A Fall of Silver (9 page)

A flicker of disappointment darkened her eyes
, but she didn’t question the correction.

His lips twisted in self-deprecating amusement
. An irritating edge of guilt, or shame, he could never decide which, slipped under his skin when he had to admit he was no longer a Jesuit.

He hated that feeling of letting others down, of somehow being a failure.
A quitter.

“Wh
y did you bring Mr. Hilliard here?” Theresa asked.

“
Him?” Quicksilver gestured toward him, knocking him in the stomach with her helmet. The underlying teasing warmth in her voice startled him. He glanced at her in surprise as she continued, “He seems to think I’m afraid of the dark, or something. Like he needs to protect me.”

Theresa laughed and waved them through the doorway.
“Poor idiot. Well, what can you expect from mortal man?”

“Common sense would be nice,” Quicksilver replied in a dry voice.

Theresa rubbed her eyes and forehead. “What time it is? I’ve been sitting here by the door, waiting, but I must have fallen asleep….”

“Nearly four
,” Kethan answered.

Theresa gave them both a sharp glance.
“Four! That late? What happened? Did you find Kathy?”

“I caught up with
her.” Body tense, Quicksilver gripped Theresa’s wrist. “Two vampires lured her into an alley near the Orchard Hotel. I told her to go home. I wanted to make sure she did.”

“Wait here.
Maybe she snuck past me after I fell asleep. Let me check.” Theresa hurried away, climbing a massive, heavily carved oak stairway. She disappeared down a shadowy hallway.

Suddenly aware of his own exhaustion and the late hour,
Kethan strolled over to one of the benches lining the entryway. He’d arisen before dawn to prepare for the negotiations, unable to sleep any longer. It had taken them weeks to get Martyn Sutton to consent to a meeting. Even then, Sutton only agreed if they used a public place, like the Orchard Conference Center where there were plenty of avenues in and out. It was neutral territory for all parties.

He glanced at Quicksilver,
trying not to hold her responsible. Months of planning, gone. A slow burning anger briefly flared in his chest.

S
he was only trying to protect Kathy Sherman. She didn’t know what she was interrupting. He swallowed his frustration and rolled his shoulders, easing the tightness.

At the sound
of his shoes scraping the floor, Quicksilver turned her head and met his gaze. He nodded and sat, staring down at the smooth, dark wooden floor, aware of a heavy sense of exhaustion.

Cross-purposes.
If only….

He shook his head and rubbed his face.
Unfortunately, opposites did seem to attract, and he was more than aware of the potent attraction between them, although it was hard to say what Quicksilver felt, or thought.

When he looked up, he found her
still staring at him.

“How long does it take to figure out if someone is in her bed or not?”
She strode back and forth with rapid, jerking turns, swinging her helmet in her hand.

“It takes as long as it takes.”
He stood up with a sigh. His knees cracked.

Her nervous tension made him feel even older and more
tired. He doubted he was more than five years her senior. He’d lived thirty-two years as a human, but he felt like an ancient, doddering old fool trying to recapture his youth on the back of a motorcycle with his hands wrapped around the waist of a girl much too young for him.

But he had to admit,
Quicksilver was a difficult woman to resist. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, but an exhilarating air of tempting naughtiness, like a forbidden, wanton Lolita, clung to her. He couldn’t escape the desire to step closer and feel the sizzle in his blood.

Her eyes glowed silver in the harsh
light of the hallway as she caught him watching her. Despite the shadows blurring her features, she appeared amused, as if she knew his thoughts and found them entertaining.

“You look uncomfortable,” she
said. “Maybe you should just go home.”

“After Miss Blackstone comes back.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll tell her you said goodbye.”

“I can wait.”

Her smiled turned into a laugh. “You’re sure a glutton for punishment. You don’t have a hair shirt on under there, do you?” She flicked the collar of his shirt with her finger.

“
No.” He caught her wrist and held her gaze. Slowly, he lowered her hand and released it. “I’m not one for self-flagellation. Never have been.”

Cheeks flushed, s
he stepped away, thumping her helmet against her thigh. She stared at the door behind him. “Then stop punishing yourself. Get out of here.”

“I’ll wait.” He smiled. “I enjoy your company.”

She shrugged. “It’s your funeral. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Quicksilver
looked into Kethan’s brilliant blue eyes, so rich in color they appeared neon. The heat of attraction rose within her. He was one of those irresistible Irishmen with black hair and blue eyes, complete with a glib tongue and gift for blarney, the kind of man who could make a woman do, or believe, anything he wished. No wonder he was a negotiator.

What a
waste.

Talking
was useless. You couldn’t trust people to keep their word, much less vampires who’d had centuries to perfect the art of deceit. The entire premise of negotiation made her teeth ache. You had to be crazy to think bargaining could result in anything except a compromise no one wanted.

If one person won, the other lost.
If both gave in, both lost. What other outcomes were possible?

Was he so naïve
he couldn’t see the truth?

She lowered her head, letting her hair fall over her face
to hide her expression as she studied him through the veil of her hair.

Somehow aware of her interest, h
e flashed a smile. She blinked as heat rushed through her, raising a flutter in her stomach.

His eyes drew her in
. Their warmth made her feel…treasured.

Then
she stiffened with wariness. She’d seen desire in many men’s eyes. There was something about a woman with a whip that brought out an almost supernatural level of lust in the male of the species. The desire to submit to a dangerous woman or possess one. Dominance, submission, the age-old dance of the sexes.

She strode back across the
wooden floor, her boot heels tapping sharply over the creaking planks as she swung the heavy weight of her helmet in her hand. It thumped against her thigh, awkward as a bowling ball hanging from her fingers. If he knew about the savage anger warping her, he wouldn’t look at her that way. He’d hate her. Tension tightened the skin across her forehead until her blood throbbed in her ears.

Why did he keep staring at her with
narrowed eyes? Weighing and judging her, finding all her flaws. It wasn’t her fault Jason and Tyler had gone after Kathy. She hadn’t meant to interrupt his precious meeting, but she had, and the anger had gotten the better of her.

The back of her neck itched from his stare.
Rubbing it, she studied the stairs.

Where i
s Theresa? Reading Kathy a bedtime story?

When s
he glanced at Kethan, he was leaning back, his face was calm, relaxed. She turned away abruptly, feeling that he’d come to some decision about her and found her lacking.

What di
d he want? An apology? She let her helmet whack even harder against her thigh, as if creating a bruise would make him go away or suddenly understand her.

Finally,
she heard Theresa’s light step on the creaking stairs. Quicksilver turned in relief to watch her slow descent.

“She’s not in her room
or any of her friends’ rooms.” A frown pinched the skin between Theresa’s dark brows. “No one’s seen her since lights out.”

Not there? God in heaven, hadn’t Kathy made it home? Had Jason found her on the road….

“Damn!” Quicksilver swore, rounding on Kethan. “It’s Jason! I know it!”

“Don’t jump to conclusions.”
Kethan’s reasonable tone only exacerbated her edginess.

“I’m not jumping to conclusions
. Jason wanted to feed on her. He’s established dominance. She was gazing into his eyes when I interrupted them. He can control her!”

I
was too late. Again.
Inside she cringed, the sensation of being trapped tightening around her.
Time—there has to be time to save her and redeem both of us.
If redemption was even possible anymore….

“He agreed to leave her alone,
” Kethan said.

“Yeah, right
. And I’m so sure we can trust him.” She paced in the narrow space of the hallway, trying to think.
Why can’t I think?
Her mind felt sluggish, uncooperative. How could she find them?
Think!

“I’ll find her.
You wait here.”

“You wait here, Mr. Negotiator
! You don’t even have transportation. You wanted to go with me, remember? So you’re stuck here.”

“No
. I’ll go with you.”

“You can’t.
I can only take one other person on my bike. If I find Kathy, I won’t have room for you.”

“Why don’t you come with me, Kethan?” Theresa interrupted, her face serene despite the tension
crisping the edges of her words.

“I appreciate
the offer, but Quicksilver can’t go alone. It’s not safe.” He held up a hand when both women turned to face him. “Trust me. It would be a mistake for you to go alone.”

Damn
you
! She knew he was right after confronting that dark figure in the street, but she couldn’t give up and hide. She had to do something to bring Kathy back safe. A sense of urgency filled her. Part of her realized that there was more to it than she was willing to acknowledge. Saving Kathy, bringing her back safe and unharmed felt like she’d be bringing herself back from what she’d suffered, as if she could only move forward and heal if she rescued this girl who was so much like she’d been at one time.

“Not safe for her?” Theres
a’s dark eyes flickered over Quicksilver’s face, searching for an explanation, making sure she didn’t mean that Kathy wasn’t safe because Quicksilver was paranoid or out of control.

A
flush rise burned her cheekbones. She wasn’t the one Kathy needed to fear. Quicksilver would never hurt her or lose control to the point where she’d kill innocent children.

How could she even think such a thing?

Especially since Quicksilver suspected Theresa was no stranger to violence. She’d lived through her own horrors when the convent had been all but destroyed. She knew vampires existed and rumors said Theresa was pretty handy at killing them. If she feared Quicksilver’s judgment, well, Kethan looked as if he could handle anything. Just looking at his massive body was intimidating. His wide shoulders and thick arms looked as if he could rip an oak tree up by the roots if the urge struck him.

But
negotiators relied on words, not strength. Self-control.

“I
—” Theresa touched her arm.

“It’ll take too long to expla
in the situation,” Quicksilver interrupted. “I can do this. I can bring her back.”

“No—
wait,” Theresa said. “You two take my car. I can take your motorcycle.”

“No way.”

“Why don’t you wait here, Theresa? In case she returns,” Kethan suggested. “Quicksilver and I will take your car, if you don’t mind.”

“There are other teachers
to watch over the kids,” Theresa’s lips thinned as she considered his offer.

Quicksilver thrust her helmet on
to her head, flipping up the visor to see in the fluorescent light of the entryway. “I’m going.”

Kethan caught her wrist
. “No. You’re not taking the motorcycle. You’re either coming with me in Theresa’s car or not going at all.”

His
hard grip roused the sleeping demon of anger. It erupted, snapping and ferocious through a mist of fear. As they stood there arguing, Jason might be draining Kathy of blood.

She could be lying in an alley, bloodless and
feeble, seconds away from death. Or weakened from blood loss, she might stumble into the street, too disoriented and dizzy to realize the danger from the cars speeding toward home. If she tried to flag someone down for help, they’d probably ignore her, not wanting to get involved and happy to leave her to her fate.

No one stopped for hitchhikers anymore, no matter how
young or vulnerable they seemed, not if they valued their lives.

Jittery, Quicksilver wiped a damp hand over her hip.
She had to get going while Kathy still had a chance….