Dark Seduction (Vampire Royals of New York #2) - Sarah Piper Page 0,87
Diamante,” she breathed, her smile stretching so wide it hurt her cheeks. “Oh my God. I’m a huge fan of your work. Not just your landscapes, but your portraits and still life—all of it. I’m… Wow. It’s an honor to meet you, sir. I’m… I don’t even know what to say.”
Cole laughed. “Oh, I like her already, Red.”
“Yes, and apparently she likes you too.” Dorian wrapped a possessive arm around her shoulder. “Perhaps you can ask for his autograph, love. Better yet, a studio tour.”
“I’d rather see his lioness, Red,” she said, finally realizing what the man had been cradling in his arm.
Why the hell is he carrying around an ancient Egyptian artifact as if it were a case of beer?
Fangirl moment aside, the whole night had taken a very strange turn, and despite all the friendly banter, Charley couldn’t shake the feeling these three co-conspirators were up to something big.
“All right boys.” She popped her hands on her hips. “Spill it.”
The three of them looked at her with sheepish, guilt-ridden faces.
Charley held out her arms for the statue, and Cole handed it over without protest.
She inspected it carefully—the head of a lioness, the body of a woman. The base was carved with hieroglyphs—spells to aid the royal deceased through his underworld journey.
Charley was shocked. Even in the darkness, she could tell it was the real deal.
“Where did you get this?” she demanded. But then, before any of them could respond, the pieces clicked into place. “Shit. You made contact with Vincent Estas.”
Wisely, Dorian didn’t deny it.
“How much?” she asked.
“Five hundred thousand,” Dorian said. “Cash.”
Charley let out a low whistle. “Personally, I wouldn’t have paid a quarter of that, but to each his own.”
“Do you recognize it?” he asked.
“Sure. It’s Sekhmet.” Despite the circumstances, she couldn’t help but be awed by the beautiful carving, the gold overlay shimmering in the darkness as if it had its own life force. “Part of the vast Egyptian pantheon—a powerful goddess whose breath was said to cause the desert winds. I don’t know much about the cult, but her bloodlust was legendary.”
“I told you,” Aiden said to Dorian. “She was practically the first vampire.”
“Authentic?” Dorian asked.
“One hundred percent,” Charley said. “This piece was discovered in the tomb of King Tut and was reported missing from the museum at Cairo in the seventies. Authorities believed one of the workers stole it, but they could never prove it.”
“Cairo?” Dorian’s brow furrowed. “I was hoping it was from the One Night Stand cache.”
“Sorry to rain on your secret-mission parade, boys.”
“But you said there were several statues of Sekhmet in that cache. Bronze, faience, gilded—”
“Do you know how many Egyptian antiquities are floating around on the black market?” Charley returned the statue to Cole, her frustration mounting. “Hell, Dorian. You can buy a royal mummy if you know the right people. They used to eat them.”
“Is that true?” Aiden asked.
Dorian scoffed. “Forgive me for not knowing the quote unquote right people in your vast underground network of criminals and thieves.”
“You can really buy a mummy?” Aiden asked. “How much do they—”
Charley cut him off with a look that could shrivel his balls.
Dorian sighed. “Fine. It was a long shot, granted.”
“You spent a half-million dollars on a long shot? I’m selling a bridge in Brooklyn if you’re interested.”
“I might be,” he snapped, “if I thought for one moment it would help us nail the bastard who likely wants you and your sister dead, and—lest we forget—is working for the bloody demons, who likely want all of us dead.”
Dorian’s words found their target, piercing Charley’s heart with stunning accuracy.
What could she say to that? He was right, and despite wracking her brain all week for information on Rudy, she hadn’t been able to come up with anything particularly useful.
It wasn’t surprising Dorian had made a move.
She just wished he’d trusted her enough to tell her about it first.
Now, fully taking in the sight of her for the first time since he’d pulled in the driveway—messy bun, leggings, a baggy sweatshirt she’d pilfered from his closet—Dorian said, “What are you doing out here, anyway? Did something happen?”
Silence fell between them, an eerie hush marred only by the crickets and the whisper of dried leaves. Suddenly, all of Charley’s frustration faded, replaced by a deep sense of foreboding.
“I woke up, and you were gone,” she said, the admission leaving her raw. “We said no more secrets, and you snuck out anyway.”
Aiden cleared his throat, a gentle reminder they still had an audience,