Page 30 of Victory for Vampires

She eyes the proposal book but doesn’t reach for it. Instead she brings a finger to her chin as her gaze flicks to the mockups. “Start there. I’ll tell you if we need to pivot.”

“Excellent,” I croon, stepping to the mockup.

The cover art is beautiful and took me ages.

“Welcome to Tesoro,” I say confidently, “the haven system’s newest addition.”

For the next hour, I walk her through every mockup. They detail everything from access to the haven for any humans called by Tesoro’s yet-to-be-determined magical artifact, to the school system, to the design of the downtown and separate areas for different types of monsters.

Evenia says next to nothing until I reach the final page, a gorgeous illustration of a statue featuring Evenia and her mates. Her eyes flash when I get to that. Worry fills me, based on the look on Betmal’s face when he left her office. But, if anything, her gaze softens slightly.

“Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you?” Her tone is brusque, but I sense a tender undercurrent.

“Well,” I shrug as I smile, “in our network of over fifty havens, there’s not a single building or statue dedicated to the architect of our system. I don’t believe you’ve ever asked for one, but I thought it might be time for us to show you our appreciation for the home you created for us.”

That’s only partially true. I took Betmal to lunch last week and asked him how to nail this presentation. The statue was his idea.

She rises and rounds the desk, staring at the statue. “I hate this outfit,” she barks. “We’ll have to find something else that makes me look less sensual and more…powerful.” Red eyes flick to mine. “I trust that won’t be an issue.”

“It can be anything you want,” I confirm. Shooting her a wink, I laugh. “Admittedly, I picked this outfit because I’m always jealous when you wear it. It makes your ass look great.”

Nobody else could get away with this level of sass. Nobody. But I’ve learned when and how I can push her.

She snorts and crosses her arms, leaning against the desk. Her smile is thin, but it’s there. “Obviously, I haven’t read the formal report, but this is very promising, Valentina. Well done.”

Pride fills me, and I inadvertently push it to my mates, who cautiously send their love back. I resist the urge to rub at my chest. It’s too early to celebrate.

“There’s actually something more,” I admit, “something that’s been a passion project of mine that I’d love for you to consider.”

She cocks her head to the side, looking precisely like the predator she is. “Oh, Little Dove?”

Before I can lose my nerve, I pull a second stack of mockups from the storage tube. Tacking them over the first series, I resist the urge to see what expression she wears.

I run my fingers over the blank page on top, focusing on Evenia. “One thing I heard consistently in my research, and that we’ve heard in every survey we’ve sent about the haven system, is that inter-haven travel is a challenge.”

“We can’t fix that,” Evenia says in a tone that brooks no challenge. “It’s necessary for the safety of the system.”

“I’ve got a unique proposal for that,” I counter, lifting the first page.

Evenia’s eyes narrow at the illustration, but I barrel on, determined to show her what my idea consists of.

“This is Grand Portal Station.” I point to an illustrated great room with glowing green portal doors around the entire perimeter of the oval. Glancing at her, I force a smile. “We’ve talked about ideas like this several times, but we were neverwilling to risk placing something like this in any singular haven. However, there’s a giant old building at the Protector Academy. They’ve been wondering what to do with it. My proposal is to create a haven within that building.”

I flip to the next page as Evenia cocks her head to the side, eyes roving over the paper. “I’ve confirmed, from a security standpoint, this could work. Grand Portal Station haven would be surrounded by all the best protectors from our system—twenty-four hours a day of guards. Not to mention, we could easily create a failsafe to move the station haven into a prison cell if it’s ever attacked. And since it would never be exposed to the human world, it would be at far less risk of being attacked by thralls or any of the monsters choosing to live in the human world.”

Evenia points to the drawing of the building. “Talk to me about accessing this haven. How would that work?”

I’ve got her. Fuck. I think I’ve actually got her.

Forty minutes later, she sags against her desk, eyeing me with a surprised, thoughtful expression. “Gods above, Valentina,” she murmurs. “This might actually work.”

18

ALESSANDRO

“She did it,” I bark, rising from my chair and tossing my book aside.

Pietro glances through the doorway from his spot on Valentina’s tiny porch. He’s been “people watching,” which really means he’s like a dog at the front door, waiting for its owner to return home.

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