Some thrills were bad news. Working with a vampire was chancy enough; anything more would be insane. Besides, she already had a boyfriend-one who didn"t bite. Still, that didn"t stop the occasional soft-focus fantasy about Alessandro, involving satin sheets and whipped cream.
"So, this is the big, bad house on the menu," she said. There goes the food imagery again.
Dark as it was, Alessandro still wore shades. Now he slid them off, folding them with a flick of his wrist. The gesture was smooth as the swipe of a cat"s paw, revealing eyes the same gold-shot brown as Baltic amber. He studied the Flanders property for a long moment, his face somber. Even after a year"s acquaintance, he wasn"t easy to read.
"Is this going to be difficult?" he said at last.
"No cakewalk. Raglan actually paid me the deposit already. He"s afraid."
The sound of a car door opening made them both turn around. Raglan was standing by Alessandro"s vehicle, peering in through the driver"s side. The car was a sixties American dream machine, a red two-door T-Bird with custom chrome and smoked windows. Holly felt Alessandro coil like a startled cat. Where the car was concerned, he didn"t share well.
The round headlights blinked on and off in an impertinent wink as Raglan fiddled with the dash. Alessandro always left the thing unlocked and half the time never removed the keys. To the vampire way of thinking, the car was his. No one would dare touch it. Until now he had been correct.
Raglan backed out of the car and slammed the door. "Sweet ride." Tension rolled off him as he skipped away from the car and gave a sheepish grin. He was acting out like a nervous little kid.
Alessandro made a sound just this side of a snarl.
Holly gripped his arm. "Not now. I need this job."
"Only for you," he said in a voice that whispered of cold, dead places. "But if he touches her again, he"s dead."
Raglan cleared his throat. "Is this your partner? Pleased to meet you." He drew near but warily kept Holly between him and the vampire.
Alessandro gave an evil smile, but Holly poked him before he could speak.
Oblivious, Raglan cast a glance at the house, and his expression went from strained to about-to-implode. "So, what now? Can you get started?"
"I"d like to check one thing first. You mentioned that something happened yesterday, something that made you call me," she said. "Can you tell us what, exactly? We need the specifics."
"Yeah, well, like I was saying, yesterday things went wrong." Raglan"s voice shook.
Foreboding fondled the nape of Holly"s neck.
Raglan hesitated a beat before going on, shutting his eyes. "From what I hear, four frat boys went in late yesterday afternoon for an end-of-vacation party. Not supposed to, because the final papers aren"t signed yet, but they forced a window. Wanted to start christening the place, I guess. They never came out."
"Maybe they"re still in there, sleeping it off?" Holly said hopefully. She knew denial was pointless, but it was traditional. Someone had to do it.
Raglan shook his head. "There"s more to it than that. The police have already been around asking questions."
"The police?" Holly said, startled.
"They went through the house this afternoon, but didn"t find a thing. The cops were spooked as h.e.l.l, but there was no sign of the boys. That"s when I called you."
"I can"t help you if this is an open police investigation! Not without their permission."
"Please, Ms. Carver." Raglan wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve, as if he were fighting nausea. "I"ll never sell this place. I don"t even dare go in it!"
A spike of anger took her breath away. Her voice turned to granite. "You didn"t tell me any of this on the phone."
Raglan went on. "Two more went in this morning, some of the professors who were supposed to be, uh, academic sponsors for the fraternity. They never came out either. The department heads called the dean to complain."
"Six people have disappeared inside that house? Since yesterday? You couldn"t have mentioned this on the phone?" She felt Alessandro"s hand on her back, steadying her.
Raglan sucked in air, as though he"d forgotten to breathe for a while. "Ms. Carver, you"ve got to get those people out of there."
"You"re right," said Holly, her voice thick. The house is hungry.
"Two questions, Raglan," asked Alessandro, his voice quiet and chill. "How did the department heads know what happened? Who called the police?"
"Witnesses," Raglan replied. "Neighbors saw the kids climbing in through the window. And then there was the screaming."
The Dark Forgotten Series.
Unchained.
Scorched.
Ravenous.