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The Talon Haut Rouge was an exclusive speakeasy for vampires and their thralls, and those they were grooming to be thralls. I mentally shook my head. Olivier had been trying to entice Lainey into becoming his thrall, and she didn’t even seem to realize it.
“So why are you here?” Zoe asked. “On this street?”
“I heard Pigalle is cool, that’s all. The hot new Paris neighborhood. Then I saw you. That’s the truth, I swear it.”
I narrowed my eyes. “How did you know it’s the princess? She’s using a glamour. You shouldn’t have recognized her.”
Lainey moved a shoulder. “I just did, is all. There’s something about how she moves—like a cat. You know what I mean?”
Actually, I did.
Zoe studied her, then gave a short nod. “I believe you.”
She blinked. “You do? I mean, good, because it’s the truth.”
“But I can’t let you tell anyone you saw me,” Zoe added.
“I won’t. I promise. I—”
“You didn’t see me.” Zoe’s voice was calm, controlled and so compelling she almost had me nodding my head. “Say it.”
Lainey’s lids lowered to half-mast. “I didn’t see you,” she murmured.
“You’ll return to your hotel and stay in the rest of the night. In the morning, you’ll remember none of this.”
“I’ll return to my hotel and stay in the rest of the night. In the morning, I’ll remember none of this.”
Zoe stepped back. “Go, Lainey. Go back to your hotel.”
She obediently turned and headed back to the main street.
“We’d better follow her,” Zoe muttered. “She’s a sitting duck in this state.”
I nodded, and we trailed the human at a distance until she got into a taxi.
Back at the Le Sang Bleu, Zoe rapped on the red door. There was a pause, and then a pasty-faced vampire in a fifty-year-old suit poked his head out.
He squinted at us, so old even the streetlights bothered his eyes. “Vampire?” He pronounced it the French way,vom-peer.
“Oui,” said Zoe.
The doorman waved a pale, long-fingered hand at the stairs. “Entrez, s'il vous plaît.”
I waited until Zoe was inside before following and pulling the door shut behind me. I no longer had that itchy feeling of being watched, but I wasn’t taking any chances that someone besides Lainey Q had seen us.
The doorman shrank into a shadowy corner until all we could see were the tip of his nose and the shining blue rim of his irises. “We don’t want any trouble.”
“That’s what I’m making sure of.” I stationed myself in front of the door, switchblade ready.
Zoe positioned herself sideways so she could see me, the doorman and the stairs. The princess had good instincts; it was what I’d have done if the situation was reversed. She was right, I had to stop treating her like she was helpless. She’d hadn’t had the extensive training in fighting I’d had, but she’d clearly been taught the basics.
Two minutes ticked by without anyone else entering.
I rubbed my nape. “Guess I’m a little edgy.”
“Maybe.” Zoe sheathed her knife in her boot. “Shall we go into the club?”
I nodded and handed the old vampire a hundred-euro bill. “Don’t let anyone else in for the next ten minutes.”
