Page 22 of Primal Dragon

6

The Game is Afoot

The club was less than a mile away. Henrik needed to get his game face on. He’d been distracted by Q and thinking about Quinn. She’d been up to something tonight. He hadn’t heard a word from her. He wanted to reach out and make sure she was doing okay, but he hadn’t had a chance.

The street was emptier than it had been when they left. He pulled around back through the alley just like he’d been instructed to do by Q. There were two vampires waiting by the back door.

Henrik was on edge. He didn’t like handing Letty over to them, protection spell or not. There were so many things that could go wrong. He didn’t want to be responsible for not keeping her safe.

They got out of the car and headed to the back. He cautiously popped the trunk, unsure of what to expect. Letty leapt up at him the moment he lifted the trunk lid. Henrik caught her and quickly spun her around, so he had her locked down.

“You didn’t tie the bitch down?” the vampire thug asked.

Henrik rolled his eyes. “I don’t ride around with kidnapping supplies in my car. You wanted one female. Tied down or unconscious wasn’t part of the deal.”

He could sense Q’s unease next to him. He wanted to reassure the guy everything would be okay, but the truth was, Henrik didn’t know it would be. They were in it now though.

“Park the car and get back inside the club. Stefano will want to talk to the two of you,” the other vampire thug said.

They parked the car and headed into the club. Q immediately backed off like they weren’t friends. It was a good play, but it bothered him for some reason. Q was hiding a lot more than he led on, and Henrik wanted to know what. James obviously trusted and cared about this guy, but if Henrik was going to work with him, he needed to know more than that.

The club was thriving with customers now and entertainment. There were half-naked women everywhere.

All it did was remind him that he hadn’t seen or talked to Quinn in a while. He wanted to know she was all right. He wanted to talk to her. He’d much rather be wrapped up in her than dealing with all this shit.

They grabbed a couple of seats at the bar, but not sitting close to each other. Henrik scanned the club trying to get eyes on the vampires. There were a few in the audience, but he noted they seemed to be customers. The humans that were present were male or snacks for hungry bloodsuckers.

Finally, Henrik spotted Stefano. He was sitting with a couple of others. Vampire thug number one approached him and pointed their way. Stefano didn’t get up right away. He finished his conversation and then he got up and strutted toward them, greeting people, smiling, stopping to chat on his way.

The guy was getting on Henrik’s last nerve. Stefano stopped between Q and Henrik waiting for both of them to turn their attention to him.

“Gentlemen, please follow me.”

Henrik gestured for Q to go first. He wanted to watch Q’s back. James would never forgive him if he got his friend killed.

They headed back to another one of the bars, and a door opened just as they approached. Another bodyguard. This guy was heavily armed, and Henrik guessed it was all the time.

They were led through a cement hallway and then to the left into an extravagant office. It was everything you’d expect from a vampire overlord. Red carpet, black desk, chair, and credenza. There were black and red paintings on the wall that were provocative and screamed sex and death.

“Please have a seat.” Stefano sat behind his desk and kicked his feet up onto the shiny surface. “The two of you impressed me. Not only did you bring in perfect cargo, but you apparently worked well together. I plan to put you to work. Your background checks have come back. Congratulations, you’ve been cleared.”

Henrik knew why he had a clean record. Kashton’s hacker friend. Not only did she take videos of dragons off the internet or find a way to prove to the public they were fake videos, she also was able to create an entire persona for Rik Smith. How did Q come up clean?

“Um, just how did you get a background check run?” Q asked.

“Your names and your fingerprints,” Stefano said casually.

Q looked down at his hands like he didn’t understand how he came back clean either. Maybe James had worked in a background for the vampire creation next to him. He wondered what Q looked like without the glamour. Something he probably wouldn’t find out until all of this of over.

“Tonight, gentlemen, your evening is on me. Stay, have some dinner, some drinks, enjoy any of my lovely ladies, and then I will see you back here tomorrow night and we’ll really get to work.”

Henrik leaned back in his chair. “You haven’t said anything about payment, the job, or nothing.”

Stefano chuckled. “Of course, of course. The jobs will be given out to you on the days you’re scheduled. You will get them by phone, so make sure you keep your phones on you and charged at all times. You will work as a team. After a job, you’re expected to come here and play for a while. Alibis are always good to have on hand. Does that satisfy?”

Q sat forward. “What if we want to move up the ranks?”

Stefano grinned. “Eager. I like that. Mr. Grant, we didn’t find a lot of information on you. May I ask how old you are?”

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