Page 77 of The Vampire Kingpin
Sipping my champagne, I turned and faced the dance floor. “I see him.”
Jared Darkman in the flesh, his hard body dressed in a bespoke tux. And yeah, I was still afraid, but even stronger was my stone-cold determination to end this.
No more hiding in the Underworld for me.
First, we’d take care of Jared Darkman. And then I’d charm the ever livin’ hell out of Spider the Underworld Kingpin until he couldn’t help but fall in love with me.
Spider’s arm pressed against mine and I flashed him a quick, I’ve-got-this smile.
He winked back. I know.
I glanced at Princess Renata. She was lean and wiry, with big gray eyes and a heart-shaped face. But what caught my attention was her complete lack of interest in Jared and his brooding, Lord Byron vibe. He whispered something in her ear, and she shot back a reply that made him flinch and put a good half foot of space between them.
I fought the urge to laugh.
That glittery feeling hit me again—the kind you get just before pulling off a heist. Sure, we might not have plotted every detail like my parents would’ve, but the plan was solid.
Bait Jared into trying to snatch me, then send an alert via the tracking device I wore. Spider would burst in along with Zaq Kral, catching him in the act. As an out-of-town guest, Jared would have broken one of the most basic rules of syndicate hospitality: Don’t mess with another vampire’s lover.
When Spider staked him, not even Jared’s father could object. And if Darkman Senior had a problem, he could take it up with Karoly Kral—one of the world’s most powerful primuses.
"Alright," I said. "Let's do this."
Spider's eyes flicked to my elbow-length black gloves. "You got your blade?"
“Yep.” The skinny silver blade was firmly in its slot on my inner left forearm, a bit of insurance Spider had insisted I bring. “And the tracking device is activated.” I touched the lower point of the diamond cutout where I’d sewn a tiny bead that would alert Spider. If something went wrong, it was also a GPS device that he and Velma could track on their phones.
I blew a kiss to Spider and slid along the edge of the dance floor, heading for the restrooms. He set off in the opposite direction, searching for a quiet corner to fade into the shadows and follow me.
The restroom stalls were like mini bathrooms with their own sinks, mirrors, and personal care products, and toilets with built-in bidets. This early in the evening, all five stalls were empty.
Perfect. Jared wasn’t an idiot—he wouldn’t try and kidnap me if anyone else was around.
I ducked into a stall to smooth my skirt and adjusted my mask—not DeeDee’s handmade mask, either. I’d worn that into the limo but switched to a mask I’d found in Spider’s closet instead.
Velma and Monster hadn’t been able to turn up anything off about DeeDee, but she’d gone back to being fake-nice. Call me paranoid, but her eagerness for me to wear her mask had set off a giant red light flashing in my brain. Plus, the mask had been itchy and a little too heavy.
Footsteps sounded. I stilled, my hands fisting, until I heard the tap-tap of high heels.
Not Jared, then.
I tapped the glove over the silver blade for luck and exited the stall. A masked woman in a party dress blocked my way.
When I tried to go around her, she glowered at me from beneath her straight black fringe. “Where’s my mask?”
I reared back. “DeeDee?”
“Yeah. Where’s the mask I made you?”
What the fuck? I veered around her, aiming for the exit. “I like this one better.”
“Jesus. I don’t know why Jared wants you so bad,” she muttered, and struck out at my stomach with a silver switchblade.
She almost caught me—I hadn’t expected an attack, and I was still stuck on that “Jared.” But she was a human and five times slower than me. I jumped back, body curved like a C, and the blade just missed me.
Shaking off my surprise, I snapped into action, using her own momentum to shove her headfirst into the stall and onto her knees in front of the toilet.
Slamming the toilet seat up, I pushed her face toward the bowl of water. “What do you know about Jared Darkman?”
