Poison and Potions: a Limited Edition Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Collection

by Erin Hayes

  Her eyes lifted as I approached. "You look like crap. You okay?"

  "Good morning to you too," I said, and forced a smile. "It's been a long night."

  She stepped in front of me and attempted to smooth the wrinkles out of my dress shirt. The feel of her hands over my chest made me come alive. She dropped her hands. "You should go home and rest."

  "I want to hear how your night went."

  "Maybe after you've gone home and changed. Maybe showered." She smiled, the kind with sunshine and kindness in her eyes.

  I sighed a long breath of contentment. "Do you want to come with me? We can grab dinner afterwards."

  She searched my eyes, but I don't know what for. "I'd like that."

  We walked to my apartment across the street, and she waited in my living room while I showered. I was quick because I wanted to spend as much time as I could with her. I exited the shower and snuck across the hall to my laundry room, which acted as my closet. I slid on a pair of jeans from the dryer and grabbed a shirt from off a hanger when Moira appeared at the door.

  "Oh!" she said, blushing. "Sorry. I was looking for the bathroom."

  I chuckled. "It's okay. The bathroom's down one more door."

  "I was worried about you last night," I said as I pushed my arms through the sleeves of my button-up shirt. "I feel like you're not telling me something, and I wish you would trust me enough to know that I can handle whatever it is."

  Her gaze dropped. "And I wish you would trust me enough to know that there are reasons why I do things."

  I closed the distance between us and gently touched my finger to her chin, lifting it back toward me. "Your privacy is your own. I'm here for you whenever you need me." I paused and took a breath. "I like you. I really do and maybe one day when things settle down, we can go on a real date where we're not discussing vampires."

  She smiled, a genuine one. "I'd like that more than you probably realize."

  I glanced down at her lips wanting desperately to feel mine against hers. She licked her lips just then, further igniting my desire for her. Did she do that on purpose?

  Her eyes lowered again, focusing on my bare chest. I'd seen that look before. I could probably kiss her right now and she would not resist, but was the timing right? I didn't want to screw this up.

  I took a step back, noting the brief flash of disappointment on her face. "Michael said he's tracking down one of the vampires tonight that supposedly works with the Dark Prince. I hope you won't be going with him."

  "I have to. They need me." She turned around and walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

  I puffed out a breath, trying to calm my excited body. When the time was right, I wouldn't hold back with her. I had every intention of making her mine.

  Chapter Eleven

  We were almost done with dinner, when Michael and Alana showed up. Alana hung back staring at an antiqued photo of a Chinese family on the wall, while Michael approached our table.

  "Are you ready?" he asked Moira.

  She glanced over at me is if she might somehow need my approval. She didn't, but I nodded anyway. She came to her feet just as I did. I grabbed her hand and held it firm. "If you get into any trouble, please call me."

  "I will." She let go and followed after Michael, once again leaving me to stare after her. I didn't like that. I wanted to be by her side.

  I dropped back into my chair to finish the rest of our food. Afterward, I returned to the Deific just as a long van pulled up to the curb. Even though I knew other agents would be arriving, I didn't expect it to be at night. I assumed they would go straight to a hotel and then come in the morning, but here they were.

  The van door opened and almost a dozen people filed out. By the sounds of their accents, they were agents from Ireland.

  I decided to interrupt them as they unloaded their bags. "You must be from the Ireland office. Welcome. I'm Charlie."

  A tall gentleman with jet-black hair stepped forward and shook my hand. "I'm Terry. Good to meet you."

  I frowned as several of them picked up their bags and headed toward the Deific entrance. "Are you all staying here?"

  "Henry said it would be okay," Terry said. "We only plan on being here a few days."

  Many of them disappeared inside. If all the agents planned on sleeping here, it was going to get crowded fast. "Makes sense. We have a few apartments upstairs that are still available. You can crash in those or there are a bunch of mats in the gym on the fourth floor."

  "We'll do that." Terry picked up a backpack and flung it over his shoulder." How about you catch us up to speed. My boys have been traveling all day and are anxious for physical activity."

  "Tonight?"

  "The sooner the better. My men get restless if they can't fight every day."

  "I'll see what I can do."

  It only took a few minutes for the Ireland group to settle in on the fourth floor, and a few minutes after that for a fight to break out. I broke it up and took them all to the conference room where I showed them the map and explained what was going on, filling in what Henry had missed.

  When I was finished, Terry divided his group up and each of us set out in pairs to different parts of the city, each with the goal of killing at least four vampires. Terry even made a game of it announcing the winner would get a prize.

  They were a different group, more energetic and full of life then ours. They also seemed to be more bloodthirsty than I was used to, and I had to remind them that we might come across good vampires too, so we should always ask. They laughed at that as if I had just said elephants could fly.

  "There are only three good vampires in the whole world, and they are already working with us," Terry said, referring to Henry, Michael and Alana. He could be right.

  An hour later, I found myself walking the streets with Terry. We were in a busy part of the city as I figured that's where there would be a lot of action. More humans meant more vampires.

  As we passed a bar, Terry stopped me. "I need a drink."

  He ducked beneath a black awning before I could stop him. I followed after him to tell him to get it to go as I figured we would have better luck spotting vampires on the streets, but as soon as I stepped into the smoke-filled bar, I felt a Supernatural's presence, possibly several.

  I scanned the dimly lit room trying to focus my senses. Terry was already at the bar ordering a drink. He glanced back at me and called, "What do you want?"

  I shook my head, continuing to search through the bar. That's when I spotted them. Two vampires sitting in the back corner with tall glasses of something red. Were they actually drinking blood in front of all these people? I looked around at the other people realizing that vamps could probably get away with that here and no one would notice. I quickly averted my gaze when one of them glanced my way and walked towards the bar.

  To the bartender, I asked, "Do you have a pen?"

  The female bartender reached near a sink and grabbed a pen. "I want that back."

  I took a napkin and scribbled: Two vampires in the corner. We need to get them outside.

  I slid the message over to Terry. He glanced at it then crumbled up the note shoving it into his pocket. He didn't look over at the vampires or at me. He simply picked up his drink and downed it in one breath. He slammed it onto the table and walked straight for the vampires. Instead of quietly getting them outside, he cocked his fist back and punched the closest vampire dressed in a business suit.

  Both of the vampires jumped to their feet. Terry whirled around and took off running. He ran past me with a great big smile on his face. The two vampires chased after him out the door and into the night. I was right behind them feeling for the stakes in my sleeves.

  Outside, Terry rounded the side of the building just as the vamps reached him in the alley. The one in the business suit shoved Terry to the ground and growled with fangs extended. I withdrew my dagger and flung it forward, piercing the fancy vampire into the back of his heart. Perfect shot. His body
turned and burst into ashes. The other vampire backed up, keeping his eyes on me, and also Terry who was laughing as he pulled himself to his feet.

  "I got this one, mate," Terry said.

  The vampire hissed and crouched low. I blocked the entrance to the alleyway to make sure no one looked in while Terry fought him. It was an exciting fight, worthy of being a pay-per-view event if there ever was one. Terry had a different style from me, but it was just as effective. He used a small blade from his boot to keep the vampire from gaining the upper hand, and I had a feeling Terry was dragging this out longer than necessary.

  Eventually, the vampire managed to land a good kick to Terry's stomach knocking Terry into the bricks behind him. Terry grimaced and reached for the electric gun behind his back. He pulled the trigger just as the vampire lunged for him. The vamp collapsed to the ground shaking uncontrollably. Terry held his stomach as he came to his feet.

  "That felt good. Just what I needed." There was no sarcasm in his voice. He walked over to my stake lying on the ground and picked it up. He plunged it into the vampire's heart. He straightened. "Let's go find another bar. I could use a drink."

  For the next several hours, we found five more vampires, and Terry had seven more beers, but he didn't appear to be the least bit inebriated. I learned a lot from his brash methods and even found him to be quite likable.

  We were the last ones to return to the Deific at almost four in the morning. Even though we had killed seven vampires, one other group had killed eight. While the others ate pizza and swapped vampire killing stories, I checked my phone. Nothing from Moira yet.

  I shot her a text, regardless how I felt the night before about being too pushy. "How is it going?"

  I scratched at my thigh as I waited for her to respond but no message came back. The prickly sensation grew, and I scratched harder. Something bad was going to happen. I couldn't tell if the feeing was directed toward Moira or toward the Dark Prince's likelihood of retaliation. What I needed was a quiet place where I could concentrate.

  After saying my goodbyes to the Ireland crew, I headed across the street to my apartment where it was much quieter. All the lights were off, and I left it that way using only the light from my cell phone to guide me to the couch.

  I lay down on top of it, propping my legs up on the armchair. I pictured Moira in my mind. I focused on the crow's feet in the corners of her eyes whenever she smiled, the golden highlights in her hair that only became visible in sunlight, and the way everything felt literally brighter when she was near.

  I sensed her then. Her heartbeat raced. She was nervous and even scared. I focused harder trying to gauge if she was okay. She didn't seem to be deathly afraid like before, there was still a glimmer of hope inside of her, which made me feel slightly better. Wherever she was at, she was scared but not to the point of true fear.

  After a few minutes, her mood changed. She was more relaxed. Whatever had happened with her, it was gone now. I breathed a sigh of relief and let the connection drop. I turned over on my side, groaning a little from bone-deep pain. All the recent fighting was taking its toll on my body. In just a few minutes, I fell asleep.

  The next morning when I returned to the Deific, I was shocked to find how crowded it had become. Upstairs, men and women with different accents filled the lobby and spilled into the cubicle area. Thank goodness it was a weekend or otherwise our normal accounting employees wouldn't be able to get anything done.

  Henry was there talking to several different groups. I searched the crowd until I spotted Michael and Alana. I hurried over to them. "Have you seen Moira?"

  "She's in your office," Michael said.

  I weaved my way through the crowd, anxious to see her. I had woken with the same annoying itching sensation all over my body. I hoped whatever it meant it didn't involve Moira.

  I opened my office door. She was there, lying on the couch fast asleep. I rolled my shoulders back, relaxing. She was safe.

  Keeping the lights off, I removed a blanket from a cupboard and draped it over her, letting my fingers linger on her shoulder right where they belonged. After a few seconds, I stepped back and closed the door to let her sleep more.

  The day passed quickly. There were so many people that it took a long time to explain everything to everyone and to establish a plan. It was a good thing Henry was there. Being the oldest vampire, he had the ability to calm a crowd down with just his powerful presence.

  Michael, along with Alana and Moira, hadn't been successful in gaining any new information the night before. I could tell this was frustrating to them, especially Alana who stayed in the back, scowling at everyone. With no idea where the Dark Prince was hiding or the location of his upcoming meeting, we decided to continue Henry's plan of quick vampire destruction.

  I only hoped it worked.

  Chapter Twelve

  Last night had been a good night in terms of how many vampires we killed, but tonight should be even better. With this many agents on the streets, all trained on finding vampires, we should be able to destroy many of them. Probably even enough that the Dark Prince would get discouraged and give up his plan. That was the goal anyway.

  It was almost time to go. Night had fallen a couple of hours ago. I still had a terrible feeling something bad was going to happen and had tried to talk to Moira about it, but there were just too many people and too much to do.

  Everyone filled the downstairs lobby all armed with hidden weapons meant to kill vampires. It was a strange and dark feeling being surrounded by trained killers. I shivered, despite the fact that I was one of them.

  I spotted Moira talking to Michael and Alana and pushed my way to them. "Are you coming with me tonight, Moira?"

  Her eyes flashed to Michael. "I'm going with them one more night. Since we were unsuccessful last night."

  "Then I'm coming with you." There was no way I was going to let her out of my sight when I felt this impending dread all over me.

  "Don't worry, Charlie. We will take care of her," Michael said, attempting to placate me.

  "I insist." I eyed each of them so they'd know I was serious.

  Alana groaned loudly. "I am so freaking annoyed with everyone. Just let him come so we can get the hell out of here. I can say he's my bitch or something."

  I frowned, not sure if I should thank her or be offended. I glanced at Moira. "Works for me, how about you?"

  "I guess," she said, but by the way she was fidgeting with her hands, she was nervous about something.

  The doors opened and Deific agents spilled onto the streets. Henry was at the door wishing everyone good luck. I sensed a heaviness inside of him. He knew that some of them would not return.

  Our group was the last to leave. I stopped at the door and asked Henry, "Will you be joining us?"

  His jaw tightened. "I will be out there doing my part, but if this doesn't work, I fear what may come. We don't have all of our pieces yet to fight these devils."

  "What do you mean?" I asked, wondering if he was maybe talking about Lucien. I had called the Seattle office, and they had attempted to make contact with Lucien, but the lone vampire had nearly killed them. Whatever Henry wanted him for, it was going to be a long time before anything happened.

  "For now, it is inconsequential," Henry said. "Focus on the problem at hand and take care out there. I want everyone to return in one piece."

  He patted me on the back and sent me on my way. I glanced over at Moira as we walked toward my car with Michael and Alana behind us. I felt a little better now that I was at her side. I'd make sure nothing happened to her even if that meant giving my life. This thought startled me, knowing how deep my feelings went for her, but the truth of it burned in my chest. Moira looked over at me and smiled. Yes, I would definitely give my life for her.

  Michael had me drive to the edge of the city where there were no homes, only businesses, most of which had closed for the night.

  "What are we doing over here? I asked as I parked behind a gas station.<
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  "This is where we lost the vampire we wanted to question last night," Moira said. "We think he's still around here somewhere. Hopefully we can find him tonight."

  Michael and Alana exited the car, followed by Moira and me. The night was surprisingly chilly with moisture that hung in the air. Cloud cover blocked all moonlight making everything feel colder. Rain was inevitable.

  "Come with me, Moira," Michael said, then to Alana and I: "You two stay here."

  Alana leaned up against the building, her arms crossed. She stared upward as if she could see the stars.

  I watched Moira and Michael through the window as they spoke to the clerk, wishing I could hear them.

  "You just need to go for it," Alana said without looking at me.

  "Excuse me?"

  "Moira. You need to lay her already. Bonus, the rest of us won't have to see the longing looks between you two anymore."

  "The timing's not right. Besides, I don't think it's any of your business."

  Her gaze lowered to mine. "If she were to die tomorrow, don't you think you would regret waiting?" She let her words sink in, then added, "What's the worst that could happen? She rejects you. At least you'd know where you stand. Life is too short to keep waiting for the things you want. Even for vampires."

  I glanced back at Moira longingly. Alana groaned. I ignored her, realizing she's right. I'd never wanted to be with any woman the way I wanted to be with Moira. And it wasn't just physical. I wanted to be near her strength, her intelligence, her goodness. She was the complete package.

  Moira and Michael left the gas station.

  "The clerk said two oddly aggressive men came into the store about twenty minutes ago. He said they walked that way." Michael pointed to our right. "I bet they were vampires."

  Alana didn't say anything but began walking in that direction. I fell in step behind her, trying not to stare at Moira. I shook my head. I can't think about her right now. I needed to focus on the mission.