“Excellent. I’ll meet you at the bar.”

She nodded. “Back-corner booth. It’s reserved for me. Tell them I said it was okay.”

He stepped aside and as she started past, she caught an odd gleam in his eyes through her peripheral vision. She whipped her head around to look closer, but the expression was gone.

“Something else?” he asked.

“No.” Nothing she could pinpoint. Other than the feeling she might be getting played.

Chrysabelle entered Dominic’s office behind Mortalis, who’d set up the appointment for her. The anathema vampire sat behind his desk, but stood as she walked in. She nodded at him. “Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”

“Cara mia, per favore, you know you are like family to me.” He came out from behind his desk and approached her with his arms out, but stopped a few feet away and wrinkled his nose. “You are wearing your body armor, are you not?”

“Yes, I am. Sorry, I know this much silver and holy magic so close to you must be very irritating.”

Mortalis spoke up. “I told her to wear it whenever she leaves the house. We have good reason to think Mal is… after her.”

Chrysabelle sighed. “He was watching me last night. The alarm in the house next door was tripped and when the police showed up, they found a dead deer on the property, throat torn out, blood drained.” Just retelling it set her on edge.

Dominic’s brows shot up and he mumbled something in Italian. He snapped his fingers and a lean, dark figure emerged from the sitting area at the far end of the room. “Luciano, you want to make things right with me? You will go to Chrysabelle’s house and protect her. This is what you do, no? So do it.”

Chrysabelle held her hand up. “No, please, I don’t need that.” She sat in the closest chair, her head swimming a little with the number of thoughts running through it. At least her morning sickness had really only hit her during the day. So far this evening, her body seemed fairly normal. She looked at the new vampire. “You’re Dominic’s nephew?” Then back at Dominic. “I have Velimai. I really don’t need anyone else at my house protecting me.”

“It’s a good idea,” Mortalis said. “Luciano is Paole. Mal wouldn’t be able to detect him.”

“He’s also caedo,” Dominic added with an edge of anger Chrysabelle didn’t understand.

Luciano threw his hands up. “Zio!”

“Great,” Chrysabelle muttered. “A vampire assassin. Just what I need.” She rubbed her temples before speaking to Dominic again. “I’m still missing a piece of the puzzle, though, aren’t I? You’re angry at Luciano for something? What does he need to make right with you? If he’s going to be at my home, on my property, I need to know the whole story.”

Dominic went back behind his desk and sat. He crossed his legs and took a long, hard look at Luciano. “This one thought he was doing me a favor.”

Luciano rolled his eyes skyward. “I meant no harm, zio. I swear it.”

Dominic lifted a hand to silence him. “This one…” He shook his head as he turned his attention to Chrysabelle again. “Took it upon himself to help me. How? By giving the mayor what she wanted.”

Luciano wrung his hands. “She dropped the curfew, didn’t she?”

Chrysabelle’s head spun a little harder. “What are you saying?”

Dominic sighed. “He sired the mayor.”

“Holy mother.” A nauseous chill sunk into Chrysabelle’s belly. “Holy. Mother.” Her mouth watered. She swallowed it down. “The mayor is a vampire?” She twisted to look at Mortalis. “How could you not tell me this?”

Mortalis cleared his throat. “I wasn’t sure you could handle the news with everything else going on.”

She stared at her lap, stunned and blinking as the weight of it settled over her. Abruptly, her head came up and she glared at Luciano. “And you’re Paole. Which means the mayor is too. So the mayor is an undetectable vampire. That’s bloody brilliant.”

Luciano swallowed. “I am sure I could find a way to fix—”

“I think you’ve done enough,” Chrysabelle snapped.

Silence filled the room like poison gas. It was clear that none of the men knew what to say to her. Finally, after a long exhale, she spoke a little more calmly. “I came here for a reason.”

“Si, si,” Dominic said. He looked happy to have something new to talk about.

“I need a shipment of blood from your comarré sent to Mal’s freighter every night. I want enough animal blood mixed in so that he won’t be at full power. Do you understand?”

“Si.” Dominic nodded. “Consider it done.”

“That’s not all. Can you dope the blood with some kind of tracking system so that when he drinks it, I’ll be able to know where he is? I don’t need to know how you do it, just if you can.”

“You grow more like your mother every day.” He jotted something on a piece of paper. “Unfortunately, this is not something that can be done. However, if Mal has become this much of a threat to you, I can add something to the blood that will work just as well.”

“Like what?”

Dominic lifted one shoulder. “A touch of this, a touch of that, a hint of laudanum. Enough to keep him so relaxed, he will not be a problem to anyone. And he will not even realize what’s being done.”