Scarlet Assassin Page 4

  “Is there a difference? He says he doesn’t know where De Marcus is—”

  “Bullshit.” AJ slammed her fist on the table. “He’s protecting the bastard.”

  “I have no doubt. Butch knows exactly where he’s at, or what he’s involved in. I’m thinking the coven is protecting him for a reason.”

  “Why? He’s violated every tenant they hold up as law to the rest of the coven and yet they let him live. Why?”

  “I told Butch to be careful, he could find himself going down with De Marcus.”

  “You threatened the High Lord? I bet he didn’t appreciate that.”

  “Look, this was just a job at first. That changed when I found out De Marcus was after Clarissa, but Butch is making it personal. I think he’s trying to get me to come back into the coven. Said as much in our conversation. He said the coven is extending its reach. He claims they’re deep in East Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. They don’t seem to mind that some masters are even turning druggies and gang-bangers. As long as they’re fighting amongst themselves he doesn’t care. A family is a family.”

  Selene stood and walked back over to the window, staring down at the people walking in the waning light of the sun. If they only knew what was waiting around the corner for some of them. The towering apartments hugging the sprawling park were like cement crypts. Only they lived in these, but soon for some of them, they would be just that, their crypts.

  “I’m going to the coven and talk to Butch. The bastard owes me an explanation. De Marcus tried to kill me and Clarissa, and I’m not going to allow them to hide him. They can offer him up willingly or they can pay the price. I don’t care.”

  “I wouldn’t do that.”

  “Why? They don’t own me. I’ve paid my debt long ago. My master is dead. I’m free to do what I want, Selene.”

  “Look, he made it clear that he has more resources, and could make our lives miserable.”

  “Big talk for an asshole who hasn’t seen daylight in centuries.”

  “I wouldn’t underestimate him, AJ. He wasn’t kidding when he said he would take out a mark on us.”

  “I’m surprised, Selene. It sounds like you’re afraid.”

  Selene wasn’t afraid, just cautious. She didn’t overplay her hand and she definitely didn’t make empty threats. Unlike AJ, she rarely let emotion set her pace. A slow, methodically thought out plan would bring De Marcus to her. She wouldn’t chase the bastard, but wait and bait a trap he couldn’t resist.

  “Calm down—”

  “Don’t fucking tell me to call down.” AJ grabbed Selene’s shirt and pulled her closer. Both women dropped fangs and growled. “We’re talking about Clarissa here and if anything happens to her, god help those who hurt her…or couldn’t protect her.”

  Selene grabbed AJ’s hands, her extended fingernails digging into her flesh. The smell of blood was instantaneous, sending a thrill through Selene.

  “Hey, what the hell are you two doing?” Clarissa said, trying to step between the two vampires. Selene was pushed back away from AJ. Lucky for her. Selene felt blood lust take over. Anger and blood where a bad mix and often led to death, or at a slim minimum, a badly damaged vamp. AJ’s hand still firmly gripped her shirt when Selene heard it.

  Rrrriiiippppp.

  “AJ!” Shocked, Clarissa turned and pushed AJ back, still clutching the front of Selene’s shirt.

  “Selene?”

  Each woman was locked on the other, both waiting for an excuse to attack. Selene could see in her peripheral vision, the tatters of her black button down barely covering her naked breasts. She broke in a sweat as she tried to control changing from her human form. Her gut ached as she held on to the last fragments of her human instinct.

  “AJ, let her go. Now!”

  “Her first,” AJ snarled.

  If anything she pulled tighter on what was left of Selene’s shirt. Yanking AJ’s hand closer, Selene tried to whisper over Clarissa’s head. “You don’t want a piece of me, let me assure you of that. Now take your hands off me so I can keep what’s left of my dignity and go home.”

  “Oh, oh, no you haven’t had dessert yet, Selene. Please don’t go.” Clarissa turned to AJ and continued, “See what you’ve done. We haven’t seen her in weeks and now she’s leaving before we’ve even had a chance to chat. God, I hate when you women go all butch on each other.” Clarissa extricated herself from the mass of arms and stomped into the kitchen, cussing.

  “You girlfriend is pissed.” Selene’s smirk signaled a check in her win column.

  “She’ll get over it, trust me,” AJ said, undeterred by Clarissa’s anger.

  “Aren’t you barking up the wrong tree? I’m not the one you have a beef with. You should be taking this up with De Marcus.”

  “I plan on it.” AJ pushed Selene backwards. “I’m going to the coven to see Butch and have it out with him. I’m not going to stand for this bullshit. The coven is an antiquated machine that needs to be dismantled.”

  “And you think you’re going to do that when you visit him? Trust me, he isn’t going to take threats lightly. If anything you’ll only make him dig his heels in more.”

  “I don’t care.” AJ poured herself a whiskey and sat. “I’ve had it with them. They let these two-bit hoods turn humans for their own perverted self-interest. They pick the slime up out of the bottom of the barrel — gangsters, thugs, and drug addicts, people who already have deep seeded issues with authority and make them super human. Turning them loose on the world to do their bidding, and we’re supposed to sit back keep our mouth shut and watch? I don’t think so. Eventually, the humans are going to get wise to what’s going on and put together a covert extermination plan. We won’t know about it until it’s too late. If they’re tapping into our cell phones, emails and god knows what else, you can bet they know who and where we are and I don’t like that. I’m considering going underground for a while. I’ve got stuff stashed for a long hibernation and if this shit goes south, we’re gone. If you wanna come along let me know. I stocked up for a long winter, if you know what I mean.

  AJ’s erratic mental state was a concern to Selene. She was normally pretty even keeled, but when she was under a lot of stress, she’d seen AJ take down men with one blow. She sorta pitied Butch; he had no idea what he was in for. AJ could make it an all-out war with very few survivors. All she wanted was De Marcus and now Selene had to wonder why Butch was working so hard to hide him.

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you if you do decide to go to the coven. I’d make an appointment, first. Seems Butch doesn’t like surprises.”

  “Really?” AJ sipped her whiskey then purred. “Well then we’ll just have to surprise him won’t we?”

  This was not going to end well.

  Chapter Six

  Selene stalked though the full parking lot at the Dungeon. Maggie, her business partner, would be thrilled to see so many patrons, but after a night of verbal jousting with AJ, her mood soured quickly. Even Clarissa’s gentle joking couldn’t pull Selene through the night. What was it about her darn cat Nefertiti? The damn thing lay sprawled across her lap half the night. Each time she pushed it off, she found the persistent feline comfortably ensconced on her lap. Finally, she gave up and just let it stay. The cat hair covered her pressed black slacks and cashmere sweater she’d manage to put on after AJ’s little outburst and tantrum that cost her a perfectly good button-down.

  She wasn’t an animal lover at all. In fact, she considered them an appetizer on those rare moments when she craved a liquid diet. A guilty pleasure for sure.

  Entering the club, her vision sharpened instantly allowing her to see everything. The noise on the other hand was almost non-existent. She focused her hearing and could only hear the occasional gasp. The smell of women in estrus slammed against her, almost making her turn around and leave. Her body was buffeted by the sensation and it was all Selene could do to stay in control. Taking long deep breaths, she inhaled the sexual frenzy and looked around t
he room at the packed jars of estrogen filling the seats. Jax must be doing another demo night for the ladies. Ever since those trashy books, what were they named? Selene tried to remember. Oh, it didn’t matter, but ever since those “mommy porn” books came out she couldn’t turn the women away. She wasn’t complaining, it had been good for business without having to lift a finger in advertising, a boon to her pocket book and her sex life if she were honest.

  Jax rested his elbows on the bar, clearly engaged by the scene unfolding on stage. He was like a vulture waiting for the show to be over so he could have his pick of horny, over-stimulated women eager to experiment. The tension of the room raised a level, each body generating its own wave of energy that pelted Selene. Sliding her hand against the rough texture of the wooden bar, she turned and watched the show. Too much salt in tonight’s dinner made Selene’s mouth feel like a wad of cotton. Luckily she had eaten sparingly. Her system just wasn’t ready for a full on meal. The sunlight had taken time and so would food.

  Snapping her fingers next to Jax’s ear she tried to get his attention.

  “Jax.”

  No response, and she focused once again on the stage show.

  Mistress Rose had a way of pulling her audience into her web of kink. Once there, they rarely realized until it was too late that they were often doing something they normally wouldn’t be caught dead doing. Add a little alcohol and most people became like putty in her well-manicured hands. What happens in the club, stays in the club, she told every audience. Little did they know that every face, every action was caught on tape somewhere in the club. Mostly for insurance purposes, but once or twice Selene had been thankful she’d had the tapes when the cops had arrived claiming a rape had taken place.

  Mistress Rose strutted across the stage to the “volunteer” who was usually one of the Dungeon staffers. The audience sat enraptured by the precise display of whipmanship Mistress Rose commanded. Selene was often surprised Rose managed to stay tucked into her tightly laced leather corset. Her supple breasts with just a hint of nipple showing begged for release, but they would stay safely tucked for the remainder of the show, Selene was sure.

  Mistress Rose spotted Selene at the bar, and winked then licked her ruby tinted lips. It was game on now for Rose. Selene had been able to keep her advances at bay, but it seemed anytime she spotted Selene near, she upped the ante. Suddenly, Selene felt sorry for the volunteer. She would be the recipient of the torture Rose wanted to share with Selene. She would have to try and prevent it the only way she knew how. She turned her back on the action and ignored the Mistress’ gestures that were a ploy to get Selene to respond.

  “Jax.” She snapped her fingers near his ear again. “Two fingers of Jack.”

  “You got it, Boss.”

  The crack of the whip exploded throughout the club and the audience gasped.

  “She’s hot for ya boss,” Jax said, pushing her drink towards her and nodding his head at the stage.

  “Yeah, well the feeling isn’t mutual.”

  Selene swallowed the liquid in one gulp, a slow burn her reward. Slamming her glass down, she ordered another.

  She could smell someone coming up on her before movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. A glance in the mirror behind the bar found her staring at a platinum blonde as she tried to catch Jax’s attention.

  “Excuse me,” she whispered.

  “What can I getcha?” Jax said, finishing his generous pour in Selene’s glass.

  “Rum and coke, two beers in bottles, a strawberry daiquiri and margarita—on the rocks,” she said, clicking them off her fingers.

  “Coming right up.”

  The woman seemed out of place. Not exactly the mommy type, with kids at home. Locking eyes with her in the mirror, Selene quirked a smile, taking a slow, deep breath, estrus. She glanced away, not waiting to stare and then looked at Rose behind her. The mirror gave her the opportunity to keep an eye on the whole club and not look like a creeper: Selene’s definition for men who came in to scout out women during ladies night. The creep trolled the room, trying to pick-up anything with tits and too much alcohol.

  Jax slid the drinks towards the woman and took her cash. She looked bewildered, trying to figure out how to get so many drinks to the table of screaming women.

  “Here let me help you with those,” Jax said, seeing a creeper opportunity.

  “I’ll get ’em. You stay behind the bar.” Selene grabbed three of the drinks before the woman had a chance to reject her help.

  “Oh, you don’t have to do that, I can come back and get the rest.” A slight blush colored her pale skin. Skin that obviously hadn’t been kissed by the sun in years, if ever. Selene didn’t pick-up anything earlier when she scanned the club, so she wasn’t one of hers.

  “Thank you, that’s very kind of you.

  “Just doing my job.” Selene smiled.

  “I wouldn’t want to be any trouble.” the woman said, trying not to make eye contact.

  Selene could feel the woman’s pulse quicken, her body shooting off pheromones and a rush of blood colored her checks.

  “It’s no trouble, I assure you miss…”

  “Oh, Francesca, but my friends call me Francesca.” Another blush.

  “Well Francesca, if I can be of further service.” Selene sat the drinks on the table. “Please let me know.”

  “Hello, tall dark and gorgeous. Are you part of the entertainment tonight?” One of the women at the table touched Selene’s hand. The heat from the woman pelted Selene as she looked down at the slightly plump, sweating woman.

  Ignoring the slight, Selene patted the hand and tried to be charming to the paying patrons. “No, I’m the owner. I don’t —” She often liked to work the back rooms, opting not to mention it for fear she might find the overzealous woman waiting for her in the back.

  “Oh, with those looks and that killer body.” The woman stood, and grabbed Selene’s biceps. “You work out don’tcha? Girls, check out these arms.” She ran her hand down Selene’s stomach. “Oh, abs of steel, too.”

  Selene grabbed the hand, stopping it from going any further. “Careful, miss. You might bite off more than you can chew.”

  “Oh god that voice, sexy. You could read the phone book to me and I would swoon.”

  “Well, if you think you can handle me, I give private lessons in the back, if you’re interested.” Selene leaned down and growled into the woman’s ear, loud enough for all at the table to hear.

  The woman fell back into her seat as if she’d been blown over and fanned herself.

  “Hey, boss?” Jax yelled for her.

  “Sorry, ladies, duty calls.” Selene nodded at the women. “I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening.”

  A chorus of aahhhss followed her as she weaved her way through the crowded floor.

  She could hear the women whisper about private lessons and wanting to play student to Selene’s teacher. Thoughts of the heavy woman in a school girl outfit flashed in Selene’s mind and was just as quickly dismissed when the image made her want to gag. The only voice not saying anything was Francesca’s, but Selene could feel her eyes watching as she walked to the bar.

  “Thank you,” Selene said to Jax, appreciative of the save.

  “No problem,” Jax said. “You looked a little uncomfortable. When I saw that woman put her hands on your stomach I thought, ‘oh man that chick is going to lose a hand’, good self-control, boss.”

  “She was going to lose more than a hand if she kept pawing me.”

  Leaning against the bar, Selene watched the stage and then scanned the crowd. Her gaze sought out Francesca’s, an apologetic smile seemed to be her reward for the glance. She dipped her head in thanks and lifted her glass towards Francesca. Oddly, she felt Francesca knew exactly what she was thinking. God, what she wouldn’t do to give her private lessons.

  Chapter Seven

  The women at the table embarrassed Francesca. How could such highly educated, hardworki
ng researchers act like teenage boys with their first girlie magazine? Only this girlie magazine walked and talked. Well, more like stroked their ears with the low tenor of her voice, but it had the desired affect if that was what she was going for. Their overt ogling of the Dungeon’s owner had her mentally apologizing for such crass behavior. The owner was gracious as Dorothy ran her hands over her arms and stomach. The owner advertised her intentions when she whispered in Dorothy’s ear, and it had shut the bitch up in an instant. Francesca’s mind reeled at the possibilities. What lay behind the back doors of the club? More of what she saw on stage? Coming to the club wasn’t exactly her idea. It had started as a dare and ended here tonight. Suddenly, without reason, she was intrigued by the possibilities of anonymity and experimentation.

  “Hey girls, check this out,” Dorothy said waving the shiny club card around. “This was on my car this morning.”

  The women in the lunchroom bunched around to get a look.

  “Ooo, it’s for one of those bondage clubs,” said one of the gals as she ran her finger over the muscled man in leather.

  Flipping the card over Dorothy read the writing on the back, “Check this out, free lady’s night. They call it—Thirsty Thursdays. Come quench your thirst and feed your appetite for whips, leather and sin. Hmm, sounds fun. Who’s in?” Dorothy glanced at the women who were still huddled around the card.

  “I wanna go,” said one gal.

  “Well…okay if you go, Millie, I’ll go,” a blonde said as she wiggled her eyebrows. “This might be fun. I’ve never been to a place like that. I’ll tell Tim I’m going to a candle party. He won’t care.”

  “How about you Francesca? Wanna go?” Dorothy looked at Francesca and smiled.

  “Francesca won’t go, she’s too practical.”

  “What? What are you talking about Millie?” Francesca tried to look indignant, but Millie was right, this wasn’t Francesca’s idea of a good time. Sweat, leather and watching people being tied up and spanked just didn’t appeal to her.