I felt my face redden. “I had it under control.”
“Have you forgotten so soon what he is? A hunter. A hunter of your kind. Open your eyes, little girl, or you will not live long enough to reap the benefits of what you now are.”
“I said I had it under control.”
Quinn slowly got to his feet. “I won’t say a word to my father or the others, I swear it. I owe both of you my life.”
Thierry stared at him. “Words. Only words. I have no assurance that what you say is true.”
He shrugged. “Then I don’t know what to tell you.”
“I will give you something more than words,” Thierry said. “I will give you a promise. That if you walk out of here and it leads to danger befalling any of us, any of my customers, my employees, or Sarah herself, then I will hold you responsible.”
“I understand—”
“You understand nothing,” Thierry snapped. “I will hold you personally responsible.
Therefore, anything in your life that you hold dear, any person you have known, any friends, lovers, or family members—I will hunt them all down and destroy them. Words are meaningless unless you have the will to back them up, so you would do well to mark my words, hunter.”
Quinn’s face had paled considerably, as I was sure mine had, too. Thierry could be a scary man when he wanted to be, that was for sure.
George walked into the room and looked at each of us in turn, ending with Thierry.
“Hey, boss,” he said as he lit a cigarette and exhaled the smoke out slowly, “did Sarah really call you an asshole before?”
“George!” I moaned. “Now? You have to bring that up now?”
“Is this a bad time?” He didn’t wait for an answer, or for that matter, a response to his first question. “I just figured that since I haven’t heard any shooting in here, this might be a good time for me to take off.”
“Go,” Thierry said to him, but he was staring at me. I knew it even without looking because I could feel a distinct burning sensation on the side of my face.
George smiled and blew me a kiss, then he left. It was silent for a moment until Thierry spoke again.
“Do we understand each other?” he asked softly.
“Yes, absolutely,” I said.
“I was talking to the hunter.”
I noticed for the first time since I’d entered the room that the fang marks on Quinn’s neck had faded so much that I could barely see them anymore. Thierry’s powerful blood at work again. I wondered how soon he’d lose his reflection.
Quinn didn’t flinch from Thierry’s fierce gaze. “Yes, I think we understand each other just fine.”
Thierry studied him for a moment longer. “Then go. I won’t try to stop you.”
Quinn started for the door, but then turned back to look at me. “I meant what I said. I won’t say anything.”
I forced a smile and nodded at him. As soon as he was gone, I looked at Thierry.
“Sorry. I know it was stupid.”
He sighed. “And yet you did it, anyhow.”
“I had the gun you left for me.”
“The gun was not meant as artificial courage. It was not so you could come in here and wave it around like you know what you’re doing. Besides, the gun is now on the floor.”
“Oh.” I bent to pick it up and put it gingerly on the top of his desk. He opened the top drawer and placed the gun inside. “So, where were you, anyhow? When I got here, Zelda didn’t know where you’d gone.”
“There was a crisis at another club.”
“So, you own more than this one?”
“Yes. I own three.”
“What was the crisis? Did somebody quit on you?”
He slid the drawer closed and sat down at the desk.
“No, a little more serious than that, I’m afraid. Just after midnight last night they were raided by vampire hunters. Nearly everyone was killed, and the club was burned to the ground.”
My breath caught in my throat.
“So,” he continued, “I’m sure you’ll excuse my rude behavior when dealing with your friend, as it was his friends who were responsible for what happened.”
I blanched. “Oh, God, Thierry, I’m so sorry.”
He shook his head. “I suppose I’ve been too wrapped up in my own petty worries lately, but this was enough to fully waken me to the dangers around us.”
“So you’ve reconsidered the whole killing-yourself thing?” I asked hopefully.
“No. In fact, it makes me certain that my decision is the right one.”
I opened my mouth to argue with him, but he waved me off.
“I wish to be alone for a while, Sarah, if you wouldn’t mind.”
I nodded solemnly. “No problem. Um, I’ll go home, I guess. I’ve got some stuff I need to take care of.” I turned to the door. “Oh, by the way, I’ll probably be gone until Wednesday. I’ll swing by when I get back.”
“Where are you going?”
“I have this family thing to go to.”
Yes, it was a sudden change of heart on my part, I’ll admit it. But I’d decided the wedding was unavoidable. It would be best for me to go and get it over with. Also, getting out of the city right now sounded like a very good idea.
Well, maybe not to Thierry. He looked at me with annoyance. “I thought I told you to part ways with your old life. That does not include attending ‘family things.’ How many dangerous situations do you need to be involved in before you’ll do as I say?”