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Maxime didn’t appear to care one way or the other. He was so excited to be out of the Los Angeles keep he kept nattering on about the history of San Francisco and all the places that had been former vampire playgrounds. Under normal circumstances this would be exactly the kind of history lesson I would love to listen to. Right now, though, I was more interested in Holden and the sulky state he’d fallen into.
I’d tried to tell him I wasn’t upset about what had happened in my bedroom, but he was carrying the burden of guilt with him all the same. He was angry with himself, and nothing I was saying helped ease his mind. Shouldn’t I be the one to decide if he should feel guilty about his actions? And if I said there was nothing to feel bad about, why couldn’t he shrug it off?
Our driver took us to an old brick warehouse where a car with our belongings was waiting. Maxime hadn’t stopped talking since we’d landed, and continued to chat about the storied past of the building and the work that had gone into restoring it after the 1906 quake. From what I gathered—I wasn’t listening to everything—it sounded like the council made a handsome income by renting the space to several pornographic film companies as a soundstage.
Maxime assured me several times we wouldn’t be disturbed during our stay, and all upcoming bookings had been rescheduled. I think he was worried I’d be offended by the double life of the warehouse, but quite to the contrary, I thought it was the most interesting piece of information he’d provided since we arrived.
We wouldn’t be sleeping at the warehouse, but it would be our nightly base of operations since the hotel we’d be using was a busy tourist stop, and we couldn’t come and go without drawing unwanted attention. And we certainly couldn’t bring in three coffins without questions being asked.
The hotel was outfitted with light-safe privacy suites thanks to all the demanding nocturnal guests who had stayed there over the last hundred years. We had nothing to worry about in the sunlight department. I didn’t know whether or not the hotel was aware their sensitive guests were vampires, but they had definitely grown accustomed to catering to some seriously strange demands.
Maxime assured me the two-bedroom penthouse he’d secured for us was designed to suit any needs we might have, and we’d be left alone during the day. He also made it clear Holden and I would be very comfortable in our room, and his own bedchamber—his word—was at a nice distance across the suite.
He wanted me to know he wouldn’t be listening in if Holden and I wanted to do the nasty.
It was both thoughtful and a little creepy of him to go to such lengths. I didn’t ask why he hadn’t just booked his own room. He appeared to be thirteen, so there was no way he could have a suite to himself without it seeming suspicious.
In a lot of ways Maxime retained much of the childish innocence he must have had when he’d been human. Though he was only a couple decades shy of his bicentennial, he still had a wide-eyed appreciation for the world around him and delighted in sharing his experiences with others. I was genuinely touched by the way he attempted to draw my attention to the sights of the city, like a little boy might share a captured butterfly with friends. He saw so much beauty in it, and wanted others to see it too, to understand it the way he did.
It dawned on me the reason I liked Max so much was because he reminded me of Brigit. They had the same sweetness, in spite of being vampires, and there was a certain guileless quality to Maxime that made him loveable. At first I’d thought it was a trick because of his youthful face, a perfect ploy to lure unsuspecting victims in. But the longer I spent time with him, the more I realized that was just his way.
Now I understood why Holden had insisted I trust the younger vampire. I wasn’t sure I did yet—not absolutely—but I didn’t need to trust someone in order to like them.
After our quick moonlit tour of the warehouse, we made our way to the hotel.
Inside the lobby I hung back while Holden and Maxime checked in, and while perusing the various pamphlets on historical San Francisco tours, a familiar voice said, “Secret?”
I stopped dead, pamphlet still in my hand, and tried to tell myself it was all in my imagination. I was not hearing that low, rumbly baritone. It did not make the wolf inside me stir from her slumber and perk both ears up like she’d been whistled at.
“Secret, is that you?”
I glanced over my shoulder, and my eyes confirmed what my brain still refused to believe.
Lucas Rain was standing five feet away from me.
Chapter Seventeen
“What are you doing here?” I snarled, unable to mask my displeasure in seeing him. There’d been a time when I might have feigned politeness towards my ex-boyfriend, but I didn’t think Lucas warranted the effort anymore.
They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. That goes quadruple for a woman stood up on her wedding day.
Especially when the groom-to-be refuses to admit he’s done anything wrong.
“I might ask you the same question,” he countered. “I own this hotel. So what are you doing here?”
My gaze darted side to side, making sure there were no humans within eavesdropping distance. I didn’t see any people, but did spot Dominick Alvarez, Desmond’s brother and Lucas’s personal bodyguard. The small blond man was seated in the lobby nearby, and when he saw me, he raised an eyebrow and gave a wave. I returned the gesture, and to Lucas I explained, “I’m here on council business. ”
“You’re in San Fran doing vampire work?” He looked grossed out by the idea.
“Yes. ”
Holden and Maxime came up, and since Maxime was blithely unaware of the change in my demeanor—maybe because I hadn’t been very cheerful before—he continued to chatter on to no one in particular.
Holden wasn’t oblivious. He took one look at Lucas and grabbed me by the arm, tugging me protectively to his side. Sure, he could barely spare me a glance the entire trip here, but throw one werewolf king into the mix and he got all handsy.
Go figure.
“What’s he doing here?” When Holden and Lucas both asked this question simultaneously, I almost laughed. Too bad I was still flustered from Lucas’s sudden appearance to find anything funny right then.
