Page 64 of Quiver of Cobras
‘She works for Rubus,’ I said. ‘She’s a wonderful person. Incredibly attractive, both inside and out, not to mention funny and smart. Obviously. I wouldn’t be friends with a lesser person.’
Rubus snorted. A heartbeat later he seemed to realise how derogatory he sounded and that it might not endear him to Julie. He hastily explained himself. ‘Madrona only knows the best people,’ he said. ‘After all, she’s friends with you.’ He puffed out his chest. ‘And me.’
Julie put her hand on his arm and leaned towards him. ‘Tell me more about you,’ she said. ‘I know all about Mads but she didn't tell me much about you.’ Her voice had taken on a low, husky quality, as if she were conducting steamy phone sex or voicing an advert for flaky chocolate. She certainly seemed to be making Rubus melt.
‘Oh,’ Rubus laughed, ‘I have fingers in many pies. I like to think of myself as diverse. My company has several branches. We produce pharmaceuticals, which are designed to truly help people. Then there are sales which, if I do say so myself, are going incredibly well. We also have a pro-bono section,’ he added. ‘It's so important to give back to the community, don't you think?’
Julie's fingers stroked Rubus’s arm; it looked as if it were nothing more than an unconscious action but there was no doubt in my mind that it was entirely calculated. ‘Oh, I agree,’ she said. ‘I so agree. There are so many people who need that bit of extra help. The more people there are like you and me, the better place this world will be. It is only through helping others that I think you truly help yourself.’ She moistened her lips with her tongue and held Rubus’s gaze. He was almost drooling.
‘Indeed,’ he said, ‘indeed, indeed.’
‘Yes,’ I agreed. ‘In deed is quite as important as in voice.’ I gave Rubus a hard look but he wasn’t paying me the slightest bit of attention so the effort was wasted.
‘Well,’ Julie giggled to me, ‘you should make sure to invoice me later. I owe you for introducing me to such a charming man.’ She took a delicate gulp of her champagne, pretending not to notice that Rubus’s tongue was hanging out as if he were closely related to a Labrador who had just spied a tasty sausage. ‘I really shouldn't drink this,’ she said, patting her cheeks lightly with her free hand. ‘Champagne makes me frisky.’
Rubus laughed so loudly that the customers on the other side of the restaurant turned round and stared at him. ‘We'll have to make sure that they have enough bottles in their cellar then, won’t we? I do like frisky.’
As if to give weight to his words, Julie drained her champagne in one gulp.
Delighted, Rubus rolled up his sleeves, reached across her and took the bottle to refill her glass. ‘Do you know,’ he said, with a stomach-churning wink, ‘I always thought I would make a good actor.’ He tossed back his head. ‘To be or not to be, that is the question.’
I rolled my eyes. What an arsebadger. Then I glanced down at his bare arms. Hang on a gasbudlikin minute – were those needle track marks?
Julie clapped her hands in delight. ‘Shakespeare,’ she trilled. ‘I simply love Shakespeare. There's nothing quite like treading the boards. You know,’ she confided, ‘as much fun as it is being in a soap opera, I do miss the thrill of the theatre.’
Rubus appeared horrified. He dropped his hands under the table, angling his body towards Julie. Whatever marks were on the underside of his arms, I could no longer see them. ‘But think of all the people who wouldn't see your talent. You can reach a far wider audience through television. Besides, I just love Stacey. She is such a fabulous character.’ He tilted his head. ‘Tell me, is she going to stay with her husband?’
‘Oh,’ Julie said. ‘I'm really not allowed to say. It's all very hush-hush. We have to keep the storyline secret, you know.’
Rubus waggled his eyebrows. ‘I wouldn't tell a soul,’ he said. ‘You can trust me.’
‘Hmm. I could tell you,’ Julie drawled, ‘but then I'd have to kill you.’ Both she and Rubus burst into peals of laughter. I stared at both of them. That really wasn't very funny.
I looked round for the waiter; we were going to need more than just champagne if I was going to make it through this evening. Unfortunately, every eye in the place was on Julie rather than on me. If I wanted a bottle of tequila I’d probably have to get her to order it. From what I knew of her, I doubted that it would be difficult to persuade her that we needed more alcohol.
‘Speaking of secrecy,’ Rubus said, ‘Madrona told me that you asked her to sign a nondisclosure agreement. She also said that you're having a terrible problem with stalkers. Perhaps I can help with that.’
A brief calculating flash passed across Julie's eyes. It instantly put me on edge. Rubus hadn't appeared to notice it – not that it mattered because, before I could jump in and ward off any potential damage, she was already answering him.
‘Actually,’ she said, ‘that's why I've agreed to meet with you. Handsome as you are, I don't normally meet with strange men. One never knows what might happen. I know what you did for me, though. I know you stopped those men who were after me. If I had realised that faeries existed, I would have come looking for you sooner.’
Her words took a moment to sink in. While I kicked her under the table, Rubus’s face slowly filled with dawning realisation. He paused long enough to glare at me and turned back to Julie. His fawning expression all but disappeared and in its place was a hard-eyed nastiness that was far more like the Rubus I had come to know.
‘I was not aware that Madrona had revealed our ethnicity to you. In fact, she said quite the opposite. She said you did not know what we were.’
My heart sank. It felt like all the good I had done in getting Rubus to trust me has been undone by one simple sentence. Now he'd see me as nothing more than a liar – and a loose-lipped liar at that.
Julie didn't miss a beat. She waved an airy hand in the air and smiled benignly. ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘don't blame darling Mads. It's not her fault. Truthfully, this is all down to me. Those men you took care of were not stalkers, at least not in the sense that you think they were. They were hunters. You see,’ she said running her tongue across her top lip in a manner that was almost predatory, ‘they were after me because I'm a…’
I whipped my hand across the table, causing all three champagne glasses to fall and spill. Rubus leapt to his feet. Several waiters appeared with napkins in hand and concerned expressions on their faces.
‘What the hell, Madrona?’ Rubus yelled.
Julie put a calming hand on his shoulder.
‘I'm so clumsy!’ I blurted. ‘And look, Julie! I've stained your beautiful top.’ I reached across the table and grabbed her hand, pulling her up to her feet. ‘Let’s head to the ladies room and I’ll dry you off.’
I didn’t give anyone a chance to reply. There certainly wasn't anyone around here who was happy. Rubus looked at me with a serial-killer stare as I hauled Julie off. The waiters were in a panic at the mess I’d created, while the maître d’ was literally wringing his hands. Even the other restaurant patrons appeared unimpressed. They at least should be happy – I was giving them a show. All they had to do was whip out their mobile phones and sell the footage to one of the tabloids and their mortgage would be paid for a month. Honestly. People ought to be more grateful.
