Staked
Page 2
She moved toward him at a snail’s pace, knowing what was coming once she mounted his bike. In her peripheral vision, Mickey didn’t look happy behind Skeet.
Ava laid her hand on Stone's shoulder and climbed behind him, leaving as much space between them as possible without sitting on the rear fender.
“You’d better come closer if you don’t want to fall off.” His tone held a mixture of amusement and arrogance. She didn’t like it. “I’m sure your boyfriend will understand.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.” As much as she didn’t want to, she scooted closer to Stone. “He’s my associate,” she added of Mickey.
Stone turned the key on the bike and it roared to life. “Is that what they’re calling it these days?” His laughter droned through Ava, keeping time with the bike’s growl.
She leaned toward his ear. “Be a smart ass if you want, but Mickey is my brother.” It wasn’t a total lie. That’s how she saw Mickey.
He turned to look at her. “Brother, huh?” His expression hardened.
“Yes.” She nodded. As long as she felt it, it was so.
He dragged up the kickstand. “Well, all right.” The engine revved and the bike charged off, yanking her backward. Ava locked her arms around his waist to keep from falling off.
Humiliation charred her cheeks, but soon her shame gave way to annoyance. She cleared her throat, wanting to cast out the disagreement, anxiety, and doubt.
Loosening her rigid hold on him, she trailed her fingertips to his sides and laid her hands freely against his fine, firm body. Her face flushed hot again, but not from shame, resentment, or irritation.
Skeet and Mickey cruised up beside them and Stone let off the gas, slowing.
“Dex, 4th or Auburn?” Stone’s companion said over the roar of the motorcycles.
Dex? What the hell?
“Let’s go 4th,” Stone replied.
Ava leaned in, pressing her breasts against his back. He laid a hand on her thigh and tugged at her leg, as if coaxing her closer. She ignored the gesture.
“I thought you said your name was Stone?” She asked over the bike’s thunder.
“It is. My name is Dexter Stone. But you can call me Stone.” He slowed, approaching a red traffic light. Dropping his feet to the ground, he glanced over his shoulder. “And what should I call you?”
“Ava,” she said, resting her hands, palms down, on her thighs. “My name is Ava Valentine.”
“Well, Ava Valentine, we’re going to make a little stop before I take you to Cole.”
What? Agitation pumped faster through her veins and pounded her heart against her chest. This guy was supposed to be trustworthy. She was going to kill Lorenzo Leighton, the dipshit that hooked her up with Dexter Stone—if she made it out of this alive.
“Where exactly are we going?” she asked, trying to conceal her anxiety.
“I just want to confirm that your payment is genuine.” He must have sensed her body tighten, because he laid a hand on her thigh again and caressed it as if they’d already been intimate. “Don’t worry, sweetheart...as long as the jewels are real, you’re safe with me.”
His touch heated her blood, flushing it hot against her skin. She wanted to be safe with him, just as much as she wanted to feel indifferent. Stalled somewhere in the middle, she couldn’t quite make either mark.
The light turned green. “Hold on.”
Appreciating the warning, she slid her hands around his midriff and his rippling muscles ensnared her. They soared in front of Skeet and Mickey with the wind chilling her cheeks. The farther they traveled down 4th Street, the more deserted and dangerous the neighborhood became. She didn’t like it, but she had no choice. Not if she wanted her bounty.
Amongst the stone shoulders of the city, a few lights streamed by in the darkness. The stench of decaying refuse mingled with the more pungent aromas of the river a few blocks away. It smelled like fish. The near-deserted streets conveyed a lost, lonely feeling—one that loomed with imminent danger.
They slowed to a stop in front of a pawn shop. Ava scrutinized the immediate area, sensing nothing threatening. She glanced at Stone, tried to read him again and got nothing. But Skeet had this brassy glow around him. He didn’t care for whoever they’d come to see.
Uneasiness crowded her confidence. Her niggling attraction for Stone, and the fact that he may or may not be a vampire was messing with her head.
A sense of urgency commandeered her judgment and she followed Stone around the corner to a side door. Raw desire cajoled her to wrap her arm around his, to run her fingers down the length of his bare arm, but she refrained and counted off three steps instead.
A twisted vamp spell was behind this affliction. It had to be. Confusing it with anything else was risky, not to mention stupid. Ava needed to push it aside, and she’d start by putting a little distance between herself and Dexter Stone. She had to overpower this impediment, and fast.
Stone paused at the door and looked over his shoulder. He turned his palm up and waved his fingers at her, flashing one of those hurry-up-you’re-wasting-my-time looks.
“What?” Ava threw her frustration out with that one word.
“Come on.” He waggled his fingers. “Cough ‘em up.”
Mickey stopped beside Ava and leaned against the building. I don’t like this. His voice invaded her head, even though he hadn’t said a word out loud.
Me either, Mickey. Me either. She glimpsed into Mickey’s eyes. Maybe you’d better wait out here.
Just yell if you need me.
That’s one of the things Ava liked about Mickey—his absolute trust in her direction.
Stone nudged her shoulder. “Time’s wasting.”
Ava latched onto Stone’s arm and used him as a prop. Electrified desire pulsed through her. She tried to pull away, but it was like she was magnetized to him. He didn’t move while she stuffed her finger and thumb inside her boot and fished out the small leather pouch. “Here,” she said, handing him the cache. “I expect you to keep your end of the bargain,” she said, thankful she still had her wits about her, even if she couldn’t control her desires.
“Or what?” He winked and raked his hand against hers, taking the jewels.
Ava masked the awkwardness by feigning boredom. “Let’s just get on with it. I’m in a hurry.”
“Uh huh.” Stone’s tone matched the doubt crinkling his brow. He turned away and opened the door to a dimly lit room.
A cloak of caution swathed around Ava, but she stepped through the door anyway. Lucien used to say that was a fault of hers, ignoring her intuition.
Damn it. There he was again, invading her thoughts. She forced her brain in another direction, scrutinizing the inside of the building.
A musty smell permeated from all the junk on the shelves lining the walls. Glass-top cabinets formed a rectangle around the center, showcasing rows of sparkling jewelry under miniature spotlights.
She followed Stone to the opposite end of the store and gave reading him another shot. The process was a lot like trying to interpret a blurry x-ray, the information was there, yet lost in the distortion.
Wasting her energy on someone she couldn’t grasp was not conducive. In fact, it was dangerous. She only had so much to spare. Instead, she settled on someone easier. Skeet’s emotions still glowed bright and brassy, giving her no indication she should be worried. The man was nothing more than annoyed.
That didn’t stop the blaring alarms and warning signals overloading Ava’s brain. Something was wrong, but she wasn’t leaving without her bounty.
She tapped out a divertive tune on the counter with her pink-tipped fingernails.
Stone stopped her with a gentle hand. “This’ll just take a minute.” He looked at her while passing the jewels to the guy emerging through a door behind the counter.
Ava slipped her hand out from under Stone’s. “Good, because that’s about all the time I’ve got to spare.”
Stone ignored her, watching the guy with the jewels instea
d. The stranger looked over a couple of pieces and returned them to the pouch. He pushed the small bag across the counter toward Stone and then cleared his throat. “Where’d you get these?”
“Are they real?” The tension in Stone’s voice reached out and knotted Ava with agitation, even though she knew she had nothing to fear—as far as the jewels were concerned.
“A more real gem...” The jeweler shook his head. “I have never seen.”
Stone dragged the pouch off the counter and shook a diamond into his hand before stuffing the rest into the front pocket of his Levi’s. “Thanks,” he said, offering the gem.
Ava’s opinion of Stone plummeted. He was either very generous or incredibly stupid. Even the smaller stones represented a steep payment just to confirm the jewels’ authenticity.
The jeweler took the diamond and a smile stretched across his face. Ava cringed. He slipped the diamond in his front pants’ pocket and glanced over his shoulder.
Uh oh. Who was the jeweler looking for? Dread ripped through Ava’s veins like an out-of-control raft riding the rapids.
Insight exploded in her head and pounded out through her ears. Sometimes her Karellian blood felt more like a curse than a good thing. Especially when she realized stuff a split-second before it happened—too late to react.
She closed her eyes. As if that was going to help. Maybe if she didn’t see him, he’d go away. Fat chance.
“Well, well, well...” Lucien’s familiar voice clouded around her like a stifling fog and she opened her eyes. “If it isn’t Nevada Valentine.”
She wasn’t surprised to see the two guys lurking behind Lucien, hanging on to Cole like he was some kind of prize.
The sight of Lucien pulling something out of his jacket’s inner pocket and Stone stepping in front of her was the last thing Ava remembered before everything faded to black.
~~~~
Chapter Two
Freaking tiki powder. That crap was like troll dust on steroids, and somebody had drenched Ava with a liberal dosing.
She ignored the side-effect—akin to a dozen imps pounding spiked hammers against the inside of her skull—and prepared to open her heavy-laden eyes.
If only her will was as strong as her ability to read people. Then she could easily dissolve the bonds forcing her eyelids shut—an after-effect of the tiki powder. Rubbing her eyes didn’t dissolve the pasty sensation, but she managed to pry them open anyway.
The hammering inside her head escalated. Apparently the little rascals didn’t like reality creeping in, and opening her eyes was like opening the curtains on a bright, sunshiny day, even though it was near-dark inside the pawn shop.
Ava’s heartbeat spiraled when she saw Mickey and Skeet lying in the doorway, neither of them moving. She dragged her head to the other side, even though it felt like she’d been fitted with a cement cap.
Stone was lying at her side, inches away. That was both liberating and troubling. Ava’s instincts had put him at the top of Lucien’s payroll.
Lucien St. James.
The man was a walking nightmare. And the biggest mistake she’d ever made. Stealing her bounty was one thing. That was part of the game. But he’d called her by that name.
Nevada.
Ava hated that name. And now, thanks to Lucien, a whole slew of people knew about it. Lucien was going to pay for that. Somehow, some way, she’d make him pay.
Just not right now. Right now she had to figure out how he’d managed to steal her bounty out from under her. He’d obviously had help.
Damned vamps. You can’t trust ’em.
And apparently they couldn’t trust Lucien. He had, after all, left them with Ava. Dexter Stone—or whatever the hell his name was—was going to regret this. Right after he led her to Lucien.
Ava scrambled to her knees and scuttled to Mickey’s side, even though her strongest desire begged her to check Stone first.
“Mickey...?” The site of him looking boyish and helpless brought out her sisterly side. “Mickey, wake up,” she said, nudging his shoulder.
All three of the men started coming around at the same time. Stone, wouldn’t you know it, seemed to recover quickest. Ava stayed at Mickey’s side and was damned proud of it. Her apprentice, to the best of her knowledge, had never been hit with tiki powder. It’d only happened to her one other time, but she’d seen its terror more than once in her travels.
Stone sat up, inspecting the purple powder sprinkled over him. Shaking it off, like the whole incident was a huge inconvenience, he let his eyes roam around the shop and finally settle on Ava. His glare practically burned a hole through her. “What the hell was that?”
“I might ask you the same thing.” She huffed. “You bring me to a place where Lucien St. James is lying in wait...and now he’s got my bounty. Which I might add, you said wasn’t here.”
Stone shook his head as his mouth skewed into a smirk. “And you seem well-acquainted with our attacker. Well enough to know his full name.” Stone hopped to his feet and held out his hand to Skeet. “Let’s get the hell outta here.”
Ava sprung up and flew to the door, blocking Stone’s passage outside. “Uh uh. Not so fast.”
He looked down at her and snorted a half-laugh, as if that’s all she was worth. “Look, I don’t know what kind of sick game you’ve got going on with Lucien...” Stone put more emphasis on Lucien’s name than was necessary. He gave Ava a terrifying glare that almost melted her resistance. Her brain argued with her body, commanding her legs to stay put. “But I’m not getting mixed up in it.”
“Excuse me...?” The inquiry fell out of her mouth before she could think to stop it. This guy infuriated her to no end. So much that it trumped his spellbinding influence over her...at least long enough to let her collect her wits. “You’re in this. I paid you—a hefty fee—to take me to Cole. You didn’t do that.”
“I beg to differ...” His words poured out with mocking laughter. “As I recall, your bounty was here when your boyfriend hit us with that freaky dust.” Stone latched onto Ava’s upper arms and moved her aside. “I did my part and now I’m leaving.” He pushed past her and didn’t look back.
A sudden feeling of panic flooded Ava and flowed out in her voice. “Really?” She chased him outside the door. “You feel good about taking my payment after the way this played out?”
Stone looked at her with empty eyes. “You expect me to feel sorry for you because your boyfriend got the jump on you?”
She almost bought into that. “No...I don’t. But I do expect you to take me to the place you’d planned to after verifying my gems’ authenticity.”
His mouth twitched, like he was about to snarl at her. It made her stop, momentarily, as a feeling of dread—vampire dread—washed over her. And then, just as quickly, his undeniable allure reeled her back in. She wanted to go with him. For more reason than Cole.
“All right,” he said, and his manner relaxed. He beckoned her with a nod and headed for the front of the building. And again, he didn’t look back to see if she was following.
Ava charged after Stone, as if there was some invisible cosmic cord attaching them. Where he went, she was compelled to follow.
By the time she reached the street, he was on the bike and had it started. He revved the engine and gave her another of those hurry-up looks.
She climbed behind him and wrapped her arms around his midriff. Stone guided the bike down the street and the old Indian’s roar drowned out everything else.
Clearly, he couldn’t wait to get rid of her. She just didn’t get why he’d cast the spell over her when he was so visibly devoid of reciprocal interest. It was probably best if, once he took her to the place where Cole had been holed-up, she let Stone leave. Distance had to break the enchantment.
But could she really do that? Could she let him leave knowing...? She doubted he’d ever find Lucien on his own. Not if Lucien didn’t want to be found. Not even an ultra-perceptive vampire could find Lucien if he meant to stay hidden.
She clung to Stone while he guided the motorcycle to a different area of the city. This side of town was no better or worse than the last. Compact buildings stacked close together, most in need of paint, lent to the gloomy atmosphere that left Ava yearning for the comforts of home.
The bike rolled to a stop in front of a run-down, two-story apartment building. The lawn was bare in spots and what was there was overgrown with weeds.
Ava dropped her feet to the ground but stayed on the bike. She sat silently for a bit, letting the sounds of the night filter in. Automobile horns blared in the distance and neighborhood dogs barked sporadically, as if talking to one another.
She gave the area a quick scan, but sensed no one waiting for her in the shadows. She should’ve done a better job of checking the last place they stopped, but there had been plenty of reasons to let it go—all of them centered around Stone. Lesson learned.
Could she blame Stone for her failings? Not fairly. If she was mad at anybody it was Lucien, not Stone. She had to remember that.
“Where in there—” She pointed toward the building. “—did you have Cole stashed?”
“Second floor. Last door on the left. Apartment G.”
A small part of her wanted to get off the bike, let him ride off and never look back. But that would make her no better than Lucien. Sure, she’d stolen Lucien’s bounty a time or two, but she’d never ripped off his companions. Lucien had stooped to a new low.
Ava disembarked from the motorcycle and moved forward a couple of steps to where the sidewalk met the worn walkway running up the middle of the yard. She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. “Hey, Stone.” She waited until he looked at her before continuing. “You might want to check your pockets.” She smiled and turned, strolling up the walkway leading to the building.
She didn’t need to look back to know if he was going to follow her or drive away. The guy was a mercenary first and foremost. He was going to want his payment. Ava would put money on Stone reaching her side before she crossed the front door’s threshold.