Kissing with Fangs (11 page)

“The human girlfriend. Get rid of her.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“What does my love life have to do with you?”

She laughed. “What does
love
have to do with
nature
? I'm not going to honor that idiotic question with an answer.”

He leaned forward. “All right. Let me put it a different way. What's your objection to my relationship with Claudia?”

“You're a vampire. She's a human. Even a simpleton should be able to see the problems inherent in that.”

Anthony hung his head. “I know. It isn't ideal.”

Gaia laughed. “Not ideal? Now
there's
an understatement.” She rose and paced. “How and when were you planning to tell her?”

He sighed. “I don't know.”

She rolled her eyes. “Let's pretend for a minute that you get up the nerve to tell her everything. What's to prevent her from laughing in your face and telling all her girlfriends about it?”

“Claudia's not like that.”

“Oh, yeah? Is she going to believe you and accept you
just
the
way
you
are
? Is she as delusional as you are?”

“She'll ask questions, but she'll listen open-mindedly. She's very intelligent. Not to mention loyal, caring, resourceful—”

Mother Nature raised her hand. “Fine. You think she's the greatest. For now. What about later when you see the faults I've given her?”

“I already know them, and I don't care.”

Gaia threw her hands in the air. “You have an answer for everything, don't you? Oh, wait. You have an answer for everything
except
how to tell her you're a vampire.”

Anthony slumped. “When the time comes, I imagine we'll have an honest, adult conversation.”

“Dream on. She won't believe you. Were you planning to give her a demonstration?”

“No.”

Gaia stopped and whirled on him. “You've really thought this out, haven't you? I have a suggestion. Break up with her
before
you have to explain yourself.”

“Apparently, even vampires can't choose who they fall in love with. If you're worried about her, just know that I would never harm or drink from Claudia.”
Unless
she
wants
me
to.

“So, you're telling me you'd go against your own nature to be with this human?”

“Yes.”

She folded her arms. “I don't believe you.”

Anthony rose. “Why not? I'm telling you the truth.”

She smashed her fist on his desk. “Because I know the power of nature. Here. Let me give
you
a demonstration.”

Anthony didn't have time to blink, much less speak, before he found himself shivering on a snowy mountaintop. A goat walked up to him and stared him in the eyes.

“What did you do to piss her off?” he asked.

The goat bleated.

A moment later, he was back in his office. Mother Nature shook her head. “He can't answer your question. He's a goat, stupid.”

Anthony folded his arms. “What do you want from me? Besides walking away from Claudia, because I won't do that.”

She raised one eyebrow. “Isn't it obvious? I want you to dump your human girlfriend right fucking now. But, I'll let you think about the consequences if you disobey me. Someone is about to barge in on us, and I don't want to be here when he does.”

A knock at the door drew Anthony's attention for a millisecond. When he turned back to Mother Nature, she was gone.

***

Kurt poked his head around the door and saw Anthony standing in the middle of his office, clenching his fists.

“Is everything all right, buddy?”

“Uh, yeah. Come in.” He rounded the desk and sat behind it. Unusual for Anthony. Back when he owned the bar, he was much less stiff and formal. Maybe he was trying to seem more professional for some reason.

Kurt took a seat on the opposite side of the desk, but stretched his legs out and leaned back with his fingers interlaced behind his head. If Anthony didn't want to be comfortable, that was his problem.

“You came to see me about something?”

“Yeah.” Kurt sat up and leaned forward. “Ruxandra tried to mesmerize me.”

Anthony's spine straightened even more than it had been with the broomstick up his ass. “What do you mean, ‘tried to'? It sounds like she didn't succeed.”

“Correct. She looked directly into my eyes and told me to step into traffic.”

“Jesus!”

“Yeah. Her eyes turned some kind of funky gold and purplish color, and she seemed genuinely shocked that I didn't do as I was told.”

“I'm sorry, Kurt. I didn't think she'd try anything like that. Stay away from her. I'll figure something else out.”

“No. It's okay. I'm glad to know she can't make me do her bidding. In that way, I'm probably the best man for the job, Operation Distraction. Even more than that, though, I think she can be useful if and when we find the lab.”

“Have you gotten any closer to locating it?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Sadie described her surroundings and tried to get back to the place, but she's being blocked for some reason.”

“How is that possible? Who could prevent her from astral projection? That specter of a security guard?” Then, for some reason, Anthony pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. “Never mind. I think I just realized the answer to my own question.”

“Really? Because the only explanation she can come up with has to do with her spirit guides protecting her. Have you got some other possibility in mind?”

Anthony took a deep breath. Something Kurt had never seen him do. He seemed to be mulling something over. Finally he said, “Never mind. Let's get back to Ruxandra. I need to know that your spell to protect Claudia is rock solid. There's no way she can be mesmerized by me…I know that. I tried. But do you think Ruxandra could make her do something like step into traffic?”

“I doubt it.”

Anthony shot to his feet. “You
doubt
it? That's the best reassurance you can give me?”

Kurt held up both hands and pushed Anthony into his chair without touching him. By the look on Anthony's face, he seemed surprised and a little impressed.

“How did you do that?”

Kurt grinned. “I don't give away my trade secrets.”

“Hmmm…maybe I should hire you to be Claudia's undercover bodyguard.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “Yeah, she wouldn't catch on to that at all.”

Anthony slumped over his desk, his hands covering his face. “What the hell am I supposed to do? I need to protect her, but I can't.”

“I don't know. I've done what I can. I'm not ready to give up on Ruxandra, as long as I know she can't mesmerize me. By the way, why do you think that is? Are vampires losing their ability to mesmerize humans?”

Anthony rose and came around his desk. “Let's find out. You
are
human, right?”

Kurt leaned away from him. “You're going to mesmerize me?”

“Why not? I'm a vampire. I
think
you're human.”

Kurt smirked. “Watch the insults. I'm one hundred percent human—just a well-trained wizard.”

“I won't make you do anything dangerous. I hope you know that.”

“Of course. I trust you. You need me.” He smirked.

Anthony let out the long breath he'd inhaled a few minutes ago. He leaned down and caught Kurt's eye. All Kurt had time to do was blink—at least it felt like he'd just blinked. He was sitting in Anthony's chair, looking at a piece of paper on the desk with the word “black” written in his handwriting.

“Impressive,” he said. “Why did I write the word ‘black'?”

“I asked you to write down your favorite color. Black seemed like an odd choice, but you're an odd guy.” Anthony shrugged.

“Hey. I thought I told you to watch the insults. I said ‘black' because I love all colors and black is what you get if you mix all the colors together. Besides, I look awesome in it.” He tugged the shoulders of his black T-shirt.

“Okay. So, vampires aren't losing their touch. Maybe your spell to protect Claudia from Ruxandra protected her from me and you from Ruxandra?”

“Not very likely, but I don't have a better explanation.”

Anthony exited his office to check on the tea room. Angie was sitting with Tory and Nick. He was surprised to see her still there. He waved to Sadie, who was doing a reading, and approached the table of three.

“Didn't you finish your shift a couple hours ago, Angie?”

“Ah, yeah.” She fidgeted. “Is it all right if I become a customer in the evening?”

“Of course. I just didn't think you'd want to hang around where you worked. I guess you don't hate it here.”

She laughed. “Not at all. I like it. The job is easy, even if I can't get any White Russians here and the clientele is the same old, demanding bunch.” She pointed at Tory and Nick with her thumb.

“You love us,” Tory said. One side of his mouth quirked up.

“And you're best friends with my wife,” Nick added. “Insult me, and she'll have to stop hanging around with you.”

Angie laughed. “Yeah, right.”

“Actually, Nick, I've been meaning to talk to you about something. Can you come into my office for a few minutes?”

“And leave these two unchaperoned?”

Tory shoved his thick arm. “Please. I think we can manage without you.”

“Fine. I know when I'm not wanted.” Nick rose and followed Anthony, but before he reached the office, he called over his shoulder, “If you need my protection, just yell.”

“I think I'll be okay, Nick,” Angie called back.

“I was talking to Tory,” he said. He closed Anthony's door on her indignant sputtered retort.

“You like to give Angie a hard time, don't you?” Anthony asked.

“Been doing it ever since I've known her. She'd miss it if I didn't. So, what did you want to see me about?”

“Have a seat.” Anthony waited for Nick to get comfortable, then asked, “How's the investigation going?”

“Which one?”

“You have more than one case?”

“Yeah, but they seem to be related. Apparently there are more paranormals missing, and if they're being taken to a secret lab in Cambridge, we can't find it.”

“You know it's in Cambridge?”

“I think so. I've followed scents over the Memorial Bridge several times. That's where I lose them. I think the wind off the river interferes with tracking beyond there.”

“Then it
does
sound like you're getting close. Has Sadie confirmed any of what you've seen with what she saw during her astral projection?”

“She said it was too dark and she can't get back there for some reason.”

“That's weird. I wonder why not.”

“She said maybe her subconscious is protecting her, refusing to let her go somewhere dangerous or mentally disruptive.”

“I don't know… She seems mentally sound, and how much danger can she be in when she's in astral form?”

Nick shrugged. “I don't know how her gift works. I just wish it did—now more than ever—and unfortunately her subconscious, or whatever, isn't cooperating.”

“What if you took her around the area during the day? Would she recognize anything?”

Nick shook his head. “She says no. She didn't pay attention to the outer surroundings. Just the roof she landed on.”

“Maybe Kurt could take her up in a helicopter. He's a pilot—or at least he was in the military.”

Nick rose. “That's brilliant. I'm just sorry I didn't think of it sooner.”

“Glad I could help.”

“Don't tell anyone I discussed the case with you. If it works, I'm taking credit for it.” He laughed.

***

Anthony cuddled Claudia on her couch, but she seemed distracted. He stroked her cheek and tucked her hair behind her delicate ear, careful not to disturb her pearl earring.

“What's wrong, honey?”

“Nothing.”

“In my experience, when a woman says ‘nothing,' there's always something. Come on. Out with it.”

She sighed. “I wish you'd spend the whole night with me sometime. I don't understand why you can't. I'm perfectly willing to black out all the windows. Is it that you don't want to see my morning face with no makeup and bed-head?”

Shit.
Maybe it was time to let her in on his secret. He still didn't know if she could handle it sober, and he'd feel horrible if he caused her to start drinking again.
No. Not yet.
Trying to sound natural, he said, “Don't be ridiculous. You're beautiful when you wake up.”

“How would you know?”

“I woke you one morning. As I recall, you had cried off your makeup, and bed-head didn't begin to describe your hair.” He grinned, hoping to lighten the mood and let her know he was teasing at the same time.

She groaned. “True. I guess if you saw me like that and didn't run for the hills, you really aren't bothered by appearances.”

“You won't get rid of me that easily.” How could he get her off the subject of staying overnight? He shifted so he could hide his erection. “Speaking of getting rid of people, Kurt is trying to romance Ruxandra.”

Claudia sat up and faced him. “You're kidding.”

“Nope. He's not having much luck at the moment, but he seems determined to win her over.”

Claudia covered her mouth with open fingers. “I don't know whether to be grateful or horrified.”

“Be grateful. He's a grown man, knows what he's getting into, and seems willing—if not eager—to tame the shrew.”

Claudia laughed. “Unbelievable.” Then she quieted. “I know she's beautiful…I mean, absolutely
gorgeous
, but what else does Kurt see in her?”

Anthony shrugged. He couldn't very well say his friend was doing him the favor of a lifetime.

Her eyes widened. “You don't suppose he's after her money, do you?”

Anthony almost asked, “What money?” but stopped himself. Letting Claudia come up with her own plausible answer might be wiser.

“I don't know,” he said.

Claudia spoke softly as if thinking out loud. “I never thought of him as opportunistic, but I only know the convivial, flirty Kurt. Come to think of it, he does seem kind of superficial, and she's always dripping in diamonds and furs. She must be loaded. And as far as I know, he doesn't currently have a job.”

“I never ask about people's finances. You could be right.”

“And I never asked about yours, but you volunteered the fact that I shouldn't worry about the tea shop.”

“True. I don't tell people unless they need to know. You're the manager and needed to know we could afford to take a risk.”

He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers and jokingly whispered in her ear, “Now that you know I'm loaded, do you think you could love me for my money?”

She laughed. “I never expected you, of all people, to be so blatant about gold diggers. And, for your information, I'm not one of them.”

He grinned. “I know. And I'm glad.”
If
only
she
knew
about
my
time
in
Alaska
during
the
Gold
Rush. I knew plenty of them.

He turned her chin to face him. “You're perfect.” He was about to kiss her, but Claudia dropped her gaze, bit her lip, and closed her eyes.

Uh-oh.
“What's the matter?”

She shook her head.

“Whatever it is, you can tell me. You know that, right?”

She hung her head. “I'm so far from perfect it isn't funny. There's something I've done…”

There was something momentous in the atmosphere. As if she were about to reveal a horrible secret.

“It's not the kind of thing I like to talk about, but you should probably know. I killed my sister.”

Anthony couldn't imagine his sweet, gentle Claudia being capable of killing anyone. It had to have been some kind of accident. Something she'd been blaming herself for.

He took both of her hands in his. “Tell me about it.”

She looked away.

“Claudia, honey. I'm not here to judge you. Is this something that contributed to your drinking?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “Most definitely.”

Hell, it was a wonder he didn't end up with a drinking problem, too, with all the lives he'd taken. “I understand confession can be good for the soul. I'm far from priestly, but I'm willing to listen if it'll help.”

She sighed. “I had a sister two years older. She was the brainy one. Really, really smart. My parents couldn't afford to send us both to private colleges, but she got a partial scholarship to Dartmouth. She wanted to be a doctor. A pediatrician. Meanwhile, I was lucky enough to get into BU. My parents took out a second mortgage on their house so I could go. I should have gone to a state school…” A tear shimmered in her eye.

“Marion had just come home for the summer after her sophomore year. I was celebrating my high school graduation at a party on the other side of town. Of course I'd had too much to drink. Since Marion was the smart one, I distinguished myself by being the social one. I had lots of friends, went out every weekend, and drank a lot.

“Anyway, that night I knew I was in no shape to drive and our designated driver left us all in the lurch after a fight with her boyfriend, so I called good ol' reliable Marion. She took the highway, probably to get there faster. Another car crossed the center line and hit her head-on in a high-speed crash. The driver of the other car was drunk and apparently bounced. He survived. My sister did not.” Claudia broke down and sobbed.

Anthony grabbed her and held her tight. How could she blame herself for an accident like that? He wanted to shake her, but that was the last thing she needed. Instead, he stroked her hair and murmured, “Shhh…” until she stopped.

“Claudia, honey. You can't blame yourself for an accident.”

“Yeah, but if I hadn't—”

“Listen. You couldn't have known any of that would happen. It sounds like you didn't expect her to take the highway. You couldn't have known there'd be a drunk driver on it. If anyone should be blamed, it's the driver of the other car, but regardless…guilt and shame doesn't help anyone. We live our lives. We make decisions. We make mistakes. It's part of finding our way through the unknown.”

“My father hated me after that.”

“I'm sure he didn't. Some men don't know how to deal with or express strong emotions. They lash out in frustration. Did he ever say it was your fault?”

“Not in so many words.”

“He doesn't hate you. I saw his concern for you myself.” He took her face in his hands.” I wish I could take away all the pain, but I can't.”
Because
apparently
my
power
of
mesmerism
is
on
the
fritz.
“Look, we don't know why some things happen. They just do. It's how we handle them that tells us who we really are.”

Claudia clenched her fists. “Then I'm really a horrible person.”

“You are not!” He rose and raked his hand through his hair. “I wish you'd stop beating yourself up. Isn't there something in the twelve steps about asking people to forgive you for things you've done under the influence?”

“Yes. It's the ninth step. I'm not quite there yet.”

“Well, when you get there, talk to yourself first. You need to forgive yourself. In the meanwhile, know that I forgive you. Maybe that will help.”

She sighed. “I don't deserve you.”

“You're right.”

She looked up with questioning eyes.

“You deserve better.”

Anthony wished he could help by sharing some ghastly stories of his own. So she was indirectly responsible for one measly death. He had fed on hundreds of humans, many of whom didn't survive until he learned how much he could take without killing someone. In a way they'd both had drinking problems.

She'd be appalled. Most humans would, but Claudia with her gentle heart couldn't handle it. Not now, and maybe not ever.
What
was
I
thinking?

A knock at the door disturbed their intimate conversation. When Claudia didn't answer right away, the pounding increased and a frantic female voice shouted, “Anthony! Are you in there?”

It didn't sound like Ruxandra.

Anthony rose. “It's Angie.” He buttoned his suit jacket as Claudia strode to the door.

“Angie, what's wrong?”

“It's Tory. Someone Tasered him, hauled him into a white van, and drove off.”

Anthony flew down the stairs faster than he should have, but he needed to catch whoever had done this. The MO seemed to fit the facts Nick and Kurt had shared with him.

Once on the sidewalk, he scanned the area as far as his vampiric night vision could see.

Nothing. Damn it.

He dug his cell phone out of his pocket and called Nick.

“Hey, Anthony. What's up?”

“Our kidnappers just took Tory.”

“Shit! What happened? Tell me everything.”

“I should put you on the phone with Angie. She witnessed it.” He jogged upstairs, still talking. “By the time I got down to the sidewalk, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary.”

He knocked and waited for the click that meant Claudia had locked the door. Thank goodness she kept her promise to keep it locked at all times.

As soon as she let him in, he put the phone on speaker and said to Angie. “It's Nick. Tell him what you saw.”

“Hi, Nick. Tory and I were just standing on the sidewalk outside the tea shop, talking. A white van pulled up next to us, and two guys wearing black ski masks got out. One of them shot him with a Taser. Then they hauled him into the van through the sliding side door and took off. I screamed for help, but no one would get involved.”