First Drop of Crimson (Night Huntress World 1)

"Aren't you interested in hearing what I'll offer in exchange for your discretion, Ian?" Spade asked, coolly changing the topic.

Ian grinned. "Of course."

"My property in the Keys you've long admired. I'll loan it to you for the next decade. That should be more than adequate to ensure your silence."

Denise let out a shocked noise that both men ignored. "Not good enough," Ian replied. "Crispin will be very angry at me if he discovers my part in whatever it is you're up to with her, so you'll have to give me the house to make it worth my while."

"You greedy schmuck!" Denise burst out.

Ian cast a leisurely glance in her direction. "And now my feelings are hurt. That'll cost you the boat, too."

Spade shot a look at her that had Denise clamping her mouth shut. Greedy SCHMUCK, she silently screamed at Ian.

"Only if I have your silence and cooperation by letting Denise pick through your property for a bloke that I'll leave with, no questions asked, if she finds who she's looking for."

Ian's brows went up. "Do I get to know what this person did?"

Spade's smile was more a baring of teeth. "No. You don't."

He'll never go for it, Denise thought, seeing the crafti ness flit across Ian's features. But then the other vampire smiled back.

"I do love that house, Charles. Done."

Denise let out her breath, relieved and guilt-ridden at the same time. Now she could add a house and a boat to what it cost Spade to help her, all because she manipulated him. She had to find a way to pay him back, even if it meant making installments for the next thirty years.

Ian stretched. "You're welcome to start with who I've got in the house and work your way from there. I don't need to tell you how far-flung some of my people are, but I'll put the word out that they're to give you their full cooperation."

"And you won't mention you recognized the human I'm traveling with," Spade added, his voice steely.

Ian's gaze slid over Denise in a way that made her feel like she'd somehow lost all her clothes. "No, but it'll be interesting to see how long you can keep this a secret. Need a place to stay while you're in town?"

"Thank you, I've made arrangements elsewhere," Spade replied, to Denise's relief. The sooner they were away from Ian, the better. He was handsome, but there was something openly cold and ruthless about him. Without even realizing it, she found herself inching closer to Spade. Let's look at his people and get the hell out of here.

As if Spade had heard her mental directive, he took her hand. "Ian, if you'll direct us?"

Fifteen minutes later, Denise was cursing to herself in frustration. Out of the dozen men, human and otherwise, who lived at Ian's house, none was Nathanial. How long before Raum became impatient and started threatening her family again? Or how long before the demon marks manifested more dramatically in her? Right now, the only changes she'd noticed were an increasingly short temper and constant hunger, but she knew that was just the beginning. How long did she have before the marks turned her into the same sort of monster Raum was?

"Tell whoever you've got in the area to meet you at the Crimson Fountain tonight," Spade said to Ian as they made their way out. "It'll give us a chance to look at more of them without arousing suspicion."

Ian cast another speculative look at Denise before nodding. "I had other plans, but this situation piques my interest. I'll see you there, mate."

Denise waited until they were miles away from Ian's before she spoke. "I'm so sorry about your house. Please, let me reimburse you. I have a 401(k) I can tap into - "

"No." The single word was crisp. Spade didn't even look away from the road when he said it.

"But this isn't what I intended!" she exclaimed, the tension from the past several days sharpening her voice.

Spade looked at her, briefly but thoroughly. "You had no idea what this would entail when you involved me, but I did, and I agreed nonetheless."

More guilt piled onto her. This was wrong. So wrong. "What if it takes months to find him?"

She couldn't bear the thought, but the initial, na?ve assumption she'd had that she could quickly find Nathanial if she just had an in with the vampire world had been shattered. Spade had thousands of people in his line. How many other Master vampires had thousands of people spread out all over the world?

"Then it takes months to find him," Spade replied, no emotion in his tone. "I'm in this to the end, as I promised."

And she might not have months before she became a monster. Her former feeling of helplessness turned to anger. When she did find Nathanial, she'd make him pay for what he'd put her, her family, and Spade through.

Then the hatred faded, leaving a hollow fear instead. It's happening even now. Every day, a little more of me gets replaced with something else. The realization terrified her.

"Maybe tonight will be our lucky night," she said, forcing an optimism she didn't feel into her voice.

"Perhaps," Spade agreed.

He didn't sound like he believed it, either.

Denise's knuckles were white as she clenched her fists. The scent of her anxiety filled the cab, covering the stale sweat, perfume, and lingering odor of vomit in the backseat. The cab made another lurching movement into traffic, narrowly missing the car that had been vying for the same lane. Denise paled until her skin almost matched Spade's in color.

"Could you be a bit gentler on the gas?" Spade said to the driver. Poor girl, this was her first experience with a New York cabbie. From Denise's expression, she'd like it to be her last.

"What you say?" the driver replied in thickly accented English. Little wonder the man had trouble hearing him, with how loud his radio was.

Spade placed the driver's accent. "Possa-o ir devagar guiar, por favor?" he said, speaking louder.

The driver gave him a wide smile that revealed a lack of recent dental attention. "Oh, fala portuguesa? Nenhum problema," he exclaimed, easing off the accelerator.

"What language is that?" Denise asked, distracted enough to unclench her fists.

"Portuguese."

She looked impressed. "I kept meaning to learn more languages, but all I know is some Spanish left over from high school. When did you learn Portuguese?"

"When I was in Portugal," he replied, amused to see the surprise on her face.

"Oh," she said softly. "I've never been overseas. I haven't even been out of America, except for..."

Her voice trailed off and shadows settled over her expression. For Canada, Spade mentally finished. Where your husband was murdered.