Bewitching the Beast

by Tamara Hughes

  “It has?” She gazed out the window at the ordinary buildings surrounding the store.

  “Yes. The one right across from us was built with titanium supports. Remarkable.” Did they make buildings with titanium? Then again, she didn’t seem like someone who would know anyway.

  Frowning, Stacy turned her attention back to him. “If the building is so interesting, why don’t you go on over and take a look inside?”

  Damn. Time to make nice or leave. “Maybe I will. For now I’m just enjoying the sights in your shop,” he said with a wink.

  A smile flickered across her lips. She stepped close. “Your sister has been in the bathroom a long time. Is she all right in there?”

  Ethan caught a whiff of Stacy’s exotic perfume, a spicy floral. “She’s calling her boyfriend.”

  “I see.” She stroked a hand down his arm. “I’ll keep you company while you wait.”

  Great. Just great. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and spotted Tess. “Actually, here she comes now.”

  The moment Tess spied them, her gaze raked Stacy from head to foot, and she scowled.

  Stacy chuckled softly. “Protective, isn’t she?”

  Ethan’s mood lifted. “I guess she is.” Tess’s eyes smoldered, and her face flushed. Spunky, yet beautiful.

  If looks could kill, Stacy would be dead. Stacy’s smile melted. “Excuse me. I should get back to work,” she muttered and returned to the checkout counter.

  Ethan drank in the glimmer in Tess’s eyes. What a spitfire.

  “Who’s your new friend?” Tess watched Stacy saunter to her desk.

  “Just a clerk wondering why I’m hanging out here reading a dictionary.”

  “Strange come-on.”

  Ethan studied the few people browsing in the store—all men who spent more time staring at Stacy than the bookshelves. “Not really.”

  Her brow wrinkled, and pain flashed in her eyes. “Well, don’t let me stand in your way. If you want to ask her out, go for it.”

  “Tess, don’t be ridiculous.” As if Stacy could compete.

  Glancing at the clerk, she nodded and looked out the window. “It’s been a long day.”

  “I know.” Ethan lifted a hand, tempted to touch her. He let his arm drop. She wouldn’t want that, not from him.

  “Talked to Dad on the phone,” Tess said over her shoulder. “Mom’s out of the hospital, but she refuses to leave the city. She’s chanting up a storm in their hotel room.”

  Ethan glared at Kade’s apartment building, cursing himself for what he’d done. If only he could change the past and restore her mother’s health.

  “What if he’s not home?” Tess asked, pointing at the building across from them.

  “He’s there. I sensed him when we first arrived.” Foreboding settled deep in Ethan’s gut. What if Kade returned before they finished searching his apartment? The potion Tess brewed hours before wasn’t foolproof. It might keep Kade from controlling her mind, but he also had power over objects, including their bodies. Damn. How would he protect Tess?

  “Maybe he knows we’re here,” Tess murmured.

  “Hold on.” Ethan focused on a flicker of movement in the apartment’s lobby.

  A man strode from the building dressed in a black sweatshirt and scarf, the hood raised.

  “That’s him,” Tess said. “He’s dressed the same as this morning.”

  “Oh, shit. Do you have the clue he left in your apartment?” Ethan asked as Kade scanned each side of the street, then hailed a taxi.

  “Yes.” Tess pulled the napkin from her purse.

  “The numbers on it could be the combination to a locker at the bus station or something,” Ethan reminded her.

  She shook her head. “I have a feeling about this. We’re going to find the stone in Kade’s apartment. I just know it.”

  A yellow cab parked at the curb, and Kade climbed inside.

  “We’ll see.” Ignoring the impulse to grab Tess and take her someplace safe, Ethan headed for the door. “Let’s go.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Tess hurried to keep up with Ethan as he approached the apartment building. “How do you plan to get in?”

  “The same way I did at your building.” He pressed an apartment buzzer.

  Tess crossed her arms. “I hate it when people do this.” What good was a security system anyway?

  After a minute, a woman’s voice crackled through the intercom. “Hello?”

  “Hey. Could you buzz me in?” Ethan asked. “I’m here to see Becky in 201, but her intercom is broken.”

  “Tell someone who cares,” the woman grumbled.

  Good for you, lady. Oh wait, following the rules wasn’t going to help them. “Let me.”

  Ethan sighed and took a step back.

  Choosing a friendly name from the listing, Tess pressed another buzzer.

  “Hello?” A man’s voice rumbled out of the speaker this time.

  “It’s me,” Tess replied. “I forgot my key.”

  “No problem. I did the same thing last week.” After a long buzz, the door clicked open.

  They walked to the elevators, and Tess pressed the up button. “So what’s your plan to get inside his apartment? You’re not going to smash in the door, are you?”

  “Now that you mention it . . .”

  The elevator dinged, and the doors opened.

  Tess stepped inside and hit the button for the tenth floor. “Might make the neighbors suspicious.”

  “You have a better idea?” Ethan came to stand beside her.

  “Yes, I think I do.” Tess cringed. Disco music tinkled from the elevator’s sound system. Not just any disco music, the Muzak version—a soothing blend of instrumental chords that sucked the funk right out of Rick James’s “Super Freak.”

  The doors closed. With Ethan beside her, the elevator shrunk to the size of a closet. Her heart beat in time to the music.

  “What do you plan to do?” Ethan asked. His muscular arm brushed against her in the cramped space.

  She sidled closer to the wall and shrugged. “Pick the lock.”

  “You? Pick a lock?” A glint of humor in his eyes, he searched her face.

  “Mhmm. I came prepared.”

  “This I’ve got to see,” he said, his lazy smile doing crazy things to her stomach.

  Was it getting warm in here? She fanned the collar of her jacket as the elevator inched to the tenth floor. “Would have been faster to take the stairs.” Tess inhaled a lungful of stagnant air tinged with Ethan’s masculine smell. She unzipped her coat, and his gaze dipped inside the parted edges to linger on her . . . sweater. A shiver trailed down her spine, and she fixed her eyes on the elevator door.

  Ethan cleared his throat. “It’s hot as hell in here.” He took off his jacket and folded his coat over an arm. His T-shirt’s tag peeked out from beneath his dark hair.

  Without thinking, she reached out and slid the loop inside the shirt’s neck.

  Closing his eyes, Ethan let out a shaky breath, and she moved her hand away. Her fingers tingled from the brief touch on his hot skin.

  “Sorry. Your tag. I mean, sorry.”

  The doors opened, and Tess almost leapt into the hallway. “Let’s see, 1023.” She hurried down the hall, her attention focused on each step Ethan took behind her.

  “Tess,” Ethan whispered. “You passed it.”

  “Oh.” She retraced her steps.

  Ethan gave her room. “Let’s see you work your magic.”

  Tess pulled two paper clips from a pocket in her purse, each bent in a different angle. Should be easy. She relaxed her shoulders. Just follow the steps she’d seen on YouTube. She slid the first paper clip into the bottom of the dead bolt and held it fi
rmly. The next one she pushed deeper inside. Feeling for the pins along the inside of the lock, she poked each into place. When she reached the last one, she tried to turn the first paper clip. It wouldn’t move. “Maybe I missed one.”

  Ethan hovered over her as she inserted the pick and tried again. Nope. Still didn’t move.

  “You’d never make it as a burglar.” His breath tickled her ear.

  Tess shivered and took a step back. “I didn’t have time to practice at home.”

  “Let me try.” Ethan took the clips from her hands and copied her movements, as if he could do any better. His fingers held the paper clips steady, but the lock held strong. “Dammit. Open.” His gaze hardened. A flash of green brightened his eyes, and the lock turned.

  “Holy crap. How did you do that?”

  He bowed his head. “The Beast did it.”

  Oh well. No sense in getting worked up. “Could come in handy.”

  Ethan glowered at her.

  “Or not.” Pushing open the door, she flipped a light switch. “Let’s go in.” Two steps inside, and Tess stopped, wrinkling her nose. The scent of stale pizza and mold permeated the apartment. The living room appeared virtually unused. A thick layer of dust coated the tables and television. The kitchen was a different story.

  Tess stared at the food scraps and take-out boxes littering the counters. One box in particular gave her the creeps. “Pete’s Pizza.”

  Ethan closed and rebolted the door. “What?”

  “A Pete’s Pizza box. Kade’s been following us.” A chill swept over her from head to toe. “Maybe we should get out of here.”

  Ethan scanned the apartment. “We don’t have a choice. We’re not going to get an opportunity better than this.” He circled the living room. “Where should we search first?”

  “Right.” Tess clutched the napkin Kade had left in her apartment. “I guess we look for a place that’s locked. Thankfully, that should rule out the kitchen.” She surveyed the informal dining area and the living room. “Where would I hide a gem?”

  Ethan opened a coat closet and rummaged inside.

  Leaving him the living room to explore, she headed down a hallway, switching on lights as needed. “Probably not the bathroom. Oh, what the hell.” She stepped up to the sink and opened the medicine cabinet. Typical man stuff. Razor, shaving cream, toothpaste . . . No jewels. Time to move on.

  To the bedroom. No surprises here. Clothes were strewn across every surface and heaped on the floor. And the smell. Who died in here? Someone seriously needed a maid. She moved to the dresser and searched the drawers. Most were empty. Hmm. On to a chest at the end of the bed. Inside, she found blankets and a few pictures. Tess studied the photo of a well-dressed man, his arm around a blonde-haired beauty. He seemed familiar. Kade? Hard to remember their enemy had once been simply a man. Dropping the photograph inside the chest, she lowered the lid. Where next? The closet.

  She hurried across the room and yanked open the accordion doors.

  Her scream pierced the air.

  An elderly woman sat propped up in the closet, her sightless eyes opened wide in horror, a box of cleaning supplies on her lap.

  “Tess, what is it?” Ethan sprinted into the room and stared inside the closet.

  Her stomach rolled. Tess waved her shaking hand in front of the woman’s face and leaned back when she got no reaction. “Cleaning lady,” she tried to say. No sound came out. Pressing her hand to her mouth, she backed away.

  Ethan shut the closet doors and circled an arm around Tess, pulling her closer.

  She sagged into him and tried to forget what she’d just seen. Holy crap. How had this woman died? And why?

  He walked her to the hallway. “Stay here. You’re going to be okay.”

  She wrapped her arms around herself and sank to the floor. Visions of the cleaning lady filled her head.

  Leaving her outside the door, Ethan returned to the bedroom, still within sight. “What have you searched so far?”

  She swallowed and prayed her stomach would stop churning. “The dresser drawers and the chest.”

  Bending down by a bedside table, he sifted through the contents of its drawers. “Nothing.” He rounded the bed and crouched by the matching table, digging inside. “Found it.”

  On quaking legs, Tess rose from the floor. Suck it up, Tess. Get in there, and prove to yourself what you’re made of.

  Careful to stay focused on Ethan, she crept into the room and moved to stand behind him. A small safe sat tucked away inside the table.

  “Holy crap. What if the numbers on that napkin are the combination to the safe?” Tess handed him the napkin, her stomach settling now that she had something else to focus on.

  “Let’s hope.” With sure fingers, he spun the dial to the numbers Kade had left them. When he was done, his eyes met hers as he reached for the handle.

  She held her breath. Would it open? Was this all a trick?

  Ethan turned the handle and yanked open the door.

  Yes! Her breath came out in a rush. She crouched beside him and reached for the first box she saw.

  Ethan jerked his head toward the door. “Shit. He’s back.”

  “What? No.”

  “Hurry.” Ethan stood and headed toward the hallway.

  Tess rifled through the safe, opening boxes and spilling papers, her lungs working double time. Spotting a drawer toward the top of the safe, she slid the metal tray out. Inside lay the gem in all its green glory, exactly as Dr. Meade had described in his journals. She grabbed the necklace. The size of a robin’s egg, its dangling jewel weighed more than she would have guessed.

  “Hide,” Ethan hissed from across the room. The amulet drew his attention, and his eyes flashed green. A low growl rumbled from his throat.

  The hairs rose on the nape of her neck, and she clamped her hand over the gem, concealing it from his view.

  He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Go.”

  The distant jangle of keys set Tess into motion. She scrambled around the room, looking for any place to hide, any place but the closet.

  The apartment door opened with a click, and Tess froze, too scared to think.

  Ethan half closed the bedroom door and raced past Tess. “Fire escape,” he whispered, pushing open the drapes. No fire escape, but the windowsill was wide enough to form a narrow bench. She crawled up and crouched on the sill, bracing herself against the window frame. Ethan drew the curtains shut, and dust flew in a cloud around her. Don’t sneeze. She turned toward the window and breathed through her sleeve. She could hear Ethan stuffing the contents of the safe back inside and shutting the door. Hide, Ethan. Hide. Of course, even if Ethan hid, Kade could sense him.

  Tess closed her eyes and prayed. Dear Lord, I haven’t always been the best Catholic . . .

  The bedroom door slammed against the wall, and she flinched.

  “What are you doing here?” Kade’s guttural voice echoed through the room.

  Her body trembled as his words rumbled over her nerves.

  “Jesus Christ,” Ethan gasped. “Do you have any humanity left?”

  “Not enough to matter.” Kade’s muted footfalls came closer.

  “We need to talk,” Ethan said, his voice commanding. “I’ve taken care of Tess. She won’t cause us any more trouble.”

  “You lie,” Kade snarled. “You’re weak when it comes to her. Weak and stupid. Why else would you have brought her to me?”

  Tess tensed. Ethan wouldn’t trick her, would he?

  A hiss erupted from the other side of the drape.

  “Shit.” Ethan’s shoes scraped against the carpet. In the next instant, something crashed against the wall, and Ethan grunted in pain.

  Tess drew back the edge of the curtain. Ethan lay sprawled on
the floor with his eyes closed.

  “Ethan,” she breathed as her legs shook beneath her.

  Kade yanked the drapes aside, and Tess nearly slipped from her perch. His face. Scales the same color as Ethan’s covered his left temple, ran down his cheek, and over his jaw. Holy hell. His eyes glittered green.

  Tess edged away from him, and he grasped her arms. In a blind panic, she struggled against his grip. He dragged her off the sill and pressed her against the wall. Holding her with one hand, he raised his other toward her. The dragon on his palm blazed red.

  She kicked and wriggled, but he held firm, seizing her neck with his glowing hand. With a whimper, she waited for the end.

  Ethan’s yell filled the room, and he knocked into Kade with such force they all toppled. The floor rushed up to meet her, and her chin skidded over the carpet fibers. The gem tumbled from her hand.

  As the two men fought, Tess rolled toward the necklace, snatching it from the floor. She looked back. Kade slammed his fiery hand onto Ethan’s chest. Ethan strained against the magical hold. “Tess, get out of here.”

  Kade’s gaze fixed on her. He spied the chain dangling from her hand. “Give the stone to me,” he roared.

  Racing for the hallway, she stuffed the necklace into her pocket. The bedroom door slammed shut before she could get there. She tried twisting the knob. It wouldn’t turn.

  Tess glanced back. Kade’s palm faced her. Her heart tripped over itself, and she yanked harder on the door as Ethan rammed into Kade’s legs, knocking him to his knees. Kade’s focus returned to Ethan, and the knob beneath Tess’s hand turned freely. She threw open the door and stopped. That’s it. Kade could control only one person or thing at a time.

  Ethan cried out. She spun around to see him glued to the wall, his head tilted, and Kade’s palm on his neck.

  No! She sprinted across the room and launched herself onto Kade, wrapping her arms in a choke hold around his throat. A growl reverberated through his back as he grabbed her arms and threw her off. She landed on the floor, and sharp pain shot through her shoulder.