Chapter 5
Kohl wasn’t able to sleep the remainder of the day, not that he ever slept much anyway.
He’d thought he was hallucinating when he saw Devon on his computer monitor.
Thought it had only been wishful thinking that the person lurking around outside, face concealed by the hood of their pullover sweatshirt, was actually her.
But then she’d looked up, directly at the camera in the trees behind her, before she’d turned and yanked open the door someone had foolishly left unlocked in all of the commotion the night before, and he’d nearly knocked his chair over in his rush to get to her before someone else noticed she was inside the club.
Luckily, Kohl had been the only one monitoring the cameras, and his living space in the caverns wasn’t near the others, so no one saw him run out.
For safety reasons, his room was on the opposite side of the throne room than everyone else’s, deep within a cave on the far side of the underground aquifer.
The space was large enough for the beast to spread its wings if it happened to get out, but too small for it to escape without making enough noise to warn the others.
Not by their choice, but by his. He never wanted to take the chance of someone he cared about being too close and getting hurt. Or worse.
So no one saw him jog up the ramp that would take him aboveground, and no one saw him come back down thirty minutes later and go back to his rooms. He would tell the Master what he’d learned from Devon after their dinner tonight, but he wasn’t telling anyone of their plans beforehand.
It may be overcautious of him, but he didn’t want to take the chance of being followed.
He loved his coven, but he didn’t trust them.
At least, not all of them. Most would do what the Master bade without question.
However, some did whatever the fuck they wanted without a care for the consequences, and somehow always got away with it.
As he got ready for his dinner date with Devon, his mind was spinning and his hands were shaking. And one had nothing to do with the other.
Hawke poked his head inside the room as Kohl was getting dressed. “Hey. You want to go to the city with us tonight?”
Kohl finished fastening the buttons on his blue dress shirt and ran his fingers through his damp hair. It was all he ever did after he washed it. “I can’t. Maybe next time.”
“That’s what you always say.” Leaning back against the wall, Hawke crossed his arms and ankles and stared at him intently. “You know I wouldn’t let anything happen, right? I wouldn’t let you hurt anybody.”
Kohl glanced over at his friend, silently debating whether he should tuck his shirt into his dark gray slacks.
They had this conversation at least once a week.
“There’s nothing you would be able to do if the beast appeared, Hawke.
” Looking in the mirror above his dresser, he decided to leave it out.
“I wish you would stop calling it that. You’re not a ‘beast’.
You have the blood of the dreki.” Rolling the “r”, he pronounced the word in perfect Icelandic, the home of Kohl’s mother’s people.
“The blood of a proud thunder of dragons. Even the Master knows your worth. It’s why he took you in.
You’re like his own personal guard dog…or guard dragon.
I don’t know why you’re so ashamed of it. ”
“I’m not ashamed. But that’s not why he took me in. The only reason he allows me to stay here is—”
“Because you are also a vampire. You’re one of us. You have been since your mother brought you here.”
“I’m half dreki.” He slipped his shoes on. He was tired of arguing about it.
“Half dragon. And half vampire.” Hawke pushed away from the wall and came to stand near him, picking up the book on his dresser and glancing at the cover without any real interest. “Don’t you realize how rare that is? How rare you are?”
Kohl met his passionate gaze. “Yeah. I do. And so does the Master. And that’s why he keeps me around. He collects oddities. Just like it’s the only reason he keeps that bastard Jaz around with his one fang.”
Hawke snorted, putting the book back where it was. “That’s not why he keeps you around.”
“Okay, it’s because I’m the best chance you all have of surviving if the coven is discovered by anyone who’d want to hurt us. The beast is the only one who’d be able to break us out.”
“I can’t argue with that. You are our best shot.
” He grinned and slapped Kohl on the shoulder.
“And hopefully, you won’t burn us all to ash while you’re busting us out.
As to Jaz…” He shrugged. “I, for one, wouldn’t be heartbroken if he decided to move on to another coven.
Or to hell. Whichever. I’m tired of watching his ass all the time. I’m not a fucking babysitter.”
“I hear ya.”
Hawke stepped back and eyed Kohl up and down, as if noticing what he was wearing for the first time. “What’s with the fancy outfit if you’re not going out with us? You’re not working tonight.”
Kohl turned away from the sharp eyes of his friend, and checked out his appearance in the mirror again, smoothing invisible wrinkles.
His shirt was tailored to fit him, as were the slacks.
He was too large to buy stuff off the rack.
No tie tonight, and he’d left the top three buttons open.
His tattoo of purple roses—his mother’s favorite flower—peeked out from the open neckline.
Hawke met his eyes in the mirror with an expectant look on his face.
Knowing he wasn’t getting out of there without answering, Kohl debated making up some bullshit story.
But in the end, he told the truth. Hawke was like a brother to him, and the only one he trusted implicitly.
Plus, he wanted someone to know where he was going and with who.
Just in case. “Remember the woman from last night?”
“Devon. The girl from the news.”
“Yeah.”
Hawke dropped his head back in disbelief. “Kohl, we discussed this. She’s cute, yeah, and I’m sure she’s smart and funny and probably a hellion in bed, but she’s way too high profile.”
Kohl bared his fangs at the bed comment. Just a little.
Hawke raised his eyebrows as if to say, really?
“Sorry,” Kohl muttered. “I know. And I swear, I wasn’t going to go anywhere near her. But the Master ordered it. He wants to know what she knows about us. Didn’t he tell you?”
Hawke looked confused. “So, he knows you’re seeing her tonight.”
“No.”
“But, you just said—”
“I said he wants me to find out about her. That doesn’t mean I trust him.”
“Yeah, well, can’t say I blame you there.” His brow furrowed in thought. “I wonder why he wants you to see her…”
“I told you. He wants to know what she knows. There must be something, or she wouldn’t have Parasupe trying to gun her down in the middle of a club.
” Kohl’s stomach twisted at the thought of betraying her to the Master, but he didn’t see that he had a choice.
Not unless he could think of a way out of it.
That caught Hawke’s attention. “Didn’t you hear? The shooters weren’t from Parasupe.”
Kohl paused with his wallet halfway in his pocket. “What? Who were they, then?”
“We don’t know. But one of them took a minute to die last night, and apparently he told Mark he’d been compelled to do it. He died before he could give up a name.”
“So, they were just there to shoot up our club?”
Hawke shook his head. “They were there for Devon. That much I was right about.”
The back of his neck burned, and Kohl rubbed it unconsciously as he began to pace. “He just offered up this information?”
Hawke snorted. “Hell, no. Mark used compulsion.” He studied Kohl closely. “What are you going to do about Devon?”
Kohl stopped in front of him. “I’m gonna play along. For now. I’ll tell the Master what I find out. Later.”
“When no one can follow you and hurt her.”
“Exactly.”
“I gotcha.” Hawke wandered over to the tunnel that would take him out of Kohl’s area and back out to the throne room. He paused before he left. “You’re not taking her anywhere populated, right? And you know to call me if anything happens with….” He waved his hand up and down Kohl’s body.
Kohl checked his back pockets to make sure he’d remembered his wallet and phone. “No. And yes.”
“Good.” Hawke turned to leave, but paused a second time. “I think.”
Kohl grinned. “She did say we could negotiate the price of dinner.”
Shaking his head, Hawke laughed as he led the way out.
Kohl arrived at Devon’s apartments thirty minutes after the sun dipped below the horizon.
He walked up the stairs, completely aware of his surroundings.
Despite his precautions, he looked around one last time to check he wasn’t followed before entering the building.
Halfway down the interior hallway, he found her apartment and knocked.
Something crashed to the floor on the other side of the door, followed by a string of soft curses that was quite impressive in its creativity, and then she was there, standing in the open doorway with a small, round basket filled with keys and notepads in her hand.
And suddenly he couldn’t breathe.
Her dark hair was down in a full mass of soft curls that fell around her face in sexy disorder. She wore little makeup that he could tell, just an outline around her eyes and some color on her plump lips.