Part 22 (1/2)

”Dammit, Carl. You said we were doing the right thing,” a voice said.

”What do I know? I barely pa.s.sed Captivity 101.” ”Just get her down and sit her on the sofa,” said the British accent.

Hands pulled and tugged at me. A few seconds later, I was sitting upright on a burgundy sofa. The blood drained from my head and slowly I started to focus on my surroundings. Impossible at first with a floodlight trained on my face.

”What the-”

”Reposition the light,” the British accent snapped. ”We don't want her going blind right in front of us.”

”Vampires can do that?”

”Dammit, Carl, don't you remember anything from the academy?”

The light s.h.i.+fted. The glare refocused in the vicinity of my knees, and I blinked. This time, I didn 't just see white polka dots.

Instead, I picked up on my surroundings. Small sitting area tastefully decorated in burgundy and brown. A down comforter covered a king-sized bed to my right. A mini-bar sat against the far wall next to a flat-screen TV.

”W-where are we?” I croaked, my lips cracked and dry. My mouth tasted like old gym socks and garlic bread.

”The Holiday Inn,” replied the smooth British accent.

I instantly perked up. ”There's a Holiday Inn in Lonely Fork?”

”It's about forty-five minutes on the opposite side of town, on the way to Fredericksburg,” Merlin replied. ”We don't have to actually stay in town while we wait Mordred out. We just have to be there at the end.”

My gaze found him just in time for the end (after I'd picked my hope off the floor and resigned myself to plastic furniture and polka dot wallpaper). He wore a purple s.h.i.+rt and slacks. Black loafers with ta.s.sels. He still looked like Santa Claus with his rosy cheeks and snow white beard, but a more pimped-out version. ”Starting your own rap label?”

Despite his self-professed sense of humor (if he belted out a knock-knock joke I was going to start bleeding from my ears), he didn't look the least bit amused. His eyes glittered like hard chips and my entire body went ice cold.

”What is this?” My gaze zeroed in on the video camera that sat near the blinding light. ”The confession booth on Big Brother?”

”Training visual. My men watch the tapes so they can focus in on their weak areas and perfect their apprehension techniques.”

His gaze darkened and his pupils flashed like bolts of lightning. ”I told you not to interfere.”

”I didn't interfere. I was buying a toothbrush.”

”You were following Mordred.”

I went for my best laugh. ”Says you. You've got no proof that I was following anyone.”

”We saw her, boss.” The comment came from one of the men standing off to the side, near the video cam. He had brown hair and was dressed cla.s.sic cop-white b.u.t.ton-up s.h.i.+rt, dress slacks, powdered sugar on his collar.

”Yeah,” the other man-blond hair, same outfit but with sprinkles instead of sugar-added. ”She was out for blood.”

”That shows how much you guys know. Blood makes me squeamish.”

”But you're a vampire,” Merlin pointed out, looking surprised for the very first time since I'd met him.

”Yeah, well, we all have our flaws.” I tugged and pulled at the ropes binding my hands, but oddly enough they didn't snap. ”They're reinforced with silver thread, soaked in garlic and fortified with my own binding spell.”

Which totally explained why my fingers and toes felt numb.

A sliver of fear worked its way through me. While I knew it was doubtful that Merlin would off me right here and now (I was a born vamp, after all, and I seriously doubted he wanted to start a civil war between BVs and sorcerers), he did look royally p.i.s.sed.

On top of that, his backup (Cheap and Cheaper) didn't look like the brightest bulbs in the tanning bed. Anger and ignorance didn't make for good judgment, so I wasn't placing any bets on getting out of this situation in one piece.

Still, I wasn't going down without a fight.

I pasted on my most intimidating expression and sent a silent You want to untie me right now to the brunette. My gaze collided with his, but I didn't pick up so much as a name.

I blinked and focused, but ... nothing. ”What did you do to me?”

”My men are protected by a privacy spell that keeps them from being susceptible to the vast number of Others who might want to influence their thoughts. You can't crawl into their heads, vampire. They're immune to you.”

”My name is Lil, thank you very much, and if you untie me now, I won't call Ash and have him report you.” If I couldn't glam my way out, I'd have to try bulls.h.i.+tting.

Merlin chuckled. ”Is that so?”

”Take it to the bank.”

”I should be scared right now, eh?”

”If getting your a.s.s fired scares you, then yeah, I'd be a little squeamish if I were you.”

He chuckled again. ”I'm not getting fired, my dear. See, I've broken no super-natural law.” He spared a glance at the video camera. ”I'm on record with a textbook apprehension.”

”For a were possum,” I reminded him. I pleaded with the video cam. ”This is no way to treat a born vampire. I have rights, you know.” Okay, so I didn't have rights so much as I had a zillion relatives who would be out for blood if Merlin harmed one hair on my ultra-fab head.

”The only thing you have is a death wish. I've already called Ash and told him what you're up to.”

Uh-oh.

”I haven't, however, called our superior and reported the situation.” He smiled then. A cold, callous expression that sent a chill straight through me. ”If I do, your demon friend is going to be in a lot of trouble.”

”But Ash didn't do anything.”

”He investigated a crime scene that was clearly in my jurisdiction, without permission. And he fed you information that should have remained confidential. Both charges are enough to kill his career. He'll be back in h.e.l.l faster than you can run that smart mouth of yours.”

Wow. We're talking fast with a capital F.

”I don't like anyone b.u.t.ting into my business.” He nailed me with a stare. His gaze brightened this time, his pupils s.h.i.+mmering like wisps of smoke. My head felt suddenly very heavy. ”If you continue to follow Mordred, I will make sure that the death you face is far worse than that of your made vampire friend.”

While my sluggish brain couldn't envision an ending that could be worse than getting Ginsued by an evil sorcerer, my gut told me that all-powerful Merlin could come up with something.

I ignored my trembling knees. What? I was in deep doody. I was ent.i.tled to a little raw terror.

”I wasn't following Mordred,” I told him again. ”Seriously. I had no idea he was even here.” When Merlin nailed me with another stare, I added, ”I mean, I knew he was here in this town because you told me after I Googled him, but I wasn't at the store looking for him. I was making an innocent purchase on behalf of my freaked-out friend.”

”She was carrying this.” Cheap held up the pink Colgate number I'd swiped from the store.