Page 123

Chapter One Hundred Thirteen

CARMINE

Outside the locked door, there are whispers, low barks, the squeaks of rubber soles on a wood floor.

Where’s Amon?

There’s been no sign of him, and without his power, I’m outmatched against Charles. I have no way to destroy him with what I have.

“What is it?” Luna asks.

I put my finger to my lips and unlock the door. I open it just enough to see men in black—big men, fighting men—drag Gunnar across the hall while the iPad-bearing section of the staff pretends they see nothing.

I close the door and put my back to it.

“Listen to me.” I hold her face as if keeping her head still will ensure her obedience. “You just had a very intense experience and you’re all charged up.”

“I’m fine!”

Obviously, holding her still doesn’t help. I let my hands drop. “Remember how Charles had two rings? And he wants all of them? There’s another king here—and I don’t know how, but they got him in stasis. Charles is going to drink his blood and take his ring.”

“We should stop him!”

“That’s a great way to get killed.”

I open the door again. They’re gone. I’m sure I know where I am in the plans I studied earlier. I can imagine the turns we have to take to get out.

“It’s the perfect time,” she says urgently. “He’s going to be distracted. You have a gun, which isn’t going to do shit to him, but he’s probably got a bunch of human guys we’ll have to get through.”

“Absolutely—” There’s a knock at the door. She and I stare at each other for a moment. The red EXIT sign reflects in her iris. She opens her mouth to answer, but I cover it before she can. “Hush.”

“Come on, Dad,” Laro demands.

Luna’s eyes go wide. In shock, my hand drops away.

He knocks again, but harder. “Put it in your fucking pants and?—”

I open the door. “Enough.”

Laro is in white, as always, but he’s alone, with his hands in front of him. It’s not a pose of surrender or safety, but it’s neutral, and hides nothing.

“You guys have, like, two minutes.” He talks low, with urgency. “He gets three rings on him and he’s sending every vampire in this club after the fourth, which he didn’t even have to chase after.”

He’s pissed off that I walked right into Charles’s space, but I don’t think he realizes that I did it on purpose.

“Why should we trust you?” Luna says over my shoulder.

“You can’t.” He sneers at her then turns his back on us. “Come on. Now or never.”

She tries to go around me to follow, but I keep her back. “You can’t trust him.”

“Yeah, but you can. He loves you, and he’s not going to do shit if I’m with you.”

She’s not wrong, and I don’t have an alternative.

I put my arm around her shoulder, and together, we follow Laro past a black door, into a hallway made of cinderblock, industrial carpet, and fluorescent light. I’ve seen the plans and I’ll know if he’s taking us anywhere besides an exit.

“I found Viaro and had him kicked out. Then I saw her in the camera.” He jerks his thumb at my wife. “She’s fucking trouble. Of course you weren’t far behind.”

Luna jumps out from under my arm. I can’t grab her in time. She gets in front of Laro and spins to look in his face.

“What happened?” she asks. “You have that glow.”

“Keep going! I can’t get busted with you.”

She walks backward. “You unscrambled yourself.”

“I’m a vampire. We revert to the fucking mean, now let’s go.”

She turns at the end of the hall and bumps right into a big guy in a bomber jacket.

“You—” He never finishes the sentence.

Holding his head at an angle incompatible with life, I let him drop to the floor.

“There are more,” I say.

With a gesture, I push Luna back around the corner without touching her, leaving my hands free. One catches a bullet before it reaches Laro. The other unholsters the gun I brought, all as I wonder the one thing I’ve been wondering for hours.

Where the fuck is Amon?