Darkness Unmasked (Dark Angels 5)

His smile grew as he leaned forward and offered me his hand. “Harry Stanford, at your service.”

His grip was firm, but not overpowering. A vampire who was confident in his own strength and who saw no need to display it—unlike Hunter.

I studied him for several seconds, mulling over our brief conversation, then said, a little hesitantly, “Are you, by chance, on the high council yourself?”

“And where would you get that idea, young lady?”

“It’s a guess.”

“Then it is a good one.” He picked up a pen and began to tap the table lightly.

Unease slithered through me, and my pulse rate began to skip—never a good thing when cornered in a small room with a vampire.

“And, uh, were you on the side of those who thought I could be of use to the council, or one of the ones who thought it would be better for all concerned if I were killed?”

“Neither. I could not see the sense in killing you before we’d explored and discussed all possible outcomes.” A half smile touched his lips. “And I would never, under any circumstance, side with Hunter.”

“Oh.” Great. He hated Hunter, and I was here under her orders.

“Never fear,” he said, almost jovially. “There is no point in killing the messenger when it is the master I would rather see dead.”

“If you did attempt to harm her,” Azriel said, voice flat but nevertheless deadly. He rested a hand on my left shoulder as he reappeared beside me. “You would be dead before you even left your chair.”

“Ah, the reaper himself. I was wondering when you’d turn up.”

“I am never far away.”

“Indeed.” He studied the two of us for a moment, then said, “You do realize, don’t you, that Hunter has no intention of ever letting you off her leash? Her plans for you are vast, and the keys play only a minor part of that.”

The keys were hardly a minor part when the earth risked being overrun either by the denizens of hell or unhappy souls unable to move on. “I got that impression. But, for the moment, I need her. Or rather, I need her resources.”

His snort was disparaging. “What, to find your mother’s murderer? Do you honestly think she has any intention of allowing that? Or that she even cares, now that she has what she wants? You, in her pocket?”

My unease grew. Why the hell was he saying all this? I had no damn idea—but one thing was for sure. It couldn’t be for any good reason. “There are Cazadors working—”

“There was one. He found no clues, just as the Directorate found no clues. Your mother’s killer might as well be a ghost, for all the evidence he left behind.”

I flexed my fingers, trying to relax, but it didn’t help much. “I agreed to help her if she helped me. I cannot back out of that arrangement.”

Yet, I added silently.

“Not unless you have the help of someone strong enough to rival her.”

And there it was, I thought. The twist in the tale fate just loved applying to make my life even more interesting.

My smile was grim. “I may not know much about the inside workings of the high council, but I do know that if you thought yourself her match, you could challenge her anytime you wanted.”

“I could, but that would be playing by the rules. She doesn’t, so I see no reason for me to do so.”

Wonderful. Another schemer. Just what I needed in my life right now. “If you’re so powerful, how come you’re the daytime manager of a club like this?” I hesitated, then added rather hastily, “No offense meant.”

He waved a hand—an elegant gesture that nevertheless managed to highlight the muscular nature of his arms. “It amuses me to work here.”

And it had the advantage of keeping him out of Hunter’s eye, I suspected. Just as I suspected that this man was the reason for her warning about talking to anyone but the owner.

“Why are you saying all this to me?” I asked, a little hesitantly. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Hunter? Or that she’ll pick the conversation out of my thoughts?”

“Do I fear the former? No.” He leaned forward and crossed his arms on the desk. “As to the latter, she is welcome to whatever remnants she can retrieve past those nano cells. She knows I plot, just as I know she plots. It is a game we have played for a very long time.”