Vampire's Companion (8 page)

Skye Delano had. First on the night Brittany Armstrong’s body was found. Then later, when she’d read the transcripts and afterward watched the interrogation room recording and seen for herself Skye’s ability to hypnotize using nothing more than voice and eyes.

In hindsight, Cia could cede that she’d been wrong that day at the police station. It embarrassed her that she’d let her anger at Rico’s involvement with Skye, and her own uneasiness—admit it, fear—give her tunnel vision, so instead of seeing a child’s suffering eased, she’d cared only about solving the case.

She tried for a calming breath but her chest was too constricted. “How did Terach save my life?”

Israel laughed. “Oh no, if I tell you now, I’ll end up dumped out along the curb.”

Yeah. Probably.

Her lips twitched. Damn it. She wanted to be totally impervious to him. The same way she wanted to have no reaction to Terach.

Israel leaned in, close enough to swamp her in scent and heat, to spread needy ache through her breasts and warmth through her belly, to make her flash back to Terach’s bed and the night
she’d
been the one in it.

“Aren’t you going to ask how Terach and I know one another?” he asked.

“I think that’s pretty obvious.”

“We met years ago in LA. We weren’t lovers until last night.”

“So I’ve got no one to blame but myself for not inviting him in when he followed me home?”

The whole situation left her feeling confused. Why wasn’t she more angry and jealous?

Maybe because I don’t have a penis. It’s not like I can compete with Israel on that playing field.

And it’s not like I even want to compete with him.

She shifted in her seat.

“If that’s what happened then I’m eternally grateful to you.” Not mocking. Not gloating. Not anything but deadly serious.

She glanced at him. A shiver of desire went through her at having his mouth only inches from hers, at the absolutely sincerity in eyes too easy to get permanently lost in. She couldn’t blame Terach.

She wrenched her attention back to the road, heart traveling faster than they were.

“For the record, unlike me, Terach leans more toward women than men. But that doesn’t mean I’m totally uninterested in the opposite sex. They’re just the exception rather than the rule for me.” Israel’s voice dropped. “Want to know if you qualify, Cia?”

She looked up in a deer in the headlights kind of way. “No.”

He laughed. “Liar.”

Gratitude buzzed through her when the mechanized female voice said, “Arriving at destination in point one mile.”

They parked and got out.

Israel was still smiling at the front door. Cia wasn’t immune to him. But if he was seducing her, she was seducing him as well.

Works for me.

The bell brought Donna to the door. She was petite, her face haggard and her movements sharp.

She led them into a cramped living room with worn furniture. “Can I get you a drink?”

The slight tremor in her voice and hands gave her away. He wondered how many days of sobriety she had.

It was a downside to bar tending, being able to identify the alcoholics, and worse, to spot the ones relapsing.

“I’m fine,” Cia said.

He echoed it.

The three of them sat. Donna perched at the edge of a chair. He and Cia side-by-side on the couch.

Donna had prepared for their arrival. A picture of Kadence was on the coffee table. Next to it was a notepad sheet with sunshine and rainbows along the border. A name and address had been printed neatly near the top edge. Below it was written
KADENCE
with a cell number.

Donna picked up the third item on the table, a page ripped out of a notebook. “She left this on her bed for me to find.”

Cia took it, both of them reading it. I’M NOT GIVING YOU A CHANCE TO SEND ME AWAY!!! JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN’T HANDLE A DRINK OR TWO DOESN’T MEAN I CAN’T. I’M LEAVING!!!!!

Fidgeting drew his eyes to Donna.

“I’m a recovering alcoholic. Two years, five months, two days.”

“You’re doing great. I’ve known hundreds of people who haven’t made it beyond the first year.”

Some of the brittleness left her. She offered a tentative smile.

It disappeared when Cia asked, “What caused the note?”

Donna folded her arms across her stomach. “Kadence was at a friend’s house. Chloe’s house.”

The name on the sunshine and rainbow piece of stationary.

“I…I had this idea to take them out to dinner. It just occurred to me on the way home from work. I stopped by without calling first. I could smell liquor on their breaths.”

“Were you worried she might be drinking?” Cia asked, and he gave her credit for lobbing a softball question rather than directly accusing Donna of checking up on her daughter.

“No.” Donna dropped her gaze, directing it at her knees. “No. I just wanted to spend some time with her. It’s always been just the two of us, but… Every week it just seems she’s getting further and further away.”

“No father in the picture?” he asked.

“No. He was never in it. For all I know he’s dead or in jail. He was an alcoholic and a drug user, sometimes a violent one. I never told him I was pregnant.”

Cia placed the note back on the coffee table. “What happened after you discovered Kadence had been drinking?”

“I waited until we got home. I knew she’d never forgive me if I embarrassed her in front of Chloe. We fought. I threatened to send her to rehab.” Donna drew a shaky breath. “She stormed out but came back an hour later.”

“Acting normal?” he asked.

She rubbed her knees. “She gave me the silent treatment. She was still in bed when I left for work. I couldn’t take Saturday off. When I came home, she was gone.”

“Can I check her room?” Cia asked.

We.
But Israel didn’t call her on it.

“The police didn’t find anything. I called them after finding the note.”

“The detective left you a card?” Cia asked.

“Yes. I’ll get it for you.” She led them to Kadence’s room first.

He followed Cia in. Clothes were thrown on the bed and on the floor. “Kadence went through her things and chose her favorites,” he said.

Cia nodded and opened several dresser drawers. They were crammed with Victoria’s Secret lingerie.

Glancing over her shoulder, he gave a soft whistle. “Unless she works there, that’s a lot of money.” He couldn’t resist asking, “You happen to shop there?”

She averted her face, but not soon enough to hide the tinges of pink.

So did that mean she did?

He narrowed his eyes like an artist considering a blank canvas. With her coloring she’d look good in pale blue or light green. A smile formed at imagining her in something feminine with flowers, something in total defiance of button-down shirts and khakis that were practically an invitation to be ignored. Or maybe it was camouflage because she was a cop who never let herself go off duty.

His smile widened into a grin. Yeah, the prickly ones could definitely be more interesting, and she was getting more so by the minute.

What would it be like to be the man who made her lose all that precious control? To experience her vulnerability knowing just what it took for her to trust?

Donna joined them, passing the detective’s card to Cia.

“Does Kadence have a job?” Cia asked.

“No. I want her to concentrate on school.”

“So she gets an allowance?”

“Forty dollars a week. Sometimes more if I’ve got it.”

“She has a lot of nice clothes,” Cia said.

Donna crossed her arms over her chest. “Chloe gave them to her. Or at least that’s what Kadence told me. But now I don’t know what to believe.”

“Boyfriends?”

“Not that I know about.”

Israel’s gaze swept the desk. “Does she have a laptop?”

“Yes.”

“A Facebook page?”

“Yes. I checked it first thing. She doesn’t post very often on it. What’s there is almost all school related.” She rubbed her arms. “Do you think you can find her?”

“We’ll do our best,” Cia said at the same time he answered, “Yes.”

It gained him a thin-lipped glance. He expected a follow-up tongue lashing, but when they returned to the car he was treated to silence instead. That was a challenge he couldn’t resist.

“Finding the girl is a given once Terach’s in Ventura. He’s not Angelini, but he does possess useful talents beyond the strictly carnal.”

Chapter Five

Heat engulfed Cia, not that she needed the drop of Israel’s voice when he mentioned carnal skills to readily call back what she’d witnessed and experienced in Terach’s bed. It was like she had some kind of giant hot button where Terach was concerned.

She slapped the detective’s card down in the console tray between the seats and pulled out her phone, punching in Tessa’s number.

“Just about to board the plane. You find her already?”

“No. Detective Lawson caught the case. I’m just about to contact him. Have you dealt with him?”

“Matt. He’s a straight-shooter, not territorial at all. Go for it.”

She called Lawson’s direct line.

He answered. She presented her credentials, discovering they had her captain in common, which smoothed the way into the reason for her involvement and the call.

“Dead-end so far,” he said. “Scrolled through Facebook pages, and other than feeling sorry for a bunch of parents who’re probably clueless about what their kids are up to, didn’t exit with anything relevant to Kadence. Hit the school.
Nada
. Teachers and principal didn’t have anything to offer. Neither did the students.”

“Popular kid?”

“No. But not unpopular. A follower. Side-kick material. That’s my take.”

“What about her phone?”

He gave a heartfelt sigh. “Too much information out there for kids and criminals alike. She’s kept it off, or gotten rid of it, so we can’t use it to track her down.”

“Phone records?”

“Calls and texts to her mother and friends in the area. Nothing that leads anywhere.”

About what Cia had expected.

She hung up and programmed the GPS for Chloe Meyer’s house.

It was far more upscale than Kadence’s. Two stories instead of one, monstrous in comparison to the lot it sat on, though the same size as its neighbors.

“Not impossible to believe the clothes are Chloe’s cast-offs,” Israel said, and she had to agree.

A Botoxed blonde opened the door. “Let me guess, you’re a cop.”

The scent of alcohol blasted into Cia’s face. The woman’s attention shifted to Israel and remained there. A slinky change in body position thrust her breasts out. Her voice dipped into a purr. “And you’re not a cop.”

Israel’s slow, seductive smile had Cia’s jaw clamping. She caught herself glancing downward, but not quickly enough to stop from checking out the front of his jeans.

His smile widened and she knew it was for her. Heat crept into her cheeks, but at least the blonde hadn’t given him a raging hard-on.

“Invite us in?” he asked, the vampire-ish phrasing enough to send irritation crawling through her shoulders.

The woman stepped out of the doorway. “I’m Sonya, by the way. Can I offer you a drink?”

“I’d love one,” he said.

“No thanks,” Cia answered, as if the offer had included her.

Sonya snorted, the sound of it dismissive.

The skin on the back of Cia’s neck sizzled then went cold when thin streaks of green outlined Sonya. She blinked, shook her head slightly, heartbeat pounding harder and harder when the color lingered.

For no reason that she could discern, it disappeared when they reached a TV room with a bar along one wall.

Sonya lifted a glass containing ice cubes and an inch of amber liquid from the coffee table. Eyes never leaving Israel’s face, she waved toward the bar. “Help yourself to anything I have.”

Really?
Why not just strip and pounce on him?

But at least the hazy color didn’t return.

Israel went to the bar, going around it, exploring, putting several bottles on the polished wood along with a tumbler. He fixed himself a drink, his movements smooth, confident. The lighting in that area caressed long waves of black hair, catching on the onyx studs in his ears so her eyes dipped to his nipples.

Her mind stripped him out of the tank and sprawled him across Terach’s bed. Lifted his hand so masculine fingers tugged on the nipple bar in invitation.

Her mouth watered. She wanted him.

There, she’d admitted it to herself. Not that she’d been able to pull off denial very well.

“Sure you don’t want a drink, Cia?” he asked.

Was that a hint of triumph in his voice?

Her lips thinned. His smile spread at having gotten under her skin.

Last time it’s happening.

He directed his attention at Sonya. “Refresh you?”

“Definitely.” She handed him the empty glass, her fingers brushing his.

He made the drink.

Either he recognized what she was having or she was willing to take whatever he gave her. Cia was betting on the second.

He offered Sonya the glass rather than set it on the bar, not pulling away when she extended the contact well beyond what was necessary.

“We’re helping a private detective friend,” he said.

“Let me guess, you’re looking for Kadence.”

Sour expression. Sour voice.

Israel lounged against the bar, the epitome of sexy bartender to Terach’s gorgeous bouncer. “Do you know where Kadence might be?”

“No, and frankly I don’t care. Donna blew things all out of proportion. Did you know she went to the school and talked to the principal and guidance counselors? She told them that the girls had been caught drinking in my house. Like I need more grief piled on.”

“No. I didn’t know.” Sympathy oozed from his voice. Cia envisioned a tip jar filling up.

“Well she did.” Sonya took a big swallow of her drink. “I didn’t appreciate the implication that somehow I’m responsible for Kadence, or that my daughter is. Kids experiment.”

Israel’s laugh was the husky promise of sex and bad-boy mischief. “They certainly do.”