Fire in the Blood: Bad Witch, Book 4

by Robyn Bachar

  “What do you mean?”

  Papan leaned forward, elbows on the desk, without breaking eye contact. “Tell me, did your little assistant appear uncomfortable while the Hocking woman was here?”

  I shook my head. “Ebony? Nah, why? I mean, she was freaked out by the whole thing, but other than that, no more outrageous than usual.”

  “Ah, well. She’s good, I’ll give her that.”

  “Papan, spill the beans, you’ve lost me.”

  “Look, all I’m trying to say is that maybe you should talk to her about the group that meets in the abandoned church on the corner of Wallace and Trent. I found your assistant there while I was scouting the area.” His eyes were shiny in the dark. They looked a little freaky, almost glowing.

  “Are you sure?” It didn’t make sense. What would Ebony be doing down there? And why wouldn’t she tell me about it? She’d had plenty of opportunity after Carleen Hocking left. We’d been alone for several hours. “Did you approach her?”

  He shook his head and a blond strand of hair fell over his face. “Nah, I was undercover, but I’m positive it was her.”

  “That’s odd.”

  “Yes, odd. Just be careful with who you trust, okay, Fox?”

  “What the hell’s that supposed to mean? Just spell it out for me, okay? Pretend I’m some dumb idiot who finds it hard to grasp things and tell me slowly. I just spent a whole afternoon with someone full of riddles.” I pushed the chair back and stood. Then strolled over to Ebony’s desk, pressed my butt against it, and peered down at Papan.

  He pushed his elbows off the desk, leaning back into the chair again. Papan looked good tonight, better than I’d ever seen him. Maybe he was finally taking care of himself. His wiry frame seemed a little heavier, which probably meant he was back to working out.

  No, I didn’t want to think about Papan shirtless and sweating while he lifted weights.

  A memory struck my mind. I tried to shove it away, didn’t need access to this particular flashback while we were this close, his pants touching my leg.

  We were upstairs, in his office.

  I’d dropped off some mail accidentally delivered to our office instead of his and he’d taken me by total surprise, pressing me up against the back of his door, holding my wrists above my head as his lips pressed down on mine, wrapping me up in a breathless kiss.

  Only our lips touched, almost as if he’d gone out of his way to keep our bodies apart. Teasing and causing my body heat to rise, and my desire to peak…

  A promise of so much more that never developed into anything. It happened shortly before meeting Jonathan.

  I hadn’t thought of our kiss in a long while because Papan mostly kept his distance nowadays. Job referrals were how we got along. I was actually surprised he was here now, but was glad because I found comfort in being this close to Papan.

  “Earth to Fox, is anybody home?” He was propped forward in the chair, one hand waving in front of my face while the other clung to the armrest.

  “Ha, ha,” I said, getting my mind out of the gutter. I had to avoid his eyes, afraid he might see what I’d been thinking. Somehow, Papan always managed to distract me with his looks. There was something very alluring about him.

  “Anyway, all I’m saying is that sometimes the people we think we can trust the most, can’t be trusted at all.” Papan paused long enough for me to digest his words. This was definitely a message. “And sometimes they pay good money to find out more about you.”

  My eyes widened in shock. “Are you telling me someone hired you to spy on me? Is that the real reason why you’re here?”

  He shook his head and stood. “No, I’m here because I happened to pass by on my way home, that’s all.” The twinkle in his eyes said otherwise.

  “Who’s paying you for info about me?”

  Papan was so close the heat of his body caressed mine. “You know I can’t tell you. I’ve signed a contract, which confidentially binds me to the client. But I can tell you they’re paying a hell of a lot of money to find out what type of cases you’re delving into. Maybe they’re hoping to beat you to them.”

  Wishing for a little excitement in your life? Be careful what you wish for…

  Necromancing Nim

  © 2012 Katriena Knights

  Nimuë Taylor thought working for a vampire would be cool. Instead it’s just like any other annoying job, complete with a boss, Colin, who drives her crazy. Other than the daily humdrum routine, nothing much exciting happens.

  Until the day Sebastian, Colin’s old friend (read: ex-lover) comes to town, bearing a magical stone that can make any vampire immortal. Really immortal. He doesn’t want to use it, just keep it out of the wrong hands. Trouble is, the wrong hands are getting far too close—and the stone is slowly draining Sebastian’s life force.

  When Nim unwittingly comes between the stone and its hunter, she’s bitten. Not by just any vampire, but by one whose bite turns victims into mindless zombies. Healing her involves a ritual that creates a blood bond that’s as passionate as it is dangerous.

  For in the fight to keep and destroy the stone of ultimate power, one of them will have to break that bond…and make the ultimate sacrifice.

  Warning: This book contains high levels of sarcasm, swathes of swearing, sex with two hot vampires at once, and a dog that likes to eat coffee grounds.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Necromancing Nim:

  It was a good thing the stop had gone well. Sebastian was leaning against the passenger-side window, sound asleep. Dark lashes fanned across his pale cheeks, and I could swear if I looked closely I could see a freckle or two. Vampires didn’t usually get my libido revving, but this one did. Except he didn’t breathe when he was asleep. That was just weird.

  He was still asleep when I pulled back into my parking spot in the garage under Sixteenth Street. I poked him in the shoulder.

  “Mr. Marcheleto. Wake up.”

  He didn’t move. I poked him harder. “Sebastian.”

  Still nothing. It occurred to me that there was no reliable way to tell if he was asleep or actually dead. Well, dead dead as opposed to normal vampire-type dead. The thought brought an uncomfortable flash of alarm. Why I was worried, I didn’t know. I didn’t even know the guy. I grabbed his shoulder and shook him. “Sebastian!”

  He opened one eye and peered at me. “No need to shout.”

  Embarrassed now, I gathered my composure. “Sorry. You wouldn’t wake up. I thought you might be…” I trailed off.

  “Dead?” He snorted. “Of course I’m dead. I’m a vampire.” He shoved a hand through his short but still unruly brown hair. “I take it everything went well?”

  “Yes, thank God, since you were snoring in my car.”

  “If I was snoring, why did you think I might be dead?”

  He had me there. “Because you were snoring figuratively, not literally.” I grabbed my purse and my clipboard. “I thought vamps only slept in the daytime.”

  He grimaced. “It’s the burns. They’re trying to heal, and I need the extra rest.”

  It made sense, especially since he was so obviously undernourished. “Are you sure you want to just barge in? You’re sort of an escaped convict at the moment.” I really didn’t want to leave him out here in the parking garage, though. He’d probably be safe, but the place creeped me out, and it seemed unwise, not to mention impolite, to leave him there alone.

  He nodded. “Just tell Colin I’m here. We’ll go from there.”

  I considered. “No.”

  “No?”

  “I don’t think you should be left alone.” I could tell he was about to protest and waved him quiet, the answer to the dilemma suddenly obvious. I emptied the pockets of my hoodie, pulled it off and handed it to him. “Put this on,” I said. “Use the hood to cover up a little.” He peered skeptically at me, then at the hoodie. “Yeah, yeah, so I’m half your height. You’re skinny. Put it on.”

  Still dubious, he slid the hoodie on. I get the
m big so I can layer—a necessity in Denver’s capricious weather—so it actually almost fit him. He put the hood up, letting it fall over his face.

  “Perfect,” I said, ignoring his narrow wrists poking out of the too-short sleeves. “Let’s go.”

  I had to admit I was curious as to what might have been the deal between Sebastian and my boss. This was the first time I’d heard of Colin having any friends to speak of, much less friends who would come to him for help in a bind. Not that I knew much about Colin to begin with. He played his personal life pretty close to the vest. I wasn’t even sure he had one. Which was surprising, since he was big and gorgeous and had that commanding, alpha-male air that a lot of women who were not me seemed to like.

  Rather than barge in through the front door and the waiting area, I led Sebastian around to the side entrance that opened into the hallway behind my minuscule office space.

  “Have a seat in there,” I told him. “Stay low, and I’ll go get Colin.”

  He peered into the cramped room. “This is your office?”

  “Yeah.” I quirked an eyebrow. “You wanted to comment?”

  His mouth twitched. “It’s a good thing you’re tiny.”

  Rolling my eyes, I left him there to squeeze his way into a chair. Maybe he and Colin had something in common after all.

  In the reception area, Colin was camped out on Kim’s desk again, sitting a little hunched, arms crossed over his wide chest, glaring at the TV. Kim drilled holes in his back with her eyeballs, like she was about to kill him or at the very least turn in her resignation. I couldn’t blame her. I’d had her job once. It hadn’t gone well. Which was why I was in collections now.

  I paused just behind her. The reason for Colin’s death glare at the TV became immediately obvious. The news was running a story regarding Sebastian’s escape. They’d upgraded him from the headline tractor at the bottom of the screen to a full-fledged story.

  “…the suspect should be considered extremely dangerous,” the newscaster was saying. “If you see anyone matching this description, call local law enforcement immediately. In addition, be on the lookout for Therese Wilkins, five feet eight, brown hair…”

  Colin scrunched his brow up even more and gave me a glance. “Back already?”

  I reluctantly dragged my attention away from the TV. I’d wanted to hear more about Therese Wilkins, the victim of the Brown Palace murder that wasn’t a murder anymore. “Yeah.” I handed him the clipboard. “I’m done. And we need to talk.”

  He nodded curtly, jumped off Kim’s desk and headed for his office.

  “My office,” I said. He wheeled and stared at me like I’d spoken something other than English. “My. Office,” I said again, gesturing with my eyebrows toward the room in question.

  “Ooo-kay,” he said and followed me. Kim watched us go, and the smile she gave me was one of abject adoration. I guess she was extra happy I’d gotten his ass off her desk. Personally, I was surprised he’d decided to take orders from me.

  I led the way into the office, probably acting far more suspicious than necessary. Nobody was paying much attention to us, more focused on the clock and how long it was until midnight when they could all grab some lunch. Colin’s air of skeptical superiority held until I pushed open the door; then, just for a millisecond, he wasn’t glaring.

  “Sebastian?”

  Sebastian, sitting hunched over in the chair behind my desk, jumped as if he’d started to doze off again. Colin moved to him, sliding around desk and chairs with a surprising grace I’d never seen from him before, and gently touched Sebastian’s face, avoiding the angry burns. My eyebrows shot up. That was more than just a casual touch. In fact, it seemed possible they didn’t just know each other but knew each other. Like in the biblical sense. I decided to keep my mouth shut for once, though resisting temptation was so hard it caused actual physical pain.

  Sebastian blinked, then opened his eyes as Colin’s touch shifted, his fingers tracing the edges of the raw, red sun marks. They had faded even in the last hour or so but still looked harsh and painful.

  Sebastian’s hand rose to touch Colin’s, moving it away from the sores on his face. It was a gentle contact, though, and his fingers lingered. “Colin?”

  “Yeah. It’s me.” He drew his hand back. “You okay?”

  Sebastian pushed himself up in the chair. “Still alive,” he said, then added with a wry smile, “Or whatever.”

  Fire in the Blood

  Robyn Bachar

  It’s good to be bad…

  A Bad Witch Story

  Patience Roberts is the last summoner standing between magiciankind and certain demon invasion. After banishing two or three demons a day for too long, gods know she’d like nothing better than a little down time with her number one distraction—Faust.

  But with vampires, hunters and assassins lined up to take her out, who has the time? Still, she has to admit her resistance to the amorous faerie is wearing thin. Not that she’ll ever let on—after all, faeries are notorious for their short romantic attention spans.

  Faust, a Shadowspawn faerie, watched as his outcast clan dwindled to nothing. Determined to hold on to the woman he loves, he’ll do whatever it takes to protect Patience. And one day build a life with her.

  When an old demon enemy punches through the barrier between the worlds, Patience must draw on every ounce of her reputation as a cast-iron bitch to temporarily banish him. To get rid of him for good, she’ll have to sacrifice one too many pieces of her soul to leave room for love…

  Warning: Contains a hero and heroine so hot they’re literally on fire, naughty faerie sex, post-coital cuteness, angsty magician drama, and yet more gratuitous violence against vampires, demons, and innocent furniture.

  eBooks are not transferable.

  They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

  Cincinnati OH 45249

  Fire in the Blood

  Copyright © 2012 by Robyn Bachar

  ISBN: 978-1-61921-173-5

  Edited by Sue Ellen Gower

  Cover by Kanaxa

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: November 2012

  www.samhainpublishing.com