Chapter Seven
Marcus
Sonny is angry. His eyes are freakishly blue, like they’re lit from some fire inside, and there’s tension in the way he moves. I follow him anyway, pretty sure I’m not the cause and painfully aware that there are layers here I don’t understand.
More than likely, I’m safer not knowing all that’s going on. They’re not paying me enough, though they are paying me, or at least Sonny texted me a generous figure. We haven’t gotten around to filling out any sort of HR paperwork, so maybe he’s just blowing smoke.
Sonny points me at the desktop I lusted after earlier, and, in a few brisk strokes, uses a temporary login and password to get me into the Securitas VPN. “This’ll work until we clear you through the Securitas system to make you official,” he says.
“Sure.” I make a note of the info, and by the time I look back at the screens, things are up and running.
“Our partner Nasir works for the Securitas, which is why we’re able to access their resources, and they have a program that’s basically a fancy version of FaceTime.
John and Rob will wear cameras about the size of thumbtacks, and you’ll be able to see what they see from here.
” He crosses his arms, his jaw tight. “Though if Rob Loxley thinks they’ll get in and out of that house without trouble, he’s high as a kite. ”
Yeah, didn’t think Sonny was mad at me. I scan the desktop and find an icon labeled with a big eyeball. Guessing it’s the app we want, I click on it, bringing up a single black frame.
“The images will pop up when they turn their cameras on. In the meantime, I’ll leave you to familiarize yourself with what we’ve got here.” Sonny tips his head up, a dramatic palm to his forehead like he’s got the mother of all headaches. “This one is crazy, even by Rob’s standards.”
“Good luck, I guess.”
“We’re going to need more than luck.” He stalks toward the door, pausing with his hand on the frame. “If you see anything worrisome, shoot me a text.”
He’s gone before I can ask any of the many, many questions in my head. Like, are they going to give me any warning when they leave? And what counts as worrisome when you’re visiting a vampire’s lair?
And is there a point at which I should dial 9-1-1?
Since I can’t answer any of those questions, I shoot Abby a quick text, asking her to ask Trajan if he knows Elian Prince’s address.
If I do have to call 9-1-1, it’ll help to know where to send them.
That done, I face the computer screen and open a browser.
A good first step toward studying de Lisle is to get a sense of the public-facing side of his operation.
Like, I know about his high-profile businesses, but anyone with that kind of money probably has his fingers in a little of everything.
I move the camera app to the monitor on my left and work from the one on my right and, hoping the Securitas VPN really does shield this computer’s IP address, I start.
I’ve got earbuds in, trance music on low, and I’ve gone as far as creating a spreadsheet when Will interrupts me. Gives me a heart attack, more like it.
“Well, that was fucking ugly.”
I manage to pull out an earbud, minimize my browser window, and jump out of my skin all at the same time. “What?”
He grins, clearly pleased by my reaction.
Effing elf. He grabs one of the rolling chairs and straddles it, facing me.
“You missed round two. John and Rob were talking strategy and Sonny tried to say he should be the one to go in with Rob, not John. You’d think that after however many hundred years, Sonny would know better than to push. ”
“Must be a vampire thing.” David’s boyfriend Trajan is the only vampire I’ve spent a whole lot of time with, and when he’s unhappy about something, the whole house knows it.
Still grinning, Will adjusts the ruffles on his blouse.
He’s added a touch of eyeliner and some lip rouge, taking his overall look from cute to positively decadent.
If I was into that. Which I’m not. Too close to David, for one thing, and apparently I’ve developed a taste for a more traditional tall, dark, and handsome type.
With an emphasis on tall.
“Then John started chewing Rob out for trying to pull off something so dangerous without any planning, and Sonny sided with John, and the yelling didn’t stop until Rob pulled rank and shut it all down.”
“So they’re not going to go?”
A thoughtful look crosses Will’s face. “On no, they’ve left already. When Rob says jump like that, we all ask how high.”
“Huh.” I pause for a moment, wondering if I’m about to get shut down myself. “The stories all talk about Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Y’all don’t act too merry, if you don’t mind an outsider’s opinion.”
Will laughs so hard he comes close to falling off his chair.
“Oh sweet pea, you are as charming as they come. Those old stories are just that. Stories. Rob is the Lord of the Greenwood, and we follow him because we’ve all sworn an oath to the Virgin.
We may not always like it, but someone’s gotta keep de Lisle in line. ”
I chew on that while Will continues to chuckle and the left-hand screen blinks to life.
The first view is clearly from the passenger seat of the SUV, the other a picture from the rear.
Given the angle of the images, the cameras must be some kind of James Bondian ballpoint pens stuck in their shirt pockets, and since the view from the rear is notably higher than the front, they must have folded John in half and stuck him in back.
“Are you sure?” The voice comes through the speaker. Probably Sonny. Then I hear something indistinct that could be a prayer, which surprises me. None of them give off a particularly religious vibe.
The images move, accompanied by the sound of opening car doors and the crunch of footsteps on gravel.
“So, tell me why the diamond is so important.” I say, poking at things to see if Will’s explanation will differ from Rob’s.
“Going into a vampire’s lair seems potentially risky for not much payoff. ”
“Like Rob said, de Lisle likes his toys, so we can land a blow when we steal it.” He sounds so casual it’s hard to find an argument even if he’s not quite making sense. “And Rob always likes to do some recon before we go in for the final deal.”
“That’s what tonight is?”
He meets my gaze directly. “Yes. Stealing the Belle Etoile is difficult, but not impossible. Since Rob summoned us this time, we’ve managed to stay out of de Lisle’s crosshairs, which means one of two things.
Either he won’t know who stole the diamond and will wonder whether Rob had something to do with it, or he’ll somehow learn that we’re in Los Angeles, figure out it was us, and things will start getting messy. ”
There’s logic there. Sort of. Except Will is an elf, so. “What if you don’t steal it?”
“Then we die trying and the bad guy wins.” He flashes his otherworldly grin. “No biggie.”
“Awesome.” I turn my attention to the images on the screen, jaw locked so I don’t say what I’m thinking. Pretty sure Jesus effing Christ, this is nuts wouldn’t be well received.
The two cameras face an elaborately carved door. Will rolls up closer to me, his scent like a floral incense, which should have been comforting if I wasn’t worried something bad was about to happen. “What do we do if things go tits up?”
Will doesn’t answer right away, and action on the cameras draws my attention.
The door opens, and while the discussion is muffled, it’s clear that Rob is being greeted by a minion of some sort.
Tension tightens my chest. I hate this. It would have been smart to text David to ask what he knows about Elian Prince, what the guy’s powers are, who he hangs with, that kind of thing.
As soon as that impulse enters my head, though, I squash it.
Won’t be texting David anything for a while.
If I’d been thinking, I would have at least asked Abby for more than the dude’s address. “I don’t know, man . . .”
“Trust us.” Will’s voice is so close to my ear it raises the hairs on the back of my neck. “Rob has talked his way out of tighter spots and John’s an extension of his mind. They’ll be fine.”
That makes me laugh. “I’m still not sure why they’re crashing this party.”
He shushes me, even though our mic’s not on so no one can hear our end of the conversation.
“Like I said, this is recon. Rob will take Prince’s measure and John will get a sense for his defenses. Nothing’s going to go wrong.”
I want to believe him, so I focus on taking slow, deep breaths. The images from Rob and John show them moving into a crowd of elegant people. Or vampires. Maybe some werewolves.
Hard to tell, given the way the cameras move. John’s tall enough to pick up faces, at least. Rob’s camera shows chests and cleavages draped in expensive fabrics.
A man dressed entirely in black approaches them. He’s not tall, maybe eye level with John’s camera, and even third hand, I can see the death in his eyes. My breath catches and I start to sweat.
“Calm down,” Will murmurs.
I can’t. “If nothing bad’s going to happen, why do we need cameras?”
He puts a hand on my shoulder. “Documentation.”
Oh, ffs. “Sure.”
Rob does most of the talking, a muffled conversation I should probably care more about. Mostly, I’m listening for anything that sounds like a direct threat.
“Are they armed?” I murmur.
I feel rather than see Will’s shrug. “John’s likely got a silver blade in his back pocket, and Rob’s got his mouth.”
I nod. “Awesome.”
The last time my belly was this roiled, I’d been on a beach, waiting to do battle against Trajan’s maker and a horde of strigoi. I’d been in my wolf form, so my memory is blessedly blurry.
I’d hated the feeling then, and I hate it now.
I’m not like David. He doesn’t take anyone’s bullshit and has never come across a fight he didn’t want to win. I’m a fucking computer geek, happy in the background, content to hide in the shadows.
Satisfied with peace.
The biggest mistake I ever made was motivated by my need to prove that I wasn’t the sissy my father accused me of being, and I’m still trying to redeem myself from that.
I really don’t want to have to fake it again.