Roaring Dawn: Macey Book 3 (The Gardella Vampire Hunters 10)(15)

It seemed the place had closed early last night—probably because the weather was abysmal, and the customers had stayed in their warm homes instead of braving the wild thunderstorms for illegal libation.

Fine with him. And even finer with him that Macey and Temple weren’t around either. He didn’t want to deal with anyone tonight. Or, rather, this morning.

Chas peeled off his dripping coat and flung it onto one of the stools, removed his shoes and socks, then unfastened the top button of his shirt—which wasn’t as soaked as his outer layers. He gave his head a good shake, spraying droplets everywhere, then found a bar towel to scrub away more of the wet from his hair.

Feeling marginally more comfortable, he turned on a light over the counter and slipped behind to fish out a glass and a bottle of something smooth to warm him from the inside out. He paused with his hand over a decent brandy and frowned at the racks of glasses.

Macey had pulled out that special bottle of Sebastian’s from right about this area. She probably thought Chas hadn’t noticed, but he’d been listening very carefully to where and how she moved.

Thus, it didn’t take him more than a few seconds to locate the secret door behind a shelf of lowballs, and he smirked with satisfaction when he opened it.

Hmm. A lead safe? What the hell was Sebastian hiding in here—other than not one, but three bottles of that unique liqueur? Chas felt around inside the safe and didn’t find anything else important enough to be locked away like that.

Still musing, he pulled out the open bottle and removed the fancy blue-black stopper, then sloshed a good two fingers into his glass. Back a hundred years ago, when Chas lived in London and traveled to Paris hunting undead and befriending the (occasionally) redeemable members of the Draculia vampire race, Chas had once mistakenly taken a drink from a bottle of liquor offered by a Dracule.

Unfortunately, it had been blood whiskey, and the memory had never quite left him. He still shuddered at the memory.

But this wasn’t blood whiskey, and Sebastian Vioget hadn’t been a Dracule—so why had he kept this and two other bottles locked away?

Simply so Chas wouldn’t get to it? Or anyone else, for that matter?

Considering the fact that he’d never tasted anything like its soft, floral ambrosia that nevertheless burned in a smooth, heady rush all down the throat and into the belly—then softened the mind in just the right way—Chas supposed it was merely practical to keep the good stuff hidden away. It probably cost a ridiculous amount of money, even for a vampire, and especially during the insult that was Prohibition.

He corked the bottle and stuck it back inside the safe, then enjoyed his solitude and his drink as he leaned into a corner of the bar.

He sure as hell was ready to be done with Chicago, and gangsters, and flapper dresses that made all the female figures look like boys’ bodies—and he was especially finished with Prohibition. Not that the Volstead Act kept him from imbibing when he wanted, but it was damned inconvenient.

And everything else…well, he was tired of it all. He understood how Sebastian had felt, ready to finish with whatever had brought him to this place. And Chas, unlike Vioget, had literally been brought here. Through time.

What he didn’t know, still didn’t know, five years later, was why.

Yes, he’d wanted an escape from everything that had happened with Narcise. And, unbelievably, Wayren had offered him a unique way out. But why here? Why now?

He shook his head and was just reaching down of the bottle to refill his glass for the third time when someone rattled at the door.

“We’re closed!” he called, then frowned. What if it was Macey out there, bedraggled and wet? He wasn’t certain she was here; they hadn’t gone out together hunting tonight. His frown turned grimmer.

After what had happened in the alley two nights ago…well, she probably was avoiding him as much as he was avoiding her.

The door rattled again, and with a curse he shoved the bottle back into the safe (in case it was Temple) and went to see who the bloody hell was so insistent. As he approached, he realized something he’d somehow ignored or submerged deep in his grumbly consciousness: a vampire was present.

Chas was in just enough of a foul mood to fling the door open regardless of whoever might be on the other side. The drink sloshed over his hand as a result of the effort, and he glowered at the huddled figure standing there.

He couldn’t make out a gender, but it was only one person, and his sensation measuring the proximity of undead indicated there weren’t anymore other than this one.

“Well, come in,” he said, checking to make certain a stake was still present in his pocket. Just in case. “Don’t think I’ve ever heard of a vampire drowning before, but it’s raining enough that you just damned well might.”

“Didn’t they attempt to drown Rasputin?”

It was a woman, with a vaguely familiar voice, and when she drew back the hooded jacket to reveal her face, Chas recognized her immediately.

The tall, skin-and-bones redhead had once been a friend of Macey’s. Freda…no, Flora. Flora was her name.

“They did. Unsuccessfully—after, I believe, also trying to shoot him. More than once. Well, come in and take that off. No need to be bloody dripping all over the place.”

She gave him a curious glance, but stepped over the threshold as she pulled off her sodden jacket. Then she hung it on a hook near the door and turned to face him. She was wearing a bright yellow dress that glittered, implying she’d come from somewhere fancy. In the center was a rust-colored stain that had Chas’s brows lifting. “Thank you. I was hoping Macey was here.”

“She’s not.”

Flora raked her eyes over him from head to toe, and she had the temerity to let a sensual glow light her eyes when she did.

“That’ll be enough of that,” he said, firmly ignoring a tiny flicker of lust.

She giggled and slid onto a stool without being asked, flashing him a sultry look. “I was just checking to see if you were interested. Your reputation is quite profound.”

“My reputation with a stake, you mean.”

“Your stake?” Her eyes narrowed with delight, and now they were glowing fully red. She ran the tip of her bold red tongue over her exposed fangs. “That’s one way to put it.”

“What do you want?” he asked, putting the counter between himself and her. More for her safety than his own.

“How about we start with whatever you’re drinking.” She glanced at his half-empty glass.

“How about we don’t.” He pulled out his weapon and showed her. “I should probably just put you out of your misery—save Macey the damned trouble.”

“She can’t do it herself,” Flora said—as if they were discussing whether their mutual acquaintance could pilot a plane. “She’s had ample opportunities—including tonight. She can’t kill me.”

Flora settled back onto the stool, folding her arms beneath her breasts and the stain from Macey’s obviously aborted attempt to stake her. “From what I understand, your habit is such that you…uh…tend to enjoy a woman like me”—she smiled, showing off her fangs and that slick red tongue again—“with one type of stake…and then employ your other stake in a different way.”

Chas was feeling a little unsteadier than he liked. Was this supposed to be a seduction? It wasn’t working. Not much, anyway. “I’m not interested.”

“We could have some fun together, you know, Chas. Don’t think I don’t know about your darling Narcise. The story’s legendary. Aren’t you ready for a permanent replacement for her?”

It was all he could do to keep from plunging the stake into her breastbone…and later he was to wonder what kept him from doing it. Boredom? Complacency? Curiosity?

“There will never be a replacement for Narcise.”

The flat anger in his voice seemed to shock Flora out of her fey mood.

“Fine.” She sat straight up and slammed her hands on the counter. “What a stick-in-the-mud. At least pour me a drink, will you?”

“What are you doing here—besides making me want to screw this stake into your heart?”

“Macey said…a while ago…she said she would help me. Find a way to”—she flapped her hand at herself—“change this. Fix me. Save me.”

“And so that’s why you’re here—flashing your fangs and burning your eyes—because you want to be saved?” His derisive laughter was directed toward himself as much as Flora…because he hadn’t been completely immune to her flirtations and the tug of her thrall. The promise of those fangs and slick tongue combined with soft female curves and rich musk.

Damn, there were days he hated himself as much as he hated the devil.

“Yes. It really is why I’m here. I can’t help the way I am,” she said earnestly. Her blue eyes opened large and didn’t hold a flicker of red glow. “I saw her last night, and we didn’t get to finish talking.”

Chas sighed and leaned down to pull out the bottle from the safe. “I don’t know that there’s any way to…well, put you back.”

“But it has hap…pened.” Flora was staring at the bottle of liqueur. Her breathing had changed into something rough and audible.