Kiss of the Vampire(45)

“Club rules. The only exceptions are for members of law enforcement.”

“Well, I guess it’s our lucky day.” Dante flipped his jacket to one side to show the man the badge fastened to his belt.

Without another word the doorman reached out a long arm toward the door. “Have an enjoyable evening.” As Tobias walked past him, he said, “It’s good to see you again, sir.”

When the door swung open Nix was assaulted by loud techno rock and the jumble of voices. Scents of perfumes and colognes drifted in the air, plus the smell of lightly and some not-so-lightly perspiring bodies. There were also plenty of vamp pheromones, just as Tobias had warned.

One thing was sure. Dante was going to get an education about prets.

Just inside the doorway he stopped and took a look around. “Wow.”

Nix glanced around the club, trying to see it through his eyes. The place was packed. Out of habit she looked for potential trouble. A gaggle of vamps sat in a large booth in a dimly lit corner; human groupies clustered around offering necks and arms. The dance floor had a mixture of humans and prets, and a few werewolves congregated near the bar, beer in their hands and mischief in their eyes.

“Let’s get a seat in the back,” Tobias suggested, brushing his way past them to lead the way.

As they followed him, Dante leaned over. “I didn’t realize it would be quite so…punkish,” he yelled to Nix over the cacophony of sounds.

“Hopefully the drinks will make up for it,” she responded.

“What?” He leaned closer.

She shook her head. “Let’s get a table,” she shouted, and hurried to catch up with Tobias. They walked past the polished mahogany bar which, amid all the modern sights and sounds, was surprisingly Old West looking. Tobias headed straight for the only available booth, one at the end of the row in the corner. He slid onto the bench on the wall side, doing what Nix would have done had she gotten there first. If you were facing the crowd, no one could sneak up on you.

At this point, though, she’d rather get snuck up on than sit next to Tobias. She sat on the seat across from him. To her surprise, Dante stopped next to Tobias.

“You want to shove over, chief?” he asked.

Tobias looked surprised as well. Instead of sliding over, he eased out of the booth and motioned for Dante to get in. Then Tobias took his seat again and lifted a hand to summon a server.

“I’ve never seen so many EDs in one place,” Dante said. Excitement sparkled in his dark eyes. “It’s fascinating.”

“Easy there, Mr. Spock,” she teased. “Just don’t be surprised if some sort of mayhem breaks out. It usually does.”

“Why?”

“Because most prets, not all, are naturally aggressive. Put a few drinks in them and things get interesting.”

“Ah.”

A young woman with a pen and pad in her hands stopped at their table. “Mr. Caine. It’s nice to see you again.”

Tobias’s lips curved in a genuine smile. “It’s nice to see you again, too, Gretchen.” He looked at Nix. “Know what you want?”

“I’ll have a glass of red wine and some mozzarella sticks.” Now that she had time to think, Nix realized she was hungry again. The small fries and diet cola she’d gotten at the bottom of Mt. Lemmon hadn’t satisfied her for long. “And fried zucchini.”

Dante leaned his elbows on the table. “I’ll take whatever’s on tap. And add some chicken wings to our order, would you?”

“Sure thing, hon,” the waitress said as she scribbled on her pad. “How hot do you want ’em?”

Nix shot Dante a look. “Just how much heat can you handle, Detective?”

“Since we’re talking about food here, for the moment, I’ll admit I don’t like my wings very hot. My women, on the other hand—”

“We’ll take the chipotle barbecue,” Nix said before he could say something to embarrass her.

Dante just grinned and settled back against his seat.

“And for you, Mr. Caine?”

“Red wine with a kick,” he replied.

The waitress finished jotting on her notepad. “I’ll get those drinks right out to you.” She turned and walked away, her gait lithe and sensual.

“Red wine with a kick?” Dante asked, his gaze glued to the waitress.

Nix leaned over the table. “There’ll be a little bit of blood in the wine,” she explained.

Dante’s eyes widened slightly. “No kidding.” He glanced at his seatmate. “Maybe I should be on that side of the table,” he said, pointing toward Nix.

Tobias smiled, a slow tilt of his lips.