Page 35 of Brimstone Bound
I glared at him, silently demanding an answer.
‘I’m looking for Tony Brown,’ he said. ‘I tracked his car to this location.’
‘How?’ I demanded. ‘How did you track it here?’
‘It might surprise you to learn there are vampire eyes all over this city. And Tallulah,’ he patted her bonnet, ‘tends to get herself noticed.’
I didn’t react when he gave the car’s name. I doubted it was a secret. ‘Keep talking.’
Lukas sighed. ‘Sometimes we entertain clients from a particular subset, the sort of subset who like to stay here at the DeVane.’
‘People who are wealthy?’
He inclined his head. ‘Yes. Consequently, we keep some of the staff on a retainer so they can inform us when certain clients are visiting. It helps us to prepare should they wish to travel a few streets over and come to see us.’
‘You mean you bribe the staff.’
Lukas shrugged. ‘That’s a crude way of putting it, but essentially yes. The valets are particularly useful.’
‘So one of these valets contacted you about Tallulah?’
He gazed at me. ‘Is this questioning going to take all night, D’Artagnan?’ He deepened his voice by a mere note, but it made it sound altogether more provocative. ‘I’m sure there are more productive things we could do with our time.’
I ignored his brief attempt at flirtation. Boy, was I not interested. ‘Which valet?’
‘Lily Twist.’
I made a mental note of the name and pressed on. ‘Why are you looking for DC Brown?’
‘Because, D’Artagnan, I find it curious that even without your death and subsequent re-birth, he is allowing you to wander the streets on your own. You’re a babe in the woods and,’ he opened his mouth an inch, before running his tongue over his sharp fangs, ‘there are monsters lurking around every corner.’
Too much had happened for his suggestive action to intimidate me. ‘Why do you care? I thought vampires only concerned themselves with hedonistic fun.’
He smiled. ‘Our PR team is very effective. The façade we present to the world doesn’t match the reality.’
I filed that titbit away for a later date. ‘Where were you last night?’
‘You already know the answer to that. I was investigating your death.’
‘Did you come anywhere near this hotel?’
Lukas’s eyes narrowed slightly. ‘No.’ He tilted his head. ‘Tell me, did you find Brown in one of the rooms just now? There’s nothing in the car to help pin down his location. If you tell me where he is, you’ll save me a whole lot of bother.’
‘Is there anyone who can vouch for your whereabouts last night?’ I persisted.
‘Are you going to answer every question with another question, D’Artagnan?’
All of a sudden, his phone rang, a high-pitched sound that startled me so much that I jumped – and involuntarily squeezed the trigger on the crossbow.
The silver-tipped bolt flew in his direction, whistling through the air with lethal force. Lukas leapt to the side with a lightning reaction that was too fast for my eyes to follow, and the bolt embedded itself into the concrete pillar behind him with a thud. A cloud of grey dust belched out. Oh God.
Lukas touched the tip of his ear and frowned. I stared in horror at the dab of blood on his fingers. ‘You caught me,’ he said drily. ‘Maybe you do know how to use that thing after all.’ He took out a pristine white handkerchief and wiped off the blood. Then, with chilling calm, he answered his phone which had continued to ring throughout. ‘Yes.’
He listened to the other speaker while I looked from the crossbow to the bolt to Lukas and back again. I could well imagine that a vampire might take it personally that I’d almost shot them in the head. Under any other circumstances, this would have been the ideal time to leave.
As soon as Lukas hung up, I started to apologise. ‘I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘I didn’t intend to…’
Lukas sprang forward and grabbed me by the shoulders. The convivial light in his eyes had gone, replaced by complete darkness. He loomed over me and, for the first time, he genuinely scared me. ‘When?’ he bit out. ‘When were you planning to tell me that Tony Brown is dead?’
