Quinn grabbed the guy by the neck and whacked his head on the side of the bar. The hulk fell to the ground in an unconscious heap. Then Quinn took a deep breath and looked at me. “Okay, so let’s go rescue your boyfriend.”
All I could do was stare at my would-be assassin with a gaping open mouth, and nod in agreement.
We arrived at the Paragon Theater quickly and parked George’s car—a twenty-year-old red
Mustang—out in front. I hadn’t realized the other day that the theater wasn’t the only thing that was abandoned. The whole damn neighborhood seemed to be.
“Do you think they miss us from the party yet?” George asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You’re sure they’re here?” Quinn led the way to the back of the theater, where, I’d told him, there was a way to get in.
“Almost positive. But I sure as hell hope so. Just follow me. And try to be quiet.”
I walked along the sidewalk, feeling the chill of the night cut through to my skin. Being a vampire meant that regular cold didn’t bug me too much, but this felt colder than normal. It was mid-January and the theater was located near a side road that led directly to the lake. When the wind picked up it was positively frigid.
I knew this was where Janie would take Thierry. If I was a psycho, crazy assassin who wanted to extract her revenge in a dramatic fashion in front of an audience, then a stage would definitely be my choice.
We entered through the broken back door. It was dark inside. Really dark. Quinn lit a Zippo lighter that didn’t help much, but I could see the hallway we had taken yesterday. I felt along the wall as we walked until I could see something up ahead. We’d made our way around to the front. Where the ticket booth was an empty ghost of what once was. A few small lights that resembled candles were on, set into the walls. I wondered when was the last time this theater had been open. Why hadn’t anyone bought the property? It had just been left, as it was, for at least fifty years. Sad.
Quinn pushed open a door that led to the main theater. I caught a quick glimpse at the stage and took in a quick breath. There was a spotlight on and it was aimed at the stage.
And I was right. This was the place.
George and I stopped walking and looked at Quinn, who’d already seen what was down there.
Thierry was sitting on a chair in the middle of the stage. I squinted and focused my sharper vampire vision to see that his hands were restrained behind him, his head slumped forward to indicate that he was unconscious. I clenched my teeth. Janie was going to pay for this.
“There he is,” George whispered. “Let’s go down there and get him.”
“Wait,” Quinn said. “This is too easy. It’s obviously a trap.”
I nodded. “I agree.”
“Wow,” a voice said from behind us. “Three vampires to figure that out. How many vamps does it take to change a light bulb?”
I turned around slowly. Janie stood ten feet away, alone, with her hand on her hip, looking surprisingly relaxed. She grinned at me.
“This was your plan?” I said. “Get me out here and then insult me? Good plan. Fantastic.”
“Thanks so much.”
I chanced another look over in Thierry’s direction.
“He’s not dead, if that’s what you’re wondering,” she commented. “Vamps his age, you know, they just disintegrate. Not much left behind, but it’s so hard to get out of cashmere, you have no idea. You’ll notice that I’m wearing jeans tonight.”
I turned back to face her. “Okay, you’ve made your point.”
“Oh, and what point is that?”
“I only wish you could have talked to me. We could have resolved this issue just between the two of us.
It didn’t have to come to this.”
“What issue? You mean the one about you killing my brother?”
“It was self-defense. He was trying to kill me.”
She nodded. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
My eyes narrowed. “Having a hard time with that since you blew up my apartment.”
She smirked at me. “Much as I’d like to lay claim to that little event, I didn’t do it. If I had, you wouldn’t be talking to me right now, since when I do something, I do it right. That was just some hunters into pyrotechnics.”
“What Sarah said about Peter is true,” Quinn said. “She didn’t have any other choice.”
Janie shot him a look. “Well, Michael, long time no see.”
“Michael?” George said.
“That’s his first name,” I told him.
“Learn something new every day.”
Quinn took a step forward. “Janie, why don’t you just stand down? You don’t have a chance here.
You’re a smart girl, you must be able to see that, right?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll get to you in a second, handsome. Now, Sarah, honey, what were you saying about my brother and it being self-defense? I’m certainly willing to listen to any and all arguments before I pass final judgment.”
“When was the last time you saw your brother?” I asked.
Her expression tensed. “It was a few years ago, actually. He was excited about going on the tour with the other hunters. Get to see the world, and all that.”
I nodded. “I’m guessing he was probably a really nice guy once upon a time. And I know you’re his little sister and you guys were probably close back then, but those few years must have changed him, Janie.
The Peter I got to meet wasn’t nice. He wasn’t somebody you could reason with. He was a cold-blooded murderer.”
Her lips thinned. “Takes one to know one.”
“Do you think I wanted to do what I did? If he’d given me any other choice, I would have taken it. But at that moment, it was him or me, and I chose me.”
She nodded stiffly. “How did you do it?”
I licked my dry lips. “A gun.”