Chapter 11 Francois #2
I’d assumed that was the way of all vampires of such age, but Father had been hiding a secret.
He was an Ancient, and he was apart from them, so maybe that had added to his downfall.
It would have been ironic if, in his quest for success alone, he’s achieved the opposite and weakened all of them.
Now I simply had to ensure the status quo remained this way.
Maeve leaned closer to me, the warm aroma of her skin interrupting my thoughts. “Do you have a key for that lock?” She nodded at the drawer I’d just put the book inside. “Just in case anyone else comes snooping.”
I nodded and produced a key from where I’d always hidden it, under the desk. She watched me lock the drawer then grabbed the key and pushed it inside her bra cup.
“No one will come snooping now,” she whispered.
My mouth dried. “And if it’s me who wishes to unlock the drawer?”
Her cheeks turned a pale shade of pink. “Then I might give you the key back.”
“Or I could find the key myself…?” I let my suggestive declaration trail off as we locked eyes.
Her cheeks reddened and her lips parted, her pupils dilating. My whole future and my existence existed in the depths of her gaze, and I gripped the edges of the desk to keep myself from taking her in my arms.
I blew out a short sigh, the moment she dropped the key into her bra replaying in my head, and walked as fast as possible to one of the bookcases I hadn’t checked yet. Putting some space between us was necessary now.
My father wouldn’t have hidden the book here.
I’d been right before—that certainty was like iron in every muscle fiber.
He wouldn’t have hidden it in plain sight.
That was too risky and too plain stupid.
If he had anything in any book that could harm the Ancients, that would also have harmed him. I’d be lucky if he hadn’t destroyed it.
He liked to have the upper hand, though, so he’d probably kept it as some sort of leverage. He was arrogant enough to believe he’d be able to control it, anyway. He’d never have thought someone could take it from him and use it against him in any way. Turned out he’d been right about that.
“We should finish checking in here,” I mumbled. “Just to be sure.”
She walked to my side and stood silently, checking the shelves. We continued working in this way, methodically, her trailing close behind me in silence, until I stepped back.
“I don’t think there’s anything here,” I murmured.
She pulled a face. “Doesn’t look like it. Where next?”
Before I could reply, Ruse swept through the door, deliberately seeming to make enough noise to make his presence known. He could have walked as quietly as a light breeze, if he’d wished. He could have lurked and eavesdropped for hours, if he’d wanted.
Luckily, none of the Ancients seemed in a hurry to regain some of their vampire mastery. Either that, or they didn’t believe it was important. After all, why should gods have to tiptoe?
“Anything?” Ruse bit the word out, a scowl on his face.
Maeve pressed herself half behind me, seeking my body as shelter, and my ego swelled.
“Have you found it?” he prompted when I didn’t answer straight away.
I shook my head. “I didn’t expect it to be the first place I checked. And possibly the library is a little too obvious. But you never know. Still, there are many more books to check.” I gestured at the bookcases, some we’d looked at, a few we hadn’t.
Ruse rolled his eyes. “Come now, this is your library, is it not? Don’t you know the contents like any owner would? You should be able to locate one simple book.”
I laughed. “Ruse.” My tone said really? “I’ve been sick for years, I’ve been running New Orleans during my father’s prolonged absences, and I’m required to remember the full catalog of my family’s library?”
When Ruse’s scowl didn’t shift, I changed my tack.
“No, there are far too many books. I’d be at risk of forgetting some of them if I didn’t check each one.
Besides, do you really think I was concerned with a book that I hadn’t even known the importance of?
I was far too engaged with thoughts of finding my mate and virgin blood.
” I stopped speaking abruptly, but it was too late.
Maeve gasped quietly behind me, and some of her warmth faded as she drew away.
Ruse narrowed his eyes to slits and watched me thoughtfully for long, uncomfortable seconds. Finally, he nodded.
“As you say. You were otherwise occupied. How is the search for the cure for your madness coming?” As he spoke, he switched his focus to Maeve, and he smiled cruelly when her breathing became uneven.
I stiffened, but if he noticed, he didn’t comment.
“That’s long enough for today.” He cast a glance at the table that held all of Maeve’s wrappers from earlier. “I see at least one of you ate today? I trust you’re enjoying my hospitality?” His voice was deceptively soft, not the benevolent host he was portraying.
The unspoken words were the ones suggesting he expected something in return for his generosity. The faster I got Maeve to safety, the better.
She couldn’t stay here. Not now that Ruse was watching her as closely as they watched me. “I trust if you had found something or you had any other news, I’d be the first to know?”
Over my finally dead body. But I smiled, almost as consummate a liar as Ruse. “Absolutely.”