and reputation didn’t exist in any city without tension. He was a fire vampire and a powerful one. It was only through Beatrice’s influence and her mate’s desire for a low profile that Giovanni and Ernesto could exist in the same city without killing each other. For Ernesto to look weak to Beatrice’s husband would tilt the alliance in Giovanni’s favor, which would throw off the delicate balance of power.
Matt heaved a sigh Baojia could hear from 120 miles away, even without the phone connection. “I swear vampires are like kids in high school some days.”
Baojia chuckled, knowing exactly what Matt meant. “Some of us act our age, human.”
“That’s because you’re the guy who has to clean shit up when things get messy.”
He smiled. Matt was human, but Baojia still considered him a peer, and a competent one at that. He’d tried for years to get Matt to work for him, but the human preferred his more low-key role underspay role the fire vampire’s aegis.
“We have to make sure Beatrice doesn’t hear about it,” Dez said. “She and Natalie were friends, too. If B hears that Natalie may be in trouble—”
“She and Gio will step in,” Matt added. “And if they step in—”
“I won’t have to worry about being stuck in San Diego anymore,” Baojia said. “Because Ernesto will kill me.”
“You said it, not me.”
“All right. Let me dig around down here.” He walked to the giant windows that looked over the water and crossed his arms. How was he going to poke around without raising Ivan’s ire? Or Ernesto’s? And why was he still concerned about that annoying human woman who had complicated his life? “Just distract your friend, Dez. However you can.”
“I’ll do my best,” Dez said as a baby cried in the background. He’d forgotten Matt had recently become a father. “I gotta go.” There was a slight pause. “Baojia?”
“Yes?”
“I know I’ve kind of made a mess of things, but Natalie’s a really great person. And she’s really dedicated to helping people with her work. Just… keep that in mind. I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to her. If she gets in trouble, will you help her?”
He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to ignore the weight of obligation she was thrusting on him. Damn woman. Once he was given a job, he was incapable of not seeing it through.
“Baojia, please.”
He shook his head in resignation. “I’ll do what I can to keep her safe.”
Shit, shit, shit. Why couldn’t he just say no?
“Thank you. I won’t forget it.”
Neither will I. In fact, Baojia had a feeling there was a lot about this situation he wouldn’t forget anytime soon.
Despite the new complications in his life, Baojia walked into Boca that night in a better mood than he’d enjoyed in months. Maybe years. He ignored the boring pulse of music and the human women who tried to catch his eye. He nodded once to Luis, then ducked into his office to call Paula, trying not to smile. For the first time in almost two years, he wasn’t bored out of his mind.
He dialed the old-fashioned rotary phone and swirled the ice water the waitress brought back. He was watching the ice cubes tumble when his sister answered.
“¿Cómo?”
“Paulita.” He slipped into Spanish. “What are you doing tonight?”
“Hermanito, Rory complained all last night about spreadsheets and résumés. What are you doing to my husband?”
He smiled. One of the things he disliked most about being in San Diego was missing the company of Paula. There were few vampires or humans he liked spending time with, but Paula was one. “It’s not my fault he doesn’t have your keen appreciation for numbers. What’s going on at home?”
“Oh, the usual. Lots of meetings with the accountants as we get ready for the end of the fiscal year. And there’s a trade meeting with a Japanese company that Father seems anxious about.”
“Any security concerns? Human or vampire?”
“Human. And not that I know of,” she said. “It’s more financial. Their earnings reports don’t seem to match their investment activity…” She started in on a litany of business information he would catalogue and examine later. Ernesto’s shipping inte="1hippingrests had shifted in the past forty years to focus on Asia, which created new balances of power and influence that Baojia had to keep track of. He had a hard time getting excited about the business side like Paula did, but the political and security ramifications were interesting.
Power followed money in the vampire world, and both fed into