Linked (3 page)

He nodded. “Normally I wait until
at least the second date to ask this, but do you want to go home with me or let
me stay here?”

The snort that escaped her
surprised and mortified her into a fit of giggles.

Cole threw his head back and
laughed. The sound was rich, smooth and every bit as decadent as a slice of
cherry-topped New York cheesecake.

“I mean it,” he said.

“I appreciate the offer,” she
said, going serious. “But I’ll be okay. You don’t think they’ll come back, do
you?”

He took a sip of his coffee
before answering. “I think it’s unlikely, but if you want the truth, it’s not
impossible. Stranger things have happened. Do you want to call the police and
file a report?”

“I haven’t decided yet. If there’s
anything missing I will, but if not….” She shrugged. “The police already think
I’m crazy.”

“Okay, let’s see if there’s
anything missing,” he said, then downed the rest of his coffee and stood.

§§§

Cole followed Lana around as she
checked and double-checked, but nothing was missing. As he walked behind her,
he decided he’d never get tired of the view. Her full hips swayed gently, and
for her lack of height, she more than made up for it in the length of her legs.
He loved long legs and a nice butt, and she had both.

Together, they walked into her
bedroom. He noticed instantly how cheerful it seemed, without being flowery or
overly feminine. The colors were gender-neutral in gold, tan and navy blue.

Simple, cozy, even inviting.

She had one of those canopy beds
with drapes hanging over the sides in some nearly transparent material. He
couldn’t stop the images of her entwined in those hangings, her hair wrapped in
his hand.

He watched her bend over to pick
up a fallen book, and a wave of desire assaulted him, stronger than he’d ever
felt for anyone before.

“I don’t think he had time to get
anything out of my room,” she commented, jarring him out of his badly timed
fantasy as she walked out of the room and into another.

He continued to follow her
throughout the house as she checked the spare bedroom, closets and bathroom. No
room had been touched.

Back in the living room, she did
a more thorough search. “There’s nothing missing from any room,” she announced,
sounding rather unhappy.

“You’re sure?” He frowned as he
followed her back into the kitchen.

“Yeah, I’m sure. It doesn’t even
look like anything’s been touched.”

Cole thought on this revelation.
He didn’t think it had been a robbery to begin with after he’d seen the man
chasing her.

Nothing had been moved, which
meant they hadn’t searched for anything. This worried him more and made him
think she was in some sort of trouble—whether she realized it or not.

She turned to face him, her hands
on her hips. “You know, I never thought I’d be disappointed finding out that I
hadn’t been robbed. Nothing seems to be missing or out of place. I don’t
understand.” The look she sent him made his gut knot up with anger, confusion
and a mixture of fear. He didn’t have to know her to recognize those.

She wanted answers that he didn’t
have to give her. Yet. Had there been anything missing, he would have felt
better about this whole damned situation. He would almost lay odds that whoever
had broken in had been after Lana herself and not anything she owned. With her
mother’s death only a few months prior, that made the situation stink a hell of
a lot more.

She went back into the kitchen
and poured another cup. “Are you sure you want more?” he asked. If he wasn’t
mistaken, she hadn’t finished her first.

“Yes. I doubt I’d sleep, even if
I wanted to. So, while I’m awake, I might as well work and get something
accomplished.”

Makes sense to me, he thought.
“What is it that you do?”

“Website design,” she replied.

Cole nodded. “I know next to
nothing about computers. I can turn one on, get on the Internet and browse the
web if I have to. But that’s about the extent of my knowledge.”

“I confess I’m a nerd. I don’t
know what I would do without my computer.”

“Are you sure I can’t stay?” he
asked again after a moment of silence as his gaze bore into hers in a silent
plea.

“I appreciate the offer, really,
I do, but we both agreed it’s unlikely anyone’s going to return tonight. If it
was a botched up robbery, then I’m sure they won’t be back.”

Therein lay the problem—he didn’t
think it was a burglary attempt anymore, but he nodded. “You understand you’re
bruising my male ego here, right?” he asked with a grin. “I’ve always wanted to
play the Knight in Shining Armor role, and you’re doing your best to destroy
the fantasy before it even comes true.”

Lana chuckled. “Just call me The
Destroyer.”

He studied her for a moment. “If
you need anything,” he started, his tone serious now, “or see anything that
makes you the least bit uncomfortable, call me. At anytime.” He reached into
his back pocket and pulled a business card from his wallet. “Day or night.”

She held out her hand to take the
business card, but he didn’t let go. “I mean it, Lana.”

“I will. Thank you again, Cole,”
she replied, not bothering to glance at the card.

As she escorted him to the front
door, he thought about simply refusing to leave. Unfortunately, if he did that,
she’d either call the police on him, and/or come after him with a frying pan
while he slept. And that was the best case scenario.

Damn, he really hated to leave
her alone.

Lana pulled open the door. “It
was nice meeting you, circumstances notwithstanding. I don’t make it a habit to
let strange men into my apartment…not that I’m calling you strange,” she
clarified, her eyes twinkling with humor.

He chuckled. “Gotcha. Call me if
you need anything, and I do mean anything, Lana. Even if it’s just a weird vibe
you feel.”

She hesitated a second too long.
“Of course.”

He didn’t know why she hesitated,
but he would find out sooner or later. “I’ll be seeing you soon, Lana,” Cole
promised. Before she had time to comment or argue, he walked away. Let her
think about that—he would be seeing her again, and soon.

§§§

She had escaped him.

All he wanted was a quick
glimpse. It had been foolish to go to her, he knew. But he could hardly resist.
After all, what possible threat could she pose against him? He was The First.
The best. She was a mere mortal.

What a pleasant surprise it had
been when she had sensed his presence. She ran from her house before he could
get a good look at her. How she managed to elude his senses for an hour
afterward, he did not know. Still, it was an impressive feat.

Well, let her keep her little
tricks. It would not help her in the end. He knew where she lived. Where else
could she go?

He smiled. She might prove to be a
small challenge. Even a small challenge could be…entertaining.

He was above her in every way
imaginable, so he did not fear her. He had been in existence since the
beginning, where she had only been in this world for a little over two decades.
He had power unlike any other being in this world, and she had what? Nothing.

She would not, could not, stop
him. He had the advantage. He knew of the prophecy. He took care of her mother
before she could tell her foolish young daughter about it.

No, she would not stop him. She
would not live past her twenty-fifth birthday. Only a few more of these mortal
days now.

His long wait would end very
soon.

CHAPTER THREE

Cole glanced at the alarm clock
on his bedside table. The red LED lights indicated it was still shy of eight.
He couldn’t sleep and had spent the time tossing and turning since he crawled
into bed a little over two hours before.

Frustrated, he sat up and put his
feet over the side of the bed. Still naked, he padded to the kitchen and
started coffee. He didn’t know what gnawed at him exactly, but he felt uneasy.
Leaving Lana by herself had been stupid.

Her arguments had made sense, but
he should have insisted on staying or having her stay with him, instead of just
offering to.

To hell with it, he thought. Since
he couldn’t sleep, he could grab a bite to eat to settle his rumbling stomach,
drive back over to Lana’s and check things out.

After a quick shower, Cole
dressed in another pair of his trademark jeans and a plain tee. A check in his
cupboards made it obvious eating couldn’t be accomplished at home unless he
wanted bread crumbs.

He ran a hand through his quickly
drying hair and picked up the keys to his SUV from the table. He locked the
door behind him and made his way to the car.

Once settled inside the car, Cole
grabbed his sunglasses from the visor and put them on. It may have been only a
little after eight, but already the sun blazed.

He didn’t know what he’d say when
he got there, if he told her at all.

First on his agenda, though, he
needed breakfast. Staking out her apartment would require food, so he pulled
into the McDonald’s parking lot.

He placed his order, received his
food and hit the road again within five minutes. The muffin had either been
really good or he was hungrier than he thought. Since his last meal had been
over twelve hours ago, he guessed the latter was probably true.

He took the spot nearest to the
woods when he reached Lana’s apartment building. He’d think of something if she
caught him staking her place out, but that didn’t mean he had to be obvious
about it.

Shifting and searching the wooded
area behind her building would have to wait, he decided as he shut the engine
off and took site of at least three people walking their dogs.

Feeling more at ease now that he
was at least closer to Lana, he leaned back and closed his eyes. He fell asleep
within ten minutes.

“Wolf!”

Cole came to attention as if a
gun had fired next to his ear. He quickly looked around the car, half expecting
to find someone sitting in the passenger seat. When he found it empty, he
widened his search and glanced outside to make sure there wasn’t someone there
playing a joke on him.

He didn’t know whose voice he had
just heard, but it had a familiar ring to it—almost like Lana’s voice, but not
quite.

Satisfied he was alone, and no
one outside tried to scare another ten years off his life, he reached for the
door handle.

His gaze landed on a wolf at the
rear of the apartment complex.

He froze.

Wasn’t that what had woken him in
the first place? Someone screaming ‘wolf’ in his head? Dream? Whatever it was.

Cautiously, he opened the car
door and got out. It didn’t move until he stood within ten feet of it.

The wolf turned. Cole stopped
just short of the edge of the woods and held perfectly still, his eyes intent
on the bloodshot red eyes of the wolf. He knew a shapeshifter when he saw one.

Another shifter being in the
area—in Lana’s area—caused more questions than it answered. “Who are you?” he
demanded, arms crossing over his chest as he spoke.

Of course, it didn’t answer.
Instead of changing back to human form, the wolf vanished before his eyes.
How
was that even possible?

 Right now, that didn’t matter.
Lana was in danger, no doubt about it, and the disappearing shifter added a
whole new layer to the equation.

How long had the wolf been there?
Had it gotten to Lana before the shout wakened him? He ran the short distance
around to the front of the building and pounded on her door, the sound echoing
in his head. “Lana!” God, he’d only fallen asleep for a few minutes. What if he
was too late? He heard the chain rattle and exhaled the breath he hadn’t
realized he was holding, his relief palpable. He forced his heartbeat to go
back to normal.

“What? What are you doing here?”
Lana asked, clearly confused and slightly afraid.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his
tone harsher than he intended, despite his attempt to keep it calm.

She frowned. “Of course. You just
left here a few hours ago, Cole. Why are you back so soon?”

“Let me in, Lana.” This time he
ordered it. “We need to talk.”

Lana stepped aside to allow him
entry, never taking her eyes off of him. The door snapped shut. She glared at
him, waiting for answers.

“Can we sit down?” What the hell
could he say to her
? “Gee, Lana, I saw a wolf behind your building, but it
disappeared. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
He sighed.

Lana walked toward the kitchen,
and he followed. She’d dressed in a similar fashion to his own in beat up jeans
and a loose t-shirt. Looks damn good in them, too, he thought idly.

She sat across from him at the
table. “What’s going on Cole?” Her tone filled with concern and just an edge of
irritation.

He could tell that she sensed his
mood and moved to soothe her. He wasn’t nearly ready to explain exactly what
he’d seen. “I just decided to come back to check on you. I thought maybe you’d
remember something that might figure this mess out.”

The look in her eyes told him she
didn’t buy his excuse, but at least she didn’t question it. “I don’t know
what’s going on.” She paused a moment and gave him a determined gaze. “But you
do. I can see it, Cole. Just tell me.”

He studied her, trying to decide
how much to tell her. The hell of it was he could sense her confusion. Almost
as if he could feel what she felt, which had never happened before. There
seemed to be some kind of invisible connection between the two of them, but he
wasn’t ready to analyze it just yet.

“Think, Lana. Did your mom say
anything to you that might lead you to think she was in danger?”