Page 52 of Fighting for Her Heart

“Ways we can figure out if anyone’s still hunting Ember.”

“Like what?”

“I know some keepers of magic who might have information.”

The hair on the back of my neck rises, and I fight to hide my distrust, reminding myself that our mutual desire to keep Ember save overrides any other motive Nora might have.

Ryker pours himself another generous portion of whiskey, but leaves it on the table, not even bothering to sip it. “We can’t leave during daylight.”

“How quickly you vampires forget.” Nora smiles smugly. “You can now walk in the sunlight.”

“No we fuckingcannot. The sun will burn us to a crisp.” Ryker shoots her a fierce glare that pushes her back in her seat, then he leans in close. “Do youwantto put her in evenmoredanger?”

Closing her eyes, she shakes her head. “Sorry. Mum’s the word.” She mimes locking her lips.

Nora’s no fool. I can’t understand why she’d say something like that in a building full of vampires who might be eavesdropping. Perhaps she’s overtired and careless, but my distrust of her grows.

“So we just sit here all day?” She gestures around the dark, opulent room with its fancy furniture, paintings and chandeliers. We’re on ground level, but there’s not one window in the place.

“Nope.” Ryker drains his whiskey, and then bangs down the empty glass on the table. “We’re going to spend the day somewhere more amusing. The club.”

Nora and I follow Ryker through the lobby. We walk past yet another guard in a business suit, who nods when Ryker gives some kind of signal, and then we head to a set of highly polished elevator doors.

Ryker pushes the button, and the doors instantly open, revealing an interior that’s paneled in reflective, dark tiles that look like they might be marble or onyx.

“Where are the buttons to pick a floor?” I ask. Do modern elevators sense where you want to go now? The doors close, leaving us in total darkness.

“Where isanything?” Nora adds.

My night vision immediately kicks in, but Nora glances around and her brow furrows as if she’s trying to understand her surroundings. At least she’s had the sense not to use magic to illuminate the space.

“This elevator only goes to one location,” Ryker answers both of our questions, and the elevator drops.

It descends smoothly, but for far longer than any elevator I’ve been in before, and then it opens to a dark hallway, which illuminates with red lighting as we step out.

“Want a piggyback?” Ryker asks Nora and she frowns, her face a strange sight, bathed in red light that turns her hair an even deeper shade of red and reveals freckles previously so pale their warm pigment was nearly invisible against her fair skin.

“Do I look incapable of walking?” She puts her hands on her hips.

“It’s a long way.” Ryker shrugs. “Guess we’re in no particular hurry, though.”

But she nods and then jumps onto his back. Ryker starts to move down the hallway, and I follow behind, the red lights flashing on to meet us, and then turning off behind us as we go. We move so quickly, I imagine it would look like a wave of light to an observer at one end of the hall or the other.

Ryker slows, then lets Nora down, and the three of us walk the final hundred yards. The red lights here are brighter, joined by other soft lighting that glints off the shiny floor, walls and ceiling that’s speckled with tiny crystals, which send prisms of light bouncing over our skin.

Ahead of us, two vampires stand still as statues in front of large double doors, arms crossed over their chests. Both, one male, one female, are in business suits similar to those warn by the guards back at DEFTA and their stoic postures don’t alter as we draw near.

“Guest password?” the female asks.

“Tradition,” Ryker replies and she nods.

“You got clearance for the human?” the male asks.

“Didn’t know we needed it.” Ryker shrugs. “Would’ve been nice to know that back at DEFTA.”

The female nods. “Pre-clearance isn’t mandatory, but there are a few rules you should know before bringing a human into the club.” The guards look between Ryker and me, ignoring Nora.

“Great,” Ryker says. “Iloverules.” He grins at the female, but she doesn’t react in spite of his obvious sarcasm, followed up by flirting.