dated another kind of loser. It had been Marcus who’d taught me I deserved more. Marcus was the reason I was happily married to two hunky, amazing guys. I would do anything for him, and that included stopping Quinn from cockblocking him.
Quinn ran a hand through his hair. “I understand he needs to feed, but he should respect the fact Summer must be protected. We’ll go to this brugh of hers to sleep. Do you have any books there, or a library perhaps? I need to research a bit. It might help to know something about the plane itself. It might tell us something of why we’re here and how to get back.”
“Yeah, there’s nothing like a library on this plane,” Dean replied. “It’s why this is our hideout plane. There are no authorities, but it’s got great access to other planes. You can get to Tír na nÓg or the Unseelie plane easily. The witch’s plane is accessible. Vampire is super easy to get to. I can pop home to see my mom for the afternoon. If you discount all the shit that can kill you here, it’s practically paradise.”
“I still don’t like it,” Quinn said. “We’re out in the open and apparently with no way of knowing who comes and goes on this plane. I think we should take cover. Is there any way to monitor the authorities who might be looking for Summer? Who knows that you use this plane as your base of operations?”
“Not a lot of people, though my parents do,” Dean allowed. “We put a camera unit on the door to the Vampire plane. There’s this group that’s been trying to arrest Summer for years. Taggart-Lodge Security. Most security on the Vampire plane is privately funded. They mostly come from the military. It’s a way for a poor vamp to move up from the surface. Lodge is a vamp who probably has never once walked on the surface, but Taggart was an impoverished royal who went into the military and blew up a bunch of stuff, and Lodge hired him to do his personal security. I only know because my stepdad tried to get Tag to head Malone security. There was a bidding war and Lodge won. In addition to heading Lodge’s security, they bring in money by collecting bounties. They haven’t tried to capture her lately. I think Summer finally wore the guy down.”
Quinn’s brows rose in obvious consternation. “We need to be monitoring that camera. Did you say Summer just ran a heist?”
“Yeah, but it was on the witch plane.” Dean frowned. “They might mostly use magic, but they know how to operate tech, too. It would be easy for them to contact the vamp plane and put in an arrest request. Let me see that satchel.”
I passed it over, glancing at Quinn because I knew that name from somewhere. “Don’t we have a Taggart Security back in Dallas?”
Quinn nodded tightly. “Yes, we do. They occupy one of the larger buildings on Pearl, though it’s McKay-Taggart Security on our plane. I use them for security at my human business corporation, though Taggart is so sarcastic I’ve thought seriously about unleashing a demon on him. It would be easy to slip one into his office. There are some particularly slimy ones that don’t care about consent that would do.”
I was confused. “So this Taggart guy can jump between the planes? That’s handy. Shouldn’t the Council know about that? I don’t care if his firm handles your human security, if he’s gone transplane, we should have some talks.”
Dev shook his head. “It’s not like that. Think of it like that inevitable episode on every sci-fi fantasy show where the heroes find dark versions of themselves in an alternate timeline.”
Dean’s eyes flared. “I never thought of it that way. Damn. Screw the corporate world. I could get into entertainment. We’ve got this show called Friends about a group of vampires in Manhattan who live on a floor way higher than they should be able to afford. A dark Joey would be awesome.”
Dev’s eyes rolled. “Yeah, humans are far superior when it comes to creativity. Anyway, there are infinite planes of existence but not people, apparently. You can run into yourself. Taggart has a mirror on the Vampire plane. I don’t like the idea that he’s after Summer. If he’s anything like his human counterpart, he’s ruthless. And doesn’t appreciate unique names.”
Dean pulled out what looked like a normal tablet. I was betting I couldn’t connect