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“Well, it’s not one I want to be in the middle of.”
“And yet here you are, right in the middle.”
“Uh, no. I’m working for Hunter on a case, nothing more, nothing less.”
“Hunter intends to use you and the keys to become overlord of the council.”
“And you don’t?”
He smiled. It was quite a pleasant smile compared to Hunter’s, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t as cold-blooded and calculating as she was.
“No, actually, I don’t. I just believe that the council—and the world in general—would not only be better off if the gate situation remained as it is, but a hugely nicer place to live in without her polluting presence.”
A sentiment I could totally agree with—and I had to wonder if he was choosing his words to match whatever thoughts he might be catching.
“I see no point in falsehoods,” he commented, thereby confirming that he was, indeed, catching some of my thoughts. “Especially when Hunter herself is my greatest asset when it comes to convincing others she must go.”
Something else I could agree with. “Look, I’m really not interested in either your plans or Hunter’s. I just want to do what I have to do to get free.”
“Which you will not do without assistance.”
I couldn’t help smiling. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I very much suspect asking for your help would simply mean jumping from the frying pan into the fire.”
“Oh, I am far more honorable than Hunter. And I, at least, am sane.”
“If she’s insane, then she’s doing a good job of hiding it.” I didn’t like her. I didn’t trust her. But she would hardly be head of the Directorate and a high-ranking member of the high vamp council if she was off her rocker. The vamps, at the very least, would not have stood for it.
“Oh, trust me, she long ago mastered the art of hiding what she truly is.”
“And you, of course, are a paragon of honesty.”
He conceded that point with a regal incline of his head and a half smile. “Well, you know where to find me if you change your mind. And I very much suspect you will.”
“Don’t swear off drinking blood until that happens,” I said, “because you might well starve.”
Amusement crinkled the corners of his brown eyes. “I’m tempted to ask if you’d like to bet on that, but I suspect you are not the betting kind.”
“Not on stuff like this.” I crossed my legs, and his gaze briefly dropped. It was only then I remembered I was wearing a short skirt. I cleared my throat softly, drawing his gaze upward again. “Can we get back to the reason I’m here now?”
“Indeed we can.” He leaned back in the chair again, his expression still amused. “What do you wish to know about our Ms. Jodie Summer?”
“For a start, have you used her before?”
“No. Whenever we need to cover a shift, we simply ring the agency.”
“And that agency is Classique?”
“Yes.” He reached to the left of his desk, picked up a business card, and handed it to me. It was the same card I’d gotten from the manager at the other venue. I flipped the card over, but there was nothing written on the back. “Have you got a contact there? I might have to talk to them.”
“Either James Parred or Catherine Moore should be able to help you. I’ve dealt with both.”
“Thanks.” I tucked the card into my handbag. “Is there anything you can tell me about Ms. Summer? Did you notice anything unusual about her?”
“Aside from the fact she was neither human, shifter, nor vampire, you mean?”
I half smiled. “Yeah, besides that.”
“No, because she had some sort of shield operating that I could not slip past.” He hesitated. “It was neither a nano shield such as the one you wear, nor one of magic.”
