"I merely live up to my name, my beautiful cousin," Matias protested. "I cannot disappoint the ladies."
Turning to Donny, Beth noted his curious expression and explained, "Matias means God's gift. But," she pointed out, turning back to Matias, "nowhere in the description does it include to women."
"It doesn't need to be said," Matias said with a shrug. "Who else would a man such as I be a gift to?"
"Your mother?" she suggested.
"Si, her too. I am the best son."
"I think your brothers would argue that point," Beth said on a laugh.
"My brothers would be wrong then," he assured her.
"Of course they would," she said dryly and then glanced to Scotty to note that he was frowning over the exchange.
Turning abruptly to Donny, he asked, "Where's the luggage? Ye were supposed to be watching it."
"I stacked it on a cart thingy and rolled it to the building. It's just there," Donny said, pointing toward the windows, where a luggage cart stacked with their bags could clearly be seen just outside the door. "I thought we'd be picked up out there so didn't want to bring it inside."
"I am in the parking area in front of the building," Matias announced. "They do not like vehicles on the airfield. I will go fetch the SUV and pull up to the door now, though," he said and turned to hurry away.
"Is that for me?"
Beth turned from watching Matias go and followed Donny's gaze to the drink in her hand. "Oh, no. Sorry, they don't have hazelnut lattes, so I wasn't sure what to get you."
Nodding, Donny turned to the machine, his eyes lighting up as he saw the selections. "Oh, hot chocolate, and mocha and--"
"I'll fetch the baggage cart then, shall I?" Scotty said dryly.
Beth raised her eyebrows at his sarcastic tone, and then smiled and said, "Good idea."
"Right," Scotty spun on his heel.
Enjoying his irritation, Beth took a sip of her coffee and promptly spat it out. "Ugh," she said with disgust and tossed the drink in the garbage can. "Save your money, Donny. That's the worst instant coffee I've ever had."
"Ooooh, but they have mocha! I haven't had that since I was mortal."
Beth turned back to the younger man and raised her eyebrows. "You've had coffee, though, right?"
"No. I've been in training since I was turned," Donny explained, digging in his own pocket for change. "Lucian sent me to this place in Winnipeg for proper training and they're pretty strict. No pizza, no sweets, no pop, no caffeine. It's all steamed veggies, rice, water, and constant lectures about how your body is your temple and eating junk means a need for more blood and stuff," he said with a grimace as he popped change into the machine. "Well, that and weapons training and martial arts, and classes on how to approach a rogue."
"Oh," Beth murmured as she watched him press the Mocha button. She and Dree had gone to a special camp in Spain for training as Rogue Hunters too. But it hadn't been anything like what Donny was describing. Mind you, this was a hundred years ago. There had been no pizza then. At least, they hadn't heard of it there, and there'd been no packaged sweets like they had now. They'd also been encouraged to try things like coffee to see what effect it would have on them while they were in a safe environment.
For some reason, caffeine was one drug nanos did not immediately work to flush out of the system. They didn't seem to recognize it as a drug. Or perhaps they didn't see it as detrimental to the system. Whatever the case, they just let it be, which was weird because it seemed to have a heightened effect on immortals compared to mortals. At least for some. Some didn't feel any effects from it at all. For instance, with Beth it merely woke her up and made her a bit hyper. Drina had done okay with it too. But there had been immortals they'd trained with who had been badly affected by caffeine. Apparently they wouldn't find out today if Donny was one of them, she decided with amusement as he spat the sip of mocha he'd just taken back into the cup.
"Disgusting," he agreed, and tossed the drink into the garbage as she had done. But then he turned to put more change in the machine.
"You are not going to waste more money on that machine, are you?" she asked with exasperation, and then suggested, "You might want to wait until we're at the house to try more coffee."
"I'm thirsty," Donny complained. "I'll just try the cider this time. That can't possibly be as bad as the other stuff. But I do want to try an espresso later. You have to promise me I can."
"Promise you can what?" Scotty asked, rolling the baggage cart up to them.
"Try an espresso," Beth explained as she watched the machine produce a steaming cup of what looked like urine. Seriously, the man must be truly thirsty if he was even willing to try that after how horrible her drink and, she imagined, his drink had been. Apparently he was that thirsty, she decided when he blew on the steaming liquid and then took a large gulp.
"Well?" she asked.
"Eh," Donny said with a shrug, but took another sip.
Shaking her head, Beth turned to glance out the front windows. Spotting the SUV pulling up in front of the building, she headed toward the doors. "Come on. Matias is out front."
"So," Matias said as soon as they had stowed their gear in the back and joined him in the SUV. "I will take you to the university. You can be done with your business. And then we relax and enjoy your stay until the plane arrives to take you away."
Beth glanced to Matias with surprise. "I thought Kira was out of town until tomorrow night?"
Matias shook his head. "Mortimer, he had the dates wrong. Tomorrow is the party she is attending in California. Today she is home."
"It's after eleven thirty, though. If she has morning classes, this would be kind of late to go see her, don't you think?" Beth asked after glancing at her watch to note the time. When she'd asked Mortimer why they weren't talking to the girl tonight, she hadn't considered that attending the university as she was, the girl had probably had to modify her hours to match those that mortals kept. She'd thought of that only on the plane. And apparently she'd thought wrong, because Matias snorted with disbelief.
"Eleven thirty is not late," he scoffed. "Besides, you are still on Toronto time. Is only eight thirty-seven here." He tapped on the dashboard clock as proof and then added, "As for the morning classes, Kira is immortal. She will have mostly evening classes and some afternoon classes that were not available at night," he assured her. "In fact, she probably does not even have the classes on Friday. Most students try to avoid the classes on Friday."
"Why?" she asked with curiosity.
"Because then they can start to party on Thursday nights," he explained with a grin.
Beth frowned. "So she probably won't even be there?"
"Oh, si, she will," he assured her. "The bars and dance clubs, they do not get busy until eleven o'clock or midnight. Before that, everyone is getting ready and drinking in their rooms or homes. It is cheaper. Drinks at the bars and clubs are very expensive, so most students get 'half cut' before they hit the bars. She will not have gone out yet."
"Hmm," Beth murmured and then smiled and shrugged. "Then I guess we're going to the university."
Five
"Here we are," Matias announced cheerfully when they pulled into a parking lot at the university campus.
"Thanks." Beth got out and walked around the vehicle, aware that Scotty had got out of the back seat and was following. She slowed and then paused to peer at her cousin with surprise, though, when she saw Matias was out and following Donny toward her. "Where are you going?"
"With you," he said as if that should be obvious, and then, grinning, he said, "It is a building full of young, nubile women. I will be good backup."
"I think it's a mixed-gender residence," Donny commented. "There will be guys too."
"The males are your problem," he said with a shrug. "But the women I can help with. They love me."
Shaking her head, Beth turned to start walking. "Fine. But don't get hurt. Aunt Giulietta would flay me alive if you got hurt."
/> Matias snorted at the claim. "My mother loves you. She would blame Lucian."
"Yeah, she would," Beth agreed with a grin.
"Why does Giulietta love her?" Scotty asked with curiosity, and Matias glanced at him as if he were crazy to even have to ask.
"Because Beth is perfect," he said. "She is smart, and kind, and good and strong . . . and she used to keep me out of trouble when I was young."
"I babysat him when he was growing up," Beth said with affection.
"Si." Matias nodded. "She was the best aunt ever."
"I spoiled him rotten," Beth admitted without apology.
"Si, as I said, the best aunt ever," Matias repeated.
"I thought you were kissing cousins?" Scotty said dryly.
"As an adopted sister to Drina, she is my cousin," he said solemnly. "But I called her Aunt Beth when I was very young."
Scotty merely grunted in response. They'd reached the residence, and all fell silent as they entered the lobby.
Beth took a quick glance around, and then approached the front desk. She smiled in greeting at the twenty-nothing girl behind it, and decided she would try the mortal approach first. "Hello, we're here to see Kira Sarka. Do we have to sign in before we go up to see her?"
"No. You can't go up," the girl said baldly. "Visitors have to stay here in the lobby until the student comes to get you. But I can call and tell her you're here. What're your names?" she asked, picking up the phone and starting to punch numbers.
That's when Beth decided that the mortal approach sucked, and slipped into the girl's mind. The last thing she needed was Kira knowing they were coming so she could warn her bodyguards. Making the girl set the phone back in its cradle, she quickly rearranged her thoughts a little so that she would forget they had been there and not notice them heading to the elevator. Easing out of her mind, Beth gestured for the men to follow and led them to the bank of elevators.
"It would seem Kira is not well-liked," Scotty commented as they stepped onto the elevator and Beth pushed the button for the correct floor.
"Yeah, I caught those thoughts myself," Beth murmured as she watched the panel above the door. She had sensed him poking around inside the receptionist's mind, so wasn't surprised by the comment. She had been a little surprised at the level of enmity the receptionist had felt toward the Russian girl, though. Something the receptionist clearly thought was shared by every single person in this building who'd had to deal with "that Russian bitch."
"I suspect the girl will not be easy to deal with," Scotty murmured. "Perhaps I should handle her."
Turning, she eyed him with amusement. "Scotty, I spent most of my mortal years in a house with thirteen women . . . half of whom thought they were prima donnas. That's probably why Mortimer sent me. I can handle this."
"Of course." He nodded solemnly and then actually grinned. "Should be fun."
Beth blinked in surprise, and then glanced to Matias as he chuckled.
Shrugging, he said, "I know you, cousin. Scotty is right. This should be fun."
The ding announcing their arrival and the sound of the doors opening forced her to turn away and start off the elevator. Beth spotted Kira's door almost at once. It was hard to miss. There were two huge grim-faced Amazons standing guard in front of it.
"Oh man," Donny muttered behind her. "I can't help you with them, Beth. I can't hit a girl."
Stopping abruptly, she turned on the younger immortal. "Are you kidding me?"
"No. I can't hit a girl," he insisted. "I was raised not to hit them."
"So . . . what?" Beth asked with disbelief. "If we come up against female rogues, you're just going to--"
"Female rogues are different," he said quickly. "They're . . . well, they're rogue. But these women are just doing their job."
"Never fear, Donny," Matias said sympathetically. "I will help. I will seduce them away from the door."
Beth clucked her tongue with exasperation. "There are two of them, Matias. And they're immortal. I can see you seducing two mortals with whatever mojo the nanos give us, but I can't see two immortal women willing to--"
"Is fine, cousin," Matias interrupted reassuringly. "Women love me."
Beth frowned. "I know you think--"
She broke off and they both turned their heads to peer toward the women when two soft hisses were followed by two thuds as the bodyguards hit the floor.
"There," Scotty said easily as he slid his dart gun back into his belt. Catching Beth's eye, he shrugged. "Now Donny does no' have to hit them, and Matias does no' have to play the Latin lover. That's a teed baw. Can we get on with this?"
Beth bit her lip to hold back the laugh that wanted to escape, and simply nodded and continued forward, saying, "Now maybe you can control the residents who saw that and make sure they don't run screaming to their rooms and dial 911."
"Already on it," Scotty assured her, and she knew it was true. The half dozen young men and women spread throughout the hall had all frozen where they stood.
"Right," she murmured. "Then, Donny and Matias, you get to keep your eyes open for any more bodyguards who might be around."
"You think there are more?" Donny asked, sounding nervous. As he should be if he wasn't willing to hit a woman.
"Mortimer did say Kira's father had sent several of them," she reminded him patiently. "There are probably one or two in the room with Kira, and others on break who could return at any moment."
"Right," Donny muttered. "Can I shoot them?"
That made her stop and turn on him again. "Seriously? You can't hit them, but you can shoot them?"
"It's a dart gun," he pointed out defensively. "A little ouchy and they're out. Besides, Grandma might have said never to hit girls, but she never said don't shoot them."
Beth heard the bark of laughter that slipped from Scotty as well as Matias's chuckle, but held back her own amusement, and merely said dryly, "Yes, you can shoot them."
Shaking her head, she turned on her heel to continue forward again, this time not stopping until she reached the door where the two Russian women had fallen. Stepping between them, Beth raised her hand to knock at the door, and then thought better of it and instead bent to heft one of the women over her shoulder. She then pulled out her dart gun and glanced to Matias expectantly.
Understanding at once, he eased up to the side of the door, grabbed the doorknob and turned it.
The door wasn't locked, thank goodness. That would have completely ruined her entrance. Actually, she would have crashed into the door, looking an idiot, because the moment Matias turned the knob, she started forward, raising her gun as she went.
The room was larger than she'd expected. In fact, if Beth was to guess, she'd have said that the wall between two of the usually tiny dorm rooms had been knocked out to make one large room for the little Russian princess occupying it. It was fitted out like a loft apartment, a large bed in one corner, a kitchenette in another, a dining table in the third. A small sitting area took up the last and the rest of the space.
Beth took all that in at a glance and then focused on the three women in the room. A petite blonde and two more Amazons, one a blonde and one a brunette. She almost shot both of the larger women, but caught herself at the last moment and shot the petite blonde and the large brunette instead. She then dumped the woman she was carrying on the floor and turned toward the door, only to pause when she saw Scotty bending to grab the other bodyguard's wrist. She could see that the people in the hall were moving again as if nothing had happened, and stepped to the side to make room for him to drag the second fallen guard inside as well, and then turned to eye Kira Sarka.
The girl stared back belligerently and then lifted her chin as she gestured to the petite blond and asked, "How did you know she was not me? Most people think Liliya is me and I am one of the bodyguards."
"Then most people must not be looking very closely," Beth said easily. "The bling you're wearing has to be worth a quarter million at least, and your shoes are Jimmy Ch
oos, while your friend there is wearing cheap knockoffs."
"You have good eye," Kira said with a shrug. "But I am not interested in talking. You must go."
Beth chuckled at the order and walked over to sit at the dining table as Scotty straightened and moved to close the door. He then took up position beside it. That left Donny and Matias in the hall to keep an eye out for the return of any absent bodyguards.
Hoping the pair could handle the job, Beth turned back to the Russian and said, "To tell you the truth, Kira, I'm not interested in talking to you either. Unfortunately, that's the job." She arched her eyebrows. "You've been a very bad girl and have been feeding off mortals here in Canada."
"I am Russian," she said with indifference, chin going up even further.
If she wasn't careful, she'd give herself a crick in the neck, Beth thought, but said easily, "And this is North America, where the North American Council rules, and where that kind of thing is against our laws."
"I am Russian," Kira repeated, harshly this time. "And my father is head of Russian Council. He--"
"Yeah, yeah, he's the big chief in Russia." Beth waved her hand dismissively. "But again, this is North America, and you will follow the rules of the North American Immortal Council, or you will be subject to their punishments."
"If you cut off head, my father will--"
"So you do know the punishment for feeding off mortals here," Beth interrupted mildly.
Kira snapped her mouth shut and glared at her.
"The Council was concerned that perhaps you did not know our laws, or that you thought you had some sort of diplomatic immunity because of your father's position in Russia," Beth said lightly. "However, that's obviously not the case."
Beth paused briefly, and then, in a gentle voice, continued, "This is the only warning you will get. They will cut off your head if you feed off even one more mortal." She paused again, testing the girl's thoughts before adding, "That seems a very high price to pay to punish your father for being overbearing."
"He is overbearing," Kira exclaimed bitterly. "He is the bastard. It is always 'do what I say, go where I send you, be what I want.'"
Beth shrugged without sympathy. "There are worse things fathers can do."
Kira blinked and then narrowed her eyes, obviously reading her thoughts and memories. Beth let her, not trying to hide her history or what her own father had done.