“So is that what the twenty-five thousand bucks gets you?” Now speak into the mic loud and clear, you piece of shit.
Massey smiled. “Exactly. We can arrange to have a companion come over to you immediately based on your personal preferences.”
Once they received the MBI wire transfer, he’d been required to fill out a Scantron for Sebastian Beam’s personal preferences for a blood bond. The whole exercise had made his stomach turn. “I’d like to have a drink first.” That was Denopoulos’s cue to come and find him.
“The choice is yours. Whatever you choose, Sebastian, you won’t be disappointed.”
“I haven’t had a chance to meet with Kurt yet. I’d like to speak with him about a new venture. I’m sure he’ll find it quite interesting. Business before pleasure I’m afraid. I thought I saw him walk by.”
“Not to worry. I’ll bring you right over to him.”
“We’re in luck. I just got a facial scan match to your sire, Mulroney,” Dubrosky said in his ear. “He’s in an Aro costume.”
Not sure who Aro was, Garrett exhaled with relief. Now all they needed to do was create a diversion to allow Gillian to get Brooke away from Lawrence, take her to an empty powder room, administer the potion, and then get the hell out of there. At least he hoped it would go down that smooth. As soon as she gave the signal, Teague would meet them at the rear of the house.
“We have a visual on Gillian,” Hastings said in his ear.
Garrett tried not to show any reaction as he followed Massey through the crowd. He stopped when he smelled Kurt Lawrence. The vampire was clad in a white and gold jumpsuit with his dark hair gelled to within an inch of his life. Pasted-on mutton chops covered the sides of his face.
His Priscilla stood nearby wearing a long-sleeved, white mini-dress and tall, white go-go boot. The black wig teased into a Beehive, and the heavy makeup made Brooke Corey almost unrecognizable. Her eyes narrowed in recognition when she glanced over at Garrett and then glazed over.
“Kurt Lawrence, I presume? I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment. We finally get to meet in person.” Garrett slapped Lawrence on the back—hard.
Before the vampire could respond, Denopoulos walked up holding a tray of red wine goblets and purposely bumped into Garrett, spilling the contents of the tray all over his rented Victorian waistcoat. Glasses crashed onto the marble floor and scattered everywhere. “I’m sorry, sir, let me help you.”
“This jacket has been in my family for generations,” Garrett snarled. “What kind of people do you have working for you, Lawrence?”
“Are you insulting me?” Denopoulos shouted, getting right up in Garrett’s face.
“I think that’s obvious. You’re a blundering disaster,” Garrett growled. “Now step aside.”
“I’d rather be a blundering disaster than an insufferable fop like you.” Denopoulos glared at his waistcoat now soaking wet and stinking of red wine.
“You don’t know who you’re addressing. Plan on getting ripped apart.” Heads turned in their direction. and the women got out of the way in anticipation of a fight.
“Mr. Beam, you need to calm down. You’re causing a scene,” Lawrence admonished, trying to hold Garrett back. The vampire turned and waved his hand in the air. “Security!”
Smith, along with three guards, rushed over and stood between Garrett and Denopoulos. “Is there a problem here?”
Dubrosky’s voice came into his ear. “Gillian, you’re up. Mulroney and Denopoulos, you need to make this look good.”
Denopoulos grabbed Garrett by the collar and jabbed his fist into his face. Garrett made a show of stumbling backward. He rubbed his jaw and then rushed him, tackling him to the marble floor. They rolled around in a heap of limbs. A crackling noise pierced his ear, followed by dead silence. Son of a bitch, he’d just crushed his mic.
The room erupted in shouts and screams.
Through the corner of his eye, he saw Smith approach. The demon ducked out of the way at the last second, coming close to getting kicked in the face. He grabbed Garrett by the back of his waistcoat and hoisted him to his feet. “You’ll need to come with me, Mr. Beam.” He held him in a chokehold. “I’ll personally escort you out of the party.”
Chapter 27
The moment the fight broke out, security guards scattered throughout the room. Before one of them could grab Brooke and whisk her away, Gillian slipped out from behind a marble column and scanned the crowd for Brooke. She spotted a woman across the room in a white mini dress and a black wig. Then she remembered her vision, so she cut across the ballroom, praying no one would notice. Seeing her in the flesh after all this time made her want to hug her cousin until her ribs ached. But there was simply no time. She grabbed Brooke’s hand and whispered in her ear. “Brooke, it’s me, Gillian. We need to go. Now.”
“Gillian? What are you doing here?” Her voice sounded haunted, and her words were slurred. When she tried to take a step, she wobbled in her boots. “Where are we going? I can’t leave Kurt.”
“We just need a moment to talk, and then we’ll be right back. Hang onto me, sweetie.” Gillian tugged her along, heading toward a set of doors. “Talk to me, Natalya, which way?”
“Who’s Natalya?” Brooke murmured, looking over her shoulder.
“There are twelve bathrooms in this house. I’m trying to get a visual on all of them to find an empty one. Hang on.” A few tense minutes passed. Then, Natalya finally said, “Okay, head out of the great room and make a right, then continue down the hall. It’s the third door on your left. Make sure to lock it when you get inside. I’ll send someone to put an ‘out of order’ sign on the door.”
