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  “And how is Val?” Olivia was asking. “I know she was having some lingering health problems. Is everything okay?”

  “I’m getting her a drink right now,” I said. “Come back with me, if you like. We can all get caught up.” When the person in front of us

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  moved away, drink in hand, I gestured for Olivia to go first and was surprised when she ordered only for herself.

  “You came stag?” I asked as the man behind the counter poured Val’s drink.

  “No.” She pointed to a petite blonde across the room, who was chatting animatedly with the Secretary of State’s son. “Roselle Gibson. Consummate social climber. I expect to be dumped before I leave tonight.”

  At my look of horror, she rolled her eyes. “I knew what I was getting into when I asked her. Aston and I have a bet going about how long it’ll take her to get rid of me.” She flashed that wicked grin that had undoubtedly assured her of many a conquest since she and Val had been in boarding school together. “I’m going to win.”

  “You two should be honorary Darrows,” I said, turning back toward the center of the room. “Val’s cousins make those kinds of wagers all the time. They’re probably suckering Martin into some asinine bet as we speak.”

  Olivia’s perfect eyebrows shot up into her hair line, and I wondered how long it had been since someone had dared to challenge her in any way. “Don’t think badly of me,” she said, the words coming out more like a plea than she had intended, I was certain. Val was right—despite her aloofness, Olivia was attracted to me. The way her body vibrated and threw off heat when she was near me was obvious now with my panther-enhanced senses. And then there was the smell: sharp and pungent like that boy in the antitrust lecture who had been drooling over Christopher Blaine. Olivia Wentworth Lloyd wanted me. The panther inside me purred. The sense of power was heady.

  “I don’t,” I said as we approached my table. I met Val’s eyes as I handed over her drink, trying to wordlessly reassure her that she didn’t need to feel jealous. Remarkably, she seemed calm, and I turned back to Olivia. “So tell me, what’s the latest from the DA’s office these days?”

  We conversed for a while until Holly stood with the intention to drag Martin away from whatever trouble Val’s cousins had gotten him into. Once it was just the three of us, Olivia rested her elbows on the table, gesturing for us to lean in. I took the opportunity to caress Val’s shoulders and neck as I shifted.

  “Did Detective Foster tell you about the latest mugging?”

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  Val and I shared a brief, shocked glance. “There’s been another?”

  she asked.

  “We’ve been up in the mountains for a few days,” I explained.

  “No cell signal.”

  “Do either of you know Abigail Lonnquist?”

  I shook my head, but Val frowned. “I know an Alexander Lonnquist. The ambassador to China.”

  Olivia nodded. “Abby is his daughter.”

  “And Foster thinks that whoever got to us is behind this latest one, too,” Val said.

  “It’s a hunch, of course, but yes. Abby was beaten and mauled to within an inch of her life.”

  “What does she do?” Val asked. “Is she in politics, like her father?”

  Under the table, she reached for my hand and squeezed hard.

  “Not at all. She’s an up-and-coming screenwriter. Lives out in LA, but came to New York for the holidays. And now she’s in the hospital.”

  Val fidgeted, her leg quivering under the table. I squeezed her hand again. “Does she remember any useful details?” she asked, her voice quiet and taut.

  “She has no memory of the attacker,” Olivia said, “but she does remember being put in a car after she was mugged.” She looked at Val.

  “You were moved, too, weren’t you?”

  She nodded stiffly. “But I have no memory of it. At all.”

  Olivia nodded empathetically. “Whoever this perp is, he’s clearly targeting people who have significant funds at their disposal. I’ve been encouraging everyone I know to only go out in pairs, and to carry very little cash on them.”

  “That sounds like good advice,” I said as the rapid bouncing of Val’s leg became even more pronounced. She nodded, but said nothing. What was going on in her head? Something she wanted to tell me, but not Olivia? Or was she just stressed out by this conversation, on top of being at this particular event?

  “Oh. My mother is signaling me.” Olivia got to her feet with a sigh. “Time to go make nice with the vice president. Talk to you both later?”

  “Take care,” I said. Val mumbled a good-bye. I was about to ask

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  her why she was behaving so oddly when Pritchard’s voice rang out behind us.

  “Val-en-tine,” he said, drawing out the syllables of her name. We simultaneously turned around to the sight of him, Martin, Collin, and an apologetic-looking Holly, drinks in hand. Pritchard’s face was already flushed; he was well on his way to getting drunk. “Jesus. Look at you. Could you have dressed any less like a woman?”

  I stiffened, but the twitching in Val’s leg stopped. I didn’t know whether that was a good or a bad sign. The panther raised her head at my sudden spike of anxiety and started to reach for control, but I pushed her back firmly. I kept my attention on Pritchard, trying to convey the disgust that I felt whenever I looked at him. Bully, I thought, knowing it would have no meaning to the panther but hoping that my emotions were clear enough. She snarled, and uncoiled into alertness. I leashed her in again. I was playing with fire here, goading my beast and feeding off her primal fury.

  “Hello, Pritchard,” Val said, keeping her voice even and baring her sharp teeth in a smile. A swell of pride washed over me. If he thought he was going to rattle her by insulting her androgynous appearance, he was sadly mistaken. Val could pass for a hotter guy than he’d ever be, and she knew it. Deep down, he probably did, too.

  “The same cannot be said, however, about your companion here,”

  he continued, leering at me. “How is it that we haven’t met before?”

  “Oh, we have,” I said, as disdainfully as I could manage. The panther pushed again, hackles raised, and I almost gave in. Valentine was ours. No one could threaten her with impunity. “It was a few months ago. I’m not surprised that you can’t remember. You were highly intoxicated then, as well.” I rose smoothly to my feet and held out my hand to Val. “I think I see your mother, sweetheart,” I said, leaning in to kiss her jaw. “Let’s go say hello. Please excuse us, everyone.”

  And just like that, we were walking away. I managed to catch a glimpse of Holly’s impressed expression before our backs were to them. Tucking my arm into Val’s, I led us straight for the door. Only when we reached a deserted corridor on the far side of the elevators did I stop and face her. I had to unclench my jaw; the effort of holding back the panther was starting to give me a migraine.

  “He infuriates me,” I growled. The panther was pushing a little

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  more insistently now. She didn’t like that we had turned tail. She wanted to teach him a lesson. Maybe someday, when I had perfected my control, we could give Pritchard the scare of his life. Val slid her arms around my waist and kissed my temple. “Did you almost transform, back there?”

  I shook my head. “It was close, but I kept it together. We were both riled up and that made it a little harder.”

  She tightened her grip on me. “Oh, baby. I love you. But believe me, what he said didn’t hurt. He’s been delivering those kinds of potshots for years. They bounce right off. Why should I care what a jackass like him thinks anyway?”

  “I know. I know that in my head. But it makes me crazy to hear him talk like that.”

  This time she kissed my lips, briefly but passionately. “You’re m
y knight in shining armor. Or should I say sleek black fur.”

  I laughed softly, the last of the tension leaving me. About Pritchard, at least. We had much larger issues to worry about. I threaded my arms around Val’s neck, twining my fingers in the short, wispy hairs at the base of her scalp. “What Olivia said really keyed you up. Did you remember something else?”

  Val turned to look up and down the hallway. We were still alone. She put her mouth close to my ear, anyway. “I have a theory about why Abby and I were both moved after we were attacked.”

  “Oh?”

  Val pressed even closer. “What if the rogue vamp has been deliberately moving his victims to places near hospitals where a Consortium doctor like Clavier is on staff?”

  A thrill of fear rippled under my skin, bringing gooseflesh to the surface. I quashed it, trying to think this through. “Why would he do something like that?”

  “I don’t know. To send a message to the Consortium, maybe?”

  “Or just to make sure that there’s someone at the hospital who will recognize what he did to you.”

  Hearing the anxious note in my voice, Val squeezed my hips lightly. “In that case, why does this guy want to create more vampires so desperately?”

  “I have no idea.” I sighed against her neck in frustration. “You

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  know…why are we even feeling compelled to sleuth this way? Shouldn’t he be in Helen’s custody already? What’s her team doing—twiddling their thumbs?”

  Val took a deep breath. “I don’t think we should wait any longer. Foster’s completely handicapped and the Consortium doesn’t appear to have a clue. It’s past time for me to hit the Red Circuit again.”

  I pulled back, frowning. Did she really think that I was going to let her go alone? I was the one with claws, teeth, and regenerative abilities, not her.

  “You mean us.”

  “But—”

  She reached out to gently smooth her thumbs across my cheeks.

  “It’s violent—gory, even. Remember? People die, sometimes.”

  I couldn’t believe I was hearing this. I was the one who could turn into a cat and maul people, and she was worried about my ability to handle violence? “You’re the one who can’t watch 28 Days Later without freaking out,” I reminded her.

  “That’s not what I meant. What if the panther reacts to the brutality?

  What if you lose control?”

  I shook my head, refusing to let her write me out of this plan.

  “Nothing is more difficult for a Were than physical pain. You know that. So stop giving me the runaround. We’re partners, Val. In this and all things.”

  A moment passed while we stared stubbornly into each other’s eyes. Her resolution and determination mirrored my own. Deep inside, I felt the panther silently bare her teeth, as though daring Valentine to even try to stop us.

  “You’re right,” she said finally, breaking the staring match to look over her shoulder toward the entrance of the hallway. “I know you’re right.”

  Mollified, I pressed a lingering kiss to her cheek. “So. Since Kyle won’t take us back, what’s your plan for figuring out where and when the Circuit meets next?”

  At that, she smiled—a dangerous smile that showed her teeth. “I was thinking,” she said, pulling me close again, “that’s it’s time to pay a visit to Sebastian Brenner.”

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  Chapter tweNty-ONe

  Iwasn’t used to feeling animosity toward a man for how he looked at my girlfriend, but the way Sebastian’s gaze roved Val’s body made me want to unleash my literal claws. Of course, he would utterly destroy me. Since my first transformation, I had become even more attuned to those kinds of things—the subtle gradations of power conveyed by a glance, a single step, a roll of the shoulders. I now understood why animals circle each other when they met. The evaluation was still a process for me. It took time. For him, I was certain, it was instantaneous: he was an alpha, and I, a nobody, was beneath his regard.

  For now.

  Val was wearing a heather green sweater and khaki cargo pants. She looked youthful. Boyish. I watched her play it cool with Sebastian; she kept her tone nonchalant and her movements deliberate. This was Valentine’s public persona, stripped of the puppyish enthusiasm that only I ever saw. She was smooth, smart, slightly aloof. And it was turning him on. But while Val was adept at realizing when a woman was interested in her, she seemed completely oblivious to the desire in Sebastian’s attention.

  That frustrated me. And my frustration, in turn, frustrated me. This prickling jealousy was new—Sebastian’s desire for Val had amused me when first we’d met. Now he felt like a rival. But how could he be?

  Who was he to her? An interesting new acquaintance, nothing more. Whereas I—I was the world.

  “I’ll talk to his agent,” Sebastian was promising her. I had been

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  listening to the subtext, rather than the conversation itself. “He seems like exactly the sound my weekend clientele is looking for.”

  Music. Probably some obscure DJ. Val did love her electronica. The entire genre was too repetitive for me, but Valentine thrived on a strong, fast beat. I wondered if she had noticed that whenever we were with Sebastian, he very effectively cut me out of the conversation, even now that I was also a shifter. That was fine with me. I wanted a chance to observe him unnoticed. The panther agreed; uneasy in the presence of such a powerful alpha, she wanted to watch from the shadows.

  “So,” I spoke into the brief pause, hoping to move this conversation along. “We have a bit of an ulterior motive in coming to see you today, Sebastian.”

  He raised one eyebrow. “Of course.”

  What a condescending bastard. I struggled to remain calm. He was probably baiting me on purpose, to see if he could needle me into a transformation. I wasn’t about to give him any kind of satisfaction. At all. Very slowly and deliberately, I ran my palm from Valentine’s left knee to the slight concavity between her leg and pelvis. Her muscles rippled beneath my hand and I could hear her breathing change. I knew he could, too. Choke on that, Sebastian Brenner.

  “Why don’t you tell him, love?” I said sweetly.

  “All—all right.” Val sucked in a deep breath when I let my fingers ghost over her inner thigh. She squared her shoulders and cleared her throat in what I knew was a desperate attempt to focus. When it came to me, Valentine had no defenses.

  “We want to go to a Red Circuit party,” she said, looking Sebastian straight in the eyes. “Can you get us an invitation?”

  Sebastian didn’t answer right away. He cocked his head, looking from Val to me and back again. Did this request change the way he thought of us? Would that be a good thing, or a bad thing? Or was he merely trying to decide whether we were serious, or tourists? Whatever he saw must have intrigued him, because he sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers beneath his chin. I snorted softly. Oh so pretentious. No one pulled that move naturally.

  “Why?” he asked.

  “Well, you know what they say about curiosity,” I jibed. Val jerked and glared at me. “Don’t even fucking joke!”

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  I kissed her neck in apology, continuing to placate her by circling two of my fingers slowly against the seam of her pants. “We’ve been before, as guests of a regular, but that option’s not available anymore. We need to get in another way.”

  Sebastian appeared to be lost in thought, presumably making up his mind. “I can help you,” he said finally. “But you’ll owe me one.”

  I stiffened, not liking the sound of that one bit. The longer we played in this secret world, the more people we owed. But Val just shrugged. “Fair enough,” she said. She was vibrating with a nervous tension now that had nothing to do with my touch and everything to do with the promise of hunting down
her quarry. As much as I didn’t like being beholden to Sebastian, Val’s peace of mind was more than worth it.

  “There’s an ‘abandoned’ theater in Hell’s Kitchen, on the corner of Forty-seventh and Eleventh.” He bared his teeth briefly. “In the old red light district.”

  “The party’s there?” I asked, feeling disappointed at the simplicity. After being spoiled by the grand theatricality of the Steiner Studios location of the first Red Circuit party we’d gone to, this was a definite letdown.

  “Oh, no.” He laughed softly. “Every Monday, the marquee on the theater changes. It announces the date, time, and location of the next party. In code.”

  Against my will, my eyebrows arched. That was more like it. Val’s excitement was palpable—she seemed to like the cloak-and-dagger aspect. “How do we decipher it?” she asked eagerly. Sebastian shrugged and sipped from his cognac. “I’m not allowed to say.”

  “What do you mean?” Val said. I remained passive, allowing her to prompt him, hoping that he’d let more slip than if I were the one interrogating him.

  “If you can’t break the code, then you can’t be on the Circuit.”

  Val frowned. “You won’t even give us a hint?”

  I nudged her with an elbow, then got to my feet. “Where’s your pride, babe? We’re smart girls, remember? We’ll figure it out. No problem.” Sebastian just sat there with a smirk on his face. I disliked him more with each passing second. “Thank you for your help,” I told

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  him as politely as I could manage. When Val stood, I curled my index finger through one of her belt loops. “Come on, lover. Let’s crack this code and then go out to dinner.”

  She grinned and kissed me swiftly before raising her hand to Sebastian. “Thanks again. See you ’round.”

  “Good luck,” he called after us, sounding certain that we’d need it.

  v

  “What. The. Fuck.” Val glowered at the marquee of the Vixen theater, a squat building made of brick that was almost completely obscured by black graffiti scrawlings. The windows were boarded up with wooden planks, and the marquee, tilted about thirty degrees, looked like it could fall off its hinges at any moment. club nighT aT The Vixen, it proclaimed. FeaTuring: caT claWs, FOrkniFe, and dj 010.