Harlequin's Deception (The Naked Truth Series Book 1)

by Candi Fox

  Five minutes later she was sitting in a comfortable leather chair in front of the lieutenant’s desk. He had handed her a report as soon as she walked in.

  The report conclusively said the bite marks were human size. The claw marks were also smaller than that of a gargoyle and were thought to also be of human size.

  She told the lieutenant about her spell vision, giving him as many details as she could remember. He spent the better part of an hour questioning her. He was trying every way he could think to get a description of the assailants.

  Harley didn’t have much information. There were six of them. All between the height of 5’8” to 6’2”. She hadn’t seen any of their faces, nor did she really get a good look at what could have been ethnicity markers.

  “Let’s break for dinner. Maybe I can jog some more information out of you with some wine.”

  “Why Lieutenant Meyers, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were flirting with me.”

  The lieutenant blushed. “No. I can’t do that. The misses would kill me. I just know how much you like wine.”

  Harley laughed out loud. He had a point. She did love her wine. Harley sent Aiden a quick text. He was apparently deeply involved in a video game war of some kind and didn’t care if she took longer than expected.

  Lieutenant Meyers was a very handsome man. She respected him too much to even try. That didn’t mean she could not enjoy a meal with a very handsome man.

  They went to a steak house. Not a major surprise. She had pictured the Lieutenant was a meat and potatoes man. Both ordered thick juicy rib eyes with all the trimmings.

  He ordered a nice bottle of merlot. The dinner was enjoyable. They even ordered dessert. Unfortunately, the wine did not help her remember any more information.

  Three hours later they returned to his office. Harley texted Aiden and waited for him to come. She would be doing more investigation in the case. Hopefully, she and Meyers could find a lead.

  “Hey, how was your day?”

  “Fine. Played a lot of Hero’s Storm. I’m starved, though. Can we stop somewhere for pizza?”

  “Sure thing.”

  Harley stopped at her favorite pizza place and ordered an extra-large pepperoni, breadsticks, wings, and a pan of brownies. Aiden ate the entire meal by himself. Guess he wasn’t kidding about being hungry.

  The conversation on the way back home was nice and easy. Harley found she was enjoying Aiden’s company. He was easy to talk to.

  The age difference didn’t seem to really matter. They had more in common than Harley originally thought. Of course, he was still a jester.

  Harley couldn’t shake that knowledge. She would have to tread carefully. She was beginning to feel comfortable around Aiden, and that could spell disaster.

  She also had to deal with Luc. She was very attracted to him. She didn’t know which was more dangerous at this point, liking Aiden or liking Luc.

  Harley was exhausted by the time they got home. She had made sure to text Mrs. Reyes earlier, so she wouldn’t worry.

  The porch lights were on. She had no doubt that Mrs. Reyes had also left more lights burning, to make sure that Harley could easily make her way through the house.

  Aiden headed towards his room as soon as they were inside. As tired as Harley was, she couldn’t sleep. Her mind was too involved in the case, and her personal life.

  She made a hot cup of herbal tea and went to the front porch. The evening was chilly, yet not too cold. She sat on the porch swing, wrapping up in the thick blanket that had been laying on the back of it.

  Watching the stars, enjoying her tea, and rocking back and forth in the swing, Harley didn’t hear Aiden come out.

  “Can’t sleep?”

  He startled her, and she nearly spilled the tea everywhere. Aiden’s big hands helped steady the cup.

  “Sorry didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “I guess, I should have been paying more attention.” She smiled at him. “I thought you went to bed.”

  “No, just went to take a hot shower. It’s beautiful here. Peaceful. Not much peace where I live now.”

  “I imagine not. You live with Zoe.”

  “Technically, I live with Luc. She just lives in the same house.”

  Harley studied him for a few moments. “You two had a thing?”

  Aiden looked surprised. “How did you know?”

  “You just told me. Also, she didn’t want to kill you after you used your power on her.”

  “We don’t have a thing anymore. It’s been over for a while.”

  “Can I ask what happened?”

  “She got boring. Clingy too. I’m not looking for a relationship.”

  “Relationships must be hard in your line of work.”

  “What line of work is that?”

  “You work for a vampire. At the very least, that’s not easy. At the most, you’re his hitman.”

  “Yeah, I work for a vampire. Not every jester is a hitman.”

  Harley noticed Aiden didn’t deny being a hitman. Death by laughter wasn’t exactly a highly traceable method of death. She regarded him for several moments. Just drinking him in.

  “You look like you are deep in thought.”

  “I am. I’m a deep thinker.”

  He moved closer to her. “You think too much.”

  Aiden leaned in kissing Harley as he did so. Harley was surprised by her reaction. The kiss turned her on. It really turned her on.

  He continued to kiss her, pulling her closer. He did not make a move to do anything else. Several minutes later, he broke the kiss and looked deep into her eyes.

  Placing a hand on her face, he whispered softly. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Harley watched him go. She didn’t make a move to stop him.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The next morning Harley got up before dawn and headed into the office. She left a note for Aiden and Mrs. Reyes. She needed time to think.

  The emails had piled up over the few days she had been busy. She had three hundred that would need to be answered. Several of them were forwarded to one of her partners, or to the junior witches.

  She wished she could take care of every case that came her way, but it was impossible. The sheer number some days boggled the mind.

  Harley flagged ten of the emails. She would seriously consider taking on the cases. First, she had to solve the case she was on. In theory, she should have been done, the case was up to the investigators.

  She was, after all, a witch, not a paranormal investigator. Harley had three emails from the different parents of the students waiting in her inbox when she signed in. She took the time to respond to each of them, sending her condolences and explaining that she was still working on the case.

  She referred them to Lieutenant Meyers for official information, making it clear that she could not give out any police information.

  She didn’t know how police did it. How could she tell the parents that their children were just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Their deaths meant absolutely nothing to the killers.

  Reaching over she turned up her portable satellite radio player. Jamey Johnson’s “You Can’t Cash My Checks” was playing. He had such a soulful voice.

  Harley had missed the country lifestyle when she lived in New York City. There was something about the music, the fresh air, the blue jeans, and the boots that were home for her.

  A few silent tears rolled down her face for the families who lost loved ones. Pulling up the files Lieutenant Meyers had sent over she quickly scanned the student’s information. The oldest one was only 22.

  Such a senseless waste of life. She vowed to find out who the killers were and she knew just where to start. She texted Aiden and asked him for Luc’s phone number.

  Aiden texted back immediately asking if she was ok. Several texts later he reluctantly gave her the number she wanted.

  She immediately called Luc. Someone else answered. After fifteen minutes of being put on hold, bicke
ring and threatening the person on the other end of the line she got to leave a message. This was beyond frustrating.

  She started reviewing the files again. Maybe she could find something she missed while she waited for Luc to call back.

  She looked over the bite records several more times. She reviewed all the paranormal entities that remained in humanoid form. It had to be vampires. Nothing else could do that damage.

  The big question was, were Luc’s vampires involved or was it another group. She would know more after she talked to him.

  Her phone kept dinging. Someone was blowing up her inbox. There were over a dozen new emails from the same person. No subject line.

  Normally she wouldn’t bother opening them. Something pricked along her skin as she held the mouse over the last one.

  She did a quick spell check. Not the kind that WORD uses, but the kind that checks for magic. There was no magic attached to the emails.

  She took a deep breath and opened one. In large font, all caps and bold the message read:

  I AM GOING TO KILL YOU.

  It wasn’t signed. It didn’t need to be. She received every single one of them after she called and left a message for Luc. It was Zoe. Harley was going to have to deal with her.

  She would try to reason with Zoe. She highly doubted that would work. Though Harley wasn’t a slouch in physical combat, she had never gone up against a vampire.

  Nearly all vampires had super strength and super speed. They also usually had other powers. Even a baby vampire could lift a small car over its head and throw it. She had doubts that Zoe was new.

  Luc didn’t seem like the type to keep a bunch of new vampires around. At least not one that was in charge as Zoe had been when she came to retrieve Harley the first time.

  A sudden thought crossed her mind. Aiden. He was a jester. They were not as strong or fast as vampires, but they could hold their own. He also knew Zoe, perhaps he knew if she had a weakness.

  Her favorite author Laurell K. Hamilton had always used gun power to deal with vampires. If only she were Anita Blake.

  With her mind made up Harley called it quits from the office shortly after noon. Aiden was helping Mrs. Reyes do the dishes when she got in.

  “Aiden, are you up for a workout?”

  He looked up surprised to see her.

  “Sure.”

  “Meet you back down here in ten minutes.”

  Harley took the stairs two at a time and quickly changed into workout gear. She may be a curvy girl, but she was in great shape.

  Aiden was waiting for her when she got back downstairs.

  “I have a gym out in the barn.”

  He followed her as she led the way to the side of the barn. The gym had its own door. It was impressive for a home gym.

  “Zoe sent me some hate mail after I phoned and left a message for Luc.”

  Aiden didn’t look surprised. “It was one of the reasons I was hesitant in giving you the phone number. Zoe can be vindictive.”

  “I thought as much. Which is one of the reasons I asked you to come work out with me. I thought maybe you would know one of her weaknesses, or at the very least teach me how to survive an encounter with her.”

  He hesitated. “I can teach you some things. I can’t really tell you how to kill Zoe. She is in Luc’s brood. I work for him. It would be a really bad idea for me to betray him.”

  “I respect that. I don’t plan to kill Zoe, unless, I have no other choice. I realize I’m outmanned here. She is faster and stronger. I need to be able to do something to compensate for that, and keep myself alive.”

  “If you tangle with Zoe, one of you will die. Make no mistake about it. She is vicious.”

  “I’ll remember that. Now, let’s spar.”

  He shook his head. “Okay.”

  He hit hard and fast. Harder than she expected. The first blow knocking her off balance. He fell to his knees beside her on the mat.

  “Oh man, Harley. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I mean I meant to spar. I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.”

  “It’s alright Aiden. Zoe won’t apologize. Let’s keep going.”

  They both got to their feet. This time Harley ducked the first jab and caught him off guard with a return one of her own.

  They sparred for the better part of an hour. She gave as good as she got, but she did not have supernatural speed or strength.

  After an hour, she called it quits. Sitting on the mat she called for a halt. He sat down beside her.

  “You did an excellent job.”

  “Not good enough, I realize after all this. I’m not fast enough or strong enough. I’m going to have to think of something else besides just straight fighting to win against Zoe.”

  “Yeah, you will. Any ideas?”

  “Not yet. Looks like I have some research to do. Unless you have a manual on how to fight vampires lying around somewhere.”

  “Nope. I’m fresh out. Gave my last one to a ghoul last week.”

  “Well, damn Aiden. You’re no help.”

  He looked at her, shaking his head and laughing. “You are kind of a nut.”

  “Only kind of? I’m pretty sure I went around the bend several years ago.”

  “I’m pretty sure you are going to be all bruised tomorrow and Mrs. Reyes is going to kick my ass.”

  “Hey! That’s an idea. I’ll sick Mrs. Reyes on Zoe. I’m pretty sure she has some kind of supernatural mother power that beats all of the bad guys.”

  Aiden laughed at her idea. “I don’t know Mrs. Reyes that well, but that may just be true. She can be very fierce.”

  He got up and offered his hand to her. “Come on. Let’s get you into a hot bath. You are going to be sore and bruised as it is. Besides, I need a head start so Mrs. Reyes doesn’t kill me.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Aiden helped Harley inside and up the stairs. He offered to help her into the tub. She said she would manage.

  His mind was rolling with conflicts. Luc wanted him to keep an eye out on her. He was doing that. He was also developing some real feelings for her.

  Harley was like no other woman he had ever met. She seemed to accept people for who they were. She didn’t expect them to meet her standards. She didn’t expect them to change for her.

  Being here brought back feelings he hadn’t had since his mother died. She had been killed defending him from yet another person who saw him and instantly thought he was evil.

  Aiden had then settled into the darker side of life. He had been working for Luc since his mother died. The vampire had found him, beaten and bloody in a back alley. He took him home, tended his wounds and gave him a job. It was unimportant things at first.

  As Aiden’s powers grew, he found himself with more responsibilities within Luc’s business. Now he was his hitman. Though he didn’t think that Luc wanted Harley dead.

  No, he wanted something else from Harley. Something he wasn’t even willing to tell Aiden about. At least not yet. Each day seemed to bring more conflict into Aiden’s mind. He wanted to do what his boss needed, yet he also wanted to protect Harley.

  The need to protect someone was a new feeling to him. He had done it without thought of consequences when Zoe had wanted to attack Harley. Of course, he reasoned that his boss wouldn’t be happy if anything happened to Harley without his express consent.

  He shook his head. What in the hell was he thinking? He needed to do his job and get out. The last thing he needed was a romantic entanglement.

  His phone rang. It was Luc.

  “Hello.”

  “Aiden, how are things going?”

  “It’s all going according to plan.”

  “She is starting to trust you?”

  “Yes, she is.”

  “Good. This is very good.”

  “Did you know Zoe sent her several threatening emails?"

  “I did not. What’s this about?”

  “Harley has some kind of new evidence on the case. Something she need
ed to talk to you about. She called the home phone today and left you a message. Shortly afterward she received over a dozen messages from Zoe saying she was going to kill Harley.”

  “Sounds like Zoe really has it in for Harley. Partly, I find this amusing. However, I have plans for Harley. I will deal with Zoe.

  “Bring Harley to the house tomorrow afternoon. I will talk to her about the case and see what she needs. It might be a good idea to share some tidbits of information with her.”

  “Do you think that’s wise with Zoe around?”

  “Don’t worry. I will handle Zoe. She has disobeyed me for the last time and needs to be taught a lesson. Just leave it to me.”

  “Anything you say, boss.”

  Luc laughed. “Oh, I’m boss now.”

  “You always have been.”

  “Aiden, have you fallen on your head lately.”

  “Actually yes. I was sparring with Harley.”

  “You were what!”

  “She volunteered me as a sparring partner. She wants to make sure she is ready if Zoe attacks her.”

  “Hmm. Our little witch has claws. I like that. I like that very much. I will see you tomorrow.”

  After Aiden hung up the phone, he started thinking about sparring with Harley tonight. She was good for a witch. Most witches didn’t have supernatural strength or speed.

  Considering that, she had done well tonight. Of course, he was distracted by her curves. Harley was his type of woman. Thick, and gorgeous.

  Her hair was a deep red, the color of blood after it had begun to congeal. Her skin was porcelain smooth and had a few freckles here and there.

  He had to keep himself from trying to kiss those freckles every time he saw her. Her eyes were the most beautiful shade of blue. He had seen them change with her mood. When she was angry they became a dark stormy blue. When she was happy they were a crystal-clear blue.

  He had wanted nothing more than to throw her down on the mat and take her. She was so fucking sexy. He needed a cold shower, or perhaps an ice bath.