Sucker Punch (First Fangs Club #3) - Kristen Painter Page 0,71
straight to the front desk. “Hawke Fitzhugh.”
The doorman got to his feet. His back was to Temo and Donna, but his voice had a wariness to it. He already sounded smarter than Fitzhugh. “And you are?”
“A reckoning. Get him down here now.”
“Miss, ma’am, I need your name and—”
A gleam of light and Cammie’s sword was at the man’s throat. “Fitzhugh. Now. I won’t ask again.”
Donna sat up straighter. “Mary and Joseph. I didn’t know she could move that fast.”
Temo nodded. “You should have seen her at the raid. Your sister’s got skills, boss.”
“She did try to tell me that.”
The doorman had the phone in his hand. “Governor Fitzhugh? There’s someone in the lobby who’d like to speak to you. Yes, sir. I don’t think so. Very good, sir.”
He put the phone to his chest. “He’s unable to come down, but if you leave your name and number—”
“I will burn the building down if he’s not in this lobby in two minutes.”
An audible gulp could be heard. The doorman put the phone back to his ear. “Sir, if you could just come down… Yes, sir, I understand that, but…as you wish.”
The phone returned to his chest. “Governor Fitzhugh is unable to—”
With her other hand, Cammie whipped out the crossbow. The end of the notched arrow burst into flames a split second before she shot it into the wall next to him. It twanged home in an enormous oil painting hanging there, setting it on fire.
“Governor Fitzhugh, get down here now, or I will file a complaint against you with the co-op.” The doorman slammed the phone down and grabbed a fire extinguisher from under the desk. As he went to work putting out the growing inferno, Cammie returned both her weapons to their rightful places.
Donna’s mouth was open. She looked at Temo. “You’re seeing this, too, right? She just shot a flaming arrow into that painting?”
He nodded. “She did. Good thing she didn’t break those out during the raid. Remind me never to get on her bad side.”
“I hear you.”
A soft ding brought their attention back to the lobby. The elevator had arrived.
A moment later, Fitzhugh walked into the middle of the lobby. He was in sweatpants, a faded T-shirt, and bedroom slippers, which made him look more like someone’s grumpy dad than the vampire playboy he loved to play at. Granted, the slippers were Gucci, but still.
Donna lifted her phone and took a few pictures. “Wait until Charlie sees him in that getup.”
Fitzhugh took a quick look at the smoldering painting. He managed not to react too much. He put his hands on his hips and stared at Cammie. “What’s this all about?”
Cammie approached him. “I am a noble knight of the Venari, and I have come to issue you a warning, Hawke Fitzhugh.”
He swallowed and dropped his hands to his sides. Then he raised his chin slightly. “So what? The Venari don’t scare me.”
Cammie made a slight hand movement, and a ball of fire exploded at Fitzhugh’s feet. He lurched away. She kept talking. “Pay attention, vampire. This warning won’t be repeated. Your behavior is being monitored. Your actions and decisions may have less-than-desirable consequences.”
“My actions and decisions?” He barked out a weak laugh. “You’re bluffing. You don’t have a clue what—”
“You have contacted the Immortus Concilio twice in as many days, have you not?”
He blinked, but said nothing.
“As you know, the Venari never bluff.”
He scowled at her. “I’ve had enough of this. You can tell whoever sent you that they need to stay out of my business. Out of all vampire business.”
Then he turned and strode back to the elevators.
Cammie stared after him. “Mind yourself, vampire. If I have to return, it will not end well for you. And ashes make such a mess.”
He spun around and gave her the finger.
She faked a lunge toward him. He jerked back with a whimper and ran into the wall behind him.
Cammie walked out. Donna couldn’t see her face thanks to the leather hood, but Donna had to guess she was smiling. That had been a pretty impressive display. Cammie headed away from the building, back the way she’d come.
Temo hopped out and got back into the driver’s seat. A few minutes later, he pulled alongside Cammie.
He came to a stop, and she got in, pushing her cowl off her face. “That definitely gave him something to think about.”
“Well, it gave me a lot to think about. That was very impressive. I had no idea.”