The Vampire’s Kiss

by Vivi Anna

  They split apart and Cale started down the street the way Olena had indicated. He walked quickly with his eyes on Ivy the whole time. It took maybe two minutes for the girl to spot him, and only a second for her to panic and run.

  But Olena was there in a flash, effectively blocking Ivy. The girl looked around in alarm, searching for a way out, but she was kidding herself if she thought she could outmaneuver Olena again.

  Cale jogged across the street toward them. When he got there, Olena had Ivy by the arm and was trying to reason with her.

  “We can protect you, Ivy.”

  The girl was crying. “No, you can’t. No one can. They killed Uncle Luc and he was powerful. They’ll find me and kill me, too.”

  “Who are they?” Cale asked.

  Instead of answering, she shook her head and cried harder. Olena pulled Ivy closer and wrapped an arm around her. “Let’s get you to a safe place. We’ll order in some food and we can talk.” The girl just clung to Olena’s arm.

  As they walked to Olena’s vehicle, Cale realized that finding Ivy had been the easy part. Getting her to talk was going to be difficult.

  Ivy Seaborn was the key to the whole case, but Cale had no idea how to unlock her secrets.

  Chapter 18

  About an hour later, after convincing Gabriel to give her the okay, Olena had managed to secure a safe house in which to stash Ivy. At first the girl didn’t want to go, but Olena assured her that no one other than a few people on the crime-scene team knew about the house and Ivy’s involvement.

  After she managed to get the girl settled into the small second-floor apartment, Olena ordered takeout for everyone. Everyone included her, Ivy and Cale. For now, anyway. Eventually a second team would arrive to relieve Olena and Cale.

  But for now they were just like a family, sitting at the kitchen table and munching on spring rolls, chow mein and kung pao chicken.

  Ivy gobbled it all up like she hadn’t eaten in a week. By the looks of her stringy white-blond hair and the sweat stains on her dingy gray T-shirt, she hadn’t showered in that long, either.

  Cale sat silently eating and carefully watching both Olena and Ivy. She wondered if he was giving her the lead on questioning the girl. It seemed that way. Ivy had looked at him a few times, warily but with a bit of curiosity thrown in. Or it could’ve been she found Cale attractive. Olena wouldn’t blame the girl for crushing on him. He was definitely a looker.

  When Ivy looked like she was slowing down a bit, Olena made her move.

  “This chicken is pretty good,” she said, starting off slow and easy.

  Ivy shrugged. “It’s okay.”

  Olena looked in the white cardboard container.

  “There’s more here if you want it. Don’t want it to go to waste.” She slid it over toward Ivy, who emptied the contents onto her plate.

  “How long has it been since you’ve had a decent meal?”

  She shrugged again. “I don’t know, four or five days.”

  “Where have you been staying?”

  “Here and there. Nowhere for too long.” She shoveled the rest of the chicken into her mouth.

  Olena glanced at Cale. He was done eating and was now sitting back in his chair watching and waiting. He nodded to her.

  Olena leaned forward on the table, her hands out palms down. “I’m sorry about your uncle.”

  Ivy hesitated, visibly shaken. She set her fork down on her plate. Her head stayed down, as if she was looking at something in her lap.

  “Were you close to him?”

  Ivy nodded. “He was the only family I had left.”

  “We want to find those responsible for his death, Ivy. Can you help us with that?”

  She didn’t respond, but kept staring down.

  “These people are bad, Ivy. I believe they are involved in something even bigger. That’s why Agent Braxton is here. Something even worse is going to happen. We need your help. You’re the only person who can.”

  Her head came up a little at that.

  “We won’t be able to find and punish the murderers without you.”

  She looked up and met Olena’s gaze. “I want to help, but I’m afraid.”

  Olena reached across the table and took Ivy’s hand. She wasn’t sure if she should make a personal connection with the girl, but she looked so lost and frightened that Olena couldn’t help it. A long time ago she’d come to terms with the fact that she’d never have children, so seeing this child suffer needlessly broke Olena’s heart.

  “I know you’re afraid. But we won’t let anything happen to you, Ivy. You can trust us.”

  The girl slowly slid her hand out from under Olena’s. She looked from her to Cale and back to her again. “I’m tired. Is there somewhere I can crash?”

  Disappointed, Olena nodded. She pointed to an open doorway past the kitchen. “There’s a bed in that room with a pillow and blankets. It should be comfy enough.”

  Ivy stood, pushing her chair back. “I’m sure it beats the cement slab I slept on last night.” Without another word, she padded out of the kitchen and into the bedroom. She shut the door behind her.

  When she was gone, Olena sighed and looked at Cale. “This is going to be a lot harder than I thought.”

  “She’s obviously been through a lot and isn’t the trusting sort,” Cale said.

  “She has info we need. How do we get it?”

  Cale frowned. “I don’t know. I’m not skilled with dealing with kids.”

  “Me, either. I’m not sure I even was one.”

  Cale laughed.

  Olena stood and started to clean off the table.

  “So I guess we’re the babysitters,” Cale said, nodding toward the closed bedroom door.

  She leaned on the counter. “Yeah. She’s the best lead we have right now, so I guess we’re stuck for a while.”

  As Cale pushed away from the table, he started to roll up his shirtsleeves. “I’ll wash, you dry.”

  Olena laughed as he sidled up to the counter and turned on the tap to fill the sink. Amused, she watched as he searched in the cupboard under the sink for the dish soap, then dripped some into the hot water.

  “Are you getting a kick out of this?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye. He was just as amused at the situation as she was.

  “Most definitely.”

  Olena’s heart lightened a little as she and Cale washed and dried the dishes. It was an everyday, mundane act, but with Cale at her side it seemed to transcend that. It made her feel something different, something more about him and about them together.

  She could picture doing this with him every day.

  Making dinner, eating it at a small table for two, talking and laughing together, washing up afterward to then take their evening into the living room. She could picture it in her mind and it made her ache all over. It was funny to her that the most unsexual act between them could be the most pivotal.

  When he handed her the last plate, his fingers brushed hers. It was enough of a jolt to make her nearly drop the plate. Cale must’ve noticed, because he was staring at her, at her mouth in particular. It made her burn in all the hard-to-reach places. Places she was hoping he’d touch again soon. Memories of their tryst in his hotel bathroom popped into her mind and she had to swallow the saliva pooling in her mouth.

  “I had no idea that washing dishes could be a big turn-on.”

  Olena laughed. “Me, either.”

  Cale leaned closer to her, his soapy hands reaching for her. She didn’t pull away; she couldn’t. His mouth inched toward hers. She parted her lips on a sigh, in anticipation of his kiss.

  That was when they heard the noise from the other room.

  Cale’s head came up. “What the bloody hell was that?”

  Olena was already on her way to the bedroom door. “The window. She’s gone out the window.” She reached for the doorknob.

  When her hand wrapped around the metal, she got a jolt of electricity. It pushed her back a couple of feet and
she stumbled into Cale. He grabbed her upper arms and kept her steady and on her feet.

  “Damn that girl,” Olena said.

  “Why is she fighting us on this?”

  “I don’t know. But I’ve had just about enough.”

  Olena moved toward the door again, her hands clenched at her sides. This time she used her foot on the door and kicked it with all her strength.

  Splintering along the frame, the door fell like a cut-down tree. Olena rushed into the room.

  The room was empty. The multicolored curtains fluttered in the slight breeze blowing in from the open window.

  “I thought the window was locked,” Cale said as he examined it.

  “It was. She’s obviously more gifted in magic than we thought. A lock is nothing to a witch with skills.”

  Cale turned from the window. “Now what?”

  Olena spied something on the floor near the bed.

  She bent down to pick it up. It was a silver bracelet.

  Though it burned her fingers, she held on to it.

  “Looks like Ivy forgot something.” She tossed it to Cale. “Think you can get something from it.”

  Cale examined it in his hand. “I might.”

  Another sound turned Olena around. It was coming from the front door. “Now what?” She started back toward the kitchen.

  “What is it?” Cale followed her into the living area.

  “Something…”

  Cale must’ve sensed it just as she did, because he jumped toward her. “Get down!” he yelled. His weight took them both down to the floor.

  The front door burst apart and two metal canisters were lobbed into the room through the hole in the wood. Smoke seeped out of them.

  “Gas,” she said.

  “Damn it,” Cale murmured in her ear. “Cover your face. We need to get out of here.”

  Together, they crawled out of the living room. By the time they made it into the kitchen, there were voices coming from the ruined front door.

  “Find the girl.”

  “What about the vampire and the human?”

  “Kill them. They’re of no further use.”

  The smoke was filling the apartment quickly. Olena’s vision was blurry and her tongue felt thick in her mouth, like she’d eaten too much peanut butter. She glanced at Cale. He obviously wasn’t faring any better. He was shaking his head as if trying to clear it.

  Olena patted him on the shoulder and pointed to the bedroom.

  He shook his head. “We’ll be trapped.”

  “I’ll get us out of here.”

  They crawled to the bedroom, over the busted-down door and to the open window. Olena stood and grabbed the blanket off the bed. She wrapped her hands in the fabric and ran for the window.

  “Out we go,” Olena said.

  Cale didn’t hesitate as two masked gunmen with gas masks entered the room, weapons poised. Using his hands, he sprang through the open window, reaching for the fire escape as he did.

  Olena didn’t even bother.

  She jumped through the opening and wrapped her arm around Cale, taking them both down to the ground two stories below.

  “Jesus Christ, woman!” he yelled.

  In midair, she spun them around so he was on top.

  They landed with a thud on the cool, hard cement. Olena felt a rib or two break from the impact. Cale grunted when they hit. Although she’d taken most of the blow, she knew he must’ve felt something.

  Groaning, he rolled off her and onto his back. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You did not just do that.”

  “Had to.” She tried to roll over onto her side, but the pain ripped through her. Her back was bleeding again. She could tell by the warm stickiness of the shirt she was wearing.

  Cale looked over at her. “You’re hurt again.”

  “Nothing that won’t heal in a few hours.”

  He sat up and shook his head. “I’m not sure I can handle watching you get hurt again and again.” He winced, and she knew his bullet wound had likely opened up.

  “I know it’s hard, Cale, but I’ll heal. You have to keep reminding yourself of that.”

  “Yeah.” He looked down at his hands. They were rubbed raw and spotted with blood.

  Olena tried again to move. This time she was able to sit up, groaning all the way. “Damn, you’re heavy.” Wincing, she put a hand to her side. “Remind me not to do that again.”

  “Deal.” He stood and then reached down to help her up, which she could tell caused him pain.

  Once they were both standing, they hobbled down the alleyway leaning on each other. Sirens could be heard in the background.

  As they stepped out of the alley, a police car and an ambulance pulled up to the curb. Another unmarked car zoomed up onto the sidewalk. The driver’s door opened and Gabriel jumped out. Once he saw them, he made a beeline for them, ignoring the shouts from officers and EMTs.

  “Are you all right?” he asked them.

  Olena nodded. “A broken rib or two. Nothing major.” She nodded toward Cale. “Cale’s hands need bandaging, though.”

  Gabriel swirled around and shouted for a paramedic. One came running toward them. It was Trevor.

  “You two again?” He smiled and was already opening up his kit.

  As he went to work on Cale’s hands, Olena filled Gabriel in on what had happened.

  “How did they find you?” he asked.

  That was the million-dollar question. “I don’t know. The girl maybe. Somehow they’re tracking her.”

  Gabriel shook his head. “If that was true they would’ve picked her up on her own without the hassle of taking you two out.”

  Cale’s head came up at that. “One of us is being traced, then.”

  Olena closed her eyes and shook her head. “Son of a bitch.”

  “I take it you’re the one being tracked.” Gabriel eyed Olena.

  “Valentino.”

  Cale cursed.

  “He came to my place to give me that information about Ivy. It was a setup. He must’ve planted something on me.”

  “We’ll take you to the lab and get you examined. If it’s electrical, we’ll track it down. If it’s a magical trace, François will find it.”

  Olena nodded. She felt like an idiot. She should’ve realized that Valentino had had an ulterior motive for visiting her. She should’ve sensed it from him. But the witch had been skilled in charm. Most likely he’d enchanted himself to others. This meant she saw only what he wanted her to see. But still, guilt swirled in her belly. If she’d known, if she’d suspected, those kids in that club wouldn’t have been gunned down and she wouldn’t have risked Cale’s life twice.

  That was something she wasn’t sure she knew how to deal with.

  Chapter 19

  Once they were patched up, Gabriel ferried both Cale and Olena back to the lab. They had an officer drive Olena’s vehicle back. On the way, the inspector made a call to have someone go over to Valentino’s place of residence to pick him up.

  At the lab, they were immediately ushered into one of the investigator rooms where François would check them out. Cale didn’t know what to think of the young witch investigator who walked in rubbing his hands together gleefully at the prospect of examining Olena for magical tracing spells. After hearing the witch’s voice on the phone, Cale didn’t expect a lean man with long black hair and downright pretty facial features.

  He was surprised that Olena would’ve dated a man like him. He seemed too young, and too perfect-looking with his sharp cheekbones and smooth, pale skin. He reminded Cale of one of those male models plastered on billboards selling cologne or Calvin Klein underwear.

  François’s eyes almost lit up at the prospect of being so close to Olena. Cale couldn’t blame him really. But it still put his back up. Jealousy boiled inside his gut like acid. The thought of this guy putting his hands on his girl made Cale twitchy. Very twitchy.

  “I’m going to need you to take your clothes off, Olena.”


  “What?” Cale and Olena spoke in unison.

  Gabriel put his hand out to stop the protests. “Can you explain please, François?”

  François harrumphed. “The spell isn’t going to be on your clothes,” he explained. “It’s going to be on your skin.”

  “Makes sense,” Olena said reluctantly.

  Cale totally understood now why the witch was so happy about this. He was going to get to see the vampiress of his dreams in her underwear.

  His blood was starting to boil and he had to bite down on his lip to stop himself from telling François to go to hell.

  “All right, let’s just get this over with.” Olena started to unbutton her shirt.

  Both François and Gabriel looked over at Cale.

  François put his hand on his hip. “Maybe you should leave, Agent Braxton.”

  “Like hell.”

  “It’s okay. He can stay.”

  Now both François and Gabriel looked at her. She didn’t meet either of their gazes.

  “Olena,” Gabriel started.

  “I’m a big girl, thank you, Gabriel. I don’t need a lecture.”

  The inspector looked from her to Cale. There was something in his eyes that Cale couldn’t register.

  Gabriel was definitely measuring him. That he could see. It might’ve been a lycan thing. He knew that lycans were extremely territorial, and he imagined that the inspector considered Olena his territory.

  Despite her being of a different species, she was part of his team.

  He wondered if Gabriel was going to give him a problem now that he knew Olena’s and his relationship had evolved into something else. He hoped not, because Cale had no idea how to handle it. Nor did he know how to handle the relationship.

  Despite what Olena wanted to believe, it had gone beyond sex. Into what, he had no idea. But he did know that he would fight for it. Fight for them. Even if he had to go toe to toe with an angry lycan.

  In the end, Gabriel backed down. “I’m going to step out. You don’t need me hovering.” He walked out, shutting the door behind him.

  Once he was gone, Olena shed her shirt and then started to unbutton her pants. Cale tried not to stare at her, but it proved difficult when she looked like a warrior goddess standing there in her black lace bra. Her sable hair swirled around her like dark silk, and her skin had a slight golden glow. She was mesmerizing.