She gripped his hand in return.
Chapter Ten
As they reached the main room, Arturo turned Quinn to face him. "Your glamour has worn off." He released her hand to touch her hair, his fingers lifting a lock and letting it slide through his fingers. "Micah will have to repair your glamour before we leave. I shall let him know." He looked unhappy, but she sensed his mood had little to do with her glamour. Or finding her with Neo, for that matter. And everything to do with Cristoff.
"You haven't told me how your visit went this morning."
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were filled with shadows and she knew her instincts were right. "He is not the man I knew."
"What does he think happened to me?"
"He believes what I have told him-that Ivan took you into D.C. and that I am looking for you and will return you to him as I did before." He lifted a lock of her hair again, then dropped it, pinning her with a gaze that glowed with fervor. "He will never get near you again."
Neo caught up with them, and Arturo glanced up, his jaw hardening. "We will leave in an hour, cara mia. Get some breakfast if you have not already done so."
Moments later, she rapped softly on Zack's door. When he didn't answer, she opened the door to find him still sound asleep. "Zack."
Her brother blinked, his eyes opening slowly. "What's the matter? What time is it?"
"We're in Vamp City. Time doesn't matter, but breakfast is going to be gone if you don't get out there soon."
To her amused relief, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and shoved himself to his feet without hesitation. "Where?"
"The same place as last night." But when he would have brushed past her to escape the room, she blocked his way. "Hold on a minute."
She pressed her hand to his forehead, beneath his mop of red curls. He felt hot to the touch. Definitely feverish. Fear curled in her stomach. "How do you feel?"
"Hungry."
With a roll of her eyes, Quinn stepped back. "Go eat." But as Zack hurried out of the room, Quinn watched him with worried eyes, then followed more slowly. In the main room, she grabbed a cup of coffee as he filled a plate to overflowing, then joined him at the now-empty table.
Briefly, she told Zack about the trip to the fae's. She'd expected him to take her explanation with his usual equanimity, but he turned to her with stubborn eyes.
"I'm going with you."
"I suggested that to Arturo. But he feels that the more of us who go, the more attention we'll draw. Two of us can get in and out of there safer than three."
Zack's mouth tightened, a flash of self-loathing crossing his face as his shoulders slumped. Without another word, he went back to eating.
Quinn's heart clenched. He'd be of no help protecting any of them, including himself, and they both knew it.
Her brother was on his second helping of everything when Jason walked in. The ex-Marine poured himself a tall glass of water and joined them.
"Is this Zack?" he asked.
Quinn introduced them. "Jason's offered to . . ." She wasn't sure how to put it. Train you? Whip you into shape?
"Your sister tells me you'd like some fighting tips. A few basic moves anyone can use."
Zack glanced up, his eyes sharp and angry, before returning to his meal. He must see this as one more blow to his already battered pride.
"Nothing crazy," Jason assured him. "I can show you the workout equipment they have here. It's a pretty impressive assortment, considering where we are. And I can give you some basic exercises to get you started. But first we'll warm up together and work on a few basic defensive moves. Not right away. You need a chance to digest your breakfast first. Maybe in an hour?"
Zack nodded without looking up.
Quinn met Jason's gaze with apology in her eyes, but he waved it away.
"We'll go at whatever speed you're comfortable with, Zack," Jason said as he rose again. "I'll see you in an hour."
"Thanks, Jason," Quinn said. When he'd left, she watched her brother. "You're stronger than you think."
Zack made no indication he'd heard her. Or believed her.
A short while later, Neo, Arturo, and Micah walked in.
Quinn looked up. "Time to go?"
"Not yet. You need your glamour renewed."
Micah gave a huff. "Everyone wants a say this time. Apparently, they weren't impressed with my last effort."
He sounded so put out she had to bite back a smile. She rose and squeezed Zack's shoulder. "I'll see you when I get back."
But as she started to turn away, she felt her arm snagged by a gentle, overwarm hand and turned to meet her brother's soft gaze.
"Be careful, sis."
She covered his hand with her free one, love welling up thick inside of her. "I will. Don't forget Jason."
"I won't."
He let her go, and she crossed the room to join the three males. The three vampires.
As they headed down a different hallway from where she'd slept last night, Arturo slid his hand under her hair to cup the back of her neck in a decidedly possessive move. Staking his territory. She met his gaze, warning him silently to cut the he-man theatrics. She expected to see a flash of the charmer, the vampire who cajoled and seduced. But no light entered those dark eyes. His grip on her neck tightened fractionally, as if resisting her demand, before letting go.
They entered a small sitting room, one as spartan as the bedrooms, though instead of a bed and nightstand, this one sported two dark gray sofas at right angles and a smattering of end and coffee tables.
Micah lit the oil lamp on one of the end tables, then closed the door. "We don't need an audience for this."
Quinn glanced first at Arturo, then at Neo. "Looks like we've got one anyway."
"Make her a redhead," Neo said. "I've always been partial to redheads."
Arturo sent him a scathing look. "I want her skin and hair dark. Perhaps she'll not stand out like a diamond in the twilight."
Micah threw his friend a ribbing look. "That was poetic, Ax. I'm impressed." He turned to her, humor still lighting his eyes. "Do you have a preference, Quinn? A favorite actress, though I won't copy her exactly. You'd only draw more attention that way, not less."
She started to shake her head, then glanced at Neo, considering. "Can you make me look like Neo's sister?"
Neo looked surprised but pleased.
Arturo scowled.
Micah grinned. "That I can do." Like before, he closed his eyes, lifted his hands, and touched her cheeks with his fingertips, stroking them with the pads of his thumbs and the barest of touches. Her flesh began to tingle, the sensation spreading along her scalp and neck, then down into her body, as before. Finally, he opened his eyes, the grin spreading across his face slowly.
"Damn, Neo," Micah said. "You make a stunning woman."
Neo snorted. Arturo's scowl only deepened.
"I need a mirror," Quinn said.
"Mukdalla has one." Neo led her from the room and down two more, Micah close behind, Arturo following more slowly. When Neo's quick rap went unanswered, he opened the door, lit a candle in a holder by the bed and lifted a hand mirror on the bedside table, handing it to Quinn.
She took it gingerly, then stared at a woman who was, as Micah said, rather stunning. A woman who in no way resembled her, except for the green eyes.
Quinn set the mirror back on the bedside table, then turned fully to Arturo, who watched her from the doorway. "What do you think?"
He frowned. "It is not a look I would have chosen."
"You have to admit," Neo murmured with a chuckle, winking at her, "I do make a fine-looking woman. Though it's your own beautiful eyes, Quinn, that steal the breath."
Was Neo intentionally poking the tiger? Served Arturo right. But the temperature in the room dropped a good ten degrees as Arturo's eyes turned glacial. If they got into a fight over this, she was going to be pissed as hell.
"It's time to go," Arturo snapped, then turned and walked away.
Quinn rolled her eyes with exasperation and followed him out. She needed to say good-bye to her brother, first, but when she reached the main room, she saw no sign of him. As she started toward the gym, Arturo suddenly appeared out of nowhere, blocking her way.
"You will come, sorceress. Now."
She just stared at him, her anger sparking. "I'll join you in three minutes after I've told Zack I'm leaving." What was the matter with him? If this was about her new look . . . Heaven help them both. He'd better get used to it, or she was going to end up staking him before the day was out.
Turning her back on him, she strode down the hall to the gym, glad to find Jason showing Zack how to block a punch. Zack appeared interested and engaged, and that's all she could ask for. Jason glanced at her standing in the doorway, and Zack did the same, both without a hint of recognition. Of course they wouldn't know who she was beneath the glamour. She kept forgetting what she looked like.
Instead of introducing herself, she turned away and went to rejoin the vampire, who'd begun to act more like a lion with a thorn in his paw. She found him waiting impatiently by the stairs just as Micah joined him.