“Of course. Karson’s favorite hunting grounds.” A sly grin. “Which bar?”
My teeth gritted. “One in Church Heights.”
He slouched back against his chair. “Church Heights, beautiful place, full of mountains and in the middle of nowhere.Does your family reside there?” he asked, picking up the dinner knife and flipping it between his fingers.
I spread butter on a bread roll. “No. I moved there.”
He let the knife settle back to its place and took a sip out of his goblet. “Moved there—it’s an interesting choice to move to for a girl your age.”
“So I’ve heard.” I took a bite of my roll, praying he’d speak to someone else.
“And when you saw Karson, it was love at first sight, I assume?” He flicked his eyes to Karson and smirked, then swiftly back to me.
Janice’s too drilled into me from the other side of the table. I could feel a pressure like a swarm of flies batting against my brain.
I waited until I finished the mouthful and swallowed. “No, I thought he was an asshole, actually.”
A semblance of a smile hit the vampire’s cunning eyes. “You wouldn’t be the first female who has thought that.” He held up his goblet to Karson and took a sip. Like it was a badge of honor to be an asshole.
“I would take offense to that, Rodney,” Karson said, “but …”
Georgie muttered, “If the shoe fits, Cinderella.”
Laughter bubbled around the room. Except for Janice. She didn’t laugh, she stared at me. I refused to be intimidated, so I flicked my gaze to hers and held it.
“When did your feelings change?” Janice asked, her voice sharp.
This was a fucking interrogation. But there was no good cop, bad cop, only bad cop, bad cop.
“They haven’t, Janice, I still think he’s an asshole.”
Karson and some of the others chuckled. Janice was an ice queen, staring at me with cunning in her dark eyes. Everyone was staring at me. The pressure in my head pulsed. I knewthe feeling and I hated it—Rodney was trying to read my mind. Bastard.
“Janice,” Karson snapped, his voice rough. “Perhaps you would be more comfortable at the other end of the table.”
I wanted to addor outside.
“No, I’m perfectly comfortable here.” She placed her arm over the empty chair beside her, but she took her attention off me, at least.
I jerked my gaze to Rodney. There was an intensity in his gaze that made my skin goosepimple. Fine needles stabbed into my head, but I kept my expression blank. “And what brings you to Portland after all these years, Rodney?”
He shrugged and sat forward, running a long finger around the scrolled detail on his goblet. “I have a friend opening a nightclub down by the waterfront and I thought I’d show him my support. Then, of course, I heard about Karson having some issues with Sarah, so I came to see if I can help.”
“Karson tells me you live in France, where Sarah was last seen?”
The table stilled, but Rodney didn’t flinch, nor hesitate to respond smoothly. “I have many properties around the world. A castle in the country regions of the Riviera is one of them.” His finger halted and he leveled a glacial stare at me. “If you have an accusation, please, by all means, make it.”
I should keep my mouth shut—he wasn’t going to tell the truth, and if I questioned him further, dinner was about to get as comfortable as a thorn up my ass.
“Have you seen Sarah?”
Karson sucked in a breath. Michael shifted in his seat. Georgie’s eyes shifted between Rodney and me.
“No, I have not. Not before I left Paris, and not after. She knows my alliance with Karson is strong. If she was looking for support or safe harbor, she wouldn’t find it with me.”
How much did he know, I wondered.
“I’m sure.” My tone was saccharine.
