“He’s keeping her too.” Claude took Wyatt’s uneaten food and helped himself. After a bite, he frowned. “It has no flavor.”
Blue moved her plate onto their table. “Why do you think we’re not eating? Just wait a few seconds and it’ll reappear.”
“It’s part of the dead club,” Wyatt said, leaning back with an all-knowing look. “And the first rule of dead club is—”
“Button it up.” Shepherd pointed his finger and gave him a black look. “I’m not in the mood.”
“Your death threats mean nothing to me now.” Wyatt reached in his elf costume pocket for candy. “Get used to what you’re wearing, because these are your forever clothes. You can’t add or subtract anything.”
Claude looked down at his bare chest beneath his suit jacket. “I wager I’ll be regretting my impulsive actions.”
Wyatt swirled his drink with a straw. “Not as much as Mr. Saturday Night Fever.”
Shepherd cut him a sharp glare.
“Whatever you had in your pockets, you get to keep,” I explained, bringing them up to speed. “Wyatt has a never-ending supply of gumdrops if anyone’s hungry. You can taste them. And I guess you can taste your cigarettes too.”
Gem wrinkled her nose. “Why did you bring those things? This is such an awful predicament. How am I supposed to go out at night in this dress?”
“That does create a problem.” I thought about our jobs and if we’d have to continue working this way. “You won’t be able to sneak up on anyone. I knew I should have brought my daggers.”
Viktor tapped his glass with a fork. “Before we get ahead of ourselves, I want to hear what happened at Keystone.”
Niko scooted his chair forward. “Our mansion isn’t impregnable, but we’ve always had a plan if anyone attempted a hostile takeover. The windows are reinforced, the doors secured, trees distanced so no one can reach the entryways on the upper floors. I know Vampires working together is very rare, so maybe that’s why we never prepared for such an event.” Niko scratched his eyebrow. “There were so many of them at once—so many voices from every direction. Had they been any other Breed, I would have fought. Instead, I chose to save myself, but I only did so when I was certain they wouldn’t harm the child. One man ordered another to keep him safe. Claude told me some of what happened but thought it would be best if we all discussed this together. They’re serving someone, but I don’t know what their intentions are. Do you?”
We all listened while Viktor got Niko caught up, recounting every detail of the party. Niko was surprised to learn of so many Vampires following a Mage, as we all were. I filled everyone in on my earlier run-in with Sparrow and why he initially let me keep the necklace before I gave it up for Viktor.
“So he’s a man with some degree of honor,” Niko mused while rubbing his chin. “Hunter will be safe… for now.”
“He also cut off people’s heads,” Gem blurted much too loudly. We briefly looked around to see if anyone but the dead woman had heard us. “Do we really have to live like this? What are the options? I’m not swearing my loyalty to a vulgarian.”
“Did he elaborate on what happens in ten days?” Niko inquired.
I swirled the condensation around on my tea glass. “Maybe it’s just a deadline for giving him an answer, but he obviously wants us to live in this shadow realm for a while. He made it sound like a nightmare, and people would be desperate to accept his offer. The food and outfit thing sucks, but it doesn’t seem all that bad right now. Something tells me there’s more. Only you and Christian are unaffected.” A thought occurred to me, and I shot forward. “Do you have your phone?”
“Yes.”
“Call Switch.” I flicked my gaze to Viktor, and he nodded. “Tell him to stay away from the house. Mandatory vacation. Viktor can’t dial out.”
Niko immediately rose from the table. “As you wish.” When he pushed in his chair, he looked in Lenore’s direction. “Apologies, but may I ask who else is here?”
“Miss Parrish is under our protection,” Viktor informed him.
“Forgive my rudeness. I was under the assumption you’d gone separate ways. Do you not have a secure location?”
“No,” she replied tersely. She was clearly unimpressed with our meetup location by the way she’d been wrinkling her nose at everything from the red vinyl to the straw dispensers. “I’m still trying to secure a guard.”
“Pardon me.” Niko inclined his head before locating the side door and heading into the parking lot.
“I’m afraid we are in a bind,” Viktor began. “It is too dangerous this evening to stay anywhere near the Breed district. I think we must find a hotel.”
“Most hotels around here require ID,” I informed him. “Shepherd’s the only one who brought his fake driver’s license, but if you want to go completely incognito, I know two places that take cash. They require payment upfront but don’t ask for ID or credit card payment.”
Wyatt stretched his arms over the back of the bench seat. “If I had my laptop, I could get us in anywhere.”
Something occurred to me. “What about the equipment in your office? Sparrow has access to all your sensitive data.”
“Do I look like an amateur?”
