“Thanks so much,” I said sarcastically.
“You’re welcome.”
The line disconnected. Bastard.
How could he go along with my plan and still manage to piss me off?
Shaking off the encounter, I dialled Laurel next.
“Hey, Loz. Did you hear that?”
“It’s not polite to listen in to our master’s conversations.”
That’s a yes. “Could you, Kelsea, and Josie take me across the road to Yellow Otter?”
“Of course. I’ll put the rest of your team on standby.”
Totally listened in.
I smirked. “Cool, I need to get ready, and I assume you guys will try to go as Jessica Alba during her Dark Angel days. So come up here to change, please.”
“You don’t want us to dress like Jessica Alba this time?” she asked.
Her innocent tone didn’t fool me for a second.
“I dressed in leather one time,” I huffed, hanging up.
I’d never live that down.
When they arrived, I was ready with my pen and notepad.
Was I sure that the trio weren’t the ones who’d blabbed to Clan Fyrlia and triggered the attack on me? Nope. But I really hoped I wasn’t mistaken in them. These three genuinely seemed to like my company.
I sighed at their Indebted uniforms as they huddled in the doorway.
I’d convince them against leather if it was the last thing I did. “Grab clothes off the rack suitable for a wine bar. Your objective is to fit in. Humans hate standing out.”
Laurel watched me closely.
Winking, I jotted a note on the pad.
Don’t respond to my notes out loud.
How far away can you hear my heartbeat in this building?
She scanned the message and nudged the other two, who were scouring my clothing racks.
Kelsea and Josie read the note, their eyes flicking to mine.
Laurel grabbed the pen from me.
Two levels average. Four levels at most.
Everyone I was interested in should either be on Lower Level 4, Level 44, or Level 66. I wrote:
I need your phones.
The part of the plan that didn’t sit well with me. The bond between the Indebted was for real. If the trio was aware one of their sisters and brothers was the spy, they could try to warn them.
Laurel’s mouth tightened, but she passed her phone over, the others following suit. I grimaced, hoping to convey that I appreciated their trust in me.
“What’s going on?” Kelsea mouthed.
I pulled out a set of instructions I’d written earlier, handing it to Kelsea and Josie. Scribbling as quickly as possible, I passed a second message to Laurel.
Understanding dawned on the older vampire’s face as she finished reading it.
Kelsea and Josie were yet to connect the dots.
I cast all three of them a stern look, holding up the final pre-prepared message.
From now on, we must be careful of every word we speak. The four of us are together and heading to the Yellow Otter. Don’t mention any other details aloud.
I’d underlined the last sentence, and the other two finally seemed to grasp what was happening.
Now the fun could begin.
Expression serious, I said cheerfully, “Did you guys find something to wear?”
Laurel turned to the rack, wrinkling her nose.
I cracked a grin. “What? You don’t like anything other than black leather?”
“Exactly,” she answered, brows lifted at the selection before her.
“You wore that dress to the club one time.”
She lifted a shoulder. “I pretended it was black. You’re wearing black now. Is that all the black you’ve got?”
“My jeans are soaked with compost juice, so yeah.” I perused the rack, drawing a slinky dark green dress from a hanger. “This one for you.”
Laurel took the dress, sighing.
Holding back a snicker, I drew out a high-waisted sleeve skirt and crop top for Josie, and dress shorts and blazer with a spangled top for Kelsea.
“Change,” I bellowed, clapping my hands. “We’re drinking wine tonight.”
“We’re drinking with you?” Kelsea called from the bathroom.
“Probably should have mentioned that part. Well, can you guys drink on guard duty? If not, I’d still like your company as I drink myself into oblivion.”
“It takes a lot of alcohol to get a Vissimo drunk,” Josie said. “I drank a bottle of absinth one time and felt a pleasant warmth in my stomach.”
“Right. That’s… something else. I guess a few wines won’t register.”
My nerves ramped up as the vampires changed their outfits. All the pieces were in place, I was certain. This wasn’t my first rodeo. I’d used this exact same ploy on my rich friends as a teen. That was about the time I came to understand the kind of people they were—or felt they had to be.
I wasn’t nervous my plan would fail. I was nervous it would point the finger at someone I liked. But this spy had killed twelve Vissimo, put me in a situation where I killed another being and nearly died myself, and forced me closer to Kyros than either of us ever intended to be.
They had a lot to answer for.
I checked Beast.
“Happy hour will start soon,” I said. “Shall we, ladies?”
Laurel was still standing. “Will this place have tequila shots like last time?”
I swept the trio with a shrewd look. If I had to guess, I’d say they were disappointed we weren’t really heading out to drink. Guess they didn’t get to party a lot.
Or at all.
“Yep, should do,” I said as we walked toward the elevator. “Their main focus will be wine though.”
“I like tequila,” Laurel announced, pushing the call button.
I laughed. “I second that, girl.”
Ding!
Kelsea and Josie stepped on, and I waved at them as the doors closed. Go time.
I held my finger to my lips for Laurel’s sake, and she merely dipped her head and then bodily picked me up.
“Where to?” she mouthed.
“End of hall,” I mouthed back.
On whisper-soft feet, Laurel snuck us down to the other end of the hall.
I opened the door as quietly as possible and she deposited me in front of the windows overlooking the street below.
More importantly, I had a view of Yellow Otter.
As silently as possible, I drew the binoculars out of my pack.
Laurel drew my notebook closer, crouching beside me.
She wrote:
Who do you suspect?
Pulling a face, I turned to the last page of the notebook and pointed at a list of fifteen names. On it were several vampires from Level 44, as well as one of Kyros’s seconds who didn’t seem to like me much, Angelica’s name, and a list of Indebted who’d been close to me before Clan Fyrlia’s ambush. None of my personal crew’s names were on there. There were others I’d considered. Since I was a human who’d exchanged blood with the crown prince of Sundulus, there could be jealous exes, friends of Kyros’s who were trying to rid him of the human problem. Perhaps I’d pissed someone or other off by securing so many houses—though I’d be surprised to find that was the case. This clan was united in their goal. They’d only ever congratulated me and tried to hang damn pictures of the secured houses in my office.