Chapter Fourteen
ROUX
Gen was right about a large enough place for everyone to stay together, to better plan and investigate. But finding that on short notice in Paris was impossible, especially during the week of a huge concert — the reunion of Iron Eclipse, a hard-rock eighties band.
“Iron Eclipse?” Bene laughed. “My parents are huge fans. They have the goofiest pictures of themselves attending concerts about fifty years ago.”
“Fifty?” I snorted.
“Okay, maybe thirty.”
That was more like it, as I knew. My mother was a fan too.
At the moment, I hated the band, because it was very much in my interest for all of us to stay in one place.
“Maybe we should split up,” Marius sighed.
“Not a good idea,” I barked, doing my best to keep my eyes off Gen.
“Terrible idea,” she agreed.
“There has to be something somewhere,” Mina persisted.
An hour later, we’d found exactly two options — the Super Express Motel way out in Saint-Denis or Henrik’s apartment. Not that he volunteered it, of course. Mina suggested it, and after much cajoling, he relented. It was in the sixteenth arrondissement, near the Bois de Boulogne.
“Oh. The perfect place to set up an easel and paint,” Gen observed as we walked along the edge of the park.
I grimaced. By day, maybe. By night, it made a perfect place for a vampire to stalk prey.
Henrik sullenly led us up seven flights of stairs in a hundred-year-old building that had seen better days. Then he pulled a key hidden behind a heating pipe and opened the door. Everyone peered in, but no one took the first step.
“Not interested? Good. Go elsewhere,” Henrik sniffed, stepping inside.
“Definitely interested,” Gen murmured, following him.
My tiger snarled at the idea of her entering a vampire’s lair, and I practically body-checked Marius out of the way to follow her.
“What’s the hurry?” he grumbled.
I kept my lips sealed as my inner beast roared.
Big hurry. She’s my mate.
Oh, no, she wasn’t. She was just a beguiling woman I’d been semi-obsessed with since the day we’d met. A woman I’d shared a couch with the previous night.
My body heated, and my eyes itched — a sure sign of the glow building within.
I blinked hard, fighting my beast for control.
Gen followed Henrik down a narrow hallway and into the salon, followed by the rest of us.
“Don’t touch anything,” Henrik snapped, proving himself as generous a host as I’d expected.
“Oh. My,” Gen murmured, looking around.
Marius grimaced. “Maybe we should take the Super Express in Saint-Denis.”
“What did you expect? IKEA furniture and fairy lights?” Bene asked.
“This is exactly what I expected and why I want out,” Marius groused.
I was with him on that. Heavy velvet curtains — burgundy — were pinched back by thick sashes — gold, with tassels — while the room was crowded with ornate furniture fit for a much grander space.
The wallpaper featured equally dark, rich colors in a swirly pattern.
So many, they almost gave the place a psychedelic vibe.
“It’s kind of seventies,” Bene observed. “1770s, I mean.”
Gen chuckled. “Call it Transylvanian Nouveau.”
“Better yet, Neo-Gothic Chic,” Bene tried.
Gen giggled. “Wait. I got it. The Undead Urban Loft.”
“Parisian Crypt-Conversion,” Bene shot back.
They both folded into laughter.
I dropped the small bag I’d packed and got down to business by assigning quarters, starting with the two small bedrooms. “Marius and Mina can take this room. Henrik, I take it that’s yours?”
He nodded, blocking the view into his bedroom. All I glimpsed were the heavy blackout curtains.
Meanwhile, Bene and Gen were still at it in the salon.
“I’m serious,” he said, anything but. “IKEA should make a line of furniture like this. They could call it Gloomsta.”
“Noctorno,” Gen tried, running her hand along a coffee table with thick, scrolled legs.
They both hooted away.
“I’m glad someone finds this amusing,” Henrik sniffed.
Yes, it was a bit juvenile. But a little laugh went a long way on a crappy day, and today certainly qualified.
Except waking up this morning, my tiger corrected.
I closed my eyes, reliving the feel of Gen’s body nestled against mine.
“Sorry, Henrik,” she said, fair as ever. “We appreciate getting to stay here, and you get a free pass to make as much fun of my decor as you want.”
I had no doubt he would if he ever gained access to her private quarters…something I swore would never happen.
I cleared my throat, covering up my instinctive growl, and finished assigning bunks.
“Will you be all right on the couch?” I asked Gen.
She frowned. “Where will you and Bene sleep?”
“The floor.”
“The floor?” she protested.
“We’ll be fine, especially if we shift.” Bene toed a thick rug. “I call this one.”
“I call that one.” I pointed to the rug by the couch.
Gen’s eyes sparkled. “Um…Sure. The couch would be fine.”
Another night of near-yet-so-far might kill me, but I would take what I could get. And maybe when this mission was over…
I hit the brakes on those thoughts, fast.
We discussed the painting and the mission while waiting for a local Vietnamese place to deliver dinner.
“Ten thousand apiece,” Bene murmured with dollar signs in his eyes. “What a deal.”
“That’s not something to celebrate,” I warned. “Gordon is desperate.”
Marius nodded. “Really desperate.”
“The question is, why?” Henrik swirled his red wine.
Gen shrugged. “My dad’s work might be amateur, but that painting is priceless to us. Obviously, Gordon feels the same.”
“He cares too much,” Mina cautioned. “As if he has another motive.”
Marius made a face. “A safe bet when it comes to Gordon.”
“Like what?” Gen demanded.
“My grandmother kept cash in an envelope behind a painting,” I offered.
Bene scoffed. “Not sure that would work for Gordon, even if he used five-hundred-euro bills.”
“Documents, then,” Mina suggested. “Something he wanted to keep away from prying eyes.”
Gen frowned. “The backing of Dad’s painting was unusually thick…”
Everyone turned. “How thick?”
She held her fingers three-quarters of an inch apart. “About that much. Oh. Wait. I have a picture…”
She forwarded everyone the photo she’d taken on our previous visit. Even so, we soon found ourselves at an impasse.
“What did Gordon want when he kept you back?” Marius asked, changing the subject.
“The usual orders to keep a close eye on the rest of you,” I bluffed.
Bene patted my shoulder. “You always were his favorite.”
No, I was the one he deemed least likely to make a move on Gen. How ironic, because my tiger was totally fixated on her.
My human side too. I loved her scent…her verve…her upbeat, indomitable spirit.
Dinner arrived, and we ate in silence, each lost in our own thoughts — or fantasies.
“Gordon said, ‘your search,’” Marius observed.
I nodded. “I caught that too. Why doesn’t he investigate it himself? He has contacts in all the right places.”
“Meaning the wrong places,” Mina muttered.
“Maybe he doesn’t want anyone to know it’s missing,” Bene tried.
“I’ll say. Being robbed by his former assistant isn’t a good look,” Marius snickered.
I nodded in agreement. “Gordon has many admirers — and an equal number of enemies eager to exploit the smallest vulnerability.”
“This could even work in Celeste’s favor,” Mina said. “If she gets away with this, she’ll be another step up the ladder she’s so desperate to climb.”
“You mean, one step down. Closer to hell,” Gen muttered.
“It’s a provocation,” Henrik decided. “She’s provoking Gordon and you.” He looked at Gen and Mina.
“I never even met her!” Gen protested.
I touched her shoulder, and zing! Sparks zipped through my veins. “Don’t take it personally. That’s how Celeste operates.”
“It also speaks to the idea that this is connected to Claudette,” Mina added, thinking it through.
“It’s not unreasonable for Celeste to hire someone to pressure Claudette into providing intel on us or to hire the thugs who attacked Gen and Roux.
Meanwhile, she lashes out at Gordon by stealing something of great value to him — and us. ”
Gen looked dubious. “Kind of a lot to juggle at one time, don’t you think?”
Marius huffed. “Not for Celeste.”
“Okay, that’s one theory. Shouldn’t we consider other possibilities too?” Gen suggested.
For the next hour, we tried, but we kept circling back to Celeste. She had the motive, the means, and a mind twisted enough to conceive of such a plan.
“So much for theorizing,” Mina decided. “Now, we need to investigate.”
“Now?” Gen pointed to the clock.
Nine p.m. wasn’t that late, but late enough for honest souls to settle in for the night.
Criminal minds, on the other hand, would just be starting their shifts.
“Where exactly do we start anyway?” Gen asked.
“I’ll begin with my contacts.” Henrik stood, headed for the door, then U-turned to snarl, “Allow me to remind you. Do. Not. Touch. Anything.”
Bene grinned. “Oh, you mean, leave the dirty dishes where they are? No problem.”
Henrik’s eyes showed a faint red glow. “You know what I mean.”
He threw his coat on with such flair, it looked like a cape. Then he exited and slammed the door behind him. We all listened for the creak of the stairs, but none sounded.
“Creepy as hell,” Bene muttered.
“And yet he seems to enjoy our company,” Gen observed. “Okay, maybe not enjoy. He needs company, might be a better way to put it.”
I nearly scoffed, but she was right. Henrik had to finish out his contract like the rest of us, but that still left him ample opportunity to do his own thing. And yet, he’d rented a place to stay on the edge of the estate, and he spent most days working at the chateau.
“I guess eternal life has its downsides,” Bene said somberly. “Like boredom.”
Gen nodded sadly. “Like forging friendships.”
I thought of his mistress, Delphine. She was probably just the latest in a very long line of mortals who’d warmed Henrik’s bed — and, with any luck, a little of his heart. But a decade or so was the most that would last. Then he would be on to his next consort and the next…
For the first time ever, I pitied the guy.
Pity yourself, my tiger snarled. Never getting involved is just as bad.
I bristled. I didn’t make a point of not getting involved. I just…um…
I slumped. Okay. I’d been making exactly that point. But relationships could hurt, as I’d learned from my father.
They can feel good too, my tiger murmured. Look what being with Mina has done for Marius.
True. Despite maintaining a growly outer persona, the guy practically oozed joy and satisfaction in life. All because of Mina.
We could have that too, my tiger murmured.
My eyes drifted to Gen, then out the window. Maybe we could.
Bene stood and cracked his knuckles. “Well, the night is young, and there’s a great bar just down the road from Gordon’s.” His eyes danced. “Friendly waitresses, decent prices, and more importantly, security cameras that overlook the street. Anyone interested in joining me?”
Marius stood glumly. “Interested, no. But feeling obliged to.”
“Dragons,” Bene muttered. “So much fun.” Then he looked at Mina. “How about you?”
She pulled her laptop from her backpack. “I’d like to check some things online. Not that I expect Celeste to register Dad’s painting with Sotheby’s, but…”
She and Marius took a long time parting in a scene fit to forever dispel myths of tough, heartless dragons. They kissed, touched, and stepped apart, only to rush back into each other’s arms.
Bene tapped his foot impatiently. “You know those operas where they sing goodbye for twenty minutes? This is like that, but worse.”
Gen grabbed her coat and headed for the door. “I’ll just grab a breath of fresh air.”
Mina stuck out a hand. “Not alone, you don’t. Could you go with her, Roux? Please?”
Well, if she twisted my arm…
Gen didn’t look too put out either.
I joined her at the door, where Bene still waited. “Come on, already, Marius. You’re not moving to a different continent. Just heading across town and back.”
Marius kissed Mina. And kissed her…
Gen and I beat them out the door. She headed up the stairs, not down.
“What happened to fresh air?” I asked.
She gestured upstairs with a mischievous grin. “Follow me, my dear tiger.”