Chapter Eleven
MINA
Twenty minutes later, we were all in the drawing room — except Marius, who was still out “patrolling,” as Roux put it.
I stood by the huge rear windows, studying the dark sky. Chateau Nocturne had never, ever needed patrolling. Not as far as I’d ever heard of, at least. But now…
I cursed Henrik under my breath, blaming him for no good reason. Well, other than being a vampire and for sneaking into the attic over my bedroom and freaking me out and keeping me on edge for the entire week he’d been here. But other than that…
I took a deep breath and reminded myself he’d just chased away an intruder — for me.
Then I frowned and glanced at him. Had that been for me…or some other reason?
That was the thing with vampires. Their allegiances constantly shifted, and it was impossible to tell whose side they were on — except their own, of course.
“Here.” Roux pressed a glass into my hand.
I turned reluctantly away from the windows and absently sniffed the drink. “Thanks.”
Bene was crouched by the fireplace, stacking kindling and logs. And wow, did the guy have a fantastic ass. Not that I was looking, but I couldn’t not look, what with him crouched the way he was.
Henrik stood by the piano, staring pensively into his whisky glass. Friend or foe? I wondered for the hundredth time. Friend or foe?
Roux was — no surprise — pacing back and forth, back and forth. The man was a thundercloud, bouncing from one wall of the drawing room to the opposite side in an ever-unfolding storm.
“Perfect,” Bene murmured, holding his hands toward the crackling fire.
Leave it to the sunny lion shifter to find a silver lining.
He and Roux had disappeared — one at a time, thank goodness, so as not to leave me alone with Henrik — to shift into human form and dress. Still, the scent of dew-moistened fur lingered and carried on the draft of the crackling fire.
Both felines were furious about the intruder and concerned for me. Apparently, they considered me part of their turf now. I didn’t know whether to be honored or offended.
“So, who — or what — was that?” I asked, carefully maneuvering my drink as I crossed my arms.
Bene and Henrik looked at Roux, and I made a little mental note.
Marius’s absence seemed to give the tiger’s authority a subtle boost, though I’d never seen Marius challenge Roux outright.
I supposed the others recognized a top dog when they saw one, and that had the side effect of knocking Roux down a peg or two.
Poor Roux. He tried so hard to rule the roost. And he was good at it too — as long as the guys played along. Too bad discipline wasn’t their strong suit.
Roux jutted his chin toward Henrik. “You got the closest. What do you think?”
Henrik scowled. “I didn’t get a clear look, but my guess is it was Szabo.”
The tussle in the bushes replayed in my mind, along with the sound of fleeing footsteps.
“Who is Szabo?” I demanded.
“A vampire.” Henrik regarded his fingernails with distaste.
Which really didn’t bode well — a vampire looked down upon by my sneaky, night crawler of a client.
“A Carpathian,” he emphasized, as if that explained anything.
Roux rolled his eyes. Clearly, he’d heard this before.
“A vampire on a social call…in my garden?” I snipped.
“You call that a garden? More like a jungle,” Bene chuckled.
I glared. “It’s on the list.”
He stuck up his hands.
“Also, I could have died,” I said.
Henrik yawned. Apparently, my near-death experience hadn’t been near enough for him.
“Well, it wasn’t a social call,” he said in a voice as dry as the decade-old roses stuck in a vase by the piano. “He was snooping around.”
“Snooping around because…?” I stirred my hand impatiently.
Henrik shrugged. “Reading the mind of a Carpathian is like reading the mind of a human.” He wiggled his hands in the air. “Nothing but a jumble up there, if anything at all.” Then he spotted me and added a weak, “No offense.”
I leveled a flat glare at him.
He stared into my eyes, then froze. “Wait. Why is it I can’t read your mind?”
“Why is it that you’re trying?” I shot back.
He shrugged. “Habit, I suppose.”
“Well, break it,” I muttered, then returned to the matter at hand. “How do you know Szabo?”
The door flew open, and Marius strode in. He’d shifted and dressed, but yikes. As far as aura went, that was still a dragon storming into my drawing room. A very big, very angry one.
His eyes swept over the room, then screeched to a halt on me. A wave of emotion followed, and boom! I grabbed the back of a chair before I stumbled.
My first instinct was anger, and maybe his too, because that’s what ran on the heels of relief when you worried about someone close.
Wait. Someone close? I barely knew the man, and he barely knew me.
I let out a long, shaky breath, figuring now was not the time to examine that.
Everything is okay, I did my best to radiate cool, calm vibes. Because… Well, dragon shifter standing awfully close to my grandmother’s china cabinet. And for other reasons, too, like that inexplicable ache in my heart.
Everything is all right. I pushed the unspoken words toward his mind. I’m mad as hell, but everything is all right.
“Did you get him?” Bene asked in a casual tone suitable for asking, Did you get the newspaper?
Marius turned his piercing look to the window. “No, but I swear, I will.”
I wondered how many miles he’d flown — and how many acres of forest he’d torched in the process. I peeked outside and sniffed for smoke, picturing an apocalyptic landscape where my gardens had once stood. Overgrown gardens, but still.
Then I sighed. The chateau was probably worth more in fire insurance than it was in the flesh…if I’d made the last payment in time.
I made a mental note to check tout de suite.
“He took off in the direction of town,” Marius growled.
“Who?” Bene, Roux, Henrik, and I all asked at the same time.
Marius shook his head bitterly. “I’m not sure. Maybe Szabo?” He shot Henrik a significant look.
Did the vampire and Szabo, whoever he was, have an ongoing feud? Had it caused trouble for this gang before?
Szabo, who? I wanted to scream.
“In any case, he went toward town,” Marius concluded.
“And you didn’t follow?” Roux barked.
“What, like this?” Marius held out his arms and bared his teeth, as if anyone needed a reminder of his second side. Then he hmpfed. “Sure. Great idea. I could have followed him right through town. Maybe even torched him as he ran down the street. You know, in plain view of everyone.”
Bene cackled. “Not in this town, man. Everyone’s in bed by nine.”
True, but Marius’s point still held, and I said as much.
“He did the right thing. We can’t risk anyone in town reporting unusual sights.”
Marius crossed his arms and shot Bene a smug look.
Bene snorted. “Like long plumes of fire in the sky?”
Marius loomed over him, sticking out his chest. The hair on Bene’s chin thickened, and—
I stuck out my hands, sensing a shoving match brewing — or worse. “Oh no, you don’t.”
I did have the good sense not to step between them, though. That was one lesson I would never forget.
I jerked a thumb over my shoulder. “You want to fight, take it outside.”
Roux sliced the air, using his hands as twin knives. “No fighting at all. We’re not enemies.”
Well, they sure acted like it.
“The enemy is out there,” Roux emphasized, pointing outside.
A chill went down my spine. Having an intruder was creepy enough. Having an enemy was even worse.
But I didn’t have enemies. Neither had my grandmother.
“Wait a minute,” I growled. “Whose enemy?”
I looked from Bene to Roux, over to Henrik, and finally, at Marius.
“Whose enemy?” I demanded.
“His.” They all said in unison, each pointing to someone else.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake…” I muttered, throwing back a gulp of my drink.
Cognac burned my throat, making me choke.
Bene patted my back. Not all that helpful, but it was the thought that counted.
“Whoa, there. Take it easy with that stuff.”
I composed myself and thanked him…then folded into another coughing fit.
Still patting me, Bene turned to the others. “Mina has a point. She’s way too harmless to have enemies.”
Still coughing, I formed a fist. I’d show him harmless…
But Roux was already nodding, dammit. “He’s right. It has to be one of us.”
To a man, they glared at Henrik, who stuck up his hands.
“Why is it always me?”
Bene shrugged. “Because you’re you.”
“Well, it could well have been one of your enemies.” Henrik stuck a finger at Marius. “Like whatshername — Celeste.”
Marius’s eyes went dark, and he clenched his jaw. Clearly, those two had some kind of history.
My fists grew tighter. Celeste sounded rich. Beautiful. Seductive.
I hated her already.
“Or that colonel you pissed off.” Henrik moved on to Roux.
“Corrupt colonel,” the tiger grumbled.
“Or that black widow of a woman you were foolish enough to carry on with.” Henrik started in on Bene.
My ears perked. It was hard picturing the good-hearted lion shifter making an enemy of anyone, except the fathers — or jealous husbands — of all the women he must have lured to his bed over the years.
Lucky girls, a dirty part of my mind sighed. Not that he was my type.
My eyes jumped to Marius, and my body heated.
A damn good thing that my phone rang just then. I’d left it on the coffee table, and the buzz made it jiggle in place.
Everyone froze, staring at it.
So did I. It was late. Who would be calling at such an hour?
I approached it slowly, imagining a hoarse voice threatening me with…what?
“Please don’t let it be Gordon,” Bene muttered as I looked at the display.
Roux’s pained expression was a mirror of Bene’s. Henrik’s too. Marius looked downright murderous.
I frowned, then answered, keeping my eyes on the men before me.
“Hello?”
I froze at the reply, then composed myself, keeping my eyes on the men when I spoke.
“Oh hello, Gordon. How are you?”