SeductiveTracks (6 page)

“We’ve discovered that in the last ten years or so you’ve
Retrieved five items from certain families who had been burgled. This drew our
attention,” Julian said, “because out of the countless items stolen in a series
of apparently linked cases, none of the other items have been recovered. My
partner and I are hoping you can give us further details about these objects
and how it came to be that you Retrieved them when others have had little to no
success.”

Matt felt no surprise whatsoever when Olivia grinned and
held her hands out, palms up in an innocent, near-shrugging gesture.

“Mr. Sherywn—” she started, before Julian cut her off with a
warm smile.

“Julian, please,” he insisted. Olivia smiled and nodded her
head in silent agreement.

“Julian, then,” she responded. A slight twinkle appeared in
her eye and she leaned forward toward Julian, tilting her head in a subtle, but
to Matt’s eye coquettish, manner. “I’m not one to brag, I promise, but I’ve
been in this industry for nearly thirteen years now. I’ve Retrieved thousands,
if not tens of thousands, of items. Is there more detail you could give me,
please? So I have a frame of reference to help you?”

Matt sat back in his chair and felt as if a light bulb had
gone off over his head. He nearly said “Aha!” but managed to restrain himself.
The light in Olivia’s eye and the faintly sexual manner with which she
responded to Julian’s questions and body language told Matt that she knew
exactly what they were asking about and had—not surprisingly—picked up on
Julian’s interest and was playing to it to distract him.

Julian described the items from the reports and Matt
continued to watch her interact with his partner. Her grins were at times coy,
but seemed genuine—she appeared to be sincerely interested. She turned her
shoulders to show herself off to best advantage and flicked her hair back after
toying with a curl as Julian spoke.

Julian, for his part, didn’t pant or drool, though Matt
snickered to himself and wondered how close he was to doing so. Olivia
Congreave, Matt decided, knew who Shadow was and had no intention of telling
them anything that might lead them in her direction.

Despite this, her answers, as far as they went, seemed
truthful. Yes, she remembered those items. No, she’d had no idea they were
connected to one thief. No, nothing different had struck her about any of the
Retrievals she had conducted—they had all been regular client work handed down
from her manager and spread over a matter of years.

Julian, Matt noted, seemed dejected to realize the questions
they had come for were drawing to a close. For the first time Matt leaned
forward and spoke up.

“We’re sorry to waste your time, Olivia,” he said as he and
Julian stood up to shake her hand. “Thank you so very much for answering our
questions. You’ve been a great help.”

“You haven’t wasted my time at all.” Olivia grinned at
Julian, giving him a quick wink. “Nothing I like more than having conversations
with sexy Enforcers. Gives a girl a bit of a thrill and something exciting to
call her friends up and talk about over the next few days.”

Julian cast a quick look at the clock on her desk and Matt
could feel the relief coming from him in waves. “It’s lunch time, I don’t
suppose we could—”

Matt felt alarm surge through him as he realized Julian was
about to invite Olivia out to lunch, but thankfully the redhead was already
shaking her head before he needed to say a word.

“I’m sorry. I’m meeting up with an old friend. It’s a
standing weekly date,” she added, appearing genuinely a little disappointed.
“Maybe another time? You have my number here.”

Julian seemed happy with this and nodded. Matt smiled as
they exchanged farewells and left Olivia’s office. They thanked Ida and said
goodbye as they passed her at her desk, then returned to the street. Instead of
walking to their car, however, Matt tapped Julian’s shoulder and indicated that
they should enter a small coffee bar opposite the Retrievers’ building.

Matt ordered a latte to go, paid, took his number and led
Julian to a quiet corner by the front windows that looked out over the street.

“Don’t you dare laugh,” Julian muttered. Matt shrugged and
kept his eyes trained out the window on the revolving door on the opposite side
of the road.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he replied, his mind still on Olivia
and her lunch date. “I nearly throttled you when you were going to invite her
out to lunch though.”

“Why?” Julian snapped. “I like her. She’s hot and looks as
if she’s a firecracker. And—”

“And you
do
realize she knows who Shadow is, right?”
Matt replied.

Before Julian could reply, the waitress brought over his
coffee. Matt remained silent as Julian thanked and tipped her. They sipped
their drinks, though Matt didn’t really want or need it.

Julian remained silent, his body language stiff with
disbelief. Matt cast a quick glance at his friend and raised his eyebrow. He
knew he’d not have to wait long for Julian to give in and reply, and knowing
Julian as he did the answer would be one of honesty and not the denial he
seemed blissfully encased in.

Julian didn’t disappoint him. He sighed and Matt knew he’d
come around.

“Fine. Yes, of course I realized that. It doesn’t mean she’s
bad, or is connected in any real way.”

“Of course not,” Matt retorted. “But it does mean she is our
one and only viable lead here. We’re going to follow her to lunch and hope to hell
we can organize a tap on her phone. Maybe we can even—”

Matt cut off in mid-sentence as he saw Olivia stride out of
the revolving doors. It was with slight amusement that he watched her look up
and down the street, as if searching to make sure neither he nor Julian was
lurking around a corner somewhere. Then she set off down the road.

“Damn, Red,” Matt heard Julian mutter to himself. “You’re
killing me, here. If you look and act stealthily it’s so much more obvious
you’re trying to hide something. What the hell have you got yourself into?”

Matt blinked from surprise but held his tongue. For a split
second he thought Julian had spotted someone else, the urge to look curiously
around them overpowering. But then he realized his partner referred to
Olivia—the nickname clearly from her luxurious, deeply red hair. Matt relaxed,
the tension melting from where his shoulders had instinctively hunched up.

“It’s all right, remember?” Matt reminded his friend as they
both followed after her. “We’re here to recruit Shadow, not arrest her, molest
her or beat her up.”

“Yeah, sure, and Olivia is really going to want to go out
with me after we ‘recruit’ her friend, right?” Julian replied.

Matt felt a wry smile twist his face. He couldn’t blame his
partner for being annoyed. Chances were he’d feel the same were the positions
reversed.

In near silence, they followed Olivia down a block and then
across another street. At each corner Olivia purposely missed the change in
lights, eying the tags on the cars as they drove by or parked. The witch
glanced around her and doubled back to be certain she wasn’t tailed. With years
of experience between them, Matt and Julian remained undiscovered, but it was
clear that Olivia felt paranoid after their visit.

The fact that she appeared determined to shake any tail gave
strength to Matt’s hope that she had working knowledge of Shadow. People with
nothing to hide rarely acted so paranoid. Finally, after what should have been
a ten-minute walk had been stretched out to twenty, Matt and Julian watched as
Olivia entered the paved area at the front of a local cafe.

Again, the men hung back a few stores down at a grocer,
picking up and sniffing at fruit as they watched Olivia.

The redhead looked around the tables until she saw a slender
brunette. They called out to each other and embraced before sitting down. From
habit, Matt opened his senses and focused his magic on this new person.

She was lithely built with short hair that skimmed her
shoulders, cut into a bob. The action of sensing her essence was instinctive—he
performed it whenever he met new people, as he never knew when he’d need to
know a signature to Track, or ignore during a Tracking.

Matt felt his jaw drop open in disbelief as he understood
what he was sensing. The brunette had no signature. He could sense Olivia—he
had memorized her signature not half an hour ago in her office. He could not,
however, sense this new woman. Her signature melded with Olivia’s and those of
the couple at the table behind them.

For the first time in his whole life, Matt was trying to
read and sense someone who to all intents and purposes could not be Tracked.

It could
not
be a coincidence.

“Why, hello there,” he whispered, almost to himself. Matt
didn’t even notice Julian peering at him. His whole attention remained riveted
on the brunette witch.

“Julian,” Matt said, “I do believe we have just discovered
Shadow.”

Matt could not believe the gripping level of excitement he
was feeling. His body hummed with adrenaline from the thrill of the hunt. Almost
giddy, he knew in some indefinable way deep within his soul that the witch he
was staring at was Shadow, a woman whose essence appeared to mask itself within
those of the magical people around her. It was something unique, something Matt
had never experienced before or even known before today could occur.

Part of him was dazzled by her stealth and thieving skills
as well, but that came second to his interest in and curiosity about her being
untrackable. Her sheer uniqueness set her apart from anyone he had ever met.

The fact that he found her very easy on the eye certainly
didn’t hinder his hunger to know her better. As he watched Shadow and Olivia
eat their salads, he drank in her every movement, memorizing her like no other.
Since he couldn’t Track her the traditional way, part of Matt wanted to be able
to pick her out of a crowd and be able to recognize her anywhere. A tiny part
of him feared to lose her, which he knew was insane, but in his secret,
innermost soul, he still could not deny the emotion.

Besides, memorizing her every detail was not a difficult
feat in the least. Warm, dark-brown hair swayed with each move of her head,
flipping around a delicate, angular face as she laughed and talked with her
friend. Deep-brown eyes the color of dark chocolate had him wondering if he
would melt into their depths should she be watching
him
with that
delicious gaze. At five foot six or so, Shadow was of average height, but her
body was lithe and muscular, more feminine than a gymnast’s but just as
athletic and graceful.

Matt felt instantly attracted to Shadow, and not just
because of the conundrum she posed to him. As a red-blooded man, he was aware
of her innate femininity. Her appeal to him was undeniably sexual as well as
intellectual. The challenge she presented drew him. The allure of such a
sensual package, a woman whom he couldn’t Track like any other witch or wizard
he knew, was intoxicating.

“Now who’s lost his mind and needs to check his chin for
drool?” Julian’s voice broke into Matt’s thoughts, a dry wit radiating from his
words.

Matt snickered, the irony not at all lost upon him. “At
least I’m not letting her every coquettish hair-flip render me mute,” he teased
back.

“Oh, sure.” Julian chuckled. “And I’ll bet you’d just sit
back and let me take her in to the Enforcers’ main lock-up, present her as a
world-renowned thief dubbed Shadow and let them put her in a cage.”

“Not a chance—” Matt snapped before he could even think.
When he realized he’d been baited so easily, he flushed. “I mean, you know Will
wants us to recruit her. Turning her in to the Enforcers or the human police
would be detrimental to our game plan. Right?”

“Right. Sure,” Julian replied, his tone more than his actual
words conveying his amusement.

“So we follow Shadow, right?” Matt clarified, hoping he
didn’t sound too eager. Julian raised an eyebrow, laughter rampant in his gray
eyes. Matt made a slight face and braced himself for more teasing. This time
deciding to take the higher road, Julian answered Matt’s question.

“I still think Olivia is in a better position to help us
with…” Julian caught Matt’s eye and sighed, knowing a losing battle when he saw
one. “Oh fine, I give in. Yes, Matthias. We should follow Shadow, since you
can’t Track her.”

Matt couldn’t have stopped the huge grin that spread across
his face even had he wanted to. He could tell Julian felt a deep interest in
Olivia. The truth was, though, that the brunette was very likely Shadow and,
regardless of his sensual interest in her, she was who they needed to speak to.

The witch ensnared him on a deep level he’d never
experienced before. Already—without even having met or spoken to her—he felt
himself attracted to her. He longed to drag his fingers through those short,
soft-looking strands of hair. Matt guessed he could easily cup her jaw in the
palm of his hand, tilt that angular face toward him and hungrily devour her
mouth with his lips and tongue.

Matt’s body heated just at the mental image, the imagined
sensory overload he could indulge in with this witch spiking his temperature.
He would open his senses wide to her, gather every minute detail possible so
she could never escape him again. Years of experience and training had taught
Matt that to a powerful Tracker, essence was not the be-all and end-all.

There were a million tiny, unconscious mannerisms he could
etch onto his memory so he could pick this particular witch from a cast of
thousands. Matt’s cock swelled eagerly, hot blood rushing to his smaller head
as he imagined the infinite, incredibly intimate details he yearned to discover
about her.

Most pressing of all was to taste her, touch her soft skin
and trace her every outline. The tips of his fingers twitched as he restrained
himself from reaching out as if to grab her and start right now.

Impatiently, he waited while Olivia and Shadow ate their
salads at one of the outside tables, right near the footpath. It couldn’t have
been more than half an hour before Olivia was glancing at her watch, yet it
felt like nearly forever to Matt. He struggled not to jiggle, hungering to move
forward as the witches stood up and embraced again.

Matt noted with interest that Olivia was two or three inches
shorter than Shadow. That new nugget of information made Shadow taller than he
had estimated earlier.

The witches hugged with casual, unthinking ease, as if they
had been doing it for years.

“She’s really something, isn’t she?” Julian half sighed.
Matt turned around, a growl on his lips until he caught Julian’s gaze. His
partner’s eyes were following the sultry redhead as she turned and walked back
in the direction of her office building. Feeling ashamed of his angry snap
reaction, Matt reached out a hand to clasp his friend’s shoulder and squeeze
it.

“She’s a firecracker,” he assured him. “A red-haired
bombshell, and she’ll probably drive you nuts. I seem to have a strong
preference for slender brunettes. Apparently I’m intrigued by the shady,
borderline-criminal style of witch.”

Julian snorted and shook his head.

“You are insane, my friend. Borderline-criminal?” Julian
repeated, sounding equal parts astonished and amused. “Take off the
rose-colored glasses, Matt. Your Shadow there is a fully fledged cat burglar
with a career spanning more than a decade and with close to forty heists to her
name. Probably, in reality, that number could easily be doubled for what she
has under her belt.”

“It sounds so bad when you put it like that,” Matt
complained as he scrunched his face up. Julian laughed and they followed Shadow
as she left the café and headed farther downtown.

Their banter halted as they followed her. Matt didn’t want
to distract either himself or Julian. The silence emanating from his partner
indicated that he held similar views. They would both look foolish if they
found their first real suspect, only to lose her because they were poking fun
at each other.

Matt studied Shadow as she walked. She gave no outward
indication that she was aware of them following her. Indeed, as Matt watched
her every move she seemed to be enjoying the sunny day and busy streets. Shadow
paused to glance at a few shop windows as she ambled through the crowds, her
posture and walk showing the attitude of a carefree, happy woman.

When she pushed open the front door of an older building
halfway down a block, Matt and Julian stopped at the corner and kept an eye on
the building. Matt feigned interest in the headlines on a small news cart
selling its wares at the busy intersection.

“That’s strange,” Matthias mused half to himself when he
glanced back. Shadow had entered the building and recognition rang tiny alarm
bells in his mind. He jogged the half block so she couldn’t get too far ahead
and lose them. Julian kept pace with him without a word and less than a minute
later they were slipping into the building’s foyer.

Blinking against the dramatic change in lighting, it took a
few seconds for Matt’s eyes to adjust. Julian seemed to get his bearings first
and he nudged Matt to indicate that he should move to the left. Trusting his
partner, he did so, just as he caught sight of Shadow’s slender body near the
far wall beside a row of elevators.

She appeared to be swiping a security card to the locked
doors next to the lifts. As she pulled open the door, a flight of stairs became
visible, leading down into what Matt could only assume was the basement. An
ornate, very aged sign labeled the entrance as the way to the archives.

“That’s the wizarding archives,” Matt explained. “This is
one of the few government buildings for our kind. Taxes and titles, births,
deaths and marriage certificates—all sorts of detailed documentation and forms
pass through this building. Wizards have been keeping their own records
separate from humans for so long it’s ingrained. The archives are where all our
records are kept after a certain number of years. The place is mammoth, as I’m
sure you could imagine. It runs in a labyrinth of rooms all connected together,
corridors and tunnels twisting and turning to protect the underground area. No
one really knows how far it reaches or even how many rooms and nooks there are.
The entire archive area is said to be kept under a rigid regime of
organization, but so few people work there that it would be impossible for
outsiders like us to know. Personally, I think there has to be an internal
structure to it, otherwise nothing would
ever
be found when we needed
it.”

“Birth and death certificates, marriages and property
titles…well, shit, no wonder she had no problems researching her hits.” Julian
whistled, amazed.

“Let’s go and see what she has to say for herself,” Matt
said. At the undeniable anticipation of his first face-to-face meeting with
Shadow, his breath came faster and his body shivered with excitement.

Matt had been Tracking people for years, yet he had never
been as pumped as he was now. His cock twitched with deep interest, his blood
heated and he felt his heart pounding in his chest. He craved to hear Shadow’s
voice, to hear what she had to say to him. He’d never indulged in the fantasy
of capturing the “bad guys” and questioning them, yet a dark, secret pleasure
coursed through him at the thought of interrogating this particular witch.

The style of bad-boy fantasies racing through his brain took
Matt by surprise but only deepened his growing lust for the witch. He worried
for a moment that he was spiraling out of control.

He hadn’t even spoken a single word to her. Were daydreams
of handcuffs, long, athletic expanses of Shadow’s naked thigh and “questioning”
her at length signs of something deeply disturbed within his psyche?

Only the presence of Julian next to him helped Matt to keep
a handle on his runaway emotions. He forced himself to focus on the mission and
not the intoxicating fantasy of licking a slow, hot path down the column of
Shadow’s bared throat.

After a moment’s pause to get himself back to reality, a
dozen questions ran through his mind all at once. Would her essence be easier
to read alone in the archives? With no one else around to camouflage her
signature, what would it read like? Would it continue to change to suit her
environment? Were her eyes a gorgeous brown, as they had seemed from where he’d
watched her eat lunch? What would those sensual brown strands of hair feel like
running through his fingers? Soft? Would they smell of her shampoo?

Down, boy,
he cautioned himself. Already his cock had
begun to twitch eagerly, as if to prove its interest also.
This is business
,
he tried to remind himself.
Business and a favor for Will.

It wasn’t as if he were about to ask her out on a date with
a bunch of roses. He wasn’t angling to take her out for a nice dinner, bring
her back to his apartment and see if her body was as lithe and supple as it
appeared under her shirt and—

Matt coughed and struggled to force his mind back to the
task at hand and away from the indulgent fantasies roaming through his brain.
Matt knew for a fact that Julian could not read his mind, but even so, as they
headed toward the basement door his friend laughed behind the back of his hand.

He had the uncanny idea that his friend knew exactly how
eager he felt. Maybe his breathing had quickened and his strides had lengthened,
but that could be his anticipation of completing the task Will had set for
them…

Damn
, Matt thought to himself with resignation.
I
can’t even convince myself of my innocence here
. Matt could only be
grateful that Julian
couldn’t
read the thoughts surging through his
brain at that moment. Certainly they were far worse than whatever his friend
believed, otherwise Julian would be digging into him, would never let him
forget this at all.

Matt pressed the intercom button at the entrance, curious
and nervous now he knew he was about to hear her voice, even tinny and
electronic-sounding over the box.

“Yes?” she said. Matt had to swallow to get some moisture in
his mouth before speaking.

“I’m Matthias Kestell,” he introduced himself, freezing for
a moment when he realized he didn’t have the faintest clue what Shadow’s real
name actually was. “I’m with the Enforcers. My partner Julian Sherwyn and I
would like to speak with you for a moment, please.”

There was a brief silence on the other end and for a moment
Matt wondered if she would become stubborn and refuse to buzz them through.
Wild thoughts of breaking the door down passed through his mind. He could just
imagine how much trouble such an action would get him into, with his superiors
at the Enforcers as well as Will.