“Thierry was lying to me when he said you weren’t romantically involved, wasn’t he?”
“Not that it’s any of your business . . . but our relationship is anundefined one.”
“Undefined.”
“That’s right. Now, if you came here for an answer to your little job offering with the Ring, I haven’t made up my mind yet. You don’t have to stay in town. Just leave a number where I can reach you and
I’ll be in touch.”
He studied me for a long moment. Until I began to feel very uncomfortable. If I’d had the energy I would have stood up and left the club, but I didn’t think my legs would carry me very far before having another ceramic tile nap.
Where had Thierry gone? Was he okay?
Hell. Was I okay?
“What really happened at Midnight Eclipse that night?” he asked.
I crossed my arms. “I killed eight vampire hunters. And I’d do it again.”
“I thought you told me there were nine.”
Oops. “Eight, nine. What’s the difference?”
“How did you kill them?” His eyes narrowed. “With your bare hands? With a weapon?”
When I didn’t answer right away, he stood up abruptly. “I think that your relationship is not the only thing Thierry has lied about, has he?” He turned to look at me. “I am going to surmise that he said that I would kill you if I learned that the rumors were false, correct?”
“No comment.” My mouth was dry. “Let’s just say there are video cameras everywhere in here. Don’t try anything or you’ll be a stain on the floor in less than thirty seconds.”
I was such a terrible liar.
He didn’t look too worried. “So typical of him. Well, you don’t have to worry, Sarah. My plans do not include killing you. My disappointment, however, is vast. I had hoped that it was true. That I had finally found another who could help vampirekind find the strength we seem to have collectively lost.”
“I’m sorry. Really.” I touched my now-injured neck and flinched. “Plus that Ring salary would have been great right about now. Did you happen to hear about my apartment?”
He nodded. “The hunters still perceive you as a threat. In fact, I have heard that their leader, Gideon
Chase, has taken a special interest in you, though how long that will last before he, too, finds out the truth
. . . ” He looked away with a grim expression. “I had hoped to use your reputation to our advantage.
Thierry may find that ironic if he ever learns of it.”
“What do you mean?”
He fixed me with a steady look. “You don’t know who Gideon Chase is?”
“No. Should I?”
“He is the leader of the vampire hunters—a billionaire who is from a long line of those who kill us without conscience.”
“What’s he got to do with Thierry specifically?”
His lips made a move to smile, but seemed to change their mind. “Gideon is one of the many reasons
Thierry hides himself away. Gideon is the man who put the price on Thierry’s head. Thierry has managed to surround himself only with those he trusts, and has avoided being captured or killed. Quite an accomplishment. But he is still highly sought after. I believe the current price tag is three million dollars?”
“Something like that.”
“That price is for Thierry captured alive. Gideon wishes to claim the kill for himself. His riches have made it possible for him to make a hobby of hunting down the oldest vampires. He has many kills to his name. All vicious, sadistic, and excessive, for his own entertainment. He is a fearsome man.”
“I hate him already.” Sounded like this guy was responsible for a good chunk of the way Thierry acts.
His safety measures. His secrecy. Sounded like the kind of guy the world would be better off without.
“You should, as he is on his way to Toronto as we speak to hunt and kill the Slayer of Slayers.”
I blinked. “Say what?”
“It is true.” Nicolai paced toward the bar, stood there for a moment, then turned around. Oddly enough,
he was smiling. “I had a great plan. It is almost humorous now. I was going to use your reputation to lure
Gideon to be captured. Seize this opportunity. The Slayer of Slayers could have been instrumental in changing the dynamic between hunter and vampire. Thierry, too, would have been safer with the price off his head. Not completely safe, but without such a reward, it is unlikely that the average hunter would seek out a confrontation with a master vampire so old and powerful.”
“This guy is cominghere .”
Nicolai nodded, the smile fading from his face. “Not that it matters. Stay inside, away from danger, and you can avoid him easily. He will move on to his next challenge. As will I.”
My mind was working overtime. Half of me, well, more than half, wanted to do just what Nicolai suggested. Now that I didn’t have to put on an act for him, I didn’t have to put myself in danger anymore. I could leave the country. Go live with those nuns, like Thierry suggested. Stay away till things cooled down and my insurance money for the apartment came through.
Or . . . I could do something else.
“Nicolai . . . do you think the plan would still work, even though the rumors about me are all a big lie? If
I still showed my face out there and Gideon showed up . . . how likely is it that I would get killed?”
He shook his head. “You would be safe. I have a team in place as of this evening, ready when he appears to capture him. I doubt that he will be expecting anything like that.”
“You have a team? Seriously?”
“Of course. Your life was never in danger, from me or from anyone else. But I wouldn’t expect you to agree to such a thing now, despite my assurances. You don’t know me. My reception from Thierry was not overly friendly, as I’m sure you noticed.”
“I did notice that. But he’s not overly friendly with too many people, so to tell you the truth, the ‘grain of salt’ was invoked.”
He glanced over at the table in the corner. Two candles were still lit. The rest had joined the champagne, cranberry juice, and broken glasses on the floor. “And you shared blood with him tonight.”