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“Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to talk to her, Tom. Calm down.” One of the men that had shown us into the conference room waited at the door for us to follow. Tom and I left without saying anything further, our entourage of unarmed guards in front and behind us.
I hadn’t wanted to bring them, but Tom had insisted. He said that we needed protection walking into the viper pit, but I had little doubt that the six men with us could have taken the two vampires that were leading us out—especially unarmed. I’d seen vampires fight before, and I knew they were no match for the men with us.
Perhaps if we hadn’t shown up with so many, Mrs. Armstrong might have been more comfortable talking to us. Or maybe she’d never be comfortable speaking with us. I sighed as we reached the elevator and piled in—all ten of us crammed into the metal box. Talk about a lot of testosterone in one place.
When we got down to the first floor, we were led to the lobby, and our guns were returned to us. Tom and I went out front and stood on the sidewalk leading to the parking lot.
“I’m going to stay here.” I told him.
“Why?”
I shrugged, “Maybe if it is just me, she’ll be more open to talking.”
“I doubt that,” he scoffed, “But it might be worth a try. Keep these men with you.”
“No, Tom. You take them back to the office. They aren’t going to do anything to hurt me, besides, like I said, if it’s just me, she might talk.”
“You’re insane to go back in their alone.”
I laughed, “No, I’ll be alright. I’ll give you a call later and let you know that I’m still alive. If I don’t call you by eleven, you can send a search party for my bloodless body.”
He shook his head, “That’s not funny.”
I slapped his shoulder, “I’ll be fine, Tom.”
“Make sure to call me later, Hugh.”
“I will.”
I watched him walk away. There was something inside of me that was telling me to stay. I wasn’t sure if she would speak with me or not, but I had a strong desire to find out. Was it because I had been instantly attracted to her, and felt that maybe she had felt the same? It wasn’t like anything would happen between us, but still the desire was there.
I returned to the lobby of the building. Strangely enough it was a hotel, and it had a bar. As I went to step in, one of the men from upstairs stopped me, “Do I need to remove your weapon again?”
“I mean no harm to anyone.” I responded. “I’m not stupid enough to think that I could do that and not be killed within a second. I’m only here for a drink.”
He stared at me hard for a moment, nodded, and then walked away.
I really could use a stiff drink right about now, and with any lucky, Mrs. Armstrong would find out I was still here and come down to speak with me.
At the bar, I ordered a scotch on the rocks and planted my ass on a stool. I glanced around at the other patrons in the place and tried to determine if they were human or vampires. It wasn’t as hard as I suspected it would be. The humans were all going about their business—blasé to the word, but the vampires watched my every move.
I was almost finished with my drink when I heard a soft voice behind me, “Why are you still here, Mr. McMurphy?”
Damn if her voice wasn’t as sexy as she was. I swallowed the liquor in my mouth and turned to her, “It’s Hugh, and I was hoping I could buy you a drink and apologize for my companion’s behavior earlier.”
“Do you think that buying me a drink will get me to come around and give you the information that you requested?”
I shook my head, “No, but I was hoping it would allow us to talk for a few minutes without all the hot heads around us.”
She chuckled, and glanced over my shoulder to the bar tender, “Jeff, refill his and pour one for me.”
“You’re usual, Mistress?”
“Yes, please.”
“Mistress?” I asked as I turned back to her and she laughed softly as she shook her head.
“Let’s take our drinks to a table.” She reached around me, brushing her shoulder against my arm and thanking the bartender.
