by Vivi Anna
With Olena in the crook of his arm, they walked side by side, naked and sweaty, into the living room to eat. For now they had both sated their other hunger.
Chapter 16
Olena had ordered pretty much one of everything on the room-service menu. She wasn’t sure what Cale wanted; besides, she was hungry enough to eat most of it if he didn’t want it. That was one of the best things about being a vampire—eating ten thousand calories and not gaining an ounce. Besides that, she loved the taste of food. It was a pleasure to eat.
She’d also gone out to the vending machine in the hallway and bought two bottles of AB positive. Their little tryst had worn her completely out, plus she had to replenish the blood she’d lost from being shot.
Cale didn’t say much as they ate. But he did watch her. Probably because he couldn’t believe she could eat so much and stay so svelte.
They’d also finally managed to put some clothes back on after realizing that eating naked likely wasn’t the best idea. Not if they truly wanted to eat and not end up in each other’s arms again. Cale was incredibly attractive with clothes on. Naked, he was downright impossible to resist.
Cale dressed again in his usual manner, dress pants and shirt and tie. Because her shirt had been ruined, she borrowed one of his. Although it was a clean, crisp shirt, it still smelled like Cale. Olena had to fight the urge to bury her nose into the collar and sniff.
After taking one last bite of the delicious prime rib, Olena set down her fork and leaned back in her chair, officially declaring herself done.
Cale shook his head. “Are all your appetites this ferocious?”
“Oh, yeah.”
His lips twitched up into a lopsided grin. “Lucky me.”
“Hmm, we’ll see about that, fella.” She liked that even now there was this sexual tension between them, this flirtation. She didn’t ever want to lose that.
Picking up his coffee cup, he sat back in his chair and took a sip. He sighed. “So, this Ivy, I think she’s at the root of all this.”
“I do, too. She knows something. Something worth killing for.”
“Any ideas on how to track her down?”
“I don’t know, other than just hitting the downtown streets. There are a lot of places to hide in Nouveau Monde.”
“Yeah, but she’s got to come up for air sometime. She’s a witch, right? Doesn’t she have to stock up on materials?”
Olena laughed. “She’s a dhampir. Half vampire, half witch. And no, I don’t think she uses potions and spells. I think her power lies within her. She was sparking something fierce when I grabbed her. She gave me a major jolt of electricity.”
He flexed his hand as if remembering the pain she was sure he’d felt when he’d touched her. “Is that what that was? I’ve never experienced anything like that before.”
“It’s a rare gift. If she can harness energy like that, she is indeed a very powerful witch.”
“Do you think that’s what they’re after?”
“Her power?”
He nodded.
“I never thought of that. But in what way? It’s not like she was in the safety-deposit box.”
Cale leaned forward in his chair and rubbed a hand over his face and through his hair. “Maybe she made something with that kind of power. Like an amulet or charm.”
Olena considered that for a moment. She knew some witches who were incredibly powerful but mostly used their gifts for good and healing. She’d heard of some who could harness the elements but only to a small degree. Not anything of consequence. Nothing that she thought could be used in any major way. But she wasn’t an expert on witches.
She grabbed her purse and rummaged through it for her cell phone.
“Who are you calling?”
“François, at the lab. He’s a witch and would know more about this than I do. Maybe he can shed some light on the powers Ivy seems to possess.”
The phone rang twice before a very suave French voice answered. “Bonjour, mon amour.” “Bonjour, François.”
She’d dated the witch a couple of times. It was nothing serious. Just a couple of fun nights out. He was too young for her in many ways, both in age and life experience. But he’d been a nice distraction when she needed it. He’d known going in that nothing would develop between them. But he still liked to flirt. She let him. After all, it was always good to practice.
“What can I do for the lovely Olena today?”
“I have some questions about a dhampir who’s of interest in the case I’m working on. I’m going to put you on speaker, okay? So Agent Braxton can hear as well.”
“D’accord. Is he attractive?”
She shook her head. “Behave.”
“Sure, whatever.”
Olena pressed a button on her phone, and then set it down on the table between herself and Cale.
“Can you hear me, François?”
“Oui, mon amour. Ask away.”
Cale bristled a little at his comment but sat forward, his elbows on his knees.
“Have you ever heard of a witch being able to control electricity?”
“Hmm, control it, no. Mess around with it, yes.”
“What do you mean, ‘mess around’?” Cale asked.
“Some witches have problems around electrical things. Their auras can interfere with the power. So the lights could go out, or appliances might not work around them. Cell phones buzz out.”
“Could the fact that this girl is half vampire make a difference with her magical ability?” Olena asked.
“Maybe. It depends on how powerful her magical parent and her vampire parent are. I can’t tell you for sure without knowing these things.”
“This girl gave us a major electrical shock just by touching us,” Olena said. “It seemed like a defense mechanism.”
“Hmm, that’s cool.”
She smiled at his cavalier attitude. He worked hard at his job, but everything else just slid off him, as if he didn’t care. But Olena knew that he did.
Cale inched forward a little more in his seat.
“Let’s say she has this gift. Could she create something powerful with it? A weapon of some kind, maybe?”
Olena looked at him. He had something in mind.
Something he hadn’t shared with her. Maybe it was a hunch or maybe it was more, and he’d just decided to leave her out of it. It put her back up.
“A weapon?” François whistled. “Like a bomb or something?”
“Yes, like a bomb.”
Olena shifted in her chair. “Is there something you’re not telling me, Cale?”
He didn’t meet her gaze. “Not really.”
“Not really?”
“Are you two arguing?” François asked. “You better be nice to my girl, Agent Braxton.”
“Your girl?” Cale guffawed.
“Yes, my girl. She’s—”
“François, don’t start trouble, please.”
“But, Olena, mon amour, he sounds too gruff for you.”
Olena tried not to scream. “François, could you please answer the question?” She could hear his long, drawn-out sigh and she shook her head.
“Yes, I suppose. It would be just like making witchlight, or a fireball. We contain the element inside a type of force field, a containment unit type of thing. If this witch can harness electricity or other harmful power, in theory, she could produce an explosive device.”
Cale sat back on the sofa, as if satisfied that his theory had been proven right.
“Thank you, François.”
“You are very welcome, Olena, my lovely. When are you coming back to the lab? I miss seeing your beautiful face.”
Olena grabbed the phone before François could say any more potentially problematic things. “I will see you soon.” She quickly flipped the phone closed and set it back onto the table.
“Is there something you want to share with me?
Some theory you have?”
Cale crossed his arms over his che
st. “Are you dating this guy?”
“What? No. I’m not dating François.”
“It sure sounded as if there’s something between the two of you.”
Olena stood and walked the room, agitated. “He was just trying to rile you up. Which obviously worked. I didn’t realize you were the jealous type.”
“I’m not,” he scoffed.
“You could’ve fooled me.” She stopped in front of him. “And besides, what does it matter? You’ll be leaving after the case. And we aren’t involved.
We had sex.” She turned to look at him, her hands on her hips. “Good sex, but that’s all.”
He stood before her. “Is that all it was? Just sex?”
“Of course. What else is there?”
“Okay,” he said flippantly, then turned to go into the bedroom.
She followed him. “What do you mean by ‘okay’?”
He went into the closet and pulled a jacket from a hanger. “I mean okay. It’s just sex and nothing more.” He slid his jacket on.
She eyed him. Was that hurt she saw in his gaze?
Did he want more from her than just sex? “Right.
Nothing more. It would just complicate our working relationship, anyway.”
“You said earlier that it wouldn’t complicate things for you.”
She shook her head. “No, I said sex wouldn’t complicate things for me. That other stuff? Big complications.”
“Right.” He grabbed his BlackBerry and slid it into his inside jacket pocket. “Let’s get to work. We need to track down this girl.” He walked out of the bedroom.
Olena followed him out. “Speaking of the girl, why would you think that she could create a bomb? What aren’t you telling me?”
“Before I came here I was working on another case dealing with terrorists. I got a vision of the bank explosion and vampire faces when I touched some wires from another bomb. That’s why I’m here. I think there may be terrorists involved.”
“Vampire terrorists?”
He looked at her, an eyebrow arched. “What, you don’t think that’s possible?”
“I just never considered it before.”
“Humans don’t corner the market on terror.” He walked toward the door and opened it. “Shall we?”
She grabbed her purse but paused before exiting. “Are we okay? I don’t want any difficulties between us.”
“We’re fine, Olena. We had sex, it was good, and now we’re going back to work. No problems.”
She nodded and left the room, but somehow she didn’t believe him. There definitely was a problem. What she couldn’t decide was if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Chapter 17
For three hours Cale and Olena canvassed the downtown streets looking for Ivy Seaborn. They went from comic-book stores to cafés to alternative nightclubs. So far, no one had known who she was or had seen her around. Either the girl was a ghost or someone was lying.
Cale went with lying. No one could disappear that effectively. There was always a trace left behind. Always.
He and Olena hadn’t talked much since leaving his hotel and walking the streets. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say, if anything. She’d made it clear to him that it had been all about sex and nothing more. During a different time in his life with a different woman, that might have sat well with him. But not with Olena. He was coming to realize that he wanted more than just the amazing, hot, sweaty sex they’d just had. He wanted to know her. He wanted to know something about her that no one else in the world knew. Some secret that she carried inside. He wanted that to be his and his only, so that no matter where he went or what happened to him in the future, he would always have that little piece of her with him.
It was a corny notion, but he couldn’t seem to extract it from his head or his heart. It was strange for him to feel this way about a vampiress. But he did. And he wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to do about it.
After hitting yet another small café, they decided to stop and grab a coffee for themselves and sit for a few minutes at one of the street-side tables. It seemed the perfect way to watch the waning sun.
Sipping his drink, Cale glanced at her. “How long have you been an investigator?”
She looked at him, seemingly surprised by the question. “About ten years. You? How long with Interpol?”
“Six years. I was an inspector for Scotland Yard before that.”
“Did you always want to be in law enforcement?”
He nodded. “Yeah. My dad was an officer. I grew up around it my whole life.” He smiled, remembering something from his past. “I tried a stint in crime, but it didn’t last long. My dad found out and beat the tar out of me. I think I was in that gang for a whole two weeks.”
Olena smiled and sipped her coffee.
“What about you?” he asked her. “Did you always want to be an investigator?”
She set her cup down and leaned forward on the table. “No. I grew up wanting to be free from my duty as a servant. I wanted to marry well. I wanted to be a stage actress. I wanted to serve my country in a time of war.” She smiled wistfully. “That’s the funny thing about living almost three hundred years—you can want and get to do many things.
I did all of those things and more. Now I want to make a difference in other people’s lives. So this is what I’ve chosen to do with these years. Maybe in twenty years I’ll feel differently.”
He watched her with curiosity. He’d known she was old for a vampire but had no idea she’d been around that long. He marveled at all the things, good and bad, that she must’ve seen and experienced. It was amazing to him. And strange.
“You were married before?”
“Several times.” She met his gaze. It was as if she was daring him to say something about it.
He sat back and contemplated that. He knew it was ridiculous to think that she’d be chaste or had never experienced true love. He was closing in on forty and he’d had his fair share of lovers over the years. He didn’t even want to think how many it had been for Olena.
But the notion that she’d been in love before and had devoted her life, or at least a portion of it, to another man made his gut clench and set his teeth on edge.
“Does it bother you that I’ve been married before?”
He pulled a face. “No, why would it?”
“Well, you seem a little agitated about it.”
“I’m not. I was just making conversation.” He grabbed his coffee and took a sip and eyed her over the rim. “How many times is several?”
“Four.”
“There’s no bitter ex-husband in the background, is there? Should I be worried about an angry, jealous vampire coming after me?” He meant it as a good-humored joke to lighten the mood, but the look that crossed her face told him there was no humor in her reaction.
“I’m four times widowed, so I don’t think you’ll have to worry.” She stood and tossed her empty Styrofoam cup into the trash can. “Let’s get back to the canvassing.”
Cale stood and had to rush a little to catch up with her. He touched her arm to stop her. “I didn’t mean to hit a sore spot.”
She looked at him and smiled a little. “You didn’t.
Not really. It’s just sometimes it hits me, and I realize how alone I really am and will be for a long, long time.”
He wanted to hug her then. Wrap her in his arms and press his lips to her temple and breathe her in. He ached to take her pain away. It was strange that this woman, this Otherworld being, who didn’t need anyone or anything to protect her because of her superpowered genetics, was the one person he longed to shield from all the world’s harm. She really brought out his protective instinct.
Although he wanted desperately to soothe her, he didn’t think she’d appreciate it. She was a woman innately proud of her independence. She was strong both inside and out, and he didn’t want to seem as if he was belittling that. He wished she could understand that it was those qualities that drew him to he
r so fiercely.
He smiled. “Well, you’re not alone right now. You have me to order around, if you want.”
That made her laugh. “Thanks, Cale. So generous of you to offer.”
He laughed with her. “Hey, I’m not just a pretty face. I have a great personality, too.”
Her eyebrow rose. And it was so sexy, he nearly groaned. “I’ve noticed.”
He was in grave danger of leaning in to kiss her. He didn’t much care that they were out on the street, on the job. His lips wanted to be on hers right now. By the way she was looking at him, he suspected that she wouldn’t have minded one bit.
He took a step closer to her, indicating his intentions. She raised her head just a little to let him in. Except her gaze passed over his shoulder and her eyes widened. “She’s right across the street.”
“What?” He was about to turn his head when Olena put her hand on his chin to stop him.
“Don’t turn around. You’ll spook her. So far I don’t think she’s noticed us.”
“What’s she doing?”
Olena nestled into him and put her arms around his neck. She settled her head onto his shoulder so she could watch the girl. “She’s standing in front of a grocery store. There’s an apple cart behind her. It looks like she’s getting ready to steal a few.”
“She must be hungry. Do you think she’s been living on the street?”
“Maybe. Moving around so no one can find her.”
Although they were doing their job, Cale liked how close Olena was. His body couldn’t stop from responding to her. Like a moth to a flame, he was drawn to her.
He moved his hands up and down her back and nuzzled his face into her hair. “How do you want to play it?”
“I’m fast. She won’t be able to outrun me.”
“I could distract her and you could take her by surprise.”
“Okay.” She moved back, dropping her arms from his shoulders. He felt the loss of her heat instantly. “You go that way down the street. Make sure she sees you.”
Cale had no doubt that Ivy would see him. He was probably one of the only men in the area in a suit.