“Take your hands off her!” Jeremy stood tall. Green eyes ablaze, he looked like an Old Testament prophet. His light hung suspended off to one side, the lumens cranked up tenfold. Raising his hands, he lobbed rounds of crackling heat at her tormentors.
One screamed as his ratty jacket caught fire. The hands that had been holding her melted away. She heard curses against the evil eye and someone saying it must’ve been “da witch” after all, as she got her feet under her.
Jeremy made a grab for her. He picked up her purse and computer bag, slinging them over his shoulders. “Hurry, Cassie.” He pushed her ahead of him down the filth-laden walkway.
Breath whistled in her throat as she avoided stepping in puddles that stank of piss, all the while modulating terror that made her want to shrink into a howling ball of anguish. It took forever to get to the staircase that would lead them out.
Near the top of the second set of stairs she turned, murmuring, “Thanks. What did you do back there?”
“Nothing.” His normally gentle voice was terse. The eldritch light had long since disappeared.
“That means you won’t tell me.”
“That’s exactly what it means. Now move. I bought us time, that’s all. It’s entirely possible they’re deciding to come after us while we’re standing here talking. That won’t happen once we’re outside.”
Feeling as if she’d stumbled into a bad episode of Fringe, Cassie pushed leaden limbs up the last of the metal risers. Her mind skittered away from how close she’d come to being an appetizer for those ghastly men. She swallowed down bile sitting at the back of her throat, but it just made her feel sicker.
Out of the catacombs, she pulled the edges of her tattered top together under her inadequate coat. The rain had stopped, replaced by fog so thick you could practically eat it. “This way.” She motioned, so shaky she was surprised her legs didn’t give way. “You can dump my stuff in the back seat once I get the car open.”
Got to get hold of myself. I’m not really hurt. Just scared.
Cassie unlocked the car, pulled off her wet jacket and ruined top, and put on a sweater she kept in the trunk for emergencies. “Are you going to tell me what you did down there?” she asked again as she nosed the car into surprisingly heavy traffic.
“No. It’s not that I don’t want to.” His voice softened. “I can’t. There are strict prohibitions against discussing magic with mortals.” He snorted. “You wouldn’t want me to end up a frog would you?”
“Surely you’re joking.”
“No. I’m not.”
He paused before changing the subject. “How close are you with your Ouija simulation?”
“It’s odd.” She drove at a snail’s pace, grateful to have something to think about other than what just happened. “Some days, I’m only a couple of resistors away from victory, but something unexpected always intrudes. That’s when I fear I’ll never, ever figure it out.”
“You won’t finish it until you get away from Tyler. He likes Eleanora just where she is. Maybe he even needs her there. She’s looked worse every time I’ve seen her. It’s almost like he’s feeding off her. Draining her psychic energy to boost his own.”
“Tyler doesn’t know about e-Ouija—”
“Of course he does. He can read your mind.”
Uh-oh. There’s that thing Mom told me about words. Now that I hear them, I know they’re true.
She thought about the burglaries and when she’d been hacked. “So, uh, how exactly does that work? Can he see everything I’m thinking?”
“Of course not. It takes magic to insert yourself into another’s head. Besides, it would drive someone mad if everything in everyone else’s head bombarded them all the time.”
“So I have no idea what he knows—or doesn’t know.”
A long-drawn out sigh, heavy on the sibilants, had the same effect as chalk scraping down a blackboard. “Just assume he knows everything.”
Sorry I asked.
She shivered convulsively and turned up the car’s heater. Getting rid of Tyler wouldn’t be easy. The previous night’s conversation played all over again in her head. She’d asked him to leave several times before that too. At first he’d humored her. Judging from last night, he was done with that strategy.
“You have any ideas?” She glanced at Jeremy. He sat very straight, arms folded across his chest, staring out the windshield. It looked like he was in some sort of trance. She wondered if he’d even heard her.
They drove in silence. Cassie yearned for a magical solution that would simply whisk Tyler out of her life, so she wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore.
A sharp intake of breath battered her right before Jeremy screeched, “Brake!”
She stomped on the pedal as hard as she could, the squeal of her tires sliding on rain-slick pavement loud in her ears. Her body was thrown forward into her seatbelt before it lurched back and hit the seat.
“Oomph. Fuck!” She exhaled raggedly, raking the darkness for whatever Jeremy had seen.
“We missed them.” He blew out a tense-sounding breath of his own. “Thank the goddess.” Following the line of his pointing finger, she could just make out a woman carrying a baby. A toddler held tight to her other hand. The woman’s mouth was twisted in horror as she looked back over one shoulder at the Subaru, while dragging the toddler to the safety of the sidewalk.
“Jesus,” Cassie said shakily. She pulled into the first parking place she could find. “Do you want to drive?”
“Better if you do. That way I can watch over us. Come here for a few minutes first.” He held out his arms, and she half-fell across the console into them. He twisted his hands into her hair and murmured soothing nonsensical sounds. She thought about turning her mouth up for the kiss that would be there, but she still felt dirty from what happened in the catacombs and shaken from her near-brush with vehicular manslaughter.
She needed answers more than passion. “You’ve never used your magic this much around me. Please, what’s going on?” The steady beat of his heart was soothing where her head lay against his chest. She let him stroke her hair and ease her jangled nerves until she remembered Tyler wanted her home by ten. It was already past that. Fears for her mother bombarded her.
She pulled away, settling back into her own seat. “Why are you using so much magic?” she repeated. “I don’t understand—”
“You’ve never needed it this much.” When he raised his gaze, his eyes looked ancient and otherworldly in the glare from a streetlight.
“Y-you’re n-not human.”
“Neither are you.” He chuckled dryly. “Not with Eleanora’s blood. Never mind your father’s, but that doesn’t matter.”
“What does?” she asked feebly, thinking of all the years she’d hung around with him. Of classes they’d shared. And meals and plays and movies.
Yes, and in all that time I’ve never gone to his home. He always came to mine. He never told me anything about any family. Or his lovers, if he has any. It’s like he only exists in my mind and when he’s with me…
Outside her window, fog rolled around the car, casting macabre shadows.
“Let it go, Cassie. I’m just your friend, Jeremy.” There was a pause. “Who’d like to be more than that.”
“Why were you waiting in my office tonight?”
“Because you needed me to be there.”
Just like Mom. He’s psychic just like Mom.
A flash of insight slammed into her. “Mom found you for me, didn’t she?”
“No. But I’ve known Eleanora for a long time. Drive, Cassie,” he said wearily. Turning away from her, he took up his vigil staring through the Subaru’s cracked windshield.
Okay. I can do that.
She rolled down her window, peering into the mist. Not seeing any other headlights—or pedestrians—she pulled out carefully and set a course toward Eleanora’s rambling, English Tudor mansion.
“If you can split your attention, figure out how we can ge
t Tyler out of my house. Permanently.” She tightened her fingers around the steering wheel.
An unpleasant laugh wafted across the car. “It’s not easy to get rid of the gifted. Even if you think he’s gone, he’ll have ways of showing back up. No, Cassie. The only way to eliminate Tyler is to kill him. I fear that’s the sole route to bring Eleanora back too. I didn’t fully understand the stakes here until last night— Uh, I mean until I sensed what was lurking in your lobby.”
“Not a good save.” Cassie was too tired to play games, and she couldn’t wrap her mind around murdering anyone—even Tyler. “What were you going to say about last night? You never told me why you called.”
“Remember your mother’s silver urn?”
“Of course. She could see things in it.”
He took a deep breath. “Well, I can do much the same. I visited your house, in a psychic sense, and found it shrouded in darkness.”
It was Cassie’s turn to steady her breathing. Just tell him, goddammit. “I— When I was talking to Tyler last night, for just a little bit, he looked like a demon.”
“What?” Jeremy’s voice rose, loud in the confines of the car. “Why the hell didn’t you say something last night?”
“Because it seemed too fantastic to be real.”
He made a sound between a snort and a snarl. “You’re Eleanora’s daughter. Didn’t she teach you that nothing is too fantastic to be real? Don’t you see? This could be the link that ties everything together. If that’s what he is, we can exorcise him. I know how to do that.”
“Stop.” She forced her reluctant vocal chords to form words. “Don’t tell me any more.”
He paused a beat. “If you don’t want to discuss exorcising demons, how about this? I don’t think that woman you nearly hit was accidental. About the only thing Tyler wasn’t mixed up in tonight was what happened in the ’combs.”
“That can’t be. Why would he nearly kill me? He’s waiting for me to come home.” Her voice ran down. For a second she felt as if she were strangling and dragged a lungful of air around the thickening in her throat.
“Or he’s doing his damnedest to see you don’t.” Jeremy cast a sidelong glance her way.
Her mind raced. Her skin went from burning hot to freezing cold. “I get it that he’s out to get me, but surely there’s another way to make him go away. Something shy of murder. Shit! I—I can’t even kill spiders. Or the rats in the basement.”
“Another way, like what?”
Yeah, like what? It’s not that I haven’t tried to get rid of him. He just ignores me.
“Maybe if I filed a complaint with the police.” That sounded weak, even to her.
The law could chase Tyler off, but they couldn’t police her house twenty-four-seven. Eleanora was completely vulnerable in her current state. What if Tyler kidnapped her? Or completed his scheme to murder them both?
“Cassie,” Jeremy said quietly. “If we don’t kill him, he’ll figure out a way to get rid of you, and Eleanora too. That’s what the trap in your lobby was about. If you were cursed, I’d know it. You’re not.”
“He did tell me last night I might meet with an unfortunate accident and to watch my back.”
“Just another small item you failed to tell me about.” Jeremy’s voice chilled her. He was angry, and probably hurt she hadn’t confided in him. “Dig deep, Cassionetta. I can’t do this alone. I need your help. What else haven’t you told me?”
Her mouth gaped open and closed like a fish suddenly tossed from a pond. It was a monumental struggle to find her voice. “Nothing. I mean, I’ve told you everything now. How are we going to, ah, do away with him?” she choked out. This was a side of Jeremy she’d never seen before, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.
“You’ll seduce him and, while he’s busy, I’ll take care of the rest.”
She sniggered as she turned into her driveway. The crazed, razor-sharp edges of her laughter told her just how close she was to losing it entirely.
“What’s so funny?”
“He stopped fucking me quite a while ago. Once he moved in, there were a few token rounds of sex, and then he relocated to the north wing of the ground floor. Said his magic required celibacy, which is a joke since he’s having sex and lots of it. Just not with me. There are hot and cold running women here. One leaves and another shows up.”
Letting Jeremy think, or whatever he was doing, she hit the remote and the metal-embossed garage door slid upward. Pulling into the well-lighted garage next to her mother’s Aston Martin, Cassie was astonished she’d actually made it home. Between the sinister presence in her lobby, the attack in the catacombs, and the nerve-wracking drive through the fog, she felt frazzled. Never mind her perpetual design failures with e-Ouija and whatever Tyler was plotting.
Crap. I liked it better when I didn’t know as much.
Chapter 5
She’d just pushed her car door open when the door to the house banged against its stops.
“It’s about fucking time,” Tyler growled, his handsome features twisted into something unpleasant. His usual gypsyesque flowing clothing showcased his magnificent body. It was obvious he was in full seduction mode—for someone else.
“It was foggy,” she protested. “I couldn’t go very fast.”
“Ugh! You actually brought that trash home with you?” Tyler peered into the Subaru. “Does he like girls all of a sudden?”
“What if he does?” Out of the car and on her feet, Cassie stared him down. “You don’t seem to. So hey, any port in a storm.”
“You have no idea what I like,” he muttered. “I don’t want you to…” His voice trailed off. “Never mind. I’m taking your mother’s car,” he announced, changing the subject. The keys dangled from one hand.
“Like hell you are.”
Jeremy’s right. Tyler does want it all. He’s had a taste of the high life and now…
Tyler headed for the white Aston Martin coupe with its plush black leather interior.
“If you leave this house with that car,” Cassie spat through clenched teeth, “I will call the police and tell them you stole it.”
That stopped him. Whirling, he turned to stare at her. The daggers in his eyes dissolved seconds after she’d seen them. He carefully smoothed his features. “Cassie, honey,” he began, compulsion in his suddenly-mellifluous voice.
“Nope,” she snapped. “Give.” She held out her hand for the keys. “I mean it. That does not belong to you. In fact, like I told you last night, I want you out of here tomorrow. You don’t get any more tomorrows here after that.”
“You can’t do that.” His face darkened, the honeyed tones forgotten as he threw the keys at her.
“Oh, but I can.” She smiled sweetly, snaking out a hand to catch the keys. “You have no right here. No blood ties, nothing. You suckered me, Tyler MacKenzie, and the sucker’s game is up.”
“We can talk about this another time. I’m late. Really do need a car. Please, Cass. I know I haven’t been especially attentive here of late, but I’ve just been working so hard. I’ll, uh, come to your room after I get home.” The compulsion was back in his voice, almost like one of the glamours her mother donned from time to time.
Be nice. Jeremy said I have to lure him to my bed somehow…
She raised her eyebrows speculatively. “You still can’t have Mom’s car, but here.” Fishing around in her purse, she pulled out two twenties.
“What’s that for?”
“Cab fare? You said you needed to get somewhere. I’m guessing your car’s broken.”
A dark red swept across his sharp-boned face.
The bastard’s lying. There’s nothing wrong with his VW, and now he’s trapped himself.
Snatching up the bills, he dug his cell phone out of a pocket and pressed a couple of buttons before turning on his heel to stalk out into the night.
“Do we still have a date for later?” she called after him, trying to infuse a seductive undertone into the words
.
“If you insist.”
“Don’t forget the condoms.”
“Oh, please. If you make it too much trouble, I’ll skip the whole thing.”
The garage door creaked as it closed. “Brilliant.” Jeremy smiled at her. He handed her purse and computer to her before getting out of the car and heading toward the steps that lead into the house. He pulled open the door and crooked a finger her way.
Traipsing heavily up the few steps leading to a short hallway, Cassie followed him into the dimly lit kitchen and set her things down. Hector was curled on the countertop purring loudly. His amber eyes shone like beacons in the low light. “Hey there, boy,” she cooed, dipping her fingers into his lush fur and scratching behind his ears.
Hector purred even louder and let out a contented mrroww before jumping down and strolling casually through the glass-beaded curtain leading into the central part of the house. A discontented squawk from Murietta, likely on her perch in the library, told Cassie the cat was probably engaging in some gratuitous bird-baiting, a sport he never tired of.
“Mind if I make a snack?” Jeremy stared inside the large stainless steel refrigerator.
“You’re hungry?” she asked incredulously. “How the hell can you even think about food after talking about murder?”
“It’s not like it was in the same sentence,” he pointed out, balancing a hunk of cheese, a bottle of mayonnaise, and a loaf of whole wheat bread. He backed away from the fridge, shoving the door shut.
“Eat.” She motioned wearily, picking up her purse and computer. “I’m going to take a shower and put something else on. I smell like the bums in the catacombs.”
Jeremy slapped a sandwich together. When he looked at the final product, he was surprised the cheese was actually between the slices of bread because his mind was running a million miles an hour. While it had been excruciatingly difficult, the previous night had given him exactly the break he’d been looking for. If the goddess was good to him, soon Tyler would no longer be a problem.
Although he was almost too keyed up to eat, he had to. He’d drained his magic almost down to bedrock the night before. Rescuing Cassie from the bums in the catacombs hadn’t helped. Running on adrenaline and no sleep, he forced himself to chew and swallow, but it was impossible to quiet his thoughts.
Alphas for the Holidays Page 83