Page 80 of The Vampire Kingpin
I gave a jerky nod. “Call Velma for me—ASAP. Tell her my phone is broken, that we need her to track Lark.”
Renata already had her phone out. “On it.”
I didn’t question how she had Velma’s number, just took off for the restrooms, shoving people aside in my hurry. I probably would’ve started a mini war if Zaq hadn’t stayed with me, ordering the gaping crowd to let me through.
I busted through the restroom door, Zaq on my heels. In an open stall, a blond vampire in a red gown knelt over a semiconscious DeeDee, about to sink her fangs into the human’s neck.
I did a doubletake. How the fuck had DeeDee gotten into the Midnight Masquerade?
But it was basically a signed confession. She was part of this, damn her.
“Get away from her,” I snarled at the blonde kneeling over her.
“Mine,” she hissed back, baring her fangs at me. “Find your own.”
Zaq stepped forward. “You heard him—get out of the damn stall.”
Her eyes widened. “My lord. This human belongs to you?”
He jerked his chin at me. “Not me. Him.”
“Name’s Spider,” I informed her, and her brows climbed.
“The Underworld’s Spider?”
“That’s me. Get the fuck out of there.”
Her mouth compressed, but she retracted her fangs and obeyed. I stepped past her into the stall and grabbed DeeDee around the neck.
Her gaze slid from mine. Fear and guilt oozed off her like emotional slime.
I gave her a shake. “Look into my eyes, damn you.”
“Go to hell,” she muttered weakly.
I brought my face close to hers and waited until she looked back at me, then slammed a compulsion into her with everything I had. “Where’s Lark?”
“With…Jared.”
“And where’s that?”
“Don’t know.”
Despair fisted my chest. It was the truth—she couldn’t lie under a compulsion. “How long ago did he take her?”
“Don’t…know.”
“It can’t have been long,” Zaq muttered. “Five minutes at the most. We can still catch her.”
I nodded, even though, for a vampire, five minutes was plenty of time to have spirited Lark miles away.
“One last question,” I said to DeeDee. “Are you the one feeding intel to Darkman?”
She pressed her lips together, fighting not to answer, but I was too strong for her. “Yes,” she burst out. “But not about you. Just Lark.”
“But Lark is mine,” I told her softly, and squeezed her throat until her eyes bugged out. I thrust her away from me and stalked out of the stall. “Drain the bitch,” I told the vampire in the red dress.
Renata was on her phone. “Hang on,” she told the other person. To me, she said, “Velma’s not answering, but security said they saw her running toward the West Side. No sign of Darkman or Lark, though.”
