Smolder (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #29)(72)

“Then it must be something important for him to do so now.”

Richard took a deep breath, let it out, and I felt the heat of his power begin to flow away. “Thank you for helping me think instead of just react.”

“I am happy to do anything that will speed us to a safer location tonight,” Wicked said.

Richard looked at Jake. “Can you tell us in the car as we drive for the Circus?”

“I will share what I know when you are all more secure,” Jake said.

“Then let’s go,” Richard said, and just like that there wasn’t going to be a fight, at least not yet.

“Showers . . .” I started to say.

“Shower at the Circus,” Wicked said.

“Where’s Truth?” I asked, because they were always together.

“He’s outside making sure the way is clear to move you to safety.”

“I only sensed one vampire during the attack,” I said.

“A vampire this powerful does not travel alone, ma petite.”

I nodded. “You’re right. He’ll have Renfields, and human servants, or animals to call with him.

Let me get back into the sexy torture devices known as shoes and let’s get out of here.”

“Your clothes got dropped off,” Nathaniel said smiling.

“Change clothes in the car on the drive,” Wicked said.

I looked at him, and that was enough. “Okay, I’ll change in the car.”

“You’re not going to argue with them?” Richard asked.

I shook my head. “If Wicked and Jake are both saying we gotta go, then we go.”

“Put on your comfy boots to walk to the car,” Nathaniel said.

“We don’t have time . . .” Wicked started to say.

“She can run and walk and fight better in the boots,” Nathaniel said.

Wicked and Jake said, “Change,” at the same time.

I gave Nathaniel a kiss and went to find my boots.





31

THE BOOTS LOOKED terrible with the sexy designer dress, but I was so happy to be out of the high heels and back into comfortable shoes I didn’t care. The fashion police could arrest me later. I was still having to carry the little purse with its thin strap because it had my gun in it, and now that I wasn’t going to be onstage and the boots had ruined the outfit anyway, I could carry it cross-body without anyone bitching I was ruining the line of the dress. I realized I was relieved to not have to worry about looking perfect any more tonight.

Jean-Claude was still wearing his robe over the boots and thong. I knew he had clothes to change into, but the bodyguards we most trusted were on high alert wanting to move us, so we could all change later. Nathaniel had put all our clothes in a wheeled suitcase, like a big carry-on size. It had probably originally held just Jean-Claude’s clothes; now it held his, mine, and Richard’s. He was still in the booty shorts and shiny patent leather stage boots just like Nathaniel. He’d even kept the mask on in case someone got a picture of us as we left so he wouldn’t be outed as “Superman” as we got in the tinted vehicles. He had thrown his dress shirt over his upper body like a jacket. It should have ruined his outfit like the boots ruined mine, but it didn’t. The shirt over it looked . . . cute, or endearing, or maybe even sexy. I was so used to thinking of him as our ex that thinking of him as sexy felt bad, like a habit I’d worked hard to break.

We were waiting for Truth to knock on the outer door to the alley entrance to let us know that Ethan had the SUV in place for us to hustle from inside the club to the cars. If our enemies hadn’t been able to use mystical powers it would have been super safe; as it was I just wanted to go home, and that meant the underground of the Circus of the Damned tonight.

“Why is it taking so long?” I asked.

“The traffic is heavy on the weekends, and we need to bring up at least two of the SUVs at the alley entrance,” Wicked said.

Jean-Claude offered me his hand and I took it gratefully; touching him was like being able to take a deeper breath. It made me wrap my arms around his waist, luxuriating in the silkiness of the robe though I knew it wasn’t real silk. Real silk is awesome, but a stain is usually forever. We’d ruined more silk sheets than I cared to think about; admittedly we’d had help doing it, but still custom-made silk sheets weren’t cheap. In the flat boots I was tucked very securely under his arm because his boots made him over six feet tonight. I wondered if his feet hurt from dancing in heels? I’d ask at home

when we were alone with our polycule; right now I just enjoyed the firm smoothness of his body underneath the robe.

“Why am I so tired?” I whispered it.

“Because all the energy we raised tonight had to go to defeating our enemy, not feeding us,” Jean-Claude said as he hugged me and kissed the top of my head ever so gently.

“No one’s fed on me tonight,” Nathaniel said, wrapping his arms around both of us as he leaned in and kissed my cheek. He had let go of the suitcase handle so he could use both arms to hold us; I approved of this use of resources.

“I would urge you to feed on those not connected to you metaphysically tonight,” Jake said.

We looked at him. I asked what we were all wanting to know: “Why not?”

“Because the vampire you faced tonight will try again, and you may need all your magical strength intact,” Jake said.