Dark Taste of Rapture (16 page)

“That’s her.”

Electric blues found her, and Dallas smiled in greeting. And yet that smile lacked any hint of amusement. Like Hector, he’d been careful to keep his distance from her these past few months. As if there were something toxic about her.

“She’s one of the good ones,” he said.

“Oh,” the girl responded, clearly frustrated that she hadn’t helped nail a suspect. And clearly hating on Noelle. Her eyes narrowed before she returned her attention to Dallas and placed a proprietary hand on his bicep. “As I was saying …”

There was her car, no worse for wear. She’d had the foresight to shut down the engine before diving outside, and someone would have had to know how to
bypass her very extensive security system to start it up again.

“Noelle,” a familiar voice called. “Wait up.”

She stopped, and Mia Snow jogged to her side.

“How are the females?” Noelle asked her.

That petite face scrunched in anger. “My source said we’d find three, but we only found two. Not sure where the third is, but the other two were drugged, so they didn’t know anything. They might have been pegged with a tracker, too. We’re looking into it.”

“Either of them speak English?”

“Just one. We sent both to New Chicago General with two agents in each ambulance and lasercuffs on the girls so they couldn’t be teleported away. There will be two agents at their bedsides the entire time. Until they’re well enough and we can move them into AIR HQ, where no one will be able to teleport them elsewhere, no matter what. This time, I
will
find out what the hell is going on with these abductions.”

So much determination in such a tiny body, which reminded Noelle of Ava. A pang in her chest, razing that hollow place. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

Mia nodded, dark bob swinging around her chin. “Hector texted me, told me what happened. You did well.”

Pride unfurled wings and fluttered inside her. How pathetic was she, that she wanted to twirl a strand of hair around her finger and ask what, exactly, Hector had said? “I always do.”

A snort. “Where are you headed now?”

“Home to shower.” And most likely to replay every
change in Hector’s expression, his every word, his every glance.

Yep. It was official. She was pathetic.

Mia gifted Noelle with one of her rare smiles. “See you at the wedding tomorrow, then.”

“Don’t remind me,” she muttered.

Tomorrow her life changed forever. And not in a good way.

A
VA WAS LEAVING HER!

“Graduate Camp Hellhole—check,” Noelle muttered. “Hired by AIR—check. Complete my first mission successfully—check. Kick Hector’s ass at a foot race—check. Lose my best friend—check, check, fucking check, and scribble and crumble the notepad and slam it into the trash.”

She leaned against the bathroom stall, clutching her two favorite men: a bottle of Jack and a bottle of Jim. She was trying not to cry. She hadn’t felt this vulnerable since that terrible night at camp, when Hector had given her a figurative finger. Had thought she’d prepared herself for this life-changing moment last night, staying up to watch holo-vids of her and Ava.

Well, she wasn’t prepared and never would be! Noelle banged the back of her head against the wall over and over. For once, she wished she could feel physical pain. A terrible, gut-wrenching pain. Anything to distract her.

Ava was about to marry her vampire boyfriend McKell, and Noelle would forever be alone.

At least I look good
, she thought with a bitter laugh. As the maid of honor, Noelle wore a gorgeous red sheath dress that conformed to her curves. Spaghetti straps, a scooped neck that revealed ample cleavage. The material flowed to the floor, flirting with her amazing diamond-encrusted red stilettos.

Her hair was curled and now waved down her back, dancing with her every motion. Her makeup, perfectly applied. Her skin, glowing with health and vitality—or was that sickly dread?

Ava, her best friend, her only true friend, had fallen in love. Deep, abiding love.

Today Ava would abandon Noelle to tie herself to a vampire warrior.

Tonight Ava would give up the daylight and become a vampire herself.

Trying not to fall into a spiral of panic, failing, Noelle drained Jack and tossed the bottle in the toilet. Still trying not to fall into a spiral of panic, failing, she drained Jim and tossed the bottle in the toilet. She had to get herself under control. She couldn’t let Ava see her like this.

This was Ava’s day. Noelle would not ruin it. No matter how much she wished Ava would change her mind, tell McKell where he could stick his fangs, and sprint from the chapel. That way, things could return to normal. Just the two of them, kicking ass and forgetting names.

Alone, alone, alone. The word echoed through her mind, tormenting her.

Wasn’t like she could call her mom and sob out all her problems. Madam Tremain disapproved of her more than ever.

Isn’t it enough that Jaxon has tarnished the Tremain name?
the blasted woman had sneered during their last phone conversation. Why couldn’t Noelle act like a lady for once and do something with her life? Like charity work for one of their many causes?

No support from her brothers, either. She was more than welcome to silently sit on the board of Carter’s firm. More than welcome to fly to Third World countries with Anthony and help the poor. More than welcome to seclude herself in Tyler’s Italian villa while he partied.

As long as she stopped embarrassing everyone with her “wildness” and her “wayward mouth” and her “blue-collar job.”

Wasn’t it time she grew up?

A tear threatened to burn a path down her cheek, but she managed to blink it back.
Oh, Ava. I miss you already
. There would be no more ditching work to go shopping and have their nails done. No more midnight pillow fights. No more five-hour-long phone conversations about their hopes and dreams.

Fine. They hadn’t done any of those things before, but now they wouldn’t have the opportunity. Once Ava turned into a vampire, she would be unable to venture out during daylight hours without burning like deep-battered shrimp.

So Ava would only be doing night patrol for AIR. And yeah, okay, Noelle could change her schedule, too, and would, if AIR would let her, and they had better fucking let her, or she’d quit, even though she’d come to love the job. Even still, McKell would be the one with access to all of Ava’s free time.

Time that had once belonged to Noelle.

Guilt was like acid in her veins, a disease without a cure. Ava was so happy. So damn happy, and here Noelle was, pouting about it. But too many things were changing all at once, and Noelle simply couldn’t process everything.

A hard knock rattled the stall’s door, and she yelped, straightened. The alcohol must have finally kicked in because the motion left her head swimming and her thoughts fogging. Good, that was good. The foggier she was, the happier she’d appear.

“Hey, Noelle, you in there?” Ava asked, concerned.

She could play this. No one would ever know the depths of her despair. Not even Ava. “Yes, rudeness, I am. Can’t a girl do her business in private?”

“Not this girl, and not today. Finish and come tell me how gorgeous I look.”

Yes, she could do that. Noelle leaned over and waved her hand over the motion sensor. The toilet flushed, Jack and Jim rattling together and refusing to go down. No matter. She squared her shoulders, pasted on her megawatt grin, and opened the door.

And there was Ava, her sweet Ava. “My God. You look gorgeous.” Truth. Breath was actually catching in Noelle’s throat, clogging the passage.

Ava beamed, love radiating from her, giving her burnished tan a melted cookies-and-cream sheen. Her curls framed her delicate face and tumbled past her shoulders. She wore a gown of golden silk, in a goddess cut, the material flowing all the way to six-inch hooker heels. The best part, though? A necklace made from human
finger bones hung around her neck. A gift from McKell.

“
I
want to marry you,” Noelle teased.

Ava was supposed to laugh, maybe twirl and demand more compliments. Instead, Ava cupped Noelle’s cheeks, and peered deep into her eyes. “I love you. And really, McKell’s just my starter husband. You know I despise commitment. I’ll probably leave him before the honeymoon is over.”

Hardly. Those two were forever, and all three of them knew it.

“I wouldn’t do this if I thought I would lose you,” Ava said, voice softening further. “You and me, we’ll be together for eternity. Probably not in heaven, but we’ll still be together. You know that, right? Tell me you know that.”

Noelle held onto her smile. Barely. “I know that.” And she did. But things
would
change, and more than they already had. One day Ava and McKell would have a kid. Or six. The way they went at it, they might have a baker’s dozen. Ava would have a new family, one that did not include Noelle.

Aunts, even kick-ass aunts like Noelle would be, were merely an extension, rather than part of the whole. That’s just the way things worked.

Don’t you dare cry!

Where was her happily ever after? Where was her stand-by-you man? She hadn’t been on a single date since leaving AIR training camp. There’d been offers, of course, but she’d been unable to feign interest.

Always she’d thought,
Where’s Hector? What’s he doing?
and flaked.

“Now,” she said, performing a twirl of her own. A mistake. The dizziness magnified. When she stopped, two Avas watched her with more of that concern. “How do
I
look?”

Several moments ticked by in silence before determination overwhelmed the concern, and Ava smiled. Knowing the little witch as she did, Noelle knew her friend had just decided time would prove her right.

“You look amazing, and if one person, just one, says you look prettier than me, there’s going to be a massacre after the vows are said.”

“What if that someone is me? Because I’m just gonna say it. I do look prettier than you.” She sighed, revealing only a hint of her wariness. “Maybe at your next wedding you’ll manage to outshine me.”

This time Ava laughed. “Shut up. I can get away with talking that way, but when McKell hears anyone else voice any kind of doubt, he lectures about what’s his, his,
his
.”

Yeah, there was no one more possessive than McKell.

Noelle experienced a slight pang of envy that none of the guys she’d dated throughout the years had ever tried to stake a claim on her. Corban might have demanded more of her time, but in the end, when she’d left him, he hadn’t come after her, hadn’t fought for her, and she’d realized he’d never really loved her either.

How could he? She’d never been the woman he’d wanted.

“So what are you doing in here?” Noelle asked. “Your ceremony starts—” she glanced at the clock on the wall “—five minutes ago. Oh, shit. I’m sorry!”

She’d been helping Ava with her hair, had felt the panic burning up her throat, and had fled into this bathroom under the guise of having to pee so badly she was ready to wet herself. Half an hour had passed.

The area was small, with two stalls, one sink, and no sitting area to check your makeup and chat. At least the walls were painted a pretty silver, none of the stone crumbling.

Ava should have sheer opulence, utter luxury, but she had flat-out refused to allow Noelle to pay for anything. Not that that had stopped Noelle from sneaking in a few improvements. Like, say, paying for the entire building to be refurbished in secret.

“I can’t get married without my maid of honor at my side, so do me a favor and hustle that sweet ass of yours into the chapel.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Noelle jumped into motion, and Ava smacked the ass in question.

Out of the bathroom, through a narrow hallway with scarlet carpeting and glowing wall sconces she went. When she reached the main foyer, with faux wood tables pressed into the corners, and a chandelier dripping with glittering crystals, she paused.

There were the arching double doors that led to McKell. Though her stomach twisted with nausea, she held out her arm, waiting. Ava linked their fingers. Her skin was cold, a little clammy.

“Nervous?” Noelle asked. Beyond the entrance, she could hear the gentle strum of a harp, the delicate notes of a piano.

“A little,” Ava admitted.

Some of the nausea eased. “I can get you out of here in five seconds flat and—”

Ava laughed. “I’m not having doubts, you dope. I love McKell, and he loves me, and I honestly can’t live without him. I just hope I don’t trip and fall. Or, do I have food in my teeth? I knew I shouldn’t have eaten those strawberries.”

“If you trip and fall, I’ll point and laugh, but I’ll also make sure your panties aren’t showing. If you’re wearing any, that is. But that’s the worst that can happen, so your worry is kinda pointless. As for your teeth, they’re perfect. Just like you.”

The tension drained from Ava’s grip, her temperature warming. “You’re such a sap.”

“Just for today.”
I’m a big girl. I will survive this
. “So, are you ready to do this or what?”