The drive was very quiet. I think Asher was afraid to talk to me. I didn’t blame him, not really. That and I wasn’t sure how to explain about Edward yet. I had to talk to Jean-Claude first. We pulled up to the deserted Circus. I parked and started toward the entrance, letting the vampire worry about Edward. I raised a hand to knock on the door marked “employees only” and it swung open. Somebody was expecting us. Glancing over my shoulder at Asher, he nodded and we went in. Jason the werewolf stood inside, not grinning for once. There was definitely fear in those blue eyes of his.
“Hi, Anita. What’s going on?” he asked nervously. For Jason to be acting this way, something was up. Suddenly I didn’t want to see Jean-Claude.
“Where is he, Jason?” I tried my best not to be bitchy.
“In his bedroom. He sent me to come and get you.”
“What do we do with Edward?”
Jason shrugged. “Put him in one of the empty bedrooms and lock him in.” Asher moved to do just that.
“Asher,” I called after him.
“Yes, ma cherie?”
“Don’t tell anyone which room he’s in, not until I say it’s okay. I don’t want Jean-Claude to kill him yet.”
With a graceful nod, he resumed his task. I stared at the bundle in his arms. Things were sinking in more and more. I had sex with a man possessed by one of the most dangerous vampires around. A man who let himself get attacked by a lycanthrope. A man who would probably start shooting things as soon as he got his hands on a gun. I swallowed hard. Maybe I could convince him it was all a hallucination caused by the heavy drugs. Yeah, right.
Jean-Claude had his door closed. “Come in,” he called before I even thought about knocking. I couldn’t tell yet from his voice what sort of mood he was in. I was betting he wasn’t jumping for joy. Hand on the knob, I paused to say a quick prayer before I went in. I had enough of my wits about me to notice that he’d redecorated slightly. The room was now red, black, and white. As always, it fit him perfectly and tastefully.
“Good evening, ma petite.” Jean-Claude was sitting on the huge bed surrounded by red silk. He wore one of those frilly white shirts I liked so much. It framed the burn scar on his chest, beautifying the imperfection. It was a good thing I’d fed the ardeur before coming; otherwise we’d be using the bed for more than sitting. He looked scrumptious. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on my breathing. My heartbeat slowed closer to normal. I was as ready for this as I’d ever be.
“Hi, Jean-Claude. I want your word that you won’t do anything to Edward until we find out the whole story.”
His eyebrow raised. “I do love your directness, ma petite. Edward is safe for now. I agree; we must get to the bottom of this…predicament.”
He was agreeing with me. Hopefully that meant he believed me. “Like I told you earlier, I sensed that he’s under vampire mind control. It was Belle Morte I saw, but a vamp under her could be responsible, right?”
“Yes, that is correct. Tell me, did you see anything else that could help us determine who is responsible?”
I shook my head. “No.” Something occurred to me. “Can Belle Morte’s whole line control werecats?”
Jean-Claude frowned slightly, forehead creasing ever so slightly. “I have never thought about it before, but I am sure some may be able to as she is. Why do you ask?”
“Maybe that’s how Edward got clawed up. I know him, Jean-Claude. He’s too careful to get attacked by accident. This was planned very well. I bet if we ask him what hospital he was in, he couldn’t tell us.”
The vampire seemed to ponder this. “And what would the reasoning behind this be? What would an enemy gain by causing Edward to fall in love with you?” I opened my mouth but he waved his hand, cutting me off. “Let me rephrase. What would be gained by having him pursue you so abruptly?”
That stopped me. What point was there in having Edward go head over heels for me? “Maybe they thought he’d get so insanely jealous that he’d kill me?” It was the best I could come up with. I thought harder. “Or maybe whoever did this was hoping I’d kill him. But that doesn’t make sense.”
He sighed. “Let us review what we know. Please tell me from the beginning what has taken place. Start with the first contact you had recently with Edward.”
“He called a couple days ago saying he needed to talk to me. It was late; about four or five in the morning. I told him to come over and that’s when he told me he’d been attacked. He’d been on a hit and gotten surprised by a shifter. You should see his back. There’s hardly any skin untouched.”
“In due time.”
“He was upset, sort of detached almost. He asked me to kill him if he ended up being contaminated. He wanted to die rather than be a lycanthrope.” I paused. Remembering that part got to me, saddened me. “Being human, if you can call him that, means so much to him. I never realized he was capable of being that emotional. Even as Ted he’s cold, distant.”
Motioning me toward him, Jean-Claude seemed to understand my feelings. “It is not easy to see someone you know not of their own mind, ma petite.” I went and climbed on the bed next to him, resting my head on his shoulder while he smoothed his hand over my hair. “Go on,” he urged gently.
I blew out the breath I didn’t remember breathing. “He had his gun to his head and pulled the trigger. The chamber was empty. I think he knew that I’d do whatever he asked at that point rather than have him shoot himself. We sat down and talked rationally. He agreed to come hang out with the pack during the next few days. After he left I felt uneasy about the whole thing, more than I should have been.”
The vampire nodded. “Something seemed not right to you even then.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Edward’s middle name is careful. No way he could get attacked like that. But some of the leopards came home before I think anymore. Micah, Nathaniel, Zane, and Cherry. I talked with them briefly about the Edward situation. They weren’t too happy, understandably. Then Micah, Nathaniel and I went to bed. Edward came by the next day when I was alone again.”
“Did you find it odd that he only appeared when you were alone?” Jean-Claude interrupted. “It seems to be more than just coincidence.”
“Some of the gang showed up while he was over,” I told him. “And it’s a good thing they did. The ardeur woke when he was over. I almost jumped him.”
“I thought you did that anyway, ma petite,” he said dryly.
I glared at him. “Let me finish, okay? Cherry and Zane walked in before anything happened. Cherry helped me get rid of the ardeur.” Ignoring the look on his face, I continued. “She and Zane went off into the bedroom and left me and Edward in the living room. That’s when he went crazy on me. Saying stuff about how he loved me and he was a better man, or monster, than whoever was already sharing my bed. One of those him or no one moments. Then Zane shot him with the dart.”
“If you could please be a little more specific on what he said, it would help me greatly.”
“He brought up how he’d told one of his backups from New Mexico that I was his soulmate. He said he loved me. That he had to have me no matter what. He had his gun out and pointed at me the whole time, I think. He was cautious but eager to do please me. I talked him out of killing me because the leopards would kill him for it. Then Zane shot him with the tranquilizer. He and Cherry tied Edward up and put him in the basement. They went off to go find Micah and bring him home.”
“They left you, all of them?”
“Yeah. I wish they wouldn’t have.” I buried my face in my hands. “Then it wouldn’t have happened.”
Jean-Claude put an arm around my shoulders. “It is alright, ma petite. It is not entirely your fault. Let us focus on getting Edward back to himself.”
I looked up. “You’re acting way to mellow about this. What gives?” I asked.
“Nothing gives. It is my fault you have the hunger; I cannot blame you for what it makes you do.”
“That’s the thing. I could’ve tried harder to fight it,” I protested. “I should’ve called someone.”
“Ma petite, are you saying part of you wanted to have sex with Edward?”
My mouth dropped open. Was it true? Before I could answer that, Jason burst into the room, panting.
“He’s awake,” Jason gasped.
“Edward’s awake?” I just stared at him. There was no way he could have metabolized the latest dose of drugs that fast unless………