When the Clock Strikes

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  ‘Let’s just leave it as it is, Julia. Think about it. Besides, if you want to find your cousin you should stick with me.’

  ‘I said I’ll think about it, but you shouldn’t withhold any information; it’s against the law.’

  ‘I only said that I can help you. If I suspected anyone I would tell you straight away. This is about knowing who to talk to,’ I said, irritated that she was so stubborn.

  ‘Okay, I’m sorry for being a bitch, but you need to pay the bill. You forced me to have dinner with you, so now take care of it. When it comes to your proposition, the answer is still no, but I’ll think about you helping me out with finding my cousin.’

  ‘I wouldn’t let you pay anyway, darling, but I like your style. As to your cousin, don’t leave it too late; we want to find her alive,’ I said, wondering if I should just kiss her anyway. Her self-control could only go so far and I needed to have her in my arms.

  I took out my wallet and walked away to the bar to take care of the bill. The waiter asked me if everything was all right with our meal. I gave him a tip, stating that the food was excellent and glanced back at Julia, who was fanning herself with the dessert menu. I smiled to myself. Maybe the whole evening wasn’t all wasted. She looked flushed and was probably turned on. Nigel didn’t see any men in her life, so I had a clear shot. Was I ready to take the next step and try to build a solid relationship with a woman that I just met?

  In the past few days I’d been asking myself the same question she asked me. When Isabelle left me I’d started drinking myself to death, getting into fights, hurting more than I thought was possible. I felt like I’d lost the ability to function, like someone had died, knowing that it was all my fault. I didn’t want go through that again. It took me years to become a new me.

  ‘How are you getting home, Julia?’ I asked, approaching her table.

  ‘Taxi, I guess. I would normally take the Tube, but it’s raining.’

  ‘You’re not going in a taxi. I’ll drop you home,’ I insisted, narrowing my eyes. ‘My car is just around the corner.’

  ‘I’m fine getting home on my own. I do it every night when I finish work.’

  ‘You finish work in the late afternoons and that’s fine, but it’s close to ten right now.’

  ‘I work shifts, Nathaniel, and sometimes I’m forced to finish at four in the morning and then I still have to walk home. I’m a big girl, so I can take care of myself.’

  I couldn’t believe this. She just told me that she hung on the streets of London by herself, knowing that her cousin was kidnapped? ‘So you’re telling me that you walk alone in the middle of the night through London after what happened to your cousin?’

  She must have realised that she said too much since she turned red again. ‘Well, not all the time and not now of course. Sometimes my work colleague gives me a lift home,’ she said. ‘Anyway, this is none of your business. I’m magical and as I said before, I can take care of myself.’

  ‘Of course it’s my business, Julia. I can’t let you go home by yourself.’

  Julia exhaled, gave me a murderous look, and turned around to walk away from me. I glared at her, startled and seriously pissed off that she didn’t want to listen to me. I caught her by the door, enjoying her sweet and fresh scent, but I was still furious.

  ‘Julia, you are driving me mad. People don’t just walk away from me,’ I whispered through gritted teeth.

  She turned around. ‘I’m not most people, Nathaniel, and you can’t dictate how I am going to live my life, so just leave me alone.’

  She gave me no choice. I took her by the elbow and dragged her out of the restaurant. ‘I’m taking you home, whether you like it or not,’ I said in a husky whisper.

  The rain was heavy and it would have been better if we continued this argument inside my car. I pushed her into the passenger seat, breathing heavily. No other woman ever made me so angry. She wiped the rain off her face when I sat next to her.

  ‘Nice car,’ she muttered, folding her arms together.

  ‘Thank you. Where do you live?’ I asked, looking at her intensely. It was time to go home and forget about her. She rejected my proposition, didn’t even want my help, and behaved recklessly. Maybe I was asking for too much?

  She smirked. ‘I thought that your powerful dark wizards already gave you that information.’

  ‘Don’t play with me, Julia. I told you I’m not patient. What if I lose control and kiss you right now?’

  She drew a breath, and I gripped the steering wheel tighter, fighting with myself not to pull her against my chest and kiss her with so much passion that I’d leave her breathless.

  ‘Twenty-four Saint George Avenue. It’s not far from the office,’ she stated.

  I started the engine, and we drove in silence. My eyes were on the road. I was furious with myself. This dinner was a bad idea. I should have left her alone. She wasn’t interested in me. I reached her street and stopped the car.

  ‘Good-bye, Nathaniel,’ she said.

  ‘Goodnight, Julia.’

  I put my foot down hard on the accelerator and drove off.

  ***

  The next week I tried to keep busy, but since that night at the restaurant my head was all over the place. I even sent Roberto to make sure that Julia didn’t walk alone in the night. When I questioned him later, he told me that she was reluctant at first, but she accepted the ride.

  Days were dragging and I couldn’t bring myself to have sex with someone else. Julia was in my head, in my bloodstream—it was like I’d been cursed. I was cranky most days, shouting at people without a reason. Even Porter’s jokes started to annoy me. I didn’t get it. What was wrong with me?

  The production of the shot was going on at full speed. Lucinda had been praising Julia and the agency, so I wasn’t worried about the business. At the end of the week, my sources revealed that there had been more kidnappings in the city. The blood of fairies and elves was precious, and I could only think of one person who normally dealt with that sort of business, but I had to do more digging before I opened my mouth to Julia.

  On Monday afternoon one of my sources found out that a gang leader named Gordon was active again in the paranormal black market. He owned a bar in the part of London controlled by giants. One of my guys mentioned that he was there today with two of his most trusted associates. I was considering paying him a visit. I needed to know if he was the one that was stirring up trouble in the city.

  It was dark when I ended a conference call with Geneva. If nothing was going to happen with Julia I thought I might travel to Paris for a few days to see my sister.

  I heard a familiar voice outside my door. Emily said something about the conference call, but a moment later someone burst into my office.

  ‘Miss, miss, you can’t go—’

  ‘It’s okay, Emily, the conference call is finished. Please leave us,’ I said, standing up when Julia barged through the door, looking determined to hurt someone if Emily wouldn’t let her in. My secretary nodded, pursed her lips in annoyance, and left, giving Julia a dirty look. I wanted to take Julia into my arms and ask her if she reconsidered my proposition. I missed how alive she made me feel. But I had to play it cold and indifferent.

  ‘Miss Taylor, what a pleasure to see you here. Please sit down,’ I said, unable to hide the hint of amusement in my tone.

  I pointed to the chair in front of my desk and she sat down, looking slightly ashamed of her abrupt entrance. I had a chance to admire her for a moment before we got to the point of her visit. She was slightly flushed, looking lost, not like her usual self. She tossed her hair behind her, and I got hard again. I was pathetic.

  ‘There have been more kidnappings in the city and my cousin Claudia still hasn’t been found,’ she began, her tone uneasy.

  ‘So you came here hoping that somehow I could help you?’ I asked, tapping my fingers on my glass table. It was obvious that she was here because of her cousin, not because of me, but still I was happy to s
ee her.

  ‘Yes, I have, and I’m available now to begin searching for her with you.’

  ‘Is that so, Miss Taylor?’ I got up, looking at the view from the window. She was expecting me to drop everything and help her. She was asking for a lot, bursting in to my office and making those demands.

  ‘What if I have a very important meeting in a few minutes or I have to pick up my girlfriend for our date at the theatre?’

  Chapter eight

  I’m going to kill him

  It was time for me to play with her a little more.

  ‘If you really have an important meeting, then reschedule it. You’re the boss, and you told me yourself that you don’t date, so let’s cut to the chase. We are talking about the life of my cousin and some other paranormals,’ she said as I circled around, indulging myself with her earthy scent. How could she know me so well? I wanted to take her on that table and punish her for talking to me like she owned the place.

  ‘Miss. Taylor, you don’t stop surprising me. If all the women in this world could be like you…’ I chuckled, shaking my head. ‘I was only joking. Of course I’ll help you, and I do this from the warmth of my own heart, and I won’t even ask you for anything in return if that’s what you’re afraid of. ‘

  ‘Really? Not even a date?’ she asked with a cracking voice.

  ‘Only if you insist.’

  Of course I was going to take her out, but she didn’t need to know that. For now.

  It was funny how fast my perception was shifting. A couple of weeks ago I would never even consider dating and now I was putting myself in danger for Julia with no guarantee she would ever come around to giving me what I wanted.

  We left my office and headed to the underground car park. In the elevator she attempted to gain control of her inflamed fingers, but she was only making it worse. I kept watching her with curiosity. Her power only seemed to be out of control around me, or maybe I was being narcissistic and this wasn’t about me at all.

  ‘Where are we going?’ she asked me when I started the engine.

  ‘To get some answers. Don’t worry; I’ll keep you safe as long as you listen to me. We aren’t going to be in any pretty places, so let me do the talking.’

  It was already dark and cold when we drove through London. The traffic was atrocious and I was going over the strategy for this evening in my head, hoping that Julia would be safe the whole time. I put some soft music on, watching the road. Her scent was driving me absolutely insane, but I wasn’t planning to intimidate her. We had work to do.

  When we arrived, I parked the car in an alley and looked at her. ‘Now, we are in territory controlled by giants and I want you to listen to me very carefully. Let me do the talking. Don’t answer any questions, even if they ask you directly, and try not to make eye contact with anyone. I’ll try to protect you, but I have no authority around here, so you must promise to keep that beautiful mouth of yours quiet.’ I leaned towards her, staring into her blue eyes. She looked scared, and I could tell she was trying to hide it. I wanted to plant a deep kiss on those lips, but the situation was inappropriate, so instead, with a sharp intake of breath, I got out of the car.

  My car was exposed here and I knew I shouldn’t leave it around this neighbourhood, but I had no choice. Julia kept glancing at me and at the car like she was reading my mind.

  ‘Don’t worry, if anything happens I’ll buy a new one.’ I smirked. She didn’t say anything.

  We walked for about five minutes and stopped in front of a run-down building. Gordon normally hung out here with his gang. He’d killed a vampire to gain control of this area. He was a ruthless motherfucker, ready to kill anyone for money. Julia looked like she wanted to run away. Her face went ashen in a matter of seconds.

  ‘Ready?’ I asked, just to be sure that she wanted to do it. ‘We can still go back.’

  ‘No, I’m fine. Let’s do this.’

  I was’t convinced, but we entered. Straight away I realised that we made a mistake, but I couldn’t back out now. There were too many giants in here, far more than I originally anticipated. My source obviously gave me wrong information and it looked like I might not leave this place without a fight. A few giants gave me a murderous look, but I ignored them, pretending to be unaffected.

  ‘Can I have a whisky and a martini for the lady?’ I asked the barman. His eyes started to glow with green light for a second or two before they went back to normal. Julia hadn’t noticed it, but I did—and I didn’t like it. He went to prepare our drinks, still staring at me like he wanted to commit his first murder of the day. I had to look relaxed, knowing that I would have to feed on some of those filthy giants if we wanted to get out of here in one piece. I took in an odour of sewage, hairspray and fresh blood when a large giant approach us.

  ‘Yo, vamper, this is Gordon’s territory. What the fuck you want?’ he barked.

  Julia glanced at him and her eyes widened. I could smell her fear. Yep, he probably looked scary to her, but I was used to it.

  ‘I’m here to see him, is he around?’ I replied harshly.

  ‘He ain’t talking to trash like you, so you better leave before I slash your pretty face.’ Then the hairy giant added, ‘Leave the girl; we can make some use of her.’

  ‘The girl is with me. I fed off her, and I want to buy some more elves or fairies. I heard that Gordon caught a few and I want to make him a deal.’

  That was the plan. I had to find out if Gordon was behind those kidnappings. He was the sort of paranormal that was prepared to do anything to make money and he was capable of pulling off something like that. Two other giants approached us, moving slowly, giving me the impression that they were ready for a violent attack.

  ‘Gordon ain’t here. Are you deaf?’

  A troll leaned behind Julia and I moved slightly. Pure fury started whipping through me. No one was going to touch her. I was ready to cut his cock off with my fangs.

  ‘Our boss doesn’t get involved with shit like that. There ain’t any fairies or elves here.’ barked the other biker, who suddenly dragged Julia away from me and pulled her towards his filthy chest. ‘I like your donor. We’ll have so much fun with her here.’

  I narrowed my eyes and I squeezed the glass of whisky in my hand, imaging what I could do to him. My pulse was racing and the adrenaline started popping through my body like a candy. I smelled Julia’s magic, her energy was growing.

  ‘I’m giving you a warning: let go of her,’ I said quietly, still leaning casually over the counter. The barman vanished somewhere and everyone who was in the bar gathered around us.

  Two giants laughed.

  ‘What are you going to do, vamper?’

  Julia looked petrified. I noticed the troll’s hand as he moved it underneath her T-shirt.

  I’m going to kill him.

  I squeezed my glass so tightly that my knuckles had gone completely white. I hadn’t anticipated this.

  With my inhuman speed I cracked the glass and smashed it in the first biker’s face, moving fast, not giving anyone a chance to react. The biker roared, appearing to be blinded by the pieces of glass, blood dripping down his face as he stumbled backwards. I extended my fangs, trying to punch the other giant, but another biker held my fist and pushed me over the bar. He held me by my throat.

  From the corner of my eye, I noticed Julia scuffling in her opponent’s grip, but he slapped her so hard that she bounced off the floor and it looked like she lost consciousness for a moment. I jerked, trying to get to her, but the giant clenched his large hands tighter over my throat. He was going to kill me really slowly.

  ‘You shouldn’t have come here, sniffing about Gordon’s business, you fucker,’ he growled, cutting off the last dose of oxygen to my brain.

  I saw Julia trying to get up, but she was sent to the floor with another slap. My left hand was in my pocket and with my final ounce of energy I pulled out my stun gun and pressed it to the giant’s stomach. He was stunned in an instant. He started shaking
and finally released me. His eyes rolled back in their sockets and he fell on the ground, still and smelling like burning flesh. I took a few deep breaths trying to get back on my feet, when I heard another voice.

  ‘Hey, Marcel, let go of the lady!’

  I glanced at the door and saw a shifter standing by the entrance, holding a baseball bat, with another three guys. The troll that held Julia cursed under his breath, but he didn’t let go of her. I wiped the blood off my face, ready to sink my fangs in the troll’s throat. I wanted to see him suffer. I held the stun gun in my right hand.

  ‘Who the fuck are you? If you mess with Gordon, he’ll rip your head off and eat you for breakfast!’ yelled one of the other standing giants. The air coursed with tension and growing energy. There were at least five giants left standing and a troll that was holding Julia.

  The shifter who spoke swiped his baseball bat and with one blow crushed the table next to him and then moved towards the troll. The chair was also in pieces with one short swipe. If he was trying to make an impact, he most certainly did. Giants knew that they shouldn’t mess with a group of shifters. Everyone knew that shifters in a pack were much more dangerous and vicious than if they were alone.

  ‘Let the lady go. Otherwise your head will be next and that vampire will feed on the rest of you,’ he shouted, and his eyes changed colour, shimmering like yellow flames. The other two guys with him moved forward and everybody froze. Julia pushed the troll away, and he let her go. I was instantly beside her, pointing my gun at the giants that were still standing.

  The shifter nodded to Julia and glanced at the frozen party at the bar. She was shaking, and I was ready to rip someone’s head off. I cared about her more than I was prepared to admit.

  ‘We are walking away from here nice and calm,’ muttered the shifter. I gripped Julia’s arm.

  ‘Let’s move before they decide to go after us,’ said one of the shifters darting his eyes around. I had no idea who they were, but there was no time to ask questions.