Circle of Fire (13 page)

“Yeah, she was.” Maddie grimaced and rubbed her arms. “What happens if he tries to kill you again?”

He shrugged. “At least we’ll know whether he’s involved or not.”

“But—”

“Maddie, the kids are what matters, nothing else. If we don’t find them before the new moon, we won’t find them alive. Now come over here and get warm.”

She hesitated, then realized she was being silly. He certainly wasn’t showing any inclination to carry on their flirtation. He’d admitted it was nothing more than an act.

“We have to find them.” Too many people had died because of her. She didn’t want her nephew to join the list.

She knelt down next to him and held her hands out to the flames’ warmth. “Did you ever find any of the other teenagers who were missing?”

He nodded. “We found eleven.”

She eyed him for a moment, then looked back at the fire. Something in his blue eyes told her she didn’t want to know the rest of it. “And?” she asked.

“It looked as if they’d been used in some sort of sacrifice. They’d been drained of blood.”

Drained of blood
 … She blanched. Christ, they
weren’t dealing with some sort of vampire cult, were they? “You’re not saying—”

He sat back on his heels, his face grim. “No, it’s not a vampire, or anything as simple as that. I think we’re dealing with some sort of magic ritual.”

Why would anyone in his right mind think a vampire was a simple solution? What sort of world did he live in? Obviously a delusional one. For a start, there were no such things as vampires. She shivered and crossed her arms. It was just another reminder of how little she really knew about the man kneeling next to her.

“What makes you think Hank and this Eleanor are involved with the disappearances?”

“The man’s not what he appears to be. He’s involved somehow; I just know it.”

“And Eleanor?”

He hesitated. “The same can be said about her.”

Despite his earlier promise, it was obvious he still wasn’t telling her everything he knew. “Then how safe was it to reveal yourself at the café? Wouldn’t it have been better to remain hidden?”

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Firelight caught the hairs on his arms, making them gleam softly. “I honestly don’t know. I just have a feeling that time is running out, and that nothing will be gained by hiding. I’ve learned to trust my instincts in cases like this.”

Just as she’d learned
not
to trust hers. It had been the instinct to protect herself that had led to all the trouble in her life. She swallowed the lump in her throat and pulled her eyes away from his steady gaze. “Are you a cop or something?”

He hesitated. “I’m a private investigator, of sorts.”

“Of sorts?”

He shrugged and didn’t elaborate. Frustration ran through her. Why wouldn’t he tell her anything about himself? Didn’t he trust her?

“So, you charm the pants off this woman.” Her voice held a slightly sarcastic edge that made her wince inside. “Then what happens?”

He rose, moving away from her. “What happens next depends very much on her. Do you want to shower first?”

She glanced up at him. His bright gaze told her nothing, but she sensed he was suddenly annoyed. Over what, she couldn’t say. “No, I’ll stay near the fire a bit longer.”

He nodded. She watched him walk away and wondered what was going to be harder—being in the same room as Hank, or watching Jon flirt with another woman.

J
ON ACCEPTED A GLASS OF WINE WITH A SMILE OF THANKS
and leaned against the mantelpiece, watching Maddie. She was across the room, chatting with another guest. There was no way anyone would know, simply by looking at her, that she was terrified.

He sipped his wine and heard her laugh—a sound so warm and free it made him smile. Her hair fell down her back like a river of flame, gleaming brightly whenever she moved. Even with the long, loose, jade-colored shirt hiding her slender figure, she looked good.

As if she felt the weight of his stare, her gaze turned to his. In her expressive eyes he again saw wariness and fear—not of the situation, but of herself.

He frowned and wondered again what her other talent was. He had a feeling her fear was tied to it—as was the memory of death he occasionally saw in her eyes. His gaze flicked to her lips and he remembered their taste, the warmth of her mouth against his own. He took a long gulp of wine. Such thoughts would only lead him into trouble.

Someone touched his shoulder lightly, and a sweet honeyed scent wafted around him.

He turned his back on Maddie. Even from across the room, he felt her annoyance, even hurt, but he had no choice save to ignore it.

“Eleanor,” he said, forcing more warmth into his voice than he felt. “What a surprise to see you here.”

“I heard you were staying here and thought I’d drop by and say hello,” she purred, brushing the thick strands of silken gold away from her face. “Unfortunately, I can’t stay for long.”

Her nail polish was the color of blood. Appropriate for a hunter. “Another appointment?”

“Business, darling. You know how it is.” She screwed up her nose, then took a sip of wine and slowly licked the residual moisture from her ruby-red lips.

It looked like he wasn’t the only one with seduction on his mind. He smiled and blatantly ran his gaze down her body. Eleanor had certainly come dressed for the part. Her black dress clung in all the right places and allowed plenty of long, honey-colored legs to be seen. Real nice … but no Maddie.

He ignored the thought and took another sip. He hadn’t come here to seduce Maddie, so it was time he started concentrating on the business at hand.

“We could meet for a drink later, if you like. Get to know each other a little better.”

“Oh, I like,” she purred, meeting his gaze with a look that was pure heat.

A dinner bell chimed faintly in the adjoining room. “Are you eating?” he asked, offering Eleanor his arm.

She linked her arm through his. “Only the main course. Dessert will come later—if you’re lucky.”

His smile felt tight. As easy as this seduction was
turning out to be, it wasn’t one he had any real desire for.

And yet, at any other time, it wouldn’t have mattered. He, too, was a hunter, both in spirit and in profession. Sometimes he had no choice but to flirt with a woman to get information vital to his case, whether or not he was attracted to her. Many women seemed to relax their guard once the flirtation had moved on to kissing, making it that much easier to question them. His gaze flickered across the room until he saw the fiery gleam of Maddie’s hair. Would she ever drop her guard?

His gaze suddenly narrowed. Hank’s dark head was close to Maddie’s. Though he’d expected this to happen, the sight of the man next to her annoyed him more than he’d thought it would. There wasn’t a thing he could do to get her away from Hank, though. He had a feeling that Eleanor was the key to everything, and with the lives of the teenagers at stake, she had to be his main concern, not Maddie.

He smiled and pulled a chair out for Eleanor. Some days at the office were definitely tougher than others.

E
LEANOR
’
S LAUGHTER RAN SOFTLY ACROSS THE MURMUR OF
conversation, a smooth and seductive sound. Maddie gritted her teeth and tried to ignore it—a hard task since Eleanor appeared to be holding court at the far end of the room, with practically every male at the table hanging off each huskily delivered word. Only Hank seemed immune to the woman’s all-too-obvious charms.

Maddie scowled down at her plate. Hank sat on
her left, his chair too close for comfort. She didn’t dare move around too much. Every time she did, their arms or knees brushed. It was an intimacy that left her feeling ill.

Eleanor laughed again, and Maddie stabbed a piece of meat on her plate and quickly ate it. Maybe her best course of action was to get away from here as quickly as possible.

“I like a woman who enjoys her meat,” Hank said, a suggestive leer touching his thin lips.

Her stomach turned. If she had to put up with another five minutes of this man, he’d quickly learn just how little she was enjoying his company.

“I don’t eat it much,” she said, glancing at the other end of the table when there was another burst of laughter.

Eleanor had one hand draped over Jon’s shoulders, her golden head close to his. They were a good match, she thought, watching the light run through Jon’s hair as he laughed softly at something Eleanor said.

Maddie scowled and looked back down at her plate. At least she had an answer for her earlier question. She’d rather sit next to a
dozen
Hanks than watch Jon with another woman.

She stabbed another piece of meat, then held it up on the fork and glared at it.

“I think it’s dead,” Hank said, dry amusement in his voice. “As I think the boyfriend might be, if you ever get him back this evening.”

She glanced at him, startled that her thoughts were so obvious. “He’s not my boyfriend …” She hesitated and felt heat creep through her cheeks when Hank raised an eyebrow. Their act earlier had
certainly suggested they were lovers, so she couldn’t very well deny it now. “I mean, we’re old friends, but no longer an item, as such.”

“Both free spirits, hey?”

Maddie shrugged. She’d never been a free spirit where men were concerned. Maybe that was why she’d married Brian. She pushed her plate away, suddenly not hungry anymore.

“Odd coincidence that you both happened to be in Taurin Bay at the same time,” Hank continued lightly. “Especially given that you checked into the same inn.”

She licked dry lips. “Yes, it is, isn’t it?”

“Not married by any chance, are you?”

She smiled grimly. “I was. My husband is dead.”

“Oh,” Hank murmured. “Sorry to hear that.”

He sounds real sorry, too
, she thought sarcastically. She listened to him tap his knife lightly against his plate and found herself gritting her teeth again.

“We’ve had a bit of trouble around these parts, you know,” he said after a moment.

Her gaze jerked up to his. His dark eyes were watchful. He was baiting her, she realized, trying to make her give something away. “Really? What sort of trouble?”

“Kids have been disappearing lately. The only link between any of the disappearances is the fact that the families stayed here in Taurin Bay.”

She swallowed nervously. How much had been written in the local papers about the missing teenagers? Was Hank telling her more than he could have found out from the local news?

“I bet that has played havoc with tourism.”

Hank smiled, though no humor touched the darkness in his eyes. “It hasn’t yet, luckily. But it will if they don’t get some results soon.”

“I’m sure the police are working on it.”

“Oh, I’m sure
many
people are working on it.”

He smiled when she looked at him, and she was reminded of a vulture hungrily watching its prey.

“Then someone will catch them.”

Hank leaned back in his chair and continued to smile lazily at her. “Personally, I doubt it. So many kids disappear every day in this country that it’s become an unfashionable crime to pursue.”

She frowned. “This is different, though.”

“Oh? How?”

“I remember reading a bit about it in our local paper. Haven’t sixteen kids disappeared?”

He smiled, and something in his eyes suggested she’d just made a major mistake, though she wasn’t exactly sure what it was. “So they say. No one’s really sure of the exact number.”

The exact number was currently seventeen, if you included Evan. Then she remembered that Jon had told her the number when he’d appeared in her bedroom that second time. And realized that meant maybe it
wasn’t
common knowledge. She swallowed, but had no choice except to continue.

“Well, that’s a rather large number to end up missing from one area, isn’t it? It’d have to raise the police’s suspicions.”

“But they haven’t all
disappeared
from this area. I said the only known connection between the disappearances was Taurin Bay.”

“Oh. I must have misread it.”

He smiled. It was
not
a pleasant smile. “So which newspaper did you read all this in?”

She shrugged uneasily. “Just a local paper. The
Mail
, I think. Or it could have been the
Courier
.”

“I’ll have to hunt the articles up. I’ve been keeping something of a scrapbook on the cases.”

Maddie returned his smile and hoped it didn’t look as forced as it felt. It would take only one phone call to discover her lie. “Something to show the grandchildren later in life?”

“Something like that.” His dead gaze ran past her for a moment. “That boyfriend of yours is getting mighty friendly with Miss Dumaresq.”

“I don’t care. Let him.” She threw her napkin down on the table and pushed her chair back. Enough was enough.

“Going already?” Hank raised his eyebrows at her, a knowing smile touching the corners of his thin mouth.

“It’s been a long day,” she replied tightly. And it looked as if it was going to be an even longer night.