‘Genevieve, can you hear me?’ Blessed cool wrapped itself round my body for an instant. I tried to hold it to me, but the pinpricks needling my body wouldn’t let me.

‘Genevieve, listen, it will stop soon; it is just your circulation returning. Nothing more.’

Somewhere I laughed. Nothing more?Who did the voice think it was kidding?

‘Drink this, it will help.’ Liquid splashed over my lips.

I opened my mouth; let it pour down my throat.

‘That is enough, else you will be sick.’

The itching was back, insects crawling all over my body, nipping me with their tiny sharp teeth.

‘What’s the matter with her, man?’ Another voice, this one heavy, rough. It didn’t feel good, not like the cool one. ‘She done a bad trip on sumfink?’ the rough voice asked.

‘Hold her wrists,’ the cool voice said. ‘Don’t let her injure herself.’

‘Sure thing, man,’ Thick, meaty fingers settled round my arms. ‘You gonna pour some more water over her?’

Firm hands cupped my cheeks. ‘Genevieve. Listen to my voice.’ The voice wrapped itself round me. It felt like slipping into a still, dark lake.

‘Open your eyes.’

The insects gave me a few last bites.

And I looked into the red glow of Malik’s eyes. ‘What the fuck did you do to me?’

Tiny flares lit in Malik’s pupils, then winked out, leaving his expression enigmatic. ‘Good,’ he said, ‘you are well.’

‘Well?’ I shouted in disbelief. ‘It’s your fault I felt crap in the first place!’ I tried to lift my arms, but found I couldn’t. A thickset man with a lined, saggy face was gripping my wrists like his life depended on it.

I glared at him. ‘Let the fuck go of me.’

The creases in his face rearranged themselves into a lopsided grin. ‘Sure thing.’ He dropped my arms. ‘My Rocky was always mad when she came down.’ His grin disappeared. ‘She’s bin dead near three years now, ’course.’

Malik inclined his head to the man. ‘Thank you for your assistance. You may leave us.’

The man turned and ambled off.

I stifled an urge to slug Malik and looked around instead. I took a deep breath, then wished I hadn’t. Ammonia and the throat-gagging stench of pine disinfectant assaulted my nose. Even if I couldn’t see the row of stainless steel urinals, thankfully unoccupied, I’d have still known we were in a public toilet. I grimaced in disgust. The night just kept getting better and better.

Malik followed my gaze. ‘We would have been too conspicuous in the Ladies’ facilities,’ he said.

I snorted. ‘And we’re notin the Gents?’

He gave an elegant shrug.

Oh, just great—and then I remembered the office, and Darius. A queasy feeling settled in my stomach.

‘Listen, pal: next time you want to show me something, send me a DVD.’ I shoved him out the way. ‘Better yet, don’t bother.’ I headed for the exit. ‘If I wanted to watch sucker porn, I’m sure I can find something better than that nasty little effort.’

Malik fell into step next to me. ‘Where are you going, Genevieve?’

‘None of your business,’ I snapped.

‘But we will work together.’ He grasped my wrist and pulled me round to face him. ‘We agreed this, you and I,’ and then he smiled. And never mind he was male, he was beautiful, and my heart flip-flopped in my chest and lust pooled hot inside me and my magic almost leapt into life. One smile, and I was ready to jump his bones. Shit. I didn’t have enough fingers and toes to count the ways that being attracted to him was such a bad idea. And I couldn’t even blame my reaction on mesma. He wasn’t using any.

I shook him off. ‘No. Youmade thatdecision. Ihad nothing to say about it.’ I checked my watch. ‘Well, I really can’t say it was nice meeting you, and we certainly didn’t have fun. So please feel free to never call me.’

One side of his mouth lifted. ‘As you have not yet given me your number, that is a rather empty request.’

I flipped him the finger and stalked towards the exit, my heels slapping against the tiled floor.

‘Genevieve,’ he called after me, amusement in his voice, ‘you might wish to adjust your clothing before you go any further.’

I looked down. My ripped top was hanging round my waist like an apron and my jacket was flapping open, flashing my tits at anyone interested. Gritting my teeth, I buttoned the jacket—it still left a deep V of cleavage—but at least I wouldn’t get arrested for indecent exposure. I untied what was left of the top and shoved it into a nearby waste bin, throwing a toxic glare at a couple of leering teenagers. Threading through the crowds in Leicester Square, I made for the queue of taxis.

I yanked open the taxi door and said, ‘Hungerford Bridge, Victoria Embankment Side, please,’ and slumped onto the back seat.

The cabby grinned. ‘Right ho, luv.’

The door locks clicked shut, the lights glowing like tiny red eyes in the dim interior.

I shivered and reached for my phone to check for any messages. It wasn’t there. Damn I chewed my lip in annoyance. It must’ve dropped out, probably in all that rolling around with Rio. I sighed, letting my head fall back, and contemplated the roof of the taxi. Well, no way was I going back to look for it now. And what was Rio up to? It sounded like she was plotting some sort of palace coup, but what did that have to do with Melissa’s death? My gut made me think it was connected, but there were so many bloody dots appearing on the page that I was having trouble joining them up.

Then I realised the taxi hadn’t moved.

I tapped on the glass behind him. ‘I’m in sort of a hurry here.’

His head bobbed again. ‘Just waiting for your friend, luv.’

‘What the—?’ Damn vampires! I flung myself back in the seat and a moment later, Malik opened the cab door and gave me another heart-flopping smile.

‘Genevieve.’ Settling himself on the seat, he stretched out his long legs. His meaning was so obvious even an animated mud-troll would have got it. If I wanted to get out, I’d have to get past him.

The cab rumbled off, diesel engine drowning out my huff of frustration. No way did I want Malik tagging along to my meeting with Alan Hinkley, not with Alan’s text about his finding a nervous fae informer who would only talk to me. So I needed to get rid of the pretty vampire—only short of stabbing him again, I didn’t see how I was going to make that happen.

I frowned at him. Something was different—he seemed tougher, less sophisticated—then I realised he’d swapped the fancy suit for more of a street-goth look. In the Armani, he’d looked slim, almost slender, but now his black jeans with studded belt and black short-sleeved T-shirt moulded over a body that was hard with muscle. Whatever he’d been when he’d accepted the Gift, he hadn’t been a couch potato. A platinum ring set with a black gem similar to the one in his ear banded his thumb. I looked, but he had no spells about him. An errant part of my mind wondered what he would look like without the clothes and mentally I rolled my eyes. My mind could imagine all it wanted, but that so wasn’t going to happen. Vampires, even hot-fanged eye-candy like Malik, were too dangerous to even think about flirting with, never mind anything else.

So instead I tried to sort through all the nuggets of information I’d unearthed at the Blue Heart, work out which were golden and which were just dross. But in the quiet and dark of the cab, all I could think of was the tear running down Darius’s cheek, I crossed my arms and hugged myself and gazed blindly out of the window as we inched slowly through the traffic-clogged streets of London.

As if he knew what I was thinking, Malik said softly, ‘If you are concerned about the human, he had already witnessed Rio’s particular style of feeding before he chose to become part of her household.’