Page 21

The elevator slides open, and the four of us shuffle inside.

A few moments later, after rocketing skyward, we step out onto floor 38.

I blink four times. There is a small space, black walls, dark gray carpet, and one singular door ahead.

Ares steps forward and punches a series of numbers into the keypad.

We step into a space that looks like it’s straight out of a science fiction movie.

It’s dark, but we’re surrounded by a thousand little green, blue, and red lights. There is a woman sitting at a desk facing a wall of monitors. The rest of the walls are lined with high-tech looking equipment.

“Shauna,” Ares greets her. “Would you mind giving us the room for a while? You can go grab some coffee or something.”

He takes a one-hundred-dollar bill from his pocket and hands it to Shauna.

“Thanks, Ares,” she says, a grin taking over her face. She keys in a few commands, logging off duty, and rises from her chair. She exits without saying anything further.

“What the hell is this place?” I ask, looking around like I’ve stepped into another dimension.

Ares looks back at me, his brows knitting slightly. “My security center. I… I have a few properties in this city. There are a few security cameras set up for them.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re monitoring all of Manhattan with this setup,” I gape as I turn around, taking it all in. “I thought Harry was high-tech.”

“Harry’s operation was at least three times this,” Roman remarks.

Juliet smacks him in the chest, rolling her eyes.

I simply shake my head, my brows rising. Ares gives a little smirk, clearly enjoying that he’s surprised me.

“I hope you’re tech savvy, because there’s a reason I employ Shauna,” Ares says as they turn to the computers.

“One of the perks of being immortal,” Roman says as he takes the seat Shauna vacated. “We have forever to learn new tricks.”

I’d never thought about it from that angle before, but Born vampires are immortal. The world is going to change around them. Technology is going to change. Adaptation is kind of a must.

“How long has Roman been a vampire?” I ask quietly as I lean into Juliet, even though I know Roman is going to hear me asking. He’s busy at the moment, tapping away at the computer.

“Thirty-five years,” Juliet answers.

I make a slight sound of disappointment. “And you?”

“I’m forever twenty-nine, baby,” she says. “But I’ve been that way for eleven years now.”

“Hmm,” I say, folding my arms over my chest. “I keep hearing this word immortal when it comes to vampires, but so far, the oldest one had only been immortal for eighty years. I mean, that’s pretty old, but honestly not that impressive.”

“That psycho I said I was engaged to?” Juliet says as she looks over at me. “He was 119 when we met. Is that more impressive?”

I lift an eyebrow and tilt my head. “That’s a little better. Did that ever feel gross, though?”

“I’d rather not talk about Sebastian,” she says, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, sliding her hands into her back pockets.

So, it was her former fiancé who betrayed her.

Ouch.

I don’t press anymore.

“Okay, we’re scanning,” Roman declares as he pushes back from the keyboard just a little. Up on the screens, dozens of video feeds start scrolling at a high speed. There’s a little green square in each one, scanning faces. It’s all moving rapidly. Technology can be amazing sometimes.

“It’s really scanning all this footage at once?” Ares questions, his intense eyes never leaving the screens.

“Yep,” Roman confirms, a small, controlled smile on his lips as he watches his work. He’s proud of what he’s done here.

It’s pretty wild. There are eight million people who live in New York City. Roman is trying to latch onto the face of one of those people. It sounds impossible.

There’s a beeping sound, and one of the screens freezes. Before my eyes can even latch onto what’s changed, there is another beeping sound, followed by a third.

“Got him,” Roman says as he leans in, his gaze fixed on the screen.

“That’s the necromancer?” I ask, my eyes flicking from one screen to the next.

“That’s Markus,” Juliet confirms with a nod.

He’s so… average. If I were to pass him on the street, I would just walk right on by him. Ethnically ambiguous, he’s neither handsome nor ugly. He’s average built, the way he dresses doesn’t stand out. I’d guess he’s in his younger thirties.

“Wait a fucking second,” Ares says as yet another screen locks in on a still image of Markus, the necromancer. “These…” Ares licks his lips and shifts his stance, his eyes boring into those screens. “Every one of those buildings is a building I own.”

“What the hell?” I balk, my brows furrowing as I focus on the buildings more.

Sure enough, I recognize two of them.

Roman turns and looks at Ares with confused, surprised eyes. “All five of these separate buildings?”

Ares nods. “Two of them were mine before. Three of them I inherited from my father.”

“This doesn’t seem like a coincidence,” Roman says, his gaze shifting back to the screen as yet another hit pops up.

“Holy fuck,” I say, taking a step forward. “That’s James!”

And indeed, not only is Markus on the screen, but beside him, obviously talking to him, is James St. Claire, Ares’ assistant.

“That can’t be a coincidence either,” Roman says darkly as his eyes slide to Ares.

“What the fuck?” Ares breathes, leaning in closer. He watches as the frames of the video jump forward. It isn’t a smooth video. It’s only two frames per second. But it’s clear as day. That’s James talking to Markus, the two of them walking down the sidewalk together.

“I don’t think we have any clue who the hell James really is,” I say coldly.

“And I’ve trusted my entire portfolio to him,” Ares says, his tone hard.

“What if whomever Markus is looking for is tied to one of your buildings?” Juliet says.

I feel my body go cold, chilled all the way through. What the hell could that mean, and who the fuck would they be looking for?

“I need some answers from James,” Ares says darkly. He straightens. “And since he’s not been honest with me, I’m not going to go asking nicely. You up for a little B and E, Roman?”

“Lead the way.”