Happily Never After (Page 16)

Isa eyed her empty glass before going into the kitchen and pouring another stiff one. No one should have to process this information sober.

"So they’re not all monsters who lie in wait to feed off the blood of the innocent?" she asked hesitantly.

"Some of them are," her grandmother replied with utmost seriousness. "But most of them are decent people who only feed enough to live and don’t kill their donors. Most people who’ve given blood to a vampire don’t even remember it afterward. Their gaze is very powerful, and they have the ability to manipulate both behavior and memories. But being a vampire doesn’t make them a monster, Isa. They’d have to choose that route for themselves."

So that was how Chance had hypnotized her before. So much for his being a freelance magician.

"And apparently shooting a vampire and sinking him to the bottom of the river doesn’t kill one, so what does? A wooden stake through the heart?"

"Silver through the heart. Or decapitation, but a vampire won’t hand you his or her head. Nor will one stand still and let you poke his heart with silver, either. Never try to battle against a vampire, Isa. They can kill you before you even blink."

Isa remembered how fast Chance had moved at the restaurant earlier. She hadn’t even really seen him, he’d only been a blur. Yes, it was easy to believe how deadly vampires could be. Fangs. Mind control. Incredible speed and strength. All of it was very frightening.

… with their stamina, six women for an entire night is simply a healthy start…

Isa jerked her mind out of the gutter. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t all frightening.

"You got Chance involved because of me and Frazier," she said at last. "I guess it makes sense. What’s scarier than a mobster, if not a creature of the night? Well, why hasn’t Chance just… eaten Robert, then? It would be no great loss to the world, in my opinion."

"I’m not sure myself," her grandmother replied slowly. "At first I thought it was because he wanted to make sure Frazier was safe. Then I wondered if he was waiting for some sort of backup from Bones. You know, if Chance intended to clean Robert’s entire gang off the street, he’d get a few more mouths together to feed off them? But I spoke to Bones today, and he was very surprised to hear Chance still hadn’t wrapped things up. So I’m guessing it has to do with you."

"Me?" Isa burst. "What about me?"

Her grandmother sighed. "Youth is truly wasted on the young. Come now, dear. Don’t be stupid."

Isa stared at her. Her grandmother stared right back, unblinking. The thought formed in Isa’s mind, hitting against wall after wall of uncertainty and anticipation.

Could Chance have been stringing along Robert just to spend more time with her? If so, what was she going to do about that? Scream and grab lots of garlic?

Or meet him with her hair up while wearing a low-necked gown?

Isa shook her head to snap out of her mental meanderings. Frazier was out there somewhere, and whatever she did or didn’t feel for Chance, her brother’s safety took priority. If Chance had been deliberately slow about bringing this situation to a conclusion, then she would have to speed him along. After all, if she had a vampire on her side to use as a weapon against Robert, then she was damn well going to point and fire him at the would-be mafioso.

"Do you think he was serious?" Isa asked at last, her gaze sliding toward the still-open window. "About killing the Salucci brothers, I mean?"

"Oh, Isa. With how angry Chance was, in all likelihood, they’re already dead."

Isa looked at her grandmother and wondered how she had ever, ever thought this woman was a straight-laced Italian housewife. That cold glint in her grandmother’s eyes belonged more to a shylock than the gentle old lady who’d raised her.

But as Isa had been reminded via a bullet cut out of her torso by a man who happened to be a vampire, looks were very deceiving.

Chapter 9

With everything that happened, Isa never expected to fall asleep. But after being awake all last night, drinking multiple shots of whiskey while she waited for Chance to return, and then lying down on her grandmother’s couch, she must have dozed off. A soft touch on her cheek made her eyes flutter open. Chance was kneeling next to her, the room cast in shadows. It was dusk. He’d been gone for hours.

"The Salucci brothers?" she asked quietly.

Chance dropped his hand from her face. "You won’t have to worry about them again."

There was a hard satisfaction to his voice that said Isa wasn’t the only one who wouldn’t have to worry about them. Neither would anyone else on the planet. She supposed she should be aghast that Chance had murdered them so easily, but she could only muster up the faintest feeling of… caution.

"What about the police? I’m amazed they haven’t come by yet. With holes shot into my restaurant and my staff telling them I’d been there, I thought for sure they’d come to my grandmother’s asking about me."

"They won’t. I took care of them," Chance replied.

That did make Isa uneasy. "Um, the permanent way?"

Chance smiled faintly. "No. The mind-altering way. After I was done with the Saluccis, I went back to your restaurant and pulled aside the lead detective there. He now believes he’s spoken to you and that you didn’t see who fired the shots. I can’t imagine Robert would say anything to contradict that, whenever he surfaces again."

"So Robert wasn’t hit earlier? He’s okay?"

"For now."

There was that coldness to Chance’s voice again. Isa shivered. The man-no, the vampire-kneeling just a foot away from her had admittedly killed two people today, and from his tone, he wanted to up that number.

"Robert struck you," Chance said, as if reading her thoughts. "You think I’d let him live after that?"

"Robert’s done much worse to a lot more people," Isa countered. "If you’re going to kill him, kill him for them, not for me."

Chance shrugged. "Dead is dead, darling. I suspect those other people will care more about the end result than my motivation."

"I care about your motivation," Isa said sharply.

Green began to swirl in Chance’s blue-gray eyes. "Do you?"

It seemed like he caressed those two words, as if they had a taste he enjoyed. Isa shivered again, but for a different reason this time.

"Why didn’t you show up last night?" she asked, mostly because she was worried about Frazier, but also to cut the growing pull she felt toward Chance. "Was it because of what Paul did to you? I mean… did it take a while, to, ah, heal?"

Chance must have seen her refusal in her gaze, because he stood up and walked to the other side of the room.