It was a measure of how tired I must have been that I slept a comparatively dreamless sleep through the day.

Of late, my days had been spent tossing and turning my way through nightmares, torturing me with visions of Layla and what might be happening to her while I was flailing around for a solid lead.

I was woken by the sound of my phone going off. The number was unknown, which was odd, as I didn't make a habit of giving out my phone number to people.

"Hello?"

"Good evening."

"Who is this?"

"Who's this?"

I frowned. "What do you mean; who's this? You called me."

"I was just hoping to get a name out of you."

It couldn't be. Could it? He’d haunted my dreams…

"Kael?"

"You remembered."

I could hear the smug pride in his voice and wished that I had pretended to have forgotten his name.

"Well, it's hard to forget a dumb name like Kael. Sounds like something you'd find in a salad."

He laughed, a pleasantly deep, rough sound that made me tingle all on its own. "I was wondering if you wanted to hook up later?"

"How did you get this number?"

"That's not an answer to my question. I was thinking a drink and then see where it goes."

"How about I answer your question when you answer mine,” I shot back, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and stretching. “How did you get this number?"

"I have a way with numbers, Sonja."

If he was trying to catch me off-guard with that one, then he had succeeded. Presumably, he had hoped to get me to say my name so he could pretend that was how he got it, but since that had failed, he had decided to use it as a weapon. And an effective one - I was temporarily knocked back on my heels. I was also, albeit unwillingly, pretty impressed - finding out my name was not an easy thing to do.

"With names, too?"

"You looked like a Sonja to me."

"And you guessed my number, as well?"

"I won't tell you how many strangers I called before you picked up. Now, how about that drink?"

I was about to refuse but then thought again. He could be useful…

"You know The Dark Bar?"

"I've heard of it. Never been."

"Now's your chance. I'll be there at nine." I hung up.

A few things had made me change my mind.

Firstly, if Kael had been doggedly determined enough to get hold of my name and number, that was good. If he had connections that had given him the info? That was even better. I could use all the connections I could get to help me find Layla.

Secondly, having slept on the problem, I had decided that a man named Colt Harris was my next port of call in finding Layla. He had been an acquaintance of hers rather than a friend, but I had a vague memory of seeing him and Tyler Gray chatting secretly one time when we were all out at a club a week before Layla’s disappearance. I’d sidled over, and they’d abruptly stopped talking. At the time, I’d assumed he was kissing and telling and was embarrassed at having almost gotten caught. Now, though, when everything seemed like an unexplored clue, it seemed fishy.

It wasn't much to go on, but then I didn't have much to go on. Harris was a well-known vamp lover and The Dark Bar would be a good place to look - having Kael there would give me cover, like I was just out on a date.

I will admit that Max's suggestion the night before was also in my mind; that I ought to have sex before tracking down my next lead. And if Kael was there then... Well, it wasn't my goal, but if it were to happen then so be it.

When I arrived, Kael was already there.

The Dark Bar was the hardcore end of vampire bars, a place where vampires go to drink and humans go because they get off on very real danger. For that reason, the large majority of the drinkers were vamps, and the humans stuck out like sore thumbs as they stood there, nervously twiddling their thumbs, surrounded by people who could snap their neck before they could blink. And yet, Kael exuded a self-assuredness that was almost vampiric. He fit in disturbingly well. True, he was breathing, his heart was beating and his smell was all human - and all man, I noted - but compared to other humans, he seemed to belong here. It was like hearing someone fluent in a second language - occasionally the accent will let them down, but it's still impressive.

"You're here," he said, grinning as I approached.

"You thought I wouldn't come?"

"Wasn't sure. I still don't know what you think of me."

"I don't think anything of you," I said, helpfully. "You're just blank. There. Another human."

"Thanks, that's the nicest thing a vampire has ever said to me,” he said solemnly. I could see the flash of wicked humor in his dark gaze and I had to admit, I was charmed. A man who could laugh at himself was something I admired.

"You didn't let me finish,” I added. “I was going to say that however little I think of you, in your blankness, I have to admit that you do know your way around an alleyway."

His mouth kicked up again and his eyes went hot at the memory. "Right back at you. It's nice not to have to hold back."

"Right back at you."

"Yeah? That's a relief."

"How so?" I asked.

"Well, if last night was you holding back, I'm not sure I'd survive tonight. Can I get you a drink?"

"Bulbous."

He turned to the bartender and ordered the alcohol substitute for me and Bourbon for himself - predictable, but still kind of cool.

"Why'd they have to call the vamp drink Bulbous? It's not a pleasant name."

"We're not a pleasant species,” I admitted.

He smiled provocatively at me over his glass. "Some of you have your plus points."

The conversation thus far had been pretty sexually charged. Which I liked, but it was making me wonder, was that really what he had come for? Had he gone to what must have been a lot of trouble to track down my name and number just for sex?

I had a pretty high opinion of how good I was but even so, that seemed unlikely. Even still, if he was playing me for some reason yet to be discovered, I was enjoying it. Which did not mean that I wasn’t going to keep my guard up.

"So why did you ask me here?" I asked.

"You picked this place, not me."

"I mean, why did you ask me for a drink?"

He shrugged. "I had fun last night. Didn't you?"

There was little sense in denying it. "Yeah. I'm not sure something like that can be replicated."

"I wasn't hoping to replicate it, I thought we might try to improve upon it."

I cocked an eyebrow as a low ache tugged at my belly. Lord, this man was sexy. "I like your ambition, but I'm not sure how."

He finished his drink and indicated two more to the barman. "Well, for one thing, I like to get to know a person."

"How disappointing,” I murmured with a snick of my tongue.

"Sex is better with someone you know and like."

"That's just propaganda."

"If you think that then you've been with the wrong men."

I'd hold up my hand to often being with the wrong men, largely because the right ones have an irritating habit of talking like this. I'm not looking for something long-term, partly because the longer you give someone the greater the chance that they will eventually let you down, and partly because long-term for someone over three hundred years old takes on frightening new meaning.

Normally, in this sort of situation, I wait for the guy to go to the bathroom then I finish my drink and leave. Today, I couldn't do that because I was hoping to catch sight of Harris, but even had that constraint not existed, I still wouldn't have been minded to leave. There was something about Kael. Sure, he was handsome, built like a Greek god, and the sex had been all kinds of awesome; and sure, I wanted to know what he was up to - and I was still certain that he was up to something - but there was more than that. I wanted to know where this was going. Maybe part of me thought, or hoped, that he was on the level. Guys like Kael don't come along every century. I speak as one who knows.

"How about you tell me something about yourself?" Kael suggested.

"Why?"

"Well, it would beat sitting here in silence and drinking."

"Are you sure?”

Kael laughed. "Okay, fair enough, you don't want to open up. You don't want to be on a 'date' with the person you agreed to go for a drink with. That's your issue. So, seems like we've got a choice, and I'm going to be generous and leave it up to you. We can leave and never see each other again; we can step out into the alley and I can ball you into the stratosphere again; or we can sit here and drink, which I refuse to do in silence. Then, we step out into the alley. What’ll it be?"

I couldn't help laughing. There was a cockiness to Kael that I did not normally find attractive in men, but he combined it with a likable charm. Men who looked like Kael were usually either incurable narcissists who could talk about nothing but gunning their lats and blasting their quads, or they were... well, like me; didn't care about anything much and didn't want to spoil sex with anything as complex as conversation. It was nice to meet a man who looked like Kael, who seemed to have a brain and emotions.

Did it sound like the only thing stopping me from having a serious relationship was the lack of a man who looked like Kael and could pound me to satisfaction? Well, maybe it was. I never claimed to be any better than I am.

I turned to the barman. "Same again." I turned back to Kael. "I am three hundred and forty-eight years old."

"Yeah?"

"You asked me to tell you something about myself. I did."

Kael raised his glass as the barman handed it to him. "And I appreciate it. And you don't look a day over three hundred and forty-five."

I shrugged with a chuckle. "Lovely. There are days when I feel three hundred and fifty."

That seemed to open a door and from there on, chatter came easy. We sat exchanging facts about each other, learning a lot, none of which meant anything, always talking and managing to remain comparative strangers, which was exactly what I wanted. It was fun, it was easy, and, to my horror, it made me feel good.

That came as a nasty shock. I had not experienced more than fleeting moments of passing happiness since Layla had been taken, now I was positively enjoying an evening. I had barely thought of her since I sat down and the thought made me feel instantly guilty.

How dare I be happy when Layla was in danger?

How dare I not think about her when I should be dedicating each moment of my life to getting her back?

I needed to refocus on my reason for coming here.

Finding Colt Harris and seeing if he could give me any insight into Layla’s disappearance. Kael was nothing to me but a cover who happened to be a good lay.

I would do well to remember that.