Kiss Me When the Sun Goes Down (17 page)

The Child King’s eyes narrowed dangerously, but then he laughed, tittering in a high pitched giggle like a little girl.  “You are delightful, I can see why the
Ellri
tolerates you.”

“Gee, thanks.”  I bit back a retort over the assumption that Jakob merely tolerated me, but breathed an inward sigh of relief that I hadn’t inadvertently caused an international incident thanks to my temper.  “If I may be so bold, maybe what you need is a distraction?” I suggested, trying to smooth things over.  “There are plenty of things to do here in town, you know.  We have the theater, and museums, the Golden Gate Bridge, or you could even take a boat out onto the bay, if you like.”

He tapped a slim finger against his chin, deliberating for a few moments before speaking again.  “I have long wanted to visit Disneyland.  Make the arrangements, we go tomorrow night,” he ordered.

Was such a thing even possible?  They’d have to keep the park open special to allow a bunch of vampires free rein over the Magic Kingdom.  But at least it’d get him off of my doorstep for a night.  “Of course, Your Majesty,” I replied with a polite incline of the head.  If it couldn’t be done, I’d get Felix to deliver the news, or maybe Amunet.  He was her boss, let her do the dirty work. 

Bakareh beamed at my response, recovering his good temper.  “Where are my manners, I have not offered you refreshment.  Would you care to join me for a drink?”  With a wave of his hand, one of the servant girls by the door rose and knelt before him, slicing open her breast with a quick flash of metal.

“Sweet zombie Jesus!” I gasped as her blood dripped to the floor.  Bakareh’s face showed no sign that this was out of the ordinary for him, and neither did the girl whose face was bland almost blank.  “No, thank you,” I managed weakly. 

“Fine.  We’ll speak more later then.  You may go.” Bakareh waved the girl forward, and I beat a hasty retreat before I had to watch what came next.  There were some things you could never unsee, and I’d rather not add to the collection of them in my mind. If he was so eager to eat his own servants like that, what was with all the complaining about drinking from Americans?  Had he been complaining for the sake of complaining alone?

“I’ll say one thing for you, you like to live dangerously,” Felix smirked as we reached the hallway. 

“I’m sorry, but that guy is one sandwich short of a picnic basket.  Is he always so unstable?”

Felix shrugged.  “Who knows?  I’m guessing that might be some of why Amunet’s never tried to get him out in the world much.”

“Well, let’s do our best to keep him happy while he’s here.  Maggie, see if you can figure out a way for him to go to Disneyland tomorrow night, at least until closing time.  He can take my jet, heck, we can buy out the park if we have to, whatever keeps the civilian casualties to a minimum.  Or even better, see if they’ll admit our party
after
closing time.”

“Do you have any idea how much that will cost us?” Felix choked at the concept, but clammed up when he caught sight of my face.  “Gotcha, we’ll get right on that, won’t we, Maggie?”

“Of course,” she nodded. 

“And stay away from him, if at all possible,” I instructed my pretty assistant.  “The more temptation we can keep from him the better.”  With any luck he’d give up on Americans, but for all I knew, he considered Brits a delicacy. 

Carter caught up to me in the main foyer after Maggie and Felix went their separate ways.  “Aw, you’re not gonna go to Disneyland with the Brat King?”

“You heard about that?”

“Of course.  I set up surveillance all through the house.”

“You did not!”  My jaw dropped in shock.  He sure had been busy.  “The whole house, including the bedrooms?”

Carter shrugged, unrepentant.  “What’s the big deal?  It’s audio only.”

“That’s still a huge breach of privacy.”

“Only if they find out about it,” he grinned. 

“And what if they do?  That could land us in hot water with some pretty important people.”

“Can’t be any worse than your temper.  I particularly loved it when you told him to stop acting like a baby.” Carter dissolved into peals of laughter that brought a stain of color to my cheeks.

“I couldn’t help it, he was worse than a toddler.”

“I guess I don’t have to ask what you think of Bakareh then, huh?”

“What I think of him?”  Where should I start?  “Besides being a major pain, I think he’s trouble looking for a place to happen,” I replied honestly.  “We’ve got to find a way to keep him on a short leash before he does something awful.”

“And how do you suggest we leash a vampire that’s as old as the pyramids?”  He cocked a single brow.  “He could mow through our guys and Lee’s guys combined.”

“I know, you’re right.  The best we can wish for is to keep him happy and distracted while he’s here, and hope that he goes home without causing too much of a ruckus.  Then he’s Amunet’s problem.”

“And that includes letting him go to Disneyland?  That seems like an awfully public place for him to have a meltdown.” 

My thoughts went back to the girl who had spilled her own blood, wondering if it was out of compulsion or devotion.  He wouldn’t be able to pull something like that in a public place.  Did Bakareh understand that?  Or was he too convinced of his divine right to do as he pleased?  “I don’t see that we have a whole lot of choice.  That’s why I wanted to try and convince them to open up for us after hours.  Providing the park goes for it, of course, I know it’s a serious hassle on such short notice.”

“Yeah, I’m guessing Felix isn’t going to have any problems with that.  You’d be surprised how motivated even the most squeamish can be by money.  Or if that doesn’t work, all it needs is a visit in person to grease the wheels.”

“You mean compel them into opening their gates extra late.”

“It is less messy than the alternative,” he shrugged.

“Which is?”

“We kill the gate guards and storm the Magic Kingdom,” Carter grinned, extending his fangs for effect.  I joined him in laughter, mostly convinced that he was kidding about that last part.  Mostly. 

“Hey listen, there’s an extra bonus for you if you can arrange for Bakareh to get stuck on the
It’s A Small World
ride for a while.”

“You have no soul,” Carter laughed as though it was the funniest thing he’d heard all year.  “I like it.  Just for that, I’ll babysit the entire party and bring you back some footage of it.”

“Thanks,” I smiled back, not sure if I should be offended or not at being called soulless.  “Hey, listen.  Can you do me a favor?”

“Isn’t that what I just agreed to do?”

“That was for the lure of a bonus, this is different.  So will you?”

“Maybe...” he replied, the word drawn out to reveal his sudden suspicion. 

“Keep an eye on Laveda at the party.”

Just like that his mood soured.  “This isn’t about you trying to get me to mingle, is it?”

“No, this is about keeping her downwind of Bakareh.  If there’s someone he’ll find tasty out of our population, you can bet your sweet bottom it’s Laveda.”

“Do you really think I have a sweet ass?”  Trying his best to get a look, Carter turned in a full circle before I smacked him on the shoulder.

“Oh, stop.  If you’re looking for compliments, I’d suggest trying Laveda.  She’d be a much better judge of your assets than I would.”

“I guess she would,” he considered aloud as we walked through the house.  “She
has
bumped uglies with almost everyone you’ve ever slept with, right?”

I choked on my own spit.  “What?” I managed to get out after I stopped coughing.

“Bishop, Rob, and the odds are she’s slept with Jakob at least once in her lifetime if he’s fed from her, right?  Did I leave anyone out?  That first guy is dead as I remember it.”

“She’s never slept with Rob, he’s her cousin.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” he muttered, and I grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“It means I hear things sometimes.”

“And you’ve heard that they’re not actually cousins?”

“No, I’ve heard that they’re
close
,” Carter replied, leaving no doubts as to his conclusions.  “What’s the big deal?  Back in the day, people used to marry their cousins.”

“Yes, but this isn’t that day.”  And neither Rob nor Laveda were as old as that.  “Tell me exactly what you heard that makes you think they’re...”  I couldn’t even say it. 

Carter burst out into laughter, and all I could do was stare at him stupidly.  “Man, you should see your face right now.”

“Are you kidding me?  You were messing with me?”

“It’s just so easy,” he grinned, wiping at his eyes. 

Somehow I didn’t see the humor in it.  “I take it back, you’re the one without a soul.  When did you get to be so mean?”

“Just keeping you on your toes, sunshine.  Besides, you can take it.  You’re made of tough stuff.  The bigger question you should ask yourself is – why do you care who Rob sleeps with?”

“I don’t.”  Okay, so maybe I did.  But that didn’t mean I wasn’t over him.  Mostly.  Does anyone like to hear about who their ex is sleeping around with?  “Some day you’re going to find a girl who knocks you on your ass, Carter, and oh, how I’m going to laugh and laugh.”

“I haven’t been caught yet.”  His lips curved in a smug smile that I couldn’t wait to take down. 

“Maybe all you need is someone to trip you up at the right moment.”

That did it, the smile disappeared, immediately replaced by a scowl.  “Don’t get any ideas in that head of yours.  My life is fine.”

“You said something was missing.”

“I meant the hunt.”

“This is just a different kind of hunt.”

“Stay out of my personal life,” he glowered.  “I mean it, Anja.”

“I just want you to be happy.  If you’re nervous about it, I could compel that away, you know.”

“Don’t you dare.”  His eyes widened in fear.  “And I absolutely forbid you to try and fix me up with anyone.  If I get a whiff of that, I’m walking.  I’m totally serious.”

“Now who’s easy to rile up?” I challenged him, waggling my eyebrows at him until he found his laugh again. 

“Touché.”

“Truce?” I offered him my hand, and he took it after a moment’s hesitation.

“Truce.”

“Now, let’s see if we can get through the next week without any bloodshed, and then you can go back to teasing me.  But make another joke about Rob’s love life and I really will sic Laveda on you,” I added with a wry twist of the lips.

“What makes you even think she’d be interested?  I’m no pretty boy like Bishop.” 

“What makes you think all women are interested in a pretty boy?”

“Basically my entire life’s experience,” he shrugged, and my head tilted to the side as I studied him.  Did he not get what a hottie he was?  I knew girls that would weep from the sight of his abs alone.

“Carter, you’re not pretty, but you’re definitely good looking.  Hot even, just in a different way.”

“The way that most chicks don’t go for.”

“Maybe stop calling us chicks and see how that works for you.”

His eyes opened comically wide.  “You mean girls don’t like that anymore?  Shoot, what about telling her she has a bangin’ bod?  Does that still work?”

I just shook my head.  If he wasn’t going to take it seriously, neither was I.  “Yep, go ahead and see how that pans out.  All I’m saying is, you have a lot to offer a woman, provided she has a very broad sense of humor.”

“Thanks, I think,” he chuckled.  “But like I said, I’m not in the market for a girlfriend at the moment.”

“Who said anything about a girlfriend?  I was just trying to get you some action.  I’m pretty sure Laveda would settle for a friends with benefits kind of thing.”

“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

“Not if I can help it,” I quipped.  “Now, do you know where Gunnar is?”

“He should be in the kitchen, why?”

“Because I have some work to do, and I promised Bishop I’d keep him nearby.”

“Bishop was here?”

“I guess you don’t know everything, do you, Mr. Surveillance-man?”

“T
onight is your night, bro,” Mason sang as he opened the fridge, pulling out two beers.  Bishop ignored the beer, wiping his hands on his jeans for the fiftieth time.  It was only a party, he’d been to scores of them over the years, but for some reason, this one made his palms sweat. 

“Why do you keep singing that?”

“Because tonight is your night, bro,” Mason sang back, waggling the beer bottle in his face until Bishop snatched it away.

“You mean the night I bust your teeth in?” he growled, his temper on edge.  “That’s really annoying.”

Mason shrugged, tipping back his own beer.  “It’s from a movie.”

“Still doesn’t make me want to pop you in the mouth any less.”  Maybe he should have the beer and try to calm down a bit?  Bishop took a long pull, thinking maybe he should’ve opted for scotch if he was looking to settle his nerves.  “What makes you think I’m getting lucky tonight?”  He could hardly look at Anja without wanting to take her into his arms anymore, but her feelings for him seemed to run hot and cold.

“You know, a little vino, a little dancing...” Mason did a passable version of the cha cha, a cheesy smile on his lips.  “A stroll in the moonlight.  Ladies eat that stuff up, trust me.”

Bishop wasn’t so sure.  “She’s going to be up to her earlobes in dignitaries, most of whom make her want to scream, I hardly think that’s going to put her in the right mood.”

“So put her in the right mood and give her another reason to scream.”  Mason’s eyebrows bobbed as he waggled them playfully, but Bishop couldn’t bring himself to think about that for tonight.  This was their first public function together and he wanted to show her that he could fit into her world.  Tonight he was leaving the Order aside, to be with Anja in any way she needed him to.  Not because she expected or demanded it, as Carys would have, but because he wanted to support her.

“Did you find out what I need to know or not?” Bishop snapped.  “Because if you’re just here to give me bad dating advice, I can get that from the internet.”