed up. He didn’t know what he was doing anymore.

  He’d started looking at vampire hunting as a game, not as a service.”

  She snorted at that. “Yeah, and I’d believe you because? Last time I checked you were one of the bloodsuckers now,Michael . So save your breath, if you have any. I don’t know, do vampires need to breathe? Do they have heartbeats? I’m not up on all this new age vampire stuff. Last time I checked,

  vamps were evil and needed to be snuffed out, not treated like equals and given free passes when it comes to murder.”

  “I’m not asking for a free pass,” I said. “I’m just trying to tell you what happened. Peter tried to kill me.

  Several times. He failed. When he tried again I happened to have a weapon and I fought back. He lost. End of story.”

  She laughed. “End of story. Yeah, I guess it is, isn’t it?”

  “Janie,” Quinn said. “I know you’ve had a hard life. It was just you, your little sister, and Peter after your parents died, right? I remember you used to play with your dolls while Peter and I hung out. You were a cute kid.”

  She frowned at him. “I’m not a kid anymore, in case you haven’t noticed.”

  “No, you’re definitely not. But I don’t think you’ve changed that much. Just stop being difficult. We’re not going to let you get away with this. We’re going down there to get Thierry and we’re leaving. Now you can either let us or you can stand in the way.”

  “And what if I stand in the way?” She put her hands on her hips.

  “Then we’re going to have a problem.”

  She studied him for a moment, her brow creased with a frown. Then she glanced at me and raised an eyebrow. “You’re helping Sarah get the other man? That’s so noble of you.”

  He shrugged but didn’t say anything.

  “You used to be so in control. Have to say I’m a little disappointed that you’ve turned into a sloppy-seconds-loving wimp who lets the world walk all over him. Too bad, really.”

  His expression darkened. “You’ve got a big mouth, Janie.”

  She laughed, a short staccato sound. “Is Sarah the one who made you into a vampire?”

  “No.”

  “That’s a rather short answer. No long, entertaining anecdote of how you became a monster?”

  Quinn visibly grimaced. “Most vampires aren’t monsters.”

  She nodded. “Right. Keep telling yourself that, handsome. And maybe you’ll believe it some day.”

  His expression darkened even more. “Janie, just step aside, would you? I’m running out of patience here.”

  She grinned at me. “You know, when we were talking the other day and I told you I used to have a big crush on one of my brother’s friends? Three guesses who it was and the first two don’t count. Small world.” She fixed him with an appraising look, up and down his frame. “You were a little skinnier then.

  You’ve been working out. Is being a vamp really hard work?”

  Quinn glanced at me, then back to her. “Janie—”

  “Yeah, I was head over heels with you, Quinn. You prefer to go by your last name now, huh? When I saw you again the other day I have to admit it freaked me out. Made me remember how I used to feel when I was just a kid. Dorky and awkward. Just Peter’s kid sister. Every time you’d come over and spar with my brother, I was lurking about. Watching. Learning.” She sighed wistfully.

  “Janie, we can talk about this—”

  “I had the hugest crush on you back then.” She raised her hand from her waist. I noted with horror that it now held a gun. “But I’m over it now.”

  She shot him in the chest.

  Chapter 20

  Then Janie shifted her aim and shot George.

  “No!” I screamed.

  Both the guys’ eyes bugged and they looked down at their chests in unison. But there was no blood that

  I could see. My heart beat so loudly that I could barely hear anything except its thundering sound, as I watched Quinn pull the small dart out of his chest and stare at it with confusion before he looked at Janie.

  She slipped the gun back into her shoulder holster. “Geez, don’t look at me like that, handsome. It’s just a garlic dart. I wouldn’t kill you. Not today, anyhow. I’m not that much of a bitch. My issue isn’t with you, but I can’t have you spoiling all the fun.”

  He frowned. “Garlic . . . garlic dart . . . ”

  “That’s right. Works like a tranquilizer on vampires. You should remember that, silly. Night, night.”

  I watched George and Quinn keel over, as if in slow motion, and hit the ground, before I ran over to check on them. Check their pulses. They seemed fine other than the fact that they were both unconscious. I picked up the dart on the ground and looked at it.

  Garlic dart?

  I was so happy it wasn’t a real gun that I felt like crying. That would have been it. I’d learned that silver bullets are enough to kill not only werewolves, but vampires, too. If she’d had a gun filled with silver bullets that would have been it. I would have just lost two of the most important people in my life. Just like that. The thought made me feel physically ill.

  I turned around expecting to see her grinning at me, but Janie was gone.

  I didn’t take the time to think things through. I turned, pushed open the door that led to the main theater,

  and started down the aisle, keeping my focus directly on Thierry’s still form. It was so dark everywhere but on the stage itself that even with my new and improved vampire vision, I stumbled a few times on the steps, but I didn’t slow down. When I was down on the floor I grabbed hold of the edge of the stage and pulled myself up, breathing hard, and then I was there. I was right next to Thierry. I touched his shoulder.

  Shook him.

  “Thierry. Wake up.”

  I looked at the back of the chair where his hands were restrained.

  Silver handcuffs. What a surprise.

  I pulled at them, hoping to use my Vampire Strength, and then realized I really didn’t have any and gave up. Plus, the silver hurt if I pressed against it too hard—as if it was sharp even though it wasn’t. If Thierry struggled too much against the cuffs, he might succeed in cutting his hands off trying to get loose. I shuddered at the thought.

  “Thierry, please, please wake up!”

  I gently pushed his head back from the slumped-on-his-chest position it was in. I ran my fingers through his dark hair.

  Nothing.

  Then I slapped him hard against the side of his face.

  “Sorry! But wake the hell up!”

  His chest rose and fell as he took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes, staring at me for a moment before confusion set in.

  “Sarah? What’s going on?”

  I felt a wave of relief and I kissed him hard on his lips, holding his face between my hands. He blinked at me with surprise.

  “I’m rescuing you.”

  “Rescuing me?” He looked around the stage. “Where are we?”

  “Let me nutshell it for you. Janie, one of the bodyguards you so kindly hired to keep an eye on me? Is

  Peter’s siste
r.”

  “What?” He looked so shocked by this I knew without a doubt he’d had no idea.

  I nodded. “She wants revenge on me and she grabbed you coming out of the club. Must have shot you with a garlic dart to . . . incapacitate you or something. If I’d known that’s all it took, I might have invested in a few myself.” I tried to smile as I stroked his face. “Are you okay?”

  He looked around the stage, taking it all in for a moment, then looked at me, a frown creasing his forehead into deep lines. “You shouldn’t have come. It isn’t safe.”

  “No, it sure the hell isn’t. But she was planning on killing you if I didn’t come.”

  “Then you should have let her. Sarah, you must leave immediately.” He shifted in his seat and tensed up as he felt the silver bite into his wrists.

  I ignored him and fiddled again with the handcuffs. They weren’t going to open without the keys. Or a locksmith. Were there vampire locksmiths? I’d have to consult the Yellow Pages.

  “I got Quinn and George to come with me.”

  “They have restrained Janie, have they?”

  “Actually no. She shot them with those garlic darts. You know, I had garlic bread at my cousin’s wedding rehearsal. I couldn’t keep it down but if I had, would I have passed out?”

  “Sarah, please. Please. You need to leave me here.”

  “Don’t make me smack you again.”

  “Sarah—”

  I frowned at him. “I’m not leaving you here. Get it through your head right now so we can move on.”

  “You’re in danger.”

  I stood straight up and looked down at him. Even after everything that had been said and done between the two of us, all I wanted to do was to hug him. Or throttle him. One or the other. “Thierry, I’m always in danger. Even when I was a human I was in danger, I just didn’t know it. From a mugger, from a speeding bus, from anything. Life isn’t safe. It’s never been safe.”

  He shook his head. “This is a little different than that. You can choose to be safe.”

  “I can choose to gag you in a minute if you don’t stop arguing with me.”

  He frowned at me. “With what will you gag me?”

  “I’ll find something.”

  “You’re rescuing me.” He said it like he didn’t believe it.