Alpha's Blind Luna novel Chapter 88

*** Vale’s POV ***

Looking up at the building, it had artwork all along the front with the name of the club ‘The Naughty Night’ that wrapped around the sides of the building. It was alone, either side were a parking lot while the rest of the street was littered with bars and tattoo shops. It was about eight in the evening and the line was wrapped around the building. A hand slammed into my back and Peter looked at me, smiling. He was dressed up in a silk maroon shirt and slacks. I was glad I had forgone the suit jacket I was debating bringing.

“Sorry I’m late. Ran into some nonsense on the way here. Shall we?”

I nodded and looked back at the building. Peter walked towards the bouncer, handing him a gold card. Coming up behind Peter, the bouncer unbuckled the deep purple rope and allowed the two of us past. As we walked in, I took in the dark interior.

“Borrowed the card from a friend. She’s an informant for some higher ups and has a standing invitation here. Since she provided information as well as gets it. She gave me the process for how to continue through the night.”

“Sounds good. I’ll let you lead.”

Peter nodded and we walked up to the receptionist. He leaned in and spoke to her in the ear. It wasn’t really loud and I wondered what kind of club this was. I’d been to a few in my life but this had to be the most quiet that I’d been to.

“Come this way, we will set you up with the dinner special.”

I turned when the receptionist motioned for us to follow her. Following behind Peter, I took in the place. It was dark and not just the lights. The booths, tables, carpet, even the walls were all dark colors. It was definitely not a dance club, I realized. People were sitting down with candles at their tables, dressed to the nines all facing the stage. A three-person band were currently playing a stand-up bass, saxophone, and piano.

The receptionist showed us to a raised table near the back but with a great view of the stage. Peter slipped in first and I followed into the booth. She pulled out a menu and set it on top of the table.

“You may order your drinks but this evenings meal is already set. It starts with a Crispy Salt and Pepper Calamari Fritti. Next will be the Gigi Salad, with chopped iceberg lettuce, shrimp, cucumber, asparagus, gorgonzola and kalamata olives. tossed with a creamy, garlic-buttermilk dressing. Following the salad, todays house special is Oven Roasted Pork Loin with apple-sage stuffing, mashed potatoes, apple sauce. Dessert will be Whiskey Bread Pudding with a side of vanilla ice cream.” She gave us a smile. “If there is anything else you require, please speak to your waiter as they will be able to provide anything you need.”

With a quick bow, she headed back off in the direction of her post. I raised my eyebrow at Peter. “I thought we were going to a club?”

He chuckled. “Technically, this is a club but it’s a jazz club. They have different acts in the evening. It’s also been around for over a 70 years and was a hub for not only smuggling alcohol in the old days but also providing information. It’s hard to get in just normally, but Morgan was making it impossible without some help.”

I grimaced. “He was adamant about us not coming here to get information. I had to stick AJ on him for a ‘mission’ in order to keep him out of our business for the weekend.”

Peter leaned back, looking over the drinks menu for a moment before handing it to me. Looking over, they had some different drinks from the Porgy & Bess, Sidecar, Southside, and Highball. A waiter came a couple minutes later. I ordered a Rickey while Peter ordered a Kind of Blue but also requested to see Camilla. The waiter just nodded and headed to the next table to take their order. The band stopped playing for a moment and the people sitting as well as the ones in the standing section that was on the second floor behind us, clapped.

The lights went down and the pianist and saxophonist left but the bass player stayed and was joined by a trombone. This time though, a woman stepped out. She looked to be my age, maybe a few years younger. Her hair was cut short with braids on either side of her electric blue hair. Her eyes sparkled and reminded me of a deep amber, maybe even a little red in this light. Her dress was very flapper-esque in a black with beads dangling down off of it. They caught the light though in a way to make it look like there were stars. You could see many of the men’s attention were focused solely on her while the women sat a little straighter.

“Damn, she’s pretty.” Peter shook his head.

I nodded but didn’t say anything as the bass and trumpet started to play. She swayed with them and then started to sing. Peter sat up straight from his lean and I stared at the woman. Her voice was beautiful. It was like nothing I had ever heard before. Part of me wondered if she was part fey. There were enough supernaturals in here that it could be a possibility. The waiter who served us was definitely fey but I didn’t know how much. Her voice silenced the room and it almost felt like we were breathing in the music.

We didn’t even realize the drink were delivered until the waiter leaned down and said, “Camilla will be here after the salad course.”

Nodding, he disappeared and I took my drink, taking a sip. It was lovely but I could barely taste it, my mind completely focused on the woman singing. Into her second song is when the appetizer course was served. I did my best to eat but it was a chore to do anything but listen. The salad was delivered a little after that and the woman took a break, receiving a standing ovation. She blushed and bowed, disappearing behind the curtain of the stage. A woman came towards our table and I immediately knew she was a vampire.

“Good evening, boys. I heard you asked for me specifically.”

Peter nodded. “Harriett sent me, said you were the one to speak to in regards to procuring some information.”

The woman, Camilla, smiled. “Harriett is a good client of mine. I’m happy to help out any friends of hers. It’s going to cost you though, nothing is given for free.”

“Hey, you okay?”

I looked over at Peter and smiled. “Yeah, I’m fine. No offense, but I’d rather be on a date with my mate than you.”

He chuckled and nodded. “I’d rather be on a date with her than the Alpha King but here we are.” Peter motioned towards the stage and I shook my head.

“Fat chance.”

Humming, he sipped his drink, his plate clean from dinner. The servers came around and cleared plates, replacing with the sweet and decadent bread pudding. Partway into the pudding, the singer finished her last song, smiling, giving a small wave as she received another standing ovation. The pianist and bassist stayed out, joined by the trombone and the saxophonist and they started to play without her. It allowed a small hum of chatter to resume after the entire meal of being basically silent while she sang.

As the dinner finished, people started to get up and finish their evening out in the main section of Berlin. It was really lovely out when we came in and I had no doubt it would have cooled off to be the perfect temperature to see the lights of the city. It was really a lovely city. I’d just wish we were here for leisure rather than tracking down a wanted woman.

More and more people started to leave until the tables were beginning to be cleared, the lights raised and the band dressing down as they pulled out their cases for their instruments. They didn’t seem like they were leaving though, only repositioning themselves in more of a circle and chatting as they plucked at more modern songs. Peter stood up a little straighter when the singer came out, wearing dark wash jeans, a suit jacket and a black tube top. I chuckled as I watched his eyes solely focused on her.

“You wanna stick around for a jam session? Just a few songs?” The pianist waggled his eyebrows up and down at her. Her laugh filled the place but she did set down her side-bag and pull a tall stool closer to the group.

“Only a couple songs. I got places to be boys.”

They picked up their instruments and I could actually name the next song they played, it being an alternative song played on the radio most days. Her voice, even without a mic, filled the room with its own magic. After the first song, they transitioned seamlessly into a more pop song and she laughed again. Her jacket came off and her back was covered in intricate tattoos. They definitely looked fey in design and I thought along her arms were some of their characters. I was unable to inspect it further as Camilla pulled up a chair and sat at the far end of the table.

“Alright, let’s get to business.”