by Robyn Bachar
I dropped the spoon and then rubbed my face with my hands. “What happened?”
“I looked the son’s place over. No sign of him, his wife, or his two kids. Looks like they were snatched during breakfast. Food still on the table and everything.”
“Kids. Fucking hell. How can they justify torturing kids?” Disgusted, I pushed my bowl away.
“Same way everyone else does. They don’t think of us as people, or of those kids as kids. We’re just things to dissect, like worms or frogs.” Marie shrugged, picked up her sandwich, and took another bite. “No sign of who took them, or where they were taken. As usual.”
“Damn. Did you tell the grandparents?”
“Yeah. They didn’t take it well. Are you gonna talk to Lex or let him sweat his tantrum out?” she asked, and I sighed.
“He’s got a right to be mad.”
“It’s not helping anything, is it? It won’t make Simon find the spell to free you any faster,” she pointed out.
“Right. Are you sure you two are related? You’ve got way more sense than him.”
Marie laughed and grinned. “He got all the muscle. The rest of us got the brains.” She popped the last bite of sandwich into her mouth, and I rose to dump the cereal down the garbage disposal.
“Hey, do you know anything about this?” I pulled the flyer with the tiger on it out of my pocket and held it out to her. Marie nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Were you going to mention it?” I prompted.
“No. You’ve got enough on your plate to worry about right now.”
It was true, but it wasn’t a problem I could avoid. The witch council was responsible for this particular pain in my ass. They’d approached one of Maureen’s grandchildren, Riley O’Driscoll, and told her a sob story about how I was the evilest thing since Darth Vader, and convinced her to take the Titania position away from me. There was a time when I would’ve been more than happy to hand the job over to one of Maureen’s kin, but that was before I’d jumped through all sorts of hoops to win it. Hell, I couldn’t quit even if I wanted to now because I’d sworn to do the job and quitting would make me an oathbreaker. Plus Riley was an untrained witch, and now she was a brand-new shapeshifter. She didn’t even have the good sense to be ashamed of the fact that she was infected with wild magic. No way she could handle my job, so apparently we were going to duke it out for Titania at some point, winner take all.
Marie shrugged. “I’m gonna crash. I’ve got another long day tomorrow.”
“The real estate agent will be here in the morning,” I reminded her.
“No problem. I’ll set my alarm. G’night.”
At least someone would sleep well tonight. I rinsed out the bowl and put it into the dishwasher, tapping my fingers against the granite countertop as I debated what to do. I could go to bed, stare at the ceiling, and pretend to be asleep when Lex finally came in. Or I could go downstairs and try to make peace, risking the chance of just making things worse and one of us sleeping on the couch.
I chose the riskier option and headed into the basement. I opened the door and was greeted with a blast of Nine Inch Nails. Wincing, I shut the door behind me and made my way down the stairs, the music thrumming louder with each step. When I reached the bottom I paused at the sight of Lex, and my throat tightened so much that it was hard to breathe. He was across the room, working with the heavy bag, glowing with sweat and temper. Lex was angry all the time, and it killed me that I had no way to fix it. Every time I tried to talk to him, it ended with him being frustrated and me apologizing profusely, with no progress and no resolution.
Covering my ears, I crossed to the stereo and killed the noise. Lex whirled at the sudden silence, and I held my hands up.
“Don’t shoot, it’s just me,” I joked. He nodded, his hands on his hips, and I forced myself to keep my eyes on his instead of on his glistening, bare chest.
“What’s wrong?”
“Marie’s home. She got a call about a missing summoner family. Hunters got ’em, parents and two kids. No sign of where they’ve been taken.”
Lex shook his head in disgust. “Anything else?”
“They were faerie-blooded, and they didn’t come to us for help,” I admitted. Lex slugged the heavy bag and I flinched. Guilt gripped my stomach, and I was glad I hadn’t eaten the cereal. I imagined it wouldn’t be as tasty on a return trip. “I know, it’s my fault, and I’m sorry.”
“It’s Harrison’s fault.”
I nodded, running a hand over my braided hair. “It’ll be better after the bond’s broken. I’m sure people will calm down once it’s official that I’m 100 percent vampire-free.”
“If that ever happens,” he muttered. I barely caught it, and I frowned.
“I’m sure Simon and Mac will find a counterspell. There has to be one somewhere. Or they can make one up.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Okay. What did you mean?”
“You’re gettin’ more friendly with each other,” he replied.
“Really? I question your definition of friendly.” I folded my arms across my chest, offended by the idea.
“You finish each other’s sentences,” Lex pointed out.
“Because he’s invading my brain, not because we’re BFFs.”
“So after you’re free, it won’t bother you if your Silverleaf cousins kill him?”
I paused, squirmy at the idea. Sure, I threatened Zach with death all the time, but more out of habit than real venom at this point. Then again, the world would probably be a better place without him…or would it? He was looking out for us in his own twisted way. Harrison wanted to protect our people from the hunters, and our people needed protecting.
“He’s more useful alive,” I argued.
“He isn’t alive.”
I scowled, not in the mood to get into this at the moment. “Are we going to fight about him again? That horse is dead, quit beating it already.”
“We’re going to keep fighting until he’s out of our lives. Permanently.”
“Is that really necessary? I love you. I married you. He’s just…a parasite. Like a tick or a tapeworm.”
“And parasites need to be exterminated.”
True enough, though for some reason I didn’t want to admit that. “I’m more concerned about exterminating the hunters before they exterminate us.”
“We can take care of the hunters.”
“By ourselves? No way. There’s too many of them. This will only stop if we work together. Everyone’s trying to handle them on their own—that’s why they’re picking us off. Now they’re taking kids. Who knows what they’ll do next.”
“You know what they say about what happens when you lie down with dogs,” he said.
“You can’t use that cliché because you let the dogs sleep in the bed.”
Lex cracked a smirk. “I suppose so. But my dogs don’t have fleas.”
“Half the time they’re dirty and they smell like the river. So your analogy fails. Besides, clearly Harrison has cooties, not fleas, and he’s not allowed anywhere near our bed. Ever.” I hoped I was convincing. I sure felt like I was. Lex nodded again and looked away, and I could tell from the crease of his brow that something was still bothering him. “What’s wrong?”
“You can say that here, now. But when you’re standin’ next to him, and he’s tryin’ to push his will over yours, can you say it then?” he asked.
“He hasn’t tried anything like that since the art gallery.”
“Or he just got more subtle about it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You let him drink from you with no argument,” Lex snapped.
“Because there was no point in arguing. He’s a vampire. Blood was going to happen, and I just wanted to get it over with.”
“Well it’s not going to happen again. You’re my wife. He doesn’t have a right to anything from you. Not blood, not sympathy, not a damn thing.”
I was in complete ag
reement with that statement, so I did the most sensible thing I could think of—I stomped over to him, grabbed him, and kissed him. “I love you,” I reminded him sternly. “Only you. I married you, remember? That whole soul mates thing?”
“I know. I love you too.” He took my face in his hands and kissed me, rough and possessive and completely toe-curling. Lex glanced past me toward the stairs, and I grinned.
“Marie’s gone to sleep,” I said.
“Good. Are you okay?”
“Sure. I’ll be better if you get naked.”
Was I healthy enough for frolic? Probably not, because I had a lot more healing to do, but I was willing to give frolic a try if it meant reconciling with my husband. Lex grinned and reached for the buttons of my shirt. It quickly became a swath of black fabric draped over the treadmill, followed by my bra. Lex was an expert at unhooking my bra with one hand. I fumbled with the buckle of his belt and then with the fly of his jeans. We managed to remove the rest of our clothes clumsily, but without injury, and next I was flat on my back on top of a pile of exercise mats.
“I love you, Cat,” Lex murmured as he kissed down my body. I sighed happily when he reached my breasts, teasing my nipples with his hands, tongue, and teeth. He paused, his hands skimming over my side, and I flinched. A dark bruise stained my skin where Rousseau’s sword had wounded Zach.
“You could kiss it and make it better,” I suggested.
“Are you sure I can’t kill him?”
“This is not appropriate naked conversation. Have I mentioned lately that you have very handsome eyes?”
Lex grinned. “Good save.”
“The smile’s very attractive too,” I added. I kissed him to punctuate my statement and wrapped my arms around him. His skin was slick with sweat from venting his frustration against the heavy bag, but it didn’t bother me. Normally I wasn’t a fan of sweat—especially my own—but on Lex it was kinda sexy in a “whoa, abs really can glisten” kind of way. The man was built like a Greek god. Me…well, maybe I could qualify for one of the more curvaceous marble statues. Lex was chiseled. I was rounded.
He kissed me hungrily, and I held him close as his cock slid inside my sex. I shivered, not from cold but from the feeling of completeness. No one else felt as right as he did. Maybe it was from being soul mates, but I’d loved him before I’d known that. He said he’d felt the same way about me, and I considered reminding him of it, but the idea fizzled as my brain melted.
Lord and Lady, the man felt so damn good. I murmured his name and moaned my approval. He held back, moving slowly and gently to avoid aggravating my injuries. We both wanted more than that—ravishing was usually on the menu after a Harrison-related incident—but this would work. It was a slow burn that built with every stroke, every whispered endearment and passionate kiss. I gasped when I climaxed, and he followed a few seconds later. Lex rested his forehead against mine, and we stared into each other’s eyes. Like I said, he has very handsome eyes, a lovely shade of light blue, like a summer sky. We’d have cute kids, if and when we ever got around to that.
“Are you all right?” he asked again. “I wasn’t too rough?”
“I feel fabulous,” I assured him.
Lex nodded and then glanced toward the bathroom door. “I should shower.”
“We should shower,” I corrected with an impish smile.
“I like that idea.”
Chapter Three
Instead of being awakened by the alarm clock, the sound of my cell phone’s ringing dragged me awake at six in the morning. I grabbed it, resisting the urge to huck the annoying bastard against the wall, and answered it.
“What?” I snapped.
“Cat, it’s me,” Mac replied.
“Do you know what time it is?”
Lex groaned something, which may or may not have been English, and I told him Mac was on the phone. That got his attention, and he propped himself up on one elbow.
“No, why?…Oops. But this is important. We found something,” Mac said.
I bolted upright. “You serious? You better be serious at this hour.”
“Completely serious. He wants you to come in to talk about it.”
“When?”
“As soon as possible.”
Rubbing my eyes, I tried to figure the time it’d take to drive to LaGrange and back versus the time the real estate agent was supposed to arrive. We were on our second agent, and I couldn’t cancel on this one again, not if we wanted to make progress on selling Lex’s house. It was a nice-enough place, but I needed somewhere that was ours and not his.
“We can’t come out until later this morning. Is that okay?” I asked. I wasn’t sure what Simon’s sleep schedule was like, but I assumed like most bloodsuckers he was nocturnal.
“That’s fine. I’ll let him know,” Mac replied.
“Thanks, hon. Do you need me to bring anything?”
“Yeah, can you pick up a gallon of 2 percent milk? We’re almost out.”
I frowned. For a moment it was like it’d always been between me and Mac—normal, everyday conversation between friends. But it wasn’t normal anymore. Mac was living with an undead librarian, training to become one himself. His whole life had changed because of me.
I was a crappy friend.
“Sure, no problem,” I said. “We’ll see you later.”
“Okay. Go back to sleep.”
Like that was going to happen. I ended the call and set my phone back on the nightstand.
“What’s up?” Lex asked.
“Mac says Simon found something. We need to head over to talk to them later. And Mac needs us to pick up milk. Do chroniclers drink milk?”
“In tea, possibly. Maybe Simon’s a fan of milk and cookies,” he suggested. I laughed at the thought of Simon St. Jerome, aged vampire librarian, nibbling on a plateful of Oreo cookies while reading a dusty, old spell book. Yeah, not so much.
Excitement at the possibility of canceling the Zachary Harrison radio station buzzing around my brain meant there was no way I’d be able to go back to sleep, so Lex and I decided breakfast was in order. The scent of coffee and bacon lured Marie out of bed, and she decided to join us. With all of us in the kitchen, plus two dogs and two cats, it was loud and boisterous. I was still getting used to it, after spending the last several years living alone.
The new real estate agent hated everything. Either there was too much stuff in a room or not enough stuff. It was all “staged” wrong. Now, I knew full well that Lex’s place was decorated like a sports bar. It had a masculine feel, which may be part of the reason why I’d never felt comfortable there. It was fine for a bachelor pad, but we were moving on to a family-appropriate home. Hopefully.
After taking pages of notes on what needed to be done to the house, we headed out on the long drive to Simon’s. Another problem with Lex’s place was that it was in the middle of nowhere, so far north of the city that we were practically in Wisconsin. On one hand, it was quiet and peaceful and on the Fox River. On the other, driving anywhere took forever, and I was uncomfortable living in a place that didn’t have sidewalks. I was used to having my next door neighbors being a few feet away, not a few hundred feet.
Back in civilization again, we stopped for milk at the Jewel in Westchester. After that it was a quick drive to Simon’s, and my hands were almost shaking with nervousness. My stomach fluttered as well, and I almost regretted the big breakfast, but I was still a firm believer that pancakes are a good idea, and bacon is always the answer. If nothing else, the fuel dramatically helped the last of my healing, and my aches and pains had almost disappeared. I assumed Zach was feeling all better. The closer we got to the city, the louder our connection became. I tried to block him out, but I knew that he knew something was up, and he was trying to figure it out. He even called me once, but I ignored it and turned my ringer off.
We turned in to Simon’s driveway, traveled through the trees of the creepy forest surrounding the place, and entered the clearing where his
house loomed. The old Victorian used to look like a scene from The Addams Family, but now it was more like Flip This House. Instead of disrepair, there was renovation and restoration, thanks to Mac. As Simon’s new apprentice, Mac had the run of the house, and I knew from experience that Mac was picky about his decorating. Details about the décor could be important in the restaurant industry, as we’d learned in the café after a bad experience with some Pepto-Bismol-pink-paisley upholstery. Not only had it been hideous, but migraine inducing as well.
We rang the bell and Mac answered the door, a layer of drywall dust sprinkled over his head and shoulders. We exchanged greetings and hugs, and I handed him the plastic jug of milk. “Still working on the upstairs?”
“Yes, but I’m almost finished. Why do you ask?”
I brushed at his shoulder, and he sneezed at the cloud of dust. “You’ve got a bit of plaster on you.”
“Oh, right. Here, let me put this away and dust myself off, and I’ll take you down. Come look at the kitchen. It’s improved a lot since the last time you were here.”
A few months had passed since I first set foot in the lair of Simon St. Jerome, and the changes were jarring but encouraging. The kitchen was bright and sunny but cold in the late October chill, with new countertops, appliances, and flooring. Mac was dust-free when he rejoined us, and he led us down into the basement. The hidden door into Simon’s library was open, and we followed him inside. Simon was seated at his desk, working on something or other involving a book that might have been older than the city itself. He wasn’t wearing his dorky wizard robes but instead was wearing a long-sleeved, black dress shirt. Nice. Mac must have been a good influence on him. Good for Mac.
“Duquesne,” Simon greeted, nodding at Lex. “Catherine.”
“St. Jerome. You have news?” Lex asked.
“I do. If you’ll both have a seat. I’m afraid that this development is both good news and bad news, as they say.” His pale hands gestured for us to sit, and Mac stood next to my chair.
“How bad?” I asked. I was willing to bet that we had different definitions for bad, and his was worse than mine. If a vampire thought something was bad, it had to be pretty awful.