by Kym Grosso
Chapter Twenty
Luca shot Kade a look of desperation as he entered the safe room in the basement. The girl was crying again. Shit, no man liked crying. Kade felt a pang of guilt for essentially saving the girl from Simone, only to imprison her yet again, in his home. Granted, the room was a large, comfortable guest room with its own private bathroom. It didn’t scream 'prison cell'. No, if anything, it looked like a luxurious room at the Four Seasons. Regardless, the girl was scared and confused. She crouched on the bed with her knees pulled up against her chest, glaring at him as he went to sit in an overstuffed guest chair. He needed to get control over the situation, but fast. Taking a deep breath, he readied himself for the interrogation.
“Samantha, my name’s Kade. Now listen, we are not here to hurt you. I’m sorry that we needed to keep you here with us, but we need to make sure it is safe to let you return home. The people who took you were an evil pair of criminals who apparently used you to further their exploits. You may not be aware, but you attacked a very good friend of mine a few nights ago at Sangre Dulce. Do you have any recollection of this activity?”
“No. I…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the girl sniffled. “Where is Sydney? She said she’d come for me.”
“Sydney is recovering.” Kade glanced at Luca, who passed Kade a snapshot of Rhea standing naked serving drinks at the club. He flipped over the photo, not yet wanting to shock the girl. “I need to ask you some questions, Samantha. The faster we do this, the faster you get out of here.”
“Do you remember being at Sangre Dulce?”
“Yes, I told Sydney. I’m so stupid. It was my first time. I went there with friends. I don’t even live here in New Orleans. I was at a computer conference. My friends and I went there, you know, just to have fun…see what it was like. There was this guy…James…he seemed so nice. I remember having a drink with him. Then…all I remember after that is being in that cell…he beat me…I couldn’t get out. I told Sydney,” she sobbed, tears spilling down her face.
Not detecting deception in her words, Kade needed her to understand what had happened, and unfortunately what was about to happen. She wasn’t going home.
“Okay, listen, Samantha. Here’s the thing. James, the man you mentioned, was a powerful mage. His real name was Asgear, and he practiced dark magic. I’m very sorry to tell you that you were bespelled by him. I have someone who can help you, but I’ve got to be honest with you. You need to know what happened. I have a photo here.” He held it up to her. “This is you in Sangre Dulce serving drinks and engaging in various other duties.” He coughed, not knowing how to tell her. “Miguel, the owner, introduced you to us as a submissive. You know what that is, right?”
“Yes.” Nodding her head, Samantha whimpered. “Oh dear God. No, no, I would never do that. I just went there with friends for fun. Oh my God. How did this happen to me? What did I do?”
“That night, you took one of my friends. You silvered her to a table. Now, before you get too upset, it’s entirely possible Asgear did most of the silvering. You see, my friend was blindfolded. At any rate, you helped this man. So we need to make sure whatever he did to you is lifted and cleansed, so you don’t do it again.”
“What do you mean? I promise I won’t ever do anything like that again. Am I going home now? I need to get home. My family, my job.” She wiped the tears from her eyes.
“I would love to send you home, Samantha, but like I said, we need to make sure you are free of the dark magic. A friend of mine,” he hesitated, “a friend of mine and Sydney’s, she is a witch, a good witch. Her name is Ilsbeth. She is coming here and taking you to her coven. Now, I am not sure how long it will take, but I promise you that you will return to your home…soon enough.”
Samantha put her face into her hands, crying softly. Lifting her chin, she wiped her tears.
“I’m sorry. I want you to know that I am normally a very strong person, but this past week…I feel quite shattered right now. But I will be fine. I just need to get home.”
Luca glided across the room, put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a tissue. This frail human stirred something in his cold, dark heart. Over the centuries, he’d seen many a human cry. It was the hard reality of life. But this fragile woman with long, fiery red hair ignited a small, caring flame inside of him.
“Samantha, it’ll be okay.” He ran a hand over her soft hair and patted her shoulder, attempting to provide comfort. “Ilsbeth is a strong and kind witch. If you have been given magic, she will cleanse you. All will be well again.”
Kade raised an eyebrow at Luca, wondering what was going on with his old friend. Luca didn’t do comfort, or sympathy, or humans. There was a long list of all kinds of things Luca did not do. Kade wondered if some kind of magic was rubbing off on his second. Where the fuck is Ilsbeth?
A loud knock at the door jolted Luca away from Samantha. Kade shook his head in confusion at his friend’s actions.
“Enter,” he ordered. A blinding glow shone through the doorway as Ilsbeth opened the door. “Please come in, Ilsbeth.” Kade gestured for her to sit in a guest chair, but Ilsbeth wandered over to sit next to Samantha on the bed. “Ilsbeth, this is Samantha. She has no recollection of her actions in the club the night she silvered Dominique. I sense no deception, but we need to be sure she is safe to be around others…and herself.”
“Samantha, I am Ilsbeth.” She ran her lithe, pale fingers across Samantha’s cheek. “You understand you have been in contact with a great evil, yes?”
Samantha nodded silently.
“This evil, it made you do things, things against your will, things you do not recollect?”
She nodded again.
“Do I have your permission to read you…your aura? Do you come to me willingly?” Ilsbeth asked in a soft, lilting voice.
“Yes, I am so sorry. Please help me,” she begged.
The air thickened as Ilsbeth closed her eyes and raised her hands, palms up above the crown of Samantha’s head. She hummed a cyclical melody as she lowered her hands around the girl. Opening her eyes, she blew out a breath.
“This young woman, dark magic tints the edges of her aura.” A somber look crossed her face as she locked her vision on Kade. “She must come with me to the coven where my sisters and I can purge the darkness and cleanse her soul.” She was holding back.
Kade knew there was something else. What was it? He’d promised this girl she could return home. “Ilsbeth, thank you for your reading. As always, I am appreciative of your magical insight. Yet, I sense there is something else.”
“It is the magic.” In disgust, she shook her head. “It has been infused.”
“Meaning?” he questioned.
“The magic has been infused. We can cleanse her aura and remove the darkness, but the magic, it will stay. In short, Samantha is now a witch. She will need to stay with the coven, learn the craft, grow into the light.” She regarded Samantha. “Do you understand, dear girl? You are now a witch.”
“I am a witch?” she asked, saying the words back to Ilsbeth as if it would get easier if she spoke them aloud. “I have to be honest with you. I’m not sure what that really means, but I will try. I want this evil out of my body now. I promise to do whatever you say…just please help me get on with my life.”
“It will be okay, Samantha. I will help you,” Ilsbeth reassured her. She hugged her, knowing this would be an uphill battle. It was not an easy life being a witch, let alone being turned into one so late in life. Being thrown into the supernatural world after spending your entire life as human was difficult to comprehend.
Samantha pulled out of Ilsbeth’s arms and looked up to Kade. “Sir, one thing before I leave. Please…I want to see Sydney. I owe her my life. I just want to thank her.”
“Go get Sydney.” Kade motioned to Luca. “I know she’ll want to see the girl before she leaves.”
Luca nodded and left the room, giving Samantha one last glance.
“Thank you again,
Ilsbeth. We do seem to make good allies, don’t we?” Kade hoped to lighten the mood before Sydney arrived. She had been through enough this past week, and didn’t need to come into a room full of serious faces.
“Ah yes, that we do. The coven is in your debt for eradicating Simone and Asgear. If we hear of any other activity related to Asgear, I’ll make sure to contact you immediately.”
Within minutes, Luca returned to the room sans Sydney. He gave Kade a hard stare, needing to speak to him in private. He glanced to Samantha, who stared back at him with wide eyes.
“I’m sorry, darlin’, but Sydney isn’t available to come down to see you at this time,” Luca explained in a gentle tone. “She promised that she’ll visit you at the coven as soon as possible. Now, if you don’t mind, a vampire situation has come up that Kade and I need to attend to. Etienne will see you up to the foyer, and then I will escort you back to Ilsbeth’s.”
Upon hearing Luca’s words, Kade sent out mental feelers to locate Sydney within the house. When he was unable to detect her presence, his jaw tightened in anger.
“Where is she?” he demanded.
“Kade, please, you must understand, no one saw her go, and there’s been no evidence of foul play. It appears she just left. The maid saw her jump in a cab about an hour ago. Maybe she went downtown to get beignets again?” Luca sighed.
No, Goddammit. Kade knew that she wasn’t shopping or sightseeing. His woman was running, running from her feelings, running from him. Sydney Willows could run, but she could not hide. He would find her any place on the face of the Earth. What exactly did the woman not get about them being bonded?
“That woman is going to be the death of me. Seriously, Luca. I ask her to stay here and move in with me and she takes off? What the hell? Get Tristan on the damn phone, and then call the airport and gas up the jet. We, my friend, are going to Philadelphia tonight. She is mine, and it is damn well time she starts to understand precisely what that means.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Sydney felt sick as soon as she got in the cab. She kept telling herself she just needed time to think, time to figure out how she could have a relationship with a vampire, one who lived a thousand miles away. She’d call Kade as soon as she got to Philadelphia, tell him that she loved him, and that she just needed space. If she called him before she got on the plane, she would fold and return to him. If she just had some time to make a decision without Kade tempting her with his sex-on-a-stick gorgeous body and demanding presence, then she’d know she was making the right choice. She couldn’t trust herself to think clearly around him. Her libido had officially taken over in New Orleans. She had lost the capability to make intelligent decisions with her brain when she was thinking with her wanton, aching loins.
Sydney had to call Tristan before boarding the plane. There was no way she was staying in her condo after the attempted rape. She needed to repaint and decorate it anyhow, since the place had been trashed.
“Tristan,” she began as Tristan picked up the phone. “It’s Sydney. Listen, I need to talk. Um…I mean I need a favor.”
“Syd, uh…what’s going on?” Tristan responded, suspicion in his voice. “Why do I hear airplanes? Where’s Kade?”
“Please, Tristan, just hear me out.” Sydney sighed heavily. Damn Alpha wolf. She couldn’t keep secrets from him on a good day. “Okay, here it is. I ran out of Kade’s house, hopped a cab to the airport, and I’m about to board a flight to Philly.” She silently cringed, guessing what Tristan’s response would be.
“Sydney dearest, excuse me for saying so, but are you fucking crazy? Kade is going to go ballistic when he discovers you just left without telling him. Hell, even if you told him, he’d freak out. You do get that he claimed you? And then there is the whole completing of the blood bond, not to mention he keeps telling everyone that you are freakin’ his! My God, woman, have you lost your ever-lovin’ mind?”
“Thanks for the lecture, Dad. And yeah, I know he’s going to be mad. I understand everything… yadda, yadda, yadda…blood bond. I love him too, more than life itself. But I need some time to think. I need to get back to my job, the kids. Things are too intense down here. I need to make sure that I'm making the right decisions.”
“What is there to think about? No, forget it. You human women are irrational…unreasonable…whatever. I just want you to know that when this all goes down, I reserve the right to tell you, ‘I told ya so’. Now what do you need?” When push came to shove, Tristan would always be there for her. She was part of his pack…wolf or no wolf.
“My condo. The vampire. You know what happened.” She didn’t want to even say the words. “I need some time to get the place back together. I’m going to sell it…especially given the fact I might, and that is a big might, move to New Orleans. So, can I stay at your place for a while?”
“Mon chaton, you’re truly trying to get me killed, aren’t you?” He laughed. “Since I do not have a death wish, I will politely refuse to let you stay at my house, but I have several rental properties. I’ve got one that’ll work. It’s an empty, furnished apartment and most importantly, it’s in a safe part of town, okay? You're welcome to stay there. When are you getting in? Do you need a ride from the airport?”
“Thanks, Tris. You're a lifesaver. And no, I don’t need a ride. Tony's picking me up and taking me to the Hilton. If you could get the keys and address to the station by tomorrow, I’d be forever grateful.”
“Yeah, you better be, girl. Kade’s goin’ to be supremely pissed when he finds out you're gone. I love you like family, but I'm not going to lie when he comes a-knockin’. And he will, just warning you.”
“Fair enough.” Sydney slumped in her chair, knowing he was right. Too late now. She already took off…might as well see this thing through. “Hey…I just wanted to say thanks for saving my ass the other night.”
“And what a fine ass you have. You know that I should be the one thanking you. If that vamp bitch had stabbed me one more time, it could have been the last howl for the wolf. You were pretty badass with that sword. Listen, call me when you get settled, okay? I’m worried about you.”
“I will,” she promised.
“Can I give you a bit of advice? You know, from a wise, old Alpha?”
She laughed softly. “Sure, Tris.”
“You think too much. Open your heart to him, Syd. You deserve love. You get me? Stop thinking, start living,” he told her. “You take care. Safe travels.”
She hung up the phone. Tristan’s words resonated throughout her very being. You deserve love. She loved Kade with every cell of her body. And he loved her. Maybe Tristan was right. Maybe she did think too much. As she boarded the plane, tears welled in her eyes. A mistake. She shouldn’t have left Kade’s house. Taking a deep breath, she held the emotion back. She just needed time to get her life in order, and if she still felt like she did today, then she’d return to Kade, the love of her life.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tony glanced over at Sydney, who silently stared out the window, looking a million miles away. Something seemed off with his partner.
“I’m glad you’re back. The cases are piling up, and it sure will be good to have you back here.” Sydney continued gazing out the window, oblivious to his words. “Hello? Sydney Willows? What’s up, Syd? You seem really out of it. Are you sure you’re ready to come back to work?”
“Sorry,” Sydney sighed. “I just…was thinking, that’s all…about work. Yeah well, I want to finish up the paperwork on the Death Doll case, even if it officially belongs to P-CAP. Just want to clean it up a little, tie up loose ends.”
She rubbed her eyes. What next? She was supposed to be clearing her head, but thoughts of Kade consumed her.
“I think I’m gonna take a few days off after that. My condo is a mess, so I’ve got to get it cleaned up. I’m going to sell it…maybe. I don’t know. Anyway, I’ll spend tonight at the hotel and then go over and get my stuff in the morning…pack a bag. My friend Trista
n is letting me stay for a while in one of his rental properties.”
Tony rolled his eyes. He knew she wasn’t telling him everything, but they’d been partners long enough that he knew when to push her and when to just let it go. He could tell she was on edge, that she’d been crying recently. Pulling the car into the hotel entrance, he put it in park.
“Syd,” he paused. “You and I. We’ve been partners a long time. I know something’s going on, and if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay. But I’m just a phone call away. If you need me, just call and I’ll come running. You sure you don’t want to stay in my guest room? I feel kind of bad just dropping you off at a hotel.” He placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.
Sydney put her hand on the car door handle ready to bolt. She turned to him. “I’m okay. I promise… I just need some time to myself. A lot went down in New Orleans. Now, get going. I’ll see you at the station tomorrow afternoon. Thanks.”
Sydney reached over and quickly hugged him. Releasing her partner, she popped the car door open and headed into the hotel.
Sydney felt even worse the next day. She was in misery knowing she’d left Kade. What had she been thinking? She would have given anything to wake up in his arms this morning. Instead, she awoke to strange voices talking though the paper-thin walls and an air conditioner on the fritz. She checked her cell phone for the hundredth time hoping Kade would call or text her. Nothing.
Dammit to hell. She’d left New Orleans in order to think clearly, but all she could think about was Kade. She almost took a cab back to the airport, but reason won out, and she landed back at her condo. She breathed in deeply as she laid a hand against her door. Memories of the attempted rape flooded her thoughts, but she let a small smile grow, knowing that she’d won out in the end. She was the one still alive and kicking, and that asshole vampire was nothing more than ash. Her thoughts drifted back to Kade, thinking of how he saved her butt…waking up on a jet? What kind of a world does that guy live in? Certainly not the gritty, very real, paycheck earning world she lived in.