True Faces

by Banks, Catherine

  He laughed. “Twenty six. And you?”

  I smiled. “Twenty two.” I looked down at my PDA and sighed. “Time to get back.”

  Eric groaned. “Are you sure you couldn’t fake a seizure or something so we could get out of this? I have a feeling this deposition is going to take multiple days to finish.”

  I smiled. “Better to get it done now then save it for later. You do have a trial coming up in a few weeks. It would be murder for you to have to work on a deposition while preparing for trial.”

  Eric nodded his head and stood up. “You’re right. See, I knew we’d make a great team.”

  I smiled and followed him out of the restaurant and to the building where the deposition was taking place. The deponent was a short, angry man who reminded me of a mountain dwarf. In fact, I was positive that if I could See him that that was what he was. We sat down around the large table and Eric began questioning the man again. Another two hours into the questioning and the man started getting angry. He was fidgeting and his face was blushed. I tried to signal Eric, but he was too engrossed in the questions. The man looked right at me and asked, “Can you See me?”

  My eyes widened and I looked at Eric who shook his head. Eric spoke quiet but firm. “Mr. Wallace, I would ask that you refrain from speaking to my assistant. In this deposition I will ask the questions and you will answer. Do you understand?”

  Mr. Wallace ignored Eric and bared his teeth at me. “You know. You’re a Seer!” He jumped across the table and grabbed me by the throat and pulled me out of my chair. For such a little man he was very strong.

  Eric rose from his chair slowly and I could see the worry and anger in his face. “Mr. Wallace, release my assistant.”

  Mr. Wallace shook his head and took a step back, pulling me with him. “I won’t go back to the weres. I won’t work for them again.”

  I tensed. Weres? He had to mean wereanimals. If he was afraid of going to wereanimals then he would do anything he had to, including kill me. I looked up at Eric and noticed his hands were balled in to fists at his side. “Release her or the weres or whatever you are talking about will be the least of your worries.”

  Mr. Wallace moved his lower hand and then a knife appeared at my throat. Shit. I really hated magic some days. I grabbed the arm with the knife, squatted down and tossed Mr. Wallace over my head. When I looked up Eric was already pinning him to the floor and securing his hands with zip ties. A guard came in to the room and carried the unconscious dwarf out of the room. Eric rushed over to me and ran his hand along my throat. “Are you alright?”

  His hand was extremely warm and soothing to the scratch I had gotten from the knife. I looked up into his concerned eyes and nodded my head. “I’m fine. The knife scratched my skin when I threw him, but didn’t draw blood.”

  Eric helped me stand up, but put his arm around my waist as though he thought I would faint. “That was very brave of you to do that, but I would ask that you never do something like that again.”

  I realized I was leaning against him and it wasn’t because I needed the support. I pulled away from his arms and smiled. “I guess the depo is over?”

  Eric smiled. “Yes.” He turned to the court reporter and recapped the events in words for the record, then started packing his briefcase. I helped him put everything away and grabbed my own documents and notes before following Eric out of the room and out of the building’s doors. Eric stayed silent until we got into his blue 2010 Nissan Skyline and closed the doors. “Are you sure that you’re alright? Would you like to take the rest of the day off?”

  I looked at Eric’s body and face and sighed. He was tense, like a coiled snake ready to spring. “I’m fine. The scratch on my neck isn’t even bleeding. It’s not your fault Eric.”

  He gripped the steering wheel and I heard the leather creak in protest. “I would not have been able to forgive myself if he had hurt you.”

  I reached out slowly and rested my hand on one of his. “You couldn’t have stopped him and it wasn’t your fault that he snapped.” Actually it was mine. Somehow he knew that I was a Seer. How when I didn’t actually even See him?

  Eric looked at me and I swore his eyes had a brighter golden tint to them than usual. “I could have done something,” he whispered. He started the car and we drove in silence to the office. Eric stayed in his office with the blinds drawn and the door closed the rest of the afternoon. I tried to focus on my work, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the way he said he could have done something. Was he just upset that he hadn’t been able to help me? Was it a natural human response or was there some underlying meaning? When it was finally time to go home I knocked twice on the door, then peeked my head into his office. Eric was staring at a picture of a forest on his wall silently. “Eric, I’m leaving.”

  He spun around in his chair and his eyes grew wide. “Leaving?”

  I smiled. “It’s six.”

  He exhaled with a hand on his heart. “Oh, I thought you meant leaving. Alright, have a good weekend.”

  I nodded my head. “You too. And Eric?”

  He looked back up at me from his desk. “Hmm?”

  I smiled. “Fighting always relieves my anger. You might want to think about joining a dojo.”

  He laughed and waved. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

  I closed his door and grabbed my backpack. I had promised myself that I would go out tonight so I hurried home to shower and change. I glared at my reflection for thirty minutes after I was ready and tried to figure out what I could change. Nothing came to mind so I stuffed my cash, ID and credit card in my pocket and headed down the street to one of the three dance clubs in town. I showed the bouncer my ID and made my way through the crowd to the bar. The bartender was muscled, tattooed and only wearing a pair of pants. He smiled seductively at me. “What’ll it be?”

  I smiled back at him. “Two shots of whiskey.” He poured the shots and I handed him my cash, smiling at him when he purposefully touched my hand when getting the cash. I exhaled and downed the two shots one right after the other. The liquor burned down my throat and warmed my stomach.

  The music changed to a techno song and I maneuvered my way to the middle of the dance floor and started dancing. An attractive man in his late thirties started dancing with me and I decided to let him instead of turning him away. He wouldn’t be my pick for the night, but I didn’t want to be rude. When the song ended I moved to another part of the dance floor and within seconds a man in his mid twenties, who was very attractive, started dancing with me. Akio and some of the other students had always insisted I was very attractive, but when I looked at myself I only saw the flaws. I couldn’t deny that I did draw attention when I went out though.

  The man moved closer to me and asked, “What’s your name?”

  I put my lips against his ear and said, “Ciara and I need a drink.”

  He smiled. “I’m Nate.” I followed Nate to the bar and ordered two more shots. Nate raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Nate took his shot and I took my two and led him back out onto the dance floor. The song changed to a fast tempo techno remake and I moved my hips in a figure eight faster and faster in front of Nate. He moved closer to me and then pressed his hips against mine and matched my movements perfectly and gracefully. Shit, he was a preternatural. I tried to pull away, but he wrapped his arm around my waist and pressed his groin against my butt. He was very happy to see me.

  I tried to pull away again, but he held me tight and whispered in my ear, “Don’t be afraid, Seer. I’m very generous in the bedroom.”

  I ripped away from him and ran face first in to Eric’s muscular chest. “Eric? What are you doing here?” I asked in shock.

  Eric ignored me and glared at Nate. “You should be more polite to women.”

  Nate’s lips raised in what I assumed was supposed to be a smile, but looked more like baring his teeth. “I didn’t know you were in town, Eric.”

  Eric rested his hand on my shoulder and gave Nate the same type
of smile. “Now you do.”

  Nate looked at Eric’s hand on my shoulder and scoffed. “So, not worth it.”

  Eric watched him walk away then pulled his hand away. I felt cold where his warm hand had just been. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

  I rolled my eyes and felt the liquor kicking in. “I’m fine. Jeez. And you didn’t answer my question.”

  Eric smiled. “I come here every weekend.”

  Of course I had to pick the club that he came to. “Well I’ll just leave then.”

  Eric grabbed my arm and stopped me from walking away. “I thought we were friends, Ciara?”

  His hand warmed my cold arm and I instantly imagined how warm it would be to have his naked body pressed against mine. “We are, but I don’t want to intrude on your night. You only get three nights away from me. I don’t want you to feel obligated to be around me just because we work together,” I said.

  Eric tilted my chin up with his hand and I realized I was leaning in to his palm. “I like being around you.”

  I pulled away from him and swallowed. “I think I need another drink.”

  Eric frowned. “You sure? I think you might have had enough.”

  I glared at him then stormed to the bar. “Two shots.” The bartender looked at Eric and then hurriedly filled the shot glasses. I took one shot then reached for the other, but Eric grabbed it. “That’s mine.” I said irritably.

  Eric sniffed it then coughed. “I don’t understand how you can drink this.”

  I slammed the shot then shivered as the liquor spread in my stomach. “It’s the only thing I’ve found that can warm me.” Eric stared at me in shock, but didn’t say anything. The song changed to one of my favorites and I smiled. “Gotta dance.” I spun onto the dance floor and started dancing. I hadn’t realized Eric was still there until I spun a little too fast and he caught me before I fell. I blushed. “Sorry.”

  He put my arms around his neck and his hands on my lower back just above my butt. “No apology necessary.” He danced well for a man and I found myself smiling at him and enjoying the feel of his hands on me. My fingers moved up the back of his neck and found his hair. It was thicker than any I had ever felt and yet still incredibly silky soft. I jumped back from him and stumbled, landing on my butt. He reached down to help me up and I backed away from him. “I…you’re my boss.”

  He helped me stand up and frowned. “You can’t dance with me because I’m your boss?”

  I backed away from him and hurried through the crowd to the bartender. “Whiskey.”

  Eric stepped up next to me and shook his head at the bartender. “I think you’ve had enough.”

  I wanted to yell at him, but didn’t want to make him angry. I hopped onto the bar on my stomach and grabbed the bottle of whiskey and took a swig before the bartender or Eric could stop me. I tossed the cash on the bar top and walked away from Eric and toward the exit. I just wanted one night to be normal again. I wanted one night to find a guy to take my mind off of everything.

  Halfway to the door, large hands grabbed me and pulled me against a large body. I looked up into the face of an older African American man. He was attractive and scared the crap out of me at the same time. I didn’t need my third eye to tell that he wasn’t human. I tried to pull away from him and he ran his hand down my back to cup my ass. “Damn girl. I never knew white girls could have an ass like this.”

  Eric pulled me out of the man’s arms and said, “She’s off limits, Jeremiah.”

  Jeremiah smiled, his white teeth bright against his black skin. “Sure thing, boss. No harm done.”

  I pulled away from Eric. “I’m not yours! You have no right to tell others I’m off limits.”

  Jeremiah laughed loudly, shaking my ear drums. “Oh she’s a live one. Let me know how long it takes for her growl to change to a purr.”

  I glared at Jeremiah and walked through the rest of the people and out of the club. The cold night air stole my breath and chilled me in an instant. I looked around for a winter fairy, wondering if they were playing a prank on me, but my eye was still closed so everyone looked human. I tried looking out of the corner of my eye, but the alcohol was blurring my normal vision so even that trick was useless. Eric came out of the club and I started walking toward my house. “Ciara, wait.”

  I ignored him and kept walking down the sidewalk. I made it two blocks before someone stepped out of the alley and reached for me. What was going on tonight? Did I have a big sign over my head that said Seer?

  I tried to kick him, but had drunk too much and ended up barely grazing him and falling. The man reached for me and then Eric hit him. I stood up and rubbed my shoulder which had taken the brunt of the fall. I heard growling next to me and stepped between Eric and the other man. “Back off tigerboy. Go find some other meal.” I didn’t actually know if he was a tiger, but for some reason that was the vibe he was giving me.

  The man glared at me, then ran down the alley, disappearing in seconds. I hated how fast they were. It was completely unfair. Eric turned me around and glared down at me. “I told you not to do something like that again.”

  I shook my head. “You have no idea what there really is out there. He could have ripped you apart before you blinked. I am not worth getting mauled.”

  Eric sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I can take care of myself, Ciara.”

  I glared at him. “So can I!”

  He stared at me in silence for a few seconds then sighed. “Alright. I’m sorry.”

  My eyes widened in shock. He just apologized?! I nodded my head at him then started walking down the sidewalk again. Eric matched my strides and I stopped again, “What are you doing?”

  He smiled. “Walking you home.”

  I frowned. “I told you that I can’t do this. You’re my boss…” Tigerboy leapt at me from the alleyway, interrupting me and slammed me to the ground. My head hit the pavement and the world went black.

  ~~~~

  CHAPTER FOUR

  I woke up with a warm washcloth being pressed to the side of my head. I tried to push it away, but warm hands held me down. “It’s alright Ciara. It’s just me.”

  I opened my eyes slowly and frowned. “Eric? What…where are we?”

  He rinsed the washcloth in a bowl then pushed it on my head again. Pain sizzled in my head and I whimpered pathetically. “I’m sorry it hurts, but I have to clean it.”

  I swallowed and asked again, “Where are we?”

  He pushed back a strand of hair that was on my face. “At your house.”

  “But you didn’t know where I lived,” I whispered.

  He smiled. “Your address was programmed into the phones and a few of your neighbors were out so I asked them which house was yours.”

  I sighed and then hissed as he pushed harder on the wound on my head. “What happened?”

  Eric’s face hardened and his eyes glowed. “That boy jumped on you and you hit your head on the sidewalk. I pulled him off of you and after a brief tumble he ran off.”

  I stared at him in shock. “He ran away? They don’t run away.”

  Eric shrugged. “I called his bluff. Men really aren’t that tough.” He ran a hand along my throat where the scratch from the knife was. I pulled away from him and tried to stand, but the pain in my head forced me to my knees. Eric picked me up and put me back on the bed. “Stop it. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  I asked, “What are you?”

  He frowned. “A man that is worried about his friend. Why do they keep calling you, Seer?”

  I opened my mouth then closed it again. “I don’t know.”

  Eric gave me a lopsided smile. “Uh-huh. Are you hungry?”

  The thought of food made my stomach roll. I crawled off the bed and hurried as fast as I could to the bathroom, promptly losing my lunch and everything else that was in my stomach. Eric sat down behind me and pulled my hair back. He was holding my hair while I puked, if I wasn’t so grossed out I would think it was cute. I finished throwing e
verything up and wiped my mouth with toilet paper. “You don’t have to do this,” I whispered without looking at him.

  Eric handed me a glass of water. “Drink this.”

  I sipped the water slowly and slumped against the toilet. “Maybe I had, had enough.”

  Eric laughed softly. “I believe so. Are you feeling better?”

  I stood up and brushed my teeth quickly before answering him. “Yes.”

  He helped me back to my bed and started bandaging my head. “It’s a small gash, but you need to keep it clean.”

  I looked up at his worried face. “Thank you.”

  He frowned. “For what?”

  I rolled my eyes then groaned as nausea hit me. “For taking care of me. No one’s ever…it’s nice of you.”

  He pulled my tennis shoes and socks off. “Do you have anyone who can come help you?”

  I started to shake my head then remembered the injury. “No, but I’ll be fine.”

  Eric shook his head and started rubbing my feet. I sighed in pleasure and he said, “I’ll stay with you. You have to be careful of head injuries, especially since you blacked out for ten minutes or so.”

  I tried to pull my foot away, but Eric just put it back in his lap and continued rubbing it. “Eric, you really don’t have to…”

  Eric sighed. “Stop it. I’m staying and there’s nothing you can do about it.” He traded feet and started working out all of the tension in the other one.

  I closed my eyes and felt near unconscious when Eric smacked my foot making me open my eyes. “Stay awake, Ciara.”

  “You’re putting me to sleep.” I mumbled.

  He set my foot down and smiled seductively at me. “I could think of a few ways to keep you up.”

  I swallowed as my heart rate picked up and my body heated up. “I told you that…”

  Eric sighed. “I was just kidding, stop acting so serious. Would you like some tea?”

  I nodded my head and Eric picked me up in his arms. “Wha…what are you doing?”

  He smiled. “Taking you to the kitchen to get some tea.”