“He’s the enforcer,” I said quietly, tearing my gaze away from the man now standing on the opposite side of the terrace.
“He is.”
“Why is he at the after-party for the Little Miss Platinum Vegas pageant?”
“I have no idea.”
“Do you think Victoria’s in any danger?”
Thierry cast a glance in the little girl’s direction. “No. A low-level case like Ms. Corday’s would hold no interest for Markus.”
“Good to know.”
I glanced in the enforcer’s direction again and managed to lock eyes with him for a moment before I looked away, feeling suddenly chilled.
“Perhaps we should return later.” Thierry directed me up the right-hand side of the staircase to the balcony, which had doors leading back into the hotel. There weren’t as many people up here; most were on the main terrace with the contestants and their parents or guardians.
Bernard stood at the opposite end of the large balcony, gazing up at the starry sky. Thierry and I exchanged a wary glance.
“Is Bernard here checking up on your progress with Victoria?” I whispered.
“I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Can he make your life difficult with the Ring now that Mr. Enforcer is on the scene?”
Thierry’s lips thinned, his attention fixed on the other man, who currently stood ten feet away from us. “He can make things unpleasant if he chooses to, but that’s all. What’s done is done. I now work for the Ring and I can’t renege after I sign the papers.”
“Why haven’t you signed them yet?”
“I don’t want to seem too eager to do what they want me to do. But I can’t delay much longer before there will be no turning back.”
“So you can still walk away from this if you want to?” The thought made me hopeful that there were alternate endings to this Choose Your Own Adventure novel. If Thierry was that interested in this job, I figured he already would have signed the next fifty years of his life away. “You don’t have to do this job at all if you really don’t want to.”
He turned to face me to show his expression was tense, his forehead furrowed. “I can’t walk away from this. It’s much more complicated than that.”
I shook my head, confused. “But why do you—?”
“Thierry…Sarah…” Bernard approached us. “Here you are.”
“Here we are,” Thierry agreed thinly. “And where is your lovely wife?”
“She went up to our room for a while after spilling a glass of red wine on her white skirt, but will be joining me shortly for drinks once she changes. Despite our differences, Thierry, we’d be happy for the company.”
Thierry’s eyes narrowed. “So kind of you, but I think we’ll pass. Unless you feel differently, Sarah?”
“No, passing is a good idea. So, so tired.” I stretched my arms in a mock yawn. “Got to get my eight solid hours a night or I get seriously cranky.”
Bernard smiled, but it looked forced. “Sarah and I ran across each other at a local blood bank earlier today.”
“Yes,” Thierry said without a sliver of affability. “She told me.”
“And did she also tell you what we spoke about?”
“She did.” His jaw tensed. “And I would appreciate that any further conversations of that nature be held in my presence.”
“I had the impression that you didn’t wish to be around me anymore,” Bernard said.
“And yet here you are standing directly in front me.”
I curled my arm tightly around Thierry’s as if to remind him not to let this jerk get to him again. For some reason, Bernard was able to push Thierry’s buttons like nothing I’d ever witnessed before.
Bernard’s smile shifted into something much less pleasant. “It sickens me to see what you’ve become, Thierry. I once looked up to you as a leader, a rebel, a man who would push forward and make things happen no matter how difficult it might be. It’s different now. That you would allow yourself to become a pawn for the Ring—”
“A position that you’ve held for five decades.”
Bernard gave a small shrug. “Some are born to be pawns. Some are born to be kings. I’m now free to be whichever I choose. And I mean to get my hands on those diamonds no matter what I must do to facilitate that. I don’t think you doubt the lengths to which I will go.”
Thierry’s arm felt like solid marble. “I’m finished with this subject, Bernard. And I’m finished with you.”
“Is that another threat?”
“Take it however you wish.”
Bernard glared at him. “You’ll regret this, Thierry. You have no idea how much.”
“Come on, Thierry, let’s go back to our suite,” I urged, feeling more and more uncomfortable with this standoff the longer it went on. “We’ll catch up with Victoria tomorrow morning.”
“That’s an excellent idea. Bonne nuit, Bernard.” Thierry and I turned away from Bernard and headed toward the entrance back into the hotel. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar face emerge onto the balcony and a small gasp escaped my throat.
“Thierry,” I whispered. “It’s the vampire hunter.”
It was Duncan, the man we’d seen earlier in the casino: Thierry’s informant. He moved past the gathered pageant organizers, contestants, parents, and others who’d stayed for the after-party of photo ops, drinks, and food. He glanced at us, but kept walking without saying a word. There was a small smile on his lips as he nodded in Thierry’s direction, before fixing his full attention on Bernard, who stood at the railing of the balcony overlooking the crowded terrace below.
Bernard watched his approach cautiously, a glass of red wine held tightly in his right hand.
“Bernard DuShaw?” Duncan asked.
“Yes, that’s my name. What do you want?”
Duncan reached into the inside of his jacket, pulled out a sharp wooden stake, and sank it into Bernard’s chest. Bernard dropped his glass of wine and it shattered the moment it hit the floor. He stared down at the stake sticking out of his heart, his pale green eyes wide with pain and shock.
He turned toward us, gasping for breath. “Thierry—”
And then he disintegrated right before our eyes as vampires over a century old do. Their bodies made like a water balloon that had just hit the ground. Splat. All that was left of Bernard was a pool of black slime that spread like thick blood on the floor next to his broken wineglass, the black and red liquids mixing together to form a gory puddle.
Shock rocketed through me. I couldn’t believe what had just happened in a matter of seconds. Bernard was dead—killed by a vampire hunter. And at least a dozen humans had witnessed it firsthand.
A dozen humans who all began to scream in terror at the exact same time.
Chapter 6
Immortality sounded really good on paper, but it was also a bit of a lie. Vampires had many enemies that could snatch that promise of eternal life right out from under our noses. While we were stronger than humans, we were far from invincible—what just happened was proof positive of that.
Bernard was dead. Nothing remained of him but a stain and a memory.
A memory of Thierry threatening his life last night.
A memory of Thierry speaking to his murderer only three hours ago.
Thierry, who gripped me by my arm and directed me away from what remained of Bernard and out of the Little Miss Platinum Vegas after party. We took the elevator up to our floor in stunned silence. When we arrived and hurried down the hallway to our suite, he slid the key card into the door and swung it open.
“Thierry, what are we doing?” My voice shook. “Did that really happen?”
He pressed his hand against the small of my back and guided me into the room. “Yes, it happened. Bernard is dead. And we need to leave immediately.”
“Why are we leaving?”
“Because it’s not safe for you to be here right now.” His voice was as strained as his expression.
“For
me to be here? What are you talking about?” I grabbed my suitcase and began to throw my clothes into it without bothering to fold anything first. “We need to find Laura. We need to—”
I couldn’t finish the sentence. I’d never before told anyone that her husband had been murdered. They’d been so happy together and now it was over. I looked at Thierry, imagining the horror of someone telling me that he was gone, killed by a hunter, and that I’d never see him again.
Thierry came to stand in front of me and he took hold of my upper arms. “It’s going to be all right.”
“Is it?”
“Yes, I promise you that. I’m putting you on a flight back to Toronto and then I’ll deal with the aftermath of what’s happened here tonight.”
“What really happened? I’m still trying to figure that out. He was standing there, talking to us, pushing your angry buttons again like he seems to be able to do. Then suddenly the hunter you were talking to earlier was there and he—he killed him. Why would he do that?”
“He’s a vampire hunter.”
“But…right in front of everyone?”
“Vampire hunters are unpredictable, even if we’re lulled into thinking otherwise.” He gently held my face between his hands. “This is not something that happens every day and there will be harsh ramifications. But first I must make sure that you’re safe.”
I wanted to argue, but he snapped my suitcase shut and took it in hand. I grabbed my purse and we moved to the door. When Thierry swung it open, someone stood on the other side.
It was the man he’d pointed out to me at the party, the pale one.
The enforcer.
“That was quite a party, wasn’t it?” he said. “It ended with a bit of a bang.”
“Markus.” There was nothing in Thierry’s voice to indicate how he felt about finding the Ring’s personal assassin blocking our way. As for me, I was about ready to pass out.
“Saw you downstairs, Thierry. I won’t take it personally that you chose not to say hello to me.”
“I know you’re not here to socialize.”
“No, I’m not.” The enforcer’s gaze moved to me. “This must be the infamous Sarah Dearly.”
Infamous, huh?
I swallowed, but fixed a pleasant yet neutral expression on my face. “That’s my name.”
He glanced at the suitcase. “Going somewhere?”
The way he was scanning the suite, my suitcase, and us was more than a little bit intimidating. More than a little bit threatening. Even I couldn’t find a suitable, lighthearted quip to help balance things out.
“I had nothing to do with this, Markus,” Thierry said evenly. “You must realize that.”
Markus cocked his head. “Nothing to do with what? With the murder of Bernard DuShaw not ten minutes ago? A man with whom you’ve had a history of unpleasantness and shared violence? A man whom you were overheard threatening only last night? No, Thierry, I’d say I’m not entirely convinced of your innocence in this unfortunate matter.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I managed, my heart thudding in my chest. “He was killed by a hunter, not by Thierry.”
“A hunter that Thierry is very familiar with and could easily have hired for this purpose. I was sent to this city to investigate the other local killings, but now it’s also my duty to take care of this new one as well.”
Thierry remained silent for a very long, tense moment. I wanted him to immediately jump to his defense, to argue with this jerk about how he couldn’t have had anything to do with Bernard’s death.
“So I am to be detained while you investigate?” he asked.
“Yes. And I will personally appreciate your cooperation in this. I’ll have men stationed outside this suite while I look into matters over the next day or two.” He shook his head, his expression neutral. “Got to say, though, it’s not looking good for you right now.”
“Thierry…,” I began.
Thierry held up his hand to stop me from saying anything else and turned to look me in my eyes, full on; he’d fixed a blank look on his face so I couldn’t read him at all. His talent for that was as frustrating to me as it might have been useful to him right now.
He said nothing to me before glancing again at Duncan. “I do have one request and it’s nonnegotiable.”
Markus raised his eyebrows. “What’s that?”
“I’ll remain here without argument while you investigate Bernard’s murder, but I insist that Sarah is safely escorted to the airport so she can go back to Toronto. I don’t want her to be any part of this.”
I felt sick inside with every second that ticked by. I wanted to wake up and find out this was just a really horrible dream, but I was out of luck. I was wide-awake.
Markus regarded me with a cold, appraising gaze—so cold I could have sworn I felt ice crystals form on my bare arms. “Request granted.” He smiled at me, but there was nothing nice about the expression. “Sarah, it was a pleasure to meet you. My men will accompany you to the airport. Your fiancé is smart to give you the opportunity to remove yourself from this situation. It’s not going to be a very pleasant couple of days.”
I ignored him and instead clutched Thierry’s arm. “You can’t just send me away and—and then what happens to you?”
Thierry remained silent, but his gaze was fixed on Markus.
“I’m an enforcer,” Markus said simply. “I enforce.”
Which meant he had full authority to decide for himself if Thierry was guilty of hiring Duncan to kill Bernard in full view of other humans because of a public disagreement they’d had over a stash of diamonds. The motive was clear and the opportunity was there. Thierry looked guilty as sin right now—even I could see that.
If Markus decided that Thierry was guilty, then he was going to kill him with full permission of the Ring.
Thierry touched my face and I tensed. “Please, Sarah, don’t argue this. Just go. It will be fine—I’ll be fine.”
I shook my head. “No, you won’t. I feel it, Thierry. This is bad.”
“If so, then I definitely don’t want you here.” The cool facade slipped and I could see raw concern slide behind his gray eyes. “Please, Sarah, go back home. Forget about this as much as you can. Do it for me.”
I clutched his arm and looked up at him, but then he crushed me against his chest.
“Are you guilty?” I whispered. “Did you do it?”
“No,” he replied. “But I’ve been set up. I’ll have to figure out who did it and why.”
“How are you supposed to figure that out while sequestered in this suite?”
“I’ll find a way.” He pulled back from me, then glanced at the men standing by the door, whom I hadn’t even noticed until this moment. He nodded at them before returning his gaze to me. “Please try not to worry about me.”
One of the men, a big brute with a crew cut and a tattoo on his biceps of a skull and crossbones, took me by my arm. The other one, bald with a thick black mustache, circa 1978, grabbed my suitcase. They directed me out of the room so fast that I didn’t have a chance to say another word. I didn’t have a chance to kiss Thierry one last time or even to say good-bye.
Stunned and shaken, I sat in the back of a black sedan as Markus’s thugs drove me to the airport. They took me to the counter so I could buy a ticket. They accompanied me to security clearance. Then when they were certain they’d done their job, they left me there in the line that moved slowly toward the scanners and the boarding gates beyond.
My head swam with everything that had happened. Bernard had been murdered and it looked as if Thierry had set up the hit.
Despite all evidence to the contrary, I knew he was innocent. But if he couldn’t prove that—and how could he prove something like that while he was stuck in a guarded hotel suite?—he was going to meet his own death at the end of Markus’s Ring-appointed silver stake.
He wanted me to go back to Toronto so I’d be safe. For me to say good-bye to him and try to put everything out
of my mind.
You’d really think he’d know me better than that by now.
I waited five more minutes, making sure that the men didn’t return, before I slipped out of the line and exited the airport. I flagged down a cab to take me and my suitcase back to the Strip.
The man I loved—the man I fully planned to marry one day very soon—was in mortal danger. The least I could do was save him.
Chapter 7
Even though Las Vegas was a 24-7 kind of town, I knew I wouldn’t get very far tonight in figuring out who framed Thierry for Bernard’s murder. Plus, I was worried I’d be spotted by Mr. Enforcer and sent back to Toronto in pieces instead of in coach.
That guy scared the crap out of me. And after some of the things I’d faced since becoming a vampire, I didn’t say that lightly.
I needed to find a motel and get an early start tomorrow. Nothing else would happen tonight. Nothing except me reliving Bernard’s murder and the look in Thierry’s eyes as I was pulled away from him by Markus’s men—again and again and again.
It was just after midnight, and I was all alone in Vegas with only a shiny pink, slightly beaten-up suitcase as my companion. Even though I was surrounded by the bright lights of the Vegas Strip and the hum of tourists out living the nightlife, I’d never felt so lost and alone.
I desperately needed to confide in somebody I trusted and hopefully get some sort of advice to help guide me from here.
I decided on my best friend. She picked up after three rings.
“Sarah?” Amy exclaimed. “Oh my God! It’s so great to hear from you!”
She sounded as if it had been months, not a day and a half, since we’d last seen each other. I was happy to hear her familiar voice. “Amy, I really need to talk to you.”
“Thanks for checking in! You know it’s after midnight here in Vancouver, right? That’s okay, though. Call me anytime. Yeah, we totally settled in here fantastically. I love this city. There are mountains here, Sarah. Big, tall, majestic mountains. It’s like a freaking postcard.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Listen, I really need—”