Ishalan took his finger from his mouth and inspected it. There wasn’t a trace of the puncture. So the fae healed like vampires did. Interesting. He looked at her, his brows disappearing beneath his cap. “My money?”
Donna nodded. “Right.” She pulled her phone out and opened up the banking app Charlie’d had her install, which Donna had done on the ride here. She logged in and clicked on the link to transfer money. “Your account number?”
Ishalan rattled it off. She plugged it in, set the amount, and hit send. “Done.”
Still seated, he took his phone out and checked things on his end. A few seconds passed before he nodded. “It’s arrived. Thank you.”
She looked at him a little closer. He was pale and a little listless. “Temo, go to the newsstand and get Ishalan some juice and some cookies.”
“On it.” He left them alone, but Donna wasn’t worried about her safety with the fae any longer.
“That is…kind of you,” Ishalan said.
“I’m glad such a display of weakness doesn’t bother you.”
He smiled without any malice, shifting his gaze to look at her without moving his head. “You’re the most interesting vampire I’ve ever met.”
“Have you met many?”
“Enough.” He finally lifted his chin. “You’re not afraid of me, are you?”
“Not until I have a reason to be.”
Temo returned with a plastic bottle of orange juice and a bag of chocolate chip cookies. He handed them to Ishalan, who took both but ignored the cookies to drink half the bottle in one long gulp. His color returned almost instantly. Apparently, even the fae needed a little something after giving blood.
He opened the bag of cookies and dumped half of them into his mouth. His sharp teeth must have pulverized them, because a second later he swallowed, then drank the rest of the juice. He stood and tossed the empty bottle into a nearby trash can. “You don’t like me, but you helped me.”
“Is that a question or an observation?” Donna asked.
He looked at Temo. “Your boss is a strange one. But I like her.”
“So do I,” Temo answered.
Ishalan shifted his gaze to Donna. “Will you allow me to join you for the raid?”
“Yes.” Better to have him there with her than have him there on his own, feeling like he could do whatever he wanted without repercussions. Also, it would be incredibly helpful to have an actual guide inside the stronghold. Rixaline had only been there as a prisoner. Ishalan had been free-roaming.
He nodded. “Thank you.”
“You’re not desperate to come because you want to kill the king, are you?”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Whatever would give you that idea? That would start a war.”
Yes, it would. Cammie had already told her that. But Donna didn’t know how much she trusted Ishalan’s words. “Temo will text you the details.” She shot him a glance. “We should go.”
Temo jerked his chin at the fae. “Later, Ish.”
With a grunt, Ishalan turned and disappeared into thin air in about three steps.
“Well, that’s interesting,” Donna said. “I didn’t know fae could do that.”
“They can’t. Not all of them. It’s like how vampires sometimes develop secondary gifts after they’ve been turned for a bit. But that disappearing thing only lasts for a short while. Long enough for him to get outside, I’d say. But as party tricks go, it’s pretty good.”
“I’d say. I wouldn’t mind being able to do that myself.”
They headed for the car.
“Does your friend Alvaro sell anything good to eat in that bodega? I’m hungry all of a sudden.”
Temo grinned. “You ever have a chimichurri burger?”
“Can’t say that I have.”
“Prepare to have your mind blown.”
Three burgers and two beers later, Temo (who’d eaten two of the three burgers) and Donna were back in the car. Thanks to their metabolisms, the beers had no more impact than a soda, but Temo had insisted they were the best thing to drink with the spicy and very delicious burgers. He’d been right too.
He turned the SUV toward the Wellman Towers. Even with the burgers, the whole thing had taken less than an hour. “Can I ask you something, boss?”
“Sure.”
“Why four vials of blood when Jerabeth only needs three?”
“Because I could.” She laughed softly. “I just figured it might be good to have backup. And when are we going to get access to fae blood again? I mean, in a situation where we can easily collect it. Why? Do you think I pushed too much?”
“No. I think it was very smart.” He glanced at her. “You’re pretty good with the negotiating. Not just with the money, but asking for five and all that. I gotta be honest, I thought you started too low with the money, but you really handled it. And now he knows better than to try to get over on you. I’m learning some things. I like it.”
“I guess being married to the mob for so long wasn’t a complete waste.” The lights of the city were beautiful beyond the river.
“Is that how your husband did business?”
“Almost all the time. Ask for more than you want but expect less.” She snorted. “Not that Joe or Big Tony usually got less. Most people didn’t have the plums to stand up to those two.” Herself included. How she’d changed.
“You’re going to get that same kind of reputation. But in a good way. Because you’re fair.”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
“I know going into that meeting with Ishalan that you were scared, but it didn’t show. You’re good at that too. Same thing when we paid the Russians a visit. I admire your ability to compartmentalize like that. Not everyone can do it. It’s the trait of a warrior.”
His kind words filled her with pride. “I don’t know if I’m a warrior, but I just remembered what I was there for. Who I was there for. That helped me a lot. So did having you at my side. Hard things are always easier when you don’t have to face them alone.”
“Very true.” He stopped in front of the Wellman Towers lobby doors, then reached into his jacket and retrieved the four vials to give to her. “See you upstairs in a while. I need to go gas up.”
She took them with a nod and stuck them in her pocket. “Thanks. Be safe.”
“Always.” He waited until she was inside before he pulled away.
She walked to the penthouse elevator. Beside her, at the main elevator, stood a very large man. He was young and attractive, despite the amount of sweat covering him. He looked like he’d just come in from a run, based on how he was dressed. Somehow, the only smell coming off him was a hint of citrusy aftershave.
He glanced at her, then at the elevator she was standing in front of. “You must be the new governor.”
No alarms went off in her head, but it was odd to be recognized when she didn’t have a clue who he was. But then, most people in the building had to know a new resident had moved into the governor’s penthouse. He wasn’t a vampire, though. She knew that much. She kept her face blank. “I am.”
“Congrats on the job.”