Club Noire

Chapter3

I headed up to my apartment above the club. I bought an entire block of building and converted the two largest into my club/living quarters. The top floor of Club Noire was my personal space. It was a huge penthouse spread with a spectacular view of the city. I had several bedrooms and bathrooms with a full kitchen, office, living room, dining room, and library. I also had a media room to indulge in my guilty pleasure of watching bad movies and all the television that caught my fancy. I wasn’t a reality television junkie like some of my friends, but I loved watching documentaries, cooking shows, and housing shows. Sometimes, I just listen to music and read a book or two. Occasionally, the space echoed, and I could imagine the rooms full of the sounds of little feet and voices, plus my mates quietly talking or laughing with them. The space had been designed with the thought of eventually having a family. Despite what Phaedra said, I wasn’t planning on being alone forever.

The penthouse was decorated in a comfortable style and muted colors, except for my bedroom. That room reflected my personality, travels, and home. It was bright and had African masks on the walls, shelves with ancient texts, and gifts from abroad, such as vases and statues. A small fountain burbled in a corner, along with lush plants and flowers. My bathroom was all about luxury and gave me a relaxing spa-like experience. I was usually as tight as a drum from the day’s stresses and looked forward to coming home to my bathroom. After dropping everything on the small couch in my room, I headed to the bathroom, stripping as I went. With a flick of my fingers, the tub filled, the lights went down, and the candles burst to life.

I added a scented bath bomb and slowly entered the tub with a moan. The water was hot and immediately eased my aching joints. Music played as I leaned back and closed my eyes. As I drifted off, I heard my cell phone ring. With a groan, I waved my fingers toward my bedroom and the cell floated to my outstretched hand. I glanced at the caller ID and suppressed an annoyed grunt. Alexei. This was definitely not good news.

“Hello. What is it?” I asked, dispensing with niceties. I knew the person on the other line didn’t care. He never did.

“Privet, krasavitsa. How are you this evening?” I bit back a moan as his deep Russian accent caressed me as he called me beautiful. It was easier to feign indifference to the effect he had on me on the phone as opposed to in person. I avoided him like the plague because he had an inflated sense of his effect on me and every other woman in the world. Alexei Sidorov was a member of the Russian vampire faction in the city. The Russian vampires were power players and most like their human Bratva counterparts but much more fearsome. If one of them were calling me, the news was likely to have me on my toes. I sat up and snapped my fingers. The candles went out and the lights came up as I climbed out of the tub.

“What do you want, Alexei? I assume this isn’t a social call,” I said. I refused to let him put me off my game. Relaxing while I talked to him was absolutely a no-go. He chuckled and the sound went straight to my core. I waved a hand to dry myself, then wrapped a towel around my naked body. I went to my bedroom and sat on my bed.

“You are correct, my dear Magdalene. I have heard news that might interest you and offer you my assistance. There is word that the wolves north of the city are joining with the warlocks to take over the districts near you. If they spread their power, it could put the entertainment district in a bad place. Since you speak for the district, I wanted to let you know. These two don’t care about neutrality,” he said, apparently reading my next thoughts.

“Is anyone else working with them? Have you told this to anyone else in the district? I don’t want to be the last to get this information,” I said.

“You are the first I tell this to, krasavitsa,” he said, “I wish to offer a mutually beneficial agreement that will help keep you safe and protect the district.” I rolled my eyes. Of course he did. If he weaseled his way into my bed, so much the better. Alexei had been chasing me since I first arrived in the district. He was too much of a playboy for me. I wasn’t going to risk my heart for a vamp player. I focused on what he what he was telling me. A power grab from the wolves could be dealt with easily but if they had linked with magic wielders, it was trickier. Warlocks, unlike witches, tended to dabble in black magic. They were a power hungry bunch as they were generally shunned by the other groups. I quickly thought about Alexei’s offer. The Russians weren’t offering their help for nothing. This protection had some strings attached that I was sure I wasn’t going to like.

“Okay, meet me tomorrow morning at the club. Around nine am. Just you until I figure out how many other people need to know about this. I don’t want to cause a needless panic if we can contain this early,” I said, rubbing my forehead. Today was a banner day for headaches.

“I will be there for you,” Alexei said smoothly. I felt that he was saying two things with that simple sentence. I was afraid of what that meant for me.

First thing the next morning, I rose and got ready to meet Alexei. I had already called Phaedra and Jas to let them know what he had told me. I wanted my closest people apprised of the situation. Jas was able to reach out to the Seelie court and see what they knew. Fae were notoriously closed-lipped about certain things and I wanted to get a head start on information gathering from that quarter. Plus, no information came from the Fae without cost and I wanted to have some idea of what I would be required to give in exchange for what I wanted to know. I also reached out to the heads of the other large factions just to cover myself. Just as I hated to be caught unawares, I knew that the other factions liked it less. As a professional courtesy, I made sure they were in the loop and promised to set up a sit down with everyone the next day so we could be on the same page and everyone could know the same things at once. Business is more than just running your own business successfully. You have to know how to network and keep the real powers happy in the process otherwise things could go left faster than a sigh.

I dressed conservatively in a pinstriped pencil skirt that hugged my curves and a white blouse with a thin, black silk tie. I paired it with a fitted pinstriped jacket and black platform pumps. Since I’m only five foot four, I tend to have an obsession (as Phaedra so politely says) with high-heeled shoes and sandals. Just because she’s so tall, doesn’t mean we all have to be, I like to remind her in return. I’d put on a smoky eye and red lipstick and pulled my long hair into a twisted updo accented with black lacquer chopsticks. Functionality and self-defense were the rule of the day. I switched everything to my black leather satchel, then sashayed out the door. I hoped there would be a simple solution but I doubted it.