Soul Sucker (15 page)

“What else?” He turned to look at her and her gaze immediately dropped to the luscious bulge of his cock. “You said that it was complicated.”

He shrugged. “It is, but that’s all you need to know.”

“Says who?”

She forced herself to look away from his boxers and into his face. He smiled at her. Had he done it deliberately? Flaunted his perfect body to distract her? She’d bedded some awesomely fit surfer dudes, but she reckoned there wasn’t a single inch of fat on this man. Her fingers twitched and she made her hands into fists. She would not reach out and see if he was as hard as he looked.

“Ms. Walsh, all I’m concerned about is your safety. Rossa has nothing to do with this case. He’s just an annoyance, one that I can easily control if I have to.”

Ella thought back to the brief moment when she’d touched the Fae and felt his power. Was Vadim suggesting he was more powerful than that? She also knew from past experience that he was unlikely to tell her anything else.

“Fine. I’m going to bed. Alone.” She stomped back toward her bedroom.

“Good night, Ms. Walsh.”

She made the mistake of looking over her shoulder just in time to see Vadim shed his boxers to reveal his ass before stretching luxuriously. She closed her eyes and repeated to herself, “I do not sleep with coworkers. I do
not
sleep with coworkers.” But she wanted to
so
badly... For the first time in her life she actually bolted.

Chapter Twelve

“Hey, Sam. How’s that empath list coming along?”

Ella paused at her associate’s cubicle and concealed a smile as he jumped a foot in the air and hastily clicked away from whatever social media site he’d been on. His thick red hair stood up on end as if he hadn’t brushed it for a week, and she was sure he’d been wearing the same T-shirt for three days straight. He made even her look respectable.

“It’s going okay. I’ll have it for you by the end of the week.” He leaned back in his chair and looked at her. “The survival rate for empaths isn’t very good, is it?”

“No.” She rubbed a small circle on the back of his faded T-shirt. This wasn’t something she could make light of with another empath. “But males tend to deal with it better than females.”

He didn’t smile. “I’m definitely getting a mate when I’m twenty-seven.”

“Good for you.” Ella straightened and turned away.

“Why haven’t you got one?”

She decided not to answer him, and instead headed for her office. She sat down at her desk and rubbed her hands over her face. It had been a horrible week. She’d attended both Christa and Laney’s funerals, Vadim and Alexei at her side, but there had been no sign of the Siren. Sam had confirmed that the OCOS correspondence between the empaths and their intended mates had been authentic and that both women were connected with the correct mates. They had also turned up nothing about the two men, who seemed to be just what they were supposed to be.

Everyone was on edge, knowing that another killing was likely unless they made some kind of breakthrough in the case. And yet there was nothing to go on. Nothing at all. The Siren had disappeared as silently as he had emerged.

Her birthday was fast approaching and Feehan was starting to give her concerned looks as her concentration wavered and her temper got shorter. Even Liz and Alexei had started to tread warily around her. The only person who seemed unaffected by her bitchiness was Vadim. In fact, he’d been almost too nice and overprotective of her for the last few days. But then he was convinced she was unstable anyway, and was already expecting the worst.

Ella sighed and peered through her fingers at her backpack. She’d had another letter from Otherworld and she was avoiding opening it. She stood up. Coffee first. The letter second.

When she returned to her desk, she shut the door and took out the now-familiar brown envelope from Otherworld. She placed it in front of her and slowly drank her coffee, hoping the kick of the caffeine would shield her from the contents of the note. She also spared a thought for the poor male who had been picked for her and who was currently oblivious to the fact that his fate hung in the balance. He would only find out about her if she agreed to go ahead with the match.

And she wouldn’t do that—would she?

Her fingers trembled as she slit open the flap and then shook out the single sheet of typewritten paper.

Dear Empath,

As you approach your most significant birthday, OCOS is delighted to present you with the name and some basic information about your pre-approved mate...

She read it through once and then read it again. “God, no.”

If you wish to meet with this male, please reply with all speed to the address at the top of this form.

If you choose not to accept this offer, we wish you well with the remainder of your short and painful existence.

Yours in anticipation,

The OCOS team.

She shot to her feet, then stormed out of her office, straight for the smaller conference room where she could see Alexei and Vadim. They both looked up as she screeched to a halt in front of them.

“May I speak to you, Morosov?” She glared at Alexei. “Alone?”

Alexei disappeared, slamming the door behind him in his haste. She held out the letter to Vadim.

“Did you know about this?” He took the letter from her and read it through before tossing it on the table. “Well?”

He stood up and looked at her, one hand resting on the table, which started to rock. “
Fucking
hell
.”

“Why would they pick you?”

“I don’t know. I swear to God I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

She took a deep breath and retrieved the letter. “It doesn’t have to change anything. I don’t have to accept the match. Hang on. Why aren’t you as furious as I am?”

“Because I received a letter, too.” He opened the drawer of his desk, drew out a familiar brown envelope and tossed it on the table.

“When the hell did you get that?”

He shrugged. “I can’t remember.”

“You lying fuck.” She snatched the envelope, took out the letter and read it out loud.

“Dear Potential Mate,

Thank you so much for your application for the position of psychic mate and anchor to one of our world’s most misunderstood subspecies—the empath. Your sacrifice enables our two great nations to live in harmony, offers you the opportunity to reside in either domain, and significantly impacts your quality of life.

When your potential mate contacts our office to accept you, we will be in touch.

Thank you again, and good luck!

*More details will be provided when your offer is accepted.

The OCOS team.”

She scrunched the letter into a ball, then threw it at Vadim, who didn’t even flinch.

“When did you know about this?” Her voice shook but there was nothing she could do about it.

“I wasn’t one hundred percent sure until I got the letter.”

“Okay, so when did you
suspect
something was up?”

“When I went into Alexei’s Fae-Web. Our fates seemed far too closely aligned. I assumed it meant we might have an affair, but when I got this, I realized the Fae-Web might be indicating a more permanent arrangement.”

“And you didn’t think to share that with me?”

“Why the hell would I? Do you think I was happy about it?” he snapped. “The last thing I need is to be trapped into another damaging emotional relationship with an empath.”

“And so you said nothing. Didn’t it occur to you that if you’d mentioned it earlier, I might’ve been able to find another mate?”

He retrieved the mangled letter and straightened it out, smoothing the paper with his long fingers, his gaze averted. “Don’t be ridiculous. Everyone knows that OCOS mates are the best possible matches for empaths. It’s one of the rare things that both governments agree on.” He met her gaze and she could still see the cold fury in his blue eyes. He liked to be manipulated about as much as she did.

“Listen, if it stops you from going mad, I’ll do it.”

“
What
?”

“It might work.”

“I couldn’t do that to you. I couldn’t do that to
anyone
.”

“Look, just think about it, will you?” He retreated behind his desk and pretended to shuffle his papers around.

She studied him closely. “Are you really that desperate not to fuck up this case?”

A muscle flexed in his jaw. “If that’s what you want to believe, go ahead. I’ve made my position clear.”

She folded her letter, then stuffed it into her pocket. “And I think I’ve made mine clear too.”

She turned and walked out, back to the sanctity of her office where she sat down and tried to make sense of the horrible, awful mess her life had become. Had she secretly decided to take the match OCOS offered her? Was that why she was so angry when she realized it was Vadim? Shouldn’t that make it better? She
knew
him. He was a great cook, had an awesome bod and tolerated her far better than the average person. How the hell had he gotten mixed up in this and why was he willing to go through with it?

Another far more awful thought occurred to her. Had the SBLE connived with OCOS to produce Vadim as her mate? Was her government determined that she stay sane enough to finish investigating this case? Vadim’s superiors certainly didn’t love him. Was that why he’d been so furious? Even though he hadn’t shared his earlier suspicions with her, this was no picnic for him either. Ella let out a shaky breath and considered her options. She could leave early and have everyone wondering whether she’d finally cracked up, or she could tough it out, show everyone—and by everyone she meant Morosov—that she was
totally
in control.

A knock on the door made her sit up straight.

“Come in.”

Liz put her head around the door. “Are you okay?”

Ella found a smile from somewhere. “I’m good. What’s up?”

“Feehan’s called a progress meeting.” Liz made a face. “I’m not sure why because there isn’t any, but it makes him feel better.”

“I’ll just get some more coffee and I’ll be right there.” She heaved herself to her feet and joined Liz in the hallway.

“Are you sure you’re okay, hon?” Liz asked. “Alexei said you were shouting at Vadim earlier.”

“What’s new? You know how we are. I definitely need more coffee.”

“You can’t afford to alienate him, Ella,” Liz said quietly. “He’s important both to the case and to you.”

“So I gather.”

She went into the conference room carefully avoiding looking at the whiteboard, which still showed pictures of Christa and Laney. Unfortunately, it meant she found herself looking straight at Vadim, who still reverberated with fury. She put her coffee on the table and got out her cell. She’d play a few rounds of zombie golf while she waited for Feehan to show up.

Eventually Feehan called the meeting to order and asked for updates. Sam raised his hand and Feehan smiled at him.

“What do you have for us?”

“I’ve tracked down a couple more of the empaths that graduated with Ella.” Sam consulted his notes. “Both of them are dead.”

Ella winced.

“By what cause?” Alexei asked.

“Jennifer Barton took an overdose and Maria Cordova was in a fatal car accident.”

“Do you have any more details?”

Sam looked up. “What else do you want to know?”

“Were there any suspicious circumstances surrounding the deaths? Police reports, autopsies, that kind of thing?” Alexei said patiently.

“I can find out.” Sam hesitated. “It does seem weird though, doesn’t it? All these empaths dying so young.”

“Tell me about it,” Ella said and then became aware that everyone was staring at her sympathetically. “But Sam has a point. The death rate for my particular graduating class does seem remarkably high, even for empaths.”

“Anything else?” Feehan looked around the table. Everyone shook their heads. “Well, keep looking, Sam. I’m sure we’re going to find something soon.”

Everyone except Sam and Ella stood up and started to leave. Ella looked over at Sam’s glum face. “What’s up?”

He heaved an exaggerated sigh. “I wanted to get home early today. It’s the weekend.”

“You go. Send me the files. I’ve got nothing much going on.”

“Are you serious?” Sam started to smile. “That’s awesome. I’ll shoot the files over to you right now.”

“You’re welcome.”

Ella watched him practically skip away and found herself trying to remember when she’d last been that happy. She didn’t begrudge him a moment of it. In six years’ time, he’d be feeling just like she was. But he’d already decided to take a mate, hadn’t he? Maybe shadowing her for the past few months had convinced him that it was the only option.

* * *

When she next checked the time, it was far later than she’d realized and the office was curiously silent. Even Feehan slipped out early on Fridays to avoid the traffic and get home for the weekend. Her investigations into the other empaths hadn’t cheered her up much either. She had a strong suspicion that both Jennifer Barton and Maria Cordova hadn’t died by accident. It seemed as if the authorities were so hung up on the idea of empaths choosing to kill themselves that they swept all the deaths under the rug regardless. Whether that was to avoid bad publicity, or to cut down on the paperwork, she didn’t have a clue.

She stretched and turned her computer off, aware of a headache beckoning and that she had no plans for the weekend ahead. Since Laney’s death, she’d lost interest in going out entirely. She didn’t even want to have sex. Well, that wasn’t quite true; she wanted to have sex with Vadim Morosov but every woman on the planet probably felt the same way.

But he’d offered to become her mate...

Because he hated to lose a case.

Ella picked up her backpack and headed for the door. She’d get some beer and a pizza, pick up some old movies and have a weekend in her jammies. She didn’t have many more before she lost it, so she might as well do what she wanted.

In an effort to conserve energy, the main lights had already been dimmed and the office seemed deserted. She got herself some more coffee and checked the time of the next ferry back to Tiburon. If she walked quickly, she’d make it.

As she wandered out toward the bank of elevators, she felt a presence behind her and the sharp, familiar scent of citrus.

“Hey, Morosov.”

Vadim came up alongside her. “Hi.”

One of Madison’s favorite phrases came into Ella’s mind.
Awkward
. “You’re here late.”

“I was checking out some of the foreign empath graduates for Sam. I speak several European languages and he was struggling with interpreting the data.”

“You mean he wanted to get home for his hot and heavy weekend.”

He didn’t smile. “That too.”

“How did your research go?”

“Bad, Ms. Walsh. If you include Natasha, all the Russian empaths are dead.”

“And no one noticed?”

“Since the fall of communism, the various governments have been busy dealing with a lot more important issues than the lack of empaths.”

“There’s no need to be so patronizing. I do know what’s going on in the rest of the world.”

He didn’t reply, his gaze fixed on the call button for the elevator.

She couldn’t think of anything else to say, and turned instead to the stairs. “Damn it.”

“What?”

She pointed at the yellow and black tape festooned over the entrance to the stairwell. “How did I miss that? The stairs are shut for maintenance.”