Page 18 of Death Dance

“Yes.”

Color me unsurprised. “Emerick,” I growled.

“Alheen, please tell me you have a solid lead on Mr. Breckenan. It seems I am now in trouble with my wife, and I feel only providing her with an outlet for her displeasure will get me out of this alive.”

My brothers burst into laughter.

My father shook his head. “You have much to learn about women, young Emerick. My daughter will keep you alive, she will just make certain you suffer for your transgressions. She is the kind to draw out a fight so she can enjoy maximum satisfaction.”

“It’s a requirement in order to be an attorney,” I informed my husband in a solemn tone. “But I will delay your suffering in exchange for good information on our prey, Mr. Lowrance—and I’ll even let you help me tear him to little pieces.”

“I’m so going to make you pay for this later, Mrs. Lowrance,” my husband whispered. “All right. Let’s focus. How is the circumstance of Breckenan’s rise as a vampire related to his current activities?”

“Much like his father, he wishes to convey immortal life on those he views as family. He is experimenting on others first. He has been taking women because there is a woman he appreciates. Fortunately for her, she is unaware of his interest as of yet. He knows her from one of his work enterprises, and he has assumed she will accept him—and vampirism—and become the queen of his empire. For now, she is safe and unaware of his ambitions.”

I grimaced at the thought of anyone else enduring what I had gone through. “That explains why he wants me alive. He wants to find out why I survived and the other women didn’t.”

“Correct. News has spread of his brutality in the vampiric community, and I have made it clear that anyone found to be aiding and abetting him will face his fate. The wise vampires will distance themselves. The unwise will die, if not at my hands, then at the hands of someone likely in this room.”

I smiled at that. “Emerick, we should plan our wedding ceremony for a month after we separate Breckenan’s head from his body and turn the bastard to dust. It can be a celebratory feast for numerous reasons.”

Emerick made a show of checking his watch. “I’m not sure we can plan a ceremony of such import in just over a month.”

His assumption we could finish him off sooner than later amused me. “I don’t think we’ll be killing the bastard off tonight.”

“Tomorrow is an option.”

I rolled my eyes. “If it was that easy, we would have done it by now, Emerick. Be realistic.”

“I am being realistic. We have four Originals, your father, and your brothers in this room. We have Ben as well. Add you and me, and we have the entire force needed to eradicate him as long as we can isolate his location.”

“It’s not going to be that easy,” I warned.

“It’s really not, unfortunately. Following your exposure of his warehouses and your successful containment of his freed victims, Breckenan has gone underground. He took all the wealth from his family’s necromantic dealings, built himself a remote fortress, and waits for time to be on his side.” Alheen wrinkled his nose before making a disgusted expression. “I admire his tenacity. If we want to take him out, we will have embark on a rather nasty venture through inhospitable terrain.”

“It’s either a jungle or a snowy mountain,” my father announced, and he grinned at his uncle. “Only those two terrains would get such a wonderful reaction out of you.”

“He has taken up residence in the Amazon rainforest, and he thrives on preying on local tribes and animals,” the Original reported. “I abhor mosquitos. How dare they even dream of sucking my blood?”

I pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t burst into laughter at the ancient vampire’s plight. “When did he head into the rainforest?”

“His flight departed for Mexico four nights ago, and he took a small entourage with him. Our first targets are his former estates, which he has left lightly defended, as he does not realize I have identified them. Tomorrow night, we can pay a visit to his Manhattan property. I’m sure we’ll find some good information. Ideally, we will lure him to us and spring a trap.”

I considered the ways we could use vampiric society against the bastard. “We could have an engagement party and turn it into a death dance should he dare to show up. The whole party can be one elaborate trap. I like traps,” I informed my husband.

“You’re an ambush predator. Traps are your nature. What are the odds he would find out about this party and show up?”

My father’s uncles and cousins exchanged looks, and after a while, Alheen gestured to Darius. “Perhaps you are the best to answer this question.”

“I have infiltrated where the woman works,” Darius confessed. “Breckenan does not suspect I am a vampire; my ability to walk under the sun goes far beyond anything he can manage or understand of vampires. I show zero evidence of fatigue or discomfort, and there is no evidence of magic in use, which he can detect due to his necromantic heritage. He can only walk under the sun because of his limited necromantic abilities learned from his father. Should the woman attend the party, and word spreads it’s hosted by vampires, that should be enough to draw Breckenan into our trap. I could ask her to accompany me, as we are friendly and I am currently not blessed with a bride. My last one remained mortal at her wish, and those within our society who know me believe I am, perhaps, a bit overdue to wed again.”

“What does she do at his business?” my father asked.

“She is a low-level secretary. She wants to be an attorney, but she cannot afford the degree,” Darius reported. “She’s a friendly enough woman, but she has the edge required to thrive as an attorney.”

I allowed myself a rather predatory grin. “Oh, Daddy…”

“You are a terrifying creature,” my father muttered. “I can’t go within sniffing range of any of his enterprises. Word would spread rapidly.”