Quinn glanced over his shoulder at Janie. Why he expected her to look afraid of the old man who almost killed her, he wasn't sure. Instead, her eyes flashed angrily, her teeth clenched, her fury barely contained.
He could tell she was having a difficult time restraining herself from killing Malcolm where he stood.
"Now," Malcolm said, rubbing the Eye against his leg as if he was polishing it. "I don't plan to take the ruby from you by force. It would be very foolish of me to try. I want you to give it to me of your own free will."
"Like hell. Where's the bomb?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"Because you obviously want to. If you didn't, you wouldn't have come up here to do your little dramatic presentation. You know that I can kill you easily."
"Perhaps not so easily, boy."
Quinn spread his hands. "Then why don't we find out? You have no idea what I'm thinking right now.
How much I hate you. You're disappointed in me? I have no words for the disappointment I feel for somebody I once considered closer to me than my own father."
"As if you are any better than me."
"He is, you son of a bitch," Janie snapped. "There's no comparison."
Malcolm looked at Quinn. "Your whore is defending you."
Quinn backhanded him across his face.
Malcolm raised his fingers to touch his jaw.
"Iam better than you. And you know why? Because I won't stand here and let all of those men down there die."
"That's exactly what you're going to do."
"You're wrong. You're going to tell me where you put the bomb, and you're going to tell me right now."
"What do you care about their fate? They're hunters who live by the sword and have chosen a dangerous path for themselves by killing indiscriminately. They deserve death."
"I'm curious about something. Did your God complex come before or after you'd been made into a vampire, Malcolm?"
He snorted at that. "God complex? Just because I wish to reshape the world in my own image? Because
I know best for all of humanity and I will kill or save whomever I chose? You think that means that I have a God complex?"
Quinn blinked. "Well, that's pretty much the definition of it. So, yeah."
"I've planned this night for a very long time. I won't let anything ruin it."
"Then you're going to have to make a choice. Right here. Right now." Quinn paused. "You can either kill all of the hunters at the awards ceremony tonight. Or I can give you the stone."
"Quinn!" Janie shouted. "What are you doing?"
He didn't turn to look at her. He kept his gaze fixed on Malcolm's wrinkled face. "Tell me where the bomb is and the stone is yours."
"I could tell you it's anywhere, and you would believe me?"
"No. You tell me, and Janie and I will go find it. Disarm it. Then we will meet in a neutral location and I'll give you the stone and you can do whatever the hell you want to do with the Eye."
"Just like that?"
He nodded. "Just like that."
A humorless smile curled his lips. "Well, this is a rather interesting turn of events. I honestly didn't predict this, my boy."
"And you can stop calling me that. I'm not your boy."
"No, you're not." He rubbed his chin as he appeared to think things through. "Very well. It's a deal."
"It is?"
"Yes. I have years ahead of me to execute my plans."
"That's the spirit."
"I will tell you where. And you will meet me in twenty minutes downstairs at the entrance to the theater."
He nodded. "Sounds fine. Janie, grab your dress. We're leaving."
She raised an eyebrow. "My ripped dress, you mean?"
He turned and met her gaze. Despite everything, he almost smiled. "You have other clothes, right?"
She sighed. "I really liked this dress."
Malcolm raised his hand. "She stays with me."
"What?" she exclaimed.
"She will be my insurance that you will not just leave after you take care of my present for the hunters.
That you will return and follow through with your end of the bargain."
Quinn glanced at Janie, who looked suddenly stricken. "I'm not leaving you alone with her."
He laughed. "So protective. Get over it. When she dresses, she comes with me."
"Forget it. The deal's off."
"Quinn," Janie said. "Just…just do as he says. I'm fine with it."