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  She swallowed hard, perusing my face. I’m sure she could see the concern written on my face, but it was nothing compared to the tumultuous storm brewing at the thought of her coming to harm in this scheme of ours.

  Her eyes brightened as she gave me a reassuring smile. “Well, someone has to be the bait, right? Better me who would be prepared and in on the plan than some poor girl who could be scarred for life by the experience.”

  I released a shaky breath. “Somehow, I knew that would be your reaction.” My gaze drifted over her hair, neck, and mouth, remembering the silken warmth of her. “We’d need someone else to come with you. It would look too strange for you to be hanging out by yourself,” I added. “Maybe one of your sisters?”

  “Yeah. Maybe Livvy. Blake Bellingrath saw my sisters at the last Summit cocktail party and would know them on sight.”

  I dipped my chin then ushered her back down the alley where customers headed for the entrance to The Green Light.

  I stepped ahead of us up to the nondescript door. The only marking to show this wasn’t just an alleyway entrance to a kitchen was the gaslit lantern flickering with green flame. And the six-and-a-half foot tall, well-dressed vampire guarding it. Though his face was shadowed, his eyes glinted silver, his vampire instincts on alert as the bouncer.

  “Good evening, Roland,” I said.

  “Devraj,” he said, nodding and pushing the door open, then holding it for us.

  Most vampire dens were dark and covered in red velvet and black satin, some metal band screaming in the background. But Ruben’s place reflected the man himself. Sophisticated and seductive.

  The décor reminded me of something you might find in a posh lounge in the 1920s, the booths and chairs luxurious and oversized like you’d expect in a mansion, not a nightclub. The glow from warm gas lanterns and candles shimmered on the faces of the humans and vampires enjoying each other’s company. Small chandeliers added an opulent touch to a dancefloor centered before a small stage where a few couples danced.

  The bubble of laughter and murmur of happy patrons filled the room, and the music came from the stage where a man played an acoustic guitar, his warm voice singing a masculine rendition of “I Know You” by Skylar Grey. A werewolf actually, not a man.

  “Hey, there’s Nico,” Isadora murmured. “Evie’s boyfriend Mateo’s cousin. He works at the Cauldron sometimes.”

  I acknowledged with a nod, and then a woman stood before us.

  “Mr. Kumar, I have your table right over here.”

  The hostess, a statuesque blonde in a white latex dress led the way through the tables in her red stiletto heels. Though the club was posh and the employees dressed formally, people milled about in casual clusters.

  The hostess stopped before a booth and lifted the Reserved placard. It was a nicely situated booth in the middle of the room where you could see the bar and the stage and anyone walking in the door with perfect ease.

  I nudged Isadora into the booth then leaned down to her ear. “I’ll grab us something at the bar. What would you like?”

  “Water is fine.”

  I wound through the tables to the bar and signaled the bartender.

  “What’ll it be, Devraj?”

  “Maker’s Mark on the rocks and a water.”

  He nodded then meandered back to fix the drinks, while I tuned into the conversations around the room. Nothing too intriguing at first. Just flirtations and sexual innuendo, basic club talk, then a name caught my attention from the two vampires at the end of the bar.

  “Blake was fucking pissed, bro,” said the dark-haired guy. “But his parents were done with them both.”

  “Adam, too?” asked the other one.

  “Yeah. Apparently, they’d embarrassed dear old mom and dad one too many times after their arrests at that vampire club at New Year’s. They’re using that tough love shit to try to get them back in line.”

  “But, completely cut them off?” the other one asked. “How the fuck do they still have money? I saw Blake buying drinks for his boys last weekend at Tipitina’s. Didn’t look that broke to me.”

  Tipitina’s was a popular spot for small band venues uptown.

  “They were for a while, but seems they’ve fallen into some money somehow. Who the fuck knows?”

  I did. I knew exactly where he and his brother were getting the money. Or at least where Blake was. Darren had never said anything about Blake’s brother nor did I see him when I read Darren’s memories. But now I knew what had motivated at least Blake to start his own blood trafficking ring. I shot a quick text to Ruben, letting him know what I’d just discovered.

  “Here you go,” said the bartender, setting down my drinks.

  I paid him then headed back to Isadora. She looked so demure and beautiful, the sight of her increasing the pressure behind my sternum. One night wasn’t enough. Desire seemed a feeble and weak word to describe what I felt for the sweet witch sitting in that booth. All I knew was that whatever this was, I wanted more. Much more.

  Chapter 18

  ~ISADORA~

  * * *

  I couldn’t help but stare. He looked crazy hot tonight. Dark jeans and gray T-shirt covered mostly by a black leather jacket, his hair loose and long like it was at his house last night. He caught me staring as he headed toward me with drinks in hand, his smile deadly and knowing and his eyes burning with a silvery heat I knew far too well.

  Flustered, I jerked my attention to Nico. He had a hypnotic voice—smooth and deep with a touch of husky. He played his guitar with swift, elegant movements of his fingers.

  I didn’t look over when Devraj scooted into the booth from the other side, pressing close, his thigh a burning line alongside mine. I lifted the water and took a sip. “So this is a vampire den.”

  “That, it is.” I felt the caress of his gaze. “Not what you expected?”

  “Not really. It’s missing that dark Goth element.”

  He laughed, drawing my focus back to him. He sipped his whiskey, his amber gaze steady on me. “Kind of cliché, don’t you think?”

  I shrugged. “I suppose I should’ve known better. This is definitely more Ruben’s style.” I scanned the place, almost amused that people mingled here like any other bar. “So how does it work?”

  “What do you mean? How do you find and proposition a blood host?”

  Nodding, I then took another sip of water.

  “Like any other pick-up bar actually. You talk, mingle, dance. When a human seems compatible and receptive, you ask if they’ll be your blood host.”

  I watched a hot vampire across the club in a booth like ours. He had his arm draped along the back, running his fingers along the other man’s nape. The auburn-haired guy smiled and nodded, obviously enjoying his company. “Just as simple as that?” My heartbeat had skyrocketed, pumping blood through my veins like a rushing river. My emotions were a mixture of jealousy and desire, despising the women he’d drank from in the past, knowing the pleasure they’d enjoyed from him. “Then what?”

  His thigh pressed against mine as he pointed his beringed finger in front of me. “Then we go behind that red velvet curtain and take care of business.”

  I looked where he pointed, noting the shadowy corner, covered by red velvet, one of Ruben’s men discreetly placed outside the seductive entry.

  Vampire dens were called such because they offered a place for blood-drinking. A safe place where vampires could drink from their host and the host could rest and recover from the high of the vampire toxin. It reminded me of an opium den. After one tiny drop of Devraj’s toxin, I imagined it was a lot like that. I’d be high out of my mind. And aroused.

  The hot vampire across the club stood and offered his hand to the auburn-haired guy, who took it immediately. The vampire led him, hand lacing with the other man’s, to the red velvet curtain. With a subtle nod by the guard, they disappeared behind the curtain together.

  I suddenly shivered, remembering the potent pleasure that sung through my v
eins when I’d nicked my tongue on Devraj’s canine. When I turned my head to look at him, his heated gaze was fixed on me. Like he knew exactly what I’d been thinking.

  “Is it all business?” I whispered.

  “There is pleasure in it.” Dark, intimate words.

  “And sex?” I knew what Ruben thought of this practice according to Tia, but I simply had to know what Devraj’s view was on the issue.

  “No,” he responded with emphasis, his silver-glinting eyes never leaving mine. “Sex and blood-drinking isn’t a safe combination.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because the host is too vulnerable, weakened but highly aroused by the toxin. It can make the host irrationally obsessed with the vampire.” He swept my hair behind my shoulder, his hand covering my nape, thumb brushing gently, his gaze following the movement. “There are some vampires who may take advantage in this way, but I don’t.”

  “Never?”

  My voice had dropped so low I could barely hear myself. But he certainly did, his eyes locking on mine again.

  “I would only desire and allow this kind of intimacy with someone very dear to me. I would only take that step with someone I—”

  A loud huff interrupted him as someone sat on the other side of our booth. “Sorry, I’m late.” Darren scanned the room, his appearance ruffled, his eyes skittish. “Couldn’t get away from the guys easily. We were at a party on the Westbank.” A devilish smile crept across his face as he perused the club. “Fancy den.”

  “Don’t even think about stepping a foot in this place after tonight,” said Devraj, steel and menace in his voice as he straightened next to me. “Not that you’d get past the door.”

  “I did tonight,” he tossed back, still grinning like the stupid kid he was.

  “Because I gave the bouncer approval,” he said, sounding more than a little condescending. “Tell me the plan.”

  I gasped at the pulse of magic that vibrated from his body, rippling over mine and across the table. Devraj eased one hand under the table and squeezed just above my knee. A comforting squeeze, but I felt it in other places I should be forgetting about.

  He wasn’t messing around, feeding Darren a high dose of persuasion to get to the point.

  “Blake wants to wait two weeks before our next snatch. Says he doesn’t want to grab another girl so close to releasing the last one.”

  “Does he suspect you were taken in for questioning?” Devraj shot back.

  “No.” He shook his head, chuckling. “Not at all. Matter of fact, he mentioned that his distributor was happy with the girls we’d gotten. He’d never mentioned he had a distributor other than himself. Said we were making good money and we could hold off to get a fresh girl for two weeks. It’ll be on Saturday.”

  “So two Saturdays from now, you and the other two scouts will be at separate bars, looking for your target.”

  “Right.” He drummed his fingers on the table, his dark eyes finally swiveling to me and taking me in.

  A growl vibrated through Devraj, which made Darren snap his attention back to him. The alpha at the table.

  “Who’s she and why is she here?” he asked, apparently not even recognizing me from the night he was questioned. Devraj had erased some of his memories, so that wasn’t surprising.

  “This is Isadora. She will be your target two Saturdays from now.”

  He shook his head, sliding his focus back to me. “She’s a witch. We don’t snatch supernaturals. No one with powers or connection to our world.”

  “She’ll be nulled for the night. She’ll appear human.”

  He observed me again with a more discerning look than the lecherous one like before. “She fits our profile.”

  “You have a profile?” I asked.

  He grinned. “Pretty. Shy.” He leaned forward. I automatically leaned back, a little closer to Devraj, which made him chuckle. “Yeah. You’d be the kind of girl I’d snatch.”

  The very thought made me want to scratch his eyes out.

  He laughed and licked his lips. “Just turn down that fire, baby. And you’ll be perfect.”

  Devraj was out of the booth and had Darren pinned in place, his hand around his throat. A few heads turned, but the guards at each door didn’t move to intervene at the sudden violence.

  “Hear me, asshole.” A piercing jolt of power vibrated from Devraj. I whimpered and gripped the table, his magic a terrifying force in the room, pouring into the wide-eyed vampire pinned to the booth. “You will be at Barrel Proof two Saturdays from now. At precisely 10:30 p.m., you will text your fucking friends that you have the perfect target. At 10:35, Isadora will slowly head toward the parking lot. You will make sure that you are her handler until we arrive. You’ll stall the exchange to Bellingrath for as long as possible. And you will fight to the death to ensure no one hurts her, bites her, harms her in any way.”

  “No one will hurt her,” he spit out quickly, fear seeping from his pores. “We don’t hurt the girls.”

  Devraj released him and stood above him. “You’ve hurt every fucking one of them, you prick.” He backed up a step. “Is Blake’s brother Adam in on this ring?”

  He shook his head. “He hasn’t ever said so if he is.”

  Devraj stared him down for another few uncomfortable seconds before growling, “Get out of my fucking sight.”

  Darren immediately launched himself out of the booth and headed for the door. The few heads looking our way swiveled away, the room returning to the normal murmur of voices and low laughter.

  “Was it necessary to punch that much persuasion into him?”

  Devraj’s gaze snapped to mine, his eyes liquid silver. “Yes.”

  I stood, glancing toward the door, suddenly nervous at his burst of violence and fury. “I should probably get home.”

  I took a step, but Devraj gently clasped my hand, the anger having rolled away. I froze. He leaned over my shoulder from behind, whispering close to my ear. “Dance with me.” When I didn’t answer right away, he pleaded more softly, “Please.”

  Nico strummed his guitar, now singing a heartfelt rendition of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line,” his eyes closed, lost in his own music.

  With a stiff nod, I let him guide me onto the small dancefloor. Devraj swept me into his arms, one of my hands in his, his other on the small of my back. He pulled me so close our bodies brushed together with our slow sway to the music. I had no words at the moment, sudden flashes of our night together penetrating my thoughts.

  Possessive hands, roving mouth, talented tongue, him moving inside me.

  Gah, stop! I squeezed my eyes shut for a second.

  “Hey,” he whispered against my temple. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.” I opened my eyes and met his concerned gaze. “Fine.”

  “You sure?” He swallowed hard, a soft expression pinching his brow. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just… I had to be sure the persuasion spell was strong enough.”

  A small laugh bubbled up. “I think it’s strong enough.”

  His obvious concern for me made me want to press closer. I could easily fall for this man. And what a mistake that would be. To fall for a world-traveling Stygorn who would be leaving New Orleans as soon as the Bellingrath case was solved.

  I swallowed against my desperate attraction to him. I tried to convince myself it was only because he gave me mind-blowing orgasms. A night with Devraj would scramble any woman’s brains and make her dream of a heated romance. Even a long-term one. But I was too rational to let that sweep me away. Like Tia had said, he was rarely seen with the same woman twice.

  “Really. I’m fine.”

  “You look a little…untethered.”

  I laughed. “Maybe.”

  “You having second thoughts about playing bait? If it scares you too much, I can get someone else.” He squeezed my hand completely enveloped in his.

  “No, no,” I assured him. “I want to help these girls in any way I can. I need to.”

  He
smiled in that tender way that made my tummy flutter. “I understand that need. That’s why I asked you to do it.”

  Angling my head to get a good look at him, I realized he saw strength in me that not everyone did. His only hesitation for asking me to play bait was my safety, not that he didn’t have confidence that I could do something dangerous to help catch these guys.

  “I’m happy you asked me,” I added, giving his shoulder a squeeze, suddenly remembering how it flexed beneath my fingers when he was coming inside me.

  Stop it!

  I was completely hopeless.

  As if he knew where my mind wandered, he asked, “How do you feel about last night? Was it satisfactory?” Amusement lit his eyes, now sparkling that warm, dark whiskey hue.

  Smiling, I admitted, “Well, I certainly enjoyed our, you know, interlude.”

  “Interlude.” He rolled the word over his tongue slowly with a steady nod.

  “It was amazing,” I admitted, letting him see the truth in my eyes. “I’m happy I took you up on your offer. Took the chance before your business here is done, you know?”

  He searched my face, skimming everywhere before landing back on my eyes. He was considering something when he eased me closer till our bodies pressed together, the contact making my breath falter.

  “Yeah,” he breathed softly. “I know.”

  This wasn’t good. Because it was just too good. A tantalizing reminder of what our bodies could do together. But it was what he was doing under the skin that had me breaking out into a sweat. The emotions beyond lust and desire that he stoked with his magnificent body, his surprising compassion, his tender longing.