Page 70 of Just Dare Me
His smile widens. “Yes, ma’am.”
The sound of a throat clearing erupts from the darkness.
“Oh, I’m sorry, are we keeping you?” I snap. “Do you have another gutless surrender to get to? Just come out already!”
“First, put a leash on your killer.”
“Ummmm.” I look at all the faces around me. “Which one?”
Ilren pipes up, raising his hands. “My weapons are sheathed. My hands, empty. I give you my—”
“Not him,” the vampire’s voice interrupts. “The terrorist in a miniskirt.”
All heads turn to Elle, who hops up and down with delighted squeals. “It’s me! That’s me!” Oliver rolls his eyes.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Ilren protests. “There’s some mistake here.She’sthe one you’re—”
“Yes!” the vamp again interrupts.
Elle laughs. “Of course you are. Now stop being rude, and get your good-talking ass out here.” With a wave of a hand, she conjures tiny bubbles of energy around one of the nearby pillars. When the bubbles burst—pop, pop, pop!—the Cleveland vampire screams in fright, leaping out into the open. He’s thin and clean-cut, wearing a crisp suit.
I recognize him immediately. He was part of Henry Stadther’s clan, until I hauled him in a headlock to the Agency, where he met his new master. “You again! First Henry Stadther, now Theo Coltrane? You’ve got zero luck in the boyfriend department.”
“Master Theo has been good to me. But he’s no man of war. We won’t fight.”
“Won’t fight? That’s not how it looked when you joined with East Side, blew up the Ambassador Bridge, killed the master of Windsor clan, and assaulted an FBI prison to free Arael Moaz.”
“Actions for which Master Theo will now answer in person. His chambers are ahead. If you’ll follow me.”
“He wants to talk?”
“The word he used wasnegotiate.”
“Negotiate? For what?”
The vampire swallows hard. “Well…that’s for him to clarify, but…perhaps he would accept clemency in exchange for the location of a certain person of interest.”
“Lotta people we’re interested in, pal.”
“The demon conjurer,” he says. “The black chin.”
Charlotte steps forward. “Tabitha. You mean, she’s not here?”
“Correct.”
“What about Marco Deus?” I ask.
“Yes, he’s here.”
“With Theo Coltrane?”
“Correct.”
I turn to Charlotte with a shrug. “Two out of three.”
“I don’t like this, Shayne. Tabitha’s the key.”
“But Marco Deus—”
