Wicked Nights (3 page)

“Not necessarily. There are a few different ways to garner the power.”

A moment of silence.

“You do need to find a woman willing to participate … or one you’re willing to kill in the process.”

“Let’s say I find a willing one. What will she have to do?”

“Have sex with you.”

It took Alex a second to get over the surprise before he could answer.

“Have sex with me.”

“Yeah. It’s a bit more complicated than that, and she has to be born on one of the Sabbaths. But basically, yes.”

Alex’s thoughts drifted to chestnut hair and tight jeans.

A knock on the door cut his thoughts short.

“I think that’s Sonya to let me know my dinner date is here,” he told Anton. “Let me think about this, and I’ll get back to you.”

“Sure. And Alex … you don’t have a lot of time.”

He knew.

“Soon. I’ll get back to you soon.
Multumesc
.”

Laurie Cole was waiting in the lobby, sitting comfortably in one of the armchairs. He studied her for a few seconds while she was looking the other way. There was something about her that intrigued him, something beyond the obvious. She was wearing a long-sleeved top that hugged every curve, and Alex wondered what she’d be like
withher
clothes off, under his hands.

He swallowed a groan at the thought.

“Miss Cole.”

Her body jerked slightly, and he knew he’d taken her by surprise. She blushed and smiled. “Thanks for the invitation, Mr. Volman.”

He returned the smile, gesturing towards the study. “Call me Alex, please. It seems a more appropriate choice for an intimate drink.”

He saw her hesitate and wondered how much he could push before she objected.

“You can call me Laurie as long as you don’t forget I’m still a cop … or something like that, anyway,” she smiled.

“That’s a deal.”

The lights were dimmed in the study, and candles flickered softly all around the room. He knew he was testing her limits by making things so personal, but he needed to know how close he could get. If he was going to find out what had caused the connection between them the day before, he was going to have to gain her trust. And he didn’t have time to do it slowly.

“Wine?”

“Sure, thanks.”

While Laurie chose a place to sit, he filled a wine glass and handed it to her, then poured some for himself. He debated for a second where to sit, deciding not to be too close just yet. He settled on the armchair across from her. The candles provided just enough light for him to study her without being too obvious.

There had been a lot of beautiful women in his life. More than he could care to count or remember. So it wasn’t just Laurie’s all-in-the-right-places curves or deep olive eyes that were intriguing him. There was a sort of energy between them, and he had a suspicion that she was feeling it too. She seemed just a little too aware of his proximity, almost restless.

She raised her eyes from the glass and caught him staring at her. She blushed and then smiled slightly.

“So I’m guessing you’re on a break from your show,” she said.

“A three-week break, yes. We’re trying to revamp some things. You know, keep the public surprised.”

She flashed a smile. “I see. So I guess you’re not going to share your trade secrets with me, are you?”

He wasn’t sure if she was testing him or trying to get him to relax. Either way, it wasn’t working. His whole body was on edge, though he wasn’t sure if it was because of the investigation or just her presence.

“Are you close to your family, Laurie?”

He could tell he’d asked the right question by the changes in her face. Her smile faded, then came back as a forced grin. The kind you use when you’re trying to pretend everything’s okay.

“No. My mother died a long time ago. My father…” her voice trailed off and there was a long pause. “Sorry, I haven’t talked about them in a long time.”

He got up and took a faded black-and-white photo from his desk drawer. As he handed it to her, his fingers grazed her arm and she winced.
He felt a shot of heat reaching down his skin and all the way to the pit of his stomach.
It was easy to guess she’d felt the same thing. And that she was being very careful not to show it.
 

“That’s my grandfather.”

He saw her eyes focus on the picture with more than just expert curiosity.

“Is this…?” She pointed at the large chair floating in a corner of the photograph. It was almost a blur, but it was definitely there. “How old is this picture?” she asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice.

“Almost a hundred years old.”

“I didn’t know they had trick photography back then.”

“We have a lot of family secrets, Laurie. This is just one of them.”

He could see the conflict in her face and decided not to push it. He wasn’t even sure why he had shown her the picture in the first place. Except that he’d felt he had too. Just like he suddenly felt he
had
to kiss her. He was going to control that impulse for now, though. Going around kissing cops when you were a suspect probably wasn’t the best idea.

He sat back down. “So, Laurie, I got the impression yesterday that you had more questions. Unless you’re here for some other reason.”

Her eyes were boring into his. “Like what?”

He could hear blood rushing in his ears. He was having trouble being objective right now. Hell, he was having trouble thinking clearly, period. All he wanted was to reach out and get his hands on her.

He saw her hesitate and realized she was choosing her words carefully.

“Is your family Romanian?”

Or maybe she wasn’t.

He thought for a second, trying to decide how honest he wanted to be with her. How honest he
could
be without blowing his secret.

“Is that the word out in the streets?”

“One of many.”

“What if I said yes?” he teased her.

“Then my next question is going to be who’s Corneliu and why do I know that name?”

He studied her carefully. “When’s your birthday, Laurie?”

He could see the confusion in her eyes, her mind reeling, trying to figure out what the question meant.

“Why?”

“Because that might change how much you get to hear from me tonight.”

She readjusted her position on the couch, her back all of a sudden straighter and her chest rising swiftly. His original idea was to make this a light, relaxed evening, but that had gone out the window pretty quickly. Right now, the air in the room was tense.

“I was born on Halloween. Do I get to ask questions now?”

Alex let out a laugh. “Well, things just keep getting better around here. Go ahead and…”

And then the whole left wall of windows exploded. Billions of tiny shards of glass flew directly towards them. Laurie’s scream was muffled by the explosion and the shockwaves that rattled the room. The air was alive with the humming and shimmer of flying glass.

Alex jumped towards Laurie and pulled her to him. As soon as she was in his arms, he lifted his hand towards the glass flying at them. Every single piece stopped flat in the air and fell straight to the ground.

“What the hell—?” her eyes went big with surprise.

“Stay still,” he ordered.

He closed his eyes and imagined a thick shield growing around them. Almost like an elastic bubble, hugging their form inch by inch, tight and steady. The shield embraced them, thickening by the second, until it was unbreakable. He could see the shimmer of the bubble around them, a slight flicker here and there as it moved around them like a mist. As long as she stayed against him, she’d be safe. His gaze darted around the room. And then he felt the eyes on his back and knew what, or rather who, had caused the explosion.

“Corneliu.”

Laurie’s body tightened and pushed against him. Alex moved slowly, making sure she was shielded behind his body as he turned to face his cousin.

“Bine
te
-am
gasit
,
frate
, nu ne-am
mai
vazut
de
ceva
timp
.”

The amusement in
Corneliu’s
voice was obvious, but Alex didn’t share a bit of it.

“Yes, long time, Corneliu.”

“I guess you heard about the ritual.”

“Corneliu, let’s talk about this. Just you and me.”

From the left side of the room, a heavy vase flew off the table, directly towards Alex. Laurie screamed and ducked, but the vase just bounced off the invisible screen around them, inches away from their bodies.

“Ah, we’re playing games, I see.”

“Let her go, and you and I can talk about this.”

Corneliu laughed. “Let her go? Do you know when her birthday is?”

Alex stood quiet, feeling the heat of Laurie’s body against his back. His eyes moved around the room, looking for an escape route. If he had to fight, he didn’t want Laurie to be there for it.

“You do know, don’t you? I’ve been tracking this one for weeks. Almost got caught last night when she opened her window.”

“You have to know I’m not going to let you take her.”

“Why not? All the other ones, they were weak. This one is a child of
Samhain
, Alex. Do you know how much power is in that?”

Alex’s eyes turned icy. “You can’t have her,” he growled.

Corneliu’s
smile vanished, and his eyes darted to the side. The cabinet holding Alex’s collection of antique books exploded, sending the books out in all directions. Laurie stifled a scream and watched Alex intently as he raised a hand toward Corneliu.

“You either leave or I’ll throw you out of here.”