Stakes & Stilettos ib-4 Page 26

  I felt ill. My stomach churned. Gideon was the man Stacy thought she was in love with.

  The reason she planned to give up black magic to become a "healer."

  He'd killed her and he'd also killed my chances to break the curse.

  Gideon continued, ignoring the stricken expression on my face. "Your being a nightwalker, even only a cursed one, has nothing to do with what I want. It has a great deal more to do with your very special blood."

  "My blood?" I repeated shakily.

  "Two master vampires have allowed you to drink from them. It has changed something in your internal makeup. Master vampires do not share their blood, and if they do it is with only one fledgling. Multiple masters giving blood to a fledgling is a very rare event. In fact, it's an unwritten rule amongst their kind that they don't do this."

  I shook my head. "It's only a rumor that it makes a difference."

  "It's not a rumor. It is fact. However, I'm still not certain that two masters are enough."

  He frowned. "I have reason to believe that your blood can cure me. It can heal me."

  That surprised me. I licked my dry lips. "Heal… heal your scars, you mean?"

  "That's right. But also the hellfire I was exposed to continues to burn into me and cause its damage even as we stand here. It won't be long before it slowly consumes me completely, and when I die, Hell itself will claim me, body and soul." His jaw clenched. "But I think that your blood has the potential to cure all of my ailments and make me stronger than I was before."

  My temperature had plunged even more at hearing his full diagnosis. "You think."

  "There have been others like you, many years ago, and their blood was a sacred gift thought to be sent from the gods as a cure for illness."

  "So, what? You mix a little of my blood with some Peach Schnapps and call it a day?" My jaw was tight. "So what was with the whole song and dance? Why didn't you just do it a week ago when the stake was sticking out of my chest? There was plenty to go around then."

  "I have to wait for the full moon two weeks from tonight." He sighed and it came out sounding very weary. "There are all these annoying rules with this sort of thing."

  "So the full moon. Then what?"

  "Then you will sire me as a vampire."

  I blinked. "But you're the leader of the vampire hunters. Don't you see a bit of a problem with that?"

  "I am dead to the hunters. I've been buried. I can begin a new life."

  "You're crazy."

  "Getting there."

  "I'm not making you a vampire."

  "I'm afraid that I'm not giving you a choice in the matter."

  I took a deep breath. Okay, I'd had about enough of this. I walked over toward him and put my hand on his chest. My nightwalker juices had started to flow and the fog that had slowly rolled in was helping to chase away that petrified feeling and solidify it into something much different and a hell of a lot scarier. For him, that is.

  With one push, he stumbled backward and landed in the chair.

  He raised an eyebrow. "Interesting."

  "Oh, I'm just getting started." I leaned forward so I was looking directly into his eyes, knowing without a doubt that mine had turned black, since I now saw the world a bit differently—more like a predator would. "I want you to let me out of here. Right now. Do you hear me?"

  "I hear you." He didn't make any moves and his eyes didn't glaze over in that special mind-

  control way.

  I frowned. "Let's try this again. Let me out of here now."

  "I believe I told you before, Sarah, that vampiric mind control only works on weak-

  minded humans. My mind, despite my obvious injuries, is very strong from years of training against potential dangers like this."

  I hissed at him. Maybe I couldn't stab him in the heart with a knife, but his neck, on the good side, did look extremely appetizing. I settled down onto his lap and pressed my face against his throat. "What if I bite you right now?"

  "I would strongly suggest against it."

  He didn't flinch as my teeth grazed his flesh. The world began to narrow in and I felt the darkness gathering inside me. I could taste his pulse, and sinking my fangs into his neck seemed like the best idea I'd had in a very long time.

  "Taking the chain away was a mistake," I whispered into his ear. "I'm a little different when I'm hungry these days. And I'm suddenly extremely hungry."

  "I don't think Thierry would appreciate you sitting on my lap like this."

  "I'm sure he'd understand." I traced my tongue along the side of his neck and tasted the salt of his skin and the smell of his cologne. Very tasty.

  Then I felt his hand on my ass under my skirt and he squeezed. It made me jump and I got up quickly.

  "What the hell was that?" I snapped.

  He grinned. "What I normally do when a woman is crawling all over me." He flicked his head to the right. "Take a look at what's over there on the table. Perhaps we should move this meeting along a bit, although I did enjoy the lap dance."

  I glared at him, drawing my upper lip back from my fangs. Then I moved toward the table to the side of the chair and looked down.

  There were photos on top of it. Black-and-white surveillance photos.

  "You see?" He stood beside me now. "I have been watching, Sarah. I know everything about you. And all I want from you is for you to sire me come the full moon. I want to be healed and I have no intention of going to Hell—even if it means becoming a vampire to avoid that fate. In fact, I look at it as a great adventure."

  I could barely hear him, since I was too focused on the photos. There was one of Thierry leaving through the back door of Haven and heading to his Audi. One of Amy and Barry laughing outside their house. George walking down the street holding a tray with two

  Starbucks coffees. The front of George's house with the blinds drawn and a FedEx truck out front.

  There was a picture of the high school where I'd attended the reunion. A shot of me and

  Thierry and Claire and Reggie outside after I'd bitten George. There was a picture of my parents' home with all the cars belonging to my relatives parked in front. Another photo showed my mom and dad putting birdseed out.

  "I will kill them all," Gideon said softly. "I hate to do this with such a lack of finesse. It's not really my style. But I'm afraid if you leave me with no other choice, then what can I do? I'm a desperate man."

  I turned and grabbed him by his throat and squeezed. His hands came up to claw at mine but I had a good hold of him. I pushed him back and he flew across the factory floor, before hitting the ground hard, coughing and sputtering.

  "You stay the hell away from these people!" I yelled.

  He kept coughing. I could see the red, bruiselike imprint of my fingers on his throat. "You have quite the grip on you."

  The need for blood had been replaced by anger. No fear, no panic, no anxiety, just a simple, hot line of fury that anyone would threaten the people I loved.

  "Stay away from them or I will kill you myself," I said.

  He struggled to get up from the floor. "I already gave you that option. That door has closed, Sarah. You made your choice."

  "Maybe I've changed my mind." I took a step toward him.

  "Harm me and all those who are pictured there are dead." He breathed out. "I haven't taken any chances. The other hunters may think I'm dead and buried, but my money still speaks volumes. And hired killers are a cheap commodity these days. Hired killers who, if they don't hear from me in the next hour, will go ahead with their assignments."

  "So if I'd killed you when you gave me the chance all of these people would die anyhow?"

  I was shaking with anger. "You son of a bitch."

  His now-blank expression didn't waver. "If you'd killed me I automatically would have gone to Hell."

  "It's what you deserve," I snapped. "So all you want from me is my blood when I make you a vampire. What if it doesn't work? What if you're wrong and it's only rumors?"

&nb
sp; "Then so be it. It's better to try and fail than leave one's life up to nothing but fate."

  My head hurt. This was too much to take in, especially when I was feeling foggy to begin with. But my anger was fading and being replaced again by uncertainty and a dark hunger.

  I clenched my fists at my sides. "And if I do this you swear you won't hurt anyone I know."

  He smiled. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

  I had no choice. He wasn't giving me any damn choice.

  "Then we'll meet again in two weeks," I said. "At the full moon."

  "You'll do it?"

  "It would be my pleasure to sink my teeth into your neck, Gideon. And I wouldn't say that about just anybody." I held my hand out. "Now, give me back the chain."

  "Two weeks is a very long time." His gaze on me was steady. "A long time for you to go blabbing your pretty little head off to your darling boyfriend about my plans."

  I dropped my outstretched hand. "And let me guess, if I say anything, you'll have everyone killed."

  "Of course. But I want a show of faith from you. I want you to do something for me tonight."

  "Sorry. Only one lap dance per customer per night. Those are the rules."

  His smile grew. "That's not what I had in mind. It has more to do with Thierry."

  My eyes narrowed. "What about him?"

  "You're in love with him?"

  "Is that a rhetorical question?"

  "I have observed this relationship and have been very surprised that it has lasted, given the difficulties you've encountered."

  "What's your point?"

  "My point is that it is a good way for me to know how devoted you are to our little deal.

  This relationship that you value so highly, that you have already sacrificed so much for."

  He paused. "I want you to end things with him."

  I blinked. "I'm sorry?"

  "Break off your relationship and promise me you'll never see him again. Ever. It is the best way for me to see that you understand our agreement and will honor it. Besides, having

  Thierry too close, information could be whispered in intimate moments. Secrets could be told. And if he knows, then all bets are off. All those you love will die. So this is for your benefit as well as mine."

  "Go to hell."

  He touched his scarred face. "That's what I'm trying to avoid."

  "I'm not breaking up with Thierry. Besides, he wouldn't believe it. He knows how much I love him."

  "My research reveals that you were once an aspiring actress, Sarah. I suggest you use that talent to make it as real as possible. He will believe you. It's not as though it's been a long-

  term relationship. There are issues. He knows this. I'd be surprised if, given his history, he raises one finger to help salvage your love affair or tries to talk you out of your decision.

  The man has no passion for life, which is one of the reasons I've allowed him to live for as long as he has, hidden away in his secret clubs. I believe I'm actually doing you a favor."

  "You're insane."

  "This is how it is, Sarah. You will do this because I'm not giving you any other choice.

  You will end things with Thierry permanently tonight and you will not see him again. By doing so you are saving the lives of all those you love—including Thierry. I think it's a very even trade."

  My throat felt tight. "You think this is fair?"

  He studied me for a moment and then ran his hand along the ruined side of his face. "I'll tell you what. If Thierry actually puts up a fight, if he really loves you as much as you think he does, then maybe I'll reconsider. But if you don't even try to do as I ask or attempt to pass him the message that I have anything to do with this, then we have a very serious problem."

  I opened my mouth to say something, to tell him off, but he stopped me with a wave of his hand.

  "We're finished here. Do as I say. And make no mistake, I will know if you've reneged on our deal and will react accordingly." His smile twisted into something very unpleasant. "So make it good." He patted my cheek and then placed the gold chain into my hand.

  I snarled and lunged at him, but felt the sharp pain as another garlic dart hit me at point-

  blank range. I yanked it out of my stomach and glared at him.

  Fade to black.

  Chapter 20

  When I woke, Gideon was gone and I was all alone in the factory. He'd even taken the surveillance photos away. I would have liked to pretend that it had all been a horrible dream, but I knew it wasn't. My dreams lately ended much worse than this.

  I shakily got to my feet and brushed myself off. I still felt unsteady but it wasn't from the lack of consciousness. It was because I wasn't wearing the chain that now lay on the concrete floor next to me. I took a moment to put it on and slipped it under my cashmere sweater so that it rested directly against my skin. Immediately I felt better as my heartbeat slowly started up again and the hunger faded away to nearly nothing.

  I stood there for a few more minutes as I replayed my conversation with Gideon in my head. I suppose I could ignore his warnings and tell Thierry everything. He'd know what to do. He might be able to protect everyone.

  Might.

  And what did I have to go by? Gideon's word? I didn't know him. All I had was his reputation. The reputation of a cold-hearted killer who was now out of options and willing to do whatever it took to get what he wanted.

  From where I was standing, it didn't look like a multiple-choice questionnaire. Gideon had been very clear about what he wanted from me. I suppose, if anything, I should be thankful that he hadn't killed anyone that I cared about yet to prove his point.

  So yeah. I would do what I had to do to keep those I cared about safe. It wasn't even a question.

  I was an actress. Forget all the ensuing years in which I'd done everything from being a personal assistant who fetched coffee to being a waitress and bartender who… well, fetched coffee.

  Did I think that Gideon would hold true to his promise and kill everyone if I didn't do what he said?

  Yes. I believed it. That belief had attached itself to me as a sick twisting feeling in the pit of my stomach. I had a strange feeling it was now a permanent fixture.

  I finally left the factory and found that he hadn't been lying. I was close to Haven. So close that I was able to walk there in under ten minutes. Funny, my feet didn't even hurt anymore from wearing the high heels. I think I was numb.

  Numbness would help.

  It was just before midnight by the time I entered the club. I'd been gone for two hours.

  The club was now packed. Valentine's Day was a good night for business in a place that served blood and booze. This was the last night it would still be Haven. Tomorrow it might look the same, but it would be different—kind of like me.

  "Sarah!" Amy called and approached me. "How did it go with Veronique?"

  I blinked at her and then forced a smile. "It went okay."

  "Glad to hear it Listen, I wanted to wait until you came back to say bye. Me and Barry are headed out. He's taking me dancing."

  "That sounds fun."

  "Definitely. See you later!"

  And then she was gone. I scanned the floor for George, but he was very busy waiting on all the tables for his last chance at getting tips here.

  Ron the bartender waved at me and gave me a thumbs-up. He pointed to a shot glass in an unspoken question of whether I wanted a shot of my favorite blood type.

  Be positive.

  I shook my head.

  And then I summoned my inner actress, the one who never had a chance to really shine because her little light had been snuffed out too early by feminine hygiene commercials, lousy auditions, and general bad luck, and together we went to Thierry's office.

  The door was slightly ajar and I took a deep breath before I pushed it open.

  Thierry's head was down as he studied some papers, but he looked up at me and smiled.

  "Sarah, you've returned. I thought for a
moment that Veronique had taken you back to

  Paris with her."

  "Nope. Still here."

  "Did everything go all right?"

  I shrugged. "Depends what you think is all right."

  "The papers?"

  "She won't sign them."

  His smile faded. "I see. Well, I will have a conversation with her before she leaves town.

  Perhaps I can still persuade her—"

  I waved my hand. "No, forget it, Thierry. It's not necessary."

  He frowned. "Veronique is a very stubborn woman. But if she can understand that this is what I want as well—"

  "No. Let's just drop it. Can we do that?"

  "Of course." He leaned back in his seat. "Is everything well?"

  I sighed and it sounded shaky. "Oh, yeah, everything's peachy. Just fabulous."

  Inner actress. Summoning. Couldn't look directly at him. Had to make this quick. Quick like pulling off a Band-Aid and it might not hurt so much.

  "It's not too late if you wish to go somewhere this evening," he said. "To celebrate

  Valentine's Day and your receiving the gold chain." He paused. "And I do want to apologize. I know I've been a bit overbearing when it comes to my opinion of this Red

  Devil impersonator. Perhaps you're right and he only has your best interest at heart.

  There's room in the world for heroes of all shapes and sizes."

  "Overbearing," I said, and tried to laugh a little. "Yeah, you're definitely that."

  His brow lowered. "Pardon me?"

  "You're overbearing. Way. I normally don't mind so much but for some reason lately it's really been getting on my nerves."

  "Is that so?"

  "It is." I shook my head. "I think I should thank Veronique. She came at the exact right time to help a lot of things crystallize for me. I hate to admit it, but I think she might be right."

  "Might be right about what?" His tone was even.

  "The annulment being a stupid idea. I mean, seriously Thierry, it's only been ten weeks.

  I've left milk in the fridge for longer than that. It's the blink of an eye for somebody your age."

  "This is Veronique's opinion? That ten weeks is not long enough to constitute a worthy relationship?"