A growl rumbled low in his chest. “No promises.” There was an undercurrent of laughter to his voice.
Suddenly I got the feeling we were talking about a different kind of beast. One I wouldn't mind at all. I doubted we had time for any of those shenanigans though.
“Come on,” I said, climbing over him to get out of the bed. “It’s got to be getting close to time to get ready.”
I left Daniel to his own devices while I went and checked the couch, but Carol was gone. The blanket was perfectly folded with the pillow perched atop the square.
Henry must have heard me moving around because he stuck his head out of the kitchen. “I took your friend home. She said to meet her at Deva’s.”
“Thanks, bro” I called and waved at him before hurrying back upstairs to get ready.
“What does one wear to a mysterious event at a vampire club?” I asked after my shower. I stood in front of my closet door in my towel, debating my outfit choices.
There weren’t many viable options. “If I’m going to be doing all this detective work, I need to vary my wardrobe a little.”
Daniel snorted as he wrapped his arms around me from behind. “You could wear a potato sack, and I’d be happy to see it.” He curled around me, sniffing at my neck again, which was oddly sexy.
“Good answer.” I pushed him away, well, less a push and more a stroke down his chest and pulled out a simple black dress. “Go away. I’ll be down in a minute.” I knew if he stayed then we'd be late, and I didn't want to keep Carol waiting. She'd been through enough. My sex drive could take a backseat for the night.
After I was ready, Daniel drove us to Deva's in his truck. When we got there, she was closing up shop, and Carol and Beth had already arrived. Carol looked like her nap hadn’t done her a bit of good. The dark circles under her eyes were in serious danger of taking over her face.
“You sure you want to go?” I asked. “You could stay home and get a bit of rest. We’ll update you if we find out anything at all.”
She rolled her eyes and brushed past me, hopping into the back of Daniel’s truck. It was a good thing he had one with a back seat otherwise we'd all be squished closer than sardines in a can.
Beth shrugged. “We’ve already tried to talk her out of it.” She sounded just as tired as the rest of us, and I wanted to get this over with so we could all get the rest we needed.
We piled in with Daniel and soon sat in the parking lot of the Alibi, nobody willing to be the first out the door. “When did going to bars and clubs change?” Deva asked. “It used to be so fun to go out and party for an evening. I looked forward to it.”
Carol chimed in, “So did I.”
“Sometime in my thirties,” Daniel said. “It switched, from being a great time with little consequences to being more trouble than it’s worth with lots of consequences the next day like a sore back and queasy stomach.”
I shrugged. “I was never big on clubbing, but maybe it’ll be fun. We might as well give it a try.”
Carol gave me a look.
“I mean, uh, as fun as investigating a missing person might be.”
Her sharp look eased. “Just keep your eyes peeled for anything that might help us find him.”
Hopping out of the car, I smoothed my skirt and waited on my friends. There was no bouncer at the door, no line going around the curb. But I wouldn’t have expected as busy a night during the middle of the week. We stepped inside to find a rather sad-looking club with the lights on bright and no music pulsing through the speakers.
It was empty. Whatever this special event was, they didn't want anyone around who wasn't directly involved.
“We’re closed,” a spunky woman behind the bar yelled. The sex and sweat smell that normally made sense given the number of people that had been in here the last time I'd been around now just made my stomach roll.
The floor was sticky and covered in stains I'd rather not think about, while the walls looked like they'd seen better days as well. Even the DJ booth looked kind of sad in the bright lights. There was no one in it of course, and perhaps that was part of it, but the smeared plexiglass that separated the DJ from the crowd was scratched and chipped and the paint on the walls behind it was dull and faded.
“Emma!” The voice was mildly familiar. I turned to find Lysa looking out a doorway. “What are you doing here?” It wasn't one I'd even noticed when we were there last time, it seemed designed to blend into the wall. What was more, her voice wasn’t the least bit welcoming.
“Vance invited us.”
Lysa moved away from the doorway. “That wasn’t his right.”
Okay, aggressive much? “Well, we’re here now.”
She glared. “Maybe you shouldn’t be. Maybe it isn’t a good idea for you witches to get involved in vampire business at all.” Her gaze moved to Daniel, and she scoffed. “Or a shifter.”
