Eve of Samhain (10 page)

I focused on the road ahead of me, wearing a fat grin and the first sense of ease I’d felt since we’d left the apartment. Quinn was definitely a keeper.

As luck would have it, I found a parking space directly in front of The Plough and The Stars, quite happy I wouldn’t have to trek half a mile from the parking garage located further up the street.

I grabbed my purse and climbed out of the car, but not before I heard Jess snort, “The Plough? Someone’s got an Irishman on their mind.” It was obvious she was trying to push my buttons.

I did my best to feign irritation as I spat out a quick “Shut up!”

The pub was hopping, full of college students and locals alike. Tabitha, the coquettish hostess who’d seated Quinn and me before, greeted us near the entrance. “Restaurant’s full. You can take a seat in the bar if you’d like.” She shoved two menus at me and motioned for us to seat ourselves.

I made a beeline for one of two empty tables opposite the bar. The Pogues’ “Fairytale Of New York” blared throughout the packed room and I giggled to myself. I’d liked the song ever since I’d seen the movie
P.S. I Love You
. Gerard Butler is hot!

Jess followed close behind, taking in the scenery. “Wow. This place is busy.”

My butt had just hit my chair when a plastic looking waitress sidled up to our table. “Can I get you ladies started with a drink? A pitcher of beer? Some wings?”

Jess gave our plastic server the once-over and rolled her eyes. “God, no, beer goes straight to the gut. I’ll have an Appletini, please. Oh, and a vegetable platter.” She turned to face me. “Is that cool? Will you share it with me?”

Jess and I were of like minds. We both sang about the perils of fanny-inflating foods and avoided beer at all costs. “Yeah, that’s fine.” I looked over my shoulder toward the server. “I’ll have a Lemon Drop and an extra plate, I guess.”

With a nod and a smile, the server left to fill our order.

Halfway through our shared veggie platter, the bar was just as full as the restaurant portion of the pub. The cacophony of voices and laughter made thinking difficult, let alone hearing one another over the loud din.

Thank God for Lemon Drops. After my second, the tension that had me wound up taut as a bowstring finally eased and I found myself laughing at Jessica, who I’d taken to calling “Chug-a-lug.” Jess didn’t let loose often, but when she did, she was a happy drunk, giggly and flirtatious. She threw several come hither looks toward a handsome college boy sitting at the bar.

Upon seeing Jessica and me, the slick-looking twenty-something signaled his two friends with a slight nod before making a beeline straight for our table.

Oh great.

“So…would you ladies care for some company?” Rico Suave was a player. I could tell not only by his voice, but by the way he waltzed over to us like he owned the place. Pimp Daddy thought he was fly. I wasn’t fooled by him or by his friends. Jess? Well, she was another story.

Completely annihilated, Jessica was thoroughly incapable of forming a rational thought, let alone recognizing the player for what he was. Pissed to the gills, she sat in her seat and giggled as they approached. “Definitely!” she shouted happily, feigning a fake Australian accent. Jessica wasn’t just tipsy; she was toast.

Rico and his merry band of idiots swarmed down on us like a plague of locusts, stealing unoccupied chairs from other tables.

Señor Suave spun his chair around and straddled it as he sat next to Jessica. “Cool accent.” He eyeballed Jess like she was a juicy piece of steak. “Are you from Down Under?”

“Yep,” Jess lied, lifting her glass toward Rico as if to say “cheers,” and downed the rest of its contents.

Girlfriend was off the hook tonight. I really needed to cut her off.

Rico leered at Jess like a dog with three dicks. “Well, how about I give you an Aussie kiss?”

Oh no, he didn’t!

“Excuse me?” Jessica shouted. She reached for her glass only to find it empty, then grabbed mine, dumping the remainder of its contents onto Rico’s lap. “You don’t get to talk to me like that, now rack off!”

All hell broke loose.

“Bitch!” Rico jumped up from his seat with a growl and towered over Jessica. “You’re gonna pay for that.” He clenched his hands into fists and I feared he’d lose it altogether and hit her.

Tired of asshats who had no respect for women, I grabbed a handful of vegetables and tossed them at Rico’s face. “The hell she is. Get lost!” I tried to stand, but was yanked back into my seat by one of Rico’s nameless companions.

“Keep your trap shut or I’ll shut it for you,” Nameless Guy said, doing his best to intimidate me. It worked. Adrenaline spiked and I trembled from head to toe.

“Touch her again, and I’ll rip your fucking arm off and shove it down your bloody fucking throat!”

The effect of
his
voice on my body was instantaneous. My limbs stopped shaking and the fear that had placed me in a chokehold vanished. Only one person had that effect on me.
Quinn.

I turned my head and got an eyeful of two-hundred-plus pounds of pissed off faerie. Quinn towered in front of our table with his arms crossed, jaw clenched, and a murderous look in his eyes. Beyond sexy, dressed in a skintight black t-shirt that displayed his oversized chest and biceps quite nicely, ass hugging jeans, and Doc’s, he wore a deadly look upon his beautiful face. If looks could kill, Rico and his band of idiots would be dead, ten times over.

“Fuck off, Irishman!” Rico stepped forward, full of attitude and raised his arm as if to shove Quinn away. Lightning fast, Quinn took hold of Rico’s hand, crushing it in his own. The sound of bones cracking sailed over the noisy crowd, and Rico hit the deck, writhing in agony.

Tweedledee and Tweedledum hopped up from beside Jessica and me, wasting no time in getting the hell away from us, leaving their fearless leader whimpering and alone.

Shocked, my eyes darted from Jess to Quinn to the crying lump of flesh moaning on the floor. I didn’t quite know what to say, so I kept my trap shut.

“If you’ll excuse me, ladies?” Quinn excused himself politely and hefted the now sniveling Rico off of the floor, dragging him to the nearby exit at the rear of the bar.

“Ho…ly…Wow.” Jessica’s eyes widened in shock. “Did you see what he did to that guy’s hand?”

I fought to regain composure and stared in the direction Quinn had disappeared, completely stunned into silence.

A loud burp and the sickening sound of gagging tore my attention from the back exit. I looked over to Jess, who’d turned a brilliant shade of green.

“Oh…oh, God. I’m going to be sick.” With her hand over her mouth, she shot out of her seat, sprinting for the bathroom.

I moved to follow her when Quinn suddenly appeared again.

“I leave you alone for one evening and look what happens. Jaysus!” Quinn let out a frustrated groan and sat down in Jessica’s empty seat. “Fucking mollycoddles.” He sat back in the chair, flashed me a toothy grin, and snatched up a celery stick, popping it into his mouth.

I S
AT
O
PENMOUTHED
, staring at Quinn as he ravaged the last of the veggie platter, shocked at what I’d just seen. It wasn’t often I witnessed the crushing of a human hand. In fact, I’d never seen anything remotely close to the type of damage Quinn inflicted on Jessica’s unwanted suitor. I found it sexy as hell, which was odd since I rarely condoned violence. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I saw Quinn as my champion. Commanding and strong, he safeguarded not only me, but also my friends, from harm, and that was one powerful turn on for me.

Jess returned from the bathroom, her pale skin a violent shade of green, and took a seat opposite Quinn and me. Obviously still somewhat skeptical of my new friend, she slowly reached her hand out to greet Quinn, but changed her mind, hastily shoving it into her lap. I couldn’t blame her. If I’d just witnessed a stranger crush someone’s hand, I wouldn’t be too keen on giving him a handshake either, even if he had saved me from a rank asshole. In truth, I was a bit relieved. Knowing what came along with Quinn’s grip, I was fairly certain he’d refuse to comply, leaving Jessica hanging and confused. It was better all around if we kept strictly to conversation.

“Jess, I’d like you to meet Quinn. Quinn, this is my best friend, Jessica.” I smiled, nervous, praying the two of them would get along. Knowing how skeptical Jessica was in regard to Quinn, I wasn’t sure what she’d say.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Quinn,” Jessica said weakly, looking as though she might toss her cookies right at the table.

Thank you, God.

He gave her a nod. “Aye. You as well. Are you all right, lass? You’re looking pretty…ripe.”

Jessica sat quietly for a moment before her hand flew up to her mouth. She bolted once more from the table, in the direction of the bathroom.

“Well, I guess that answers my question,” Quinn said with a chuckle. He turned to face me, staring intently into my eyes, and I flushed. The power those baby blues had over me was almost too much. “So, did you like your present?”

“About that.” I leaned forward in my seat. “Thank you so much for the new phone. I absolutely love it. I just don’t think I’ll be able to afford the service for it.” I hated to put a damper on his wonderful gesture, but it was the plain truth. I made good money at the club, but an expensive phone plan was just not in my budget.

“Keep your knickers on, lass. It’s all taken care of.” A smug smile crept across his face and he turned toward the table to our left, which was occupied by a bunch of pencil-pushing geeks. He grabbed hold of their pitcher of beer, ignoring their protests and turned to face me once again, brazenly downing half its contents.

I shook my head. The man was shameless. “Dip into your pot of gold to pay for it?” I said with a snort, laughing at my own joke. From the look on Quinn’s face, I was clearly the only one who thought it was funny.

“Leprechauns!” Quinn grumbled. “Miserly ol’ gimps. I’m fair sorry to call them cousins.”

I gaped at him like he’d grown another head. “There are actually leprechauns?”

I’d been joking when I made the comment about the pot of gold, never thinking they might actually exist. Why it was such a stretch for me, I wasn’t sure. If I could believe in the reality of a five-hundred-year-old faerie, then why were leprechauns such an impossibility? Denial seemed the safest road to travel down as far as the existence of mythical creatures. If I remained in denial, I wouldn’t have to entertain the possibility there were sinister creatures lurking about, along with more charming beings such as Quinn.

“Aye, love. I’m not the only otherworldly creature roaming about. And not all of them are as handsome and charming as yours truly.” He smiled broadly for a moment, then leaned forward in his seat with a grim sigh. “So quickly you seem to have forgotten about the nasty creatures you read about just the other night. There are a fair number of dark beings more than willing to bleed you dry and leave you for dead.”

A chill shot up my spine and large goosebumps broke out all over my flesh as I trembled. I hadn’t forgotten. Hell, it wasn’t only mythical creatures that had me spooked. There were plenty of human assholes roaming around that scared the bejeesus out of me.

“Aye, that’s a more appropriate reaction. You should be afraid. Especially after the evil presence I sensed near you in that alley. I was deadly serious when I told you I don’t want you roaming about on your own.”

My stomach lurched, nausea rolling around my belly like a pinball in an arcade machine as the memory of the ominous message scrawled on my bedroom mirror flashed through my mind. Afraid and unwilling to consider the possibility my stalker might be a supernatural creature of some sort, I sat quietly, unsure of what to say.

I was about to tell Quinn about the break-in when Jessica dragged her way to the table, slow, unsteady, and still an unsavory shade of green. A thin sheen of sweat covered her forehead from emptying her stomach. She leaned heavily on the table, looking a little bit worse with each moment that passed. She exhaled heavily. “I need to get back to the apartment. I feel like death.”

“Oh God, Jess. Of course.” I reached into my bag for my wallet as I stood up from my seat. “Let me just take care of the check and I’ll drive us back.”

Quinn stood up, pulling a thick roll of cash from his pocket and tossed a few large bills onto the table before I could retrieve my own money from my wallet. I let my frustration with him be known and scowled at him with a huff.

“No arguments.” His tone was curt and authoritative, as was his expression. “Let’s get your friend home, shall we?”

I wanted to get Jessica back to the apartment more than I wanted to argue with him, so I let it go. I pulled her arm over my shoulder and let her lean on me as we navigated our way through the pub toward the exit. “I’m sorry, Jess. I shouldn’t have let you drink so much. I was so caught up in my own crap, I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Ugh,” she said with a groan. “It doesn’t take much to get me drunk. Plus, those jerks from the bar scared me a bit. Pigs!”

I looked up toward the heavens as we stepped outside. The sun was low on the horizon, streaks of pink and orange painting the autumn sky a wondrous color. Still pleasantly warm with just a hint of a breeze, it was a perfect California evening. Except for the fact that my car was no longer where I left it.

“Wait! Wha…what? No!” I screamed, my voice filled with anguish as I ran to the empty space where my beloved Mint Mobile was no longer parked.

“Ugh.” Jessica wavered a bit, doing her best to balance herself after I’d left her on her own. She ended up sinking down onto the sidewalk in a heap.

“This…” I turned to face Quinn and Jess and held my hands out, motioning to the empty spot in which I stood. “This is not happening!” I paced back and forth maniacally.

I clamped my eyes shut nice and tight and held my breath, willing my car to magically reappear. If faeries and boogeymen existed in this world, why the hell couldn’t my car materialize back to where it belonged? I cracked one eye open and faced my grim reality with a heavy heart. My car was gone and I was devastated.

Astonished by the fact that my car was stolen in broad daylight in front of the very establishment we patronized, I ran past Jessica, who sat hunched on the curb, and Quinn, who looked incensed as he paced back and forth scanning the area. Someone had to have seen something with as crowded as the pub was.

I scurried past Tabitha, ignoring her protests that I couldn’t just barge into the place and interrupt people while they enjoyed their meals. I didn’t care what she had to say. I needed to know if anyone saw anything. I weaved my way through the crowded dining area until I stood in front of the two tables situated in front of the window, directly across from where my car had been parked.

“Excuse me,” I said, out of breath and panting. “I apologize for interrupting your meal, but my car was stolen. It was parked just outside…there.” I pointed to where Jessica sat on the curb, partially blocking the now empty space. My poor, drunk friend; she heaved once again into the street, and I grimaced at having treated the poor strangers to such a sight during their meal.

A warm, tingling sensation trickled up my spine and I turned to see Quinn standing behind me, a fierce look in his eyes as he stood with his hands shoved into his pockets.

I stared at the patrons in front of the window. “Did you by chance see anything?”

The guests at the table farthest from where I stood merely shook their heads and continued shoveling food into their mouths. The older couple sitting at the table closest to me, however, stared at me like I was a certifiable nut.

Frowning at me, the old man spoke. “Yeah, I saw something. I saw you get into your car and drive away.”

Me? What?

“Uh, no, I didn’t move my car. I was in the bar until just a few minutes ago.” The tone of my voice rose higher and higher, along with my agitation.

He pointed a bony finger at me and glowered. “Look here, little missy, I’m telling you what I saw. About twenty minutes ago, I watched you get into your car and drive off.” He shook his head at me in disgust and grumbled, “That’s the problem with your generation. You don’t take responsibility for yourselves. Maybe you should lay off the sauce and focus more on your studies. When I was your age…”

Grandpa Kettle’s words floated off into the ether as I stood amidst the crowded tables, shaking with anger.

“Ryann, come with me now,” Quinn said forcefully.

I whirled around to face him. “But—”

My protest was met with a stern glare. Mr. Serious Face was not messing around.

Not wanting to argue with Quinn on top of everything else, I made my apologies to Ol’ Man River and his wife, and followed Quinn outside. “What the hell?” I said once we were outside the Plough. “I’m just trying to find out what happened to my car. Apparently, I stole it myself and drove away!” I reached into my bag, pulling out my new phone, and dug around for Officer What’s-His-Name’s card. Dammit! I’d left it on the coffee table back at the apartment. I frantically clawed at the touch screen, trying to figure out how to make a call. “Damn thing! How the hell do you make a call on this contraption?”

Quinn stalked over to me. “Who are you trying to call?”

I blew up. “The cops! I need to report my car being stolen.”

Quinn scanned the street in both directions with a deadly look on his face. “Put your phone away,
a ghrá
. The police won’t be able to help you find your car.”

“Why not?” I stared at him in disbelief.

“Because I think it was taken by some kind of demon. I sensed the presence of evil when we first came out here. It lingers still.” Quinn took on a protective stance, positioning himself closer to me, while staring down each passerby with a shit-load of
ima-beat-you-if-you-come-any-closer
as he spoke. In fact, as he stood on the curb with a cold, lethal stare and a pair of large, sinewy arms that looked more like weapons of mass destruction crossed over his chest, Quinn was no longer the cheeky, charismatic ladies’ man I’d grown to know, but a fierce warrior ready to wipe the floor with anyone or anything that came near me.

“What the hell does a demon want with my car?” Mythical creatures popped in and out of places by magic and traveled at the speed of light. Last time I checked, the boogeyman didn’t drive a Prius. Hell, maybe I was the crazy one, and the past few days had been some kind of whacked out fantasy being played out in my mind.

“I’ve no idea. It seems the only explanation, though, what with the dark aura that’s lingering about, and with the patron’s account of what he saw.”

“What do you mean?”

“The man in the restaurant claimed he saw you get into your car and drive away. I know you didn’t as I was with you, so someone, or something, that looked like you took your car.”

“Something that looks like me?”

“Aye,
mo chrói
. A shapeshifter,” he said, his voice filled with disgust.

I blanched and my eyes felt like they might pop out of their sockets.

Shapeshifter?

The boundaries of what my brain could accept were being stretched way past what was acceptable to me.

I hit the wall and lost control of myself, unleashing an emotional tirade straight out of Jerry Springer. “This is insane. No, I’m insane, that’s it. I’ve lost my freaking mind. My car, you, all of this is a manifestation of my subconscious mind. Holy Mother of God! I’ve cracked!” I was past upset and had ventured into the wonderful realm of hysteria. My eyes darted back and forth scanning the street, my paranoia-filled mind certain I’d be shot any moment with a tranquilizer gun and dragged away for shock treatment.

Quinn stood in front of me and glared. “Calm down,
a ghrá
. You’re not crazy and—if you wouldn’t mind keeping your voice down? It’s really not very fun having to go around scrubbing people’s memories.”

“Uh…hello? Ryann?” I snapped my head around to see Jessica still sitting on the curb looking pale and sweaty. “Can we go home or should I just lay down here in the gutter?” It was plain as day Jessica felt awful, and a terrible pang of remorse stabbed me in the chest. I was a horrible friend for leaving her to sit on the curb for so long while I had a mental breakdown.

“Oh, God. I’m so sorry. Here…” I walked over and crouched down, grabbing hold of her by the arms and hauled her up to her feet. “Let’s go. We’ll have to walk.”

“Stay where you are,” Quinn said with a commanding tone while glaring at me. “That means no flitting about interrogating hapless strangers about your wayward vehicle.” He stood in front of me, his body mere centimeters from mine, and got right in my face. “Sit yourself down and stay put.”

“Excuse me?” I crossed my arms in front of me. I didn’t particularly care for his bossy tone and I loathed being treated like a child, though I knew he meant well. I donned my best diva attitude, placing my hands on my hips, and stood still, chin up, glowering at him.

“You heard me.” He pointed toward the curb, glaring at me with one eyebrow raised, all but daring me to cross him. “Stubborn as a mule you are,” he grumbled and shook his head while walking away, I assumed to retrieve his car.