Four Centuries (Damned and Cursed Book 7) (32 page)

"That's a joke.
 
You
are a joke.
 
Are you talking about the man in the Ravens shirt on the second level, watching us?
 
Or the guy over there acting like he's playing pool, but is really private security?
 
Or the asshole dancing badly out there with the gun strapped to his leg?
 
Is that your
more
?
 
One vampire, three mortals.
 
We'd kill all of them.
 
And you'd be first."
 
He rubbed his hands together gleefully.
 
"I knew I did the right thing stopping by."

"Jack, stop.
 
No one's killing anyone," she said, flashing him a look.
 
"Eric, listen to me.
 
I know something happened.
 
That's why I'm here, to see if I can help.
 
We're going to go down now.
 
Okay?"

She wanted to believe it was her calm, reasonable demeanor, but knew it was most likely Jack throwing the
kill
word around.
 
Eric wasn't going to protect the Vermilion with his life.
 
He nodded nervously and leaned his head to talk into a radio, telling his secret partners to stand down.

"You can't ever go a day without threatening to kill someone, can you?" Victoria asked as they descended the stairs.

"We're down here, aren't we?
 
What is this place?"

Victoria said nothing, thinking it wise to let him piece it together for himself.

The lobby of the Vermilion had changed since Victoria last visited.
 
Kate had moved her desk off to the side.
 
There were beautiful paintings on the walls.
 
The lighting still had the same soft, seductive touch.
 
The water cooler had been replaced by a refrigerator, full of soft drinks and waters.
 
She actually liked the look.

The lobby was empty.
 
She heard bits and pieces of a conversation behind the main doors.
 
The roar of a vacuum cleaner mixed with panicked, concerned voices.

Victoria opened the doors leading to the suites.
 
Frank was in the middle of an animated talk with Michael, the vampire security guard, while another employee was vacuuming the new carpet Victoria had installed.
 
She gave the hallway a cursory glance as she approached.
 
The walls were clean, no blood.
 
Everything seemed to be in order.

"No shit," Jack said behind her.
 
"This is genius."

The vacuum went dead as the employee stopped his chore.
 
The hallway turned silent, drawing the attention of the mortals.
 
The employee drank in Victoria's loveliness as Frank and Michael marched forward with purpose.

"A whorehouse for vampires," Jack went on.
 
"I love it.
 
This reminds me of that cave we stumbled on down in Mexico.
 
Remember that?
 
In 1903, if I remember right."

"1904," she corrected, remembering quite well.
 
Some vampires and mortals tried to set up a social feeding circle in a cave, away from prying eyes.
 
Another group of vampires tried to
claim
the territory, and the mortals, for themselves.
 
It didn't end well for them when Victoria and Jack got involved.
 
"How many did we have to kill that night?"

"A lot.
 
It was beautiful."

The talk of a number of kills slowed Frank for a moment, but he resumed his stride.
 
He pointed to the doors behind her.

"Victoria, you have to go," he said.
 
"This is really not the best night for a surprise inspection.
 
I'm sorry, but I don't have the time."

"What happened here, Frank?"

"Nothing.
 
Nothing happened here, okay?"

"Lie number one," Jack announced.
 
He'd already opened the first two rooms they passed.
 
"The mattress and sheets in this room have been replaced just recently.
 
The door frame is
way
too clean, it's been scrubbed.
 
The room across from it, it's not as bad, but there was definitely a couple in here earlier."

"Who the fuck are you?" Frank asked.
 
"Get out of my rooms!
 
Who do you think you are?"

Frank passed Victoria to reach for Jack, which was a mistake.
 
Jack slapped Frank's hand away, and then gave Frank an openhanded slap of his own, right across the face.
 
The echo reverberated through the quiet hallway, even making Victoria wince.
 
He kicked Frank in the back of the knee, dropping him to the floor.
 
Michael took a step forward, but Victoria stopped him just with the tone in her voice.

"Michael," she said.

He turned his head to glance at her, and she saw the apprehension.
 
The beating she gave him last time they met circled in his mind, which took a mere four seconds of her time.

"It's admirable you want to protect your boss.
 
It really is.
 
But trust me, you don't want to do anything stupid."

Michael agreed, and settled on helping Frank to his feet while Jack continued his tour.
 
He opened each door, sticking his head in for a moment, as he made his way down the hallway.

"We know something happened here," she said.
 
"Two young ladies ran into a club I own down the street.
 
One was covered in blood, the other in shock.
 
We know they came from here."

"
Ladies
might not be the right word," Jack called.
 
"I can think of a few other names."

Victoria ignored him.
 
"We need to see the security footage."

"We've only got the lobby," Frank said.
 
"We haven't had time to install any cameras back here yet."

"Lie number two," Jack said.
 
"The rooms on this side of the hallway all have hidden cameras.
 
At least two, maybe more.
 
One in the headboard, and one in the top of the dresser mirror.
 
The other side is clear.
 
And the picture above his office has a camera hidden behind it, so there should be a pretty good shot of the hallway."

"Frank," Victoria said.
 
"I'm getting tired of being lied to.
 
You record what goes on
inside
the rooms?
 
Didn't you say something about respecting privacy?"

"It's not what it sounds like," he said, rubbing his cheek.
 
"We only record if they want us to.
 
The paperwork is all proper.
 
Some of the couples…or
groups
, that come in,
want
to be recorded.
 
We give them a room on this side of the hall, and give them the files.
 
We keep none of it.
 
We're not an adult film company."

"Do you have any footage from there?" she asked, pointing out the room Jack mentioned.

"Well, yeah, but I swear to God, not on purpose.
 
We didn't have time to erase it.
 
You're right, okay?
 
Something weird happened.
 
We're still trying to figure it out."

"That's why we're here."
 
She put an arm around him and headed toward his office.
 
"We'll need to see the cameras, and please, feel free to fill me in at any time."

"Shit, I don't know.
 
A lot of screaming, a lot of yelling.
 
Kate was in the lobby.
 
I was in my office, and by the time I got to her…."
 
He trailed off at the memory, and Victoria could see he was truly disturbed.
 
"You'd better just watch the tape.
 
I saw them running out, and I guess someone called the cops.
 
But, the owner here has my back, at least for now.
 
It's actually good that you came here.
 
If you can figure out what the hell happened, I'd really appreciate it."

Victoria and Jack walked into his office.
 
It didn't take long to spot the security system.
 
Frank had a regular computer at his desk, but against the side wall was a tiny table with another computer.
 
The monitor displayed multiple live feeds, with the option to pull an older recording via calendar.

She took a moment to get used to the controls while Jack grabbed a chair and sidled up next to her.
 
He kicked his feet up on the table, inches away from the keyboard.
 
She glared at him, but he made no attempt to move.

It took some effort.
 
Arranging camera feeds, rewinding and fast-forwarding, but she thought she had a clearer picture of what happened.

Olivia was the first one to enter the Vermilion.
 
Kate was sitting behind her desk, working at the computer.
 
Olivia sat in one of the lobby chairs and waited patiently.
 
There was no audio on the footage, but Victoria could tell the two women were engaging in small talk.

"Can you see what they're saying?" Victoria asked Jack.

He leaned forward and stared at the monitor.
 
He'd learned to read lips during his long life, but had to shake his head.

"No.
 
Not quite clear enough."

Ten minutes passed before a man stepped into the lobby.
 
Victoria nor Jack needed to be told that Olivia and he were total strangers.
 
Kate introduced them, and they shared a quick hug.
 
Another couple entered the lobby, two females, holding hands.
 
They already knew each other.
 
Victoria recognized one of them as the mystery woman from Tony's club.
 
The five shared a few quick words and laughs, then Kate led Olivia and her partner to their suite.
 
The other couple waited in the lobby, and even took the time to kiss and feel each other.

"And we have hunky vampire number one and gorgeous vampire number two," Jack said, pointing at each of them on the screen.
 
"Do you know them?"

"No, never seen them before."

Olivia and her partner didn't waste any time.
 
No sooner did Kate shut the door than clothes were stripped and dropped.
 
Victoria glanced at Jack in surprise.
 
No words were exchanged.
 
Did they even give each other their names?
 
Apparently they simply found each other attractive, and engaged in what the Vermilion promised.

Because of the two cameras in the suite, Victoria saw more than she expected.

The vampire forced Olivia against the dresser.
 
She faced the camera above the mirror, and it captured their performance in every detail.
 
Olivia knew she was being recorded, like Frank said, as her eyes searched for the lens.
 
The vampire took position behind her and thrust into her.
 
Olivia arched her back as her hands pressed against the mirror.

They'd only bucked their hips for a few seconds before the biting started.

He bit her on the neck, and Olivia's eyes glazed over.
 
Victoria thought at any moment they would witness the vampire taking things too far, turning the mutual sharing into an attack.
 
Instead, he picked up and carried her to the bed, where the camera inside the headboard provided another angle.

They locked in an embrace, with Olivia sitting on the vampire's lap.
 
Her back was toward the headboard camera.
 
They moved up and down in a steady rhythm, with his fangs buried in her neck the entire time.

"So," Jack said.
 
"This is what it looks like when you have sex."

"No.
 
It's what it looks like when
they
have sex.
 
Don't lump us together."

Several more minutes passed of the couple enjoying each other.
 
On the lobby and hallway cameras, Kate led the other couple to their suite, directly across from Olivia's.

The distraction almost made her miss it.

The vampire gripped Olivia tightly, and their rhythm became disjointed.
 
He gripped her hair for a moment before his hands roamed across her back, to her hips, and back again.
 
At first glance, it seemed to just be passionate sex.

"Look," she told Jack.

He laughed.
 
"What you're seeing, Victoria, is the end result of the sexual experience.
 
Unless they're terrible at it.
 
You see, when a man loves a woman very much, he gets hard, and she gets wet—"

"Shut up, and
look
."

Olivia thrashed about, and it had nothing to do with sex.
 
She tried to get away, but was unable to.
 
Her partner seemed to be in the middle of a seizure.
 
He couldn't control himself, and his fangs ripped through her neck.
 
He grabbed her shoulders with claws instead of hands, and raked downed her back, causing the injuries Victoria and Jack had seen in person.

She finally pulled away while her partner convulsed on the bed.
 
She didn't give him a second glance as she stumbled her way to the door.
 
On the hallway camera, the other couple were leaving their room, concern on their faces.
 
They hadn't gotten quite as far as Olivia and her partner, and were still half dressed.
 
As Olivia burst into the hallway, bumping into the other couple, her partner died.