Page 38 of Death is Familiar

Carmen narrowed her focus, raking her gaze over the thistle tattooed on his throat. It was a good choice. The colors and the textures would have made anything beneath hard to distinguish. I never realized how beautiful the line work was. How well the colors suited him.

Crap.

In order to notice all of the details, I must have been staring. Correction—I was staring.

“He was bitten on the way in,” I lied. “Vamp lost interest when they realized I was his translator.” But there was something else I needed to add to seal the deal. Something that would get Carmen’s interest. Based on the performance and how she watched Todd’s reaction, I took a guess. “And he didn’t want to go in without me.”

She liked that. More than liked. She darted her tongue over her lips, delighting in the dynamic she saw at play. “I see.” She released my hand and transferred her grip to the small of my back, an intentional move designed to both guide and claim. “Come along, then. And be sure to keep out from underfoot.” As the three of us pushed through to the inner sanctum, Carmen spoke low into my ear, just loud enough for me to hear. “I like an audience… But what I like even more is jealousy. And the envy rolling off him is delicious.”

†

Though the space had changed drastically from when I was last permitted entry four years ago, the inner sanctum was impressive. And substantial. The art deco speakeasy motif continued here, the lights dimmer, the space darker. People could— and did— hide in the shadows. Moans of pleasure echoed from a distant corner, audible even over the ambient music.

“Dis-connected.”

It took me a second to realize that the automated voice came from my earpiece.

Todd shook his head, ignoring the hedonism imbued in our surroundings. “No reception.”

Not two steps inside the inner sanctum, and we’d lost our connection to Jack.

“Great,” I signed, managing to be both succinct and sarcastic. Since Todd didn’t use standardized sign language, it allowed us to communicate discreetly in public, which was useful. It was also useful in getting Carmen to intervene, since it was obvious she wasn’t a fan of being left out of the loop.

“Leave us.” She waved Todd off, keeping her eyes on me. “Go find someone else to play with. You’ll have her back when I’m finished.”

Now, it was Todd’s chance to do his thing. Where, despite all logic, he could make himself disappear into the crowd. There he would be able to listen, gather information and tidbits of conversation that weren’t meant for him—though our surroundings were sure to reveal more of the vamps and their prey than Todd was bound to like.

“I’ll be nearby,” he reassured, pinning a glare on the vamp before he left.

“I like it when their minds runaway with them,” Carmen spoke once she felt Todd was out of both eye and earshot. She tucked one of the strands that framed my face behind my ear. “Now, you will have a drink with me. We’ll enjoy each other’s company, and if I’m so inclined we will play a game of my choosing, then you’re free to roam. Deal?”

“Deal.” Though I had every intention of turning the concept of enjoying each other’s company into a conversation she would not be expecting.

“Grand.” Carmen snapped her fingers. Two breaths later, Xander stood before us, head lowered, gesturing towards the bar at the far side of the inner sanctum.

“Right this way, mistress.”

Xander guided us to the bar. As Carmen and I sat, he kept his head lowered, awaiting further instruction.

“That will be all, for now, Xander.” She patted his head with something akin to affection. “I’ll summon you when needed, but until then, I’d very much appreciate if you kept an eye on the large fellow.”

Xander acknowledged the request with a bow before backing off into the crowd.

With her familiar gone, Carmen placed the full weight to her attention on me. “Now, where were we? Ah, yes!” Again, she snapped her fingers, and a rather bulky bartender slid over to us. With arms the size of my torso, I was confident he’d have no trouble out arm-wrestling an ox.

“The usual, Mistress Carmen?” His voice held a lilt I couldn’t quite place. Carmen confirmed her order with a simple lowering of her lashes before the bartender directed his next question to me, “And for you?”

While I had agreed to a drink, I never said what kind. So, I kept it simple. Ginger ale.

The bartender mirrored Xander’s movements, a silent bow of acknowledgement before backing away down the bar to prepare our drinks.

“I certainly didn’t expect you to be dry.” The way Carmen said the word dry made me think what she really meant was boring. “I was hoping a drink would help loosen your tongue, and you could tell me all your deepest, darkest, secrets.”

I feigned a chuckle. “Last time I drank… things didn’t go as expected…”

“Never let one bad experience keep you from enjoying the pleasures of today.”

“No, but it would be foolish of me if I didn’t learn from my mistakes.”