Chapter 24

Brigid didn't know what happened with the Mackenzies, and she didn't see Summer again that night. She had two nights to plan for her meeting with Ivan, and she had to focus. While the other vampires in the house went skulking off to hunt deer or conferenced in Katya's private living room, Brigid retreated to her suite and the dressing table that had been brought in with the wardrobe, wigs, and cosmetics.

She played around with changing the shape of her face. She'd never really had much interest in cosmetics and had her mother's brilliant skin to thank for that, but once she realized how useful they could be in transforming appearance, she made it a point to learn. On Murphy's team in Dublin, she'd often been the only woman willing to go undercover. It became a necessary tool.

She smoothed a layer of foundation over her skin with a brush, then began applying highlighter to her nose and cheekbones.

Though everyone was speaking as if Ivan's hunt was a done deal, Brigid knew the reality: jobs like this dangled on a very thin thread, and by this time, Ivan would know he was compromised.

As she blended the highlighter to soften the sharp edge of her jaw and alter the pointed tip of her nose, she tried to remember whether there were any pictures of Claire McKee online that she needed to reference. She didn't think so.

Even relatively honest and moral vampires were suspicious by nature, cautious around cameras, and wary of revealing anything that could identify them. Magnify that paranoia by a thousand when you were dealing with immortal rogues.

Brigid took nothing for granted. She started the process of lining her eyes, making them appear bigger while using the exact right colors to bring out the brown and mute the grey. The eyes she'd been born with were the color of good Irish whiskey, but they'd been shot through with a startling ash grey when she turned. It was unfortunately distinctive, and vampire eyes were far too sensitive to wear contact lenses.

If Ivan didn't like the look of Claire McKee, he could disappear into the ether and stay hidden for as long as he wanted. The farm was gone, but he had money and a network of connections from the immortal underworld. She'd formed a decent picture of the man after talking with Baojia and Natalie.

Ivan wasn't the type that needed flashy surroundings or thrived on notoriety like some criminals she'd chased. Ivan liked living in the shadows, which would make it nearly impossible to track him once he went under.

Added to that, he knew his primary operation had been breached and his newborn bait taken. If the hunt was continuing—and Brigid wasn't sure of that—he'd be on high alert and especially cautious. The only thing that had to be tempting him was the money. Claire had deep pockets, and Ivan likely planned to be on the run for a while.

"Brigid?" Carwyn entered the bedroom and saw her wearing a blond wig. "Oh, hello there, mysterious Miss McKee." He waggled his eyebrows. "If we have sex while you're wearing the wig, is that considered adultery? Asking for myself."

Brigid didn't fight the smile, but she did take the wig off. "I don't think I'm immortally graceful enough to have the kind of sex we have and not ruin this wig, so that'll have to be a no, darlin' man."

"Damn." He stretched out on the bed and looked at her. "How're you feeling?"

"Good." She turned and faced away from the dressing table. "I haven't done this in a while."

"You're a natural." His expression was serious. "Baojia seems confident in this connection, but I have my doubts. I don't want to be too far away from you. He's meeting you in a public location."

"Which protects us both."

"In theory. Unless he puts a knife in your throat and walks out when the humans start screaming. A cornered animal is the most dangerous kind."

The edge of her mouth turned up. "Are you worried about me, old man?"

"I want to put you on a shelf, and you know it." His voice was a soft growl. "It has nothing to do with doubting your abilities."

"I know that. To be fair, you've sent me up the wall more times than I can count chasing bear cubs."

"Why the fuck did God make them so damn adorable if they weren't meant to be kept as pets? That's all I want to know."

She stood and sat next to him on the bed. He immediately started rubbing her back.

"Carwyn, I'll be fine. I'm ready for Ivan."

"You know Baojia means to kill him, don't you?"

"As does Summer. I'll talk with him. The woman needs the kill more than he does."

"How many nights?"

"After this one? One. I meet Ivan at ten o'clock on Sunday night in Eureka."

"Which means we leave here tomorrow night to make it on time."

"Yes."

"Even farther north," he said. "Into the woods."

Brigid took a deep breath.

"Come, heart, where hill is heaped upon hill:

For there the mystical brotherhood

Of sun and moon and hollow and wood

And river and stream work out their will

And God stands winding His lonely horn,

And time and the world are ever in flight;

And love is less kind than the gray twilight,

And hope less dear than the dew of the morn."

Carwyn sat up and looked at her. "Feeling your Irish, Brigid?"

"Something about this place feels so raw. Almost primeval. What's happened in these woods where the fog hides everything? It should be comforting to be around these great massive trees, but it isn't. It feels…"

"Predatory."

She nodded. "There's this beautiful place, but this monster has made it a trap. He's used it to hide." She looked him dead in the eye. "We're going to make it stop."

She sat in the corner of the booth amid the buzz of semi-intoxicated humans and put herself in the mind of Claire McKee. She wasn't acting as Claire, she was Claire, a vampire only a hundred years old, turned in the time before the war. Barely a woman and yearning for excitement. Spoiled and pampered by her powerful sire, she had money to burn.

She was dressed purposefully like a fish out of water, in a black designer cocktail dress, heels, and her blond wig styled into an angular bob. She was carrying a Louis Vuitton purse with roughly two hundred thousand dollars in cash, just the deposit to hold her place if Ivan approved of her.

Claire didn't feel conspicuous even if Brigid had to resist the urge to tug the edge of her dress's hemline.

She felt Ivan the moment he entered the bar. She kept her eyes on her Manhattan cocktail, playing with the maraschino cherry stem. Ivan would find her. She was the only immortal in the place.

"Claire?"

She looked up and was surprised. She'd been picturing a monster in her mind, but Ivan was surprisingly handsome, even with the scars that marked his face. He was dark haired and dark eyed with a face that blended Latin and Slavic features, which were softened by his navy-blue pants and a thick, soft brown sweater. His dark hair wasn't slicked back but fell over his forehead, a little longer than he usually wore it, if Brigid had to guess. He was starting to grow a beard to cover his scars, but of course, that took months for most vampires.

She didn't try to hide her surprise. Claire would be attracted to Ivan's type. "Are you him?"

His smile was careful. "I am." He slid into the booth across from her. "What were you expecting?"

Her lips curled a little. "I suppose I don't know." Claire dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "I don't know if Lee told you, but I've never really…"

Ivan raised an eyebrow. "Done this kind of thing before?"

"Is it obvious?" She let the excitement shine from her darkly lined eyes. Her red lips hung open, and she allowed her fangs to drop just a little. "You're discreet, right? I mean, my sire doesn't pay much attention to what I do, but I have to seem… you know, proper."

She leaned back in the booth as the server came and took Ivan's order. A locally brewed IPA. Blending in nicely with the locals, are we?

If Brigid didn't know what he was, he would have seemed like a well-to-do area businessman or maybe a tourist from the city who preferred to blend in. His clothing was well made and well fitted, but it wasn't flashy. His boots were worn but probably cost over five hundred dollars.

Ivan leaned toward her. "I'll let you in on a little secret, Claire. Officially, no one in authority condones… this kind of thing. But when discreet individuals such as myself organize these types of excursions, all sorts of unexpected VIPs show up." He smiled. "It makes for an interesting business."

Fuuuuck me. Brigid just realized how much blackmail material Ivan potentially carried on past hunt participants. Maybe he even took pictures, kept tabs on what the rich and immoral were doing in their spare time. Suddenly his source of income wasn't mysterious at all.

Even Claire wouldn't be naive enough not to spot the danger. "You know…" She looked at the door. "Maybe it's not a good idea for me to—"

"Hey, hey." Ivan gripped her wrist, keeping her in her seat. "I'm not after vampires looking for some fun. If you leave me alone, we'll never have a problem. I promise. I have lots of repeat clients." The smile returned to his eyes. "If they're coming back, you know they're having a good time."

"And all the… participants, we do this together? Is that safe?"

"For you? Absolutely. Trust me, Claire, you're going to have fun. A lot of fun." His eyes dropped to the designer handbag in the seat next to her. "Did you bring the deposit?"

"Yes." Her hand dropped to her bag. "It's a lot."

Ivan spread his hands. "If you want a five-star experience, you can't expect it to be cheap."

"And it is? Five-star, I mean. I don't know where—"

"You'll be sent a location and time to meet our vehicle twenty-four hours before your experience begins," Ivan said. "Be there at the exact time. Do not be late, or you forfeit your deposit and your reservation."

Twenty-four hours before the hunt? That meant he had a house or a lodge somewhere. Maybe Baojia could find the property records.

"Should I go back to the city?" she asked. "Until then? Or will it—?"

"No." Ivan shook his head. "Unless you have access to a helicopter, I'd suggest staying local. It's not going to be much longer." He looked around the bar. "I know this town doesn't have the most… ideal accommodations, but I can offer some suggestions if you like."

Claire lifted her chin. She wasn't a child. "I can manage. I'm not helpless."

Ivan smiled. "I should hope not. Maybe after this, you'll be able to tap into even more of that predatory nature."

She smiled and bit the corner of her lip, showing just a hint of fang again. "And you'll be there for the… experience?"

He looked her up and down. "I'll make a point of it. Sometimes after this type of thing, it's hard to know what to do with all your energy."

She locked her eyes with his. "I can imagine." She imagined sex with Carwyn to stimulate her body into growing aroused. Ivan had to believe her attraction or she was sunk.

There, just a hint of her amnis woke up and teased him. He caught it and a slow smile took over his face. "I do look forward to getting to know you more, Claire." He glanced at her handbag again. "But I do need that deposit."

"Of course." Keeping her eyes on Ivan, she slid her hand into her purse and took the fat envelope of cash Baojia had provided. She passed it to Ivan under the table and let his fingers brush across her knee when he took it.

She didn't gag or snarl. Success.

"I have to ask," Ivan said. "How did you hear about our little happening in the woods?"

"Oh, I was at a party and I heard a rumor from someone who worked for… I don't know who runs San Francisco, but she worked for her. I think it's a her anyway. This girl was talking about…" She dropped her voice again. "Something about a weed farm? Is that right?"

Ivan narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

Claire continued to prattle. "Anyway, this girl was just chatting up this guy and telling him about this… thing at work, but she said she wasn't supposed to say anything, which…" She rolled her eyes. "Why are you blabbing about it at a party then, you know? Anyway, that's where I heard your name, and then I asked Lee about you, because… Well, Lee knows all the fun people in the city, doesn't he? And he'd just heard rumors, but he seemed pretty excited about it, and he said he knew a few people…" She tiptoed her fingers over to Ivan's hand and teased his still fingers. "…who knew you."

Ivan made a show of smiling politely, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. Oh, he did not like people knowing about his business. Brigid had a feeling that if Ivan didn't need the exorbitant amount of money he'd demanded for the hunt, he'd never have returned Lee's call.

When Ivan remained silent, Claire started talking again. "So Lee knew a few fun people who'd gone on one of your excursions and had really good craic." Claire shrugged. "I told him I wanted in." She let her eyes turn predatory again. "I mean… I've been traveling, trying to get in touch with my true nature, you know what I mean?" Brigid tried to channel a socialite at a wellness retreat. "I mean… What does it all mean? I've been alive for…" She caught herself, careful not to give too much away. "A while. Shouldn't it be more exciting?" She let her eyes go a little wild. "Shouldn't it be more?"

She must have passed the interrogation, because the smile returned to Ivan's eyes.

"Claire," he said, "you've come to exactly the right place."