Ripper (Hunter #1)(82)

Gray sighed and made sure he had the keys to my Jeep in his hand. He leaned up and pulled me in for a quick, possessive kiss. “You be careful.” His hand cupped the back of my neck. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I said, the words coming more and more easily to me.

He turned to the vampire, his expression turning forbidding in a second. “And you…”

“Will be horribly murdered if I so much as lay a hand on your lovely woman,” Marcus concluded the coming threat with a jaunty wave of his hand. “I will take good care of Kelsey.”

“See that you do.” Gray hopped out of the car with his bag of equipment. He was going to watch the club from the parking garage I previously staked out. He was also going to get my car and pay for any tickets I’d gotten since he was the reason I’d had to leave it behind. I watched him quickly fade into the background as Marcus pulled away from the curb. He drove the last block and stopped in front of the huge row of Victorian townhomes I now knew were all connected.

Anticipation thrummed inside me, a beast who wanted out of its cage.

The valet hustled to open my door.

“Good evening, Ms. Atwood,” he said solicitously. “Welcome to the club. Ms. Sears is looking forward to making your acquaintance.”

I waited for him to take the keys from Marcus, who nodded briefly and joined me, his hand immediately finding the small of my back.

“Did I mention how beautiful you look tonight?”

“I believe you failed to do so,” I replied, not recognizing the teasing vixen coming out tonight. I was enjoying Marcus’s good-natured flirting. Gray had unleashed a monster.

The vampire smiled brightly. “Then let me tell you that you are stunning tonight, Kelsey. You look every inch the lady.”

I wondered if that wouldn’t actually be a problem. “Are you sure I’ll fit in? I saw what Joanne was supposed to wear. I think I’m dangerously overdressed.”

“You’re perfect. As I said, you’re a lady. You look like my mistress tonight. I’m a possessive man, a creature of my time. Anyone who knows me knows I would object to a woman of mine wearing what some of the club girls wear.”

“I would probably spend the entire night worried something was going to fall out, so it’s best I stay covered,” I admitted as we walked up the steps.

The entrance to the club opened and a tall, statuesque blonde stood in the doorway. She didn’t have my modesty problems. She was dressed to kill in a bright-red skintight gown with a plunging neckline. Her face should have been on a magazine cover and her chic platinum hair was cut short. I studied Stacy Sears and understood why Marcus thought I was soft. Anyone would look soft compared to her. She was beautiful and undeniably hard.

“Good evening, Councilman,” she said with a deferential nod.

Marcus returned her nod, but I got the feeling he didn’t particularly like this woman. “This is my new mistress. Her name is Kelsey Atwood. I expect her to be treated with respect.”

“Well considering the calls I’ve gotten about her, how could I not?” The blonde put a hand on her hip. She was slender and her hands were elegant and obviously well taken care of. I wanted to hide mine. I didn’t go to a manicurist. I bit my nails often when I was thinking through a problem. As though he knew what I was thinking, Marcus tangled his fingers in mine and gave me a reassuring squeeze.

Stacy continued her speech as she ushered us inside. “I got a call from Zack Owens threatening all manner of horrors should I allow anything bad to befall you. I’ve never heard him so concerned about anyone except his wife. Are you his long lost sister or something?”

“Nope.” I took in the surroundings. I gawked pretty openly. The entire place was plush and very old world. The carpet beneath my feet was Oriental and the entire place looked like it was lit with faux gas lamps. It was easy to think I was walking into Victorian England. Alexander Sharpe must feel at home here.

“Then I get a call from Dev telling me to answer whatever questions you have,” Stacy said. “And trust me, Dev Quinn doesn’t call unless it’s really important. So tell me, what does Marcus’s mistress want with me?”

“I’m a private investigator,” I explained. “I think you’re missing some girls.”

Her eyes got wide. “You mean those girls aren’t slacking off? They’re in serious trouble?”

Yeah, there was no soft way to say it. “They’re dead.”

The blonde sagged a little. “Shit. I’m sorry. I was being rude. Please come into my private dining room. Marcus, Henri asked me to tell you he’s looking for you.”

Marcus sighed. “I know what it is about and I need to speak with him. Cara mia, do you mind?”

“Not at all.” I actually thought the blonde would talk more without Marcus around.

“Stacy, you will take care of her.” It wasn’t really a question, more like an imperial command.

“I’m not a monster, Councilman,” the blonde said. “I don’t leave humans to their own devices here.”

Marcus’s eyes narrowed. “I know one woman who would disagree with you. Understand, this is my woman. I will not deal with you in the same way the king did. You will find I have less compassion and I will not listen to my woman’s advice when it comes to such a thing.”