Courting the Darkness (24 page)

Mica moved so fast he was in front of her before she reached the cave. He ground his teeth and grabbed her arm. “Go back to the van.”

“Oh, let me see,” she remarked dryly. “Maybe because you’ve been treating me like a pariah since I got you and Denise out of that cage. You’ve had one major attitude, and I don’t like it.” She turned, continuing through the dark cavern.

“You’re going to have to learn to listen to me,” he demanded.

“Oh, let me translate that for you. You’re going to have to learn to follow my orders. I told you, I don’t like being ordered around.”

“Desiree,” he whispered, “stop.”

She stopped. Closing here her eyes, tears trailed down her cheeks. “Don’t you understand anything?” She swallowed hard. “I couldn’t wait for Drake. I couldn’t take that chance that you would make it until sundown. I thought you would be happy to be out of that cage, but no, no, you get pissed off at me for disobeying your orders. I’m sorry, that is one set of orders I couldn’t follow. If you can’t accept that, then I don’t know where that leaves us.”

“I wasn’t upset because you didn’t follow orders.” Her shoulders slumped. “I was upset because you needlessly put your life at stake.”

She turned her head, looking into his eyes. “I didn’t see it that way. I saw it as a necessary risk. Either we all made it out of there, or none of us did. It took me a hundred and twenty-five years to find you. I had to do everything in my power to make sure you survived. I just had to.”

He wiped a stray tear away from her cheek with his finger. “As bad as I hate to admit it, I do understand. It’s just that I am fiercely protective of you, and for the first time in my life, I feel helpless.”

“Don’t you see it, Mica? You just said the same thing I did. We’re more alike than I care to admit. We both fight for what we consider ours. The difference is you fight with brute strength, and I fight with magic. I’m sorry I pissed off that clan, but I’m not sorry you’re out of that cage. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Even if it meant that you were angry with me for the rest of my life. I would rather see you angry than dead.”

His eyes sparkled and he grinned. “I guess that leaves us at a stalemate.”

She grinned back, biting her bottom lip. “I guess it does at that. What are we going to do about it?”

He took her into his arms. “Hum, that sounds like a direct challenge to me.” He brought his lips down on hers in a demanding kiss. He ran his tongue across her lips and she boldly caressed her tongue with his. Molding her body to his, she wrapped her arms around his neck, entwining her fingers in his silky hair. He broke the kiss, looking into her heavily lidded eyes.

She smiled. “Now that was the reception I was expecting earlier. You haven’t kissed me like that since Denise showed up.”

“I wish we had more time now, but we don’t. I’ve got to get you to safety whether you like it or not.”

She laughed. “I don’t have a problem with getting out of here and away from that vampire clan.” She kissed his cheek, pulling out of his arms. “We’ve resolved my issues—for now anyway. As much as I hate to admit it, we do need to hurry.” She grabbed his hand, tugging. “Come on, let’s get the amulets and get out of here.”

* * *

Mica opened the car door for her. Sticking her head in the Express Van, she leaned on the backseat, smiling at Caleb and Denise. “Hi, guys,” she remarked cheerfully, sitting down in the seat as Mica shut the door. She turned back around to socialize. “I brought a friend.” She held up the cage containing the rat and set it down on the front seat.

Denise scrunched up her nose. “Why did you bring that disgusting thing with you?” Caleb laughed. “Is that anybody I know?”

Desiree laughed, nodding in response. “Yes, Caleb. It’s your old buddy Hargrove. He looks a little different now, as in finally showing his true colors.”

Mica put the amulets in the back compartment of the van. Walking to the front, he climbed in and started the engine.

The rat looked at all the occupants of the car with its beady little eyes and started chewing frantically at the bars. Desiree stared sternly at the rat. “It’s not too fun being on the other side of the bars, now is it, Jason?”

Denise shuddered in revulsion. “What are you going to do with that disgusting thing?”

“Well, I’m glad you asked that, Denise,” she replied smartly. “Since Jason here has caused us so many problems, I have decided to hand him over to Drake as a gift. I’m sure he’ll think of something creative to do with him. After all, he has given us all one huge headache and just about cost each one of us our lives. Death would be too good for him. In fact, I think spending the rest of his days in a cage in sewer type conditions should be just punishment. I will suggest just that to Drake, but in the end, the final decision will belong to him.”

Mica spoke up. “Speaking of Drake, I need to call him.” Desiree bit her lip apprehensively, nodding. He reached under the seat, retrieved the cell phone, and pulled up Drake’s number on speed dial.

Mica looked into Desiree’s eyes and winked at her before he answered. “That’s a long story. We’ll have to tell you all about it when we get back to New Orleans.”

“I didn’t want to get into that over the phone. He is going to be very angry when I do tell him, and I want to be face to face with him when he hears that news.”

“Uh oh.” Denise rolled her eyes. “Prepare for the fireworks.”

Desiree slumped down in her seat, looking out at the scenery apprehensively. “I don’t know if I’m more worried about that vampire clan or telling Drake.”

Mica reached over and squeezed her hand. “You leave Drake to me”

C
HAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Mica pulled the Express Van into the alleyway behind the warehouse at 6:15; he put it in park and cut the engine. Everyone else in the car was asleep. He reached over, gently shaking Desiree’s shoulder. “Desiree, wake up. We’re here.”

“We’re here,” she repeated, sitting upright in alarm. Rubbing her bleary eyes with her fists, she dropped her hands to look around into the pitch-black alleyway. She glanced back at Mica in confusion. “Where are we?”

“We’re in the alleyway just behind the warehouse. You need to relax and let me handle Drake.” He turned to the backseat. “Hey, y’all need to wake up. We’re back.” He spoke loudly to Caleb and Denise.

Caleb stretched, dropping his hand on Denise’s knee.

She looked down at his hand and back at him, baring her fangs. “If you want to keep that hand, I suggest you remove it before you pull back a bloody stump.”

He smiled, pulling his hand back. “Oh, I’m sorry, Denise. I didn’t mean to do that.”

“Yeah, right. Tell it to someone who will believe it.”

“Listen up.” Mica tried to hide his amusement. “Drake is likely going to pitch a royal fit, no pun intended.” Caleb grinned. “You both have a tendency to spout off with smartass remarks. While I find it humorous at times, Drake will not. His patience is well known for being short. Hang back and let me smooth things over. A fight with the Tennessee clan is inevitable; we’re going to need everyone here on our side.”

Denise’s eyes reflected her wariness. “Mica, his temper is worse than yours. I know Drake’s rage first hand. I don’t stay with the rest of the clan because of it.” She shuddered. “You don’t have to worry about me spouting off. The sooner this is over with and I can go back home, the better.”

Caleb stretched, putting his arm around Denise. “Yeah, I agree with Denise. The sooner this is over with, the better. I look forward to following Denise home.”

Denise ground her teeth, grabbing Caleb’s shirt collar in a chokehold. “You stay away from me and my home, fur ball,” she snapped, and Caleb laughed, undaunted. “If I catch you on my doorstep, I’ll rip your throat out, got it?” She released his collar.

Denise raised her eyebrow at that comment. “I foresee a fur ball with a very short life span,” she grumbled under her breath. She looked up, meeting Mica’s eyes. “I’ll cooperate.”

Mica opened his door and got out. “Good. Let’s get this over with.” He was by Desiree’s door before she could lift the handle, opening her door for her.

She smiled up at him. “Thanks, it’s good to know chivalry isn’t dead after all.” She slid out of the Express Van, reaching in for Hargrove. “Don’t forget the amulets,” she remarked to Mica. “Since that is something that Drake wants badly, maybe it will curb his temper.”

Denise scrunched up her nose, pointing to the rat cage. “You’re not really going to give that thing to Drake, are you?”

Desiree smiled mischievously. “Sure I am. After all the trouble he’s caused, I’m sure Drake will be happy to have this gift.” She patted the cage.

Mica put his arm around her shoulders. “I’ve got the amulets.” He looked at the rat cage in disgust. “You’ve got Hargrove. There is no sense in putting this off any longer.” He squeezed her shoulders, kissing the top of her head. “Let’s go face Drake.”

Nodding, she took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

They made their way to the front of the warehouse. Mica knocked three times on the door and it immediately opened. “They’re expecting us.”

Drake observed Mica and Desiree for the first time, noticing their closeness. His irritation grew. His eyes stopped on the cage in Desiree’s hand. “Is that thing some kind of familiar or something?”

Desiree laughed, patting the cage. “I don’t care what you do with it.” The rat in the cage squealed. “This is no ordinary rat. This is Jason Hargrove.”

Drake pinched his eyebrows together, scowling. “Hargrove… the witch hunter?”

“Yes, the one and only. He tried to kill me one too many times. I had had enough, so I cursed him into this form for eternity. I figured since he had caused you so much trouble, you might want to take care of him yourself.”

Drake lifted an eyebrow, observing the cage with new interest. “Sean!” he bellowed. “Come show our new guest to his quarters.”

Sean rushed up at Drake’s command. “Who am I escorting to quarters?”

Drake snatched the cage from Desiree, shoving it at Sean. “The rat in this cage is Jason Hargrove. Put the cage on top of a shelf or something. I’ll decide what to do with him later.”

Sean examined it with curiosity. “This is Hargrove?” Drake nodded. “What happened to him?”

“I cursed him,” Desiree remarked loudly to Sean. She raised her eyebrow. “I seem to remember a vampire that snatched me off the street and started all this mess.” Crossing her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes, she stared Sean down. “He wasn’t very nice to me either.” She glanced up at Mica and winked. “I might be able to come up with another curse or two…”