The plane made a hair-raising landing in the middle of blinding rain and treacherous wind gusts. By the time they rolled to a stop, Cal had made permanent indentations in the armrests of the chair. He climbed out first, pelted by driving rain, and reached up to assist the ladies from the plane.
Ursula came first, extending a hand. The wind whipped at her hair and trench coat as she descended the steps. On the second from the bottom, she slipped and fell into Cal's arms.
Cal caught her and would have set her on her feet immediately, but she wrapped an arm around his neck and wouldn't let go.
“My, aren't you the hero,” she said. Before he could respond, she kissed him full on the lips. At the same time, he felt something nudge him inside his head.
“Eh-hem.” Demi stood on the last step, her eyes narrowed.
He practically dropped Ursula on the tarmac and reached out to Demi to help her to the ground.
She ignored his hands and stepped down effortlessly. “Not happy,” she said beneath her breath.
No amount of wind and rain muffled her whispered words. Even if he hadn't heard them, he'd have known by her expression. Demi was not at all pleased about the course of events.
Regret wouldn't get him out of the current situation. Cal could only move forward, accomplish the task and make amends later. “Come on. Let's get a rental car and get to the city.”
Inside the airport, passengers lined the hallways, sleeping on their luggage. Cal stopped to ask directions of an airport employee who told them that flights all over the east coast had been cancelled and to forget about getting a rental car. Those who could drive to their destinations had taken all of them.
“Great.” He left Demi and Ursula inside and stepped out to the taxi waiting area. The line was long and the taxis could barely keep up.
Cal drew his badge out of his pocket, flashed it at the tired people and moved to the front of the line. A taxi driver pulled forward in a bright yellow cab. He hauled himself out, pulling his collar up around his neck, squinting as the rain pelted him in the face. “Where to?”
“New York City.”
The man shook his head. “Sorry, I'm local.”
Cal dug his wallet out of his pocket. “I'll pay you the fare and a five-hundred-dollar tip.”
The man's eyes narrowed. “I'll take the tip up front.” He held out his hand.
Cal shook his head. “Half now, half when you get us to where we're going.”
“Fine.” He waved at the door where Demi and Ursula stood.
The women left the dry airport for the drenching rain. He loaded Ursula and Demi's suitcases into the trunk and handed the women into the car. Then he got in and handed the driver two hundred and fifty dollars.
Ursula sat in the middle between Cal and Demi. Considering they were there to protect her, it was the right thing to do. Still, Cal would rather have Demi beside him so that he could at least tell her how sorry he was at the way things were turning out and maybe hold her hand for the next hour and a half.
“My dispatcher wasn't happy about this,” the driver said. “He said the weather there is getting really bad with streets flooding and multicar pileups. I'm not even sure we'll be able to get in.”
“We'll get in,” Cal said. If he had to run barricades, they'd deliver Ursula to the council by morning come hell or high water. And it looked like high water was a distinct possibility. He hoped hell would hold off.
“What's the news on the storm?” Demi asked.
The driver glanced into the mirror. “It's headed right for New York City.”
The hour and a half stretched into two, then three as they encountered heavier than usual traffic, bogged down in the nasty weather. Demi filled Cal in on what Chief Warner had told her, keeping her voice low enough the cabbie couldn't overhear.
“Hello,” Ursula said. “I'm still here in case you didn't notice.”
“Oh, we noticed,” Demi said.
“Is there any truth to the rumor that you're seeing a demon?” Cal asked.
Ursula shrugged an elegant shoulder. “Maybe there is, maybe there isn't.”
“It would be nice to know what we might be up against in the city.”
“You know as much as I do.” Ursula sighed. “I just want to get this over with. I have better things to do than condemn a vampire to hell.”
“So far we haven't run into any interference other than the weather. Can you give us a clue as to what Alexei might throw in our paths?” Cal persisted.
Her lips twisted into a sneer. “There's no end to the destruction he can create.”
“Vague.” Demi rolled her eyes. “Were you a politician in another life?”
Ursula fell silent, that damned half smile playing across her lips for most of the trip.
Cal didn't like it. He suspected there was a lot Ursula knew that she wasn't telling them. Heading into a city teeming with paranorms preparing for the council meeting of the century, he'd rather have had as much information as possible. Instead, he was going in blind.
A cold feeling swept over him, warning him that it wasn't going to be a cakewalk.
When they finally arrived in the outskirts of the city and tried to cross the Brooklyn Bridge, barricades had been erected, blocking traffic into New York City. A cop car straddled the lanes, lights flashing.
Cal got out, rain lashing at his face, and spoke with the cop decked out in a rain slicker and waterproof hat, waving an orange light at him. “We have to get in.”
“Sorry, I'm under orders to block all traffic coming into the city. With the streets beginning to flood, no one goes in. Only outbound traffic is allowed through here.”
“No, really. We
have
to get in.”
The cop stood his ground. “No one goes in. Now get back in your car or I'll pull my weapon.”
Chapter Three
Demi rolled the window down enough so she could overhear the conversation outside, but she remained in the taxi with Ursula. Ever since they'd arrived in New York, the woman had been increasingly tense, her movements jerky, her eyes darting right and left.
Demi blinked at the rain blowing in through the crack of the window, refusing to close it despite getting wet. Her first time alone with the woman, except for the taxi driver, Demi felt responsible for finding out more about her. Or maybe she just wanted to fill the awkward silence stretching between them, punctuated by the wind rocking the taxi. “Looking for someone you know?”
Ursula gave her the briefest of glances. “Perhaps.”
Demi crossed her arms. “Well, forget it. Until you've done your thing at the council, you're with us.”
Ursula gave a soft snort. “Only because I choose to be.”
“Try to run and I'll shoot you.”
“Really?” Her brows rose. “Would be kind of hard considering you don't carry a gun.”
“Fine. I'll have Cal shoot you.”
“He wouldn't. Not without good cause.”
Demi's hand curled in her pocket around the protection charm.
“And don't try any amateur witch's spells on me,” Ursula sneered. “They won't work.”
“You know that becauseâ¦?”
“I'm a telepathic demon. You can't sneak up on me.”
Demi sat back, surprised at the woman's admission. “I knew you were a telepath, I didn't know you were a demon.”
“You don't know much, do you?”
“What's the problem, anyway?” Demi fixed a narrow-eyed glare at her. “Are you that anxious to see your old lover? Or is it the new one?”
Ursula looked down her nose at her. “I don't know what you're talking about.”
“From what the chief said about Alexei, he's pretty powerful in the world of paranorms.”
“And humans.”
“Right. So who are you looking for?”
“No one.” Though she was trying to look cool and calm, her gaze darted out the window again. “What's keeping Agent Black? Will this trip never end?”
“My thoughts exactly.” Demi shook her head, staring out at Cal arguing with the police officer. “I had plans for this weekend. And they didn't include you.”
“You and Cal are lovers.” Ursula's words were a statement, not a question.
Demi nodded. “Yeah.” She wanted to add,
so back off, bitch
, but she held her tongue.
“You want to be with him even when there is danger present?”
“Especially when there is danger present.” Demi wondered where she was going with her comments. “What about you? This new lover. Is he in danger of retribution from Alexei?”
Ursula nodded. “I didn't think anyone knew about him.”
“All I got was the rumor. No names.”
“It's enough.” Her hands twisted in her lap. “Alexei has a lot of power. He can find anyone.”
“He's a captive of the council.”
“There are many who would do his bidding, captive or not.”
“If he's so bad, why are you testifying against him?” Demi studied the woman. “Aren't you afraid he'll kill you before you can get there?”
“I'm not afraid of him for
my
sake.”
“What about your lover?” Demi asked softly.
Ursula drew in a deep breath and stared out at the men arguing in front of the taxi. “You don't like me much, do you?” The corners of Ursula's mouth twitched.
“You tell me. You're the telepath.” Demi looked away.
“You're mad because you want to be alone with Cal.” Her gaze swept to Cal standing in the rain, getting drenched but looking good enough to eat. “I can understand your frustration. He is quite a catch.”
“I'm not in the habit of
catching
men.” Demi's cheeks grew hot and her hands clenched in her lap. “But we have an understanding.”
“And you want me to leave him alone, right?”
Demi's mouth tightened. “That would be correct.”
Ursula directed her gaze at Demi, her eyes burningly intense. “Then leave me alone and quit asking questions.”
Outside, Cal flashed his badge and told the cop, “We have to get to the Fifth Precinct. They're expecting us. Hell, they were expecting us hours ago.”
“Sorry. Ain't happening.” The cop glanced around at another car trying to get by his barricade. He stepped in front of it and directed the driver to turn around.
Cal grabbed the cop's arm. “It's imperative we get to the Fifth Precinct in Manhattan. It's an emergency.”
The cop glared at him. “An emergency on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on mine.”
“Get your supervisor on the horn and get clearance, or we'll make our own clearance. Do you understand?”
Demi wanted to cheer for Cal. By the goddesses, he was handsome, dripping wet and angry.
When Cal refused to move, the cop sighed, clicked the button on his handheld radio and stepped away for a moment. After a few moments, he returned and moved the temporary barriers.
Cal climbed into the taxi. They crossed the bridge and entered Manhattan.
Ursula sat forward, her eyes wide, scanning the streets and passing vehicles.
Downtown Manhattan was a nightmare of people loading belongings and suitcases into taxis, all headed off the island to higher, safer ground. If the storm persisted and lightning intensified, there could be power outages.
Traffic moved so slowly, they could have walked the long blocks faster than by taxi. But the rain poured down in sheets, discouraging them from trying.
The nearer they moved to the Fifth Precinct, the slower they moved and the more agitated Ursula became. “Is this necessary? I'd prefer to walk from here.”
“No.” Cal shook his head. “For one, we wouldn't be able to see a threat until it hit us, and two, we haven't been detected thus far. Let's keep it that way.”
The woman sat back and stewed.
Demi fought a smile. The calm and collected beauty had a nervous twitch after all. Then again, when you had one of the most dangerous vampires in the past three centuries after you, you had good reason. Her smile slid away and Demi's gaze went to the windows.
At one point, a man stepped off the sidewalk and pounded on the door of the cab, yelling something about needing a damned ride out of this hellhole.
Demi jumped and checked the lock on her door.
The taxi driver honked and kept moving. “This ain't worth five hundred dollars.”
“Just get us there,” Cal said, his jaw tight, his hand poised on his weapon.
Demi shivered, not only from being damp from the previously open window, but because of how dark and sinister-looking the city had become. Night had settled in and the rain made it hard to see, distorting the street and neon lights shining along the sidewalks and the sides of buildings.
“This is it,” the driver said at last.
Cal glanced up at the building with the lettering Fifth Precinct barely decipherable through the downpour. He leaned over the seat and handed the man his department credit card. “The chief is not going to be happy,” he muttered as he signed for a very large sum and handed the receipt to the cabbie.
The driver held out his hand again.
“Thanks, and good luck getting out of the city.” Cal slapped a wad of cash into his palm.
“I'll need it.”
Cal got out first and then opened the door for Demi and Ursula, helping them out onto the sidewalk.
Demi started for the door, but stopped when Ursula stepped out to her left.
“Uh-uh. You're coming with us.”
“I want to make one stop.”
“No. It's too dangerous with all the people on the streets stocking up on groceries and candles in case the power goes out. Not to mention the little issue of Alexei's men gunning for you.” Demi grabbed the woman's arm and hauled her toward the door.
Ursula jerked free and made a run for it.
Tired, drenched and pissed off, Demi had more than had enough and was too tired to give chase.