“What about the lab?”
“You don’t think looking for a secret lab is a romantic date?”
She chuckled. “Okay. I’ll see you here tomorrow night.”
“Good.” He lifted her hand to his lips and gave her a sweet, old-fashioned kiss on her knuckles.
A few days ago, she’d have skinned those same knuckles on his chin.
Ruxandra watched as Kurt rounded the corner onto Charles Street. When she was sure he couldn’t follow her inside, she unlocked her door and entered quickly, locking it behind her. Claudia was still leaning against the back wall, glaring at her.
“Wow. If looks could kill…” Ruxandra muttered.
“Meh ah ta ga ta da ah-rah.”
Now, what do I do with her? I can’t mesmerize her into forgetting all about this, or I’d just let her go. Ruxandra strode over to Claudia and ripped the duct tape off her face none too gently.
“Ouch.”
“Be grateful there was a corner I could grab without touching you. Otherwise you’d be talking garbled gibberish for who knows how long.”
“I said, I have to go to the bathroom.”
Ruxandra let out a long sigh. “I’m afraid I don’t have any indoor plumbing.”
“I have a bathroom at my place,” Claudia said hopefully.
Ruxandra snorted. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Claudia just dropped her head and stared at her lap.
Ruxandra wracked her brain for a new plan. She wanted to get rid of Claudia, but not by killing her. She really would just let her go if she could count on the glorified waitress to keep her mouth shut.
She began to pace. “You realize I’m not that stupid, right?”
Claudia didn’t look up, but she nodded slightly.
“Are you crying?”
Her rival lifted her head and bit out, “No.”
“Hmmm… You don’t want to give me the satisfaction, I’ll bet.”
Claudia said nothing, but it was plain to see Ruxandra had hit a nerve. The young woman’s jaw was set, as if she was clenching her teeth so hard they might break.
“Look. I’m going to level with you, Claud…”
Claudia’s eyes narrowed and her face grew red.
“Oh! You don’t like that nickname, do you?”
Claudia didn’t answer.
Ruxandra chuckled. “No. I don’t suppose you do. If I were going to hang on to you much longer, I’d call you nothing but Claud from now on.” She sighed. “But you’re in luck. I’m tired of you and I just want you out of my hair.”
“Great. Let me go.”
Kurt’s phone vibrated.
“Hold that thought.”
Ruxandra scrutinized the caller ID and hoped it would spell out who was trying to get ahold of Kurt. Unfortunately it was only a number. She waited for the call to be rerouted to voice mail, then inspected the phone.
“Do you know how these things work?” she asked.
Claudia raised her eyebrows. “You don’t?”
“I wouldn’t be asking you if I did, would I?”
“Yeah. I know how most phones work. If I had my hands available, I could help you with it.”
“Ha. Clever girl. Clearly, that’s not going to happen.” She held the device in front of Claudia’s face and said, “How do I get to the messages?”
Claudia shrugged. “How badly do you want them?”
Ruxandra threw the phone on the concrete floor, smashing it. “Not that badly. I was just curious.”
“Oh. Well, it would have been nearly impossible since the phone is password protected. I take it that’s not your phone.”
“Forget the stupid phone.” Ruxandra resumed pacing. “What I was going to say before the phone buzzed is that I have to move you.”
“Move me? Where?”
“Somewhere that’s not here.”
Claudia rolled her eyes. “Hopefully somewhere with a bathroom.”
Ruxandra halted and stared at her flippant captive. “You really don’t get it, do you?”
“Get what?”
“That you should be afraid. That I’m a vampire. That I could rip your head off, bash your skull in, and drink out of it like a goblet.”
A flicker of something akin to fear showed in Claudia’s eyes. Not fear. Revulsion. Then she reverted back to her annoying defiance. “Then why don’t you?”
“If only…”
Chapter 14
The following evening, Anthony visited the witch-vampire Morgaine. Does that make her a wampire? Or a vitch? He was trying to distract himself from frantic worry by thinking the most ridiculous things. Nothing was helping, though. As he’d feared, Claudia hadn’t come home and Sadie couldn’t pinpoint her location. He was sure Ruxandra had her.
Morgaine seemed like a smart, sympathetic woman—much like Claudia herself. Sly had made an appearance just to shake Anthony’s hand and introduce himself. Then he’d said he had some business to attend to downstairs and left his apartment.
“Can I get you some tea?”
“Not unless reading tea leaves will help find my girlfriend.”
Morgaine chewed her lower lip. “I’m sorry, no. Tea leaves are good for estimating time, but not place. I was just hoping a nice cup of tea would help you relax.” She tipped her head. “Have you fed recently?”
“Uh, no. Do I look paler than I should?”
Morgaine appeared conflicted for a moment, then strode to her kitchen, saying, “I’ll be right back.”
Crap. I must look like hell. He glanced at his hands. They were almost white and cold to his own touch.
She returned with a glass of red wine. “Here. Drink this.”
Anthony sighed but figured some wine might help steady his nerves. Tipping up the glass, he took a long, deep swallow. The taste was…different. Not quite like any wine he’d had before. There was a bit of a metallic tang, which reminded him of blood.
Something amazing was happening. He looked at his hands again. Color and warmth were filling them. He not only felt calmer, but happier. Never had he experienced a wine that could do this so instantly.
“What kind of wine is this?” he asked.
She smiled. “It’s our own vintage. We call it Vampire Vintage, and had we not discovered it, we’d be slaves to bloodlust and at the mercy of the sun again.”
“You mean this is how you’re able to walk in daylight?”
She nodded.
He noticed another change. He was no longer hungry. It was as if he’d consumed a pint of blood, not a sip of wine. He held the glass at eye level and studied it. It looked like any other red wine. Perhaps a cabernet.
“I don’t understand. How is this possible?”
She grinned, leaned forward, and whispered conspiratorially. “It’s our little secret.” Then she leaned back in her chair with a satisfied smile on her face.
“Where do you get it?”
“We make it.”
He almost didn’t dare ask for more, but if Ruxandra had Claudia, and Morgaine uncovered Ruxandra’s lair, he could walk in there and rescue his lover without a fight. He could even drag Ruxandra’s lifeless body into the sunlight and leave her to fry. The thought startled him.
One thing Sadie’s psychic senses had been able to tell him was that Claudia was still alive. He hoped his niece wasn’t just giving him reassurance out of pity, but he’d never known Sadie to lie.
He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “Morgaine, I’d pay you handsomely for a bottle of this. Can you spare any?”
She rose and sashayed to the kitchen. Upon her return she carried two full, unopened bottles. “We don’t make Vampire Vintage available to just anyone, but Sly and I discussed it beforehand. Nick vouched for you, so, yes. You can have these two bottles. If you’d like more when they’re gone, we can begin selling it to you.”