Barkley. I’ve decided to tolerate him because I know thatyou like him.”
I smiled at the two of them. “You guys look like you’re getting cozy.”
George leaned forward to scratch Barkley’s head. “I don’t like dogs.”
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Dog lover.”
He shot me a look. “Oh, by the way, somebody tried to deliver something for you earlier but nobody was home. He left a slip that said he’ll be back tomorrow. On a Sunday? Who delivers on a Sunday?”
I froze. “Who was it? What were they trying to deliver? Was it ticking? Did the delivery guy look like a hunter?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t really pay that much attention. You know, you’re getting a little paranoid, Sarah.”
“Paranoid,” I repeated. “Paranoid is just another word forproactive , my friend.”
“Whatever you say.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “All right, this is me getting ready for my date now. If that’s okay with you?’
He waved a hand. “You do what you have to do. Just remember what I said. Don’t try to pry too deeply in Thierry’s business. Even though he doesn’t look it, he’s really old and set in his ways. Old guys get crotchety about their privacy.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I dragged the bags into my temporary bedroom and then went through my loot from the day’s shopping spree. All things considered, I’d done okay. It came nowhere close to replacing my old wardrobe. God,
I was going to mourn that for a long, long time, along with everything else I’d lost—especially my shard.
Somebody had to pay, and I’m not just talking credit.
I’d bought something special to wear tonight, even though the thought that we weren’t going anywhere better than Haven an hour and a half before it opened to the general vampire public was a little disappointing.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to set foot in any club for the next few days after that horrible dream I’d had.
Even though I know it wasn’t real, seeing Thierry staked right before my eyes had really shaken me to my core. And my core was already shaken to begin with. I wish I could just forget about Peter once and for all. I shouldn’t feel guilt for what happened. He’d deserved it. It had been self-defense—it was him or me.
I shivered at the memory.
Thierry had taken care of the body. All the bodies, really. He had some serious contacts pretty much everywhere, so when he needed something done, all he had to do was flip open his silver cell phone and call those who would assist with whatever problem there might be.
Just like he’d been on the phone last night with his contacts dealing with his latest problem. Otherwise known as me.
I sighed. He probably thought I was just one big bother.
I pulled out the black dress I’d bought during my shopping extravaganza—the kind of black dress that was chic and sophisticated while still being low-cut and sexy enough for me to not want to wear in front of my mother.
Maybe it was wrong to go through with my date with Thierry after everything that had happened. I mean, it was less than twenty-four hours since my apartment and all my belongings had gone up in flames.
I think if that had happened when I’d still been a normal office gal things might have been different for me.
Instead of going on a shopping spree the next day I would be curled up in a corner of a dark room rocking myself back and forth. Drool may have been involved.
But I wasn’t drooling. It was a miracle.
Or maybe I was still in shock. That was a definite possibility.
But I did want to see Thierry. Actually, I couldn’t wait. I wanted to spend some time alone with him to remind him how much I wanted him in my life.
And not just that. I needed some answers. I had so many questions—about him, about us, about
Nicolai, about the hunters, about everything, really. And getting him alone with no other distractions might just be the prescription for getting exactly what I needed to know to keep me happy and alive.
Yes, relationship issues and murder plots. Let the romantic evening commence!
At the end of the day, I guess there was only one person who needed to be focused on keeping me not dead. And that was me.
Well. And maybe Lenny, too. He had that big knife.
Lenny dropped me off at Haven a few minutes after six-thirty. He said he’d be back to guard the door after he grabbed a burger for dinner. I hadn’t seen Janie since that afternoon. I had a spare key to the place, and I used it to let myself in through the nondescript front door.
I wore my new black dress (frankly, a little itchy) under a new black leather trench coat, and a borrowed-from-Amy pair of black four-inch heels. Black. That was my theme for the evening. But it didn’t look like I was in mourning. Not too many people would wear a dress this low-cut to a funeral unless they were the twenty-something widow of the ninety-year-old billionaire who just went toes up.
I peeled off the coat and draped it over my arm as soon as I stepped inside the darkened club. There was a short hallway before you got into the main area. That’s where Angel the bouncer normally hung out. Walk down the hallway and go through another set of doors, and boom . . . welcome to Haven.
A dark and empty Haven.
I frowned. Maybe George got it wrong. Was I supposed to be there? I knew that nobody usually showed up until about eight o’clock to get things ready for the nine-o’clock opening. The club was silent, still, and vacant.
Then I saw something over in the corner. Candles. Actually, a whole lot of candles. It was the table
Thierry usually sat at when not in his office. The table was surrounded by lit candles that gave off a warm,
flickering glow as I approached.
On the table were two red roses. A bottle of champagne chilled in a silver bucket. Two fluted glasses waited on the white linen tablecloth.
“Sarah. I’m glad you got my message.” Thierry’s deep voice moved through me from head to toes.
I turned around to face him, sucking a breath in at how tall, dark, and delicious he looked. The memory of his kiss early that morning came back to me in vivid, Technicolor, R-rated detail.
I smiled. “Hi there.”
He looked very serious. “I’ve been worried about you today. I tried to call your cell phone but I kept getting George.”
“I know. Sorry about that. I’m fine.”
His gaze trailed down the front of me, then back to my face. “New dress?”