"Raj?"
He turned a cool look on his persistent club manager. “How's the new club doing, Santos?"
"Great. We're picking up all the overflow from Chopin's, plus even more with the new location. But we gotta talk about this other thing, Raj."
"You want to talk to someone, get a therapist."
"Damnit, I thought—” Santos's next words were cut off as Raj grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off his feet.
"Do we have a problem, Santos?"
Santos tried to answer but could only gurgle wordlessly. Raj opened his hand and let him fall to the ground, where he remained, crouched on all fours and coughing furiously.
"Forgive me, Master,” Santos finally choked out.
Raj gave him a dismissive glance. “Get the f**k out of my sight."
Santos started to stand, but one look at Raj had him crawling the several feet to the stairway door before dragging himself up to stumble down the stairs.
Raj scowled, listening to the metallic racket of the vamp's footsteps fade away. He returned to his perusal of the street below with a disgusted curse. “I hate that f**king vampire shit,” he said.
"But you do it so well.” The woman's voice was laced with amusement. She strolled out of the shadows to lean over the rail, joining him in his contemplation of the faraway traffic. “He was only asking the question we all want answered, you know. It's been two nights since Raphael left and you still haven't said a word. We're curious."
"You too, Em?"
Raj's lieutenant shrugged. “Me especially."
Raj sighed. “You're all so eager, maybe one of you should take on Krystof instead."
Emelie laughed. It was a low, sensuous sound. “He'd eat me alive. You're the only one, Raj, and we all know it.” She glanced over and away before reversing to brace her back against the cold metal.
"What if I don't do it?” Raj asked quietly. “What if I decide not to get rid of the old man?"
She gave another graceful shrug. “I'm yours, Raj, body and soul. You made me, you own me. My loyalty is yours whether you stick with what you've got or take on Krystof and the whole Northeast.” She paused to lean closer. “But I'm also your friend. And as a friend, I need to understand what's going on so I know whether or not to be worried. You and I both know that Krystof can't last much longer. If you don't take him out, someone else will, and then we'll have a fight on our hands because whoever it is will want this city for himself. Krystof might be content to fester in Buffalo, but no one else will be."
Raj studied the beautiful woman who'd somehow had the strength to become his lieutenant in the dog-eat-dog world of vampire politics. She'd meant what she'd said about being his friend, and her loyalty touched him somewhere he didn't want to admit to. “You know,” he said. “Raphael told me right out that he thought Krystof had lost it. So did Duncan."
Emelie's face showed her surprise. “I thought those guys played it closer to the vest."
"Yeah. It gets better. He offered me an alliance once I take the territory."
"Excuse me?"
Raj laughed. “That was pretty much my reaction, too. He wasn't that blunt, of course, but the meaning was pretty damn clear."
Em absorbed this new information. “Well,” she said finally. “You are the obvious choice. I mean, if he thinks Krystof needs to go, you're stronger than anyone out there, and you know the territory."
"Yeah,” Raj sighed. “And I'm sure as hell not going to stand back and let someone else move in on us, so I guess—” His cell phone rang, playing a distinctive tune that could only mean one thing. “Fuck,” he swore and yanked the phone out of his pocket.
"My lord,” he answered.
"Rajmund,” his Sire, the Vampire Lord Krystof, said silkily. “How did the visit go?"
"Quite well, my lord."
"Excellent. You can tell me all about it when you get here."
"My lord?"