Page 41 of Addicted in Blood
“Right to business.Not a surprise from what I’ve heard.”
She refused to consider who might be talking to him about her, then reasoned it might have just been words in passing.Small stories one vampire tells another about old campaigns.Still.Had he been checking up on her?
“Would you prefer small talk?Like how long do you plan on carting that dagger around?You’ve managed to make an inconsequential weapon a mystery sought by the very wealthy.”
“On second thought, right to business is a marvelous suggestion.”
“That would be best.I don’t have much time.”
He walked toward the windows that looked out over the bay.A table near the window had been set with a coffee service, small sandwiches, and pastries.
“I heard the House Trelane was in trouble before I received your message.I try to stay away from Council politics, and quite frankly, I find the current Council more corrupt than any before them.”
She couldn’t argue the sentiment.But the days he spoke of were filled with constant battles for power, land, and a throne.Corruption simply took a different form within court intrigue, blackmail, and betrayals.
“Come sit down.Have a cup of coffee if not food.”When she simply stared at him, he shook his head and smiled before sitting down and pouring two cups.“I know how difficult it must have been for you to reach out to me.There must have been others you contacted, and I can only assume they either didn’t have the information you needed or didn’t respond.”
If she was going to play the role of Devon’s first, she had to play it all the way.Devon had sat with enemies many times and was always cordial—until he had no choice but to show his fangs.She heaved a sigh and strolled to the table, taking the chair opposite him.She’d expected him to jump up and pull out her chair, and the fact he didn’t, that he saw her as an equal, made her question the man before her.
“You were always a wise one.”
He seemed pleased by her compliment and perhaps a bit surprised.“Do you need cream or sugar?”
“Just a touch of cream would be fine.”
She plucked a pastry from the tiered platters, her hunger returning with a vengeance.It wasn’t that she was any safer than before.Even with her prowess, she’d be a fool to think the vampire across from her couldn’t hold his own.He was older than Devon.Much older.Old enough to know the ancient Romans—Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, and Augustus.
“I have to ask.”She took a bite of the cheese danish and washed it down with coffee as he did the same, never taking his eyes from her.“I was expecting you to be long dead.”
His head fell back as he laughed.It was a warm laugh.A sincere one.“You and many others.”He wiped his hands on a napkin, and she couldn’t help but notice his long, elegant fingers and his House ring.“There are only one or two of us from those early days in Rome that are still sane enough to hold a House.Although that’s not really a requirement these days when battles are nothing more than well-mannered business dealings that a cadre could run on their own.But the answer to longevity is keeping the mind busy.Always keep your fingers in the midst of something, whether political, personal, or philanthropic.”
She couldn’t help but smile.“The business of running a House is enough intrigue for me.I prefer to stay out of politics.”
“No more battles?”He licked the cream filling from the end of a pastry.Had his movements always been so seductive?“You seem well-trained.”
“You know we don’t use courts to settle our differences.And I am cadre.”
He nodded.“And Trelane has done well.”When a silence descended, he seemed to understand her need to move the conversation along.“Down to business then.I don’t know what surprised me more—receiving your message or seeing that you sought information on Boris.I haven’t heard his name in decades, possibly longer.You know how ancients tend to forget what century we’re in.”
That brought a chuckle she couldn’t help.Gaius had turned self-deprecating in his old age.Or was he trying to stay on her good side for a reason?
He returned her grin.“But then I heard he’d surfaced at this end of the world.”
“This was recent?”
He lit a cigarette as he considered the question.“Perhaps six or seven months ago.Possibly a month or two more.”
“How do you know him?”
“I used him once.”When Simone gave him a quizzical look, he added, “He’s a fixer.”
All the pieces began to fall into place.Someone to clean up Lorenzo’s messes.Or was she reaching?“He’s a freelancer?”
“I hired him back in the early nineteen hundreds, and even then, he wasn’t the type to tie himself to one person.”
“Has he been known to take on long-term assignments?”
He shrugged and refilled their cups.“You should try the lobster sandwich.They’re rather addictive.”He heaved a sigh after biting into one.
