Soul Taker (18 page)

She'd like to ask him some questions, but the
morgue didn't seem the appropriate place. "At least Missy gave us
something worth checking out."

He leveled his gaze on her. "Did I miss
somethin'?"

"Siren's Call…" When he still gave her a
blank look, she added, "It's a karaoke bar."

His face lit up. "Ye've been there?" he
asked.

"No, but Johanna mentioned the same bar. I
forgot about it until Missy told us she met the Soul Taker there.
That's where Johanna met her boyfriend."

"And we've concluded the Soul Taker and your
friend's boyfriend are most likely one and the same…" Garran's
voice trailed off and his eyes took on a faraway look. She had no
doubt he plotted his next move to take down the Soul Taker. A cold
expression entered his eyes, turning them grayer than usual, like a
storm brewing on the horizon. His gaze then focused on her and his
expression changed. She wouldn't exactly say he gave her a friendly
look. Toleration was more like it. His hand slipped into his pocket
and retrieved his cell phone. Holding it up with the display screen
toward her, he told her what she already had guessed. "Lunch is
over. "

She glanced one more time at Missy with a
pang of remorse. Some peopled doubted an afterlife existed, but she
knew it did, and Missy had been cheated out of it. When she turned
to look at Garran again, she found him studying her with his sharp
and savvy eyes. If anyone could right the wrong done to Missy,
Johanna and the other women, she had a strong hunch Garran would be
the man…heck, vampire for the job.

"Are ye ready, Miss Lucci?"

Now wasn't that a loaded question?

Chapter Thirty-Four

Isabella stayed up half the night researching
information about werewolves and vampires. She ended up reading a
lot of superstitious nonsense, or so she believed. She supposed the
preternatural beings didn't go about blogging about their
existence, so people like her could learn all about them.

She had all of three hours of sleep before
arriving for work. They'd been busy all afternoon and the espressos
she'd been downing weren't helping her disposition. Nicholas was
interviewing applicants for the waitress position. No one could
replace Marcy's sweet smile, but they needed help.

"Mario, I told you I needed the linguini not
ravioli," she snapped as she threw down the plate on the counter in
front of him. Even with the central air they had installed last
year, the kitchen remained uncomfortably warm today.

"Ah, no you didn't. You come back here and
said you need two plates of ravioli. I may be old, but I'm no
deaf." He waved his hands at her in good Italian flourish.

"Then your ears need a— Ouch!" she screeched
as her brother grabbed her arm at the elbow and led her out of the
kitchen.

"What's wrong with you?" he hissed.

Nicholas had arrived hours ago, interviewed
four people, and still managed to look rested. Right now, she
really hated him for that.

Isabella yanked her arm away. "What's wrong
with me? What's wrong with you?" She rubbed her arm.

"You're the one who messed up the order. I've
heard from the staff that you've been snappy all morning. And don't
think I haven't noticed you downing espressos like they're water.
If you keep it up, I'll have to peel you off the ceiling. What
gives?"

"I needed something to keep me awake." She
covered her mouth to stifle a yawn that had crept up on her with
perfect timing to prove her point.

"A good night's sleep would work better." His
harsh expression softened. "Is this about Johanna? Is this why
you're keeping vampire hours?"

"No!" she said, louder than she meant to, but
his choice of metaphor set her nerves on edge.

"Then what is so important you can't keep
normal hours?"

For half a second, she wanted to tell him the
truth, but she feared he would do all he could to stop her helping
Harrison and Garran. "What are you the sleep police? It's none of
your business, anyway."

He lifted his hands in defense, her bad mood
rubbing off on him. "Fine. Stay up late. Feel like crap and become
a caffeine junkie. It's all your choice, but don't take it out on
the rest of us sane people. Go home, Izzie. Come back to work
tomorrow with a better attitude."

He strode back into the kitchen to help Mario
with the orders, leaving her there, staring after him like a
reprimanded child.

Her brother just kicked her out.
She
paced, fumed, then marched into the office and grabbed her purse.
Fine, let him take care of the evening crowd. She glanced at the
clock on the way out. She'd go home, shower, and catch a few hours
of sleep before she met with the
monster squad
.

****

Siren's Call
was not far from Tony's
Pub. Harrison had been there a few times. Preternatural beings and
humans alike frequented the place. Isabella shivered to think this
place of fun was used as the Soul Taker's hunting ground.

Isabella met Harrison at the bar early so
they could snag a seat with a view of the entire place. He chose a
table near the stage, which was more like a platform. A floor
monitor was on stage so the patrons could sing along with the words
to the song as they flashed up on the screen. Three microphones
were available with stands. Two men ran the equipment and another
took charge of helping people up and down the stairs to the stage.
Most likely to avoid lawsuits if some drunken fool tumbled down and
broke a leg. The bar was at the opposite end of the room, lined
with stools. Bottles of liquor decorated the wall behind it.

Garran arrived an hour later, after the sun
had set, looking like his cheery self with a nice frown plastered
to his face. "We're no' here to have fun," Garran grumbled as he
pulled out a chair and sat down.

Isabella couldn't help but notice every woman
turned to stare at Garran as he strolled in with an air of
confidence. Talk about turning heads. It was as if he were a
delicious treat and they all wanted a taste.

She gave Garran a sidelong glance. Strong and
formidable were the words which came to mind first for her. She'd
bet he intimidated men before he became a Grim Sith, but she
supposed he was a
head-turner,
if one liked tall, muscular,
brooding vampires with attitude.

She rolled her eyes. She'd pass. Not that he
was biting. She almost laughed at the pun, but somehow managed to
stop her lips from curling. Yeah, relationships were difficult
enough without adding '
not human'
into the mix.

"We have to blend in," Harrison said as he
waved down a waitress. "Name your poison." He looked at
Isabella.

"Chenin blanc." She didn't really drink,
other than wine occasionally. She had an apple martini on her
twenty-first birthday, but it was too sweet for her taste.

"Garran?" Harrison asked.

"Rum and Coke."

Isabella lifted a brow. "You can drink other
things? You know, other than… blood," she whispered the last.

"Don't believe everythin' ye've heard about
vampires, Miss Lucci."

"I take that as a
yes
." She sat back
and glanced at who frequented
Siren's Call
. "If I'm getting
this aura thing down, there are two werewolves at the back table
near the bar, and the rest look like they're human."

Harrison confirmed her suspicions. "The
werewolves are Todd Banning and Marissa Tanner."

"Friends of yours?" Isabella asked.

"Not really, but we've been introduced.
They're from a different clan."

A different clan? She never thought
werewolves and vampires had differences where they warranted
different septs and packs. Her knowledge consisted of werewolves
were hideous monsters, and vampires seduced and drank human blood.
She obviously had a lot to learn.

The drinks arrived and they waited until the
waitress moved on to another table before they spoke again.

"So what do we do now?" Isabella sipped her
wine. It wasn't bad. At least it hadn't been watered down.

"We wait," Garran reached for his glass.

"Can you eat food, too?" Isabella asked
Garran.

His glass paused at his lips before he took a
generous swallow. He placed the drink down and threw her a
withering glare. She supposed this was to shut her up.

Isabella ignored it. She didn't care if she
pushed his buttons. The guy… vampire had a huge chip on his
shoulder and she refused to be bullied by him. "Well?" She wanted
an answer. Two could play the game of staring down the other. She
had an older brother. She knew how to hold her own.

Garran's eyes narrowed. "I enjoy a rare steak
now and again." He lifted his glass. "Does this satisfy yer
curiosity?" He brought his glass to his lips again.

"When do you drink blood?"

He choked on his drink, but quickly
recovered. He put the glass back down and leveled his gaze on her.
One, she was sure should make her quake in her seat, but she didn't
scare so easily.

Harrison chuckled. "She's curious,
Garran."

"When I first awake," Garran's voice was a
low hum of control, "along with my coffee and newspaper."

"You eat newspapers?"

He was about to give her a nasty retort when
she grinned at him.

"Gotcha." Her chuckle only made his scowl
deepen, but she ignored the warning signals to back down. "Is it
human blood?

"Miss Lucci—"

"What? I believe I have the right to know if
you'll be sniffing around my neck."

His nostrils flared and his eyes glowed red,
making his gray eyes look almost violet. "Strictly pig's blood now,
but…" For his next words, he leaned closer to her. His breath was
warm against her cheek, sending a thrill down her spine to only run
cold with his next response. "I occasionally give into the demon
and suck annoyin' humans dry."

She gulped and sat back in her seat. Maybe
teasing a vampire wasn't such a good idea.

Garran turned his attention toward the stage
where a man sang a horrible rendition of the Beatles' song
,
Yesterday.

Garran's sour attitude pretty much put a
damper on the evening's conversation. As the night wore on, the
place became packed with people out to have a good time. No one
seemed to care if someone sang off tune, as long as they were
having fun.

Sure, it could be the alcohol consumption
talking, but she didn't care. As pathetic as it may be, she hadn't
been out on the town for a long time. Work, then home, then back to
work again. She really did lead a boring life.

"Are you payin' attention?" Garran's voice
implied he didn't think she was.

His attitude rubbed her
all kinds of
wrong
. So, he didn't like humans. If he was the example of
vampire behavior, she didn't care for
his kind
either. "Yes,
Mr. Son of Dracula
, but it's becoming difficult to see
everyone. It's crowded now, if you haven't noticed."

Garran scanned the room as if looking for a
better position. Without a word, he stood and strode over to the
man who took requests for the karaoke machine.

"What is he doing?" Isabella leaned over to
ask Harrison.

"Uh… I hope you can sing."

"Oh, no. I'm not going up on stage." She rose
from her seat with the intent to hide out in the bathroom until
Garran came to his senses, but it was already too late.

They announced her name, giving her no choice
since the spotlight landed on her.

"It'll be all right," Harrison assured her.
"Half the people are too drunk to even notice you sing."

"Yeah, right," she grumbled and headed toward
the stage. As she passed by Garran, she decided on just the right
cure to wipe the smug look off his face. She took the mike out of
the holder. "I need my partner up here."

Garran whipped around to glare at her. He
held up his hand and shook his head, giving his best
I'll-kill-you
stare.

She ignored him. "Come up here,
honey.
Don't be shy. Let's do our favorite duet."

His aura pulsed with a reddish hue as he made
his way to her. She smiled and batted her eyes as she handed him
the other available microphone.

At such short notice, the only song Isabella
could think of for a duet was,
I've Got You Babe
by Sonny
and Cher. Her brother and she had sung the song when they dressed
up as Sonny and Cher for Halloween a few years back. Nick had been
Cher. God, he was hilarious trying to stand in high-heeled
shoes.

Since the bar displayed the words on a
monitor, even
Night-of-the-living-dead
could sing along
without difficulty. She decided not to push it and sang Cher's
part, wondering if Garran would play along or stand there and give
her the
stink eye
, as her mother would call
such a lethal stare, but he surprised her. His deep baritone voice
belted out the next few lines with ease. He didn't sound half-bad
either.

His gaze met hers as they sang the chorus.
His eyes were a beautiful shade of gray when they weren't glowing
with a red sheen. He had dark eyelashes compared to his sun-bronzed
mane of gold and brown.

Her gaze landed on his lips as they moved in
sync with the song. For a beat of the heart, she wondered how his
lips would feel beneath hers. Startled at her thoughts, she almost
missed the next line.

It made her wonder if vampires oozed some
kind of pheromone to make a human want them. Somehow, she doubted
Garran would let her kiss him out of curiosity's sake.

As she sang her next line, Garran covered his
mike and leaned near to whisper, "I hope ye're payin'
attention."

Oh, she was. Just not at the right thing. She
tore her gaze away and focused on the crowd as she sang her
lines.

"Who wrote this bloody garbage?" he murmured
under his breath.