Soul Taker (36 page)

Nicholas nodded, carefully. "I can detect
Otherworldly kind, too. Not auras exactly… but a signature. I can
see the true nature even if it's not revealed. I see you," he
focused on Garran. "I see… blood."

Garran glanced at the folder on his desk, the
files and newspaper clippings of Isabella's accident, death and
resurrection. "The reporters stated a mother and a brother were
present at the morgue when Isabella awoke from death." He sat back
in his seat and met Nicholas' gaze. "It was ye no' yer mother who
brought her back from the veil, am I right?"

Nicholas pushed his glasses back on the
bridge of his nose. "My mother only wanted to say goodbye to Izzie,
but I couldn't let my sister go. I was her older brother. I should
have protected her."

"So ye brought her back and it wasn't a shade
ye brought back. Ye brought back her soul."

"It was an accident. Before that day, I had
never attempted such an act. My mother opened the veil to say
goodbye to her. When she did, I could sense Izzie. She hadn't moved
on. It was like she lingered there waiting for someone to lead her
back home. My mother hoped for an impression, a glimpse of Izzie,
but I sensed her soul and called to her."

Garran could guess the rest. Once Isabella
had been summoned from death, how could Louisa send her back? What
parent would?

"My parents paid the price for what I did.
Death should have taken me, not them," Nicholas said the last more
to himself than to Garran. He took a ragged breath as if drawing
air into his lungs hurt. "I didn't come here to discuss my
past."

"Why did ye come here?" Garran rested his
elbows on his desk and folded his hands. He tapped his lips with
his forefingers and waited for the
piss-off
speech. Nicholas didn't disappoint him.

"I want you to leave Izzie alone. I want you
to tell her you can't see her anymore. You're a vampire, for God's
sake. You're part of the world I've been trying to protect her
from."

"Ye forbade her to embrace what she was born
to do," Garran said evenly. "Ye didn't save her from it; ye made
her more curious." Nicholas opened his mouth to most likely argue
his point, but Garran held up his hand. "Isabella is a stubborn
lassie. I doubt anythin' I say would persuade her."

"She believes she's in love with you."

Before he could react to Nicholas' claim,
Isabella's voice intruded.

"What's going on here?" Isabella stepped into
the study. She'd been grocery shopping if the bag she held was any
indication.
More food to fill his
cupboards.
Before long no one would believe a vampire
resided here.

Nicholas turned in his seat to face his
sister. Her expression said it all. She'd heard a good deal of the
conversation. "Izzie, I…" Nicholas couldn't seem to find the right
words.

Her eyes narrowed. "You let me believe I was
responsible for our parents' death."

"I never said you were. You blamed yourself.
Even though I tried over and over again to convince you
otherwise."

"But you never told me the truth. Mom didn't
bring me back from the veil. You did," she accused.

"I... I couldn't tell you." He shook his
head, the shame evident on his face.

Harrison reached for the grocery bags
Isabella held, obviously fearing they would slip from her grasp.
She barely noticed since her gaze focused on her brother only.
Harrison and he might as well have been invisible.

Nicholas stood and strode over to his sister.
"Izzie, let's finish this at home."

"Home?" She narrowed her eyes on him. "No,
you go home, Nicholas. I'm staying here. I don't need your
misguided protection anymore."

"You're playing a dangerous game."

"See the thing is, Nick, I'm not playing –
I'm working. And for once in my life, it feels right."

Nicholas glanced at Harrison then to Garran,
obviously expecting some support. Harrison remained quiet. Garran
surprised himself and followed suit.

"You need to go," Isabella repeated. She
lifted her chin in defiance.

Nicholas reached for her, but she shrugged
away. With a heavy sigh, Nicholas strode out of the room. A few
seconds later, the front door opened and shut.

"Well, that was charming." Harrison broke the
silence.

Without a word, Isabella snatched the grocery
bags from him and headed for the kitchen. Harrison and Garran
followed.

"Do you want to talk about it, Izzie?"
Harrison asked.

She placed the bags on the counter. "What's
there to talk about? My brother lied to me. And,
dammit
,
he's a Necromancer too. He kept that from me when he could have
helped me grasp what I could do."

Garran understood betrayal. Nicholas may not
have betrayed her on the same scale as his cousin, Alexander, but
Nicholas had let her down. That was the brunt of it. "Fear
sometimes makes us irrational."

"Fear?" Isabella faced Garran with her hands
on her hips. "Nick wanted to control something he couldn't. He
wanted to deny what we are."

"Because he loves ye."

"Nick shouldn't have brought me back. My
mother should have stopped him."

Garran stepped toward her and reached for her
hand. "She was yer mother."

Isabella was quiet. He saw understanding in
her eyes without him saying more.

"Nicholas learned a difficult lesson. One yer
mother knew would haunt both ye and yer brother. Yer mother would
have known the consequences. She opened the veil, not yer brother.
He only called to ye."

Isabella paused, seeming to consider what
Garran revealed. She had a good heart. It might not be today, but
in time, he knew she would forgive her brother.

"I don't want any more secrets." She made a
point of leveling her gaze on Garran like a challenge. "And that
goes with us. I won't sneak around. We're together or we're not."
She gave his hand a quick squeeze before she moved closer to claim
his lips. He should have stopped her, but the taste and feel of her
made him forget why this wasn't a good idea. His hand went to the
small of her back and he pulled her flush against him.

"Uh…" Harrison coughed behind his fist.
"Should I leave?"

Garran broke the caress and backed away.
Isabella stared at him with a raised brow, but she let his retreat
slide for the moment and turned to address Harrison with a crooked
smile. "No, stay. I brought a few items for the week, but I also
brought us dinner from the restaurant. I have a filet mignon for
you, Garran—rare," she added. "Practically mooing rare."

This he could stomach. "Thank ye."

"I'm starving." Harrison strode over to the
cupboard in search of plates.

"Ye're always starvin'," Garran grumbled.

Isabella went to work removing the containers
from the bag and placing them on the sink. She slid Harrison's
dinner toward him.

He opened the lid and held the dish near his
nose and inhaled deeply. "Mm-hmm."

"We need to talk," Garran told Isabella,
keeping his voice low.

"About what?" She looked at him with a
don't-mess-with-me
attitude. "Do you want to talk about your
inability to commit?" She dared him to go there.

He frowned. "If ye would just think about
this, ye, me... it's not a good mix. I'm a vampire, if ye have
forgotten."

"From the Bobhan Sith sept, a Grim Sith. Yes,
I'm aware. But let me remind you..." She poked her finger into his
chest. "You're the one that dropped the soul mate bomb in my lap.
Now you're back peddling. Don't think I can't sense it. Why? Huh?"
She jabbed him again and he caught her hand. "Let go of me." She
yanked her hand away. She straightened her shirt and pulled her
shoulders back then proceeded to dish their meals onto a plate.
"You better eat before it's too cold," she said without looking at
him. She stabbed at her steak as if it suddenly stood and was
trying to make a run for it.

Garran pursed his lips. She may think this
was over, but he'd lived long enough to know this scene was only a
prelude to what simmered below the surface. "Foreplay," he murmured
under his breath before he realized he'd said the word out
loud.

Harrison choked on whatever he'd shoveled
into his mouth and his gaze riveted to him with concern, and not
because he feared he couldn't catch his breath.

"Are you all right?" Isabella patted his
back.

Harrison finally managed to take in air.
"Fine."

"Knock, knock. Do you always leave your door
unlocked, Garran?" Sanya stood in the archway of the kitchen.

Like usual, her skintight dress left nothing
to the imagination. Her dark eyes were bright and her skin flushed
as if she just fed.

Her gaze shifted from Harrison to Isabella
with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you doing here?" Harrison growled,
drawing her attention back to him. "You were to meet us at Tony's
last night. Oh." He slapped his forehead. "That's right, you were
too busy doing tricks with Alexander."

"Heel boy," she hissed, showing a little
fang. "I need to speak with Garran, but if I'm to be insulted, I
don't know if I want to say more."

Garran stepped forward. "Ye're here, Sanya.
Speak freely." He gave Harrison a warning look to behave.

Harrison growled in response.

"
Tsk, tsk.
Harrison, so dramatic."
Sanya sauntered over to the kitchen nook. "Just remember I like to
bite, too." She chopped her teeth together for show.

"Can we get on with this?" Garran intervened
before the two came to blows.

Sanya looked at him. "Fine. I need to be on
my way as well." She tossed him what she held in her hand.

Garran caught it with ease. His brows
furrowed as he stared at the glass bauble. "A witch ball?"

"It's what Alexander uses to house the souls,
so he can transport them. Do not worry; this one is empty. I only
wanted to show you what to look for. Selling souls is quite
profitable, too. I've seen his books. He's targeted women mostly
because the sick bastard likes to romance them, but also his
clientele fancies women's souls. Meridos was his partner, but the
greedy bastard wanted a bigger cut."

"So he
offed
him," Harrison said.
"Can't say I'm sad over it."

Sanya nodded in agreement. "Alexander isn't
crying none either. Before Meridos was dusted, he made a deal with
some uppity bureaucrat in Washington. This guy wants to throw a
party and guess what's in the goody bags?"

"When does the shipment go out?" Garran
asked.

"Alexander plans to move the shipment
tonight. He's storing the boxes at Monette's place."

"Bullocks. This is what the incubus spoke of.
The bauble is a witch ball." Harrison placed his plate down on the
counter. "Did I miss the memo? Did the Bobhan Sith clan decide to
relocate to the States for a new business in soul trafficking?"

"Oh, my God," Isabella said under her breath,
but Sanya heard and stared at her.

"Why is she here?" Sanya jabbed her thumb at
Isabella.

"Leave her be, Sanya," Garran warned.

"I'm curious." Sanya flitted to stand before
Isabella. The vampire towered over her, but Isabella stood her
ground, meeting her gaze head on.

In a blink, Garran stood beside Isabella with
a protective arm around her shoulder. "Back off. Now." He hissed,
baring his fangs as a warning.

Sanya's eyes glowed red, but she took a step
back. "I wasn't going to bite her."

The way she licked her lips made Garran doubt
her statement.

"You're awfully protective of her."

"Only because ye're lookin' at her as if she
were a tasty morsel."

Sanya chuckled. "Oh, I think it is much more
than that, Garran. I believe you've taken a liking to her." She
leveled her gaze on Isabella. "Don't become too fond of him. He
doesn't like commitment. Did he tell you we were once lovers?"

Garran felt Isabella's body tense, but she
still kept her cool. "Who Mr. MacLaurin has dated in the past is no
concern to me."

Sanya's blood red lips slid into a smile.
"Sure, honey, you stick with that story. Just between us women,
he's a good lay, but nothing more."

"That's enough Sanya," Garran ordered.

"What?" She shrugged. "You don't want your
girlfriend to know what a jerk you are?"

"It's time ye go. Now!" His voice lowered
menacingly, but Sanya refused to take the hint.

"He's looking for a soul mate, honey, a
vampire
soul mate, not a human. You're
obviously only a distraction."

Harrison stepped in, grabbing her arm.

"Let me go." She shrugged free.

"Then leave." Harrison pointed to the door.
"You've worn out your welcome."

"Fine." She smoothed her hands down her
dress. "I have a date with the devil anyway." In a whirl of color,
she was gone.

Garran relaxed and chanced a look at
Isabella, but flinched when he met her heated gaze. She carefully
removed his arm from around her shoulders. "You believed that
distasteful woman was your soul mate?"

"Listen, don't let Sanya's witterin' get to
ye."

"Oh, but it was an eye opener, wasn't it? I
guess I should thank you for not letting me seduce you." She
stormed to the counter and grabbed her purse.

"Where are ye goin'?" He took a step toward
her, but halted his steps when she met his gaze. Her eyes all but
spit fire at him.

"You toyed with my feelings when all along
you knew nothing would come of us dating. You, arrogant... jerk. Of
that, Sanya had it right."

"Ye are impossible to follow when ye're in a
snit." He threw up his hands. "Are ye angry with me because I dated
Sanya?"

"Oooh! I'm so out of here." She stormed out
of the kitchen and a moment later the front door closed with a
shudder.

Garran started to go after her, but
Harrison's hand snaked out and held him back. "Let her go."