Vampire - When Darkness Falls Part 25

"He ... he's sick. Wait a minute, what do you know about-"

"I've been in New Orleans a few days. Naturally I wanted to see you. I made a few inquiries."

"Oh?" She walked back toward him. "And whom did you talk with to make these inquiries?"

"A man never gives away his sources."

She was going to walk away again, but even as she thought it, her mind struggled-he was in front of her right now. No matter how impossible he was, she wanted to keep him there.

Maybe he sensed her flight. His hand was on her arm. She felt as if she were shaking inside. Remembering.

Being with him ...

"I ... I-".

"How about a drink?"

"Some little out-of-the-way place?" she inquired.

"No, let's go back to your friend's bar. Drake's? Is that it? Great music."

She lifted her hands. "Why not?"

She started to lead the way. Then she suddenly paled, pushing through the crowd, and turned back. She looked at him. "I thought I saw ... I thought I heard-"

"Yeah, I thought so, too."

"Wait a minute! I didn't even finish my sentence. I thought I saw-"

"The tour guide from Scotland. Right?"

She fought to keep her jaw in place. "Right."

"I know. It wasn't him."

"You're certain?"

"Oh, yes. I'm certain."

She turned around again. She stepped up on the sidewalk. " 'Bathe a Beauty for a Buck,' " he said, reading the neon advertis.e.m.e.nt. There was laughter in his voice. And something about it touched her....

She turned to look at him. He shrugged. "Poor things must be really dirty."

"I thought you were familiar with New Orleans."

"Too familiar. It's just that I haven't seen that particular sign before."

His hand touched the small of her back. She nearly jumped through the doorway. That was the way to want someone! she thought The slightest touch, here, there, anywhere, in the night, in the morning, in pain, in pleasure ...

Derrick saw them coming back in. He lifted a hand to Jade. "Hey, kid, saw you running." He nodded, acknowledging the man behind her.

"Jade, I got you a fresh beer. Sir, what will you be having?" "Whatever Jade's having works for me."

He nodded.

Jade smiled. "Derrick Clayton, this is ..."

"Lucian. Lucian DeVeau," her companion said, shaking Derrick's hand.

"Lucian. Nice to meet you."

"Thanks. You, too."

Jade stared at him, sipping her beer, gulping it. Here he was, here at last. She should be calling the police.

He'd be gone before they ever arrived. She knew it.

He turned on his bar stool, watching the band. He seemed to like the music. She studied the planes of his face. Powerful, handsome. And arrogant. He knew his own strengths and abilities.

"Is it real?" she asked softly.

"What?" he turned back to her, his eyes as black as the night, with that vague, strange hint of red.

"Your name."

"Yes, it's real. Never changed to accommodate a new place or time, I'm afraid."

"It's French."

"Yes."

"I met you in Scotland. You said you'd come from there."

"Yes."

"DeVeau is hardly Scottish."

"People do move, you know."

"So where were your people originally from?"

He leaned toward her. "France, most probably."

"Do you speak French?"

Now he hesitated. "Yes. I like the language."

She was frustrated, getting nowhere at all.

"You saved my life." She wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question.

"Yes," he said simply.

"But then you disappeared, and let everyone think I was a drug addict or a lunatic." He sipped his beer, staring ahead at the bottles behind the bar, not looking at her. "They knew you weren't on drugs. They took you to a hospital. I'm sure they tested every fluid in your body."

"But you... just left!"

"I had to."

"But-"

"I wasn't in great shape myself."

She drew her fingers around the rim of her gla.s.s. "You knew what was going to happen," she accused him.

"No, I was afraid something might be about to happen, " he corrected.

"You're not a cop."

"No."

"Obviously," she muttered. "If you were a cop, you would have stuck around to speak to the other cops."

"I told you. I was hurt myself."

"You know what? I don't think you're real. Even now. Even sitting there right next to me. You'll puff into thin air again any minute-"

"Jade! Lucian!"

They were suddenly hailed from behind. Jade turned quickly, astounded that anyone she knew might know Lucian. It was Daniel Thacker. She stared at Lucian, who shrugged. His eyes spoke eloquently: See, I'm real, I'm here!

Danny was a bit into his cups. He looked young and fl.u.s.tered, blond hair a total wreck, green eyes a startlingly pretty color, they were so surrounded by red.

"G.o.d, is it good to see you two!"

He put an arm around them both. His beer was in his right hand. It sloshed perilously in his gla.s.s. She thought that Lucian's immaculate black jacket was about to get soaked in hops. The beer settled.

"Danny ...," Jade murmured. "You know Lucian?"

"Sure do." Danny set his beer down and offered Lucian a hand, grinning. "Hey, Jade, Luke here is thinking about writing. I think he should join our Wednesday group."

Danny leaned close to Jade, saying in a conspiratorial whisper, "He's loaded, you know. Old European aristocracy. We could use him!" She arched a brow to Lucian. Was that true?

"I'd like to join your group. Sure," he said.

"We're not really a group," she said quickly.

"Oh, h.e.l.l, yeah, suddenly she and Mr. Hotshot Durante are on all the best-seller lists, and we're not a group anymore."

"Danny, you are drunk as a skunk!"

"Yeah, kind of," Danny admitted, looking very sober for a minute.

"Only, that could give a really bad name to skunks."

"Maybe I should get you home," Jade said.

"You get me home?" Danny protested. "No, you can't be alone.

Even here, even in Derrick's place. There's bad stuff going down."

"Danny, it's New Orleans. I'm afraid we have lots of bad stuff going down."

"No, we have corpses."

"Dead people usually are corpses, yes, Danny."

"Usually," Lucian muttered. "You're right, Jade, we need to get Danny home."

"You don't know what I saw, Luke, Lucian." Danny's eyes looked glazed. He punched Lucian lightly in the shoulder. "You don't know what I saw."

"I think I do," he said quietly.

Jade stared at him. "Tell you later," he said with a shrug.

"Will you?" she demanded. "Or will you just disappear?"

"I won't disappear."

"d.a.m.ned right, I'm not going to let you disappear. We'll get Danny back, and then you'll come up to my place."

Lucian hesitated, his head lowered for a moment. When he looked up, she felt a strange flash of heat shoot down the length of her spine.

The uncanny blaze, red against the darkness, had appeared in his eyes again. "That's an invitation, I take it?"

"It's an order!" she murmured, though she realized that he didn't take orders.

Not unless he chose to.

Danny put both his hands on Lucian's face, forcing him to look his way, into his eyes. "She has to be, like, really, really, careful, Luke,"

Danny slurred out. "Danny, what the h.e.l.l did you see?" Jade asked.

"It must have been a very bad day at the morgue," Lucian murmured.

"Let's get you home. I think we're all pretty safe tonight."

"Oh, yeah?" Danny looked at him trustingly. "How do you know?"