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“Then cal her tomorrow. You must complete the deal on the day you contract it—so cal before midnight and meet her there early, or cal right after midnight and meet her before dawn. Trust me on this: You do not want to break the terms of her contract, or I won’t be able to help you.”
“Okay, wil do.” I frowned, wondering just what kind of deal I’d be making. I wasn’t into playing Faust. But if she could clear out the lot of evil spirits, then it might be worth it.
“Cal me after you talk to Stevens. I wil be waiting.” Roman hung up abruptly.
I slowly put my phone away, thinking that the night just kept getting stranger and stranger. Chase lightly touched my arm.
“Wel ?”
“Roman told me who to cal in, but leave it to me. From what little he told me, you aren’t going to want to meet the person . . . or creature. I’l get in touch with her tomorrow night and we’l come clear out the area. I need ten pounds prime-grade steak for this—and it better not be cheap meat.
No cutting corners on this.”
“Steak? Ten pounds of steak? What the hel are you getting yourself into?” Chase looked skeptical.
I gazed up at him, not smiling. “Don’t ask. You don’t want to know.”
He inclined his head. “I believe you. I guess we just mark this a crime scene and post guards to keep people out. The crowd down the block has dwindled, but this isn’t the last we’re going to hear out of them.”
That was the truth. I could feel it in my gut.
After Camil e and the men headed for home, I took off for the bar. Not only did I have to check on Erin, but Wade was—hopeful y—stil waiting for me. I hustled through the door, noticing that the gate had been instal ed as I’d asked. At least we’d have some measure of protection from vandals during the off-hours.
Stripping off my jacket—I wore it only for the fashion, I didn’t need it for the cold—I lightly jumped over the counter to land behind the bar. Derrick was adeptly fil ing orders. He gave me a two-fingered salute without missing a beat, catching the bottle he’d sent flying into the air before it could spil a drop.
“How’s it going?” I gave him the once-over. He looked at ease, comfortable, like he’d been here for months instead of just a couple of days.
“I like it. Much more my style than working an FBH bar. People here al are quirky—or out to see quirky.” With a soft smile, he quickly maneuvered five drinks onto Chrysandra’s tray and cal ed,
“Order up, Chryssie.”
She hustled over and picked up the tray, stopping to point toward one of the back booths.
“Wade. He’s stil here.”
I nodded, thinking I should clean up a little. I was covered with dust and cobwebs from the basement jaunt down the Hal way of Hel . But vanity took second place to thinking that if I didn’t get over there, Wade wouldn’t get Roman’s message and might just end up on the wrong side of a stake.
He was sitting in the booth, reading a book, wearing black leather pants, only this time they were real leather—not PVC. And the glasses were gone, but they’d been for show only. His shirt was a neat button-down crimson number, and his hair was shocking platinum and feathered in an edgy cut. Kind of reminded me of Delilah’s new do, actual y, except hers was back to golden instead of white-gold.
“Wade.” I stood beside the booth for a moment as he jerked his nose out of the book and stared at me. I couldn’t tel whether he was scowling or whether it was bewilderment. Either way, I couldn’t just stand here al night. I slid into the booth and leaned back, gauging his reaction.
He dog-eared the corner of the book, folding it precisely, before he closed the paperback and slid it back into his bag. “What do you need, Menol y?” His voice was smooth, no longer the happy-go-lucky vampire—if any vamp can be cal ed that—I’d first met at Vampires Anonymous.
“I’ve got a message for you. I wouldn’t bother you—I know what your opinion of me is right now
—but this is important. Bear in mind, I could have ignored it. I could have just walked away and let nature take its course.” I propped my elbows on the table, resting my chin on my hands.
“Okay, you’ve made your point. You’re doing me a favor. What is it?”
“If you don’t withdraw from the elections, there’l be a big red bul ’s-eye painted on your heart and a stake fol owing through to dust you.”
Al sound fel away as Wade’s eyes grew red and his fangs began to descend. “Are you threatening me?”
I shook my head, the beads in my hair making a faint clicking sound, like bones rattling. “Get real. I haven’t got the time or the desire to start a personal little war. And I’m not involved in the elections anymore, am I? Thanks to you, I have no place in the current race. No, Wade, this comes from higher up than me. From higher up than you.”
With a sul en look, he asked, “Are you working for Terrance?”
The question hit me like gasoline on flame. “Are you a fucking idiot? I’m the one who wanted you to take Terrance down, to dust him. But no . . . you refused. Or you couldn’t. Believe me, I want to see Terrance out of the gene pool, too, and he wil be if things work out right. But if you stay in the race, I guarantee that you’re going to meet the sharp end of a long stick and I won’t be able to help you then. It wil be out of my hands. I’ve been given a chance to warn you. I didn’t have to do it.”
