Bella felt the hair on her neck lift and her
arus
began to bubble under her skin like lava. She wanted to snap her teeth and claw the woman’s face to shreds. “What do you want, bitch?”
“Now, we all know who the real bitch is, don’t we, little wolf.” Tiffani sighed, the sound so false Bella had to catch back a growl. “Anyway, I guess I just called to gloat.”
Bella’s blood began to boil even as a cold pit opened in her stomach. She should hang up. She knew it, but she couldn’t help thinking she might learn something about how the
Mal
planned to steal Steven away.
“I wouldn’t start gloating just yet. Steven will never go to you willingly.”
“He doesn’t have to. Haven’t you figured that out yet? Well, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you soon, Arabella. Goodbye for now.”
The phone fell silent and the only sound she could hear was her own too-fast breathing.
Anger, fear, jealousy. They all roiled in her stomach until she had to run for the bathroom, trying hard not to lose her lunch. She hated to be sick, hated the weakness that came with it. She didn’t want to be weak.
When she finally had her stomach under control, she sat on the closed toilet, head in her hands.
Her first instinct was to go to Cole and Steven. But neither of them needed this added worry. Besides, she was pretty sure Tiffani Jones was merely trying to psych her out.
But what did the woman hope to gain from warning Bella? Just the thrill of taunting her?
The woman wouldn’t be able to get into the hotel, not with so many
grigori
here. They’d sense her coming a mile away. And Bella wasn’t foolish enough to leave the hotel without a guard.
Although…she was no coward. She was a gods-be-damned royal princess who shouldn’t cower in her hotel room because that bitch had made her think too much.
Well, shit.
She looked at the clock on the bedside table. Three o’clock in the afternoon. Definitely time for happy hour.
And she was sick to death of this damn suit. She stripped it off and left it on the floor. Digging through her duffle, she grabbed a pair of denim shorts that barely covered her ass, a tight t-shirt with the words “Spoiled Rotten” in glittered script across the chest and a pair of well-worn Birkenstock flip flops.
So
much better.
Pulling a pink Braves ball cap over her hair, she grabbed her room key and headed out into the hall.
“Hey, Luca.”
Her
praetorian
took one look at her and raised his eyebrows. “Uh, hey, Bella.”
She couldn’t help it. She laughed. His expression was classic “Oh shit, what’s she up to now?”
“Don’t worry, Luca. I’m just going down to the bar. Is Steven still in with Cole?”
Luca actually sighed. “Yeah, Dori came out a few minutes ago then went back in. Said they were working on something.”
They could keep their secrets for now. “Come on, Luca. I think we deserve a drink.”
* * *
The bar was surprisingly empty.
She and Luca took a booth in the back, away from the few other people sitting near the door. Bella nodded at the few familiar faces but didn’t stop to talk. She was done with politics for the day. She didn’t want to think about traitors or punishment or magic or the invitation to join the
boschetta
still hanging over her head.
She wanted a couple of margaritas, a never-ending plate of hot wings and a little peace.
A waitress took their order—soda for Luca—and then they sat there.
Luca was the first to break the silence. “Long day, Princess?”
She laughed, though there was no amusement in the sound. “You could say that. I don’t think I’m cut out to be a politician.”
“I think you did just fine.”
She smiled at the handsome young man she really didn’t know all that well. He was a year younger than she was but he’d worked his way through the ranks to
praetorian
already. As such, he was held in high esteem. “Thank you, Luca. But I certainly hope I never have to do that again.”
Neither the meeting nor what had come after. She could still hear Levanti screaming in her head.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and tried to release all the tension in her body on the exhale.
“Arabella Luporeale?”
She caught back a sigh and opened her eyes to find a beautiful blonde standing next to their table. The smiling woman held out her hand and Bella took it without thinking. “May I help you?”
“It’s nice to finally meet you,” the stranger said.
Bella frowned. Why did that voice sound so familiar? “Do we know each other?”
The other woman smiled but there was something funny about her face. Something about her eyes—
“No,” the woman said, “and unfortunately for you, we won’t be getting to know each other. But you can call me Tiffani.”
Oh shit.
The air stilled then got heavy. And hot. So damn hot Bella felt like she was suffocating.
Reality shifted before her eyes. She heard Luca shouting, but he sounded so far away. She tried to release the other woman’s hand, but Tiffani dug her nails in her skin and held on.
And then there was nothing but black.
Chapter Twenty
“What do you mean, she’s gone?”
Steven tried to keep his voice down. He didn’t want to upset Cole, still resting in the room behind him. But Luca wasn’t making any sense.
When Luca had come to the door and asked to speak to him, Steven knew something was wrong from the man’s expression. So he’d hustled him back into the hall.
“She just…disappeared.” Luca’s voice didn’t exactly shake but Steven could tell the guy was shook up. “This woman… She just walked up to the table, shook Bella’s hand and then they were gone. Just blinked away.”
Steven felt fear zip through his blood stream like acid. “What did the woman look like?”
“Blond, pretty, mid-twenties. Blue eyes, about five-eight.”
Steven felt that fear ratchet up a notch. Shit, it couldn’t be. “Did she say her name?”
Luca nodded, his eyes still a little wild. “Her exact words were, ‘We won’t be spending much time together. But you can call me Tiffani.’”
Acid tore through Steven’s veins, making his
arus
boil. He forced it down, forced back the fear, the fury, the raging desire to hit something. Those emotions were destructive. They wouldn’t help him. He needed to be icy cold. Logical. He needed to think like a
Mal
. “And they both just disappeared?”
Luca nodded, his hands shaking as he ran them through his already disheveled hair. “
Vaffanculo
, it happened so damn fast I didn’t have time to react. One second she was there, the next she was gone.”
Could Tiffani truly have that much power and have hidden it so well for so long? The Tiffani he knew had been selfish and arrogant. And, he’d thought, harmless.
Had Luca seen Tiffani or was it more
Mal
trickery, a ploy to make Steven think…what? Did the
Mal
think they could discredit him with the
lucani
, with Cole?
And how the hell had she gotten into the hotel? After the shooting, Dorian had locked the building down as tight as a prison. No one went in or out without checking with the guards stationed on every door.
The only thing he knew for sure was that Tiffani had taken Bella to lure him out.
Fine, consider him lured. He’d make an even trade for her.
“Let’s go, Luca. There’s someone we need to see.”
* * *
Bella woke with the sense of falling.
Probably because she was.
She landed with a breath-stealing thud on a hard surface. She couldn’t have dropped far, but still, it was a jolt.
Glancing around, she saw bare white walls, a mattress and a chair. She didn’t see a door, not on the walls or the ceiling, which was at least fifteen feet above her.
She considered screaming for help, then figured why bother. Besides, it was beneath her. And she refused to give the blond bitch the satisfaction of hearing her scream.
As if Bella had conjured her just by thinking about her, the blonde materialized in the corner, leaning back against the wall and smiling at her as if they were best friends.
“Hello again, Arabella. Feeling okay?”
Bella straightened her spine and willed herself to breathe normally. “Who the hell are you?”
The other woman smiled. “Just call me Tiffani. But I already told you that. The fall must have knocked you for a loop. So sorry.”
Yeah, the bitch really looked sorry. Actually, she looked smug. And so damn confident it made Bella’s heart stutter in her chest.
Didn’t the woman know it wasn’t smart to taunt a wolf? If Bella shifted, she could rip her throat out in seconds. But she’d have to shift first and those precious first moments of her change left her vulnerable. Of course, this woman would know that. Therefore the smug smile.
Fucking ugly cow
.
Bella rose to her full height and adopted the same lazy pose against the opposite wall, staring straight at the other woman. “So you’re Tiffani Jones. I was expecting someone a little…thinner.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed the slightest bit but her smile widened, and not in a good way. “Ooh, you get a gold star. Very good, Arabella. Except, I’m not really Tiffani. Tiffani’s been…replaced by a better model, so to speak.”
Bella tried not to show her confusion but the woman wasn’t making any sense. “What the hell are you talking about?”
The woman’s expression got even more nasty. “How well do you know your mythology, little girl?”
What the fuck
? “Well enough.”
The other woman stood a little taller, throwing her gorgeous blond hair over her shoulders, looking like a life-size Barbie doll. “I am
Impusa della Morte
, feared by all and rightly so.”
Struck dumb, Bella could only stare at the woman. She’d been truthful when she’d said she knew her mythology well enough to know
Impusa della Morte
was an evil sorceress who the
Mal
worshipped like a goddess, though she wasn’t a true deity.
According to legend, she was a
Mal
strega,
a witch who’d been born
Mal.
She’d died more than a millennia ago, an avaricious soul who had rejected Aitás to stay on this plane of existence to guard her supposed treasure. Her services could be bought and apparently had been bought by the
Mal
.
Bella couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up at the woman’s over-the-top performance. It helped to clear her mind of the fear and Bella crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the wall. “Wow. You sound like a bad Universal horror movie, lady. Who writes your script? John Waters? And what the hell do you want with me?”
Impusa, if it really was her, looked dumb-struck before her sneer returned. “Your only use to me is as bait.”
Yeah, that’s what Bella had been afraid of. “Steven’s not stupid enough to fall for your tricks. And my brother will hunt you down and tear you apart.”
Impusa’s face twisted in a mockery of sympathy. “Poor little Arabella. Still relying on men to run your life? I would’ve thought you’d grown up by now. But at least your men do seem to love you. They’ll come after you. And when they do…well, that’s when the fun will start.”
Bella refused to be afraid as Impusa stepped away from the wall. She would not cower, although anyone who could transport a person through the fabric of reality could probably stop Bella’s heart just by looking at her.
“Steven is the one with true power,” Impusa continued. “He’s the one who will bring about change. You’re nothing.”
Bullshit
. Bella had been asked to join Menrva’s priestesses, an honor only thirteen women could boast about at a time. But this woman didn’t know that. And she never would if Bella had anything to do about it. “Well, if I’m nothing, then you won’t be able to turn Steven just because you threaten me.”
Impusa
snorted. “The man foolishly assumes he’s in love with you. After the
Mal
kills you and turns him, he’ll see how wrong he is.”
Over her dead body. Which was a distinct possibility. “You’ll never turn him. I’m not a defenseless child,” Bella said, more for herself than Impusa. Then she smiled. “And you’re not a goddess.”
Ah, she’d hit a nerve. The bitch scowled and Bella tensed for an attack, which never came. Instead Impusa, or whoever the hell she was, turned her expression into a sneer. “Don’t piss me off, child. You won’t like the results. ”
“You hurt me and you’ll just piss Steven off.”
A sly smile crossed Impusa’s face. “That’s what I’m hoping.”
* * *
“I don’t think she’s home,” Luca said. “We should go back, wait for Andrea and Serena to scrye for Arabella.”
“I don’t think they’ll be able to find her and they can reach me on my cell if they do. Trust me, Luca. This is our best shot at finding Bella.” Steven pounded on the door of the garden district house. “Alpena, open the door!”
He knew eventually she’d answer because he wasn’t leaving until she did.
And, after three minutes, Alpena opened the door, a sour look on her face. “Hey, Steven. What’s up?”
“Someone took Arabella.”
Alpena’s brows raised. “And…?”
“And I need you to help me find her.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the door frame. “Why would you think I’d help?”
Steven didn’t let her indifference faze him. “Because I need you.”
“And that matter’s why…?”
“Because apparently you need me, too, and if anything happens to her, I’ll be of no use to you because I’ll get myself killed avenging her death.”
Alpena smiled now. “Whoa, drama queen, slow down. Come on in.” She gave Luca the once-over then waved him in with one tip of the wings she’d kept hidden behind her back, smiling when Luca gasped. “Both of you. I’ll see what I can see.”
* * *
Bella didn’t know how long she sat in the room. Since there were no windows, she couldn’t gauge the time passing. The light—far enough overhead that she wouldn’t be able to reach it—never flickered and no one reentered.