Perhaps this would be easier than I'd thought. I'd be happy to offer Dekes the chance for a quick, clandestine f**k if it meant that I could get him alone. The bastard would still be trying to get his dick out of his pants while I had one of my knives pressed against his throat.
"Tell me," Dekes said. "What do you like best about my new casino?"
"Well, there are many things to admire about the construction, but my favorite is the way it will so elegantly blend in with the existing Blue Sands hotel. It looks like you're going to make good use of the surrounding landscape. And of course, the overall structure of the casino itself. It's going to have beautiful architectural lines."
Landscaping and architecture weren't exactly my areas of expertise, but I'd taken enough classes in enough subjects at Ashland Community College that I could bullshit about almost anything and make it sound somewhat plausible and intelligent.
My answer must have pleased Dekes because his smile widened, showing me a hint of the fangs in his mouth. I decided to press my advantage. The sooner I got Dekes alone, the sooner I could tell the vampire what was what - and figure out if I needed to put him down for good.
"Actually, I was wondering if I might have a few moments of your time," I said. "So I can conduct a private interview one-on-one and let my readers discover the real man behind the curtain, so to speak."
Vanessa stiffened at my words, but Dekes didn't notice. Or if he did, he just didn't care.
"Of course," the vampire murmured. "There are a few folks that I need to say hello to first, but I'd be happy to give you a private interview. Why don't you meet me by the door in, say, fifteen minutes? We can go inside and get out of the heat for a while."
I smiled. "It's a date."
Dekes returned my smile with an even wider one of his own. "Indeed. Now, please excuse me. In the meantime, I'm sure that my lovely wife will be more than happy to talk to you about the interior of the casino, since she's the decorator for the project. Vanessa, please keep this lovely lady entertained for a few minutes while I see to our other guests."
Vanessa pinched her lips together into something that was supposed to resemble a smile. "Of course. It will be my pleasure. It always is."
Dekes pressed a kiss to his wife's cheek before moving off into the crowd. The two of us stood there and watched him move from group to group, shaking one hand after another.
"He's certainly charming," I murmured. "Much more charming than I expected him to be."
Vanessa stared at me, her black eyes cold in her face. "Do yourself a favor. Stay away from my husband."
"Or what?" I asked, immediately rising to the rancor in her voice. "You'll get your giant guards to throw me out? I doubt that your husband will let that happen, since he's so eager to . . . talk to me."
Anger and disgust tightened her beautiful features. "You have no clue what you're getting yourself into if you go off with my husband for a private chat. Don't say that I didn't warn you."
She turned on her stiletto and stalked off. I watched her weave in and out of the crowd, barely stopping to acknowledge the people who tried to talk to her. Her reaction wasn't unexpected. I'd played the part of the saucy seductress more than once to get close to a target, and more than once, I'd been confronted by angry wives and girlfriends who wanted me to stay away from their men. Or else.
Still, I'd seen something lurking in the depths of Vanessa's gaze, burning there along with the faintest flicker of her Fire magic - fear. Not for herself, her relationship to Dekes, or whatever threat that I might pose to her.
No, unless I was mistaken, Vanessa's fear had been for me - and I had no idea why.
Chapter 14
I shook off my concerns about Vanessa and wandered back over to the model of the casino. A few minutes later, Owen sidled up beside me. He stood with his back to the model, staring out into the crowd. I leaned over, pretending to peer at some detail in the miniature landscape and scribbling nonsense notes on the pad that I'd pulled out of my bag.
"I take it that you set up your meeting with Dekes?" Owen asked, raising his champagne glass to his lips to mask the fact that he was talking to me.
"I'm meeting him in a few minutes," I murmured. "After that, I imagine that he'll take me to his office or somewhere else private so that we can have a little chat."
"Be careful," Owen whispered. "I didn't like the way he was looking at you."
"What is it with you and the looks this weekend?" I teased, trying to make a joke.
I could see only the side of his face, but the hard set of his mouth told me he didn't think it was funny at all.
I sighed. "Okay, so tell me. How was Dekes looking at me?"
Owen frowned. "Like you were on the dinner menu, and he was the only one who knew it."
His words echoed what I'd felt when I'd looked into Vanessa's eyes a few minutes ago. I didn't have precognition, and I couldn't see the future, not like my Air elemental friend Jo-Jo Deveraux, but something wasn't right. Oh, the stones of the mansion whispered to me of all the violent things Dekes had done here over the years, but there was more to it than that. I just couldn't put my finger on exactly what that mysterious it might be.
For a moment, I thought about calling the whole thing off. Just walking away, leaving the mansion, and pretending I'd never heard of Randall Dekes. It would definitely be the safer option, at least until I could gather some more intel on the vampire and his magic, whatever it might be. Fletcher had always told me to trust my instincts, and mine were warning me away from Dekes like red lights flashing at a train crossing. Get on the tracks to try and beat the train, and you were going to get splattered.
But I couldn't cut and run. Not when Callie was counting on me to get Dekes to leave her alone, even if she wouldn't admit it to herself - or Donovan. I couldn't abandon Bria's friend any more than I could any of the other people who'd asked me for help over the last few months. Warren and Violet Fox, Roslyn Phillips, Vinnie and Natasha Volga.
Like it or not, I'd changed, and I wasn't the cold-blooded assassin I used to be. Bit by bit, piece by piece, my heart had slowly thawed, until now I was just as determined to help people as I was to kill them - even if one almost always seemed to follow the other these days.
Dekes finished his latest round of handshaking and started scanning the lawn, no doubt looking for me. The vampire's eyes settled on me, and he smiled, showing me the white glint of his fangs once more. Dekes raised his eyebrows and pointed to the house, indicating that he was ready for our meeting. I held up my index finger, telling him I'd be there in a minute, just as soon as I finished looking over the casino model and writing down a few more notes.