Chapter Two

Rowan pulled the Porsche into the VIP lot behind the Corsican. The casino was at the far end of the Strip and catered to a younger, edgier clientele. It also housed the Vampyre Theatre.

While the Lucky Seven had the hottest buffet in Vegas, the groupie line-up backstage at the VT was the best Vampire buffet in the entire state. If you liked to snack on skanks who needed to touch up their roots and should not have gotten tattoos from friends working out of their garages.

Annoyed young women in far too little clothing gave Rowan dirty looks as she cruised past them and through the back door. The bouncers didn’t stop her but she knew they’d called Marv the minute she had her car parked.

She breezed past the ticket booth and took a seat at a table to the left of the stage and declined the drink but accepted the bottled water. They wouldn’t dare attempt to harm her. But she still didn’t plan to lower her reaction time with alcohol either.

The Vampyre Theatre put on a live show complete with fire, bare tits, shaking asses and audience participation. The entire audience thought the Vampires were actors with fake teeth and theatrical makeup. Humans were fascinated with many things they should fear. They went to the show to be fed on as a lark. Oh, and to look at the boobs. One really couldn’t underestimate the draw of naked breasts in any city, especially Las Vegas.

Rowan knew for a fact the fake feedings from audience members were real. Technically, that broke the treaty. All blood exchange with humans had to be consensual and knowing. But she couldn’t stop everything and she didn’t hate Marv enough to stake him over it. In fact, though she’d never admit it out loud, she sort of liked him and the banter they’d honed over the years.

She watched the first part of the show and after half an hour, satisfied they’d all seen she was back at work, got up and left side stage.

The big man waited, arms crossed, blocking her way as she entered the backstage area.

“Hunter. What are you doing here?”

“Did you miss me?” She fluttered her lashes at him.

“Like the fuckin’ clap.”

“I thought you people didn’t get social diseases,” she said, deadpan. “Which, if you don’t mind my saying so, is a good thing given the quality of um, women you’ve got lined up out there. Mere humans would be burning and itching and stuff.” She shuddered.

“Ha. What are you doing here?”

“Just a hello and friendly reminder that taking blood from humans without their knowledge is a violation of the treaty. It’d be a shame if any of those lovely young women got hurt.”

“If we did that—and I’m not saying we do—they consent when they come in the front door. The ticket says they may be called up on stage to be fed to a Vampire.”

She shook her head. “Don’t try to be a lawyer, Marv. Knowing and consensual. Those are the rules. I’d hate to have to come in here every night and watch you juggle fire sticks. Although you know, I was thinking that what this show needed were Vampire poodles jumping through flaming hoops. I’d so totally dig that.”

The glower was back. “Fine. Now go, you’re harshing my buzz. Or are you in charge of that now, too?”

She blew him a kiss as she walked past. “Oh, Marv, how I’ve missed you and your wit! I don’t care about your buzz. But if I’m harshing it, that’s just a wonderful benefit of my job. I’ll be seeing you around. Behave yourself.”

Slipping the valet a five, she slid into her unscathed car and headed out to the other end of the Strip. She had an appointment to meet a contact who supposedly had some hot information for her.


Just minutes later and yet a million miles away from the hotel she was just in, Rowan walked into a dark bar filled with the seedier and more craptastic members of the Las Vegas tourism contingent. This particular casino bar wasn’t going to be featured prominently in the tourism ads.

Smoke hung in the air like a veil, the stink of body odor, desperation and too much alcohol omnipresent.

The carpet had seen better days, along with the cocktail waitresses apparently. But the place sold a real drink. No umbrellas or frothy concoctions. Here in The Reef, two bucks got you plenty of alcohol in a glass and a bowl of pretzels at your table. When you really thought about it, it was more pleasant than fire juggling and fake/real Vampires any day.

Through the haze, Rowan caught sight of Mary Pena waiting at a small table at the back. Ignoring the leers of the leather-skinned men in leisure suits bearing white marks on their fingers where their wedding rings usually sat, she made her way over.

“Hey, Mary.” Rowan sat and flicked her gaze to the waitress and nodded for another round. “What do you have for me?”

Mary’s normally happy expression tightened, along with her mouth as she pushed a file folder across the table to her. “They found a girl outside the city. It’s odd. They don’t know what the hell happened to her. It looked like something up your alley.”

Rowan opened the folder and slowly looked through the pictures and reports. Odd was a word, she supposed, to describe it. Flashes of gaping wounds, of violence and the face of a woman who’d once been someone’s something stayed with her even after she closed the folder.

She pushed a hundred dollar bill across the table. “Thank you, Mary.”

Mary’s brown eyes lit up. “Of course. You know I want to serve.”

As an acolyte to the Goddess, Mary, who worked in the file room of the Las Vegas Police Department, often sent things Rowan’s way. The folder in her hand was pretty big stuff.

“I’ll remember this one. Excellent job.” Rowan stood. “I need to go now. But thank you again.” She touched Mary’s forehead, turned and left the bar.

The night outside had deepened, cooled. Being two miles off the Strip meant the parking lot wasn’t quite as bright or shiny. Quiet was still hours away though.

She’d have to seek out the Scion again and warn him to get his people in check. He’d take it the wrong way and be defensive. Tedious, this whole business.

But for now, she needed to talk to Jack to get his take. Problem was, she’d have to find a way to do it without letting on just how much she knew or how she knew it. Her old friend wasn’t prone to missing many details and she’d have to handle this very carefully.