Devon exhaled audibly. “That’s quite a painting. Seems almost too sentimental for a vampire like Stefano.”
I snorted. “The eternal love part was probably lost on Stefano. He joked that it was a symbol never to fall for humans; they are merely food. And to never trust anyone.”
We drove in silence for several minutes, each lost in our own thoughts.
As we approached London, the streets were more congested. Devon’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. Tension swelled in the enclosed space.
“If you know where the money went, you better tell me, Layla,” he said. “Don’t try to play me.”
Although he was putting himself out there and helping me, the warning tone in his voice compelled me to reply with a snarky comeback.
“I’m tired of repeating myself. And what are you talking about, Devon? You’ve known me for what, a few days? That means you don’t really know me at all.”
“I know you better than you think, sweetheart.” He smirked, which antagonized me even more. How did he rankle me this way? One minute I wanted to kill him, the next throw my arms around him to thank him for saving me—or at least buying me more time—and the next—well, I didn’t know how I felt about him right then. He utterly fucking confused me.
“Oh yeah, hotshot?” I replied. “How so?”
“I know your name isn’t Layla Costa.”
I bristled in the passenger seat, hoping he didn’t notice. How did he know this?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You became Layla Costa only two or three years ago. You had fake papers and had established a past. I dug deeper. I know how these games are played. I know how a name doesn’t mean anything and never to trust what someone tells you about themselves.”
“Of course I’m Layla Costa,” I said, keeping my voice even. “You figured that out already. I was masquerading as Angelica Blackwell, and you found out my name is really Layla Costa. How many assumed identities do you possibly think I have?”
“Just those three. Although I’ve tracked people who have taken on more than a dozen. My guess is you took on your new identity when you were changed into a vampire.” He took his eyes off the road to see my reaction. “Am I right?”
Although I tried to keep my face impassive, my body must have betrayed me by moving almost imperceptibly.
“I thought so,” he said. “It makes perfect sense. One life ended for you and another one started. Perhaps, like now, you had another past that you were running from. Or perhaps you thought it was a perfect opportunity to leave your human identity behind and start a new one as an immortal.”
I stared at him, stunned. My secrets were being uncovered right before my eyes. He had exposed my carefully crafted personas.
“You were born Catherine Anna Stewart.”
I flinched. My life as a human seemed so long ago and my name from that time sounded odd, as if it belonged to someone else I knew.
Goddamn him. “What the fuck do you want from me, Devon? First, you’re against me, then you’re with me, and now you’re messing with my head! Did you tell this to Stefano?”
“No.” His monosyllabic reply didn’t answer any of my questions about him. In fact, they complicated my perception of him even more.
“Why not?” My words came out in a slow, measured tone as I struggled to stay calm.
“Because that’s not what he hired me for.”
I gritted my teeth. “What did he hire you for?” Devon was infuriating. Complicated and unreadable. I wanted to tear at that stony mask and peek inside his head to find out what was going on in there.
“To find you and bring you to him. Which I did. During my investigation, I found out some interesting things about you.”
“Oh really?” I said, feigning indifference while I struggled not to squirm in the passenger seat.
“Yes. You’re the daughter of a US senator and his trophy wife. You were a privileged, yet troubled kid growing up. One of those kids who is unsure of who she is and what she wants, so she acts out for attention and blames her problems on her parents. Only her parents have money, and she’s used to living with money. When her life changes and the money is suddenly gone, she isn’t sure how to take care of herself. She’s taken in by a wealthy vampire. And when the opportunity strikes for her to net a fortune—”
“That’s not true!” I faced him as hot tears stung my eyes. “You don’t know a goddamn thing about me if that’s what you think.”
“What did I get wrong?”
“More like what did you get right,” I spewed. The old wounds resurfaced. “And the only part of that is my father is a senator, and my mother is his cold arm trophy. They never gave a shit about me and only used me as a prop for their political persona. Yes, I tried to get their attention. All I wanted to do was make them proud, and have them tell me they loved me. I did the best I could in school, earning good grades. It didn’t make any difference. The only good thing that happened to me after I was attacked was that I was free from them. Free to start over. Ramon staged my death. My parents buried what they thought were my remains. I’m sure they’re still exploiting my disappearance as a plea for pity from their constituents.”
Devon didn’t say anything. When his mouth twitched, I was sure I nailed that last part.
I took a deep breath and raised my index finger before continuing my tirade. “Spoiled, huh? Well, I’ve learned rather quickly how to live on the streets with nearly nothing, both before and after living with Stefano. And I never stole from him. I will swear that until I’m ashes. So, don’t fuckin’ ask me about that again!”
He stared at the road ahead. “Fine.”
I crossed my arms and leaned back in my seat. Then I stared out my window. “I still don’t understand why you didn’t tell Stefano about me. Wouldn’t it make you look better?”
“Sweetheart, I know how to do my job. I do what I’m paid for. If I feel so inclined, I might reveal a little snippet of how I uncovered something interesting during my investigation. I don’t throw in extra information for free. If my client wants me to pursue it further, they can pay me to extend my investigation. And bingo, they always do.”
“So, you’re a conman?”
“No, a good businessman.” Devon smiled with satisfaction as he glanced over. “I offer a service that my clients need. If they want the service, they need to pay for it.”
He still hadn’t revealed much about his intentions here. I threw my hands up in frustration. “What is your end game? Are you trying to blackmail me, because you must have noticed that I can’t get into any deeper shit than I’m already in?”
“No. But, let’s consider this a fair warning not to play me. I’m putting myself out on the line to save your ass. If you screw me over, I’ll make you regret it.”
Under my breath, I muttered, “I’m sure you will.”
We didn’t speak much for the rest of the drive to London. How the hell did I end up in this situation? The same man who had kidnapped me for money and brought me to Stefano ended up switching sides. I had thought maybe he had changed his mind and believed in my innocence. But, after what he revealed about clients and money, it seemed more likely that it all came down to money.
If that was the case, so be it. At least I wasn’t a pile of ashes at Stefano’s place.
Yet.
Chapter 8
Layla
On the way to Devon’s flat, we stopped in a Marks & Spencer.
Devon warned me before we headed inside. “If you try to run again, I will follow you. And Stefano will find you. I urge you to stick with me—for your sake—to try to find a way out of this.”
“I know, Devon. Trust me, I’ve thought of running, but it will make things worse. Sticking with you is my best bet. I’m not going to blow it.”
Once inside, we separated. I picked out some clothes and toiletries, while he went for groceries. Luckily, I still had some English pounds in my purse.
He wa
ited for me at the checkout. When I arrived, he smiled, as if surprised I hadn’t bolted. I’d thought about it, of course, but decided I was better off with Devon. He had more resources and tricks. Besides, he’d found me once. I’m sure it wouldn’t take long to track me down again.
When we returned to his flat, he welcomed me in. It was strange being back there, able to move about freely rather than be restrained. I sat in the living room while he entered his bedroom to change. A vision of what we’d done in there returned, and I tried to distract myself by searching elsewhere around his place. Besides the sofa, the living room had a desk and chair and not much else. No television or little things that are often seen in a lived-in place, such as notepads, pens, magazines, or books.
“Do you live here year-round?” I called into his room.
“I don’t spend much time here,” he replied through the door, which was cracked open. “I use this place more to conduct business. My house, what I consider home, is in the country. It’s in an open space, which makes it easier for me to shift and run free.”
“What do you shift into?”
“Whatever I want.”
Always a man of few words.
When he came out of his room, he wore a pair of gray fleece workout pants hung low on his hips and nothing else. My gaze followed the definition in his chest with wings tattooed across it down to the defined abs. I pursed my lips, and pulled my focus away.
“What do you like to change into?”
“A lion.”
My mouth dropped open. That impressive male body actually transformed into that of a lion?
Fuck me.
When he laughed, I realized I’d said it out loud.
“It wouldn’t be wise to change into a lion in the streets of London,” I added quickly.
“It isn’t wise to change into a lion anywhere,” he replied. “You can’t anywhere humans can see you and even in the jungle, you take the risk of being hunted. But it’s the form I prefer. That and a falcon.”
I tilted my head. “You can fly?”
He nodded. “I love it.”
More questions arose. What was it like to be in the various animal forms? But then he stepped closer and it was more difficult to focus. Not with him standing shirtless before me. My gaze traveled over his upper body, lingering on each indentation that carved out his abs. His beautifully toned olive skin pulled tight over defined muscle. The most magnificent form that he could shift into had to be this one.
“What else can you change into?”
“I can shift into any animal form I like.”
“That’s—um—that’s—amazing.” Why was I stuttering? He had an impressive body. Big deal.
Visions of us having sex here in this flat returned, and a shiver of heat ran through me.
“Funny coming from a vampire,” Devon said.
I shook my head to rid my mind of salacious thoughts and refocus on the conversation.
“Don’t you look at us like animals?” he said. “Correction, stinky animals?”
The only scent I caught of him was luscious human male, wild and earthy and masculine.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Looks as if I lost you for a minute. Your thoughts trail off somewhere?”
I cleared my throat. “Just wondering why vampires and shifters have had this hatred for each other’s species for so long. Do you know why it started?”
“No. But we tend to fear things we don’t understand. And then cover that fear up as hatred.”
“Do you hate all vampires? Or fear them? Or maybe you just don’t understand them?”
A shadow passed over his face. “For me, it’s personal.”
What the hell did that mean? “Why?”
Devon straightened and cleared his throat. “I hate the smell of dead things.” His face turned grim.
He was keeping something from me. I could tell by the sudden change of tone from pained to detached. Something had happened, but he wasn’t going to tell me.
“But, you don’t smell half bad for a dead girl.” He leaned in and inhaled the scent of my hair. “Not bad at all.” He smiled at me with a decadent glint.
He’d shifted tone again, now hiding behind a flirtatious banter. I couldn’t deny how it affected me, so I took a step back to focus on the task. “How the heck are we going to do this? Figure out who stole the painting, the money?”
“It’s the new millennium, so we’ll start with the tools of the age. The internet. Let’s see if we can bypass the lock and get back into your account. Otherwise, we’ll go to the bank in the morning.”
He sat down at a roll-top desk and opened his laptop. After bringing up my bank’s web page, he asked, “What’s your username?”
“I’m not going to tell you that.”
“I’m trying to help you,” he said.
“You weren’t until a few hours ago. It’s kind of hard to suddenly turn off my defensive radar and trust you.”
“Are you kidding me? I’m working for free to help you right now.”
“That doesn’t mean I can trust you. There’s got to be something in it for you. I’m guessing more money.”
“Fine.” He pushed back the chair. “Go ahead, log yourself in. It’s not like I can’t figure it out again.”
I sat down and started a private session in the browser before I tried to log in. Faced with the security warning again, I tried other options. Maybe I could reset my password; I knew all the security questions.
No luck. All my attempts gave me the same message. I had to talk to someone at the bank.
“Besides the millions that were funneled through my account,” I asked Devon, “did you notice anything else that stood out?”
He ran his fingers over his shaved head, and I found my eyes followed his movements.
“No. Why haven’t you logged in all this time?” Devon asked.
“I’m not dumb enough to leave a cyber trail. Stefano may not be good with computers, but he has money and resources.”
“That was smart. When I looked into your account activity, I didn’t find anything to help me track you.”
I groaned. “It irks me that you’ve hacked into my account and pried into my life.”
“The internet is a great asset for a bounty hunter with computer skills.”
“That isn’t good for me. I’m a vampire, and must live in the shadows, so humans don’t know of my existence.”
“As do I,” he said.
I tilted my head as I appraised him. “Interesting.”
“In what way?”
“As different as our kinds are, we have some common ground.”
He assessed me. “Perhaps. What did you think when you learned shapeshifters exist?”
“I never would have imagined the idea when I was human. Funny how becoming a vampire opens your perspective that the world isn’t just run by humans. But I only learned about shifters from a vampire’s point of view, from Stefano’s crew. And as you probably know, they focus on the animal part.”
“Have you met other shifters before?” he asked.
“No. You’re my first.”
“How did you know what I was?”
“Your scent.”
“How do I smell to you?”
I tried to place it. “Different from a human. And different from an animal. Sort of a combination of both, which is how I figured it out.”
“Do you find it offensive?”
“No. Initially the new scent struck me as odd because it was unfamiliar.”
Devon gave me a lopsided smile. “I was hoping you’d say alluring. Irresistible. Undeniably sexy.”
“Ha. You’re delusional.” My voice sounded strained, as if coming from someone else.
He walked closer with a predatory look in his eyes.
I swallowed. “Maybe a little.”
“Just a little?”
I should back off, but my feet stayed planted. Why was he looking at me t
hat way? Why was it suddenly two hundred degrees in the room?
“Maybe more.” My voice came out low and throaty.
He stood inches from me now, so close that it was difficult for me to concentrate.
“Even when you swore you hated me, a part of you was attracted to me in some way.”
My cheeks flushed as I remembered how I had seduced him with an ulterior motive, yet had enjoyed doing so.
“Look at me.” He put his hand on my chin and tilted it up.
My gaze darted around the room. When I relented and glanced into his eyes, his amber eyes shined with a golden heat, as if a fire smoldered beneath the surface.
We were alone in his flat. Nothing to stop us from rekindling that exquisite passion. Nothing except—Stefano.
My fate. We had less than twenty-four hours now. I couldn’t afford to divert our attention to anything else besides why we were here. To find out who stole the money and clear my name.
“Devon.” My quiet voice didn’t sound quite like my own.
“What?”
“We can’t do this.”
“Why?” He took his finger off my chin and sat back.
“Stefano,” I said. “The painting.”
Devon growled. “You’re right. Sorry. It’s hard when you’re so close. And you smell so good.”
That couldn’t be true, not after all he’d said about hating vampires. “A vampire smells good to you?”
“No. You smell good to me. Irresistible.”
He backed away and his sudden distance hit me like a loss.
“It’s still night,” he said. “We can’t call anyone just yet. I’m going to go online to see if I can get any leads. And then we should get some sleep. We’ll go to the bank first thing in the morning.
Burn: A shifter and vampire rock star romance (Underground Encounters Book 4) Page 11