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Suspicion rose at her distracted tone. “Are you out on another stakeout?”
“No.” But she was out, all right, and he began to hear the background noises…music.
“Out on a date?”
“I’m just out.”
“Who took you out?”
“Yano.” The mention of her cousin had him relaxing. “How about in two hours?”
“Sounds good.”
It left him feeling better as he entered the bar, glad that they could finally catch up. He could even shift later while they talked, and it might do wonders for this damn restlessness that plagued him. Charlie was in a good mood as he spotted the friend that Hayley described and got to introductions before the man, Kyle Lowell, began talking about the perks of holding a cushy position in the known enterprise—including connections with the higher-ups. Twenty minutes later, his eyes were close to glazing over as the man still went on bragging about his advantages in the company and how Charlie would benefit from it if he befriended the right people. He smiled politely and chuckled at the necessary moments, but had already decided he wasn’t going to kiss ass just to get to where this man was. He glanced around, scoping the place out of boredom.
“I will see if there’s a vacancy in the administration department. I think I heard they were looking for a team lead but I will have to double-check.”
Dark hair coiffed on a familiar head with familiar wisps curling on a neck snagged his attention as his gaze landed there. He did a quick sweep of the figure in a white dress, the thin straps flirting with bare shoulders and the smooth back exposed. The dress restarted just above her butt, then ended again on her thighs where long legs extended to sensible black heels. Everything about her side profile was elegant, but Charlie was punched in the gut with stupefaction when it clicked that this wasn’t some ordinary woman.
“Sure, thanks,” he said when the man paused, then waited until the man restarted the company talk. He kept ogling the woman.
What was Daria doing in a bar, all dressed up and alone?
The last part could be amended, perhaps, because she wasn’t alone. Daria was deep in conversation with a man before her…or rather, the man was talking and she was listening intently. She smiled at something said and the man grinned, pleased. She threw her head back in laughter and patted the man’s shoulder, who took it as a signal to step closer. Everything about it indicated an ongoing, positive date, but his senses went on alert the moment she glanced away for a second…and grimaced.
No, not a date.
This was another one of her clan’s doings, and she was the bait.
“Would you excuse me, Kyle? I have an emergency.”
“An emergency?” Kyle echoed, frowning. Belatedly, Charlie realized he had interrupted the man mid-speech. “What emergency?”
“It’s…”Keep it simple, man. This is the friend of the girl you are trying to get back with, even when you don’t want this particular job.“Work-related. I can’t very well leave a bad impression in an old job, can I?”
It worked as the man seemed impressed and graciously let him take his exit. Charlie went for it immediately, pretending to head to the front entrance but backtracking before he could slip out and using the crowd to march his way towards Daria’s direction unnoticed. He was so focused on watching her taking the man’s hand and making the man laugh with whatever she said that he didn’t notice the hulking figures blocking his way until it was too late.
“Aren’t you a Bennett?”
The way the question was posed left him no doubt that they weren’t asking about his connection to a brewery business but to something else. The pale skins and sunken eyes were another dead giveaway, alerting the beast inside him. He fought its plea to get out, planted his feet on the ground, and faced them.
“And you are?”
“Old friends of your in-laws. We just want to talk.”
In-laws, aka two in particular: Janella and Elizabeth Hastings, respective wives to the clan leader and another clan member—both his cousins—and members ofthemost powerful vampire clan in the city. Ever since the knowledge of the union, most clans steered clear of them, but there were the small, stubborn units that thought ambushing the likes of him to get some kind of advantage was a good idea. Like right now.
“So, let me guess. You have been trying to find our territory for weeks or my other relatives but had no luck. Then you just happened to spot me on my way here, recognized me, and decided to give it another try. Did I get anything wrong so far?”
“Youarethat Bennett,” one of the men hissed. “The one in the newspapers for top marks when you graduated from that prestigious university. Come with us.”
“Over my dead body,” Charlie snapped back in a very low voice, willing the music to cover his words.
The other vampire’s eyes narrowed into slits, glimmering a faint red. There was a glint of fangs, too. “That can be arranged.”
They didn’t care that they would be causing a commotion—and vampires who didn’t care were generally a menace to society and shouldn’t be here so close to humans. Tension wracked his shoulders, his bear pushing upwards until a growl left his throat. The hair at the back of his neck stood up when a third pale figure appeared and the three closed in on him. A few more steps and he had no choice but to get away from these innocents and into the streets where they would have free rein—
“There you are. I have been waiting for you for ages.”
