This was a lame excuse and we both knew it, but Nathaniel La Caz was a man who wanted me but couldn’t commit.
‘Whatever, Julia. I guess you’ll tell me when you are ready. Just be careful because creatures who can afford cars like this are more dangerous than you can imagine.’
‘I know, Dad, I know.’
When I got home, I went straight to the shower. My lips were swollen, but I just applied some cream and went to bed. I wasn’t upset because of what happened between me and Jasper. I was upset because I hadn’t heard from Nathaniel. He obviously cared about me, so I didn’t understand why he wasn’t here with me.
My alarm woke me up around three o’clock in the afternoon and when I rolled out of bed to shower, I felt more exhausted than yesterday. I had a text message from Rufus asking me how things were going with La Caz Corporation. I decided to reply to him later. I wasted some time watching crap TV and browsing the Internet. I got to the office later on in a cranky mood.
As it turned out, my two candidates for the Wand Maker position were unsuccessful. One turned up for an interview in jeans and a T-shirt and the other one had so many issues the employer wouldn’t even consider him. Finally, at half past ten in the evening, I was able to make myself a cup of tea and relax. Then my private phone rang.
‘Hello?’ I asked, knowing I shouldn’t answer the private number.
‘Julia,’ said the smooth voice on the other end of the line. I recognised him straight away. Joy filled me.
‘Nathaniel, what a surprise,’ I said, my voice uneasy. Jennifer glanced at me with confusion.
‘Are you all right? Were you hurt yesterday?’ he asked. There was a little tension in his voice.
Like he cares whether I’m fine or not.
‘Why are you calling, Nathaniel? You weren’t too interested the past few days, so why now?’ I repeated my question, aware Jennifer was listening.
He sighed. ‘Answer me, Julia. Is everything all right with you?’
‘I’m fine.’
‘What exactly happened?’
‘Jasper and I had a little chat. He didn’t like it that I didn’t want him back. I got a little ahead of myself with my magic, so then he made me taste one of his spells,’ I explained, wondering if he was really worried about me.
‘I see. Your ex-boyfriend has a reputation among creatures I know,’ he said ‘Just make sure you’re careful. As you probably know there has been more kidnapping in the city. Roberto will be at your disposal all the time. I will take care of your ex-boyfriend.’
‘What are you doing, Nathaniel? I think you need to end this, before I get hurt. You are calling me after all this time because you heard from your chauffeur I was attacked? What about our little arrangement and my poor cousin?’
This time, I didn’t care that the whole office stopped working and everyone was staring at me, hearing my whole conversation. I had to establish what was going on. This couldn’t just continue forever, plus he promised to find the person who was snatching the fairies and elves. He didn’t respond straightaway; maybe he was hesitating over what he wanted to say next, or maybe he just couldn’t answer. I was holding my breath, waiting; so were Jennifer and Alexandra.
‘I told you, Julia. I'm not good with what you call relationships, but I was worried about you. I'm sorry I didn’t call. I was preoccupied.’
‘Preoccupied?’ I hissed, parting my lips with anger. ‘Well, then, I need to go, because I'm also preoccupied. Good-bye, Nathaniel.’
Chapter thirty-two
Don’t let him intimidate you. Just get on with it and tell him to go fuck himself.
I flipped my phone and slammed it on the table, covering my face in my hands.
You knew exactly what would happen and you still let him play with you.
‘Julia, look at me,’ said Jennifer with an unusually serious voice. I lifted my head and looked at my work colleagues who were staring at me, frozen. ‘Why are you talking to Nathaniel La Caz?’
‘Because we are sort of dating,’ I breathed out.
‘Shut up, you cow!’ she shouted, standing. ‘How is this even possible?’
‘It’s complicated, Jennifer; you don’t want to know.’
‘Of course I want to know. Has he been stalking you since that meeting?’ she asked, not letting go of the subject. I sighed and tossed my hair behind my back.
‘We went out a few times, and he keeps saying he wants to make this work, but I’m not sure. He is a vampire, so I can’t expect he is going to change for me.’
Jennifer stood and walked up to me. I saw pity in her eyes. ‘I don’t know how I’m going to tell you this, Julia,’ she began, biting her lip, ‘but I saw Nathaniel La Caz on Sunday and trust me, he wasn’t alone.’
‘What do you mean?’ I asked, swallowing hard. She hesitated but didn’t have to finish because I knew what she was going to say next.
‘I was in Delux, a nightclub for paranormals, and I spotted him almost immediately. He was with a woman, and they weren’t hiding. They were practising French kissing; I don’t know what kind of creature she was, because they were sitting too far from me.’
My brain registered only part of what she said, but this news hurt me more than I expected. I shouldn’t have expected anything from him. He was the hottest vampire I’d ever known and he was also rich. I pushed away the magic that started boiling inside me and I rubbed my sweaty palms.
‘Anything else?’
‘They left together, after an hour or so,’ she added quietly. ‘Oh, Julia, I'm so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. There were rumours going around that he changes women often. He was even seen with a fairy, but he goes out with vampires most of the time.’
‘It’s not your fault, Jen.’ I said, barely opening my mouth. The warm feeling of disappointment spread through my stomach.
‘Julia, he is an arse, a player who fucks everything that moves. Please just leave the sinking ship before it’s too late,’ she pleaded.
‘I won’t be seeing Nathaniel La Caz anymore.’ I rose and straightened my trousers, feeling like the biggest idiot on this planet. I had to finish this. Jennifer was watching me, worried. Alexandra was still confused, and she made a few attempts to get back to her filing.
‘I don’t think we’ll be busy today,’ I said, fighting to keep my voice steady. The energy inside me was building up dangerously. ‘I'm going to take a taxi to La Caz Corporation and tell him to go fuck himself.’ I picked up my bag and my mobile. Jennifer’s jaw was hanging open. My fingertips inflamed, and I burned the door handle. ‘And if Rufus calls just make something up. I won’t be long.’
I was angry, and it wasn’t the sort of anger that was going to pass. I was ready to rip his face and ballocks off. Not because he cheated on me, but because I let him play me, believing that he was willing to help me. I caught a taxi shortly before 11:00 p.m. Nathaniel La Caz would be in his office. I didn’t have an appointment, but I didn’t care. I had to face him and tell him what I thought about him.
The London traffic wasn’t that bad, and I got to La Caz Corporation within forty-five minutes. My magical energy was making me uncomfortable, but I was fuming, and when I entered the foyer area, Todd smiled, looking taken aback at seeing me there.
‘Miss Taylor, I wasn’t expecting you here today,’ he said.
‘No one is, but I need to urgently see Mr. La Caz, and if he refuses, tell him I have all night—I can wait,’ I said, trying to stay calm, but my whole body felt as if I was going through an electric storm.
He shrugged, looking unsure about my statement. ‘I need to let upstairs know that you are here, Miss Taylor.’ He went to his desk, exchanged a look with the other werewolf, and dialled the number. He muttered something quietly enough and within five minutes, he came back smiling.
‘Yes, that’s fine,’ he said. I only nodded and went inside the lift, pressing the button that would take me to the top floor. My mind was spinning, but I knew what I was going to tell him. Once I r
eached the top floor and the lift door opened, Emily glanced at me from her desk.
‘Miss Taylor, Mr. La Caz didn’t mentioned he expecting you,’ she said quickly, standing. She went pale, staring at my hands flaming with electricity. I frowned and marched around her, straight to his office. I wasn’t even thinking when I stormed inside.
Emily was right behind me. ‘Miss Taylor, please—’
‘It’s okay, Emily,’ said Nathaniel, standing by the window and waving his hand. Emily nodded and closed the door behind me.
Don’t let him intimidate you! Just get on with it and tell him to go fuck himself.
‘So Julia, what brings you here at this time of night?’ he asked, turning to face me.
‘I came to tell you that I’m not going with you to dinner at the end of the month. I don’t want Roberto to pick me up from work, and I don’t want you to call me. I don’t want to have anything to do with you. I’ll find Claudia myself, I don’t need your help. From now on, I'm going to talk to Lucinda for our business dealings and no one else.’
This was a long rant and my voice was too high, but I stood straight, controlling myself well.
He was just a player, a man who would never be good for me.
‘What changed your mind, Julia?’ he asked.
‘So you have no idea what I’m talking about?’ I asked through gritted teeth.
‘Please enlighten me.’ He sounded irritated.
‘Well, you are pretending that you want to make it work with me, but you don’t call for days, not even to update me. You don’t make any effort. You are deceiving me, making me believe you care and the next thing I find out is that you were with another woman this Sunday. I’m not the kind of woman who is going to be humiliated by a man because he can’t make up his mind. Just be a man and tell me you only want me sometimes–’
‘Julia, please–’
‘Fuck you, La Caz. I’m not going to listen to your shitty excuses and promises. Fuck your limousine and your dinner. Find yourself another woman who will be okay with you sleeping with other women–’
‘Julia!’ He cut me off, roaring. Looking angry, his skin went slightly paler. ‘You don’t understand. Let me just explain what happened this weekend.’
‘No!’ I shouted. White flames burst from my hands, and then a glass mirror crashed into a billion pieces. The noise was deafening. I didn’t care that I was going to trash his office. Now I was out of control. ‘You don’t own me and I'm not going to take this bullshit, La Caz. I'm not just any woman you can play around with, because I won’t let you, so go fuck yourself!’
And before I let him say any more, I stormed from his office and passed Emily, who was standing, shocked, in the middle of reception. Fortunately, the lift came just in time. For a split second, I saw Nathaniel standing in the doorway of his office, staring at me, bewildered, before the lift door closed.
I took long rasping breaths, trying to calm down, but tears were streaming down my face. I leaned back on the wall in frustration.
Stop crying, you stupid bitch! He is not worth it!
I wiped the tears off my face and rushed away from the lift, straight to the foyer. My mind wasn’t working right. I just had to get away from this place.
‘Miss Taylor, are—’
I ignored Todd and ran away through the entrance, straight onto a main road and didn’t stop. It was dark but there was some traffic. I started running away, hearing a car coming from my right. I glanced back, staring at the large black van that pulled up next to me.
In the blink of an eye, two large men, probably giants, jumped out of it, crossing to me. One of them grabbed me by my waist. ‘Come on, sweetheart, we need to get going.’
I started screaming and kicking, but soon someone else grabbed my shoulder and I felt a pain as if someone was ripping my skin apart. In a split second, the energy rushed to my core, moving through my hands. I didn’t want to end up like my cousin. I had to fight back.
I roared at the top of my lungs and the magic burst out of me. But then I felt a pain in my skull and the darkness obliterated me.
Chapter thirty-three
God, this is humiliating.
I moved, hearing voices inside my head. My mouth was dry and there was only pain. My head felt heavy and my whole body was sore. I blinked, and my eyes gradually adjusted to the light.
‘Calm down, hon; just don’t move.’
The voice belonged to my father. I blinked myself awake, drawing a long breath. My skin was sensitive and magic was travelling through it. I felt as if someone was pressing invisible needles through my body. The smells of burnt wood and newly cast spells swirled around the room. My face felt swollen; on top of that, I had a splitting headache. I looked around the room realising I was in hospital.
‘What am I doing in hospital?’ I asked. My chest was burning. My mother shifted, standing next to my bed.
‘Someone attacked you,’ my father began and he glanced at my mother.
He can’t explain exactly because this had something to do with magic.
I was arguing with Nathaniel in his office and he gave me some shitty excuses, but I didn’t want to listen to him anymore. I remembered storming out of his office. And a van that pulled up. And the giant that tried to grab me.
I brought my hands to my face, glancing from Mum to Dad, disoriented. ‘They tried to kidnap me,’ I whispered.
My mum reached toward me. ‘Oh, my darling. They tried to take you like they took poor Claudia. I don’t understand what you were doing in that part of London knowing—’
‘Mary,’ Dad warned. Then he lifted his hand and whispered the spell. Within a second, Mum froze and became a statue. I knew Dad hated using that spell, but this situation was complicated and he obviously had to take an opportunity when there was no one else in the room. He brought his chair next to me, arching his eyebrows and looking furious. He was still in his uniform.
‘Apparently, the security guard saw two giants, who tried to push you inside the van. You cast a powerful spell and knocked one over, then one of them knocked you out. They were trying to drag you inside the van, but that werewolf security guard managed to stop them. He shifted.’
Dad looked tense and serious; I could see his neck vein throbbing. He was probably going to give me a lecture. Mum was still charmed, standing completely immobile. ‘Yeah, I remember now. Do you think those were the same men that attacked Claudia?’ I asked, feeling grateful despite the soreness from a punch in the back of my head.
‘Possibly. I requested all the CCTV tapes from that building. At least we might have some profiles.’ Dad grunted, scratching his head. ‘Julia, can you tell me why there is a vampire outside? He has been sitting there since they brought you in. He glamoured two nurses so they would let him see you before you were transferred to the Paranormal Ward. Who is he?’
I dropped my jaw, staring at my dad in confusion. ‘A vampire?’ I repeated.
‘Yes, a vampire that I questioned about the Magic Shot, Julia. Tall, dark blond hair, wearing a suit. He wasn’t very happy when I told him to get out of your room,’ Dad said, pursing his lips with annoyance.
My stomach crawled because I realised who my father was talking about. ‘Nathaniel La Caz is here?’ I asked, breathless.
‘Yes, him, but hold on, how do you even know him? And why were you in his building?’
The colour drained from my face. I gaped at my dad and mum (who was still charmed) trying to figure out what to say.
Oh you know, I was going to tell you. I have been sort of dating a half vampire. He is great, you know, but he wants to get to my bloodstream. He wanted to help me with finding Claudia. And, oh, he wants me to become his fuck buddy.
‘We met during a meeting through work, and we have been sort of seeing each other,’ I explained. I had to give him something. I couldn’t lie that we were friends because he wouldn’t believe it. My heart was hammering in my chest, as my dad went pale with anger.
‘A vampire,
Julia? Are you out of your mind? He is a suspect. You can’t date him. What if he was involved with Claudia’s kidnapping?’
‘He is a Dhampir, Dad, and what you’re saying doesn’t make any sense. Why would be want to kidnap me if we were dating?’
Dad was looking at me as if I had gone crazy. ‘ I’m not convinced,’ he growled. ‘He is probably manipulating you.’
‘During Christmas dinner you said yourself that you think he is clear.’
‘That was then, now I’m not so sure,’ he snapped.
‘Dad, come on, this doesn’t make any sense, so can you please remove this spell from Mum before anyone else comes in here?’
Dad’s face had gone scarlet, but he moved his hand with great precision, and within a second, Mum exhaled.
She looked at me and took my hand. ‘Oh, dear, Julia, I don’t understand why anyone would want to kidnap members of our family. This city is getting dangerous.’
The atmosphere shifted and my father wasn’t smiling. He was looking at my neck, probably searching for signs of Nathaniel’s bite.
‘I’m all right, Mum. How long have I been here?’
‘Only a few hours, darling. When your father got the call, we came straightaway. The doctor wanted to keep you. He said that this awful man hit you pretty hard. You have a few bruises, but he said they were monitoring you.’
National Elves Service had always been pretty good. Someone at La Caz Corporation had to have called the Paranormal Unit. Dad was always reluctant to get me treated by human doctors.
‘I’m fine, Mum. Don’t worry. I just have a headache.’
‘You know, there is a handsome gentleman in the waiting area who insisted on seeing you. He has been waiting for news about you, sitting there all this time,’ she said smiling, probably eager for me to tell her all about Nathaniel La Caz.
‘It’s okay, Mum, I kind of work with him,’ I said, not able to look at my father, who looked deeply upset about this news.
‘He is incredibly handsome, Julia, and with excellent manners. I would love to have a son-in-law—’
Paranormal Personnel Saga Box Set - Books 1-3 Page 16