Chapter 8
“Oh, come on.”
When I first pulled the dress out of the garment bag, I felt relief. There was so much fabric. But now that I had the dress on, it was another story. Somehow, all the inky-black velvet did nothing to cover my body.
I looked like I was in a constant state of walking out of my clothes. The slit in the skirt was so high up that the dress had a built-in bodysuit. The sleeves barely graced my shoulders. The lapelled V plunged so deep it hit just above my navel.
By some miracle, none of the scars on my stomach were on display.
Maybe I just felt exposed. Maybe if I looked in the mirror, I’d see that… Nope. Looking at myself in the mirror didn’t make things any better.
My attention went right to my chest. My breasts were practically their own exhibit. Even though I’d taped them in to avoid any accidental slips, I looked a breath away from giving someone a show.
And the shoes Jezebel packed? They were platform stilettos.
I hadn’t worn heels this high in, well, ever. For the first few steps, I felt like a newborn foal trying to get my footing.
I cursed Jezebel under my breath.
But she had been right. It did fit. A little too well. She’d made me the perfect vampire bait.
I tucked my hair up into a bun with a few dark strands framing my face, concealed what remained of the bruises, but left my “two” on display.
Then, for the first time since I met the agents, I put on eyeshadow.
And mascara. I added on layers until I achieved a smokey eye that made me question whether or not it was really me looking back.
After giving myself one final inspection, I shoved away all the thoughts about how I couldn’t wear this in front of the agents, and I stepped into their room.
“Let’s get this over with…”
Catching sight of me, Jack choked. Full-on choked. He coughed fitfully as he tried to catch his breath. Subtle.
Todd paused for less than a second, giving me a quick once-over, before he continued straightening the pressed collar of his dress shirt.
“I’m taking the coughing as consent to kill Jezebel,” I teased. Kind of.
“Sorry, sorry.” Jack coughed again. “I just wasn’t expecting…” He clamped his mouth shut, refusing to finish the sentence. The way he worked to control his breathing, told me exactly how seeing me in this dress made him feel.
“Neither was I.”
Todd shook his head, approaching me, like nothing was out of the ordinary. As he neared, I made note of how I was closer to, but still not at, his eyeline. “Bruises healed well.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him I covered them with makeup, and I hoped to god that Jack kept his mouth shut about what they looked like a few days ago.
Normally, he would have been too collected to consider saying anything, but my ensemble clearly had an effect on him.
And I knew from experience that Jack was a different person when he thought with what was between his legs, instead of his head.
Deflecting the attention, I pointed at Todd’s shirt. “Jez said two buttons.”
He popped them open with a couple twists, and a grumble. “Happy now?”
“Hmm…” I feigned contemplation. “I’d be happier if I was allowed to carry my knife.”
“Even if we permitted you access to your knife,” Jack had pulled himself together to join the conversation, but still I caught his appreciative glances out of my peripheral vision, “not many places you could conceal it.”
The dress might not have left a lot to the imagination, but I had managed to hide a few useful goodies within the bodice…
Goodies I hoped to any and all gods I wouldn’t need.
?
On gathering night, the vamp hideout was hard to miss.
The derelict warehouse was teeming with people clad in all sorts of vampire attire.
Black lace. Corsets. Dress shirts. Jeans.
And everything in between. As Todd and I made our approach, vamps took deep drags from their cigarettes, making no effort to hide their attentions or their interest. More than a few ran their tongues over their elongated teeth.
Ugh.
My stomach somersaulting, accompanied by the sudden urge to jab the ogling vamps in the eyes, I reminded myself that I got us into this.
That I had determined that attending the gathering was the most effective way to get information out of Lenore and the other vamps.
With Jez’s insights from our earlier meet up, Jack was confident he could have gotten a search warrant.
But since Lenore was all about business, having an FBI team forcibly search the property would only shut us out.
We had to show her we were playing nice.
Even if that meant playing by vamp rules.
Though the thought of using our back up plan was more than tempting.
I inhaled deeply, the vamp’s smoke surprisingly sweet and heavy in my lungs, as I schooled my features into a mask of calm. I turned to Todd. “Got your cue cards?”
Focus still on the vamps as we crossed the threshold, he patted his pocket.
“Good.” I squared my shoulders, drawing myself to full height. “Let’s hope you don’t need them.”
Todd and I pushed ourselves in and around the crowded stairwell as we worked our way down to the box office. Jezebel was yet again unnervingly perfect as she sat, untouchable, in her gilded cage.
“Who would have thought someone like you would clean up so well?” Jezebel pursed her lips as she scanned over our signed consent forms. “It’s amazing what can be done with a little effort.”
Keeping up appearances, I spoke through gritted teeth to ensure our interaction appeared as unpleasant as the first. “Is everything to your satisfaction?”
Jezebel drew her gaze over Todd in response as if to say, “him”, but instead she simply directed us inside the upholstered door to her right. “Go on through to the waiting room. If a vampire deigns to grant you entry, you’ll be permitted to the inner sanctum.”
“And Lenore?”
“Likely holding court in her office.”
“Which is?”
“Upstairs.” I felt Todd stiffen behind me, but Jezebel waved us off before I could ask any more follow up questions, or give her an encrypted what-for about the outfit and the lethal weapons she considered shoes strapped to my feet.
I did, however, make sure to stare daggers at her until I was out of her eyeline, as Todd and I pushed through the velvet door into the waiting room.
All in all, the waiting room was smaller than I remembered.
But it was luxurious. Every inch was decadently decorated in lush, dark, jewel tones.
Tables and chairs rimmed with gold metalwork, transporting us into an elegant speakeasy.
And despite the low ambient lighting, there were mirrors. Everywhere.
From experience, I knew at least one of the reflective surfaces was a one-way mirror so that the vamps could keep an eye on their prey at all times. But I wasn’t going to tell Todd that, not when I knew he was uncomfortable enough as it was. Even if he refused to show it.
“There’s at least thirty people here,” I whispered to Todd, grateful the heels brought me closer to his height. It made communicating easier.
“Thirty-six.” He smirked. Of course, he’d already counted.
Though Huntington was not particularly diverse, vampire culture was inclusive. Beautiful people of all shapes, sizes, and identities, were dressed to the nines in the hopes of impressing a vamp. Hoping they would be picked out of obscurity and brought inside. Chosen to belong.
Despite my discomfort with many aspects of vamp life, I had to admit I understood the allure of belonging.
Having somewhere to fit in. I had a semblance of that with the agents, and the relationships I was re-forging with Botan and Salma, but I wasn’t there.
Not yet. Not when I had so many secrets, so many dark and hidden parts of me, that I didn’t dare share. That I wasn’t ready to reveal.
“Come with me.” I didn’t give Todd much of a choice as I grabbed his calloused hand and guided him through the cramped space to the far corner of the room.
I positioned us directly across from the door to the inner sanctum, which just so happened to be the point furthest from the entrance.
Todd’s height would separate us from the crowd.
There was no doubt that he would draw vamp attention, and quickly, whether he liked it or not.
“If we want in, we can’t look too eager. ”
“I wouldn’t worry about that.” Todd lifted a thick brow. “You look like you want to kill everyone in here.”
“I do not.”
“Pick a mirror.” He gestured to the walls.
Oh god. I did look like I was about to murder everyone. Here I was thinking I was the embodiment of calm, cool, and collected, but my face had been telling a different story.
An unfamiliar sound emanated from Todd and I turned to find his shoulders shaking.
Oh, damn him.
I had been so preoccupied with the need to make him comfortable and here he was laughing. An honest to goodness laugh. And then he smiled. The corners of my mouth turned upwards. Warmth flooded my cheeks. A strange happiness bubbled up in my heart.
Fuck, now I was smiling.
“Stop it.” I elbowed him playfully, before signing back, “You. Make. Me. Foolish looking.”
“You are trying to protect me.”
I opened my mouth to correct him. But that was exactly what I had been doing.
“I was undercover for seven years, Delilah.” He was still fighting a smile as he spoke, “I can handle myself.”
I was about to respond when Jack’s voice crackled to life in our earpieces. “Everyone alright?”
Jack was set up in a car a block away from the warehouse.
He was collecting evidence, yes, but he was also on standby in case we needed back up or to make a quick getaway.
And while Todd and I both had earpieces on, Jack had only been able to pick up on what I was saying.
And that alone must have sounded a lot like things were happening against my will.
“Dandy.” I made it look like I was conversing with the agent across from me rather than the one in my ear. “I’m just being reminded of Todd’s resume.”