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Lucian drew close to her and took her hand. “He should have told you, Claire.”
She stared up at Lucian, her heart heavy. He’d lost Marius today and maybe she’d lost Zoey, though she couldn’t be sure. Maybe she should be angry that Rumy hadn’t told her everything, but she wasn’t. She’d done a good thing, perhaps even a critical one in bringing Lucian safely to The Erotic Passage. If anyone had a chance of ending Daniel’s reign, Lucian did.
Rumy’s phone rang, and he stepped into the hall to answer it.
“I’m so sorry, Claire. This isn’t good news, and again I wish like hell that Rumy hadn’t used you the way he did.”
When Lucian let her hand go, she rose to her feet. “You know what? I’m fine with it. Because you’re safe and after what I saw Daniel do, Rumy’s right, your world needs you here right now.”
“I think that’s really generous of you.”
Rumy reentered the room, a slight frown on his brow.
Lucian glanced at him. “Anything we should know?”
Rumy still held his phone in hand. “I’ve got several calls to return, which is a good thing—one of them might actually be a lead that will pan out. As soon as I heard that Daniel was offering a reward, I alerted my network, asking for any information that might surface about the extinction weapon. Let me see what’s going on.”
He seemed to consider the situation, then addressed Claire. “I’m sorry for what I did.”
“It’s okay. I understand your reasoning, and I actually agree with you. Lucian is needed here. You did the right thing.”
Rumy held her gaze for a long moment, finally nodding several times in a row. “All right then.” He shifted to Lucian. “Listen, let me follow up on the leads. In the meantime, why don’t you show Claire the main part of the club.” He then slapped his pant pocket, dipping inside. He drew out two crimson tickets. “And Eve sent these along.”
Lucian glanced at them, scowling. “I’m not taking Claire to a sex show.”
Rumy shrugged. “You know Eve. She thinks everyone will love her stuff. But it might be a good thing to expose Claire to other parts of the Erotic Passage because who knows what will happen down the line. At least take her to see the band. Well, keep your phone handy.”
With that, he took off.
Claire stared at the tickets, then picked them up. They shimmered. “The Ruby Cave.” She glanced at Lucian. “Am I to understand that Rumy just suggested we go clubbing, then hit a sex show?” She didn’t know whether she was more appalled or amused. She decided it was the latter and laughed.
“You know, Rumy might be right, maybe not about Eve’s show, but let me ask you something. What’s it been like since Rumy brought you here?”
“Like being thrown into a giant washing machine during the agitation cycle.”
“That’s what I thought. So why don’t we do exactly what he said? Or at least the first part. The club does have a great band.”
“You’re serious. But what about the extinction weapon? We should be looking for Zoey.” She felt panicky, afraid that if she changed her focus for even a second, she’d miss a critical opportunity.
Lucian put his hand on her shoulder and gave a squeeze. “There’s nothing either of us can do right now. Rumy’s put out his feelers and he’ll get a hit back—you’ll see. Then we’ll move forward. In the meantime, he is right. We’ll both function better if we pace ourselves. This is going to be a tough process that will not resolve itself overnight.”
Claire allowed herself to relax into the moment. Her experience as a social worker, which involved managing frequent crises among her clients, kicked in. “You’re right. I need to let events unfold and I would like to see more of Rumy’s club.” She glanced down, looking at her pants. “Are jeans acceptable?”
Lucian smiled. “No. This isn’t exactly a casual atmosphere, but no worries.” He gestured to the rack near the dresser. “Rumy provided a wide array of attire.”
Claire moved to the rack and flipped through several of the dresses, her brows lifting. “Some of these are not fit to be worn anywhere, except maybe The Ruby Cave.” She drew out a short black dress with simple lines. “But here’s one that might do.” She held it to her chest. “Though I have to ask one more time: Are you sure we should be doing this?”
He nodded, and the soft vibration at her neck confirmed what she saw in his face. “This is a good thing. Did you and Zoey go clubbing often?”
“We did. We’d meet up with a lot of our friends, dance, occasionally drink just a little too much.” For just a moment she got lost in the memories, but she gave herself a shake. “All right, then, I guess we’re heading to Rumy’s club.”
She gathered up all that she would need and headed into the bathroom. When the chain at her neck gave a tug, Lucian moved closer to the dresser as well, helping with their ongoing proximity issue. “Take your time.”
Those words, spoken in just that way, gave her pause as she glanced back at him over her shoulder. He had a wonderful voice, deep and resonant. But he was also very considerate, something she hadn’t expected from his kind. “Thanks.” She moved into the bathroom, closing the door. This almost felt like a date.
* * *
Lucian stared at the back of the door, not quite certain what to think. Was he really taking Claire to the club? It would have felt like a date if their situation weren’t so dire.
When Rumy had made the suggestion, his first reaction had been just like Claire’s: They had more important things to do than to dress up and listen to a band. But the part of him that had served as a warrior for centuries also knew the need for downtime so he’d put himself in her place.
Claire, though barely knowing anything about his world, had already been abducted when she was thrust into the Dark Cave system to rescue a blood-maddened vampire. And he’d spoken the truth when he said that they’d be wise to pace themselves. The shared chains added a difficult layer to an impossible situation, so yes, he thought this a smart move.
He changed into some clubbing clothes, brushed his short hair, and put on his handcrafted Italian shoes. He then sat on the bed and waited.
But after another ten minutes passed, he felt antsy with a need to be going, to be doing, to be out there battling and taking care of business.
“You okay?” Claire sounded worried.
