Love Your Entity (23 page)

“We’re standing in front of a staircase.” He put her hand on the metal railing.

She touched it briefly before yanking her hand away. “Someone died here!”

“What? Who?” he demanded.

“I don’t know. I can’t tell.”

He listened for fear in her voice but instead heard frustration. “Are you going to be able to … never mind.” He whisked her over his shoulder and moved down the steps at vamp speed before setting her back on her feet.

“What the hell was that?” she demanded.

“An expedient move,” he replied.

“I could have managed those stairs on my own, thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I was being sarcastic.”

“I know. Look at this.” He pointed to something scratched onto the cement wall of the tunnel they were in before remembering she couldn’t see in the dark the way he could. “It looks like part of the map. But not all of it.”

“I can’t see anything.”

“That’s okay.”

“No it’s not.”

“Why? Are you sensing something?” he said.

“Yes, I’m sensing that I am losing patience with you.”

“That’s it? That’s all?”

“My pizza is getting cold,” she reminded him. “How long do you plan on keeping us locked up in here?”

A few feet ahead was a dead end. Ronan pushed on the wall and ended up knocking the bricks out. They tumbled onto the concrete floor.

“You could have done that upstairs,” she said. “Are we in the basement?”

“Yes.”

“Our basement?”

He was surprised at how her use of the word
our
got to him. As if they were a team, meant to be together.

“You’re going to pay to have that fixed,” she said.

Ronan didn’t know how to fix this situation. He had to get that key.

He stepped over the pile of fallen bricks and helped her into the basement. He steadied her a moment before reaching for the light switch.

She blinked and shielded her eyes at the sudden influx of illumination. “So that was the tunnel system that runs under the house.”

Ronan was no expert on the tunnels, but he knew that this particular branch hadn’t been used in decades. He’d have to consult with Damon to see what he knew.

“I’m going upstairs to eat my pizza,” she announced with a regal tilt of her head that made him want to kiss her.

He let her go. Because he knew that he wouldn’t stop with just one kiss.

She’d no sooner left than Damon appeared. He eyed the demolished bricks. “First you’re digging up coffins, now you’re destroying walls.”

“Did you know about that passageway?” Ronan asked. “It leads upstairs from the dining room down here.”

“I was not aware of a passageway within the house. Only the bootlegging tunnels connecting Vamptown. Did you find anything interesting in the passageway?”

“Sierra said someone died on the staircase in there.”

“You found a dead body?”

“No.”

“A skeleton?”

“No. Sierra just had a feeling, that’s all.”

“And you care because?”

“It’s my house.”

“And you’re awfully attached to it, aren’t you?” Damon eyed him suspiciously. “Remember I told you that we keep surveillance on area cemeteries? I saw what went on.”

Ronan remained silent. A hell of a lot had gone on in that cemetery.

“I saw Sierra talking to someone who wasn’t there.”

“There were a lot of spirits at that location,” Ronan said.

“So you think that finding this missing treasure of Hal’s will be enough to get rid of him?”

“If he doesn’t kill us first.”

“He’s a ghost. What can he do?”

“He’s already done plenty.”

“Are you referring to the vampire bond between you and Sierra?”

Ronan nodded.

“And where does Voz fit into all this?”

Ronan remained silent.

“I saw him there in the cemetery with you for a moment before the feed mysteriously went dead.”

“Thanks for enlisting Zoe’s help with returning the grave site to its previous state,” Ronan said.

“You’re avoiding my question. What did Voz want?”

“He was just checking up on me.”

“Why?”

“He wanted to make sure I was settling in here.”

“Because he’s a warm and fuzzy kind of Master Vampire, right?” Damon mocked.

“No.” Ronan suspected that Damon was well aware of Voz’s ruthless reputation.

“What then?”

“He has a hard time letting go.”

“Obviously.”

“What is Voz’s connection to Hal?”

“None that I am aware of,” Ronan answered honestly.

“That tat at the back of your neck did more than make you able to tolerate sunlight, you know. It made you part of our clan,” Damon said.

Ronan had been part of Voz’s vampire gang—always a lesser being, never an equal. He’d never been part of a clan before. That didn’t change the fact that he had to do this alone. He’d already involved Sierra in ways he’d never expected and now regretted.

“One way or another, this will all be over soon,” Ronan said. “You have my word on that.”

*   *   *

Ruby met Sierra at the top of the stairs. “I told you not to investigate that passageway.”

Sierra walked past her, opened the pizza box, and stuffed a slice in her mouth. She gobbled it down in a few bites and reached for another piece.

“Are you listening to me?” Ruby demanded.

Sierra shook her head and kept eating.

When Ruby floated closer, she warned the ghost, “Do not mess with me. I am eating this damn pizza without anyone bothering me. I’ve had it. Do
you
hear me? I’ve had it with spirits and ghosts and vampires and everything! Now go away and let me eat in peace!”

Ruby didn’t go away but she did allow Sierra to finish her dinner.

Sierra put the leftovers in the fridge.

Ruby sat on the kitchen counter, swinging her feet. For the first time, Sierra noticed the shoes she was wearing. They were black and had a shiny shoe clip on the vamp, which was fashionable in the twenties. But for the first time she noticed the heels, which were covered in colored rhinestones and glittered in the kitchen light.

“Have you been wearing those shoes all along?” Sierra asked.

Ruby looked at her footwear. “Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Forget about my shoes. Tell me about Johnny. I’ve been patient.”

“He said to tell you he still loves you.”

Ruby burst into tears. At least that’s what Sierra thought happened. She’d never actually seen a ghost cry before. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

Not that Sierra should be judgmental about it. She was an ugly crier herself.

“He said he’s waiting for you,” Sierra added, hoping that might make Ruby feel better.

It did. “He is?” She just about beamed. “He’s waiting for me?”

“That’s what he said. He can’t leave the cemetery to tell you himself.”

Ruby jumped down from the counter and floated closer. “How did he look?”

Hmmm. How had he looked? He looked like a ghost. A pale and translucent ghost. “He had dark hair.”

“And his eyes? He has the dreamiest eyes.”

“Right.”

“You didn’t see his eyes?” Ruby demanded.

Sierra paused. She had no idea what color his eyes were.

“Did you really see him or are you just making this all up to shut me up?”

“Why would I do that?”

“To make me shut up. People are always trying to shut me up.”

“Not Johnny though, right?”

“No.” Ruby’s voice softened. “Not Johnny. He’d listen to me and make me feel like I was the smartest girl in the world. No one had ever made me feel that way before.”

Sierra could relate to that. No one had ever made her feel the way Ronan did. But most of that was because of the vampire bond connecting them.

Or was it? She’d been attracted to him before she even knew he was a vampire. Seeing him naked had certainly gotten her attention. He wasn’t the first man she’d ever seen naked. Okay, he
was
the first vampire she’d ever seen naked. The first she’d ever seen clothed, for that matter.

Who was she kidding? She was falling for Ronan. Right. Falling? Wrong. She’d already fallen. Done and done. He was the one for her. She could be conflicted about it all she wanted, but it didn’t change that basic fact.

That’s why she was doing all this for him. Screw the vampire bond. She could only blame that for so long. But she’d keep blaming it for now because it made her feel less terrified that way.

“Why didn’t you want us exploring the passageway?” Sierra asked. “Was it because of the spiral staircase?”

Ruby’s pale face reflected her anxiety. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Someone died on that staircase,” Sierra said. “Do you know who?”

Ruby shook her head vehemently.

“Had you ever been in the passageway before?”

“Maybe.”

“Before or after you died?”

“Why does it matter?”

“I’m assuming Hal knew about the passageway?”

“Hal knows everything,” Ruby muttered. “That’s why he’s so hard to get rid of.”

“And don’t you forget it, girlie,” Hal said from the doorway to the dining room. He paused to take a puff of his cigar. “Where’s your vampire watchdog?”

“Ronan is nearby so don’t try anything,” Sierra warned Hal.

“I’m right here,” Ronan said. “What’s going on?”

“Hal is here.”

“I can tell. I can smell his cigar,” Ronan said.

“Tell your sissy vampire dog to stay out of my tunnels,” Hal said.

“He doesn’t like us going into his tunnels and he wants us to stay out of them,” Sierra said.

“You’ll never get your hands on my treasure,” Hal said. “I’ll see you dead first!”

At his words, the lightbulbs in the kitchen ceiling fixture over their heads exploded.

Once again, Ronan shielded Sierra with his body even as he moved her with freaky fast speed. Slivers of glass rained down on the place where they’d stood a split second earlier. The sound of Hal’s laughter filled the air before he was gone.

Chapter Nineteen

“Something happened,” Ruby said.

“No shit,” Sierra said. “Hal just went all Angry Birds on us.” Seeing the confused look on both Ruby’s and Ronan’s faces, she muttered, “Never mind.”

“We can’t go in the basement anymore,” Ruby said. “Hal and I. We can’t go in the basement.”

“Why not?”

“We don’t know.”

Sierra sure hoped it didn’t have anything to do with the evil she’d sensed at the séance earlier. That’s all she needed. Some mysterious terrible thing rising from the basement. What next? Zombies? Mummies? She sure as hell hoped not.

Her heroine Nicki would say, “Bring it on.” Easy for her to say. She was a fictional character living in the world Sierra created. Sierra hadn’t created this world of vampires and witches and ghosts. She just lived in it.

“I’ve had enough for one day,” Sierra said. “I’m going to bed.”

Ronan remained by her side as she marched into the bedroom and plopped on her bed. “I have a headache.” An instant later she felt something cold clamp around her ankles. She tried to scoot back or sit up but whatever was holding her wouldn’t let go. She was on the verge of screaming when the Bearded Lady appeared at the foot of her bed. “Let Bruce help you,” she said.

“How?”

But she was already gone.

Damn. Why didn’t any of these spirits hang around long enough to give specific instructions or directions instead of these vague one-liners?

“What’s going on?” Ronan demanded.

“Mother showed up again. She said I should allow Bruce to help me.”

“In what way?”

“She didn’t say. She just grabbed my ankles to get my attention and then said that one line and disappeared.”

“What is her connection to all this?” Ronan said.

“I have no idea. Aside from her connection to Bruce, I mean. She did give us that clue about Hal though. She’d heard of him.”

“How?”

“She didn’t say. Maybe he has a reputation among spirits? A bad reputation. What are you doing?” Sierra asked.

“Calling Bruce,” Ronan said.

“Let me talk to him,” Sierra said.

Ronan frowned. “Why?”

“Because I’m better at interviewing people than you are.”

“Perhaps. But Bruce is a vampire not a person.”

“I’m still better.” She grabbed the phone from Ronan’s hand. “Bruce, it’s Sierra here. I was wondering if you could give me some more information about Mother. You were both in the circus, right? Where was it located?”

“It was a traveling circus,” Bruce said. “We went all over. Mostly the Southern and Midwest states.”

“What was the name of the circus?”

“Cirque Dimitrov,” Bruce said.

“Wait a second. Gregori Dimitrov owned my house at one time. Before Hal and after Ronan’s family.”

“I knew he had a place up North, but I had no idea it was here.”

“Was he a vampire?”

“No. His business partner, his brother Ivan, was a vampire. He’s the one who turned me.”

“He turned you but not his brother?”

“Ivan and Gregori had an argument shortly before Mother died. Gregori took off after that. We never saw him again.”

“Is it possible Ivan turned Gregori and didn’t tell anyone?”

“I doubt it. Ivan once told me that his brother wasn’t worthy of being immortal. I was worthy because my act made Ivan laugh more than anyone else ever had. I didn’t want to die the way Mother had so when he asked if I wanted to live forever, I said sure, why not. I may have been drunk at the time,” Bruce admitted.

“I think it is more than just a coincidence that there is a connection between Gregori and this house and the circus and you and—”

“And the Romanovs,” Bruce added helpfully. “That’s where they got the money to start the circus. They smuggled some of the Romanovs’ treasure out of Russia after the revolution.”

“What do you know about this treasure?”

“Not much. Only what I told you basically. Why? Do you think Gregori hid it in your house? Surely someone would have found it by now.”

“Probably,” Sierra said. “Thanks for your help.”

“Pat might be able to provide you with more information but he’s out of town and unavailable. He’ll be back tomorrow. Shall I have him give you a call?” Bruce said.