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“Stop right there!”
His head paused, then lay on the pillow with its cool silk case. He closed his eyes and pretended there were earmuffs blocking out the sounds coming from outside. Despite his call for peace, shouting couldn’t be helped, not when important packages were involved. He could ignore it, trust that his men would get the transaction done—
The door slammed open.
“Captain, we need you.”
“I’m sure Marko can handle that, Moon,” he said, not bothering to open his eyes.
“But Captain—”
“Now, close the door, and let me rest a bit. You can have it as soon as we are out of here, too, and we can resume our etiquette lessons afterward—”
“Marko’s in trouble. The vamps got him surrounded.”
The argument fled from him as he stilled, processing the words. Then he stood, stretched his arms, and reluctantly donned his trusted hat back on.
“How many and what house?”
“Too many. And they are not from the house we are transacting with.”
He cursed inwardly, not liking the sound of it as he ran through the possible scenarios and established solutions. When he stepped out to the ship's edge, none of the conflict showed on his face. He smiled while he searched for Marko, spotting the man struggling against the hands gripping him in place. There was no sight of fangs yet, but the tension rising in the air was bound to change that soon.
Showtime.
“Gentlemen! What seems to be the problem?”
One of the taller vampires glanced up, cool gray orbs meeting his gaze. There was a frown, then a stern nod.
“A lot,” was the short response.
“I didn’t do it!” Marko insisted, arguing with another vampire. “Yer accusing the wrong person, ye are, so let me go.”
None of them loosened their hold, leaving the man even more frazzled. Isaiah estimated about a minute more or so before Marko started throwing hands, his short fuse already at the edge. He shot a warning look at Wheeler’s hand poised on his dangling sword, then glanced back at the party.
“We would need more details than that, I’m afraid,” Isaiah intoned.
“Someone tried to sneak into our castle and steal a few valuables,” a bulky-shouldered vampire declared. “House Bruno won’t stand for it. Who is in charge here?”
“You are talking to him,” the gray-eyed man replied, gaze never leaving his. “I believe it is only fair for us to think there’s a possibility of your crew doing it, Mr. Isaiah, considering our last botched transaction.”
Isaiah narrowed his eyes, remembering that botched transaction all too clearly: House Bruno refusing to pay for all their orders because of Isaiah’s failure to acquire one of the dozens of imported items. It had resulted in a row, then him cutting off communication with the house as he signed a deal with another, more trusted house. There had been no interaction since…until this one.
“When was it stolen?”
“Just now,” the bulky vampire said promptly. “When the sun was still up, and we had no defense.”
“I find it hard to believe that you had no defense whatsoever, considering House Bruno is one of the strongest in Ostrov Krov.” A lie, but Isaiah rolled with it and tilted his head at Marko. “Marko, did you do it?”
“I didn’t, Captain!”
Isaiah shrugged. “If my guy here says he didn’t do it, then he didn’t do it.”
Someone scoffed. “And are we just supposed to take your word for it?”
“You can search my ship. You are welcome to it.” He paused for effect. “But wouldn’t it be better to search the smallest ship first? After all, if you are going to accuse outsiders, you might as well search for proof fromalloutsiders present. I promise to stand here in wait while you do so.”
Jasper, who had been lurking in the vicinity from the beginning, startled and sputtered, then scrambled toward his smaller ship. The gray-eyed man noted the movement, studying the retreating pirate before he nodded.
