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We followed the lieutenant through a labyrinth of dirty, badly lit tunnels until we reached a dead end, a short passage with only one room. The room’s thick, silver-reinforced oak door stood open.
The toothed beast stirred uneasily. The set-up was too much like the one I’d escaped in Paris, and even if it hadn’t been, it was never smart to get boxed into a place with only one exit.
Ridley blew out a breath, clearly not liking our accommodations any more than me.
“You’re Spider’s guests,” Velma reminded me. “You know his word is good.”
It was clear that if we refused Spider’s “hospitality” now, he’d be insulted. And it’s not like we had another option.
We followed her into the tunnel.
The guest room was a step up from Moreau’s dungeon, although not by much. At least it had a bed—a mattress on a sagging metal frame covered by a threadbare quilt the color of dried blood. The rest of the small space was taken up by a table and a pair of chrome chairs upholstered in cracked yellow vinyl. A single bottle of cheap blood-wine stood on the table.
“Help yourself to the wine, and the john’s there.” Velma pointed to a door behind the table. She dropped her voice. “You know the way out?”
“Yeah.” I’d made it a point to note each twist and turn, and I was sure Ridley had done the same.
“Make sure you leave by noon. Spider won’t break his word, but he might bend it if you overstay your time by even a minute. He likes you, but—” her mouth twisted wryly—"he likes money more.”
“So there’s money in me?”
A clear-eyed look. “What d’you think?”
Hell.
I jerked my chin in acknowledgment. “Thanks. I appreciate the heads-up.”
Velma turned to leave.
“Wait,” I said. “I have a question.”
She turned around, black brows lifted. “Go ahead.”
“What did Spider mean about a syndicate war?”
“You didn’t hear what went down at the Garnet Restaurant?”
“I heard something. I just wondered what you’d heard.”
“Your father and brother butchered Tomas Mraz and Victorine Tremblay. What makes it dicey was that Karoly had granted the prima a safe-conduct pass for twenty-four hours.”
“I see.” So my father had broken his word—or at least, it appeared like that to the vampire world. My heart sank. Things were looking worse and worse. “What about Princess Zoe?”
“She stood by and allowed it. Apparently Rafe has his hooks deep into her. They’re saying she was in New York to defect to your syndicate.”
“Huh.” I glanced at Ridley. She had a crease between her brows.
“I have to go.” Velma went to the door, hesitated. “If I were you,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper, “I’d leave as soon as it’s daylight. But you didn’t hear that from me.”
“Understood. And thanks, I owe you one.”
“Just leave Spider out of this.”
“Will do.”
Velma left. I shut the door and threw the deadbolt. The bolt was steel and wouldn’t stop a determined vampire, but at least they couldn’t sneak into the room in the shadows.
Ridley sat on one of the vinyl chairs. I sank onto the bed, my stomach hard with tension.
