“You’re welcome.”
“Are you guys regulars here?”
“We come once or twice a week,” the girl said, putting her things into her clutch. “Did you want to meet up? We can exchange numbers. I’m Lacey, by the way.”
“Ash.” She took Lacey’s number because contacts were contacts—and because she liked the sweet brunette. “I’ll call you if we come back this way, but I was wondering if you knew another donor.”
“Oh, who?”
Ashwini decided against flashing the image she’d sent to her own phone from Janvier’s during the drive. It was obviously not of a living person and this investigation was all about subtlety. “I’m asking for a friend who’s a vamp. They had the one-night thing, you know.”
Lacey’s face set into lines of disapproval that would’ve done an eighteenth-century schoolteacher proud. “So many girls do that, but I’m a relationship girl. No spreading myself around. I even told Rupert that the first time we met, that if he was just after a quick sex feed, he could find another girl.” Her cheeks dimpled. “But my Rupert’s a gentleman.”
Ashwini hid an inward smile. It was becoming clear Lacey and Rupert were a perfect match. “Well,” she said, hoping these two would make it, “my friend never got her name, but she had a tattoo like this on her ankle.”
She showed Lacey the picture of the tattoo, having had the Guild techs work with it so it now appeared to be an image she’d downloaded off the Internet. Easier than trying to explain why her “friend” would have a photo of the girl’s tattoo but not her face. “Have you seen it before?”
Lacey frowned, shook her head. “But you should ask Flynn. He knows everyone, I swear.” Getting up, she said, “Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
“Thanks.” She followed the brunette out the door, keeping an eye open for Janvier.
Her Cajun wasn’t on the first floor. When she headed upstairs with Lacey, it was to see him sprawled in one of the groupings of sofas on the mezzanine, talking to a vampire with yards of red hair and skin like cream, her body poured into a black evening gown with plunging cleavage. Sitting in the center of her impressive breasts was a diamond that glittered even in the soft light up here.
But that wasn’t what held Ashwini’s attention. It was the fact that the redhead had her lips to Janvier’s ear, her hand stroking his thigh, and his arm around her shoulders.
21
“There he is. Flynn!” Lacey called out to a square-jawed black man who immediately headed over to them. Dressed in jeans and an untucked white shirt, the sleeves rolled up to show off strong forearms, a heavy watch his only decoration, he didn’t fit the hedonistic atmosphere of Masque except for the fact that he had the looks of a movie star or a model.
He and Lacey squeezed one another like best friends.
“This is my friend Ash,” Lacey said when they broke apart, her face open. “She’s with that super cute vampire who’s sitting with Adele.”
Neck prickling at the feel of Janvier’s eyes on her though she had her back to him, Ashwini couldn’t avoid Flynn’s hug. The man’s cheek touched hers as he held on tight and the contact made her ability come to life, as it did without warning at times even with people so young. But the resulting slap of knowledge wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. Vivid and strong and with a hint of darkness, Flynn was more dangerous than Lacey, but that was a matter of degrees. A puppy would be more dangerous than Lacey.
“Ash is looking for a donor who hooked up with a friend of hers,” Lacey said with a pursing of her lips. “Do you know a girl with a tat like this? Ash, show him the photo.”
Flynn looked at the picture for almost a half minute, a small frown line between his eyebrows. “I’m sure I’ve seen her, but not here. She’s more low-key.” He handed back Ashwini’s phone. “I think she used to go to Hinge, but that was a while ago. I haven’t been there for a year.”
“Of course not.” Lacey hooked her arm through his, her dimples peeking out. “As if Ko would let you go there.” Her eyes grew huge the next second, her gaze focused past Ashwini’s shoulder.
She didn’t need to turn to know Janvier was behind her. “Cher”—he slid his arm around her waist—“introduce me to your beautiful friends.”
Lacey giggled, blushed prettily, while Flynn’s handshake was friendly.
“Ah, Rupert,” Janvier said when Lacey told him the name of her vampire. “He is a good man. Try not to take advantage of him.”
“Oh, I would never.” Lacey dimpled again, adorably smitten. “Do you know Ko as well?”
“Benita Ko?”
Flynn nodded.
“Yes, I know Benita. Tell her Janvier said hello.” He squeezed Ash’s hip. “I feel restless tonight, sugar. Let us walk outside, find another bar.”
Ashwini said good-bye to Lacey and Flynn, both of whom gave her a thumbs-up when Janvier momentarily glanced away. “You didn’t say Ko was a good woman,” she said once they were outside, winter gear back on.
“Ko is a sadist,” Janvier murmured. “But as Flynn’s breath caught when I applied too much pressure on his hand, enough to cause a tiny bit of pain, it appears he must be a masochist. Therefore, the two are a perfect match.”
Ashwini realized he was talking about sadism in the sexual context, rather than in relation to Ko’s personality. Or maybe it was both, since he clearly wasn’t judgmental about the lifestyle itself. “Is she a sadist out of the bedroom, too?”