Free Violet Tendencies by Jaye Wells Page B

audience. The trio disappeared and shut the door behind them.
    Once we were alone, Fang blew out a breath. “What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Sabina?”
    Between hunting down my grandmother, who’d kidnapped my twin, and trying to avert a war, not to mention the crazy secret cult who wanted to kill me before I could accomplish that goal, I wasn’t really clear on which drama Fang was taking issue with. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to be more specific here, dude.”
    “I know you’re on the Dominae’s shit list, but surely you didn’t have to resort to slumming with mages and demons.”
    His venom set me on edge. “Those are my friends, Fang. If you have a problem with them, you have a problem with me.”
    He held up a hand. “Wait. I’m sure they’re fine if you trust them. It’s just, if the Dominae find out I was harboring both you and a mage, I’d be good as dead.”
    I sighed. “Look, I’m sorry to drag you into this. I just didn’t know where else to go. The Dominae will be watching hotels and the regular haunts. Hell, they probably already upped the price on my head.”
    “Since you mentioned it…” Fang walked to the desk and picked up a stack of papers. “I know you said you were back in town to find someone, but you’re not going to get very far with these circulating.” He handed me the first sheet from the stack. “They’ve plastered these all over the city.”
    My own face looked up at me with a sly smile. I remembered the picture had been taken at a party at my old friend Ewan’s bar. That night we’d been drinking hard, and Ewan had captured a rare unguarded moment. Little did I know then that a year later he’d be dead and I’d be on the Dominae’s hit list.
    The flyer claimed I was missing and feared kidnapped. It also said my family was offering ten thousand dollars for information leading to my safe return.
    Acid filled my stomach and my fangs ground together. “Shit.” Normally when the Dominae put prices on vampires’ heads, they spread the word quietly among the fanged community. But now, they’d cleverly recruited humans into helping them, too. And, of course, the irony of claiming I’d been the one kidnapped was a little extra dig. I crumpled the paper in my palm and silently promised my twin, Maisie, I’d find her and make Lavinia pay. Painfully.
    To Fang, I said, “Only ten grand? I think I’m insulted.”
    He wasn’t impressed by my bravado. “If I were you, I’d forget whoever you’re looking for and get the hell out of Dodge.”
    I shook my head. “I can’t. They have my sister.”
    “You have a sister?” His eyes widened. “Is she as good lookin’ as you?”
    I appreciated him trying to lighten the mood, so I forced a small smile. “Actually, she looks exactly like me.” While he digested this with a whistle, I carried on. “The Dominae kidnapped her from the mage compound in New York last night.”
    “And you figure they’ve got her at the Dominae estate in Malibu?” When I nodded, he continued, “Damn, Sabina, good luck. Between the flyer and the Dominae’s security, you’re gonna need a miracle to get her back.”
    I nodded to indicate the truth of that statement. “I know, but I’ve got to try.”
    He sighed and crossed his arms. “How can I help?”
    “I was kind of hoping you could put us up for a couple of nights.”
    Fang sucked air through his teeth. “I don’t know, Sabina. You know I’d do almost anything for you, but—”
    I held up a hand. “The last thing I want to do is put you or your girls in danger, but you have my word we’ll be careful not to implicate you in anything. We just need a place to crash. Otherwise, you won’t even know we’re here.”
    Fang relaxed a tad, and I was convinced he was about to relent when Adam burst through the door. The heavy bass of the club’s music had been muffled until that moment, but now it flooded into the room with a vengeance.
    One look at the