Bound to Shadows Page 0,55

"As much as there are humans who do not wish their addiction known, there are also vampires who feel the same. Besides, Dante himself is a member of the council. Maybe they felt safer there."

Yet they obviously weren't. But I guess being on the council at a time when the general vampire population was extremely unhappy about the clubs and the laws surrounding them might just make them targets, especially if they were seen as hypocrites for patronizing the blood whore clubs. So was that what was going on here? A bit of retribution from the ranks?

Maybe the fact that all three murders happened near Dante's was some sort of warning to him. Maybe he'd pissed the wrong person off - which, according to Jack, wouldn't have been hard.

Still, if that were the case, why attack the other councilors in the first place? Why not go after him direct?

"How could you know all this?" I said, taking another sip of wine and feeling the mellowness grow. A dangerous situation, given the company. I put down the glass and added, "And why were you even there in the first place? We both know your monitoring equipment wouldn't be anywhere near Dante's."

And even if he'd cut into the feed from Dante's own security cameras, none of them had been pointing into the parking lot.

"I'm interviewing all Dante's regular cliental in an effort to get a clearer picture of my target's behavior." He shrugged, a casual movement that didn't match the intensity of his gaze.

"From what I saw in the club, that's a pretty useless exercise. The whores care for nothing more than their next fix."

He shrugged again. "Leaving nothing to chance is a rule I live by."

And something I'd do well to remember. "How can you be sure the three victims and Dante are - were - members of the local council?"

"I'm a siphon, remember, and stakeouts are boring. Let's just say that, when I'm in the club, I amuse myself by seeing how much information I can steal from a vamp's mind before he becomes aware." He contemplated me for a moment. "Haven's shields were nowhere near as strong as yours."

Starke had told me that Haven had been on vacation, and that his first night back was the night he'd been murdered. Meaning either Kye or Starke was lying. But which one? Right now, I had no flaming idea.

"Did you actually see anything the night Haven died?"

"A car taking off in a hurry. A blue Ford, tinted windows. Couldn't see the driver but I did get the plate number." He reached into his pocket, pulled out a slip of paper, and slid it across the table to me.

I ignored it for a moment, meeting his gaze, holding it. "Did you kill Grant Haven?"

"No, I did not." There wasn't a flicker in the blue of his eyes. Nothing to indicate a lie. Part of me wanted to believe him - did believe him - yet I knew this man was a professional killer who could probably lie his way out of hell itself.

There was one way to find out for sure, and yet I couldn't force myself to take that step. Aside from the fact that he was a siphon and able to steal the use of my shields, I didn't really want to get into his thoughts and discover what he really felt about me.

I was too much of a coward to face the reality of that. It was far better for my own emotional stability to keep thinking that this was nothing more than a challenge - a game - to him.

The waiter came in through the side door and began clearing the table. I picked up the paper, taking care not to touch Kye's fingers. His writing was neat, careful - much like the man himself. I folded it up and slipped it into my purse.

"Do you wish dessert?" the waiter asked, once he'd finished clearing the dishes.

Kye glanced at me, eyebrow raised. I shook my head. "No, thanks. I really have to go."

A smile twitched Kye's lush lips, but all he said was, "Just make it the usual. Thanks, Joseph."

"Very good, sir." The waiter departed, closing the door softly behind him. Music drifted through the silence, its beat shifting from the gentle, erotic melodies that had accompanied our dinner to something more upbeat and danceable. I found my foot tapping, and stilled it abruptly.

"Anything else I should know about?" As a dangerous - and sexy - glint sparked