Ben Vecchio might have been born in the Bowery to good-for-nothing human parents, but he’d been raised and mentored from the age of twelve by his adoptive uncle, a fire vampire of fierce reputation and a deep desire to be left alone. Ben knew more about immortal politics than most vampires. Their world operated on a carefully balanced network of allegiances, loyalties, family ties, and favors. It was feudal, but it worked.
Most of the time.
Tenzin watched him as he slept that afternoon.
Shining boy.
The lines around Ben’s mouth and eyes had deepened. Not much. But he’d grown from the young man she had known and into the man he would become.
Even so, he was her shining boy, eager to fix problems, fight battles, and seek treasure. He’d dragged her to this metal city and made her a nest in the sky, quick to reassure her of his plans.
It will be brilliant. It will be fun. We’ll get rich. Well, I’ll get rich and you’ll get richer.
Tenzin smiled.
Ben would go to the meeting with the young vampire and charm her into a solution both Tenzin and the New York hierarchy could live with. He’d negotiate with smiles and debate with quips. Ben was both her partner and her better half. He was one of the few humans who’d ever understood her, and possibly the only one who’d never feared her. Even her own sire feared her.
Not Ben.
He picked and poked at her as a hobby. He antagonized her and did it with a smile. She pushed him just far enough to drive him crazy. Why?
It was fun.
Their partnership was good. He was finding his way and meeting his people. Making connections and learning the ways of their world. He had time as long as she was with him. As long as she watched. His human experience would only add to the being he would become.
Of course, he did have that white knight tendency.
She’d have to fix that.
White knights had a tendency to get their armor bloody, and that could not happen.
Not until it was time.
2
The Bat and the Barrel, newest whiskey pub in the Bowery, was the kind of place where privacy was treasured, quiet conversations could still exist, and everyone kept their eyes to themselves as they sipped some of the finest cocktails available in Lower Manhattan. It was populated by the rich, the ambitious, and the immortal.
Carefully curated blood donors of all ages, sexes, and ethnicities drifted among the tables, serving drinks. Though Gavin Wallace’s pubs were open to humans, only the vampire clients and the humans who worked for them knew that the servers were available to sample. A discreet reservation and the human who served your martini could also be your dinner.
If that was your thing.
Ben watched as Novia O’Brien, favored daughter of Cormac O’Brien, brushed a thumb over the cheek of the handsome server she’d fed from in a private room. The server’s smile was easy, and Ben had a feeling the young man was a frequent partner. Novia gave him a little wave as she walked into the main room.
She was attractive, as most vampires were. Her skin was the color of sunbaked clay, her hair a riot of red-tipped corkscrews. Her bloodlines were Caribbean, but her loyalty was to the Irish vampire who’d sired her. She was young, around Ben’s age when she’d turned, and looked to be in her early twenties. In reality, she was probably around thirty or forty. Still young for a vampire, but rising quickly in the hierarchy because of her drive and connections.
“Hey!” he said as she sat. “Long time, no see. How’s it going?”
“Very well. How are things in California? Have you talked to your aunt and uncle lately?”
Ben had been raised mainly on the West Coast, where his aunt and uncle lived in wary alliance with the vampire lord of Los Angeles. Novia could have been fishing for information, but Ben’s gut told him she was just treating him like a fellow immortal and asking after his clan.
“Everyone’s doing great. It’s hot this summer. Really hot. Everyone’s asking how I survive without a pool.”
“I wish.” Novia plucked at the green silk blouse that matched her stunning eyes. “I’m relieved I don’t have to walk the city during daytime. I miss the sun occasionally, but not the heat.”
“And yet even with this summer, tourists are still pouring in.”
New York wasn’t just an international city for humans. It was a vampire mecca as well. The city that never slept was very attractive to vampires who could only operate at night. The business of immortal life had to be accomplished between dusk and dawn for vampires, which wasn’t as easy as it might seem.
Tenzin was so old she no longer had to sleep, but she was far from normal. And even Tenzin was limited by daylight.
Novia sipped a glass of red wine. “How’s your partner? I haven’t heard anything that indicates mayhem lately.”
“Then I must be doing my job right.” It was well known that Tenzin was the muscle and connection in their operation and Ben was the social animal. He tasted his scotch and soda. It was excellent, but he wouldn’t expect anything less from one of Gavin’s pubs. “Tenzin is doing well. Sends her apologies for not making the meeting.”
“She didn’t want to see me?”
“She was busy tonight,” he said. “Maybe we can set up a meeting for later this week. How’s Cormac?”
“Cranky,” she said. “But that’s normal for my sire.”
“Anything we can help with?”
“No, it’s family.”
Ben raised his eyebrows in question, and Novia rolled her eyes.
“It’s not really a secret,” she said. “Ennis is being… Ennis.”
The O’Briens were a clan. And if Cormac was the levelheaded and mostly legal leader of it, Ennis was the underhanded little brother who liked others to clean up his messes. Ben understood the dynamic between the two, but he chose to keep out of it.
“So your dad didn’t want to come for a drink?”
“He was busy tonight,” Novia said. “Maybe we can set up a meeting for later this week.”
Ben tapped the edge of his glass and smiled. “Touché.”
“I’m tired of hearing him complain about this,” Novia said. “Please, Ben. You’ll be doing me a favor if you can think of something. She refused the cash we sent. Twice.”
“We did offer to comp you the occasional job for your cooperation and generous welcome to Manhattan.”
“And we agreed to no comps, but only the interclan rate for services,” Novia said. “You know why my dad and uncles are cautious about accepting favors. Free work is a favor.”
And favors in the vampire world were subtle power plays. Who was owed and for what could quickly become a bargaining chip.
Ben mulled over the problem as he finished his drink. “What if…”
Novia raised her eyebrows.
“What if we consider the Rochester job a gift from Tenzin? I was barely involved. It could be a gift, not a favor?”
Novia nodded slowly. “A gift to the new landlord, so to speak?”
“Exactly.”
“So if it’s a gift… Cormac could offer a gift in return?”
“Tenzin would never refuse a gift from an ally. She’s too old-fashioned. Would that satisfy your sire?”