Marny (16 page)

The first door she came to was locked. So
were the next two. The fourth stood ajar, revealing another
bathroom.

She slipped in and, by the light filtering in
from the hall, made a quick inspection. Unlike the club’s public
bathrooms, this one seemed to be in personal use. By a guy, if the
bulky razor, spice-scented shaving cream, and lack of makeup were
any indication. Not to mention the damp towel on the floor. She
resisted the urge to pick it up.

The end of the hall opened into a kitchen
that was clearly more than just a break room. The cupboards were
stocked with food, and a few dirty bowls cluttered the sink. Marny
opened the fridge.

“Looking for a snack?” The low,
dangerous-sounding voice behind her made her whirl.

A tall, lean guy stood there, something
predatory in his stance. His gray eyes and strong chin looked
familiar… ah, yes. Nyx Spenser. Anjah had been right—he was
good-looking. Or would be, if his eyes weren’t narrowed and his
mouth set with anger.

“Sorry.” Marny let the fridge door close.
“I’ll just go now.”

She strode toward him, but he didn’t move.
Surprising, since most people got out of her way once she was in
motion. Though he wasn’t a bulky guy, she could see the outline of
muscles under his black T-shirt.

Finally she halted, way too close to him for
comfort. Their eyes met, almost exactly at the same level. His gray
irises held flecks of dark green. His breath smelled like mint.

Despite the sudden hitch in her chest, she
wasn’t going to budge. No way was she letting Nyx Spenser
intimidate her. Even if she had totally been prying into his
private space.

The knowledge made her drop her gaze.

“Sorry isn’t good enough,” he said.

She was so close to him she could almost feel
the words vibrating out of his chest.

“It’s all you’re going to get.” She made to
move past him, but he reached and took her wrist in a surprisingly
strong grip.

“I don’t want this to turn physical,” he
said. “But unless you explain what you were doing back here, I’m
calling the cops and charging you with trespassing.”

For a second, she considered letting him do
just that. But she didn’t want any black marks on her name—not to
mention what Intertech would think of one of their interns being
taken in by the police. She was on shaky ground with von Coburg as
it was. No need to make things worse.

“All right.” She stepped back, and Nyx let go
of her wrist. “I was…”

The intensity of his stare didn’t fade, and
somehow she knew he wouldn’t take any lame excuses, like she was
hungry and looking for something to eat. She wouldn’t believe it
herself, if their positions were reversed.

“I was looking around. I wanted to see how
you’d set up your… installation.”

One of his brows rose. “By poking through my
fridge?”

“You never know.” She gave him a small
shrug.

“What’s your name?”

“Marny.” She wouldn’t give him more than
that.

He waited, obviously wanting a last name, but
she remained silent, refusing to look away from his penetrating
gaze.

At last he frowned. “Okay, Marny Noname. How
my club is set up is none of your business, but I’ll let it go this
time. Since it’s opening night. But if I ever find you creeping
around again, I’ll make good on that trespassing charge.”

Marny leaned forward. “I
don’t
creep around
.”

“Keep it that way.” Nyx gestured toward the
hall. “I’ll escort you back to the club.”

Marny studied him a moment, looking for any
trace of faerie magic clinging to him. He didn’t transform into a
hideous goblin. Nothing glowed or shimmered at the corners of her
vision, and she had to conclude he seemed to be an ordinary
human.

One with a piece of the Realm of Faerie in
the center of his club.

Then realization shocked
through her, like she’d been doused with a bucket of freezing
water, and she sucked in a quick breath. She’d been an idiot. The
reason he looked so familiar was because
his
was the face in the dream she’d
had. Which, added to the magical trees out front, made perfect
sense.

“Tell me about the forest,” she said, slowly
walking out of the kitchen.

“It’s a proprietary technique.”

“Does VirtuMax know you’ve stolen part of
their Feyland game?”

Sometimes the best defense was a strong
offense. And she couldn’t tell how much he knew about the Realm, or
the existence of magic. It was a tricky subject to bring up.

His expression remained impassive, but his
eyes widened slightly.

“Are you some kind of corporate spy?” he
countered.

“I have connections.” Let him stew on that.
“I’m sure the company would be very interested to find out you’ve
appropriated their images.”

Something flickered in his eyes—guilty
secrets. “If they can prove I’ve stolen something under trademark
or copyright, more power to them. I don’t think you’ll find a
forest exactly like this in-game.”

Thinking it over, Marny nearly missed a step.
Was he right? She couldn’t remember whether the silvery-leafed
trees appeared in the basic game of Feyland, or only when a person
entered the Realm.

Nyx held open the heavy curtain, then
followed her into the crowded warehouse. The music was too loud to
continue their conversation, but that was fine. She hadn’t yet
figured out how to crack his cool façade. Not to mention
determining if they were all standing on the brink of unspeakable
disaster.

Thoughts whirling, Marny headed to the juice
bar where Anjah sat waiting for her. Nyx followed right behind,
quiet and dangerous.

“There you are,” her roomie said, setting
down her half-empty glass of fizzy pink liquid. Then her gaze went
to the guy standing at Marny’s shoulder and a sly smile crossed her
face. “Well, look who you found. Nyx Spenser, I presume?”

She held out an elegant hand, and Nyx took
it, bowing slightly. “Charmed. And you are?”

“Anjah Lee.” She batted her eyelashes at
him.

“Welcome to Club Mysteria,” he said. “Excuse
me a moment.”

He headed to the end of the bar, where the
light-haired girl joined him. They began a low-voiced conversation,
and Marny could feel Nyx watching her.

“My goodness.” Anjah gave her conspiratorial
look. “I see I’ve underestimated you, Marny. Not even here for five
minutes, and you managed to drag the handsome Mr. Spenser out of
hiding. You must have hidden talents.”

“I suppose.” Many picked up the drink waiting
for her on the bar.

The glass was cold, the pink liquid bubbling
slightly. She took a sip, then set it back down, the too-sweet
flavor lingering on her tongue. Glancing down the bar, she saw that
Nyx was gone and the barista girl had returned to making juice.
Still, she knew he had her under surveillance.

“Too bad,” Anjah said, noticing the club
owner’s absence. “Are you ready?”

“For what?”

Anjah slid off the barstool she’d been
perched on and shot Marny a grin over her shoulder. “To enter the
magical woods, of course. Come on.”

It was the only thing left to do. Squaring
her shoulders, Marny followed her roomie straight into the
enchanted forest.

F
rom the dark corner he’d claimed as his vantage point, Nyx
watched Marny Noname and her shiny friend Anjah Lee head into the
enchanted forest.

He should’ve known a simple curtain wouldn’t
keep people out of his private space. Closing the hallway off had
just moved from the bottom of his priority pile to the top. First
thing tomorrow, he’d get the carpenters to install a real door.

What had she been doing back there, anyway?
What was she hoping to find? She didn’t give off a criminal vibe.
But she hadn’t denied being a corporate spy, either.

After the club closed, he’d do some serious
digging and discover everything the ’net would yield about the
mysterious Marny.

Other than that one incident, though, the
night was going well. The club was hopping, and he’d told the hired
doorman/bouncer to be careful not to let in more people than the
fire code allowed. That would be the quickest way to get shut down,
and Nyx was sure a couple plainclothes police mingled in the crowd.
It only made sense, and the Newpoint chief of police was generally
acknowledged to be a smart lady.

Emmie’s pale hair shone as she came over to
where he stood.

“So, who’s the girl you told me to watch?”
she asked.

“Not sure yet.” Nyx folded his arms and
searched the trees for a glimpse of her.

For a big girl, she moved well—balanced on
her feet and graceful, like she knew exactly where her body was in
space.

“What was she doing back in the living
area?”

“Looking around.”

He’d been an idiot to ignore the fact that
VirtuMax would want some hefty licensing fees once they discovered
he was using their images. Or at least that was how they’d perceive
it.

Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission
though, right? He could probably afford it, judging by how well the
opening seemed to be going. And frankly, what he’d told Marny was
true; the enchanted forest he was using was subtly different from
what lay inside the game of Feyland.

His mind skidded away from why that might
be.

“Are you okay?” Emmie scanned his face.

“Just thinking. There’s a line for the juice
bar—you better get back.”

“Slave driver.” She gave him a look, but
there wasn’t real heat to it.

They both knew she was loving every minute of
being a juice jockey. Not to mention he was paying both her and
Sula a more-than-decent wage.

“Well, don’t think too hard,” she said.
“Don’t want to strain your brain.”

Without waiting for his comeback, she headed
to the bar, and Nyx returned to scanning the forest. Bright green
flashed between the trees, and pretty soon the short woman Marny
had come with stepped out, smiling.

Marny followed right behind. She sent a
thoughtful glance back into the woods, her expression a little less
tight about the eyes than when she’d gone in. What had she been
afraid of finding in there?

She’d recognized the forest as being
associated with Feyland, so obviously she was a gamer. Well, that
or she worked for VirtuMax, but he doubted the corporation would be
sending spies to his club on opening night. They had no reason
to.

He’d never leaked any vids—plus he had
jammers on in the warehouse. Nobody was going to be able to film
anything inside the club unless they had government-level tech.

So, her arrival tonight was just coincidence,
and he was jumping to conclusions. Marny was only a nosy girl who
had gotten caught.

Maybe.

He spent the next hour keeping an eye on her.
She talked some with her friend, and then the shorter girl hit the
dance floor with two interested guys. Slowly, and so casually that
it wouldn’t be obvious unless you were watching her, Marny made her
way around the entire perimeter of the warehouse. At least, she
tried.

It wasn’t nice to laugh, but he couldn’t help
smiling when she kept entering the forest at one point and walking
out in nearly the same place, an annoyed look on her face. Finally
she settled for going along the side walls, stopping when she hit
the trees, and looking all around.

There was nothing to see. He’d hidden the
anchors in secret compartments he’d managed to install. Nobody
except him even knew they were there.

At last Marny gave up and went back to the
juice bar. There was a stubborn set to her face that didn’t bode
well for him, but he still wasn’t sure what sort of trouble she
might cause. After sipping at her drink for half an hour, she went
to talk to her friend. The other girl shook her head, and Marny
didn’t spend too much time arguing with her, merely nodded and
headed for the door.

Nyx fought the urge to follow her as she
left. It was opening night of his club, for sim’s sake. He couldn’t
just walk out on his grand achievement.

Besides, he had the feeling she’d be
back.

Around two in the morning, the crowd quieted
down. Nyx had his doorman shoo everybody out and lock the door as
he left. Emmie and Sula cleaned up the juice bar while Nyx counted
the take. It had been a good night.

“Great job,” he told the girls. “You guys
head to bed.”

He’d set up one of the extra offices as a
guest room as soon as he realized Emmie would be working for him.
It wasn’t reasonable or safe to send her home on the bus in the
middle of the night. He’d made it a condition of her employment
that she, and any of her friends on the late night shift with her,
stayed over at the club and went home in the morning.