Page 82 of Dash

“Sorry to interrupt, but Sandy, I’d like you to meet my team.” I fast tracked the introductions. “These are the only people authorized to be on the property. They’ve already studied the blueprints and are familiar with the security setup. Can you please give them a tour, answer any questions they may have, and show them to their rooms?”

“Gladly.” She looked at Thena. “Will Dash’s team be joining you at the table?”

“Absolutely.” Thena surprised me by adding, “These people are my friends, Dash’s friends. Please make sure they’re treated like family.”

“As you wish.” Sandy inclined her head. “Dinner will be served promptly at seven. Gentlemen? Follow me.”

Tall and slender, the older woman glided over the checkered marble floors toward the massive stone stairs. After I gave them a nod, the guys followed, hauling their rucks and duffels. Guzman lingered behind and leaned toward me in passing.

“She goes with the house,” he murmured. “Morticia without the curves and the boobs.”

“You behave now,” I rumbled. “Or else—”

“Or else you’ll kick my ass,” he deadpanned. “I know the drill. I’ll be on my best behavior.” The insolent clown smirked before he hurried to catch up with the others.

I sighed. What was I going to do with Guzman?

“He’ll grow up.” Thena smiled at me. “You’ll see. Some day.”

“Can’t wait.” Nix’s right-hand man was a lot to take. “Mina needs to see me right away.”

Thena perked up. “Maybe she has news about my sisters.”

“We’ll see.” I didn’t want to give her false hope. “She’s set up in your father’s study.”

“Ugh.” She crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue.

I wanted to grimace, too. She’d had way too many long lectures and shouting matches in that space. So had I. Sadness dimmed her gaze. Standing in the enormous hall, she looked small and tentative.

“Hey, you.” I cupped her chin, brushed my lips over her soft mouth, and met her gaze. “Your father’s study gets the best reception at the moment. Mina is working out of there only until we can establish a better setup. You don’t have to come with me. You can go upstairs, rest, and settle in before dinner.”

“Hell, no.” She grabbed my hand. “I’m sticking with you.”

“Best news I’ve had all day.” I planted a kiss on her knuckles before we ambled out of the main hall and down one of the long lateral hallways.

“It’s so strange to be here.” Thena brushed her fingertips over the big tapestries that covered the wall as we passed. “I feel as if, any time now, he’s gonna slam open those doors and yell my name at the top of his lungs.”

“I feel the same way,” I confessed. “But if we’ve got to be here, we can’t go around tiptoeing and getting stuck in old memories. We might as well own being here and make new memories. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah.” Arriving at the study’s double doors, she straightened her back and took a deep breath. “New memories, here we come.”

I opened the door and stepped in after her. The lightswere off. The study was dark. The heavy drapes were closed over the windows and the barreled ceiling captured the echo of our steps as we advanced into the room.

In the shadows, I recognized the old man’s collection of classics, which he never read; the bust of Julius Caesar, standing in profile on its niche; and Richard Astor’s massive desk, where several laptops whirred, their screens black.

By the far window, the beam of a flashlight broke the shadows, illuminating a face frozen in a grimace of evil and a mouth flashing a sharp set of fangs. The swoosh of heavy fabric broke the silence, like wings about to take flight.

“Welcome to the vampire’s lair,” a sinister, albeit familiar voice announced. “Behold the shadows from whence I rule the world.”

Chapter Twenty-three

Thena

My mind had been stuck in such a dark place since I’d gotten to Astor House that I was startled by the apparition seemingly bulging out of the wall. My pulse sped up. The twisted features, the bloodied fangs, and the flap of what looked like a cloak in the shadows took me by surprise. For a moment there, I almost screamed. Then Dash stepped up.

“Mina?” he rumbled. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“I’m cheering you up, boss,” a feminine voice rang like a merry bell. “Isn’t it obvious? Blood sucking vampire. Richard Astor. Get it?”

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