Gates of Paradise (a Blue Bloods Novel)

here did he go? How could he disappear like that? He knew it was her, didn’t he? Knew it was Mimi underneath the brown bob and the brown eyes that were part of her disguise? Underneath the illusion, underneath the glamour—he knew her intimately, he knew her soul, he had to have seen her—truly seen her, hadn’t he? She would recognize him anywhere. In any guise, under any mask. Why couldn’t he?

She followed Danel through the tunnels to the other end of the station, relieved that he seemed to have taken the kiss in stride. It probably wasn’t the first time a girl had thrown herself on him for an impromptu make-out session. Maybe he was used to it. They took the escalator up to the next level. And that’s when Mimi saw Kingsley on the escalator going down the other way. He was laughing and chatting with the same girls.

Mimi realized her jealousy was irrelevant. This was her chance to let Kingsley and the vampires know what Lucifer was up to. Maybe then he could help somehow.

When she stepped off the escalator, she turned to Danel. “I don’t feel well—I need to go back down to the ladies’.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for you here.”

She nodded and hurried down. She pushed her way through the crowd until she was standing right behind him on the platform.

Kingsley Martin.

She wavered. She could smell him—that blend of cigarettes and coffee and whiskey that she knew so well. She could reach over and touch his hair, his neck, slip her hand into his, and they could get away from all this. What did it matter? Let the Dark Prince take Paradise. She and Kingsley could make a heaven here on earth.

Who cared about the coming war? Who cared about the Covens and the survival of the vampires? Was she even a vampire anymore? She had expected the thirst to come back, once she was free of the underworld, but there was nothing. She hadn’t had a bite in weeks.

They could forget all this. She could whisper in his ear and tell him to escape with her.

But he would hate her. He would hate her for giving up, for giving in, for being selfish. She was no longer that girl. She had grown up so much. She couldn’t do it. Not to him, not to Oliver, and more important, not to herself.

Plus, what hope did any of the vampires have if she and Jack couldn’t break the demons from the inside? The Coven was in ruins; Michael and Gabrielle had abandoned their people.

Even if she and Kingsley wanted to run away together, she knew that when it came down to it, they wouldn’t do it. Kingsley was a Venator and Mimi was a realist. Duty was more important than love. She understood that in her bones.

Mimi bumped into Kingsley’s shoulder.

“Sorry,” she said.

“No worries,” he said, smiling at her from behind his dark bangs. She was wrong. Kingsley didn’t see her. He didn’t know it was her. He gave her the flirtatious grin he gave every pretty girl on the tube.

But the smile turned into a frown. “Hey—”

“Yes?” she asked, holding her breath.

“You dropped this,” he said, holding up a postcard with a picture of a chapel.

“No—that’s not mine,” she said. “Sorry.”

“Oh.” He stared at her and blinked, staring hard at her now. “Do I know you from somewhere…?”

She smiled nervously, shook her head, and bolted back up the escalator. If Danel knew what she was up to…If Lucifer found out…She pushed through the people and jostling elbows. Danel was waiting for her at the top, talking on his phone.

“Sorry, I feel much better now,” she said.

“Yeah, jet lag.” He nodded. “You told me.” He closed his phone. “So that was your boy.”

Kingsley? she almost said. Then realized he meant Jack.

“He’s run into a bit of trouble with those monks in Spain. I’m going to have to help him sort it out.” He sighed. “He doesn’t want to make too much of a mess. It would alert the Blue Bloods as to what we’re doing. Keep it quiet, you know.”

“Oh, okay.”

“You think you can handle Rosslyn on your own?”

“Yeah…I mean…Yeah.” She nodded.

“All right, gorgeous. But we’ve got unfinished business, you and me,” Danel said, chucking her chin. Then he was gone.

You’re welcome, her twin sent.

Mimi boarded the train to Edinburgh. She only hoped Kingsley would understand the meaning of the postcard.

She wanted nothing more than to fail at this quest.





TEN


Bliss


liss remembered the days when the Repository had been housed underneath a pair of nightclubs. The Bank had been one of the hottest spots in Manhattan, but now it attracted more of a bridge-and-tunnel crowd. Block 122, next door, was exclusively for Blue Bloods and their guests. Together, they’d provided perfect cover for the building that housed the documents detailing the history of the Blue Bloods. All of their knowledge, all of their secrets.

But the Repository had been relocated, and now it was housed below Force Tower, in a corescraper miles underground.

“A corescraper?” Lawson asked.