by Melody Raven
“Oh my gosh!” said Sam in mock surprise. “I’m so sorry!”
Christine Reyes might be a shameless cheater, but she handled the mishap pretty well. After jumping back and looking down at the damp spots on her dress, she quickly dabbed at the spots. “It’s fine,” she said quickly as she continued to wipe away the droplets. “That’s water, right?”
“Yes,” assured Sam. “I don’t think it will stain.”
“No harm done,” said Christine before the man she’d been talking with led her away, presumably to a bathroom to clean up. Hmm. The mayor giving Derek an award was a dick and the shameless adulteress was a reasonable human being. There were some things in this world she’d never understand.
The bracelet was just as cool as ever against her wrist, so she finished her turn around the room and ended up back at Derek’s side and handed him his half-empty glass of water.
“Have fun?” he asked.
“Not as much as you’d think. This bracelet so far is giving me nothing, and spilling your water on that woman didn’t make me feel happy at all.”
“Are you sure that thing even works?”
“Oh yeah. If we find anyone who’s been affected by the darkness, we’ll know.” Her hand still tingled from the scare she’d gotten earlier when the bracelet went off.
Derek took a drink of his water. “You called it the darkness. Isn’t it dark magic?”
Sam shrugged. “I suppose.”
“What does that mean?”
She glanced around to make sure no one was listening in. “Magic is something I use. If I were a witch who was actually good at being a witch, I would use magic to manipulate the laws of nature and physics to work in my favor. Whereas the darkness controls the user. No matter why you originally started to use it, that purpose will become warped and distorted.”
Derek downed the rest of his water in one deep gulp.
“Bet you wish you were drinking now,” she quipped. A new song started to play and Sam set her mostly full drink down on the closest of the tall tables that lined the hallway. “Come on.” She reached for his hand but at the last minute wrapped her fingers around his wrist. She was more than aware that she was playing with fire here, but she could keep it from getting out of control. Probably.
Maybe her black bandage dress had been more for his benefit than solely for fitting in. It was a favorite of hers that she hadn’t worn in years. Back in her magic-free days, she couldn’t stand to see herself in anything so tight. She used to be able to see her ribs through the material.
But ever since she’d opened herself up to the magical side of herself, she actually had an appetite again and could hold food down. Instead of looking like a walking skeleton, she filled out the dress in a way that she already could tell Derek approved of.
A thought that made her happier than Claudia would ever approve of. But why wouldn’t Sam be flattered? Derek was in a suit. Claudia should consider herself lucky Sam didn’t jump him in the car on the way to the reception.
“What are you doing?” he asked as she weaved her way between the tables.
“Going somewhere else where we can bump into people and pretend it’s an accident.”
Derek stopped and she had to turn to face him.
“What are you doing, Sam?” he asked again, but his tone let her know that he was asking a completely different question.
She moved her hand lower, this time intertwining her fingers with his. “I’m doing what my grandmother asked me to do. Now there are people on that dance floor and I want to be out there with them. It will look strange if I’m there by myself.”
“There are other ways we can get close to them.”
“Longer ways,” she pointed out.
“Smarter ways.”
“It’s just a dance, Derek. You have to accept your award soon. We’re not going to have time to let anything get out of hand. So just dance with me.”
She could see the exact moment he gave in. It was the look of steel determination and resolve. Which was good. This wasn’t some roundabout seduction attempt. This was just to see whether the stupid bracelet did anything.
Which didn’t explain why her heartbeat kicked up a few notches with every step closer to the dance floor.
It wasn’t exactly crowded, but there were about a dozen or so couples taking advantage of the chance to cut loose. Once the few hundred guests got more liquor in their systems, the dance floor would really be hopping.
Once she reached the edge of the wooden dance floor, she turned to face Derek and waited for the awkward placement of hands that came with dancing with someone for the first time. But Derek took her in his arms as though it were the most natural thing in the world. He wrapped an arm around the small of her back and took her hand in his. He didn’t hold her at a respectable distance, instead pulling her up against him, and Sam didn’t fight it.
Like she’d said, there would be no time for this to spiral out of control before he had to take care of official business.
“Have you checked in with Bastian?” asked Derek.
“No.” She’d told Derek about the plan to have Bastian outside of the next target to make sure there were no more casualties. “I figure they’ll let me know if anyone shows up.”
They settled into a rhythm and Derek led her to the center of the floor, even though her bracelet gave her nothing.
“I can help with your other case if you want,” offered Sam.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. You’ve been so good to us. I feel like I owe you.”
“I haven’t been nice to you all.” There was a pause before he continued. “I think I made a mistake.”
The corner of her mouth hooked up. She had a feeling Derek didn’t admit mistakes easily. “What are you talking about?”
“About us. About you and me. I thought that anything between us would get in the way. I think that us not being together is probably even more distracting.”
“Derek—”
“No. If I say I was wrong... if I say I want to give this a chance, what would be stopping us?”
“My grandmother killing you would put a damper on things.”
“You won’t let her do that.”
“I won’t have a choice. Let’s just enjoy this dance, Derek.” Before he got both of their hopes up.
“You’re the one who wanted to dance with me,” he reminded her.
“You’re the one who told me to leave you alone.”
“Then we’re both wrong.”
Instead of fighting with him, Sam let her head fall against his chest and closed her eyes as they continued to sway to the slow music. Even if she wanted to defy logic and Claudia’s orders, there was no time for that. She and Bastian were tasked with finding out who was plotting against Claudia and who was causing witches to burn one another alive, not to mention Sam was still struggling with her power that Claudia insisted was harnessable. So that didn’t leave time for a relationship.
But it left time for this dance. Derek felt good in her arms. His hard body was pressed against her. She was tall normally and her heels pushed her over six feet, but Derek was still taller. He smelled like masculine soap and she loved that he had his normal scruff. Even though he was dressed for the occasion, he was still the rough-and-tumble cop she was used to.
“Mr. Pierce?”
Sam forced her eyes open as she looked at the young woman speaking. Even though she was dressed in a black cocktail dress like so many of the guests, the clipboard and walkie-talkie in her hand signaled that she was working here.
“Yeah?”
“My name is Nancy and I’m in charge of the program tonight. We’re going to get started in a few moments. Can we run down what’s going to happen when you’re called up?”
Sam could practically feel the reluctance as he pulled himself away, and a part of her hated how flattered she was.
“Sure,” he told Nancy before he turned back to Sam. “You stay. Don’t
do anything,” he ran his hand down her arm and to her bracelet, “until I get back.”
Sam thought about saying no. It wasn’t as if she were going to confront anyone if the bracelet went off. All she was doing was reporting back to Claudia if she found anything. But she didn’t want to disagree with him in the middle of the dance floor and figured he’d be back soon enough. “Of course,” she said simply.
He nodded his thanks as Nancy led him away. Left alone, Sam decided to go back to their table, where she could keep out of trouble. Once she reached it, only Mayor Ramsey and his wife were there. Luckily Voss’s chair was between her and the politician, so she nodded a quick hello as she sat down and hoped the mayor would ignore her the entire time.
“So how long have you known Derek?” asked the mayor, immediately ruining her plan.
Silly her. She forgot how much politicians liked to talk. “Derek and I actually used to be neighbors,” said Sam, not answering his question.
“Ahhh. That makes sense. I hear it’s hard for people who work that hard to meet a quality woman.”
Sam didn’t want to know what Ramsey thought a quality woman was. “Derek and I just... worked out.”
“I hope you’re not distracting him too much, though.”
Sam didn’t hide the annoyance that she was sure projected off her face. “Derek doesn’t let himself get distracted.”
“Because the case he’s on right now is very important. I need him on his A game.”
Sam leaned forward. “Are you threatening me for being with Derek?” It was one thing for Claudia to disapprove, but for this stranger she barely even knew to give her crap about being a distraction was way over the line.
“I’m simply stating how important Detective Pierce is to me. I think he could have a great career in front of him if he stays focused.”
And not distracted, filled in Sam.
That was it. Derek might have to take this crap, but she wasn’t working for the city. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Samantha Harris.”
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Harris.” The mayor held out a hand, but Sam didn’t shake it.
“No. I’m the Samantha Harris. Daughter of Abigail Harris. Granddaughter of Claudia Harris. I’m not here as Derek’s guest. I’m here as Claudia’s guest. Honestly, I don’t follow politics, but I know that almost every elected official in this city is there because of funds donated by my family. So if you don’t want to end up out of a job next election cycle, I expect you to have a better attitude the next time you address Derek.”
The mayor sat there in a stunned silence, but Sam had said everything she needed to. She pushed herself up and away from the table. Derek probably wanted her to stay put, but she wasn’t going to sit there and listen as Ramsey backtracked his previous comments and tried to kiss her ass. Instead, she headed out of the ballroom and to the bar set up in the hallway. Because the program of the evening was supposed to start in the next five minutes, the hallway was almost deserted and the line at the bar was even shorter than it had been before. She really wished vodka had an effect on her. Instead, she got another diet soda because she’d never finished the first one. Her stomach started to rumble and she hoped they’d be serving some decent food. After scrambling to get from Claudia’s to her apartment to get ready, she hadn’t had more than a quick granola bar since lunch.
She could go back into the ballroom, but Sam decided to take in the silence out here and enjoy her drink. A few last-minute stragglers lined up at the bar and she moved farther down the hallway and around the corner. All the doors to the ballroom were closed on this side and there were no guests except for one. Judging from the wheelchair he was sitting in, she knew who.
Sam had never forgotten walking into Tommy’s building and seeing Reyes lying motionless on the ground. The sinking feeling as she’d left him on his own as she went upstairs to face Tommy. She thought he’d been lucky to survive, but apparently he hadn’t felt the same way.
She should say something. At least say hello. This entire evening was to honor him. Well, him and Derek, but after hearing the mayor speaking to Derek, she tended to agree that Reyes was the true honoree of the evening.
Reyes faced away from her, looking down at something. Maybe just sitting in silent contemplation. He was getting an award for something that might’ve been the worst day of his life while his wife was out flirting with his coworkers. It made sense that he wouldn’t want to go inside. All the fake smiling. All the small talk. All the people avoiding making any mention of using legs.
But there was one major reason Sam wanted to talk to Reyes. Except for Derek, no one else had gotten closer to Tommy. To the darkness that had been taking over that building. A suspicion she didn’t want to tell Derek until she knew whether it had any basis in the truth.
“Hey,” she said as she approached. The bracelet wasn’t doing anything. That had to be a good sign. Reyes still didn’t look up. “Are you okay?” She didn’t see any sign of movement at all. “Reyes,” she said again, hoping for something.
Once she was just behind him, the bracelet heated up as if it were under a direct flame. One second, it was just cool stone against her skin; the next, pain radiated up her arm. Sam gasped in pain and the metal clasp flew apart, causing the bracelet to fall to the ground.
The amazement that she’d been able to do something magical that hadn’t backfired was quickly overshadowed by the very real trouble she was in.
Reyes’s arm shot out and his hand wrapped around her burned wrist. Sam tried to pull away, but it was more than pure strength holding her there. It was as though a numbness spread up her arm, stopping her from fighting back.
“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly as she glanced around, hoping anyone, namely Derek, would show up around the corner. “I helped you, remember? I found you?”
Reyes smiled cruelly. He was a handsome man, his upper body still fit even though she could see that he’d lost muscle tone in his legs. If it weren’t for the crazed glint in his eyes, he’d be damn attractive.
“I remember you,” he said in an eerily calm voice in contrast to her heavy breaths. “You left me.”
“I killed Tommy. I killed the guy who did this to you.”
“He was one of you. You should’ve stopped him before he did this to me.”
The numbness hit her shoulder and she realized just how vulnerable she was here. “Come on, Reyes. Let’s talk about this. I can fix things. I promise.”
“I’m already fixing things. One fire at a time.”
The reason for the numbness became obvious as Sam looked down at her arm. Where her normally blue veins were was now a pulsing black, and she could actually see the darkness entering her.
She wanted to scream out or kick him or do something, but she could feel the darkness invading and her mind became cloudy. Was this what happened to Janet? The disintegration of herself before she became a puppet for Reyes?
No. This wasn’t Reyes. She’d never met the man before, but she’d heard stories about the darkness. This was what it did. It invaded and corrupted, making promises it could never keep. It had promised Reyes justice and was delivering murder.
Exactly what it wanted.
“It’s time for you to do what you do best, Samantha Harris. I need you to burn.”
Derek looked over Nancy’s shoulder but didn’t see Sam at their table.
“And after the mayor brings you on stage, make sure you shake his hand and give him a hug. The physical contact goes a long way to—”
“Excuse me.” He went around Nancy and toward where Sam was supposed to be.
Nancy followed him. “Mr. Pierce—”
“I have to check on something,” he assured her. “Give me a minute.” That was when he reached the table. It was filling up now with Voss, Ramsey, Ramsey’s wife, and a couple Derek hadn’t been introduced to yet. “Where’s Sam?”
Voss glanced around the room, letting Derek know he didn’t know before h
e had a chance to say anything. “I haven’t seen her since you two were on the floor.”
The mayor, however, didn’t even glance around. “I believe she was going to get a drink.” His voice didn’t waver and Derek knew there was more to the story. Which meant she probably said something to Ramsey she wasn’t supposed to.
But if she was at the bar, that didn’t mean she was ignoring him and snooping around on her own. She could just be getting a drink and coming back now that there were more people to buffer any interaction between her and Ramsey.
Just then Christine Reyes came twisting between the tables and took the seat next to where Sam was going to be. “James still isn’t here?” she asked.
Derek hadn’t seen Reyes at all. It made sense that he’d avoid being around Christine while she was hanging out with her side man, but the program was going to start any minute. Where was he? “I need to find Sam,” he said as he was already leaving the table. “Be right back.”
Something was setting off his internal alarm. He couldn’t put his finger on it. It was like a hunch, but he’d never followed hunches before. He followed evidence and logic.
That was before Sam, of course. Now he had alarm bells ringing all over the place in his head and he didn’t care who he had to piss off. If Sam was indeed getting a drink, he wanted to see it for himself.
But he couldn’t say he was surprised when he left the ballroom and didn’t see any sign of her. The gnawing at the pit of his stomach grew from a small buzz to a dull roar. He reached to his side and ran his hand over the butt of his gun.
Once again, no reason to think the gun would be necessary, but he was happy to know it was there. But just because Sam wasn’t at the bar didn’t mean something was wrong. She could’ve hit the restroom before the program started. At this point, Derek had no problem storming into a women’s room to make sure she was there.
Except as he went around the corner looking for the bathrooms, he saw Reyes and something a bit more concerning. Two high-heeled shoes sitting a few feet away from the wheelchair-bound man. Derek recognized those shoes. They were the ones Sam had been wearing when he picked her up. The ones she’d been wearing just a few minutes ago.
