“Don’t make this personal,” Emilie said, her British accent still in place. “It’s business, and you know it.”

“Was it business when you slept with me?”

“Are we bringing that up?” Emilie glanced at Chloe. “Well then, no. That was just a side benefit. Don’t tell me you’re complaining.”

“I don’t like it when people lie to me.”

Emilie glanced at Tenzin. “I don’t either.”

“Are you actually trying to—”

“Why are you bickering?” Tenzin broke in. “This is ridiculous. Girl, in a few minutes that man is going to come back with the curator, who is currently under our control. You have failed. Leave now.”

Ben tried not to smile. Leave it to Tenzin to cut to the chase.

Emilie smirked. “She may be under your man’s control, but she’s working for my boss.”

“Your boss?” Tenzin asked. She turned and looked around the room. “I don’t see anyone who…” She froze, and Ben turned to look.

At the end of the gallery, walking with a jaunty step, was René DuPont. He smiled at Tenzin as if he was seeing an old friend, ignored Ben, and continued his stroll. They were surrounded by oblivious humans, and he knew he was safe.

He hadn’t changed a whit since Ben had first met him in London. His hair was immaculate, and the suit he was wearing spoke of both success and style. René DuPont was an elegant predator and a more than decent thief. The fact that he annoyed the shit out of Ben and had a hard-on for Tenzin only made him that much more obnoxious.

“Mr. Vecchio.” He side-eyed Ben. “My lady.” He bowed toward Tenzin. “It will never be anything less than a pleasure to see you. You look… magnifique.”

“Thank you,” Tenzin said.

Ben said, “Why are you thanking him?”

“You told me I needed to work on being gracious when people compliment me.”

“Not with him.”

“Oh, such resentment!” René said. “I love it. Have I inconvenienced you, Benjamin?” He cocked his head and looked at Emilie. “Has she? I so wish I could have been there when you discovered that it was all a lie.” He turned to Tenzin. “Was his disappointment delicious?”

Tenzin narrowed her eyes. “You’re very strange.”

Ben had locked down his emotions so he didn’t strangle Emilie. René’s taunts hardly made it through. “Was it delicious to walk in here tonight and find out you’re not going to make off with the other two Labyrinth paintings?”

René pouted. “Well, I haven’t given up hope yet. And after all”—his pout turned to a sneer—“I stole the one that matters, didn’t I?” He turned his attention to Tenzin. “You must tell me why you are still toying with this one. He is so far beneath your notice, I cannot even comprehend it.”

“Was this what all the apple jokes were about?” Tenzin asked.

“Apple jokes?” Ben said.

“I’ll tell you later.”

Chloe tried to slip away, but Emilie shot a hand out and stopped her. Chloe wrested her arm away and grabbed Emilie’s hand.

“I don’t think so, bitch,” Chloe said through gritted teeth. “How many fingers do you want me to break?” Emilie squeaked, and Chloe dropped her hand. “Try touching me again. Just try it.”

René tutted. “So much aggression. So much drama.” He shrugged as oblivious humans bustled around them. “This is all so unnecessary.”

Tenzin watched René, her head cocked to the side as if she were examining an interesting specimen under a microscope. “You like to hear yourself talk.”

Ben muttered, “Yeah, he does.”

“And you think you’re safe here because you’re surrounded by humans.”

René’s eye twinkled. “Aren’t I? You can’t fly away in the middle of the museum, can you?”

“No,” Tenzin said. She paused, then her right hand shot out and she punched René in the throat. Her left fist cut up and landed directly on René’s nose, spraying blood all over the pristine white gallery. “I can do that though.”

René fell to the ground, clutching his throat and nose while Emilie screamed.

* * *

As soon as Emilie screamed, Chloe turned and walked away. Shit. Shit. Shit. She was going to get arrested.

Tenzin had drawn the attention of the room, and every employee dropped what they were doing and rushed toward the Samson room. Everyone started shouting at once. Hubbub meant distraction, and distraction meant things could go missing.

Chloe ducked into a corner in the next gallery to catch her breath.

What would Ben do?

Remember, we’re not stealing anything. All we have to do is make sure Samson’s paintings get back to where they belong.

The curator with Gavin could tell the employees to put the Labyrinth paintings on a truck and get them delivered where they were supposed to be. Gavin had the curator under his amnis, which meant Chloe needed to find Gavin and find him fast.

She heard someone running after her. She spun and planted her feet with her fists raised.

“Chloe!” It was Ben. He had his arm around Emilie and a hand over her mouth.

“What are you doing?” Chloe hissed.

“I couldn’t just leave her there. Where’s Gavin?”

“That’s who I’m looking for.” She turned right, then left. Hit a dead end. The gallery was a maze. Was it designed to mimic the labyrinth in the painting? She walked back to the previous gallery with Ben still walking behind her.

Emilie had moved beyond shock and was struggling to get free. Without missing a beat, Ben hoisted her over his shoulder. Emilie started to yell as soon as his hand wasn’t over her mouth.

“You bastard! Put me down!”

“Who told you I’m a bastard?” Ben said. “Was it René? I warn you, he doesn’t like me much. Though technically, he’s right. I am a bastard.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Stop being clever. Is there any way to shut her up?”

“Not without hurting her,” Ben said.

And Chloe knew there was no way Ben would be hitting a woman who wasn’t out for his blood.

“Everyone is shouting at the other end of the gallery,” Ben said. “They’re not paying attention to her.”

Ben was right. The crowd near the entrance of the exhibit was shouting one over the other.

“What on earth are they arguing about?” Chloe asked. “How does she do these things?”

* * *

“You’re telling me this man, Dr. DuPre, has been harassing you?” The foreman of the maintenance crew stood over René with his arms crossed.

Tenzin’s eyes were wide and innocent. She mumbled, “He propositioned me while I was working.”

It was the absolute truth. Of course, it had been over a year ago and in Scotland while they were both trying to steal a historic sword, but the human hadn’t asked for details.

The foreman glared at René. “Guys like this… Did you report him? This has to be documented, ma’am.”

“He told me he’s the director.” Were her fangs showing? Damn things. They could be truly inconvenient at times like this. “Who would listen to me? I’m new.”

“This is the Museum of Modern Art, Miss Chen. We take that shit seriously around here,” the human said.

She let out a breath. “That’s such a relief. Thank you.”

René’s eyes were shooting daggers at her. Tenzin could also tell he was fighting laughter.

He wasn’t completely evil, no matter what Ben thought. René DuPont was a little too much like Tenzin, a vampire with a flexible sense of morality. He would use any excuse and any method to get what he wanted, but he tried to avoid violence. After all, René was also very vain. The difference between them was she didn’t need other people’s money and she had Ben to use as a moral compass since her own was faulty.

From the back of the crowd, a voice popped up. “Where’s Dr. Walker? I saw her walking around earlier. She’ll know what to do.”

Tenzin saw the two crated Samson paintings sitting propped against a wall as everyone gathered around the bleeding René. She’d broken his nose, which had made a mess, but it was probably healed already. Of course it had healed incorrectly, based on the angle, so René would need to break it again.

Not Tenzin’s problem.

“Where is Dr. Walker?” the maintenance foreman asked. “And who is this guy? He’s a director? I’ve been working here fifteen years; I never seen this guy before.”

“I’ve never seen him either,” another voice chimed in. “Who is he?”

Still another voice said, “Shouldn’t someone call security?”

“Yeah, call security on his ass.”

The foreman’s eyes narrowed on René. “Mister, I’m gonna need to see your ID.”

Tenzin melted back into the crowd. She waited for a few minutes, but the focus seemed to have shifted from her altercation with René to the question of his identity. She picked up the papers Emilie had dropped and walked over to the wall where the two paintings rested. Without a word, she tucked the work order between her lips and picked up the first crate. She couldn’t carry them both without arousing suspicion. A human of her size wouldn’t be strong enough. She’d walked partway down the gallery when she heard someone following her. She dropped the painting and spun around.

It was a dark-haired young man with light brown skin and beautiful mahogany eyes. He was carrying the other crate under his arm.

Tenzin grabbed the work order from her mouth. “Is that the other Labyrinth painting?”

“Yeah.” He glanced over his shoulder and set down the crate. “I thought I could help.”

“Why?”

The young man nodded toward the shouting crowd. “I don’t want to be anywhere near that mess, you know? I just started here, and I don’t need to be caught in any drama. You were taking these down to shipping, right?”

Tenzin nodded.

“Cool.” He lifted the second crate. “I’m happy to help. I know just where to go. Just helped carry a Magritte down there for some local donor. Crazy, huh? That thing is probably worth more than my parents’ house.”

“I know,” Tenzin muttered, picking up the first crate. “It’s criminal. A completely manufactured market for things with little to no intrinsic value.”

“What?”

She turned and offered a closed-mouth smile. “I’ll let you go first. I always get lost.”

* * *

Chloe found Gavin trying to fend off Dr. Walker’s advances near the sixth-floor shop. She was hanging on him, trying to shove her hand in the back pocket of his trousers.

“I really think you should sit down, Susan,” Gavin said, his voice strained. “You’re clearly not feeling well.”

“Don’t wanna,” she purred. “Let’s go to my office.”

Chloe stopped and glared at him. “Go a little overboard on the amnis?”

“She has a weak mind and little willpower,” he grumbled, propping Dr. Walker in a corner.

“She didn’t ask to be drugged, Gavin.”

“Can we debate this later?” He spied Ben walking down the hall and cocked his head. “What is that?”

Ben turned. “Emilie.”

“Let me down!”

“Hello, little betrayer.” Gavin cocked his head to the side. “Her face is turning an alarming shade of red.” Gavin walked over and held out his arms. “Give her to me.”

“No!” Emilie said, starting to kick again. “He’s a—”

“Vampire,” Gavin said. “Yes, that’s the point.” He pressed both his palms to Emilie’s neck and she immediately stilled. “Now, little girl, you’re going to go take a nap with this lovely academic with no head for immortal power.”

Chloe frowned. “Wait, do some people have natural resistance to amnis?”

Ben nodded as he handed Emilie to Gavin. “We’re all susceptible, but to different degrees. My resistance is pretty strong. Tenzin said yours is too.”

“How does Tenzin know that?” Chloe asked.

“Uh… with her, it’s sometimes better not to know.”

Gavin walked around the corner with Emilie in his arms. “There’s a rather convenient bench over there.” He lifted Dr. Walker over his shoulder.

“Whoo!” She reached down and grabbed two handfuls of Gavin’s ass. “Now we’re having fun!”

Chloe slapped a hand over her mouth but a snort still escaped. The look on Gavin’s face was priceless.

“You’ll pay for that later,” Gavin said, leveling his eyes on her.

“Sure thing, sugar-buns.”

Gavin disappeared and reappeared a moment later. “They’re both asleep and will be for some time,” he said. “Now, where are the paintings?”

* * *

The nice young human was leading Tenzin down another dimly lit corridor. If he weren’t so chatty, she’d probably think he was up to no good.

“I wonder what’s going to happen to that guy, you know?”

“Who?” Tenzin asked. This appeared to be a maintenance tunnel of some kind. Large air-conditioning units hummed loudly.

“The guy who was harassing you,” the young human said.

“Oh.” Should she be more angry? “Yes. Yes. He was awful. And should be beaten publicly.”

The young human stopped and turned to her with wide eyes. “Wow. That’s harsh. I mean… I thought he’d just get fired or something.”

That’s right. Public beatings for antisocial behavior had been outlawed long ago in this culture.

“I was joking.” Tenzin smiled but couldn’t open her mouth. It probably appeared more strained than jovial. “He should not be beaten. That was a joke.”

The human nodded but looked a little nervous. “Right.”

“Is the shipping room much farther?”

“Yeah.” He turned around and started walking again. “Let’s just… get these delivered. Quickly.”

* * *

Emilie was out of the picture.

René was being publicly humiliated.

The Samson paintings were… not in the gallery where they’d left them.

Neither was Tenzin.

Ben took stock of the current situation while they rushed down the stairs. Leave it to Tenzin to go off plan.

“She always has to make someone bleed,” he muttered. “Is it too much to ask that one job—one single job—not involve bloodshed?”

“What are we doing?” Chloe asked, panting and trying to keep up with Ben.

Gavin said, “That’s an excellent question.”

“We’re finding Tenzin and making sure the paintings get shipped out to the O’Briens tonight,” Ben said. “That’s all we have to do. Just make sure they get to where they were already supposed to go.”

“And then find the other painting?” Gavin said. “We’re not forgetting about that, are we?”

“No, I’m not forgetting about that.”

Chloe said, “Who has the other painting?”

“René, most likely,” Gavin said.

Ben pushed open the door to the subbasement. “And where’s René?”

“Still bleeding?” Chloe asked.

Gavin laughed. “Tenzin?”

“Every single time,” Ben said through gritted teeth.

Gavin and Chloe followed Ben as he strode down the hallways and toward the shipping department. If Tenzin had the paintings, she’d take them to the shipping room. All they had to do was make sure they weren’t intercepted.

“Should someone stay with Emilie?” Chloe asked. “What if she wakes up and gets away?”

Ben shrugged. “She doesn’t know where the painting is. René does.” He turned right and almost collided with Tenzin and a young man who was walking at her side. His hackles rose. “Who are you?”

The man’s eyes went wide. “A-Anthony. Who are you?”

“They’re from the restoration department.” Tenzin put her palm on the back of the man’s hand. “It’s fine.”

His eyes drifted to the side. “Oh. Right.”

“They are supposed to be here. They work here,” Tenzin said in a low voice.

“Right.”

“And you need to go help upstairs.”

He nodded, and without another look at Ben, Chloe, and Gavin, the museum employee walked past them and down the hall toward the elevators.

Chloe said, “That is creepy as hell.”

Tenzin smiled. “I know. What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you,” Ben said. “And the paintings.”

Chloe said, “It is really inconvenient that you all can’t use cell phones.”

“Tell me about it,” Ben muttered.

Tenzin said, “The paintings are on their way back to Rothman House. They were scheduled to go out tomorrow, but I convinced the driver to deliver them tonight.”

“Are you sure?” Ben asked. “Did you check the delivery address?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re sure?”

“The nice young man you scared away scanned something on the crates. And then the computer printed out a label. And on the label was the address of Rothman House. The driver took it and drove away. I’m not sure how much more sure I can be.”

Gavin said, “Should one of us go with the truck?”

Tenzin cocked her head. “It wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

Ben and Gavin exchanged a look.

“I’ll find the truck and escort the two paintings back to the O’Briens,” Gavin said. “You three deal with your French friend.”

* * *

Chloe and Ben went back up to the sixth floor just in time to see René being escorted to the stairs by security.

René saw Ben and Chloe standing on the edge of the crowd, smiled, and said, “And yet I still have what I came for.”

One security guard shoved him in the back. “What did you come for, asshole? Pissing me off? Get your ass out of here.”

Ben debated whether to follow them or track down Emilie.

“Leave him for Tenzin.” Chloe tugged on his arm.

“Right.”

René narrowed his eyes as they walked away.

Ben ignored him. “Tenzin’s waiting for him outside.”

Chloe said, “Should we go… help?”

Ben smiled. “Help Tenzin?” In a city like New York, René was cut off from most of his elemental strength since he was an earth vampire. Tenzin would have no problem picking him up. “Nah,” Ben said. “She’ll be fine.”

They walked back to the hallway behind the special-exhibitions gallery where Gavin had left Emilie and the museum curator.

Dr. Walker was sleeping soundly.

Emilie was gone.