Downbeat (Biting Love) (9 page)

A large man stood behind her like a guard. He scrutinized me with black eyes so deadly my shock blurred him into an impression of topknot, sword handles and vest dripping weapons before I blinked and he was gone.

Zinnia dragged me to the left toward the sitting room, but I planted both feet and resisted. For all of a second. The lady worked out. She pulled me, stumbling, into the waiting area.

“Zinnia, hold on. Someone is with me—”

“Who? I didn’t see anyone else on the stoop.” She dragged me back to the foyer and peered out the peephole. Under her jacket she wore her signature low-rise capris and cropped top showing off her super-flat stomach; Steels encouraged individuality and though Zinnia was a PA now some part of her had never gotten beyond high school cheerleading. As she moved, the diamond stud in her navel caught the bright entrance light and splintered it straight into my eye.

Liese once told me that diamond gave her a headache. I have to admit, it wasn’t just Zinnia’s diamond that gave me a headache. “He’s parking the car. He’ll be here in a moment.”

“He?” Her tone, if possible, brightened. “Who, he? A friend of Mr. Steel’s? Or perhaps of Mr. Emerson or Mr. Strongwell? Is he a supporter of the people of the night? Is he one of us?”

Zinnia had this thing about civil rights for “people of the night”. Liese, when I asked her about it, flushed and stammered and mumbled something about third shift workers. Coupled with her new husband’s unearthly good looks, it had been another whack of the big foam clue bat for me.

Bat. Vampires. Heh.

Damn. Liese and Logan’s propensity to make bad puns was apparently contagious.

Zinnia still waited expectantly for an answer to her “people of the night” question. “He might be,” I said. “But I didn’t ask. I didn’t think it was polite.”

“Ah,” she said sagely. “Very tactful. Why should they have to talk about it? I don’t blather on about my racial minority, do I?”

Zinnia was blonde and blue-eyed and so white-bread her middle name was Yeast.

“What racial minority are you?” I asked politely.

“Canadian. Tell you what. I’ll set the remote bell and we can wait in the sitting room while your friend parks.” She pressed a button then dragged…er, led me back into the waiting area.

The room was festooned with vampires; stenciled vampires, decoupage vampires, and a garland of little paper vampires joined hand to hand. Another swat of the big foam clue bat, if I’d needed it. True, Halloween was only a few weeks away, but she’d put up only fangies. No pumpkins or witches or skeletons for her. She was like the Christmas elf for vampires. If there was a blank space on the wall, there was a vampire thing goin’ there.

“Who was at the door?” Liese wandered in through the room’s back door, her eyes glued to a tablet computer perched on her distended belly. She’d always looked like a German milkmaid with her healthy face and blonde hair, and pregnancy had only increased her glow. “If it’s the band candy kid again, order some more boxes of chocolate turtles from the poor thing.”

“I sold my last band candy years ago,” I said.

She looked up and her face brightened. “Rocky, what a wonderful surprise!” She flung her arms wide and swooped in to hug me. Or more waddled in, but the spirit was there.

I hugged her back carefully. Despite only being seven months along, her body was swollen and she’d mentioned her breasts were tender.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I’ve got information.” I stepped back. Luke’s reaction to Zajicek had been toxic; Logan’s could only be worse. “First there’s a problem. I came here with someone. I don’t want to cause trouble, but—”

“You never want to cause trouble. That’s what I like about you. So different from Nixie and Elena.”

I shook my head. “Be fair. Elena’s police—trouble finds her. And Nixie is Nixie.”

“True.”

“But that’s part of the problem. My friend met up with Julian and Luke and…well, they didn’t fight, but it was uncomfortable. Sharply uncomfortable.” I smiled with my eyeteeth.

She considered me for a second then nodded briskly. “Your news must be pretty important for you to risk coming, if that’s the case.”

“Yes.” That was what I liked about Liese. She was smart and sympathetic. “Actually it was his idea. See, there’s been some difficulty with the CSUCS orchestra—”

“Ah, Ms. Schmetterling. How good to see you again.”

The three of us turned. Zajicek filled the front doorway, his black hair tousled by the wind as if he’d just had a romp in bed, his eyes sparkling wickedly.

Zinnia and Liese gasped. I drooled. Zajicek glided in, all grace and power. A surge of
me want
rolled through my belly. I clenched my abdominals against it. Mistake—the added pressure sheared desire straight through me.

“It’s Steel now.” Liese sounded breathless, and it wasn’t her pregnancy. “Not Schmetterling.”

“My apologies.” He glided in and lifted her hand for a kiss. “I knew that.”

“Zajicek.” A deep, lazy voice came from the other end of the room.

Uh-oh
. Slowly I turned.

Leaning negligently against the doorjamb was a tall, lean, movie-star gorgeous guy with a shoulder-length mane of hair the color of sunshine.

Logan Steel.

He pushed off from the jamb and sauntered toward us. His gold-flecked hazel eyes gleamed with some emotion I couldn’t name—but I sure hoped it wasn’t murder. He has a deceptively lazy gait that covers the ability to leap instantly into action; in battle he’s decisive and deadly.

At least I thought he was. I shook my head. It was kinda fuzzy, courtesy of Mr. Eraserhead Elias.

And then to my utter surprise, Logan extended a hand to Zajicek.

Zajicek shook the offered hand. “Steel. Good to see you again.”

“And you. How’s the spying business?”

Zajicek effected a pained sigh. “Please. I prefer information broker.”

“Alias it up however you want, it still points to the same URL. Hear anything from the enemy camp?”

“Steel, really. If I gave up every secret, who would trust me?”

I was baffled by the almost playful banter. “Are you guys friends? ’Cause when Luke and Julian met Zajicek yesterday, I thought they were going to chop his head off.”

“Use my name,
drahý
.” Zajicek smiled at me, soft and easy. “Dragan. You remember what I’ll do if you don’t, yes?”

Oh yeah, kissing and licking my cheeks—cheeks he’d called luscious.

“Ho-lee cow,” Zinnia said. “I didn’t know a human could turn that bright a red.”

I covered my burning cheeks with both hands. “Look, I just want to know why Logan didn’t try to kill you.”

Zajicek…
Dragan
shrugged. “That’s not my secret to share. You’ll have to ask Steel.”

Logan appraised him with a hazel stare. “That’s what I don’t get about you. You keep everyone’s secrets, except the big one which could kill us all.”

“I must live my life as I see fit.”

“To the point of flouting Elias? You’re either insanely brave or an idiot.”

“A little of both, perhaps.”

“He can’t stop conducting, Logan,” Liese said. “He’s got a gift. Remember when we saw him lead the Chicago Symphony? He has to follow his life’s calling.” Her cheeks pinked. “Or not life, exactly, since that implies alive, but—”

“Your inner engineer is showing, princess.” Logan pulled her into his arms for a quick kiss. “Not every word has to be exact for your meaning to be clear.”

“Your mate is correct, however,” Dragan said. “I must conduct. It is my life.”

Logan raised one blond brow. “Despite how risky it is?”

“Some things are worth the risk.”

“Back to my question,” I said to Logan. “Why aren’t you trying to kill him?”

Liese was still wrapped in his arms. He indicated Dragan with his chin. “He did me a favor. A big one. Besides, I’ve heard his music. I’m not sure it’s worth the risk, but I do understand why he thinks it is.”

“What risk?” I said. “Getting stabbed with a bow by an enraged viola player?”

“Coming to the attention of the wrong people,” Dragan said. “That’s why I’m here, Steel. I’ve taken the podium of Raquel’s orchestra—”

“Raquel?” Logan and Liese both looked at me.

I gave them a short eye roll.

Dragan continued, “I took over last night. Tonight, a member of the orchestra was attacked. I doubt it’s a coincidence. He is now lying vulnerable in the local hospital. Since you’re more disposed to listen to my pleas than Emerson or Strongwell, I’m asking you to put a guard on him. A knowledgeable guard. If you can also protect Mr. Banger, I’d be grateful.”

Logan listened in silence, his face as serious as I’d ever seen it. “Hell. I thought we’d spanked her scrawny ass enough.”

“Her?” I asked.

“It may not be her,” Dragan said. “Attacking civilians is a mistake. Her employer has a three-strikes-and-out policy.”

“And she’s already made two.” Some of Logan’s seriousness lifted. “Now I’m hoping it is her.”

“Guys?” Liese cast a significant glance at me. “Getting into erasing territory here.” She turned her face up to her husband.

Logan’s smile broke out. “I don’t think it’ll be a permanent problem.” He stitched a line with his eyes between me and Dragan, then waggled his brows at his wife.

Her forehead knit for a moment. Suddenly her eyes widened. “Oh, you don’t mean…you can’t think…” She trailed off as her blue gaze considered me, then Dragan, then me again.

And then her cheeks turned bright pink. “Rocky, maybe we ought to get some tea in the kitchen.” She wriggled out of her husband’s arms, grabbed my hand and waddled me toward the back door.

“There’s more,” Dragan was saying as we left the room. “A rumor.”

Liese pulled me through a storage area into the kitchenette, where she shut the door.

I frowned at her. “What was all that about?”

“Zajicek hears things. Sometimes he gives us a heads up.”

“And that erasing-isn’t-a-problem thing, with significant glances at me?”

“Oh, that? It’s nothing. Nothing much. Nothing I can talk about.” She took a kettle and stuck it under the tap, then set it on a small stove and turned on the burner.

“If it means fewer fuzzy memories, I’d like to know.”

“Yeah, um, sorry about that. It’s just, I’m not sure you’d understand.” She took two mugs from a cabinet and handed me one. Then she searched my eyes. “Have you figured out that you’re drop-dead sexy?”

The mug fell from my suddenly nerveless fingers. Luckily it was plastic and bounced on the floor. “I’m
what
?”

She sighed. “Didn’t think so. You’re going to have to pick that up. I can’t bend very well. Logan has to tie my shoes.”

“I’m sorry, I was just surprised.” I bent to pick up the cup. I was shocked, actually. Why would she say that?

Although come to think of it, Dragan had said sort of the same thing.

Only one possible explanation. Both of them were nuts.

She held out a box with a selection of tea packets. “Since any conclusion you make based on false assumptions will be false, telling you is counterproductive.”

“In English?” I said politely as I picked one.

“Sorry.” She shook her head. “There’s no point in telling you what my husband made me realize about you and Zajicek. You wouldn’t believe it.” She picked out a packet of green tea and set the box aside.

“I don’t suppose you could tell me anyway?”

“Well…” The kettle whistled and she spent a moment dealing with hot water and honey. “How do you feel about him?”

“Zajicek?” Before I’d met him, even his name made my insides hot and tingly. Now, being wrapped in his strong arms, his lips on mine, well, the heat had exploded into a lust volcano.

“Ooookay. No words needed. Look, if you ever want to talk, come to me, okay?”

“Yeah. Um, sure.” My ears were burning at how obvious I was, and I decided I didn’t want to know everything as badly as I thought. Time to change the subject. “So tell me, why is Luke in town? Doesn’t he live in Iowa?”

“He wanted to be here when the babies are born.” She motored herself and her tea to a small table and eased herself onto a chair.

“But you’ve still got another couple months, right?” I sat next to her.

“Twins often come early. And frankly, Luke is a bit antsy about pregnant mates since he thinks his wife was pregnant when she was murdered.”

I stirred my tea self-consciously. “I didn’t know that.”

“Well, why would you?” She said it matter-of-factly, another of the things I liked about her. Sweet-natured, she didn’t clobber me when I screwed up, more often than I liked because, while I knew the finest points of symphony etiquette, when it came to social scripts I pulled major boners. She sipped tea. “Did you want to tell me why you came here?”

“Yes.” I pushed aside my doubts and got down to business. I told her about Triana’s vampire, although I didn’t use the v-word.

“She said that?” Liese frowned. “Bigger than big, badder than bad?”