A Bloody London Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 2) (34 page)

Katrina’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at the off-handed comment, but Caleb appeared aloof to Alton’s reference as he looked up to view the elevator car’s floor on the LCD panel before him.
What exactly is Alton up to now?
she wondered.

A few moments later they boarded the elevator, and Alton pressed a series of codes into a keypad mounted next to the control panel. The elevator continued on an uninterrupted rise to the fifteenth floor, one level below the topmost floor of the building.

“And did you find your room in order?” he inquired politely with a glance at Katrina.

She frowned slightly. “Yes. In fact, it’s much grander than the suite on the Website.”

“Well, some of the suites are reserved for V-VIPs,” Alton noted simply. He took a moment to appreciate the perplexed expression on Caleb’s face before adding, “Vampire VIPs, that is. Oh, and your stay is being comped, as well.”

“Now, Alton --” Katrina protested.

The elder vampire raised his hand and interrupted, “No. I won’t hear of it. You’re my guests on this trip. Besides, it
is
my hotel, after all.”

Katrina merely inclined her head. “Very kind, Alton. Thank you.”

“Yeah, thanks Alton,” Caleb added. “The suite is amazing. I’ve never stayed anywhere quite so grand.” He glanced up at Katrina with a guilty expression and amended, “Except for Kat’s estate, naturally.”

She smirked at her mate and lightly ran her fingertips across the back of his neck. “It’s your estate now, too, you know,” she corrected him gently.

He shivered slightly at her caress while Alton chuckled.

Moments later, the elevator doors opened to reveal a professionally decorated and carpeted hallway appearing much like any elegant office building. The sound of a nearby phone’s ringing added to the subdued sound of people chatting, while a nearby office emitted the sound of rapid keyboard typing through the open doorway. Alton led the way out of the elevator and down the length of short hallway before turning a corner to a longer stretch of carpeted corridor much like the one behind them.

As Caleb glanced into some of the open offices they passed, he noted men and women dressed in professional suits who reminded him of a corporate law firm he once visited back in Atlanta. A tall, blonde woman wearing a business suit halted in an office doorway to wait as they passed. He observed with a wide-eyed expression that she had piercing green eyes like Katrina and was holding a steaming mug of what appeared to be blood. The woman smirked as he passed, and he briefly glanced behind him to see her watching him with amusement.

Caleb reached out to tug on Katrina’s hand to get her attention and muttered, “Hey, did you just see --”

But she silenced him with a slight frown and silently mouthed, “Sh.”

Alton glanced back at Caleb over his shoulder with an amused expression. “Yes, Caleb. I employ a significant number of vampires in this office facility. However, they’re discreetly limited to the uppermost floors for the most part.”

Katrina considered that revelation, which only added to the growing sense of curiosity stemming from his earlier comments regarding accommodating vampires in the city.
I had no idea he was employing vampires on a large scale
. Her friend had said nothing about it in their recent interactions, and she wondered how long the development had been in practice.

Finally, Alton led them through oak double-doors that proceeded into a spacious office with a large window looking out upon London’s financial district. The room was the size of a small hotel suite, complete with a wet bar to one side and a large oak conference table surrounded by ten high-backed leather chairs. A plush sofa sat along the opposite wall with an oak coffee table set before it. Ceiling-high oak bookshelves lined each of the two side walls, some shelves open and containing books, while others sported finished cabinet doors that concealed their contents.

Set before the large window was a wide oak desk with two large, high-backed leather chairs set before it. Alton gestured to the seats with one hand while closing the office doors and moved to the wet bar in a blur of movement.

“Blood, Katrina?” he asked as he rummaged beneath the bar counter, producing two crystal glasses. He filled them with blood from a chilled container in a small refrigerator.

“Yes, please,” she replied with a glance towards Caleb.
I’d prefer Caleb, but it seems that will have to wait for late
r.

“Coke, Caleb?” Alton asked as he produced a simple drinking glass with ice without waiting for a reply.

“A little early in the day to be hitting the hard stuff, isn’t it?” Caleb quipped with a grin as he walked directly to the open, film-coated window to gaze out upon the city.

Alton stared at Caleb’s back and raised a curious eyebrow, perplexed by his quip. Katrina smirked and cleared her throat slightly to get her mate’s attention. When Caleb turned around to gaze at her, he immediately noticed Alton’s sober expression and his grin quickly faded.

“Sorry. That would be very kind, thanks,” he replied quietly.

Alton shook his head slightly as he produced a glass bottle of Coca-Cola and neatly popped the metal cap off with the flick of his thumb. As he poured the contents over ice without even glancing down, he heated the two glasses of blood in a microwave located below the counter with his free hand.

Caleb marveled at the stately vampire’s almost off-handed, precise, smooth movements.
Wish I could to that
. He moved across the room to accept the neatly filled glass from Alton’s outstretched hand.

“Thanks so much,” he said, to which Alton merely inclined his head with a smirk.

“Certainly,” the vampire replied as he retrieved the two heated crystal glasses of blood from the microwave. He effortless glided across the distance to Katrina and offered one of the glasses to her with a purposefully dramatic sweep of his arm.

“M’lady,” he offered in a gentlemanly tone as she reached out to accept the glass with a charming smile.

“Thank you, kind sir,” she replied gracefully. “Show off,” she added with a wink.

He chuckled and returned to sit behind his desk, while Caleb sipped at his cola and perused the articles displayed on the oak bookshelves along one side of the office. A small, unnamed wooden sailing ship in a glass bottle caught his eye.

“So, you’ll be sightseeing this evening, I should think,” Alton ventured to Katrina before taking a sip of the warm blood from his glass.

She nodded and swallowed a mouthful of blood. “Yes, but that’s not the topic I’m interested in at the moment, I’m afraid. Why don’t you tell me more about this little business you’re running here? I always thought you were into corporate investments.”

“I am,” he said. “Vampires are long-lived beings and are wonderful for implementing long-term investment strategies. Wouldn’t you agree?”

She cast a sharp glance at her former mentor before her eyes darted across the room in Caleb’s direction.

“How many vampires?” she pressed quietly.

Alton’s eyes flickered to hers and then to Caleb as he answered, “For investment management? Seven.”

“And what about vampires employed for non-investment purposes?” she pressed with a raised eyebrow.

He hesitated for a couple of seconds. “Eighteen, for now.”

She stared into his eyes in piercing fashion, but remained silent.
I should’ve suspected as much
.
What are the others being used for?

“Hey, this looks like the
HMS Victory
,” Caleb finally spoke up. It took him a number of minutes studying the details of the model ship while searching his naval history knowledge for a name. “That was Horatio Nelson’s flagship during the Napoleonic Wars at the Battle of Trafalgar in the early 1800s.”

Alton broke his stare with Katrina to glance over at Caleb with a smirk. “Well played, my boy. However, that vessel is the
HMS Agamemnon
, reportedly Nelson’s favorite ship. It was at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Still, you were correct that Nelson’s
actual
flagship was
HMS Victory
, also at Trafalgar.”

Caleb raised his eyebrows appraisingly and nodded, pleasantly surprised at how close his venture had been. While American history was his specialty, he sought increased knowledge in world history too. He moved to peruse the leather-bound books above the model ship as he sipped at his Coke, oblivious to the hushed conversation taking place across the room.

Katrina observed her mate for a moment in silent admiration.
My charming, handsome historian
, she considered with a slight smile before returning her gaze to Alton. “So, what are the other vampires busy doing?” she whispered too low for Caleb to overhear.

“Before I answer that question, there are some things you and I should discuss first, privately.”

Caleb glanced over at the two vampires with a sour expression, all too aware that the hushed whispers were intended to exclude him from the conversation. He hated secrets, but had learned it was best not to challenge his mate at such times. Instead, he sighed with resignation.
So, it looks like this will be a “working vacation.”
He had hoped that he and Katrina would be able to have an enjoyable getaway together, as well as perhaps be able to get to the bottom of his blocked childhood memories.

“You want to talk business, and I’m in the way, aren’t I?” he mused out loud as he placed his nearly empty glass on the bar countertop.

Katrina looked up with a mildly guilty expression, while Alton simply smiled in a disarming manner that might charm a charging rhino.

“Perhaps you could stroll the corridors a little bit, dear boy,” he suggested. “There are excellent views of the city from multiple large windows situated along the hallways. We won’t be long, and you two can resume your discovery of London in earnest.”

Caleb smirked and shook his head as his presumption had proven correct.
Vampires and their secrets
.
Still, who could blame them? It has to be habitual to have lived this long in secrecy, right?

“I’ll come for you soon, my love,” Katrina promised with a penetrating stare. “And I appreciate your patience.” She felt a momentary pang of desire course through her as she registered his scent and the sound of his heartbeat from across the room.

Caleb smiled in silent reply and turned to exit the room, closing the door behind him. As soon as the door shut, Katrina raised her voice to a normal conversational level.

“What is it you want to tell me, Alton?” she insisted with a hint of irritation in her voice. “You were more than kind to sponsor Caleb’s upcoming visit to Dr. Guilhelm, but I knew there was another reason you wanted me here. I promised Caleb a vacation, you know.”

Alton sighed. “I assure you, I’m not trying to hijack your holiday. So, as always with you, I’ll simply cut to the chase.”

She scowled at her friend’s prescient, yet sardonic, wit.

“Recently, there’s been a shift in vampire politics abroad. I’m part of a select group of our kind who are interested in collaborating at global levels to curtail events like what took place with Chimalma last year,” he explained. “The ’other’ vampires on my payroll are helping to scope out certain unsavory elements among our kind in and around central Europe who have turned hostile in opposition to the new venture. In fact, you could say that tensions are rising among us, depending upon from which side of the fence the venture is being viewed.”

Katrina sat motionless as a statue as she absorbed everything that he told her. Somehow she wasn’t surprised by his revelation, but she was certainly dismayed. While she respected her former mentor’s reaching out to her for support, it caused her to pause. Granted, she felt a definite sense of obligation after all he had done for her last year, including nearly losing his life himself. Nevertheless, she resisted the idea of getting involved in global vampire politics.

“Alton,” she began with a sigh. “My mate and I barely survived a battle with an ancient one of our kind, and frankly, I’m more interested in sitting this venture out.”

He regarded his former pupil with an expression of stoic patience as he considered her reaction. “Katrina, I’m not drawing you into a war,” he countered. “I just want you to keep an open mind and perhaps attend an upcoming gathering in Europe during the summer with me. There’s a group of stakeholders who will be in attendance, or at least their designated representatives. It’s really just a preliminary project proposal to gauge interest among the major players of our kind.”

Her expression turned to one of surprise. “You mean, a vampire summit of sorts?”

“Perhaps that’s a good description,” he considered. “But your presence would be a powerful symbol among the attendees. After all, you not only foiled a global vampire murderer, you’ve declared a territorial claim in a major American metropolitan area.”

Her temper flared as she realized the implications of his last statement. “A territorial claim that
you
suggested, I might add.”

“And a good one, nonetheless,” he reassured her calmly. “Most vampires wouldn’t want to challenge your authority or show up unexpectedly. That makes things safer for Caleb, you realize.”

“Yes, yes, we’ve already been over that,” she replied impatiently. “But once again, you’ve guided me into uncomfortable waters.”

Alton stared into Katrina’s eyes and deliberately softened his expression, once again adopting a disarming visage.

“Stop trying to charm me,” she admonished. “It won’t work. I’m wise to you after all these years, you know. Well, for the most part, anyway.”

“I suppose the only person who can charm you is roaming the hallways as we speak,” he speculated with a grin.

She smirked in silent reply as she sipped at the blood in her glass.
Yes, he does have that magical quality
.
When I allow it, that is
. She realized that she was only partially correct. There was very little she could actually deny Caleb if he asked.

* * * *