by Susan Reid
Well, that wasn’t good news for me.
I didn’t hesitate to think or say anything else, switching into infrared mode to size him up. I instantly took note that the majority of his body was warm this time, including his heart. He was at his fullest capacity in both strength and energy but he wasn’t armed.
Interesting.
That didn’t matter. I had a feeling that this could be a bloody and long fight for the both of us.
I carefully inched my way behind the bar counter to maintain a safe barrier between us.
I guess he was the entity that Twinkie was detecting not long ago.
I wondered how long he’s been hanging around here watching me. The thought made me furious and slightly fearful.
Slightly.
I may need some backup because there was no telling what the limits of his powers were.
I couldn’t tell if he was working some sort of hypnotic magic via his seductive, light hazel eyes or what. Then again, it was probably the combination of his full, soft lips, firm and sculpted jawline, and dark brown clean cut hair with a subtle mix of sandy brown highlights that was having a profound effect on my sense of judgment.
He was incredibly gorgeous, not that I expected him to be anything less than as a Nocturna.
He smiled at my obvious confusion over him and his covert arrival.
I scowled at him, fighting against the urge to take his ass out and swoon at the same time. He was dressed in a casual black blazer with a teal button down shirt inside and matching black slacks.
“We didn’t get a chance to properly introduce ourselves the other night. You’re even more beautiful with your hair down and without all of the military-style gear concealing your very well-toned frame…and your incredibly sexy legs.” He smirked with a flicker of his eyes down the length of my body.
Damn, he really has been watching me but for how long? I would have thought he was full of crap if I weren’t wearing booty jean shorts and a tight t-shirt right now.
So now he was trying to charm me? Does he think I won’t shoot a male who thinks I’m equally as hot? I mean, I was extremely flattered and I wanted to pay him a similar compliment now that I could see what really lie beneath the dark hat and duster, but I had to remain guarded. I wasn’t going to even utter a thank you or flash a flirty smile in return.
My trigger finger quivered slightly but I was in control here.
“So, introduce yourself then.” I stated firmly.
That colgate-worthy smile enchanted me. “Gage. And you are?” a single, dark brow rose slightly.
I hesitated, shifting my stance and snapping out of the distraction of his charm. The heat rising in my body was still prevalent, continuing to make me tremble unsteadily even as I tried to maintain control over it. Sweat broke out in beads across my forehead and I immediately took note of his reaction to me when I quickly wiped it away, though he didn’t comment.
“You probably already know my name by now.”
His eyes sparkled with amusement at my hostility and then he gave the bar a brief once-over.
“This is a very nice and cozy place. Very wise and discreet in your pick of a locale. I take it you’ve just closed for the night?”
“What gave that away? The locked front doors? The empty bar? Or maybe the chairs stacked on all of the tables?” I replied with much sarcasm.
“Which leaves me to ask again and you’d better have an answer. How the hell did you manage to get in here?”
He sighed with disappointment. “Damn. I was really hoping for a quick drink.”
I stared at him incredulously. “I will totally kill you if you don’t start answering my questions!”
He studied me for a moment and then he nodded towards my middle. “How is the wound?”
He was messing with my mind and trying to distract me again.
My growing impatience and anger was adding to my already unstable condition. At any second, I could lose all control and end up killing him before he answered my question.
Such a waste, too.
“I’m not kidding!”
“I can still smell the venom and tainted blood in you. You’re exhibiting one of the major signs already . . . unnecessary violent aggression. Though I may be too late, my offer to try and help you still stands.”
I licked my lips and cocked the hammer, able to hear my own rapid heartbeat thumping loudly inside my own head.
He didn’t seem to take the threat of me killing him seriously at all.
“If you’re not already experiencing symptoms like increased sensitivity to scents, sounds, and unpredictable adrenaline rushes, then you may be okay. However, from what I’m picking up…I think you already have.” He pinned me with his breath-taking eyes before continuing on, “You don’t have much longer. You’re lucky you weren’t bitten in the neck. The venom would have reached your brain faster.”
Though he had my attention, I wasn’t letting my guard down this time.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I can tell by your unstable confidence that you haven’t completely succumbed yet. You may still have a little bit of time.”
I glared at him.
“Still have time? Time for what? What are you talking about?” I demanded in clipped words.
“I’ll satisfy all of your inquiries — if I can get just one drink?” He reached into his blazer pocket, pulling out a two crisp, one hundred dollar bills and laying them on the counter. Two hundred dollars for one drink?
I didn’t move to take it, not wanting to take my eyes and attention off of him. I wondered if he were responsible for my walkie-talkie malfunctioning.
“You must think I’m fucking with you. I have no qualms about blowing you away. In fact, I’m trying very hard not to do it right now by giving you the opportunity to explain yourself.”
“And then what?” He nodded at my rifle, “If that weapon is anything like the ones that you all used that night, you’re better off making the attempt with a bb gun.”
His cockiness was not helping his case with me.
I pulled the trigger, purposefully aiming for his shoulder.
A brief look of surprise flashed across his face but he barely grunted and flinched at the impact, simply biting his lip in aggravation.
“Did that feel like a bb gun pellet?” I narrowed my eyes with a quirk of my mouth.
With the paralyzing dart embedded in his shoulder, he simply looked at it as if it were a piece of lint. Then he pulled it out as if it had been nothing, dropping it on the counter, and calmly rolling his shoulder a few times.
My confidence quickly waned. Oh shit. That didn’t go as planned.
Suddenly, my rifle felt like a useless hulk of steel in my hands. Apparently, using it as a bat might be more effective.
Would I be able to get to my katana upstairs in time? I had no choice. I eyed the silent walkie-talkie sitting on the counter.
If anything, maybe the guys had tried to contact me with no success, which means that it won’t be long before they showed up to make sure that I was okay. Maybe my best bet was to stall him to give them enough time to get here. That is…if he didn’t up and disappear again, which he could easily do, I suppose.
“Actually, it did and I appreciate you proving my point. As I was saying, you’re a hunter and I’ve appeared unannounced on your territory. You obviously see me as a threat, so if you really wanted to kill me, then you would have attempted it at first sight…to hell with my name and how I got in here. None of that would have mattered to you. However, since that isn’t the creed of Guardian hunters, being that I’m unarmed and not attacking you, you probably won’t shoot me at all. Am I wrong?”
How the hell did he know that? Who was he really? As much as I didn’t like his arrogance, he was absolutely right.
I slowly let the gun down but still gripped it firmly as I edged a little closer, keeping my back against the liquor rack behind me until we were face to face.
Damn,
he was absolutely beautiful and he had a sense of debonair regality about him. Intriguing, yes, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have malicious intent either.
He held up a finger. “One drink. That’s all.”
I hesitated, studying his well-built body language and his eyes.
“I don’t serve what you typically drink.” I replied harshly.
He sighed and laughed lightly again.
“How do you know what it is that I typically drink?”
“I don’t have to know you at all to tell that it isn’t whiskey, scotch or vodka.”
He nodded and smiled with amusement as if I had finally scored one on him.
He held his hands up as if giving me props for my on-the-nose assumption. “Guilty. So, you have no Hennessy Cognac in stock then?”
Hennessy Cognac? Where the hell did he think he was? Neither we nor our patrons were rolling like that here.
I pursed my lips. “No, we just ran out.”
“I’ll settle for a brandy then.”
I hesitated again. Still not sure what to make of him but I think he may be banking on my indecisiveness.
I finally lowered the rifle altogether and reached for a glass.
If he could help me get rid of the apparent infection and pain, I’d better pretend to be cordial for the moment —that is if what he was offering was legit.
I kept my eyes on him the entire time while dispensing a few cubes of ice and then selecting our best house brandy.
He watched me work.
“You’re still not going to tell me your name?” He asked.
I debated it for a few seconds.
“Kai.”
He smiled. “Kai? It’s cute but it doesn’t fit you.”
“What?” I snapped, offended all over again.
His seductive eyes bore into mine, seeming to penetrate more than just my psyche. “You remind me of an exotic and delicate flower, one so pretty and fragrant that you just can’t help but marvel at it, and eventually you have to have one for yourself. Kind of like a rose-colored Lotus blossom. ”
I was pleasantly surprised and unprepared for that comparison but as to why, I left that to myself. His compliment had been poetic and it definitely would have worked if we had been on a date but this was hardly the occasion and moment.
I carefully slid his drink in front of him.
He picked it up and held it beneath his nose, swirling it around for a moment to take in the bouquet and then he took a sip.
“I didn’t know that your kind held any kind of significant warmth in your hearts.” I commented after viewing him in infrared mode once again.
He smiled sardonically. “Well, thank goodness for the warmth in yours —you know, when you shot me nearly pointblank just now.”
I glared at him.
“Are you Nocturna or what?”
“What kind of a question is that?”
“A straight forward one that better result in an answer.”
He paused, setting his glass down and then he looked at me. My heart began to flutter and pound like a teenager much against my resistance.
“Do I look like one?”
I narrowed my eyes and took in a low-key inhale to scent him out. “On the surface, yes, but in our world looks are always deceiving and nothing is ever what it seems.”
The corner of his mouth lifted up into a half smile.
“Fair enough. What’s your guess then?”
“My guess is that you’re not what you appear to be but you don’t smell entirely like one either.”
He laughed softly with a nod, appearing relieved. “I appreciate that.”
“There is something about you that makes you one of them though that much is evident. By the way, what did you do with that Nocturna?”
“He’s no longer a threat, so what does it matter?”
For some reason, the image of the corpse we discovered earlier flashed in my mind even though it wasn’t the same Nocturna.
“What did he call you? Vishinkatura? What does that mean?”
Then I pointed a finger at him with a hand fisted at my hip, “And don’t think I didn’t notice how you cut him off abruptly before he told us either.”
He was amused again. “I take it your research on the term yielded nothing. I meant what I said before, we both have very much in common.”
He just read me like a book.
“I highly doubt that. Why can’t you just tell me what I want to know instead of speaking around it? What do you know about Guardian hunters anyway?”
“More than you think. Tell you what,” he said reaching into the inner pocket of his blazer again and pulling out a business card and pen.
He began to write, “If you want to know all of that, including getting rid of the spreading infectionbefore it changes you completely — you’ll meet me for dinner. I wouldn’t advise you wait a day longer though.” He finished, sliding it over to me and tucking the pen back into his inner pocket.
I was alarmed. “What kind of change? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Can I expect you tomorrow evening?” He awaited my answer.
How could I say no? He was either baiting me for something else by leaving me with these unanswered questions and playing on my emotions and curiosities, or he really was being truthful.
I was annoyed. I bit my lip as my eyes flicked down to glance at the neat handwriting inquisitively but I didn’t pick it up.
It wasn’t an address. It simply read: ‘North Majahuitas shore’ and next to that he had written down ‘7 p.m.’
“Another one for the road?” The ice cubes clinked as he raised his empty glass.
I sighed, confused.
“You said just one drink.”
“For two hundred dollars, I would expect that I’d be able to keep my options open. Consider it a compliment. It’s very good brandy.”
I pursed my lips and refilled his glass promptly, sliding it back over to him.
The melody of my ringtone broke the momentary silence. My cell phone was still sitting on the edge of the counter next to the walkie-talkie.
I didn’t want to take my attention away from him.
He glanced over at it with no particular interest.
“Are you going to answer it?” He asked before taking a long sip.
I sighed softly, backing up and continuing to watch him while reaching for it.
The display revealed Isis’ name.
I pressed the phone icon.
“Oh good, you’re still up. Pierce said your end of the walkie- talkie went silent and he figured you went to sleep but I wanted to make sure you were alright.”
“Yeah, batteries died.” I lied.
“Ah. Good news. We finally located the gateway on the island. It’s kind of small and it looks as if it was accidentally put there. Clee got it sealed. Now as for the one on the mainland, that sucker is huge and it’s very busy with tourists and locals. It’s gonna be very tricky.”
“That’s great. Yeah, we’ll have to figure something out then and fast.” I was truly relieved.
I had turned around with my back to Gage without even thinking about it for a split second once Isis began to talk. Quickly realizing my distraction, I whirled around to face him but he was already gone…and so was the entire 300 dollar bottle of aged house Brandy.
Chapter 10
The slight stinging sensation along my bottom lip is what roused me out of my deep sleep.
It was still early and Twinkie was crouched in the armchair across the room, staring at me with round, fully dilated eyes. He was probably waiting to be fed and at any moment he was going to start meowing obnoxiously if I didn’t hurry.
I brought my hand up to my lips and ran a finger along the tender skin. It felt swollen and my gums and jaw were sore as if I’d been punched in the mouth.
What the hell?
I immediately leapt out of bed, surprised when Twinkie hissed and tried to take a swipe at me on my way to the bathroo
m.
I shot him a warning look that any parent would give to a bratty, temper-tantrum throwing child.
“You must not want to eat!” I hissed back at him.
He scrunched up his neck and flattened his ears but remained silent and watching me closely, taking my threat seriously.
Flipping on the light to examine my lip, I was confounded.
There were two small punctures on the inner part of my bottom lip. Very odd.
They still appeared red and fresh. I inspected my lip, trying to come up with some sort of a reason or explanation while rubbing both sides of my jaw in circular motions to relieve the dull ache. That was when I felt four sharp points graze the tip of my tongue.
Alarmed, I forced a smile…only to shriek in horror.
The punctures on my bottom lip aligned perfectly with my canines —canines that were no longer normal.
They were about an inch and a half long with razor-sharp, tapered points that nearly matched the bottom set, which weren’t as long as the top row.
No wonder my jaw was hurting. It had to shift to accommodate my new fangs.
I felt jittery, pulse and heartbeat racing as hunger began to churn in the pit of my stomach.
What the…
No, no, no!
This can’t be happening…I have to still be dreaming!
I turned away from the mirror with a hand cupped over my mouth, trying to catch my breath and having to steady myself by gripping onto the sink.
Twinkie was growling at me again.
“Shut up, Twinkie!” I spat.
Dread began to percolate the contents of what was left in my stomach.
I dove over to the toilet, quickly lifted the lid, and threw up.
I was confused, afraid, and in denial all at the same time.
Was this the change that Gage was talking about?
We can’t be turned! This is not something that happens nor has it ever happened!
A hunter is not supposed to turn into a Nocturna. We can’t! By physical and metaphysical laws it was simply not possible!
How the hell was I supposed to face my brother, my friends, and all the other members of the bar who had become our family and explain this?
What was going to happen to me now?