Sensual Danger (Venice Vampyr #4)

Wondering where else she could be, he crossed the hallway and walked into the parlor. Nobody was inside, and the smell of a freshly lit fire overshadowed any other smells, making it impossible for him to know whether Oriana had been here.

Unease crept up his spine. There weren’t many other places in the house where she could be. When he stepped back out into the hallway, his gaze fell onto the wooden paneling behind which the secret passageway led to Oriana’s laboratory. He approached the door slowly, his suspicion rising with every step.

A faint whiff of her smell drifted to his nostrils. He cursed under his breath. He squeezed his eyes shut for a short moment, trying to push down the rising anger. Oriana had gone to her laboratory, going against his wishes. Had she not understood that she couldn’t continue her research? That doing so would endanger him?

He should have destroyed the machine instantly when he’d had a chance, but instead he’d spend the last hours in bed with his wife, making love to her to convince her that she could trust him not to hurt her. And as soon as he’d been asleep, she’d snuck down here behind his back to continue her work. How could she?

Fuming, he jerked the door open and entered the musty corridor, rushing along in the darkness until he reached the door to the laboratory. The door was unlocked, evidence that she’d gone against his wishes. He pushed it open, ready to give his wife a tongue-lashing she wouldn’t forget for a long time.

The room was empty. His eyes focused on the workbench where Giuseppe had set down her machine. He froze. It was gone.

His hands balled into fists, and he slammed them into the nearest wall, breaking through the dry wood.

“Oriana!” he screamed and turned on his heels, running back into the hallway.

“ORIANA!”

But there was no reply.

Then a sound coming from the butler’s pantry made him whip his head in that direction. Giuseppe’s dropped shoulders and his lowered head told him everything he needed to know. He charged the man and slammed him against the wall.

“Where is she?”

The footman trembled. His lips moved, but nothing came over them.

“Speak!”

“She w-w-went t-t-to m-m-m . . . ” His voice died.

“Where?”

“Th-the group who is i-i-interested in her r-r-research. She’s meeting them to show them the machine.”

His heart turned to ice. After declaring his love for Oriana, she’d betrayed him. And he hadn’t seen it coming. He’d not seen her deception. How blind he’d been, how utterly blind!

“Where?” he repeated, his voice dead calm.

He knew what he had to do now. There was no other solution. And simply wiping her memory wouldn’t be enough. There was only one answer to such a betrayal.

As he listened to the footman giving him the location where Oriana would meet a representative of the Guardians, Nico glanced toward the small window over the entrance door. Almost an hour of daylight was still left, but he couldn’t wait for nightfall. This situation had to be dealt with without delay.

Throwing his black, hooded cloak over his shoulders, he headed for the sheltered dock that held his closed gondola.





18


Oriana’s hands trembled slightly when she inserted one vial into the metal holder in the center of her machine. Nothing happened at first.

“What is it supposed to do?” the man barked, his face concealed by the hood of his cloak.

They stood in an archway that led through a row of houses to a bridge crossing one of the many canals. It was quiet in this mostly residential part of Venice. There were no shops, no street vendors, no passersby. She’d realized too late that the location the Guardian had chosen to meet her was remote. Unease settled in her belly. What if she was mistaken, and the machine didn’t work the way she wanted it to?

Trying to keep her voice from revealing her nervousness, she said firmly, “When a human touches the rod which protrudes from the front, the center of the machine will glow orange, indicating a human’s warmth.”

“And how does that help with detecting a vampire?” he asked impatiently, suspicion rolling off him like rain water off the smooth tiles of a roof.

“I was coming to that.” Her hands fumbled underneath the machine, partly concealed by the dark cloth she’d attached to its bottom before leaving the house. “But first, I need to ask a question.”

“Mmm?”

She swallowed nervously. “Who knows about the machine?”

He chuckled unexpectedly. “All my uh . . . brothers do.”

“Yet, you’re the only one who wanted a demonstration of it?” she countered, hoping to get more information from him.

“A wise man doesn’t share his sources.”

“I beg your pardon, signore?” Could this possibly mean what she thought it meant?

“Every society has its hierarchy. To climb, one needs advantages.”

The wheels in her mind clicked. “You’re the only one then who knows who I am?”