Page 26 of Death Dance

My father smiled. “Then it’s a plan. I’ll come join the kitchen party once a week after this mess is resolved to my satisfaction. Breanna, in the meantime, it would be wise if you stayed with the vampires of this brood. Jeremy Breckenan is behind the brutal murders of women much like you, and should anything happen to you, I am certain my daughter will paint Manhattan with the blood of those involved. I’d rather prevent such a mess. I would call in sick for the next few days, and when the ruse is finally up, I will deliver your resignation personally.”

I recognized what my father did: he turned himself into a target meant to draw Jeremy Breckenan’s attention to him.

Such a ploy could backfire if we did not play all our cards correctly. “And will you be going to Europe immediately after?” I scowled and pointed my carving knife at him. “I will not tolerate any recklessness out of you, old man.”

“I will be present when your father makes it clear he has struck back,” Darius promised. “Your father will be as safe as we can make him, but yes. Going to Europe immediately thereafter is wise—and we will go in a way they do not expect.”

“Explain,” I ordered.

“By wing and fin,” he replied with a sly smile. “Your father can fly to Europe without stopping, swift and unerring. Should he tire, he can take to the sea and rest in another form. It does not take him long to make the journey.”

My father laughed. “I will be sensible and perch on the tail of a plane and enjoy the breeze rustling through my feathers. Why put in so much unnecessary effort? But should Breckenan try to track me, he will believe I am taking a cruise aboard a ship. In reality, the ship will be a derelict in the making, his tomb should he be foolish enough to board it. If he is wise, he will not board it. I do not know if he is wise.”

“What ship?” I blurted. “How did ships become involved in this?”

“Ah, yes. I have a cruise line as one of my operations under a different identity,” my father explained. “It’s an inheritance from a past life, and part of the wealth you are unaware I have. The ship will be registered as going under her own steam for scrapping but accepting passengers for her final overseas voyage. Should he be on board, there will be a terrible accident in which the ship burns from the inside out with the crew barely escaping with their lives—Breckenan will be a tragic casualty, of course.”

Of course. “And who will be crewing this ship?”

My father’s smile turned grim. “We vampires are not the only ones Jeremy Breckenan has angered, and I know some of them by name. Beginning the day he dared to lay a finger on you, I sought out his enemies. I found some. My uncles found many others—and we will, before this is done, find many more. Vengeance comes calling, and his demise will be spoken of in whispers throughout the ages. If I have my way, you will be able to watch should you wish—or help as you wish. You may dirty your hands to your liking. If you wish to seek peace, you may do so, confident in the knowledge that one way or another, he will fall. How will you decide?”

“I will help destroy him, of course. I am a conquering queen, not a shrinking damsel in distress. And I will prove I am a proud vampire who will not tolerate any evil under my watch. Just because we need blood to survive does not make us monsters, and I will prove we can be a light in the darkness, no matter what it takes.”

“And so it begins,” my father announced, and in his smile, I saw nothing but the assurance of death.