12. Leia

Chapter 12

Aimée's eyes widened. "Some fucker sent you a head?"

She'd already asked that question about four times, and every time she voiced it afresh, I swallowed a new wave of nausea.

Lettie's eyes would haunt me forever. I touched my pendant then held it in my fist. The crystal charms on my bracelet swayed gently with my movement.

"Holy fuck, woman. And a vampire went crazy in La Petite Mort? I guess Nicky needs to avoid take-his-mate-to-work days in the future, if that's the effect you have on the place."

She laughed, but I couldn't join in.

"It was pretty awful." A shudder worked through me. Those eyes. I just couldn't stop seeing them.

She grabbed my hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make light of it. I just can't believe they'd be so…bold. I mean, that's not just in Nicky's backyard. That's right in his house while his fucking wife's home, you know?"

I grinned, a ridiculous flicker of warmth racing through my chest at the fact she'd pretty much just called me Nic's wife.

"But don't worry," she continued. "I'm sure Nic has a plan to keep you safe."

Okay, so guilt extinguished the warmth. I hated that Nic had to take extra effort to keep me safe.

"Tell you what." Aimée stretched her legs out and rested her feet on the footstool. "Let's turn that frown of yours upside down."

"More movies? More popcorn? I'm not even sure even I can manage any more popcorn, Aimée, and usually popcorn can get me to do anything."

She laughed. "No, nothing like that. And no more walks around the grounds or exploring the attic, either." She shivered. "Too many spiders."

"What then? I can't handle any more food than I already eat. Nic's going to have start rolling me to bed at night if I keep eating everything Chef cooks." I sighed dramatically.

Aimée laughed again. "No… no more food. But how would you feel about a night out on the town?"

I groaned. "You mean fixing some speakers to my phone and dancing in the biggest room we can find?" I smoothed my thumb over the velvety pile of the couch. "I'm not up for another pathetic disco for two." I shot her a quick glance. "No offense."

She raised an eyebrow, and a corner of her mouth tilted up. "None taken. But no, not another pathetic disco for two. I think I can break you out of this joint on good behavior."

"What?" Part of it sounded too good to be true, but anxiety buzzed along each of my nerves. "But I just went out, and that didn't work out too well, right?"

She nudged me. "Well, if I'd have been there, I'd have kept you safe. That's pretty much why I'm here. Your own personal bodyguard. Because…" She trailed off and looked away. "Because you're human," she finished.

"Yeah, I am." I shrugged, ignoring her implication, pretending I didn't see her point that if I was vampire instead, I wouldn't be bringing these problems right to our door… to Nic's door.

"But I can still take you out? Please?" She wheedled the last word, and I shrugged.

"I don't think Nic's going to let me go anywhere, do you?" But even as I protested, going out sounded good.

I'd never really been out. Not with a guy, not with a girl, although I'd seen plenty of people come out to The Pour House, while I was working and serving all the drinks and cleaning up all the good times at the end of the night.

"Where's Nicky right now?" She stood and clapped her hands together once then looked at me expectantly.

"Uh, I guess in his war room?" It wasn't really a war room. It was just his office at home, but he often sequestered himself in there with Sebastian and Jason or Kyle or whichever of those guys was around on any given day.

She snorted derisively. "I bet they're in there plotting all kinds of military maneuvers. Well, I can just let Nicky know that I'm taking you out tonight, and he needn't worry."

I let my head drop back onto the cushions behind me. "Yeah. Let me know how that goes." Maybe I'd be good with just spending the day in Nic's library instead.

"Come on." She took my hand and tugged me to standing. "We're going to see Nicky."

She led me to Nic's office and knocked loudly on the door. "Oh, little pig," she called. "Please let me in."

The door cracked open, and Jason peered out. When he saw me beside Aimée, he opened the door fully. "They're both out here, Nic." He glanced over his shoulder. "What do you want me to do?"

Aimee shoved past him and drew me after her. "You got a bouncer now, Nicky? I only wanted to ask you a question."

He sighed and scanned the paperwork he was holding, barely sparing us a glance. "What?"

Sebastian looked at us briefly too, before looking fixedly at a device in his hand. He didn't meet my gaze. Kyle hadn't even acknowledged our presence, even though he stood like a shadow in the corner.

"Oh, good, you're all here." Aimée almost yawned as she spoke. Then she examined her nails.

"That doesn't tell me why you are here." Nic's tone spoke to how busy he was, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he rested his gaze on Aimée, but his gaze softened a little when he transferred it to me. It gentled and his mouth curved in a smile meant just for me.

My stomach fluttered in response, and his nostrils flared.

"Why have you brought Leia in here, Aimée?"

"Why not?" she asked, but her tone was far too innocent, and I shifted uneasily.

"Because she's a distraction." Sebastian didn't even lift his head as he spoke, and Nic rumbled a noise in his chest that sounded a lot like a warning. "I'm sorry." Sebastian didn't sound sorry at all. "But it's true."

"Yes, well," Aimée said brightly like she'd hoped that would be the response. "How about I get her out of your hair this evening?"

Nic barked a laugh and shook his head. "I don't think so."

"I won't leave her side." She made a crossing motion over her heart with her finger.

"No, you won't, because you'll both be in this house where I can keep an eye on you." His tone left no room for argument.

"Okay." I stepped back. "Thanks, anyway,"

"No." Aimée grabbed my hand. "No, we're not giving up this easily. I want to take you out dancing. Nicky. You still own that whole block, right?"

"What of it?" He was back to being disinterested.

"Including the boutique next door to the casino?"

He nodded. Well, I guess that explained why the ladies all loved him in there, anyway.

Aimée probed further, ignoring the dark looks and glowers from the other guys in the room. "And you also still own Vibrer then?"

"Yes." His tone darkened. "But what of it?"

She flopped into the chair opposite him like I'd been forgotten. "Great. So if you still own those three buildings all in a row, you'll let us go to your nightclub, right?"

My mouth probably gaped open. Nic owned a nightclub as well as a casino?

"No." It was a one-word sentence. Harsh and rich and dismissive all at the same time.

"But you can hole up in your office there for the evening. Keep an eye on both the nightclub and your mate. How long has it been since you last checked those books?"

"I don't need to." Nic's voice was still clipped. "I have a manager to do that for me."

Aimée laughed. "Oh, Nicky. You forget I know what a control freak you are. And now that I've mentioned the books, you're dying to see them, right?"

He chuckled unexpectedly. "Maybe a small urge." He just barely separated his thumb and forefinger to show how little her words had affected him.

"Please, Nicky." Aimée seemed to hold her breath for a moment. "What's the point in all this extra security if Leia needs to stay in all the time? Do you want her to feel trapped?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "How can you even ask after what just happened?"

"What's security like now?" she persisted. "And why would they come back and hit the same place twice, knowing you're ready for them?"

Nic glanced at Kyle, and he shrugged slightly, the movement so small I wasn't sure I'd really seen it.

"Security has been tripled," Nic said, and Aimée laughed.

"Then that's perfect. And surely you've got some paperwork or something you can do for an hour or so? You can be right there."

This time, he glanced at Sebastian, who dropped one corner of his mouth consideringly.

Then Nic looked at me. "Do you want to go out with Aimée?"

"Of course she does, Nicky. You can't keep her here like a prisoner. That solves nothing."

His mouth formed a flat line as he glanced at his sister. "I was asking Leia."

"It might be nice," I ventured, and Aimée scoffed.

"Hell, yeah, it will be nice. Do you really intend to keep your mate locked away, Nicky? How many times have you been out dancing?" She looked pointedly at me, but it was a trick question—she knew exactly how many.

And from Nic's sigh, he knew the answer too. He glanced at me. "Maybe just for an hour. So Leia can do something a little different."

Aimée squealed and grabbed one of my hands. "You've never danced until you've felt the beat of the music coming through the floor. Come on, we need to go get ready." She spared a quick look for her brother. "Thank you, Nicky."

"This one's on you, Aimée," he murmured, and although there was something dangerous in his soft tone, his eyes betrayed his conflict.

"I know… I know. You won't regret it. Come on, Leia, before he changes his mind." She pulled me from his office and along the hallway, laughing like a hyena the whole way. "We've got so much to do before we can go. Hair, make-up, clothes. It's going to take all afternoon."

She stopped like she could sense my sudden hesitation.

"It's okay, Leia. Vibrer is Nicky's territory just as much as La Petite Mort. You'll be safe there because he'll have extra security, and I won't let you out of my sight." She grinned, flashing plenty of fang. "You have a bodyguard who bites."

I'd expected Aimée to be joking about taking all afternoon to get ready, but she made styling her hair and selecting a dress into an art form, and by the time we left the house, we both looked as if we were about to be photographed for a fashion magazine.

Jenkins drove us, and Aimée looked around approvingly as she stepped onto the curb. "Yes, this will do nicely," she murmured, "And not one sighting of annoying older brothers. Now let's hope it stays that way and he's content with glowering from inside his office all night."

She laughed, and I joined in, but unease slithered over me, cooling my skin.

I glanced at the entrance to the casino as we passed it, and Aimée drew open the door of the nightclub. Everything inside was sleek and modern, with black and steel and neon pulsing lights highlighting the location of the bar and dark booths.

Aimée had been right—the bass thumped right through the floor and into my feet, and I wanted to dance from the moment we walked in. My body swayed a little, and Aimée glanced at me approvingly.

"Drink first?" She tilted her head toward the bar, and I nodded as I took in all the people filling the space.

The nightclub practically vibrated with their energy, which made a lot of sense of the name. The bar was packed, too, but Aimée worked her way to the front of the crowd, never letting go of my hand as she made the move to be next in line look almost effortless. She greeted the bartender by name, and he nodded at her. Then he glanced at me, and his nostrils flared slightly.

"This is Leia." Aimée moved her hand to my shoulder. "Nicky's friend," she added, her tone full of meaning.

Suddenly I had more than one bartender offering me drinks, and several shot glasses lined the bar in front of me. The staff almost fell over themselves and each other in their attempts to be helpful and provide me with anything I might want.

"What are they doing?" I moved closer to Aimée so I could talk directly into her ear.

She lifted an eyebrow. "They know who you are," she said, like that was important.

And maybe the fact Nic shared my bed every night made me important here, but that was a little weird.

"Let's go find somewhere to sit." But no sooner had Aimée spoken than a guy with a suit appeared in front of her, and she followed him to a roped off staircase. The private table on the balcony on the second floor was quieter than the main area, but it was fantastic for watching all the people. So many colors… So many shades of fun and glamorous and even desperate.

"Are they human?" I glanced out at the familiar mating rituals of drink buying and dancing closer in among the crush than was usually socially acceptable.

"Most of the customers are." She rolled her eyes. "Nicky loves emptying the bank accounts of humans… And they seem to love giving him their money. Casino, nightclub. I'm sure he could make money out of a torture chamber, to be honest. The staff, though…" She grinned. "They're handpicked and all loyal to Nicky."

I spotted Jason against the back wall, part blending into the shadows, as his gaze roved the crowd of people. I followed the direction of where he was looking, trying to find out what had caught his attention.

"But some vampires come here?"

She shrugged. "Sometimes, I guess. Nicky doesn't like casual pick-ups from here, though. We have other places where we can find donors."

I shuddered. I hadn't even considered vampire feeding habits in connection with a nightclub. Perhaps that was what Jason was doing down there—discouraging hunting inside. I lifted my hand to my neck, not even noticing what I'd done until Aimée grinned.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Nicky will make an exception for himself if the mood strikes the two of you."

My cheeks heated and Aimée grabbed my hands.

"Come on. Dancing. We're not just going to watch everyone else have fun all night."

I smiled because we'd definitely come out here more for Aimée tonight than for me.

"Let's hit the dance floor. The guys here are going to love you." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, but I glanced around.

I'd feel better if I had some idea where Nic's office was, if I knew how to get to him. But Aimée tugged my hands and drew me forward as her head tipped back and she laughed, and I grinned in response, her happiness at being here contagious.

Once on the dance floor, movement was effortless, and I danced with anyone available, sometimes catching sight of Jason through the shifting crowd or even Kyle. Gradually, the crowd around me seemed to thin, until I was dancing exclusively with women.

"Oof!" Aimée bumped against me. "I didn't expect to get so warm."

I glanced at my arm, at the thin sheen of sweat on my skin, and I lifted my hair from the back of my neck to try to cool myself a little as I flicked my tongue over my lips.

"Drink?" Aimée yelled the word into my ear, and I nodded.

"Bathroom," I replied, and Aimee nodded toward a hallway close to the bar.

"They're down there, but I'll be able to see the entrance at all times, and I know Jason is here watching out for you too."

I nodded and freed myself from the crowd. But as soon as I walked into the luxurious bathroom that smelled of almonds and honey layered with expensive perfumes, fingers wrapped around my throat and a weight pressed against my back. I stumbled forward, clawing at the hands squeezing off my air.

"You bitch." A familiar voice hissed in my ear.

Valérie. I struggled harder, trying to dislodge her from my back.

"How dare you walk around the casino and here smelling like Nic?" She shook me, and a garbled sound escaped my lips as fear gripped me. "You weaken him."

Nic. Suddenly, he was in my thoughts, and it was like I could feel him, his presence calming me, almost like I could imagine his touch and his voice low in my ear.

"Not so clever without one of your vampire guard, are you?" She was laughing now as her fingers tightened again.

Another flash of panic obliterated my thoughts—I'd been held like this before, and I couldn't get away.

"I should drink you dry," Valérie growled in my ear. "See what makes you so special. Maybe I'd be special then too."

I struggled again, but she was too strong. I couldn't move her weight. I was just a human trapped by a vampire. Again.

The bathroom door banged open behind us, cracking against the wall hard enough to leave a dent. Aimée rushed in, letting out a bloodcurdling roar before Valérie's head rolled across the floor in front of me, her blue eyes open wide, her perfectly styled blonde hair coming loose from the chignon.