had the time.” Rocco poured four packets of sugar into his black coffee and stirred.
“Dude. She’s hot. Make time,” Julian chimed in.
Rocco stiffened a bit and stared out the window to the busy street. “She’s got a line out the door. Now, let’s drop it and get down to business. How are we gonna get to that Scroll?”
Maddy came back to the table and served each of us a heaping slice of apple pie with vanilla ice cream that melted against the heat of the crust. I had to close my eyes when I took that first bite; food just tasted better after taking down evil.
I looked up from my slice. “I think the three of us should meet with Diamond first and try to convince him to hand over the Scroll.”
Rocco burst out laughing, pie crumbs falling from his lips. “You wanna reason things out with a vampire? The friggin’ head of the Ancient Order of the sonofabitches? Forgetaboutit!”
“That does sound pretty lame, Fiona,” Julian added, finishing off his pie.
“I know. Trust me. And he’s super cocky. But I have some dirt on him that I’m trying to use as leverage. Maybe if the three of us go in there together, he’ll be more responsive. Everyone has a breaking point.”
Rocco polished off his coffee and sat back. “What do you got on a vampire who basically runs the city and half of Wall Street?”
“One, he’s commissioning some of his vampires to murder people all over Cagliostro’s territory, and I’m sure the AOV won’t be too happy about that. They don’t want an all-out war with the Shadow Order. Two, he’s running some sort of prostitution ring under the guise of an escort service. And three, he’s using the escort service to launder money from state pension plans he’s been defrauding. I’d say that’s some leverage. And it’s three Protectors against one bloodsucker.”
My two partners sat quietly for a few moments, soaking in the information. I kept my mouth shut, knowing if I pressed too hard I’d sound desperate. Confidence was the only thing I wanted to convey. Especially since we were going up against an arrogant and not easily ruffled vampire.
“So, you just wanna stroll into the offices of IP Montgomery and threaten to expose Diamond?” Rocco asked, smirking.
I was determined to break Lucius Diamond. Not only to get the Scroll and find Charlotte, but to put the pompous vampire in his place.
“At the very least the three of us can rattle his composure. Once he’s rattled, we can squeeze harder. He might not give up the Scroll, but we can at least try to get some information out of him. You’re a detective, you know how this works. One slip usually leads to another door. We have to start somewhere. Why not try the civilized business approach first and if he doesn’t comply, we get supernatural on his ass.”
Rocco leaned forward, placing a matchstick in his mouth. It was one of the most cliché moments of my life, but I loved every second of it. The stalwart detective meant business and he was the type of guy you’d want on your side in a street fight. Imagine what he could do with his magical Armor.
“I know all about Diamond’s escort service. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. But your money laundering angle is nice. Didn’t know about that one. And vampires are incredibly vain. He’ll want to protect his reputation. You think we can really break him?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“This ain’t just about finding your friend?”
I took a deep breath and thought about that before answering. Part of me wanted to find Charlotte and run for the hills. But the Protector part of me—which was growing stronger and stronger—wanted to destroy Lucius Diamond for his evil acts against innocent humans. I wanted to annihilate him and not just in the physical world with a news story that would expose him and his fraudulent investment firm, but in the supernatural one as well. No evil supernatural being should have that much power.
Julian poked my shoulder, bringing
“Dude. She’s hot. Make time,” Julian chimed in.
Rocco stiffened a bit and stared out the window to the busy street. “She’s got a line out the door. Now, let’s drop it and get down to business. How are we gonna get to that Scroll?”
Maddy came back to the table and served each of us a heaping slice of apple pie with vanilla ice cream that melted against the heat of the crust. I had to close my eyes when I took that first bite; food just tasted better after taking down evil.
I looked up from my slice. “I think the three of us should meet with Diamond first and try to convince him to hand over the Scroll.”
Rocco burst out laughing, pie crumbs falling from his lips. “You wanna reason things out with a vampire? The friggin’ head of the Ancient Order of the sonofabitches? Forgetaboutit!”
“That does sound pretty lame, Fiona,” Julian added, finishing off his pie.
“I know. Trust me. And he’s super cocky. But I have some dirt on him that I’m trying to use as leverage. Maybe if the three of us go in there together, he’ll be more responsive. Everyone has a breaking point.”
Rocco polished off his coffee and sat back. “What do you got on a vampire who basically runs the city and half of Wall Street?”
“One, he’s commissioning some of his vampires to murder people all over Cagliostro’s territory, and I’m sure the AOV won’t be too happy about that. They don’t want an all-out war with the Shadow Order. Two, he’s running some sort of prostitution ring under the guise of an escort service. And three, he’s using the escort service to launder money from state pension plans he’s been defrauding. I’d say that’s some leverage. And it’s three Protectors against one bloodsucker.”
My two partners sat quietly for a few moments, soaking in the information. I kept my mouth shut, knowing if I pressed too hard I’d sound desperate. Confidence was the only thing I wanted to convey. Especially since we were going up against an arrogant and not easily ruffled vampire.
“So, you just wanna stroll into the offices of IP Montgomery and threaten to expose Diamond?” Rocco asked, smirking.
I was determined to break Lucius Diamond. Not only to get the Scroll and find Charlotte, but to put the pompous vampire in his place.
“At the very least the three of us can rattle his composure. Once he’s rattled, we can squeeze harder. He might not give up the Scroll, but we can at least try to get some information out of him. You’re a detective, you know how this works. One slip usually leads to another door. We have to start somewhere. Why not try the civilized business approach first and if he doesn’t comply, we get supernatural on his ass.”
Rocco leaned forward, placing a matchstick in his mouth. It was one of the most cliché moments of my life, but I loved every second of it. The stalwart detective meant business and he was the type of guy you’d want on your side in a street fight. Imagine what he could do with his magical Armor.
“I know all about Diamond’s escort service. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. But your money laundering angle is nice. Didn’t know about that one. And vampires are incredibly vain. He’ll want to protect his reputation. You think we can really break him?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“This ain’t just about finding your friend?”
I took a deep breath and thought about that before answering. Part of me wanted to find Charlotte and run for the hills. But the Protector part of me—which was growing stronger and stronger—wanted to destroy Lucius Diamond for his evil acts against innocent humans. I wanted to annihilate him and not just in the physical world with a news story that would expose him and his fraudulent investment firm, but in the supernatural one as well. No evil supernatural being should have that much power.
Julian poked my shoulder, bringing
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