David chuckled. “Space. I recommend keeping your distance as much as possible. Keep him informed of the cases and check in from time to time. Try not to engage him in conversation and you’ll do fine.”
“Anything else?”
“Yeah. Try not to piss him off.”
Chapter Thirteen
The elevator doors opened, but Susie froze. Had she made the right decision? Patients gathered in groups outside the door to session room. Lots of patients. At least three times as many as the last time she was here. Can’t do this.
A hand reached out and stopped the lift doors as they began to close. A hand with perfectly manicured nails and milk chocolate-colored skin
“Susie. I’m so glad you came back.” Dr. Dubois warmly greeted her, leaving Susie no choice but to exit the safe confines of the elevator.
“My boss gave me the morning off,” Susie told the doctor, who took her by the arm and almost dragged her down the corridor and into the meeting room. “I’m not sure how often I’ll get here.”
“You’re here now.” The doctor gave her hand a pat before leaving her alone in the middle of the room while the other patients located seats.
She looked for a vacant seat, preferably one close to the door. Close to the exit. All the seats were taken. She froze in the center of the group. All eyes on her. Everyone waiting for her to do something. Anything. But she couldn’t think. Couldn’t move.
“Over here!” a voice called from behind.
She turned in time to see Beau placing a chair near his own. He motioned for her to join him. She took a deep breath and forced her legs to move toward him.
“Thank you,” she told him in a whisper as she sat beside him.
His broad, toothy smile should have made her feel welcome, but instead, it prickled the hairs behind her neck. She felt vulnerable and afraid. If only Terry were here to offer her support and comfort. Why had she sent Terry away? You must stay away from him, something inside warned her again. If only the voice would explain why.
“Good morning.”
Susie’s head snapped up to notice a sea of unfamiliar faces. Where was she?
She recognized the doctor’s calm, clear voice. Group session? How did I get here?
“Are you all right?” the man beside her asked. “Your face is as pale as a sheet.”
It took a few seconds for the comment to register. “I’m…” How could she tell Beau she had no idea how she got here? Did she drive? Walk? Instead, she lied. “I’m fine. Really.”
“We have a large group here today so we’d best begin.”
Beau smiled and turned his attention back to the doctor.
“So. Who would like to get the ball rolling?”
****
“That was interesting,” Beau whispered into Susie’s ear on their way down in the elevator.
She nodded her agreement. Strange group, to say the least. Most of the patients declined to speak but, those who did dominated the session with their fiery outbursts or hysterical accusations. Even more disturbing, she’d spent the entire time trying to block out an irritating humming in her head. Humming? Chanting? Maybe a whispering? Whatever it was, it made it impossible to concentrate on the rest of the group. Had they said anything relevant to the case? She squeezed her eyes tight and grimaced. Great detective she’d make. The whole morning wasted.
“You look like you need a drink,” Beau told her. “There’s a cozy little bar down the street if you’d care to join me.”
She held out her hand, opening her palm to reveal a small brown bottle before placing it back in her pocket. “Dr. Dubois has decided to trial me on a new medication. I’m not sure alcohol and prescription medicine are a good mix.”
“Coffee then?”
She opened her mouth with the intention of refusing his offer, but as she watched his head nodding, she found herself mirroring his actions.
“I guess coffee would be okay.”
He offered his arm and she tentatively slipped hers into the triangular space he’d made with his elbow. As they strolled down toward the café, he stroked her forearm. She fought the urge to pull her arm away. He’s not going to hurt you. Besides. What could he do to her in a café full of people? But with every stroke of his hand, her stomach tied another knot.
“You’re shaking. Are you cold?” he asked.
“A little,” she lied. Why did her body constantly betray her? Couldn’t she catch a break?
In one fluid action, he removed his sports coat and draped it over her shoulders. The jacket dwarfed her, weighing heavy on her shoulders. The musk from his body permeated the woolen fabric. She found his spicy aftershave pleasant, but … wrong. Her senses rebelled. Her stomach churned. Something wasn’t right. She tried to focus, find the answer in the recesses of her mind. What was it she wanted? The answer stopped her in her tracks. Terry’s scent. She closed her eyes, picturing tangled sheets. The sensation of skin-on-skin contact. The sensual allure of his Armani Code as his skin heated with the rigors of their strenuous lovemaking. The heady notes of Tonka beans and spice permeating from his body. She drew in a deep breath and stopped. Terry?
****
Terry climbed back into the driver’s seat of his company car, slamming the door behind him.
“Son of a bitch!”
He grabbed the steering wheel, his hands balling into fists around the rim, imagining it to be someone’s throat as he molded his fingerprints into the leather.
Heat rushed to his cheeks. His heart thumped against his chest wall. What is she doing with that guy?
Anger coiled in his belly like a snake waiting to strike. Why do all the women I love leave me for other men? First Meaghan and now Susie. What did those men have that he didn’t? He depressed the start button on the dashboard and pulled away from the curb, narrowly missing traffic. Someone blasted their horn. He opened the window and gave the driver a one finger salute before peeling off down the road.
A familiar tune interrupted the song playing on his radio. He answered the phone call using the button on his steering wheel.
“Palmer!”
“What did you uncover?” the stoic voice asked him.
Momentarily confused by the question, he asked. “Who is this?”
“This is Berg. I was told you were expecting my call.”
Terry racked his brain. Berg? I don’t know anyone by … wait a minute. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping with the worms? It’s mid-morning.”
“I don’t sleep with worms,” the monotone voice told him. “As a matter of fact, I don’t sleep at all.”
“Good for you, I—”
“I asked you a question. What did you uncover?”
Through clenched teeth, Terry growled, “Absolutely fuck all.”
For a moment, the vampire remained silent. When he finally responded, the tone of his voice had changed from indifferent to stone cold.
“Let me assure you. I am just as vexed to work with you as you are to partner with me but the die is cast. I will speak to you later. For your sake, you’d better have some information for me.”
The line went dead before Terry could formulate a decent comeback.
“Bastard!” he cursed at the stereo screen. “Who the fuck does he think he is?” He mimicked Christoff’s voice, slowly repeating the words with deep, monotone emphasis.
“The. Die. Is. Cast.”
Probably thought he’d impress me with his translation of Latin. Guess what? Not impressed. Yeah, buddy, you’re not the only one who’s heard of Julius Caesar. If only he’d had the chance to throw that little pearl of wisdom back in the asshole’s face. “And who the fuck says vexed?”
****
“So, Susie. Tell me a little about yourself.”
She took a sip of her coffee, giving herself time to work out a credible answer. Beau seemed like a nice man. Therein lay the problem. She’d trusted nice men before. An old adage popped into her head. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. What would
fool me three times be?
“Nothing much to tell,” she told him, planning not to reveal much of her life. Not yet, anyway. “I’m a qualified fitness instructor but, at the moment, I’m working at a detective agency.”
“Wow!” he exclaimed, almost spitting his coffee. “That’s a big career change. How did you end up there?”
The familiar queasiness stirred the contents of her stomach. She’d told no one. No one besides Terry. She’d trusted him, maybe loved him, and look how that turned out. If only she could remember what he’d done to upset her. It must have been really bad for her to feel such hostility toward him. Why couldn’t she recall what had happened?
“Susie?”
“Oh, sorry. It’s a long story. Maybe some other time.”
“When you’re ready.” He nodded.
She took a sip of her coffee before asking, “What’s your story? I remember you saying that you left your village to move here. Did you start another business?”
He grinned. His full lips drew back to display a perfect set of pure white teeth, but rather than feel comforted by the smile, she felt the urge to run.
Teeth tear skin.
Shred sinew.
Draw blood.
She squeezed her eyes tight. Not a vampire. You’re safe. Yet, something in his voice motivated her to keep her right hand over her left. Her index finger hovering over the tiny jewel heart on her watch.
“I have unfinished business,” he informed her, “but I have taken steps to start something new here.”
“That sounds exciting.” And very cryptic. “I’m intrigued. Care to enlighten me?”
“Ah, but then I might spoil the surprise.” He chuckled. “Who knows, maybe I can entice you to join me once I’ve established a following.”
“Who knows,” she agreed. Maybe that was a better option than continuing to work with Terry. She checked the time. In a few hours, she’d be expected to go in to the office. Her stomach lurched. She hated the idea of working late, driving home in the evening, returning to a dark, empty house. It was your idea, she reminded herself.
“Do you have somewhere to go?” he asked when she continued to stare at her watch.
With a nod of her head, she told him. “I’m working the afternoon shift. I start at two PM.”
“Then allow me to buy you lunch.” He waved off her attempt to argue. “We can’t send you off to work on an empty stomach, can we?”
****
Despite the steady stream of clients leaving their contact information and detailing their problems, the office felt empty. She missed the playful banter. The naughty innuendoes. Terry’s cheerful chuckle. The clock on the computer flashed six PM, but the landscape outside the window made it seem much later. Storm clouds loomed on the horizon. As she gazed into the darkness, a sudden chill prickled the hairs on the back of her neck. She spun around and gasped.
“I’m here to see Palmer,” he told her in a commanding voice.
“He’s not here,” she answered, in a small, terrified voice that told him much more than she had intended. Why hadn’t someone warned her?
“I’ll wait.” He plonked himself down on the seat closest to her desk, crossed his arms across his chest and unceremoniously planted his large, boot-clad feet on top a pile of reports.
“I’m not expecting him for another hour,” she said, hoping he’d take the hint and go away.
“I’ll wait,” he repeated, casting her a look that curdled her lunch. His penetrating eyes drove like a sliver of pale-blue ice through her soul, and her body responded with a shudder.
She wished she could slow the beating of her heart, knowing that he would detect the erratic rhythm and be enticed to feed. Despite David’s assurances, she perceived a darkness about Christoff that she couldn’t ignore. His stoicism bothered her more than anything she’d experienced with her abductors. At least with them, she knew what to expect. Their menacing stances and slimy threats warned her of what was to come. But not him. He watched her. Silently. Carefully. Like a lion stalking its prey. She swallowed the lump in her throat, knowing that, should he decide to attack, there would be no escape.
He leaned in closer. His eyes focused on her face and she realized her breathing pattern had changed. Would he take her shallow breaths as a signal to attack? She swallowed the lump in her throat, wishing, no, praying for one last chance. A chance to see Terry again. A chance to forgive him for whatever it was he’d done to upset her. To tell him what she’d known since the day he brought her breakfast in bed. I love you. Instead, she depressed the button on her watch, again and again and prayed someone was close.
****
He burst into the office, unsure of the danger but determined to protect his woman.
“Are you all right?” he asked when he saw the ashen color of her cheeks.
She shook her head and motioned toward the unwelcome guest.
“I told you to meet me in the carpark,” Terry reminded Christoff in a voice that sounded more trill than he’d planned.
“Perhaps you’ve mistaken me for your lapdog,” the vampire suggested as he rose to his feet, towering above the detective. “I don’t take orders.”
As much as he wanted to put the guy on his ass, Susie’s body language warned him to keep his mouth shut. Besides, he might be angry, but he wasn’t stupid. He couldn’t win that fight.
Something shot past him, followed closely by another. Had the storm outside become a tornado?
“What’s going on here?”
Terry spun around, fists raised, to face not only David, but the entire Corel family.
Anna had an arm around Susie. A pang of jealousy sliced through him. That’s my job. He turned and pointed an accusing finger at Christoff who seemed nonplussed about the congregation of agitated people. “He scared the bejesus out of Susie.”
“I assure you, I did no such thing,” he said as he rose to his feet and straightened the wrinkles from his tailored trousers. “I barely said a word to his woman.” Turning his attention back to Susie, he asked, “Did I say anything to suggest I might harm you?”
She shook her head but answered in a soft voice. “He stared at me. I thought he might…” She clung to Anna, burying her face in her friend’s shoulder. Terry’s blood boiled.
“Why the hell were you staring at her? That’s creepy behavior, even for a human. How did you think she’d feel watching a vampire size her up?”
“She should have felt flattered,” Christoff announced with a shrug of his broad shoulders. “She has the most unusual eyes. Surely you’ve noticed this?” He glanced around the room for confirmation before continuing. “They became larger the longer I observed them. I found them and her reaction … interesting.”
“Fuck you, Lurch!” Terry stepped toward the giant and hit a solid wall of muscle when David intervened.
“You really don’t want to offend him, Palmer.”
“Offend him?” Terry sniggered. “Fuck him and the horse he rode in on.”
“Lurch?” Christoff shrugged his shoulders. “Who is this Lurch? And surely the human knows I drove here in my Porsche.”
“Not a word,” David warned Terry when he opened his mouth to speak.
Just as well. His anger stole any intellectual response from his repertoire. His only plan had been to use expletives and lots of aggressive body language.
David grabbed Meaghan by the arm and led her toward the front door. Anna and Derrick followed behind as David called back to Christoff, “Come on, Lurch, let’s give these two a few minutes of privacy.”
“Only a few minutes?” The vampire smirked, looked from Terry to Susie, and then shook his head as he strode toward the door, turning briefly to add, “No wonder she left you.”
Terry closed his eyes and counted to ten but his hands balled into fists which he slapped on his thighs.
“You promised me he’d never be here again!” Susie screamed at him in a voice that reflected both fear and rage.
He shrugge
d. At least the color’s back in her cheeks. “I wasn’t expecting him so early.”
“Why is he here at all?” she continued while grabbing her coat from the hat rack.
As she walked past him to collect her purse, he caught a whiff of aftershave on her dress, reminding him that, if anyone had the right to be annoyed, it was him.
“Don’t blame me. I thought our arrangement was working just fine. I thought we were working fine. I wasn’t the one who threw it all away.” He kept his gaze locked on hers and tried to find guilt in her hazel eyes. Instead he saw confusion.
****
“I threw it away?” she scoffed. “I wasn’t the one who…” Who what? What did he do? Why can’t I remember?
“Who what?” He seemed equally confused. “What did I do? If you’ve found someone else, you could at least have had the decency to tell me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I know what I saw.”
His face contorted into a sneer. It didn’t become him. The emerald in his eyes intensified. Jealousy?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Unless. “You were following me?” Of course. Somehow she’d known. The whisper of his aftershave.
He’d been there.
Watching.
Following.
Why?
“No. I wasn’t following you, not at first anyway,” he objected before he turned away. “I’m still working the case.” He turned back, moving closer. “You were the one who suggested that someone at the therapy sessions may have been involved. I was following up on your lead.”
“Then why were you stalking Beau and me?”
Terry’s eyebrows furrowed and a short, forced chuckle escaped his lips.
“So that’s his name. Beau. You seemed pretty cozy together.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” She huffed before turning to leave.
“Ridiculous?” He leaned in and gently lifted a few strands of her hair. “I can smell him on you.”
She pulled away. “Don’t you touch me.”
“If you’re finished with all the touching…”
When Terry turned in the direction of the voice, Susie used the opportunity to make her escape, slamming the door behind her.
Take Back the Night Page 11