“Yes, but I should’ve never gotten involved with a flesh and blood woman. This is why I don’t do relationships. They can only end one way, in tragedy.”
“Saje found a spell using the water from Sybil’s Cave in one of the Grimoires. What if a cure exists?” The soft lilt of her voice became clogged with fresh tears. “You need to have faith.”
“Nothing can turn a vampire human again. Believe me, if there was such a thing, I would’ve tried it by now.” There’s no sense believing in fairy tales. It would only lead to sorrow.
“You’re not even going to let us try?” she whispered in a shaky voice.
When he remained silent, Gillian took a step back with a horror-struck look on her face. “I guess that’s all the answer I need.”
At that moment, an announcer’s voice broke through the deafening silence from a megaphone. He called a number over and over again. To Garrett, his voice sounded muffled as he could only focus on his gut-wrenching pain.
Gillian glanced over at the books of tickets stuffed into his front jacket pocket and waved her hand. One of the books soared up in the air and flipped to the number that the guy kept calling. “It looks like you’re a winner. You better go collect your prize.” With that, she turned her back on him and walked away, leaving him staring at the spot, long after she was gone.
Garrett couldn’t imagine how he could be a winner when it felt like he’d just lost the most important thing in his life.
Chapter 26
Garrett maneuvered the silver Lotus Evora, courtesy of the MBI, down a narrow, winding road, and past what looked like centuries-old oak trees until he came to a clearing. The vehicle was registered to Sebastian Beam in case someone from the Brotherhood traced the license plate.
When he spotted the black MBI van parked behind a delivery truck, he pulled over. They chose this point on the map, a stretch of ten miles from the actual house, to meet. The plan involved Gillian jumping into his back seat and staying hidden until he got through the gate.
He wasn’t sure how she’d act once she saw him or what they’d say to each other after the scene earlier at the park. But he couldn’t think about that now. This was about rescuing Brooke Corey and the other victims and finally getting enough evidence to bust up the Du Sang Brotherhood once and for all, not the state of his ill-fated love life.
Once he turned off the engine and got out of the car, careful not to get his Victorian waistcoat caught in the door, he undid the middle button and let out a deep sigh. The coat stretched tight over his shoulders and back, restricting his air supply.
His knee-high, buckled boots kicked over the gravel as he approached the van. The side door slid open with a hiss. Nick Hastings, a demon special agent he’d worked with on occasion, and from what Garrett now knew, Saje’s beau, stepped out to greet him. Like most of his kind, he stood close to seven feet tall with an imposing, muscular frame. “Hey man, you look the part,” said Hastings, shaking Garrett’s hand with an appraising glance at his costume. “I’m sure you’ll blend right in.”
“That’s the plan. What’s going on? Any updates?” Garrett craned his neck to see over Hasting’s horned head into the van. Still no sign of Gillian. But he knew nothing in this world could keep her away from her cousin, not even the way things had been left between them.
“We’ve got a full tech team inside this baby. Commander Smith connected small antennae to the AC units, allowing us to pick up on everything through surveillance cameras. The receiver can transmit a signal, which allowed us to park further away to reduce visibility. But the signal doesn’t cover the whole property. All of you will be connected by microphones, so you can hear each other’s conversations. From here we’ll be able to hack into Malcom’s private computer and get the goods.” Hastings handed him a mic.
“And that’s when we have a chat with Mr. Lawrence.”
They’d already had enough to lock him up and throw away the key before, but now that he jumped bail and crossed state lines, he had no more get-out-of-jail-free cards. He’d have no choice but to make a deal, one that involved giving up his boss. Garrett placed his ear pierce, untied the jabot around his neck, and buried the mic inside the white, flowy shirt that came with the costume.
After a series of beeps and static, he did a soundcheck. “Can anyone hear me?”
All three agents, Denopoulos, Smith, and Teague, responded immediately. The only one who didn’t respond was his partner. “Have you seen Dubrosky?” His words caught in his throat when Gillian stepped out of the van.
She looked like a vision, a beautiful angel that would never be his to cherish again. The realization left him numb. The good witch costume from earlier was gone, replaced with a sexy cop costume. She no longer wore a long, flowing skirt, but a skin-tight mini dress cut up to mid-thigh, showing an indecent amount of her long legs. She’d replaced the low-heeled boots with high heels. An oversized cop hat covered most of her face, and a small purse dangled from her hip.
The idea of putting herself in harm’s way, dressed like that in a room full of blood-thirsty vampires, made his gut burn. He swallowed hard and tried to focus on the plan. “You’re to stay put in the back seat of my car until the valet pulls into the garage. Once you get the go-ahead, you go in through the side patio door at the west entrance of the estate. Big Red, one of the agents at the party disguised as a waiter, will leave it open for you. You walk in and blend with the other women in costume until you get the signal. There’s no way the guards could keep track of what everyone’s wearing. If anyone stops you…”
“I’ll pretend I’m lost. Natalya went over everything with me several times,” Gillian said and stared at the long, blond wig on his head now pulled into a black ribbon. It dug into his scalp and made his head itch. “Lestat fromInterview With A Vampire?Clever choice. No one will ever recognize you.”
“I told you I favor the classics.”
Her eyes darted to his shoulder holster. “Is the gun real?”
He nodded. “Not only is it real, but it’s also loaded with silver bullets for the occasion.”
“Then you might want to use this.” Gillian reached inside her purse and pulled out a spray bottle. His eyes instantly burned, forcing him to take a step back. “Let me guess, vampire repellant?”
“Try spraying it on the gun. It won’t affect you once it gets absorbed into the metal, but it should mask the scent of the bullets.”
The plan was for Smith to meet him at the security checkpoint, but Garrett supposed a little extra protection couldn’t hurt. “Why don’t I let you do the honors?”
After Gillian sprayed the gun, she shoved the bottle back into her purse. “All set.”
