A Taste of Midnight (Midnight Breed 9.5)

Bran cast a bland look at the thin cot and sparse furnishings of the room that had been his home since he'd come on board with Reiver. He shrugged. "I have a place to lay my head. I don't need anything more.y sp01D;

Not for now, at least.

Not until he had what he came for: vengeance.

Then, perhaps, he would return to his true home. Try to find some way to live again, in the empty place where Reiver had left nothing but death.

He brushed past Thane into the hallway. "The boss say what he wanted?"

"Nope. Just told me to find you and send you up to see him." The big guard crossed his arms over his chest. "Better hope you've got nothing to hide."

Bran ignored the warning and strode through the main floor of the club, past the members' lounge and gaming tables, where a few of Reiver's wealthiest clients had recently arrived to begin their night of deal making, debate, and discreetly arranged debauchery. Reiver's office was upstairs, a lavish suite that spanned the entire third floor of the building. The pair of vampires posted at the door admitted him with expressionless nods.

He walked in and found Reiver standing in front of a large flat-screen monitor, remote control gripped in his hand. "You sent for me?"

"Yes." The word was little better than a hiss. When Reiver swiveled his head to look at him, his face was hard with displeasure. "I've been informed that roughly an hour's worth of security camera feed from inside the club today has been damaged irreparably."

"Really." Bran feigned a measure of surprise, even though he'd been the one who destroyed the video surveillance footage personally. Right after Danika's appearance in the building.

Reiver grunted. "What's the use of keeping a watchdog on the premises if he isn't aware of everything that goes on in here at all times?" He set the remote down on his desk, his movements too deliberate. Too calm to be trusted. "Did anything unusual happen today, Brandogge?"

Bran bristled at the insulting nickname but kept his head. Just one more means of Reiver testing him, goading him to see what he was truly made of. "We had a visitor this morning," he said. No sense in denying it; he suspected Reiver already knew anyway and was testing his loyalty. "The female from the party last night."

"Danika MacConn." The sound of her name on Reiver's lips made Bran's pulse spike with a contempt he fought hard not to show. "I did some investigating of my own after Thane recovered a backup feed from the lobby this morning. Would you like to see it?"

Bran gave a nonchalant shake of his head, his suspicion confirmed that he was being tested and judged. Leave it to Thane to throw him under the bus. But what was worse was the fact that Danika's appearance at the club today had only heightened Reiver's interest in her.

"Apparently the meddling bitch is in Scotland only temporarily, staying at the little cottage near the river on the MacConns' lands."

Jesus Christ. He knew where Danika was and how to find her. Details that could prove more than dangerous in the hands of a heartless bastard like Reiver.

"The question is, what was she doing nosing around my place of business today?"

Bran shrugged dismissively. "She didn't say what she wanted, but since you saw the camera feed, you know she didn't get far. And she won't be coming back anytime soon. The way I left things with her, I don't think she'll pose any further problems for you."

"No," Reiver said, all too readily. "No, I'm certain she won't. I saw to that myself a few minutes ago."

All the blood in Bran's head made a swift, cold rush into his boots. He held the flat stare of his employer, careful to betray none of the dread he was feeling. "What do you mean, you saw to it?"

"I sent a couple of men over to the MacConn lands to look in on the woman. I'm sure they'll be able to persuade her that she might be more comfortable staying out of my affairs. Unfortunately, Edinburgh can be a very dangerous place for a strong-headed woman."

"Who did you send?" The words were dry in Bran's throat, his limbs wooden as he waited to hear the answer.

"Kerr and Packard."

Two of his most brutal henchman. Where Thane and some of the other Breed males in service to Reiver were threatening in their own right, Kerr and Packard were reserved for only the ugliest jobs. They were the bone-breakers of Reiver's stable, the ones dispatched when he wanted to make his point with someone in the bloodiest of terms.

It was all Bran could do not to leap on Reiver and tear out the son of a bitch's throat right where he stood. But killing him now wouldn't spare Danika the pain that was heading her way. There would be time to deal with Reiver later-time for Bran to see his vengeance through as he'd long planned.

Right now, all that mattered was reaching Danika.

Before Kerr and Packard had the chance to do their worst.

Bran cleared his throat to dislodge the icy knot that had settled there. "If there's nothing else you need from me ..."

"No," Reiver said, casual despite the fact that he'd issued a likely death warrant for an innocent woman. "That'll be all for now, Brandogge. I'll send for you if I have need of anything further."

Bran inclined his head, then pivoted to make his exit. Each calm stride was a test of his self-control as he made his way back downstairs and through the now-bustling club.