“Thank you.” I whisper.
He brushes his thumb over my lips. “Anything for you, fata frumoasa.”
Something flutters in my chest. I glance to the street at the end of the alley, where cars pass by out on the road.
“I better be getting home now.”
“Where are you staying?”
“At a friend’s place, I’ll take a cab.”
“Why don’t you come and stay with me? I can guarantee you a visit to remember.”
I almost say yes. But I remind myself of my purpose. I’m not here to bed Ethan, I’m here to find a little girl and my father.
I grin. “As tempting as that sounds, all of my luggage is at my friend’s house, and I wouldn’t want to be rude by leaving after only
one night.” I look back at him. “Oh, and I forgot my coat,” I fumble in my bag for the ticket.
Ethan places his hand on mine to stop me. “I’ll get it for you.” Then he zooms into the club and is back before I’ve had the chance to blink twice. He has my coat and he helps me into it.
He smiles widely. “Would you meet with me tomorrow night?”
“Sure. Where?” I reply, and instantly regret sounding so eager to see him again. His smile deepens.
“Eight o’clock, at the Blackfield monument.”
I’m intrigued by the location, since Ethan would normally just get me to come to Crimson. I tell him I’ll be there, and then he walks me out to the street to hail a cab. I wait until he’s gone before I tell the driver to take me to Finn’s address.
Chapter Five
It’s a Kind of Magic
When I get back to Finn’s I go to the kitchen and make myself a cup of tea, then I sit down at the counter, my mind reeling with everything that has happened tonight. I saw Ethan again, beautiful, otherworldly Ethan, who apparently was heartbroken after I left two years ago. I still don’t understand how someone like me could have that kind of an effect on him. Then again, it’s probably all to do with my blood.
Now there’s a depressing thought, because I know that it’s not anything quite so obscure that has me blushing every time he so much as looks at me. I take out my phone and text Finn, letting him know that I’m home. No more than fifteen minutes later he emerges through the front door and comes to quietly sit beside me.
“So, how did it go?” he asks.
I make eye contact with him, before answering, “I met Whitfield.”
Finn’s eyes widen and he pulls his stool closer. “Whitfield was there at the club?”
I nod. “In one of the private rooms in the VIP section, there was another vampire there called Eliza, she’s his daughter. I think there’s something going on between her and Ethan, or else she just has a thing for him.”
“Yes we know about her, she’s a vicious bitch. Killed a lot of good men in the fights we’ve had recently with the vampires.”
“She gives me the creeps. When she first saw me she said I smelled different, Ethan lied to her and told her I’m distantly related to a magic user. I guess that means he plans on keeping my secret.” I pause and look at Finn. “How old is Whitfield exactly?” I can’t stop picturing his cold, honey coloured eyes in my head, eyes that see far too much.
“According to our records he’s just over six hundred,” Finn replies. “His daughter is almost two hundred.”
“Jesus.” I rub my hands over my arms. Then I think of how Whitfield wanted to take me as one of his blood donors. For some reason I refrain from telling Finn about this, because I have a feeling he’d try to get me to go along with it, if only so that I can check out Whitfield’s house to see if that’s where he’s keeping Rebecca.
“Did you hear them mention anything about Pamphrock’s kid?” he asks.
“No, but I’m meeting up with Ethan tomorrow night. I’ll have to figure out a way to get him to talk about her, perhaps I’ll ask him about the war.”
“Good plan. But do you really think he’s going to tell you anything that important? I don’t mean to sound crude, but I think he just wants to get into your pants.”