I followed him past more lavish, empty rooms to the library. It was magnificent, with hundreds of new and old books. There were even scrolls preserved in a glass display case, but it was the large piece of artwork on the wall that caught my attention.
“This looks... primitive.”
At first glance it appeared to be wood or ivory, but on closer inspection, it looked like bones. Human ones.
“Aborigine, nearly three hundred years old. Given to me by some mates of mine in Australia.”
Liam came nearer, his turquoise eyes starting to glint with emerald. I knew the pinpoints of green in his gaze for what they were. Lust and feeding looked the same on a vampire. Both made the eyes glow emerald and the fangs pop out. Liam was either hungry or horny, but I wasn’t going to satisfy any of his cravings.
My cell phone rang. “Hello,” I answered.
“Agent Arthur, are you still questioning Mr. Flannery?” my second-in-command, Tate, asked.
“Yes. This should be wrapped up in thirty minutes.”
Translation: If I didn’t answer again in half an hour, Tate and my team would come in after me.
Tate hung up without further comment. He hated it when I handled things alone, but too bad. Flannery’s house was as quiet as a tomb, apropos as that may be, and it had been a long time since I’d battled with a Master vampire.
“I believe the police told you that the bodies of Thomas Stillwell and Jerome Hawthorn were found with most of their blood missing. And not any visible wounds on them to account for it,” I said, jumping right in.
Liam shrugged. “Does the Bureau have a theory?”
Oh, we had more than a theory. I knew Liam would have just closed the telltale holes on Thomas and Jerome’s necks with a drop of his own blood before they died. Boom, two bodies drained, no vampire calling card to rally the villagers—unless you knew what tricks to look for.
Flatly I shot back, “You do, though, don’t you?”
“You know what I have a theory on, Catrina? That you taste as sweet as you look. In fact, I haven’t thought about anything else since you walked in.”
I didn’t resist when Liam closed the distance between us and lifted my chin. After all, this would distract him better than anything I came up with.
His lips were cool on mine and vibrating with energy, giving my mouth pleasant tingles. He was a very good kisser, sensing when to deepen it and when to really deepen it. For a minute, I actually allowed myself to enjoy it—God, four years of celibacy must be taking its toll!—and then I got down to business.
My arms went around him, concealing me pulling a dagger from my sleeve. At the same time, he slid his hands down to my hips and felt the hard outlines under my pants.
“What the hell—?” he muttered, pulling back.
I smiled. “Surprise!” And then I struck.
It would have been a killing blow, but Liam was faster than I anticipated. He swept my feet out from under me just as I jabbed, so my silver missed his heart by inches. Instead of attempting to regain my stability, I let myself drop, rolling away from the kick he aimed at my head. Liam moved in a streak to try it again, but then jerked back when three of my throwing knives landed in his chest. Dammit, I’d missed his heart again.
“Sweet bleedin’ Christ!” Liam exclaimed. He quit pretending to be human and let his eyes turn glowing emerald while fangs popped out in his upper teeth. “You must be the fabled Red Reaper. What brings the vampire bogeyman to my home?”
He sounded intrigued, but not afraid. He was more wary, however, and circled around me as I sprang to my feet, throwing off my jacket to better access my weapons.
“The usual,” I said. “You murdered humans. I’m here to settle the score.”
Liam actually rolled his eyes. “Believe me, poppet, Jerome and Thomas had it coming. Those thieving bastards stole from me. It’s so hard to find good help these days.”
“Keep talking, pretty boy. I don’t care.”
I rolled my head around on my shoulders and palmed more knives. Neither of us blinked as we waited for the other to make a move. What Liam didn’t know was that I was aware he’d summoned for help. I could hear the ghoul creep quietly closer toward us, barely disturbing the air around him. Liam’s chattering was just to buy time.
He shook his head in apparent self-recrimination.
“Your appearance should have warned me. The Red Reaper is said to have hair as red as blood, gray eyes like smoke, and your skin... mmm, now there’s the real distinction. I’ve never seen such beautiful flesh on a human before. Christ, girl, I wasn’t even going to bite you. Well, not the way you’re thinking.”
“I’m flattered you want to fuck me as well as murder me. Really, Liam, that’s sweet.”
He grinned. “Valentine’s Day was just last month, after all.”
He was forcing me toward the door and I let him. Deliberately I pulled my longest knife from my pants leg, the one that was practically a small sword, and switched it with my throwing knives in my right hand.