Roaring Dawn: Macey Book 3 (The Gardella Vampire Hunters 10)(47)

It would be so fun to have a female friend with whom she could talk about things like where to hide a stake on her person, or how to use a garter belt to secret vials of holy water, whether silver cross earrings would be effective at repelling vampires…or even to simply talk about what an idiot her lover could be. Even though the man in question would be Macey’s father.

And at the moment, she suspected Macey might just agree with her assessment. She smiled to herself as she stirred the sugar, then looked up to find Miss McGillicut watching her closely.

“And you?” Savina asked, quickly remembering the thread of the conversation—though how it had anything to do with getting the key to the city, she didn’t know. Unless the mayor was just trying to find out what sort of person she was before he made a decision, and had sent his assistant to evaluate her. “Do you have many close female friends? I should think so, living in a city like Chicago. You probably go to the cabarets and jazz clubs and dance all the time, don’t you?”

To her surprise, Miss McGillicut’s expression hardened. “I used to have a very close friend. And then she…changed. She became a different person, and no longer had time for me. She made different friends and began to do different things. She had a good job, and I couldn’t even find one that wasn’t working as a seamstress in a sweat shop.”

Savina didn’t know what to say. “I’m so very sorry. It’s difficult to lose a friend.”

“Especially since we’d been friends since we were young girls. We even moved to the city within months of each other. And then she just…left me. Left me behind.” Miss McGillicut shifted, digging in her pocketbook.

“That must have been very upsetting for you,” Savina replied.

“Very. But now, I’m in a much better position than she is. Look at me now,” Miss McGillicut said, a hard smile on her face. “She has no idea what she is missing.”

“I see.” Savina felt wildly uncomfortable with the turn of conversation. Surely the mayor hadn’t intended for this assessment meeting to deteriorate into a personal diatribe. “So, tell me about your work in the mayor’s office.”

“My work in the— Yes, right,” her companion replied. “My work is quite rewarding. Very rewarding. My dear, dear friend should be envious of me. She should even be frightened of me, really. I hold so much more power now.”

By now, Savina was acutely uncomfortable. “Right, then,” she said, seeking a way to permanently change the topic—or, better yet, to escape the situation—without also losing her chance with the mayor.

“She’ll regret what she’s done to me. She’ll realize she should have—”

“Uhm, Miss McGillicut, I really appreciate your time. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut our meeting short.” She gathered up her gloves and began to pull them on. Even a key to the city wasn’t worth this sort of awkwardness.

The woman next to her was smiling again, and she shifted closer to Savina. Something hard pressed into her side, and Savina looked down to find the nose of a small derringer making an ominous dent in the fabric of her skirt.

“Oh, no, that would never do. We have much, much more to talk about, Sabrina. I hope you don’t mind if I call you Sabrina. And please…you must call me Flora.”





TWENTY-THREE

~ A Cryptic Call ~



Macey would never admit it, even if someone held a gun to her head, but having a few hours alone to rest and relax was exactly what she needed.

Especially since she hadn’t slept very well last night, after the great, awful revelation in the kitchen.

Grady knew her.

And he knew what she’d done—or tried to do.

How he’d hid the fury and loathing he clearly felt was a mystery—though she did remember that flash of irritation she’d noticed when they’d first seen each other at the photography exhibit. He’d disguised it well after that, but it had been there at first. She just hadn’t known what it was.

The thought made Macey feel even more disconsolate. He hated her.

But perhaps not as much as she hated herself.

Now, with everyone gone and herself alone at Grady’s place, she found it spectacularly painful to sit on the sofa and smell his scent on the pillow there, to see the photos strewn over his fireplace mantel and know she’d likely never see Linwood again, to see the selection of books about vampires—which they’d discussed the first night they’d met. There was no chance of getting past this.

Remembering the cold rage in his face made her stomach churn. You’ve emasculated him. Castrated him.

It must be just as hellish for him to have her here as for her to be here. Yet here he was—putting himself in danger to help the Venators. To help her father.

But the thing that stuck in her mind, the fact she couldn’t keep from gnawing over, was how could he be the dauntless one? What made him dauntless? What made him special, and who was his “half”?

Max? Herself?

Oh, wouldn’t that be a bitter realization, a terrible irony, if Macey had destroyed their love—only to discover that it had been written that they were to be partners.

She closed her eyes and tipped her head back against the arm of the sofa. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes as she considered the selfish, foolish choices she’d made.

“But I was doing it for him,” she said aloud. “I didn’t want the same thing that happened to my mother to happen to Grady!”

Or the same thing that happened to my father to happen to me.

And yet it already had.

Macey lay there, stretched out on the sofa, miserable and grieving and furious with herself and the choices she’d made.

I can make decisions for no one but myself.

But it was too late now.

Grady—the man she’d known and loved—was gone. It was over.

And sometime in the next few days, she had to find and kill her best friend.



+ + +

Macey must have slept, for the telephone woke her. She opened her eyes, and the first thing she noticed in the darkening room was the clock on the mantel.

It was after seven o’clock.

She sat up quickly and looked around. Savina had said she’d be back in two or three hours, and she’d left just after one. The lunch had either gone far better than expected, or she’d ended up shopping at Marshall Field’s.

And where were Chas and Max? Neither had called all day?

Macey climbed off the sofa and stumbled to the telephone, which was still ringing shrilly. Maybe it was Savina, explaining why she was late. Or some news from Chas or Max.

“Hello?” she said.

“Grady?” said a strained female voice.

“No, it’s not—”

“Hi, Grady, it’s Sabrina Ellison.” The voice spoke over Macey’s correction, loudly and rapidly.

“He’s not here—” Macey stopped. Sabrina Ellison? It was definitely Savina’s voice, Grady knew her real name…what was going on?

“Listen, I’m in a bit of a pickle, and I know you’re just the one to help me out.” The tension in Savina’s voice vibrated over the telephone, and Macey went very still.

“What can I do?” she asked, her heart beating hard.

“I need you to come…come and help me.” Her voice, though tense, was steady. She rattled off an address that had Macey fumbling for a pencil and paper to write it down. Fortunately, newshawk Grady had plenty of both next to the phone. “I… It’s a little embarrassing what happened, but I ran into an old friend of—of someone named Macey—”

She stopped suddenly and there was a struggling sound and muffled voices from the other end. When Savina spoke again, her voice was a little unsteady—and angry. Underneath, Macey heard anger.

“Just come. Come alone. You must come alone, or… I need your help…I only have until half past eight before— Please help me—”

The phone line was cut off before the last word was out of Savina’s mouth. Macey stared at the silent instrument for a second before dropping it back onto its receiver.

That left her hardly more than an hour.

She swung into action, dashing upstairs to change and to equip herself with supplies and weapons.

She was racing down the stairs when the front door opened—good, reinforcements—but when she got to the bottom, her heart sank when she nearly ran into Grady.

“What is it? What’s happened?” he demanded.

“I have to go,” she said, rushing into the living room for her pocketbook. “It’s Savina. She’s in trouble. I’ve got to get there by half past eight.”

“What’s happened?” He dumped his satchel on the ground and strode over to block her way out of the living room. “You aren’t going to be going off without telling me—or anyone else—what’s going on. Unless Max and Woodmore already know?” He sounded really annoyed, and very determined.

Macey knew she could easily get past Grady—but that would entail putting her hands on him…and that might not be a good idea. Yet he was right. Of course she couldn’t go off without telling anyone what was happening or where she was going—and of course she had been planning to write a note.

She quickly told him about the phone call.