Page 25 of Damian’s Conquest

She winked. “I had to do some work on a story.”

“That doesn’t count as fun.”

“It does when it means that I had to go to a costume party at the Mezzanine.” Naomi enjoyed seeing the flash of surprise on Heather’s face.

“Oh my God! You went to the Mezzanine? That’s the hottest club in the city right now. You have to tell me everything about that.”

“I will, but not now. I’ve gotta chase a few things on this story. So, maybe on the weekend?”

“Can’t wait that long. At least tell me if you met someone.”

“I did.”

“And? Come on, don’t make me pull it out of your nose.”

“I thought you were busy in the lab and your boss is pissed.”

Heather made a dismissive hand movement. “Who cares? So, who is he, and did you sleep with him?”

Naomi felt heat shoot into her cheeks. Her friend always came to the point immediately. “He’s one of the club’s managers, and yes, I did.”

Heather almost squealed in excitement and pulled her into an embrace. “I want details!”

“On the weekend, okay?”

“Tease,” she said and sighed. “I’ll call you with the results of the tests later.”

“Thanks, I owe you one.”

Knowing that she could rely on her friend, Naomi went back to her car and drove to her office to see if she could dig up anything else about Scanguards and the Mezzanine.

12

Damian had scoured the security recordings inside and outside the club to search for any indication as to the identity of the thief, but had come up empty. The person in the Harlequin costume and Venetian mask hadn’t shown up anywhere else in the club other than in the corridor that led to the storage room. It suggested that he—or she—had either entered through the back exit which required a key or the fingerprint of an authorized person, or gotten changed into the costume in the restrooms, which weren’t covered by cameras.

After striking out on the security recordings, Damian made calls to Sam, Andrew, and Orlando, but Orlando wasn’t answering his phone. He would check in with him later. Orlando was scheduled to work tonight. Frustrated, he returned home to eat and sleep for a few hours. He would talk to his father, who lived in the penthouse above the flat Damian shared with Benjamin, before Amaury went to Scanguards HQ. But it turned out that Damian’s body was more exhausted than he thought, because by the time he was awake again, the sun had already set and his father had left for the office.

Damian jumped into his black Porsche and drove to Scanguards HQ in the Mission. He was grateful that Scanguards had its own parking garage underneath the building, because there was never any parking available in the popular neighborhood known for its diverse restaurants and bars. He parked in his assigned spot, then rode the elevator to the top floor, where the offices of the directors were located.

The place was busy. During the day, mostly humans and hybrids worked in the building, while at night, the full-blooded vampires who had to avoid sunlight took over. The building was vampire-proof and equipped with shatterproof glass that was covered with a special coating that filtered out the dangerous UV-rays that could kill a vampire.

Damian marched to Amaury’s office, dreading the conversation he had to have, but the theft of human blood by an unknown perpetrator constituted a security risk and had to be addressed.

Damian knocked, and entered when he heard his father’s invitation.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Hey, Damian, how’s it going? Nice party at the club last night? Hope you’ve got some energy left for the housewarming party tonight.”

“That’s tonight?” He’d almost forgotten.

“Yeah, Ryder and Scarlet are excited to finally show off their home. It’s taken long enough to rebuild it. Just about time, too.” Amaury smiled. “You’re coming right? ‘Cause Benjamin is on assignment, and he won’t be able to make it.”

“Yeah, sure, won’t miss it.”

“I’ll be there probably around two o’clock. I doubt anybody will be able to make it earlier. See you there, son.”

When Amaury looked down at the file in front of him, Damian cleared his throat. He looked up again. “Something wrong?”