Kathryn gave a mental shrug. So he knew she was off the reservation on this one. Powerful men always had ways of finding out things, and she didn’t make the mistake of thinking Donlon was any less powerful just because he was a vampire. If anything, it was likely to make him more powerful. He could bring to bear not just economic and business pressure, but that visceral fear of the unknown as well. She had hoped to milk her FBI connection a bit longer, but . . . she sighed inwardly. It looked as if she’d have to play nice with this incredibly handsome bastard, after all.
She met Donlon’s cool gaze evenly and gave an easy shrug. “It was worth a shot,” she said, sitting down again. “Yes, I’m on my own for this one, and, yes, my superiors would rather I leave it alone. But I suspect their reluctance stems in large part from a desire not to piss you off. I don’t really care about pissing you off. I just want my brother back, and I think you or your people know something about what happened to him.”
“Just because he went to a vampire bar?” Donlon slouched back comfortably into his big chair. Did the man ever sit up straight? “There are many bars in South Dakota,” he continued. “And very few of them are owned by vampires.”
“Yes, but I have a witness who saw him leaving your bar with someone they say is a vampire. And that’s the last time anyone saw my brother.”
“Who’s the witness, and what’s the vampire’s name?”
“I won’t tell you that,” Kathryn said instantly. The last thing she wanted was to have Donlon discover that her only witness was in Afghanistan. “But he’s been to the club before, and he’s certain the man leaving with my brother is a vampire.”
“How can he be sure?”
“Because—” Kathryn looked away from the vampire’s too perceptive gaze, feeling her cheeks heat with embarrassment. “—he claims to have been with the vampire in question. I assumed he meant sex, but now that you’ve explained . . . what you’ve explained . . .”
She chanced a glance at Donlon and found him watching her with blatant amusement.
“It’s usually the same thing, Kathryn,” Donlon said, clearly enjoying the moment. “Taking blood from the vein is a very sensuous experience. Sex usually follows. Or precedes. Or sometimes even both,” he added with a teasing grin.
Kathryn bit her already sore tongue, using the pain to center herself. She was not here for Lucas Asshole Donlon’s amusement.
“You don’t know me, Lord Donlon,” she said tightly. “Oh, I’m sure you know the basics, maybe even more than that. But you don’t know me. I love my brother, and I will move heaven and earth to find him. I will be the thorn in your side, the stone under your foot. I will make f**king with your existence my damn mission in life until I find out what happened to him.”
“And if he’s dead?”
The air left Kathryn’s lungs. She hadn’t dared to ask herself that question. Hadn’t dared to even consider the possibility. She forced herself to meet Donlon’s curious stare.
“If he’s dead,” she said in a thin voice she didn’t recognize. “Then I want to take him home.”
Donlon’s gaze softened with something close to pity. But she didn’t want his pity. She drew a deep breath and stiffened her spine.
“The vampire you’re looking for,” he said. “He’s not one of mine.”
“How do you know?” she demanded.
He leaned forward, golden eyes glittering. “Because I’ve asked my people,” he said in a hard voice, “and I trust them. What’s the vampire’s name?”
Kathryn thought about not telling him, but decided he couldn’t help her if he didn’t know whom to look for. And if he wasn’t willing to help her, it wouldn’t matter anyway.
“Alex,” she said. “The witness didn’t know a last name.”
Donlon frowned. “There is no Alex among my vampires, not locally.” He glanced briefly at Nicholas, and Kathryn would have sworn there was some communication going on there. She also noticed that he’d said not locally. Did that mean there was an Alex somewhere else, and they suspected he’d moved into the area? Or that this Alex visited on occasion? She drew a breath to ask him, but he turned his attention back to her, and she waited to see what his next move would be.
His scowl was still in place, but then, suddenly, as if a curtain had been drawn, everything about him changed. The sardonic gleam was back in his eyes and his mouth quirked into a cynical half-grin as he winked at her. “Tell you what, Kathryn. Come back Friday evening, and we’ll take a tour of the club. You can ask around yourself.”
Kathryn studied him distrustfully. “But today’s only Wednesday, Why do we have to wait so long?”
“Because the club isn’t open,” he explained slowly, as if she should have known that. “Friday through Sunday only.”
Shit! Kathryn thought to herself. Possibly her best lead, and she had to sit on her hands for two more days?
“What if they won’t talk to me? I mean the vampires and whoever else is at the club.”
“Trust me, they’ll talk to you,” he said silkily. “But I’ll do even better, since I’m certain you’d rather not postpone your investigation while you wait. I’ll make some inquiries here and elsewhere. Come back tomorrow night, and perhaps I’ll have something for you.”
Kathryn wondered about Lucas’s almost Jekyll and Hyde transformation, but even more, about his sudden willingness to cooperate. Did he know more than he was admitting?
“You could just call me if you find something,” she said ungraciously.