Wildfire

Interlude

- I N T E R L U D E -

"You boys can have my private lounge." Libitina pushed open the door to a large, dimly lit room. It spanned the entire length of the club, but even with his excellent hearing, Diego had to strain my ears to hear the music coming from downstairs. "I'll make sure you won't be disturbed."

He slid past the vampire silently, eyes flickering around the room. There was barely any furniture – just a selection of mismatched sofas and armchairs that circled a glass coffee table in the centre of the room. A widescreen television took up an entire wall, and the carpeted floor was littered with shag rugs. A small refrigerator hummed in the background – which, if he had to hazard a guess, was probably loaded with vials of blood.

"Thanks, Libby," he murmured. "Put Leon on the door with Sam – this shouldn't take long."

"Libitina's brows rose, her dark eyes flashing. "You're ordering me around, Diego? Last time I checked, I owned this club."

His lips curled in amusement. "It was just a suggestion."

The vampire scoffed, before her attention fell on the man who had followed me upstairs. She sized him up pretty quickly, and Diego watched as interest sparked in her eyes. "You looking for a job?"

The guy stared back at her, his expression the picture of intimidation.

"Pity." Libitina shrugged, unfazed. "I'd say your loss, but the loss really would be mine."

A flicker of impatience sparked in his gut. The longer she lingered, the more agitated he started to feel. On an ordinary day, Diego didn't mind working for her – actually, all things considered, she was a pretty good boss. Better than working for a demon, anyway. But she was nosy, and he really didn't need her sniffing around right now – not when secrecy was so essential. "Libby – you don't keep any refreshments up here, do you? For my guest?"

She frowned. "I'll go get some from the bar."

She turned to leave, her long, black gown trailing along the floor. When the door was safely shut behind her, Diego folded my arms over my chest and turned to face his 'guest'. Even if he hadn't had the portals watched, Diego would have known what he was; it was in his haughty brow and the rigid way that he held himself. Even the quality of his black cloak gave him away; Diego knew enough about the Royals to be able to tell the difference between a guardian and a prince – and although this man might have been wearing an unmarked guardian cloak, there was no question about his royal blood.

The man stared back at him warily. "You knew I was coming."

"I'm the one who called you in," Diego admitted. "Not Rayvano."

That decision hadn't been easy. He'd hung up the phone several times before the line had been able to connect, his gut instinct kicking in at the last moment each time. If it hadn't been for Adalia –

If it hadn't been for Adalia, he thought, I wouldn't be in this position in the first place.

Diego still maintained that turning his back on the lupi world – on the third dimension – had been the best decision he'd ever made. For three years, he had been able to lead a reasonably normal life, away from the stigma that came with being Ramone Alvaro's bastard son – and his only regret was that he hadn't been able to drag Adalia away from it, too.

But now she was dead, and he'd been sucked right back in.

The guy narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You're a guardian?"

"Not quite," he said. "I trained at the Academy for a few years, but things didn't really work out for me."

"You were undisciplined."