“Fuck that.” Mikey jogged down his stairs and started away. “See ya around, Reagan,” he called.
I crossed a heavy boot over my leather-clad knee as Ja approached, not bothering to get up. “To what do I owe the annoyance?”
“You won, as I knew you would.”
“I thought you were supposed to be on my side when that happened?”
“I was on your side. Delayed in the Underworld, but on your side.”
“Hmm.” I chuckled. “You tried to mess with Darius, then me, and you helped my father…but you were somehow on my side?”
She fixed her long blond hair, a change since I’d seen her last. “You know enough about vampire politics not to equate…my information gathering with sides. I helped your father contact you, that is all. I would’ve done more to protect you had I not been the subject of…scrutiny in the Underworld.”
That had another meaning, but I didn’t much care what it meant. “Fine. What do you want?”
“You will need strong allies when you take your place within the Dark Kingdom. I am here to remind you that none are stronger than me.” She held out her hands. “I have a long history in the Underworld. I would be an incredible asset.”
“Maybe. And if my father gives me a job, my first order of business will be to make Darius an ambassador so that he can deal with you.”
“Remember who helped you,” she said softly.
I laughed. “Remember who helped you.”
She opened her mouth to reply, but instead I tossed my hand. Air gathered and fire coalesced. In a moment, she went tumbling down the street in a ball of flame. It wouldn’t kill her, but it would certainly ruin her day.
“How’s that for dramatic?” I murmured as Smokey grinned and gave me a thumbs-up from across the street. Too bad he wasn’t magical, or he could visit me in the Underworld.
I squinted at him and half wondered if he’d want to become a vampire. Or a shifter. Either could be arranged…
A lime-green Lamborghini revved as it rolled down the street, cutting into my thoughts. The timing of Ja’s visit wasn’t lost on me. Darius pulled up to the curb in front of my house and got out, his hair styled just so, his suit like a coat of paint, and his whole person incredibly mouth-watering. I smiled like a dummy as he fixed his cuff link and then closed the car door. He nodded a hello to Smokey before coming around the car.
“Hello, mon ange,” he greeted me, walking up the steps. “How is your evening so far?”
“I got a visit from Ja a few moments ago. I sent her up the street in a ball of fire.”
He glanced in the right direction before taking the seat next to me. “Dare I ask what she wanted?”
“A strong connection in the Underworld.” I shared the gist of the conversation with him.
“She is disheveled, it would seem. Some things haven’t gone her way. She’s trying to gauge what options are available to her. This meeting with Vlad couldn’t come at a better time.”
A wave of butterflies overtook my stomach. “I won’t let him hurt you, you know that.”
“I am hoping it won’t come to that. He has made no actions against me. He has kept his distance, like he did before all of this started.”
“But, like…if it does come to that, I will not stand aside while you two brawl. He won’t be allowed to hurt you.”
Darius reached for my hand. “I understand.”
A crummy older Honda puttered up the street. It pulled in front of Darius’s car. The sound of an old handbrake being applied preceded Vlad exiting the car. He nodded to Smokey before coming around the hood to the sidewalk.
“You don’t match,” I called, still holding Darius’s hand. “That incredibly expensive suit does not match that car.”
Vlad didn’t glance at his wheels, but instead stopped at the bottom of my porch steps. “May I come up?”
“Sure, yeah.” I motioned him on.
“I like to blend into neighborhoods like this,” he said, stopping near the banister. “It annoys me when I walk out to discover my car has been boosted.”
“No one would steal your car in this neighborhood,” I replied.
Vlad looked at me before turning to the rest of the street. “No, likely not.”
I stood and opened the front door. I’d taken the ward down for this meeting.
Darius waited as I entered, gesturing Vlad in after me.
“Please,” Vlad said, repeating the gesture. “I insist.”
I took a seat at the kitchen table. Darius had mentioned beforehand that we’d keep this meeting casual. Vlad took the chair opposite me, and Darius set about collecting drinks.
“Congratulations,” Vlad said to me, his perfect smile matching his perfect face. Though, unlike Michael, Vlad at least had a whole lot of menace just below the surface. “You achieved your goal. Your method was unorthodox, but the end result is all that matters.”