The Vampire's Executioner

Chapter 20

Nikolai's mouth dropped open the moment the front door shut. It wasn't necessarily because she'd told him he couldn't accompany her to a bar, leaving before he could argue with her, or even that he'd let her get away with telling him what to do. It was because she was going out in that particular dress. Though Nikolai had only known her for a week at the most, he had only seen her in pants – nice slacks if she decided to dress up – and shorts. He had never seen her the way she had just portrayed herself, and something unfamiliar started to paw on the inside of his stomach.

What if she wasn't as strong as she seemed? Sure, she was tough. Nikolai had personally handpicked her to be his bodyguard due to her track record, file, and reputation, but could she really fight at her best in that dress? What about the fact that she was going to the bar alone? No doubt this man had protection, especially if he was the orchestrator of the plot to kill him. Elizabeth might be the best assassin, but she probably couldn't hold her own against whatever defenses he had. And surely, he had a lot. Nikolai couldn't say if he had other humans backing him up, or if he was working with vampires for a mutual cause. All he knew was that Elizabeth was terribly naïve to choose to walk into a bar without more research done on her suspect and any organization he might be working with or for.

At least, Nikolai didn't think so.

Because of this, Nikolai did something he thought was best; he decided to go – incognito.

He quickly headed up the stairs and changed into something he thought was appropriate for the bar but didn't reflect his royalty; a nice white collared long-sleeved shirt, a black skinny tie, and dark blue Levi jeans. On his feet were a pair of new sneakers, and over his outfit was a black blazer. Besides that, he didn't do much else to change the way he looked. He knew that if people looked close enough, he would surely be recognized, but he wasn't too worried about it and hoped that people would assume a prince would never dress down and walk into a bar without guards.

Nikolai liked to take advantage of people's ignorance.

When he parked his black Ferrari at the bar, any worries about blending in were completely diminished. He had on black aviators as a precautionary measure, but he realized that he probably didn't need them anyway. The environment was hazy – probably due to the fact that people were smoking cigars – and nobody even looked his way.. After a few moments, he started to relax, pushing his glasses to the top of his head and searching the crowd for Elizabeth.

It didn't take that long to find her. Once Nikolai caught that familiar head of hair, he was certain that it was her. Although he finally found her, he didn't want to be spotted – lest he distract her or be the cause of a mission gone awry because of his presence, so he decided to hang in the corner where he could see her clearly, while remaining hidden at the same time.

Goodness, she was beautiful, wasn't she? Currently, Elizabeth was flirting with a man – Nikolai assumed it was Dimitri Coran – by using her assets. A long strand of hair was coiled around her long finger, and she gazed at him with a banked heat. Her smile was open but coy – Nikolai wondered how he would feel if she used that smile on him. Actually – scratch that; he didn't have to wonder. He would simply give her whatever it was she wanted. And that was all there was to it.

Don't get distracted, Dragulia, he thought to himself as he closed his eyes.

In order to focus, Nikolai turned his attention on the man who he assumed was Dimitri Coran. The man was tall – even taller than Nikolai was; which was interesting because vampires were usually six-foot at the most, and he always felt he was one of the tallest vampires. But Coran had him beat.

"Have you been here long?" he heard Elizabeth ask, though she murmured the question.

Nikolai wasn't really paying attention. If he was being honest, his eyes were sculpting her face, trying to read her reactions, and to see if she had Coran figured out. Was he or wasn't he a viable suspect?

Something she said must have offended Coran, because without warning, the man reached out and grabbed Elizabeth's wrist before leading her into a secluded hallway. Nikolai's entire body tensed up because he was torn about what to do. If she said she could handle herself, then she could handle herself. But what if she couldn't? He refused to leave her helpless, but he didn't want to break her cover, and he sure as hell didn't want to break his. After another moment thinking it over, he decided to head over to the hallway as subtly as possible, hoping nobody would notice him.

Once he got into a position that was safe to determine Elizabeth's well-being, he tilted his head and smiled. If he had any inkling of doubt about if Miss Grant could handle herself, they were suddenly washed all away. She had her heel pressed against his neck, and was bombarding him with questions, which Dimitri only answered in Romanian.

"You're telling me you can't speak English?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief.

"I can translate," he said, stepping out from the shadows.

* * *

Lizzie glared, crossing her arms over her chest. It was highly unlikely Dimitri would willingly call one of his translators over for a nice chat, after all. With one nod, her eyes flashed over at Dimitri and Nikolai stood next to her. "Tell me about the assassination attempt," she said, narrowing her eyes.

Dimitri started talking, and after a moment, Nikolai glanced over at Lizzie. "He says he doesn't know," he told her in a quiet voice.

Lizzie wasn't too pleased with the answer and applied more pressure to his throat. Dimitri growled, baring his teeth. "Tell me," she said through gritted teeth. "Or I'll be the one poking a hole in your neck."

He said something quickly in Romanian, looking at Nikolai with wide eyes.

"He says that he truly doesn't know," Nikolai told her once Dimitri finished speaking. "All he does know is that the attempt itself will take place at the All-Hallows' Eve Masquerade."

Lizzie looked at Dimitri with extreme scrutiny, trying to read his expression, and ensure that he wasn't lying to her. After careful consideration, she slowly lowered her foot before grabbing and leading him to the back of the bar. It was then that Nikolai noticed a couple of Nocturnal Defense Society agents waiting, and once she had transferred custody of the subject to an agent, she threw an annoyed stare at him.

"I'm upset with you," she stated as the two began to walk out of the bar. "It's like you can't even trust me to do my job."

He said nothing for a moment, but slipped off his blazer and placed it around her shoulders without asking her if she was cold or not.

"I wanted to make sure my investment wouldn't disappoint," he finally said, opening the car door for her.

She pressed her lips together. "You're an ass."

"But what a fine ass I am," Nikolai said, and though Lizzie didn't want to, she smiled.