The Elemental Mysteries: Complete Series (24 page)

She stuck her tongue out at him, and he had the almost irresistible urge to lean across the table and bite it.
 
He shoved down the impulse and tried to focus on what she was saying.
 

“—surprised you haven’t asked me yet.”
 

“Hmm?”

She looked shocked.
 
“Were you actually not listening?
 
As in distracted?
 
As in—”

“I was reading the letters, Beatrice.
 
How did you find the speech?
 
Please enlighten me, oh awesome assistant.”
 

She smiled and settled in her chair to relate her brilliance to him.
 
As she recounted the steps she had taken to find, first, the auction house where it had been sold, and then the collector who had made the winning bid, he watched her, pleased to hear her methodical approach that so closely matched his own.
 

Despite her success, a small frown settled between her eyebrows.
 

“Gio?”
 

“What’s bothering you?”

“Why did he spend so much money?
 
Our client?
 
The final bid for the speech notes wasn’t nearly as much as what it must have cost him to find the documents.
 
Why was he willing to spend so much?”

Giovanni shrugged a little and looked down at the pictures of the five hundred-year-old letter in front of him.
 

“What do you pay for sentiment, Beatrice?
 
What do you pay for the memory of what an object or a book or a document evokes?”

She looked down at the pictures he held.
 
“Is that why the letters are so important to you?
 
Is that why you’ve looked for your books for so long?”

He paused for a moment, deliberating how much he would tell her.
 
“The collection I seek was extensive and contained valuable texts, many of them original or unique.
 
It has existed far longer than me—far longer.
 
When I thought it was lost…many of the books and manuscripts contain valuable ancient knowledge, Beatrice.
 
There is far more than my own sentiment involved.”
 

She looked at him skeptically.
 

“But,” he continued, “they hold some sentimental value as well.”
 
He shuffled the papers in front of him.
 
“That, of course, is secondary.”
 

He glanced at her, noting the thoughtful expression that had clouded her earlier glee.
 

“Grab your jacket,” he said as he stood and put the photographs and notes in his locked cabinet.
 

“What?”

“It’s your first big find.
 
I am like your boss—”

“You
are
my boss, unless you’ve decided to stop paying me.”
 

He smiled.
 
“Fine, then I’m taking you out for a drink.
 
Something other than Coke.”
 

Giovanni saw a faint flush stain her cheeks.
 
“Gio, you don’t have to—”

“Get your coat, Beatrice.”
 

She paused for a moment then stood and went to turn off the computers.
 
She joined him at the door of the library and they walked downstairs together.
 

“Where’s Carwyn tonight?”

“Out hunting.
 
It’s one of the reasons he likes visiting Texas.
 
He’s very fond of deer.”
 

“He may have mentioned that once or twice.
 
So, how does he…”
 

“Take down a deer?”

She frowned, but shrugged, obviously curious about his friend.
 
Giovanni chuckled.
 

“I don’t think he’d mind me saying.
 
He has a friend he hunts with, Carwyn is social like that, and…have you ever seen a group of wolves stalk an animal?”

“You mean he—”

“Mmmhmm.
 
It is a group activity.”
 

“Have you ever gone with him?”
 
She paused on the stairs, her eyes lit with interest.
 

He only smiled.
 
“I’m not as fond of deer as he is.”
 

She nodded silently and began walking again.
 
“So now that I’ve found the speech notes, what do you do?
 
What’s the next step?”

They waved at Caspar, who was working on his laptop in the kitchen.
 
Giovanni wondered whether he was reading the daily surveillance report on Beatrice and her grandmother he’d commissioned.
 

He had been having both of them watched since he realized the girl was Lorenzo’s target.
 
She wasn’t the end game for his old enemy, but she was undoubtedly a step to get what he wanted.
 

Stephen De Novo, he decided, must have taken something quite valuable from the vampire.
 

“Gio?
 
So what’s the next step?
 
I mean, you can’t just go take the document.”
 
A sudden thought must have occurred to her.
 
“Wait—you could, couldn’t you?
 
Shit, am I an accomplice now?”
 
Her eyes were wide and she had come to a standstill in the small courtyard by the garage.
 

He smiled and pulled her arm to get her moving again.
 
“I’m not a thief, Beatrice.
 
I would scarcely need to be, would I?”
 
He cocked an eyebrow at her playfully.
 

She gasped.
 
“Gio, you cannot use your mind voodoo to make people give you manuscripts!”

“Why not?” he asked innocently.
 

“Because it’s wrong!
 
It’s completely unethical.
 
Because—”

“I don’t use amnis to get documents, Beatrice.”
 

“Oh,” she said, slightly deflated.
 
“Well…good.”
 

He couldn’t erase the smile on his face as he opened the door to the Mustang for her.
 
Suddenly feeling playful, he leaned down as she got in the car and whispered in her ear, “Most of the time, anyway.”
 

He shut the door before she could start speaking again, still laughing as he walked around the car.
 
She was glaring at him when he got in and started it.
 

“What?”

She scowled.
 
“I don’t know whether to believe you or not.”
 

“That’s probably a wise choice.”
 

“You’re so reassuring.”
 

“I’m not a thief.” He smiled. “I’ll let the client know I’ve found what he’s looking for and ask him how much he is willing to offer. Then, I will approach the owner of the documents and negotiate a price.”
 

They drove through the dark streets toward a small pub tucked into a quiet corner of Rice Village.
 

“What if they don’t want to sell?
 
And where are we going?”

“We’re going to a pub.
 
And I rarely fail to procure an item.”
 

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye before she looked back at the road.
 
“What if it’s not for sale?”

His lip curled almost instinctively.
 
“Don’t be naive.
 
For the right price, everything is for sale.”
 

The car was silent for a few minutes, and Giovanni almost wished that she would turn on the radio for him.
 
He finally heard her take a deep breath.
 

“That’s kind of depressing,” she murmured.
 

He shrugged as he pulled into the small parking lot behind the building.
 
“That’s human nature.
 
Much changes in the world, but not that.”
 

“No?”

He parked the car and looked at her in the shadows of the street lights.
 
“Five hundred years says no.”
 

Giovanni hated the sadness he saw in her eyes, but knew that life would teach her the same lesson, whether he placated her in that moment or not.
 

“So it is important to learn that which helps us to cope with the cruel vagaries of life and the persistent ebb and rise of the human situation.”
 

She raised a skeptical eyebrow as he reached across to unclip her seatbelt.
 
He passed deliberately close to her and felt her warm breath catch.
 
Leaning back, he smiled, just a little.
 

“Oh yeah?” she asked, clearing her throat.
 
“What’s that?”

He smiled when he heard her heartbeat pick up.
 

“Whiskey.”
 

They walked into the dark pub, and Giovanni nodded at the pale man sitting in the corner of the room on a low couch.
 
The vampire nodded back in the shadows and, to Giovanni’s chagrin, gestured toward the chairs across from him.
 
He put a hand on the small of Beatrice’s back and led her toward the dark corner, though he stood casually instead of taking a seat.
 

“Giovanni,” the man said in greeting.
 
“To what do I owe the pleasure tonight?”

Though the vampire spoke to Giovanni in English, Gavin Wallace’s strong brogue must have been difficult to understand, because he felt Beatrice lean forward slightly.
 

He could tell she was taking in every detail of the man’s appearance, from his sandy-brown hair and deceptively human brown eyes, to the stylishly rumpled jacket which complimented his easy good looks.
 
Gavin must have been turned in his early thirties, but his wardrobe reflected his more youthful clientele.
 
At least, Giovanni thought, the human clientele.
 

“Just out with a friend, Gavin.
 
How are the college kids?”
 
He hoped the slight pressure he put on Beatrice’s back would let her know to let him do the talking.
 
As always, her perception paid off and she remained silent and watchful at his side.
 

“Very thirsty, thank you.
 
You have a lovely companion tonight,” the blond vampire smiled, looking Beatrice over carefully.
 
“Did you want a chaser?
 
That redhead you seemed to like last month is in the back room, I believe.”
 

He shrugged.
 
“Not necessary, but thank you.”
 
Giovanni couldn’t help but notice the stiffness in Beatrice’s shoulders that accompanied Gavin’s frank perusal of the girl’s neck.
 
He suddenly realized he had never been specific about how and where he fed with her, and he wondered what questions he would face once they were alone.
 
He deliberately put an arm around her shoulders and drew her slightly closer, making sure the other vampire caught the possessive gleam in his eye.
 

“Ah, is that how it is?
 
Well,” Gavin raised an eyebrow and smirked, “I suppose I
can
still be surprised.”
 

“Gavin, did you want company tonight?” Giovanni asked out of politeness, hoping the vampire would answer in the negative.
 

“Oh, I don’t want to intrude on your evening with a friend,” he replied, “but don’t be a stranger.
 
I think it would be beneficial for us to catch up soon.”
 

Nodding at the subtle message, Giovanni took Beatrice’s hand and led them to an empty couch near the fireplace.
 
They both sat down and he leaned over to murmur in her ear.
 

“He’ll be able to hear everything we say in a normal voice, Beatrice.
 
Just so you know.”
 

“Yeah,” she said softly.
 
Her heart was now beating far more rapidly than he would have liked.
 
“I kind of figured.
 
Does he think we’re…”

“That’s the impression I want him to have.
 
If he thinks I drink from you, he won’t touch you.
 
Nor will anyone else in the bar out of courtesy.”
 

They both fell silent and he could almost see the rush of questions racing through her mind.
 

“A chaser, huh?”

He shrugged.
 
“Not necessary, but a polite offer.”
 

She looked down at her lap and whispered.
 
“So—what, he keeps humans around as refreshments?
 
What kind of bar is this?”