“Is this supposed to impress us?” Arys asked, looking bored. “So you’ve replaced the screaming blood ring victims with wolves. Why so smug?”
Sloane grew defensive. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “You know how I felt about the blood ring Harley was running here. It was sick. You thought so too. When Harley died, Jenner put a stop to that. This is a business, and we need to turn a profit.”
“I see. So you’re proud of yourself for having a hand in that,” Arys observed, his tone bitter. “But we both know Jenner will do anything for the right piece of pu**y.”
The tension between them was thick. Sloane held her head high and marched across the room, expecting us to follow. Arys chuckled, happy with himself for getting under her skin.
“What the hell was that about?” I grabbed his arm, forcing him to meet my eyes. “I want to walk out of here alive, Arys.”
“No worries, my love. Nobody here is stupid enough to lay a hand on you.” With an arm around my shoulders, he guided me along, down the hall where Sloane had disappeared.
“Seriously?” Jez piped up. “Do we really want to keep following this crazy bitch?”
I sure as hell didn’t. I was ready to leave without ever seeing another inch of this place. Instead, we followed the vampire.
She was waiting for us at a door that opened into a small theatre. “Jenner will be performing in just a few minutes. Please, Arys, don’t make an ass of yourself.”
“Can’t make any promises,” he said.
Row upon row of ascending seats filled the theatre. She led us to the front row, issued a final warning to Arys and left. Many of the seats were already full. People sat talking quietly among themselves, waiting for the show to start.
Front and center was a well-lit stage. It was currently empty. The sounds of the angry wolf fight next door were gone. It had to be soundproofed down here. That did nothing to ease my growing apprehension.
Arys took the aisle seat. I sat next to him with Jez on my other side and Shaz next to her. Two waitresses made their way through the aisles, passing out drinks. To the mortals they handed out glasses of white wine. Arys, a few others and I received a glass of scarlet liquid that could only be one thing.
I tried to pass my glass back, but Arys stopped me with a hand on my arm. “Keep it. You might wish later that you had.”
“What is going on here?” I demanded, unable to resist the urge to smell the contents of the wine glass. Human blood, fresh from the vein.
“I don’t know. I guess we’re about to see a show.” Arys sat back, relaxed and waiting. Intrigue shone in his dark-blue eyes.
Shaz sat stiffly, surveying our surroundings. His energy was scattered. I could feel the frustration of his wolf. “If this little show involves werewolves, I’m taking Alexa and getting the f**k out of here.” He gripped his wine so tight I expected the glass to shatter. “After what happened with Claire and Maxwell, I don’t feel so great about this. The wolf fight next door doesn’t help.”
Claire and Maxwell were the Vegas vamps who had come to Edmonton for Shaz and me after we had killed Harley together. The way they saw it, we were their ticket to taking over Harley’s position of power in Vegas. They figured that, by handing over Harley’s killers, the rest of his vampires would reward them for their efforts. Now they were dead.
“Stay calm, pup. I can assure you, the vampires here are not missing Harley.” Arys tipped his glass up and sipped the crimson contents. His tongue darted out to capture a drop from his bottom lip, and I found myself longing to lick the scarlet smear.
“Maybe not, but if they know his killers are here, that may change. If all hell breaks loose, it’s all on you.” Shaz shot Arys a look that was all wolf, pure predator. Then he offered his wine to Jez, refusing to take even a sip. She shrugged, downed the rest of hers and accepted.
“Oh, Shaz…” Arys forced an exasperated sigh. “It is so good to have you back.”
Despite my nerves, I had to smile. The two of them had been so over the top polite to one another since Shaz’s return, I’d begun to get suspicious. This was more like it. Oddly enough, I found their banter comforting.
Jez added, “I don’t think we have anything to worry about. If anything happens to either of you, Shya will be here in a flash kicking some ass.” Clinking her glass against mine, she gulped down the wine and deposited her empty glasses on the floor.
I peered into my glass. It was warm but cooling quickly. Did they have some human cattle they bled for this? Ugh.
The lights went out, and the chatter of voices immediately hushed. The audience of two hundred or so fell silent. Their excitement created a buzz that made my skin crawl.
“Here we go,” Jez whispered at the same time Shaz muttered, “This should be painfully interesting.”