Ross’s intuition stirred.“Hmm.Now, tell me if I’m off target, but I suspect you wrote a letter—or maybe an entry in a journal—addressed to a particular someone.And that someone happens to know who you really are but has no idea you’re crushing on them.”
“It was a hundred years ago!”Emo Vampire wailed, looking ready to pass out from the mortification alone.
Bingo.Ross made a little mental note to himself to enact vengeance later.“If it was a hundred years ago, then you should be able to laugh it off by now.Still feeling all fluttery when we see him, hmmm?”
Emo Vampire’s glare could cut steel.He turned his head, pointedly ignoring Ross.“Let us by, Clan Master.We’ll even do you a favor of collectingyourthings as well.”
Glenn shot him a glare that could melt the Antarctic.But he was also still blushing and seemed incapable of looking at Ross.
Ross scooted in closer and murmured into Glenn’s ear, “Surely it can’t be that bad.If it was, you’d never have left it unguarded in the first place.”
“A stór, you’ll come to discover that as you get older, it’s harder and harder to keep track of all your possessions.I’ve lost multiple households as a youngster, until I learned the trick of storing things better.And there were a few…entanglements, shall we say, that I was too unguarded with.I often sent them the letters I wrote.And they were…explicit in nature, more often than not.”
“Ah.”Ross saw the problem.He didn’t think Glenn had any reason to be embarrassed by it, because who didn’t have a dating history?He certainly wouldn’t hold it against the man.Ross had no room to throw stones at that glass house.
A screech of tires indicated the other clan master had arrived.
For the first time, Ross saw a vampire that wasn’t model-pretty.Jarek looked like a gladiator in search of a fighting ring, really.He wore nothing more than a t-shirt and jeans even in this blizzard-cold weather, a scar going up one side of his face, his right eye gone.It looked as if he’d battled a werewolf, honestly.
Both clan members had been all bravado until his arrival, and now they looked sheepish.Jarek’s eyes roved over them in a flatly unamused manner before coming back to me.“I think we’ve no need for a human to stand here and listen to this.”
Ross arched an eyebrow back at him.Pissy, much?
Glenn responded in that oh-so-smooth manner that meant he was pissed but hiding it.“I think you’ll find, Jarek, that I hired Ross as my PA for a very good reason.He’ll stay.Now, let me read you into the situation as it were.Inside that building is a collection of letters, portraits, and journals from various donations and estate sales.It seems there are a few items inside that belong to your clan members.”
“And you,” Emo Vampire purred with vicious satisfaction.
Glenn couldn’t quite conceal a wince.“And me.I don’t know how best to approach this, but I do agree there are things inside that should not be on display.”
Jarek grunted, a noncommittal answer.His eyes turned back to his own people.“And how did you even find out about this, anyway?”
“I fed from a woman who is helping to organize all of this,” Pretty Vampire admitted.Seeing the looks he got, he hastily added, “It was consensual!She told me about it over drinks.”
‘Drinks,’ huh?
So there was a valid source confirming what was in there.Frankly, the whole thing gave Ross a headache, and standing around in the cold wasn’t helping.How did they deal with this?It was true that going into the museum and taking things out wouldn’t be stealing, as it belonged to these three men to begin with.Finders, keepers rules shouldn’t apply here.On the other hand, breaking into the museum in broad daylight was not advisable.
Ross scratched his head for a moment.Was there a good solution to be had here?“We could forge paperwork claiming the two of you are descendants and want your family’s things back.It might take a while to get through, though.That process isn’t fast.”
“Or…” Glenn drawled out.There was an outrageous twinkle in his eye.Mischief imminent, that sort of expression.
Ross did not trust that look.The rest of the clan wore it on a far too frequent basis.He really, really didn’t want to ask.He found himself asking anyway.“Or…?”
“We call an acquaintance of mine to handle this.Jarek, if we call in a professional thief to steal things, would that be fine with you?”
Ross blinked at his profile, waiting for the punchline.A professional?Thief?That Glenn knew?
He suddenly had all the questions.All.
His eyes went to the other clan members nearby, but they didn’t seem confused.All four of them were lit up in understanding, as if they knew precisely who Glenn meant and thought it a marvelous idea.
“A thief?Who?”Jarek asked.It was a very reasonable question, but he only seemed curious, not suspicious.
“Eidolon.”
Jarek let out a low whistle.“I only know him by reputation, but he’s supposedly very, very good.You know him well enough to call him in for this?”
“I do.”Glenn noticed Ross staring a hole through his head and threw in as an aside, “Product of a misspent summer in Russia.I met him as we were both trying to leave the country.He’s a fascinating man, and very skilled.Let me call him.”
