‘Don’t call me that! I’m not your fucking anything,’ I hissed, irritated. My palm was itching to slap him, but I couldn’t ruin my reputation in a place like this. People were staring; I could feel their eyes on us. Nathaniel was a famous personality around paranormals. Everyone here knew who he was, and everyone knew that we were together a couple a few weeks ago.
‘You’re angry and that’s understandable,’ he said simply. ‘That’s why we need to talk in private.’
The glass near us was vibrating dangerously close to the edge of the bar. I was stirring the energy that surrounded us and my head was throbbing. I darted my eyes away from him and glanced around. A group of stunning-looking witches were watching us closely; they were all aware of cursive magic. The air around us was so thick I was surprised that nothing had exploded. Others were also glancing with curiosity, probably wondering what was going on between us.
‘Please, firecracker,’ he pleaded, forcing my gaze back to him.
No, no, no, tell him no. You know what’s going to happen if he corners you away from people.
‘I don’t want to talk to you, Nathaniel. I came because I knew that you weren’t going to be here. Just leave me alone and let me work. Rufus sent me here to gain new clients, not to waste time talking to an overly prestigious, cocky bastard like you.’ I spat out my words.
‘C’mon Julia, that’s a low blow, even for you.’ He scowled, moving slightly away and sucking all the air out of my lungs. ‘I’ll introduce you to a few useful people after five minutes with me. I think it’s a fair deal.’
I’d built up a wall while we’d been apart, but it didn’t last; it was jackhammered by the explosive emotions caused by just his touch. I couldn’t concentrate being around him.
‘Fine, let’s go,’ I snapped.
‘This way,’ he muttered, directing me toward the room next to the staff entrance. Women were smiling, smoothing their hair when Nathaniel passed through. They were drawn to him; the way he moved and handled himself was appealing and sexy.
If we hadn’t left I was quite sure that the glass on the table would’ve exploded. Nathaniel opened the door and let me through to what looked like a long dark corridor. My mind was screaming that this was a very bad idea, but I was already inside.
‘Now, we’re away from nosy people so we can talk like adults,’ he said. His hazel eyes brewed with fire and this was a bad sign; so bad that I was prepared to run.
Chapter six
Damn him and the connection that we have. We are in a total mess because of that!
‘Get to the point, I haven’t got all day,’ I said annoyed.
‘Just calm down,’ he said. ‘We haven’t seen each other for over a month. How’ve you been?’
I was staring at him, trying to figure out if he was joking but realised that he was literally asking how I was.
‘Fuck, Nathaniel,’ I fumed. ‘You brought me out here just to ask me how the hell I am?’
‘Yes, after all, you’ve been through a lot because of me,’ he said, watching me intensely.
‘I’m fine,’ I replied, but my voice cracked. ‘Now, if you’re satisfied with my answer I’m going back to my sales pitch. So stay away from me.’
I turned around, prepared to walk away. I didn’t have to wait for him to say anymore, because there was nothing to add. We were done with each other. There was no point in dwelling on the past, but what happened next blew all my sense to hell and crushed me even more. Nathaniel grabbed my shoulder, stopping me, before he swirled me around and pulled me close to his chest. This was enough to send me out to another planet. Suddenly the consistency of the air changed, as if it was impossible to breathe. My heart stopped. Before I could react Nathaniel crushed his lips into mine. His kiss melted me right through, sending an irresistible spasm of desire through my core. He violated my mouth, my tongue, and pushed me against the wall. His hands found my waist and pulled me toward his hard manhood. I moaned, feeling alive again.
‘Julia, I nearly forgot how incredible you taste,’ he growled in a husky whisper. He moved his lips down to my neck, kissing me. I felt light-headed; my brain was only registering parts of what he was doing to me. His touch was like a drug in my veins.
When I felt his fangs near my neck, the tingle of boiling energy passed through my stomach, moving down between my legs. My mind roared to push him away, but my body wanted more. I was lost, lust was pouring down me like a summer rain. When his lips found mine again, the pulsing down below only increased; his mouth took mine completely, like he couldn’t get enough of me. The magic throbbed through me.
‘Stop, I …’ My voice trailed off, but I came to my senses and pushed him away, breathing hard. My heart pounded against my chest as if it were hammering its way out, then we heard a terrible scream next door.
I looked at Nathaniel, confused. He grabbed my hand and we both hurried away, bursting through the door on our right. The next room was much smaller than the main one; I guessed that it was designed to hold small meetings. I pushed through the crowd, seeing a woman sobbing next to a large man. When I realised that I knew her, the blood rushed in my ears. My best friend Ella was crumpled on the floor crying her eyes out and pointing at the man next to her. Someone tried to pick her up but she jerked away.
‘Dead, he’s dead,’ she kept repeating.
‘Ella!’ I shouted and hurried toward her, pushing away the fairy who was trying to help her. The man next to Ella was, indeed, dead. Smoke was evaporating out of the body. Dark magic coursed through the air. I embraced Elle with a tight hug. ‘It’s all right. Come on, let’s go; let’s get away from him.’
‘Dead, magic ... light ... I saw it, Julia. I really did,’ she was saying. Her eyes were wide, one of her fake eyelashes sticking out, her mascara smudged all over her face. She kept squeezing my hand hard. A lot of paranormals and even some humans surrounded us. I had no idea what Ella was doing here, but she must have seen something that she shouldn’t have, and now she was freaking out.
‘Come on, darling, we’ve got to go,’ I said again, trying to pull her from the floor, but she was still hysterical, crying and pointing at the corpse in front of her. I searched for Nathaniel in the crowd, hoping he could help drag her away. I didn’t have to look for long because he was beside me within a moment.
‘Humans!’ I hissed, but a few paranormals were already whispering the memory spells to shield those that shouldn’t see what was going on.
‘Dead!’ screamed Ella, pointing at the dead paranormal man, her breathing irregular.
‘Ella, calm down.’
She passed out after taking a long deep breath and fell into my arms. I glanced at the body next to us, recognising a troll. Although he was dead, his smell was still strong—a mixture of whiskey and bleach. He was massive, with broad muscular shoulders and a small squashed nose, lying prone on the ground in his immaculate black suit. I had no idea what kind of spell could kill a two-hundred-and-seventy-something-pound troll, but whoever it was, he must have known what he was doing.
‘Julia, what’s going on? Do you know her?’ Nathaniel asked, staring at the body with an odd, tense expression.
‘Ella is my best friend. I don’t even know what she’s doing here. I didn’t see her earlier,’ I stammered. ‘Is she going to be all right? I don’t know what to do. She’s human and she wasn’t supposed to see anything magical.’
‘Calm down. She’s unconscious, but her heartbeat is steady,’ he said, running his hand through his hair.
‘La Caz, police are on the way. Take her away—there are too many humans here,’ said the stocky wizard who had been with the group of paranormals earlier on. The crowd slowly faded, moving away to the main room. A few werewolves were examining the body. I pressed my fingers to my forehead, my pulse still racing.
‘Let me take her away from here,’ Nathaniel offered and lifted Ella like she didn’t weight anything before he walked out of the room. The hotel personnel pointed at a wide door away fro
m the crowd. I followed him as he placed Ella gently on the pool table in the quiet room. I was still in shock, pacing the room, trying to calm down.
‘We need to take her to the hospital. She might be hurt,’ I cried out.
Nathaniel exhaled sharply and drew his eyes away from my friend. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea, Julia. She probably witnessed a murder, but her memories need to be wiped for her own good.’
‘She shouldn’t be here,’ I yelled. ‘Who the hell was that—’
The door burst open and I stopped talking in mid-sentence. Dad walked through the door and sighed with relief; Stuart was behind him.
‘Julia, I was just told that Ella had been attacked,’ Dad grumbled, staring at my unconscious friend. ‘I was in the neighbourhood when I got the call. Tell me what the hell happened here?’
‘We heard her screams, and when I got to the room that troll was already dead and she was hysterical.’
I couldn’t tell him that right before I’d been making out with my ex. Nathaniel placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. Dad stepped toward me, eyeing him hard.
‘The ambulance is on its way; a human made the call and our unit picked it up,’ said Dad, not talking his eyes off Nathaniel. ‘I just saw the body, a troll, and my team is already examining the damage. The dark spells are traceable—’
‘Spencer was my bodyguard, Mr. Taylor. He was here because he was working for me.’
The long and uncomfortable silence stretched for about a minute. My gaze was flicking from Nathaniel to Dad. The large mirror above the fire placed cracked, and Stuart flinched, stepping away.
‘Bodyguard?’ I hissed, breathing heavily, turning to face Nathaniel in complete shock.
‘I don’t get it. Why would you need a bodyguard, Mr. La Caz?’ asked Dad, frowning.
‘I hired a bodyguard a few months ago to keep an eye on Julia,’ he said with a much softer voice. I chewed my bottom lip, my chest heaving with annoyance. I couldn’t comprehend how he had left me but hired someone to keep an eye on me. I was ready to slap him and I didn’t care that my Dad was here.
‘And now he’s dead,’ Dad said, obviously annoyed. ‘We are going to need to take your statement down at the station, Mr. La Caz.’
‘I can’t believe that you hired someone to look after me. Why would you do that?’ I flapped, pissed off and ready for a long complex argument in front of everyone here. Nathaniel didn’t respond because Ella started moving.
‘Dad, quickly, the spell—you can’t let her remember,’ I said, but Dad was already whispering his formula. I hated spell casting, but now I was embarrassed that I sucked in magic. Ella’s eyes opened for a moment before she passed out again. Dad had years of practise so he knew how to deal with exposed humans.
‘We don’t have time to come up with a story, hun, the medics are here. Ella needs to be taken to the hospital,’ Dad barked and drew his eyes to Nathaniel again. ‘Stuart, please take Mr. La Caz to the station.’
‘It’s all right, Mr. Taylor, he doesn’t need to escort me anywhere. I’m aware of the seriousness of this situation.’
The medics were coming through the door; they were healers, part of the National Elf Service, so Ella was going to be in good hands. Once they patched her up as much as they could, she was loaded onto the trolley and escorted through the door.
I followed her, ignoring Nathaniel who looked out of place. I flushed, thinking that I lost control so easily with him in the small room while my best friend was next door witnessing a murder. We all walked through the corridor; I took one last glance at the dead troll, wondering why he’d been killed tonight. A group of forensic officers were rushing around him. The event had been postponed and the hotel locked up so the police could try to catch the killer. I doubted very much that he or she was still in the building
‘How are you getting home, Julia?’ Dad asked.
‘I’m not going home, Dad. I need to make sure Ella is all right.’
‘Roberto is here, he’ll take you,’ Nathaniel stated with an odd raspy voice. I met his eyes with a loud sigh. My dad scowled and stepped between us.
‘No need, La Caz,’ he said shortly. ‘Hun, you should go home. Ella went through a lot and she shouldn’t see you in the hospital. She won’t remember anything anyway.’
Dad was right. The healers were going to cast a memory spell on Ella and then someone was going to take her home. That was the standard procedure in the hospital; Ella wouldn’t remember where she was. She freaked out earlier because of the magic and I didn’t want to confuse her even more.
‘Mr. Taylor, I insist.” Nathaniel then turned to my father. “I have a driver ready to take your daughter home. It’s too dangerous to send her in a taxi after someone has just been murdered.’
Dad scowled again, obviously fighting an internal battle with himself. Nathaniel was right, Dad shouldn’t send me in a taxi, but he also wasn’t happy that I had to use Nathaniel’s limo.
‘Fine, tell Roberto that I’ll wait outside,’ I said quickly, hoping to avoid further complications. I could see that Dad was itching to take Nathaniel to the station; he was on duty tonight along with Stuart.
I didn’t have time to talk to Nathaniel. I was angry he tricked me into thinking that we were through. I tried working out a clear plan in my head. After my dad was calmer I would ask him to tell me everything that went on at the station with Nathaniel
My head pulsed with pain when Roberto pulled the limo up outside. I got in, still shaking.
‘Where to, Miss. Taylor?’ asked Roberto.
‘Home, just take me home.’
The excess magic in me was making me grievously worried. I had to calm my mind. Thinking about the terrible evening I’d had wouldn’t help. The static electricity pressured my whole body. Although I hated to be dependent on anyone, right now, I wanted to be in Nathaniel’s arms. Despite everything that happened tonight, he still cared about me.
Damn him and the connection that we have. We are in a total mess because of that!
Chapter seven
No way! Dad had warmed up toward Nathaniel.
That night I didn’t sleep well, continuously tossing and turning. Nathaniel’s scent was still wrapped around my skin. In the morning I was furious that I let him kiss me again. He was my addiction; my body constantly needed him and if he wasn’t around it seemed like I became dehydrated and dead.
Ella was probably at home. She shouldn’t remember anything, but I wanted to know what the hell she was doing at the Hilton for the networking event. I called Dad straight away; it was just after eight when he picked up.
‘Are you all right, Julia?’ he asked, alarmed.
‘Dad, did you find out what happened last night? I asked him, massaging the nape of my neck.
‘Julia, you know very well that I’m not suppo—’
‘Dad, come on. That troll was there to keep an eye on me and now he’s dead. I’ve got a right to know,’ I complained.
‘What were doing with that vampire anyway? I thought you two broke up?’
‘He was supposed to be in Switzerland; I didn’t know he would be back so soon. Now, stop changing the subject and tell me what is going on.’
‘It’s still not clear. The troll died suddenly. It was probably a very skilled wizard or witch, possibly a giant. Elves and fairies can’t produce that kind of magic. The lab will bring the details shortly so I should know more,’ he explained, pausing. ‘The vampire was cooperative. He hired that troll a few months ago. It hurts to say it, but he told me he wanted to make sure that you would be all right, especially after what happened in the agency.’
One month without Nathaniel and I’m back to square one. I have to end this once and for all.
‘He had no right to follow me. We’re through,’ I said quietly. Dad was silent, so I decided to change the subject. ‘Did you know that Grandma came to see me the other day?’
‘She mentioned it to me.’
‘She found out about
me and Nathaniel. She went mad and blew up the glass in my office,’ I explained.
‘She has a reputation to maintain, hun. She called a couple of days ago and gave me a lecture. As long as you stay away from that vampire you should be fine, although... I’m glad that someone kept an eye on you the past month.’
No way! Dad had warmed up toward Nathaniel.
‘This was bang out of order! I can take care of myself!’ I said raising my voice. ‘Now, do you have any suspects?’
‘No, no suspects. We managed to speak to a few people, but no one saw anything suspicious.’
‘All right,’ I sighed. ‘Promise to call me when you know something?’
‘Julia I’m not going to get you involved. Leave this to me. I told you before that you need to start your driving lessons. I’m not allowing you to wander the streets of London in the middle of the night.’
‘Fine, Dad, I’ll look into it. I gotta go.’
I sank back into my bed and closed my eyes. Dad was right; I had to get a car so I wouldn’t have to worry about transport. That troll was now dead and gloomy thoughts flashed through my mind. Someone must have known I had a bodyguard, someone who was planning to kill me. I called Rufus, hoping to tell him about last night, but his phone went to straight to voicemail again.
I took the tube to work, cautiously watching my back. Surprisingly, Sara was already there filing; Kate was in the process of registering a candidate. I tried to put my mind at ease but I couldn’t focus. My thoughts were filled with speculations. At lunch I told Kate about last night while Sara was out of the office, skipping the part about Nathaniel.
‘A murder? And your best friend witnessed it?’ she repeated.
‘Yeah, she was hysterical. I need to check on her later,’ I explained. Kate kept chewing the pen for a moment. ‘She can’t handle magic and I want to keep her out of this mess.’
Paranormal Personnel Saga Box Set - Books 1-3 Page 27
