Flesh and Blood

Chapter Seventeen

Doc stared down the fae before him. ‘Mortalis, let me in.’ Minutes were ticking by. His patience was gone. Not that he’d had much to begin with.

Arms crossed before the interior doors to Seven, the shadeux didn’t budge. ‘No.’

‘Did Dominic tell you not to? Is that why you scampered out here when Tec let me in?’

‘Dominic didn’t need to tell me anything. I know what the history is. Look how overjoyed he was I brought you to his penthouse.’ Mortalis shook his head. ‘And I do not scamper.’

Doc wanted to smash something or someone against the fancy new gold dragon doors that barred his way into Seven. ‘You know the history? The whole history?’

Mortalis’s face held its stony expression. ‘I know enough.’

‘Do you know Dominic’s stubbornness is costing two women their lives?’

The stone cracked slightly. ‘What do you mean?’

Doc explained what Aliza had said and how she’d agreed to help Fi. ‘All I’m asking is one more opportunity to talk to him. Talk. That’s all.’

‘I’m going to end up working for the comarré,’ Mortalis muttered as he stepped aside. ‘Dominic asks, you haven’t seen me, I haven’t seen you, and I have no idea you’re here. Understand?’

Doc popped his fist against the shadeux’s shoulder. ‘You’re all right for an uptight son of a—’

‘Don’t make me change my mind.’

Hands up, Doc backed through the double doors and toward the club’s main lounge. ‘I’m gone!’

This time, he went straight to Dominic’s office via the route he’d traveled when he’d been running goods. In minutes he was at the back entrance to the office. He knocked, shoving down his nerves. This would work. It had to. All that mattered was helping Fi, consequences be damned.

Dominic called, ‘Si.’

Doc eased into the room, hoping to get several steps inside before the vampire saw him.

‘Mortalis is getting soft, I see.’ Dominic’s back was to him. ‘I thought we were done talking, varcolai.’

So much for stealth. ‘We were. But something new came up when I got back to the freighter and saw Fi again.’

Dominic closed the file drawer he’d been looking through, went to his desk, and sat, turning his chair to face Doc. ‘I fail to realize how this interests me. Dawn comes. I must sleep occasionally, despite the rumors.’

Doc forced himself to radiate truth. ‘I think you’ll find it very interesting. Fi has found she can communicate with—’

Pasha and Satima burst through the door on the other side of the office. A mask of anger distorted Pasha’s dark face. ‘You let this creature take up your time while we must wait?’ His nostrils flared with indignation. ‘We have urgent business, not a rehash of the past.’ With a haughty look at Doc, Pasha crossed his arms. ‘Ignore us at your own peril.’

‘Yes,’ Satima mimicked. ‘At your own peril.’ She leaned against her brother, one hand splayed on his stomach.

Dominic steepled his fingers against his forehead as if a killer migraine had just struck. Doc completely understood. He felt a little that way himself. ‘Fine. What is this urgent business?’

Eyes glittering, Pasha stared at Doc while he spoke. ‘The little varcolai bartender—’

‘The wolf-shifter,’ Satima interjected.

‘Mia?’ Doc asked.

Nodding, Pasha turned his attention to his boss. ‘She brushed past me on her way in this evening – very rudely, I might add—’

Dominic’s hand cracked sharply against his marble desktop. Satima jumped. ‘I do not have time to worry about perceived slights against your person. I am done for the night.’ He loosened his tie. ‘Get back to work, both of you. And you … ’ He pointed at Doc. ‘Out.’

Doc stayed where he was. Pasha uncrossed his arms, planted his fingers on the marble, and leaned in as if the vampire hadn’t said a word. ‘There was skin contact.’

Dominic’s agitation faded a little. He worked the cuff links out of his starched white cuffs. ‘And?’

Straightening, Pasha lifted his chin and made eye contact with Doc before answering. ‘I saw her death.’

Doc snorted. ‘You say that every time you touch someone. Get a new line, gemini.’

‘Because it’s true, little cat. My talent is without question.’

Unclipping his black pearl cuff links, Dominic shook his head. ‘How is this important?’

‘She also smelled like a vampire.’ Satima rested her head in the crook of Pasha’s neck. ‘Tell them about her death, brother.’

Pasha inhaled as he started. ‘I saw her in a dungeon, surrounded by—’

‘Have you told Mia this?’ Dominic interrupted. ‘It is rather inappropriate to reveal someone’s future without them present, is it not?’

Pasha frowned. ‘That is our habit, yes.’

Dominic picked up a slim silver device, squeezed a button on the side, and spoke. ‘Send Mia up, please.’

A voice Doc didn’t recognize answered back. ‘Yes, sir.’

Dominic replaced the intercom and gestured toward the chairs behind the twins. ‘Sit. We will wait.’ He waved over his shoulder. ‘You, too, Maddoc, as you are now somehow part of this great important interruption.’ He looked at his watch. ‘You are all infringing on my personal time. What you’ve come to tell me had better be astonishingly valuable.’