To Love and Serve (11 page)

Chapter Eighteen

Diana loved the feel of the wind racing past them and the crisp smells of the early autumn night as they drove through Manhattan. She raised her head and took in the silver, glittering stars and the familiar Lower East Side skyscrapers, golden against the night sky. But then Ryder turned off Park Ave too early, heading away from his club.

“I thought we were going to The Lair?” she asked, swiveling on the bench seat to face him.

He shrugged uneasily and his hands clenched and unclenched the large steering wheel. “Some stuff is up there, and I thought—”

“You didn’t want to trouble me with it.”

He shot her a quick glance. “I guess you can say that.”

She laid a hand on his thigh and noted the tension in his body. “You should know by now I’m not afraid of trouble, and if you need me—”

“I know. I can just ask. But tonight, I didn’t want any drama.”

“What if I said I want to go? Want to remember what it was like that first time…the magic I felt with you?” She stroked his thigh, feeling tension of another kind work into his big body.

He groaned and sneaked another quick peek. “You’re not playing fair, darlin’.”

She grinned and inched up on her knees until she was close enough to whisper in his ear, “Didn’t you say all was fair in love and war?”

For good measure she licked the shell of his ear and he growled his response. “Never let it be said I didn’t fulfill a lady’s desire.”

With a chuckle and another quick swipe of her tongue, she sat back down. “No one ever said I was a lady.”

Her humor calmed the tension beneath the surface and with a few quick turns, they were on their way to The Lair.

As Ryder wheeled the car into the alley next to the club, she sighed and said, “That was nice.” It was dark and intimate between the tall buildings, and for a moment she imagined them climbing into that big back seat for some sexiness.

When Ryder shot a heated glance back there, too, she realized his thoughts weren’t far from hers. She tucked her legs beneath her, kneeled, and leaned forward to brush a kiss against his lips.

He smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist, keeping her close as he returned her kiss. “I’m glad you enjoyed the ride.”

“I did. It brought back some nice memories.” She raked her fingers through his thick, cocoa brown hair. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I wanted to. I want you to be happy.” Cradling her cheek, he rubbed his thumb along the line of it before tipping his head to kiss her again.

It began as a simple touch, but he lingered, tracing the edges of her lips with his, tunneling his hand into her hair as he deepened the kiss. She accepted, opening her mouth and sampling him. How she’d hungered for his taste. Needed the feel of his strong body hard against hers.

…

Ryder didn’t want the moment to end. This was how it should be. Simple. Loving. Full of promise.

Diana broke from him only long enough to draw a breath, then she met his mouth again. Her lips were mobile and welcoming. The soft press of her breasts against his chest, oh so tempting. But through the haze of his desire, the uneven beat of her heart registered. It was too unsteady. He held back, worried that the almost frantic rhythm was from more than passion.

When she bit his lower lip, he shuddered, fighting his need, but then a push of power grated against his vampire senses. An energy filled with both light and dark, and familiar now that he’d been touched by it.

Reluctantly he ended their kiss, leaned back, and glanced in the direction of the formidable energy.

Michaela stood there, a bemused smirk on her face.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she said, although it was clear she wasn’t sorry in the least.

Beside him, Diana tensed and reached toward her ankle where he was sure she had her Glock. He soothed her with a calming stroke of his hand along her back. “It’s okay. She’s a friend.”

With a sideways glance and a cop’s assessment of Michaela, Diana said with some bite, “Are you sure she’s old enough to be out at night?”

Michaela’s grin turned hard. “Old enough to kick vamp ass, but I’ll be gentle. You don’t look like you can take much punishment.”

Ah, the wonders of alpha women. “Ladies,” Ryder said before things could escalate. “Since we’re all on the same team here, let’s retract the claws. Diana, meet Michaela. She’s a slayer. Michaela, meet Diana. She’s with the FBI.”

The tension in Diana’s body barely eased, her muscles remaining tightly coiled.

Michaela approached the car, one hand resting on something by her hip, looking prepared for a fight.

Despite that, as Michaela reached the door, Diana stuck her hand up and over the car door with determination. “Hi.”

A second later, Michaela shook it with just as much resolve. “You’re J’s friend, aren’t you?”

Diana’s eyes widened in question. “Do you mean Jesus?”

Michaela laughed and shook her head. “Yes, Jesus. I call him J ‘cause I don’t want to be blasphemous when I call his name as I come.”

With a delighted hoot, Diana smacked her hands on her thighs, and elbowed Ryder playfully. “Sweet Lord, I think Jesus has his hands full with this one.”

With a quick look down at her ample breasts, Michaela grinned. “I certainly hope his hands are full.”

Ryder couldn’t help but chuckle. He knew Hernandez well enough to recognize Michaela’s do-anything, say-anything attitude was the antithesis of the ADIC’s reserved and business-like persona.

“Ladies, I think it’s time we went inside. I could use a drink.”

Michaela waved off his suggestion. “No drink for me. I’m on the clock. Thought you were, too.”

Beside him, Diana stiffened, but said nothing as Michaela swaggered away toward the bouncer at the back door of The Lair. The man looked at Ryder, as if to confirm her entry was acceptable, and Ryder nodded.

Once she was inside, Diana swiveled toward him, cradled the side of his face, and made him look at her.

“From the vibes I got, whatever’s going on is something major. Want to tell me about it?”

His desire to protect his undead friends warred with his need for Diana to stay safe and be able to end her suspension without incident so she could go back to the FBI. “It’s nothing you should worry about,” he assured her. But he could tell she didn’t quite buy it, and the magic they’d felt earlier had evaporated.

He intended to bring it back.

“Let’s go inside. Have a drink. Dance.” He threw open the Caddy’s door and stood, then held out his hand in invitation.

She peered at him for a long moment, but at length, she eased her hand into his and shimmied out of the car.

Together they walked to the back door, where Ryder tossed the convertible keys to the bouncer. “Would you mind driving this around to my parking space?”

The older man’s face split wide with a grin and he jumped up from his seat. “My pleasure, boss man.”

Diana gave a lopsided smile as the bouncer raced to the car. “You know he’s going to take it for a spin, don’t you?”

Ryder winked. “Yeah, I do.”

“So why didn’t you put it in the parking space yourself?”

He leaned down and nuzzled her cheek, and whispered against her ear, “I didn’t think you’d find it romantic to make out by the dumpster. Besides, we met in that alley. Or had you forgotten?”

…

Diana bit back a laugh.
Forget?
She would never forget the first time she laid eyes on him in that dark alley. She’d been undercover on a case, looking for a serial killer. She’d gone outside, hoping to lure the killer into following her, but had run into Ryder instead.

Glancing at him as he walked beside her, his hand resting possessively against the small of her back, he looked much the same. He’d been dressed all in black, just like now. When he’d stepped from the shadows into the dim light cast by a cloud-obscured moon, only one word had come to her mind.

Dangerous.

Little had she known just how many ways that would apply. They walked through the club, taking the long way around to the bar, since the dance floor was packed. Unusual for so early at night. As the cover band began to play, she recognized the hit song immediately, but also remembered they’d been the band playing the night they’d met.

“They’re a hot ticket now. How did you manage to get them?”

“Unlike some rock stars, they never forget their friends and they happened to be in the area.” He seemed pleased the details of their first meeting were still so vivid in her mind.

He was trying hard to please her. Maybe too hard. Maybe she should try harder, as well. She reached back to where his hand rested on her back and took hold of it. Then she laced her fingers with his, offering not just her touch, but her joy at being with him.

At the bar they wedged their way to the front, and when the bartender noticed them, he called out for the crowd to move aside. Despite the annoyed and envious looks cast their way, the throng parted before them like the Red Sea.

“What will it be, boss? Ms. Reyes?” the bartender asked as he wiped down the counter. They sat on adjacent stools, so close their legs scissored together, their thighs touching. His one knee rubbed her center almost intimately, kicking up heat as she imagined him pressing closer.

“Cuervo shooter for the lady. I’ll have a bourbon, neat.”

She leaned forward and teased, “Still a Southern boy at heart.”

“Always, darlin’,” he replied, adding a little extra drawl. He was well aware it always did something wicked to her insides.

Diana tamed the curl of desire he stoked higher with his every word and action.
Later
.

The bartender brought over their drinks and she took her time, savoring the tequila and allowing its bite to warm her as it slid down her throat. Ryder sipped his bourbon, the whole time his gaze remaining on her. As the noise in the club grew from the music and the crowd, he laid a hand on her thigh and urged her closer.

He leaned forward so he could talk to her without shouting.

“I didn’t think we’d have this kind of turnout tonight.”

Diana nodded and glanced around at the mass of twenty-somethings. They ranged from elite private school preps to Goths and poseurs who were the usual patrons of Ryder’s club. But with her vampire blood-enhanced senses, she detected a more worrisome contingent—a larger number of vampires than usual. Much higher.

She wondered if their presence was the reason for Michaela’s visit to the club. But she opted not to ask because of Ryder’s earlier comment. Instead, she downed the last bit of her tequila and nodded toward the dance floor. “Are you game?”

He tracked her gaze and grinned. “For sure.”

He flipped a twenty onto the bar as a tip and scooped her hand off his thigh. Clearing the way with his larger body, he guided her onto the dance floor. Somehow they managed to find a smidgen of free space and began to dance, but the dense crowd kept tossing them against each other.

Finally, Ryder eased his hands to her waist and brought her full against him. Leaning down, he whispered against her ear, “I guess it was just meant to be this way.”

“I guess.” She brought her hands to his shoulders and smoothed them across the broad width as they moved to the beat, their bodies melded together, hard to soft, every curve and hollow a perfect fit.

Being so near him was an experience close to nirvana. Every nuance of his muscles, the size of him so powerful and vibrant, tempted her as they swayed to the music. Even his smell, the citrusy scent he wore, was alive in her senses.

She laid her hand on his chest and felt the vampire-slow
lub dub
of his heart beneath the driving rhythm of the music. His heart beat for her. The pulse grew faster as desire roused. She dragged her hips along his erection, and he splayed his hands across her buttocks, guiding her actions. Surreptitiously, she undid a button on his shirt and spread the fabric to drop a kiss above his heart and lick the skin that was getting warmer as desire awakened the vampire in him.

A low growl snared her attention. She looked up into his still-human eyes. His pupils were dark with desire. It would only take a little more to push them both into taking the next step. But not here.

“I need a drink.” She glanced toward the bar. Even though the light was dim along the walls to allow for privacy, she spotted Michaela and Jesus at a table in the shadows on the far side of the club. His eyes widened when she met his gaze.

“And I see our friends,” she said, and pulled Ryder with her.

He held back, tugging on her hand to stop her. “It’s a table for two.”

She turned and shot him a playful look. “You’ve got a lap, right?”

“Actually no, since I’m standing,” he replied, either to annoy or deter.

She wasn’t going with either. With a quick pivot, she pulled him from the floor and sliced through the crowd, crossing the room with quick, purposeful strides.

When they stood before the other couple, she said, “So nice to see you again, J.”

Bright color flooded her ADIC’s cheeks and he glowered at his companion. “Please tell me you didn’t.”

Michaela shrugged and offered a not-too-apologetic flip of her hand. “I couldn’t resist.”

“I can’t either. Mind if we join you?” Diana asked cheerfully.

“It’s a table for two,” Jesus said, echoing Ryder.
Why were men so dense?

“Come on, J. We can share.” Michaela jumped up, then made herself at home on his knee. Ryder took Michaela’s former seat, and as Diana settled herself on his lap, he rolled his eyes at Jesus and said, “We’re doomed.”

Chapter Nineteen

“So, how long have you known J?” Diana asked Michaela, her gaze flicking from the slayer to her boss and back.

“We’ve been together for a few months now,” the younger woman answered, and slipped her arm around Jesus’s shoulders in a possessive gesture that also held a hint of challenge.

Diana did a quick reconnoiter, and determined they were far enough away from any other vampires and that the music loud enough to mask their discussion.

“I hear you’re a slayer. What does that mean, exactly?”

A nonchalant rise and fall of her shoulders preceded her explanation. “I slay vampires.”

She arched a brow and glanced at Ryder. “And you’re okay with that?”

Ryder shrugged. “Right now, we’re playing on the same team. Besides, she’s not all slayer. Part of her is like us.”

Diana glanced back at Michaela. “So you’re part vampire, too. Does that mean—”

“I’ve had to put the bite on a mortal on occasion,” she said, obviously uncomfortable with that admission.

Jesus rubbed his hand along her side in a comforting gesture. Diana supposed Michaela had shared some part of that story with him. That he’d been literally sucked into that world of weirdness and was still with the slayer spoke volumes about his feelings for her.

Trying to restore a lighter mood, she said, “I take it you’re a Jersey Girl?”

Michaela’s eyes widened in surprise. “How can you tell?”

Diana smiled. “The accent’s a dead giveaway. What exit?”

Michaela’s smile grew more welcoming and Diana could understand Jesus’s attraction. She really was a beautiful woman.

“Exit 100. Grew up in Bradley Beach. What about you? You’ve got some singsong going on there.”

“Miami. I left right after college. Came here for my master’s. Psychology.”

Jesus pretended to yawn. “Do you feel like chopped liver, Ryder? Because I think the two of us should just go have a beer while these two finish their job interviews,” he said, earning a sharp elbow from Michaela.

“She’s just trying to protect you, J. Isn’t that right, Diana?” Michaela countered.

Diana chuckled. “Yes, I protect my friends, and J is a friend. A
good
friend.”

Michaela’s gaze drifted over to Ryder. “And him? A friend with benefits?”

…

Ryder didn’t care for that question. Diana wrapped her arm around his neck and nuzzled the side of his face, then met his gaze and said, “Ryder and I are together, Michaela. He’s my friend and my only lover.”

He tightened his hold on her waist.

One of the harried waitresses came over. She noticed Ryder and became flustered. “I’m sorry, Mr. Latimer. I should have come over sooner.”

“That’s okay, Mindy. It’s a busy night.”

“Can I get you guys another round?” she asked, glancing at Jesus and Michaela.

Michaela ordered a Cuervo shooter, and Jesus said, “A Corona for me.”

She turned to Diana and Ryder. “How about you two?”

Diana unconsciously put a hand over her abdomen. “I’ll have a ginger ale.”

Ryder held up two fingers. “A bourbon, neat.” The waitress flashed him a smile and scurried away.

“Your employees like you,” Michaela said with surprise in her voice.

“I’m a fair boss. I don’t suck the life out of them,” he said wryly.

Michaela swept her gaze across the room and frowned. “This club. The Lair. It’s like a theme park for the undead. Why don’t you take your condition seriously?”

Ryder negligently stretched out his legs. “I didn’t ask to be this way, Michaela. I’ve done what I can with it. This—” he motioned to their surroundings— “was one of the ways I tried to keep myself sane. Remind myself that I wasn’t like the rest of them.”

“Ryder is one of the good guys, Michaela,” Jesus offered. “An ally who’s helped us often. Things are not always as black and white as you and your friends want to make them.”

Beside Ryder, Diana started. He understood her disbelief. From what he knew of the man, he generally was a stickler for the laws and regulations he was sworn to uphold. “Generally” being the operative word. Ryder was not too keen on how Jesus had recently bent those rules to suit his needs. Although he was pleased Diana was working, he was major league unhappy Jesus was just using her unofficially, and hadn’t gotten her suspension lifted.

The waitress returned at that awkward moment, sparing them all from commenting as she served their drinks. When she hurried away, Ryder lifted his glass and held it toward Jesus. “To friends.”

Jesus raised his glass. The two women were a little slower, but finally relented. Once they held their glasses high, Jesus repeated the toast.

“To friends.”

…

The sight made the Slayer sick to his stomach. The little bitch was sharing drinks with one of the vampire vermin. But then again, Michaela was half vermin herself. Blood always told. He’d arrived moments earlier, just in time to witness the disgusting spectacle. He didn’t know why the Council put up with her. Or why they took her into their midst as if she was one of them.

As far as he was concerned, she deserved a stake through the heart just as much as every one of the undead bloodsuckers, their treaty be damned. He would have his justice, no matter what the Council decreed.

Keeping his distance because Michaela was sure to register his presence, he scoped out the patrons in the bar. It was packed tonight, more so than when he’d done his first surveillance. Lots and lots of young humans, but also many newbie vampires.

That was good. They could not yet tell he was different. Or if they did, they might think he was like them. In truth, no one really knew the source of slayer energy. The rituals and practices employed to become slayers were born in blood, so maybe they were more like their enemy than the Council cared to admit.

Anger stirred within him at that thought. He was
not
like the vampires. He was not a monster.

After making his way to the bar, he ordered a drink then shifted as far from Michaela’s table as he could. Which brought him close to a female vampire lounging against one of the dark walls, watching the crowd…likely hunting for that night’s dinner.

He sauntered up and leaned against the wall beside her, and sipped his drink for a few minutes, not wanting to appear too eager. Then he bent close to be heard over the noise, and said, “It’s packed tonight.”

She nodded, staring straight ahead.

“Do you come here often?”

She shook her head and finally glanced in his direction. She had pretty eyes, a greenish hazel like the winter wheat his family used to harvest. “You know, that’s probably one of the worst pickup lines ever.”

He chuckled and flashed her a boyish grin that always worked. “I guess, but it made you look, didn’t it?”

She grinned and shook her head ruefully, amusement playing about her full lips. “That it did. I’m Amanda.”

“Amanda. That’s a beautiful name.”

“Again, lame. You’re really not all that good at this, are you?” she said, but inched closer to him.

Wrong.
He was
very
good at this.

She just didn’t realize it yet.

…

Diana sensed the abrupt tension in Ryder’s body at the same time Michaela set down her glass and swept her gaze across the club. “Something wrong?”

He shook his head, but also scrutinized the patrons, then said to the slayer, “By the front door. In the black cap and jacket.” Michaela craned her neck to look over the crowd. “I see him.”

A second later Ryder eased Diana off his lap. “I’ll be back, darlin’.”

He and Michaela bolted for the door.

Diana and Jesus both jumped up as their companions beelined it for the young man. She couldn’t see his face—his hat was pulled down low, and the collar of his leather duster obscured most of his features. His head whipped around for a moment, as if realizing he’d been made, then ran out the door, obviously aware Ryder and Michaela were hunting him.

“What the fuck is going on, Jesus?” Even as she said it, they were rushing after their companions.

At the door, a Goth woman hip-checked Michaela, blocking her way until Ryder snarled something and she backed off.

By the time Diana and Jesus reached the door, a crush of people packed the exit, closing off their pursuit. Vampires, she realized from the anxious beat of their power against her senses. What could be whipping such fear into them?

She laid a hand on Jesus’s chest to restrain him from elbowing the panicking patrons aside. “Let’s try the back door.”

He nodded and they dashed in the opposite direction, weaving through the throng of club-goers. At the stage entrance, they burst out the door and caught sight of a blur of two bodies charging past the mouth of the alley.

Michaela and Ryder moving at vamp speed.

They rushed over, but were too late. There was no sign of either their companions or the man who had captured their attention.

Diana’s heart punched a harsh rhythm from the burst of activity. She sucked in a deep breath, bent over, and held it, then drew in another, attempting to quiet the fierce heartbeat that pounded like a fist smashing against her ribs.

Jesus laid a hand on her back. “Are you okay?”

Not wanting to worry him, she nodded and gingerly rose, outwardly calm. Even with the slow motion, she experienced a wave of nausea that made her head whirl for a moment before the world righted itself.

She inhaled, trying to restore balance to her insides, which were a total mess. Her heartbeat slowed to a more normal rhythm, but a cold knot formed deep in her center. With another deep breath, she could feel the knot relax but shooting its icy tendrils through her body.

“They went that way.” She gestured up the street, but as she took a step in that direction, Michaela and Ryder hustled back around the corner. The disgust on their faces said it all. Jesus asked, “Mind telling us what that was all about?”

Michaela shook her head. “You and I agreed. I stay out of your business and you stay out of mine.”

“Slayer business?” Jesus pressed, lifting a brow.

“Vampire Council business,” she clarified.

Diana shot Ryder an icy glare. “So you’re on the Council now?”

He held up his hand, looking pained. “I’m just helping out.”

“Were you ever going to tell me?” Although after the way she’d acted toward him, maybe her question wasn’t fair.

Ryder’s jaw clenched and a muscle ticked along the strong line. He remained stonily silent, his hands fisted at his side.

“I think I need another drink,” Jesus finally said, breaking the tension.

“I think it’s time we went home,” Diana said.

Ryder nodded curtly. “I think it is.”

Without waiting for her, he turned on his heel and walked toward the back of the alley where the Cadillac would be parked.

Jesus glanced at his retreating back, then at her. “Will things be all right with him?”

With a rueful shake of her head, Diana said, “Hell, I wish I knew.”