Page 6 of Blood Magic

I handed Lucy Ash’s leash. “I am. You’re going to stay put in case someone calls or walks in needing help.”

“Hmm,” he said. “That does present a problem. Lucy, would you mind taking calls until I return?”

“Not at all.” She squeezed Joe’s enormous bicep and smiled up at him. “I can keep Joe company until you return.”

I threw my hands up. “Fine, Max.” I had a feeling he was going to regret his decision once we found ourselves in the middle of a clan of vampires. At least if he went now, he was less likely to want to ride along in the future.

“I seriously doubt,” I told him, as he buckled himself into my car, “that the mayor meant for you to assist me out of the office. He’s going to be pissed if I get you hurt.”

He stared at me. “Kaitlyn, as far as the mayor’s concerned, you walk on water.”

Uncomfortable, I pulled into the well-lit and slightly less busy street. By the time we reached the vampire master’s house in Alexandria, it was full dark. “It’s not very grand,” I murmured. It wasn’t even very large. As a vampire in a human’s world, he’d want to blend in, so no matter how much money he had, he was going to downplay his circumstances.

“He owns clubs in the city,” Max told me. “And nearly all of Seventh Street.”

“Jade’s is on Seventh,” I said absently, my stare on the large brick colonial in which the master lived. It was stately and beautiful as were all the homes in the area. They were very nice, and it was quiet and low crime. People with money lived there, but it wasn’t extreme.

“What of Jade’s?” he asked, and his voice had just the tiniest shake to it.

“Not important,” I said. Jade’s was Lucy’s favorite club. I climbed from the car. “You ready?”

He nodded.

“They won’t let you in, Max,” I told him as we walked across the street and then up the short driveway. “They probably won’t let me in, either.”

“Aren’t you scared?” he asked me.

“No. I don’t think they’ll hurt us. They don’t know who we are. We might be important.” I grinned at him, trying to get him to relax, but honestly, he was better off being nervous.

Before we reached the front entrance doors, a man stepped out of the shadows. “Hello,” he said mildly. “Can I help you with something?”

He was human. It was so recently dark that there hadn’t yet been time for a shift change. Probably the vampire guards were…eating. He was also armed—when he brushed his jacket open, deliberately, I saw the gun.

“Hi,” I said. “Possibly you can. My name is Kait Silver, and I’d like a word with your—employer.” I’d almost said “master” but changed it at the last second. I didn’t want him to know I was aware he worked for a vampire.

“Might I inquire as to the nature of your business with Mr. Axton?”

“It’s personal.” I smiled. “Please ask him if I can have a word.”

His stare went from me to Max and back again, and he must have decided we were harmless, because he walked a few steps away and muttered into his watch.

“I think he’s going to take us in,” Max whispered.

The guard came back. “He’ll see you. Only the girl,” he added, when Max started to walk with me.

Max took my arm. “Um, I’m her bodyguard?”

The guard chuckled. “I’d be more inclined to believe she was your bodyguard.”

I sighed. “Wait in the car, Max. I’ll be fine. If I’m not out in…twenty minutes, call Detective Moreno.”

“Come with me,” the guard said, and as we walked on toward the house, another guard slipped from the shadows and trailed Max to make sure he did as he was told and found his way back to the car.

We’d barely stepped inside before a woman in sensible heels and a clipboard—an actual fucking clipboard—rushed toward us. “Out you go,” she told the guard. “Go on.”

He curled his lip and gave her an unfriendly look, but turned around and walked back outside, leaving me with the woman.

She smiled at me. “My name is Jennifer, and I am Mr. Axton’s assistant.” She didn’t offer her hand. “Follow me, please.”