by Tina Folsom
Anger surged inside her. “How?”
“I took the limo.”
“And the driver? Where is he? Did you kill him?”
“No! He ran off, I guess.”
It was the first good news in a long time. Her colleagues would track him down once they realized she and Kimberly was missing. And with any luck, he could tell them what had happened. Tracing the limo wouldn’t be too hard either. She was sure it came with an antitheft device that would lead her colleagues right to its location.
“Where’s the limo now?”
Haven muscles twitched as if he was attempting to shrug. But she still had him pinned to the wall, giving him no room to move. “I parked it outside.”
Things were looking up.
“What time is it?”
Haven gave her a surprised look. “Three o’clock.”
“Night or day?” Whatever the vapor was she’d inhaled, it had screwed with her sense of time. Impatient by his delayed response, she kicked him in the shin, when really she wanted to aim for something a little higher, and a little softer.
He clenched his jaw. “Bitch!”
“I asked, night—”
“It’s night.”
Yvette released her hold on him. Another second longer, and she would have rubbed herself all over him like a cat in heat. Damn the man for the way he smelled: all male, all sex. How was a female vamp going to keep her wits about her, being in such close quarters with a virile man like him? The faster she and Kimberly escaped from here, the better. Sure, her colleagues would rescue them within hours, but she didn’t have hours. She needed to get out of this place before she did something she would regret later.
Whatever happened to Haven, she didn’t care. Which still left one question open.
“Why are you here with us?”
Haven righted his shirt and jacket and glared at her. “Because I had a job to do.”
“That’s not an answer. If you’re in here with us, who’s holding us captive?”
Haven took a step toward her, placing his tempting body in too close a proximity to hers. Like tendrils of fire, his body heat leapt from his skin and landed on hers, intent on burning her with its intensity.
“Here’s your answer: I was double-crossed by the person who wanted me to kidnap Kimberly, okay? Happy now?”
Angry, he was even sexier than when she’d toyed with him at the party. How pathetic was that?
“A hired gun. Despicable.”
“You’re not any better than me.”
“I don’t kidnap people for money! Serves you right that your boss turned on you. Don’t expect me to help you now.”
***
Haven felt his blood boil. Yvette pissed him off even faster than his little brother could, and that was quite an achievement. But he wouldn’t let her get to him.
“I’m afraid we’ll fail if we don’t work together.”
She looked at him with disdain in her eyes. “Your goal was to kidnap Kimberly—guess your work is done. Now I’ll do mine—and mine is to free her. And that’s exactly what I’ll do.”
“How do you propose to do that since we’re locked up in here?”
She motioned toward the door. “You really think a flimsy door like that is going to stop me?”
He should tell her what they were up against. It was only fair. “Look, there’s no way—”
“Incompetent fool!” she hissed and turned away.
On second thought, maybe he’d let her find out for herself. The woman clearly needed her attitude clipped. Nobody called him incompetent. Nor did he like to be called a fool. Especially not by a female—make that a female vampire—who got him hard as hell just by being within a couple of feet of him. “Go ahead.”
Suddenly, he felt like Dirty Harry, and Yvette could just make his day for all he cared.
Without her or Kimberly noticing, Haven adjusted his cock and swept his eyes over Yvette’s naked back. Oh man, that dress fit her like a second skin, and the ripped seam on one side of it exposed her leg from ankle to upper thigh to his hungry look. Her legs were toned and strong, not overly muscular, but perfectly shaped. Perfect for wrapping them around his hips when he—
He growled inaudibly and shook his head. Thinking like that wouldn’t help him get his boner down.
But he couldn’t tear himself away from watching her. He was fascinated by her. And one thing was totally different about her now. While she’d been unconscious, he’d literally been able to see her hair grow. It now cascaded over her back in a thick mane. While he’d certainly thought she was attractive with her short spiky hair, the way the long hair caressed her face and shoulders was just utterly distracting. He had no idea why it was suddenly long; for sure, it was some strange vampire trait. And he wasn’t interested at all in knowing about it. That’s right. He didn’t care one whit.
Just like Kimberly, he now observed Yvette as she approached the door, tested it with her hand, sniffed for who knew what, and then stepped back. A second later, she landed a high karate kick against the lock. But instead of the door splintering under her forceful move—and he’d never seen a woman so strong—she was propelled backwards and slammed into the concrete wall a dozen feet behind her. Haven flinched instinctively, wondering how much pain she could take.
“What the fuck?” she grumbled.
But she was already up and lunged toward the door again. Haven knew it would be useless and interceded her path. “It’s no use.”
“Get out of my way!”
“The door is protected by wards.”
“Wards?” Recognition slowly seeped into her features. Then she pushed him back, away from her enticing body and drugging scent. “You made a deal with a witch?”
Haven crossed his arms over his chest, feeling the need to defend himself. “I had no choice.” He needed to save his brother, who he still hadn’t seen since he’d been imprisoned here. He felt increasingly uneasy about the developments. If he could only figure out what the witch wanted from all of them, then maybe he could devise a plan of how to get out of this mess. But without that—
“There’s always a choice. You chose to get involved with a witch. No wonder you were able to knock me out. I should have known. All you are is a weak human, and look where you ended up.”
Had his hearing just failed him? “Are you telling me I’m inferior to you?”
“What if I am?”
Haven clenched his teeth, ready to strangle the woman.
“Stop it!” Kimberly’s determined voice made his head snap into her direction. “You both are acting like spoiled brats!”
He quirked an eyebrow. Had the kettle just called the pot black? Maybe the girl wasn’t quite as immature as she’d let on. He took a step away from Yvette. “I can take a hint.”
“If it’s delivered with a sledgehammer,” Yvette muttered under her breath.
He glanced back at her over his shoulder. “I heard that.”
“You were supposed to.”
“Damn it, didn’t I just tell you guys to stop?” Kimberly threw up her hands in capitulation. “What are you? Twelve?”
She did have a point.
“Since you both consider yourselves such great fighters, why don’t you use your energy to get us out of here? Frankly, I have no intention of staying here any longer. I’m not into camping, and I need a shower.” She sighed, studying her fingernails. “And a manicure.”
Before Haven had the chance to make a snide remark about Kimberly’s last words, the door opened. Wesley stumbled in, or rather was pushed in by the witch who remained on the other side of the threshold.
“Wesley!” Haven rushed to his brother and hugged him. He appeared a little shell-shocked but seemed to recover quickly.
“Oh, shit, Hav, I’m sorry.” The mumbled emotion reflected in his downcast eyes.
“I see you haven’t killed the vampire yet,” Bess droned.
Haven whipped his head first to her and then to Yvette, who stood in the m
iddle of the room ready to attack. “Don’t, Yvette. She’s too strong.”
“Vampire?” Wesley tossed an angry look at Yvette. “Oh, I wish I had a stake!”
“Now, you’re talking!” Bess whistled. “Your brother has one.”
Haven held a hand against Wesley’s chest, trying to stop him from doing anything stupid, which he realized was exactly what his brother was about two seconds away from. “She won’t hurt us.”
“Wait until she’s hungry enough,” the witch hedged, stirring things up like a potion in a cauldron.
Haven looked at Yvette at that moment and noticed how she flinched. Bess had hit the nail right on its head. Shit, he hadn’t thought of that. “How long are you planning to keep us here?” he asked without taking his eyes off Yvette.
“Long enough.” Her evil grin was evident in her voice and confirmed that she’d caught onto his line of thinking. Sooner or later, Yvette would get hungry—for blood.
Yvette’s defiant glare told him she was a fighter, and the way she’d protected Kimberly indicated she was loyal. But if he’d learned one thing about vampires while fighting them over the years, it was that when their hunger for blood became too severe, they would lose control, and nobody was safe. Yvette might be controlled by her learned behavior now, but what would happen when she was controlled by her survival instinct? Could he allow his scruples to get in the way of rational thinking?
“Guess you’ll have to kill her after all.” The witch’s voice grated on his nerves. Hell, just to defy her, he’d let Yvette live—and only for that reason. Not because his body revolted each time he tried to come up with a reason to kill her. Since when did he even need a reason to kill a vampire? The murder of his mother and disappearance of his baby sister should be justification enough to stake her without a second thought.
“Give me the stake,” Wesley demanded. “I’ll do it if you can’t.”
“No, you won’t!” Kimberly’s determined shout stunned him. She leapt up from her cot and pushed in front of Yvette, spreading her arms out protectively to shield her bodyguard. “You think I wanna be locked up with the two of you alone? Like I don’t know what guys like you want from a pretty girl like me.”
Behind her, even Yvette couldn’t seem to control her smirk despite the seriousness of the situation. Haven rolled his eyes; it had never even crossed his mind to touch the girl inappropriately. For some reason, while she was certainly pretty, nothing stirred when he looked at her. Now, the same thing couldn’t be said for the way his body reacted to Yvette.
“Thanks, Kimberly. I’m glad we’re of one mind here, because I have no intention of leaving you alone with those two.” Yvette sent a pointed look his way, but there was little fire behind her words. Not the kind of fire he’d seen in her when she’d first awakened after being unconscious. The fire that had shot from her mouth then had been hotter and more potent than dragonfire. And despite the explosiveness of the situation he’d found himself in when she’d pinned him against the wall, he’d almost looked forward to being singed by her flames. Which was stupid and totally out of character for him; he wasn’t the hotheaded one of the family: Wesley was.
“God, this is annoying. You should have killed her when she was unconscious,” Bess nagged, letting out an exasperated breath. “Well, nevermind. I’m sure you’ll come to your senses, but for now, you, Haven, are next.”
She stepped over the threshold and crooked her finger. As if pulled by strings, Haven’s body moved toward her. “What the—?”
“Don’t fight her, Hav,” Wesley cautioned. Then he reached for him. “And leave me the stake.”
Haven twisted his body and gripped the stake. Not a chance in hell. He wouldn’t part with the stake.
Eight
Hidden behind a row of bushes and set back from the quiet side street it inhabited, the place looked unassuming. Zane turned the spare key in the lock and let himself into Yvette’s house. There was no sound. He let his senses swirl around the place, feeling for anything that was alive, but all he detected was the faint scent of Yvette and that dog. Not her dog, she’d said. Right.
Why couldn’t she admit that she’d taken in the stray and adopted it? All evidence pointed to it: the feeding bowls with dry food and water, and the doggie door to the backyard. Ridiculous how somebody could be in such denial about wanting to form an attachment to something or someone.
Zane explored the little two-bedroom house. Its decorations seemed warm and comforting and in stark contrast to Yvette’s outer shell—not at all what he’d thought he’d find. Somehow he’d expected a black-and-white modern, sparsely furnished house. What he saw all around him was quintessential Town and Country: pillows, warm colors, ornaments, and frilly curtains galore.
No wonder she’d never invited any of her colleagues to her home, even though they’d all pestered her to throw a housewarming party after she’d bought the house a couple of months earlier. If she knew he was sneaking around her home now, she’d probably stake him without ceremony. Not that he could blame her; he’d do the same to anybody who showed up uninvited in his place and poked his nose into his business.
“Dog?” he called out, but the beast didn’t reply. Zane couldn’t sense it anywhere. Had Yvette taken it with her, or had the animal run away? Just when he thought that the dog could come in handy, like maybe being able to sniff out where Yvette had disappeared to. It seemed to be able to follow her everywhere in the city. Maybe if he could locate the dog, Yvette wouldn’t be far.
Zane turned a corner and opened the next door. The bathroom. He flicked on the light switch and looked around. It wasn’t what he’d expected either. Instead of a collection of makeup, lipsticks, and creams, the granite counter held a single toothbrush, toothpaste, a pair of scissors, and a plastic bag.
He examined the plastic bag. St. Luke’s Hospital—Cancer Department it said.
What the hell? Vampires couldn’t get sick, and for sure they couldn’t get cancer, so why on earth would Yvette have a bag from a hospital’s cancer department in her bathroom? He opened it and peeked inside. Strands of long black hair were inside it. He stuck his hand in, pulled out a bunch and sniffed. Not just anybody’s hair: Yvette’s hair.
Now there was a discovery he didn’t make every day: Yvette had long hair! Damn it if that didn’t surprise him just a bit.
This meant she’d had long hair when she’d been turned. He’d always assumed the opposite. So why would she go through the pain of cutting it short, which she’d clearly been doing every single day he’d known her. Weren’t women supposed to love long hair? What was the point of cutting it? And more importantly, what else was Yvette hiding from her colleagues?
***
Yvette glared back at Wesley, whose body posture reeked with open hostility. “Like your brother said, I won’t hurt you.” Then she smiled, the little devil on her shoulder rearing its ugly head and making her lips part once more. “Not yet.”
Wesley’s attempt to hide his flinch was unsuccessful.
God, how she loved to rattle the stupid little pup. Sure, he was almost as tall as Haven, and the family resemblance was evident in their dark hair and blue eyes, but that’s where it ended. Where Haven seemed controlled, Wesley was anything but. A young blowhard. She’d have to watch him; otherwise, he’d wreck havoc and destroy their chances of escape. Or better yet, scare him into submission so he wouldn’t dare do anything idiotic.
“So, you’re his brother?” Kimberly asked, now standing next to her.
In the last few minutes, Yvette’s estimation of the girl had gone up a notch, despite her comment that she was afraid the two men might rape her if she was alone with them. She doubted that either of the two had that inclination. They just didn’t seem to be the kind—with their looks they didn’t need to force a woman. Turning on the charm was all that was needed. She’d been at the receiving end of it when Haven had unleashed said charm on her.
Yvette liked the fact that Kimberly had stood up for her.
It was a step in the right direction. Maybe the girl was much more resilient than she’d presumed at first. Having made it this far in the acting world had to mean that she had stamina and, hopefully, a backbone.
“Yes, I’m Wesley. Haven’s my older brother.” Then he tilted his head and flashed a charming grin at her. Kimberly instantly blushed. “You look familiar. Have we met?”
Yvette walked back to the cot and stretched out, leaning her upper body against the wall behind her. She wasn’t interested in making small talk, and by the looks of it, Wesley would rather talk to Kimberly than her anyway.
“I’m Kimberly Fairfax. I’m—”
“—the actress!” he completed her sentence before taking a few steps closer.
Yvette kept her eyes on them, ready to interfere if necessary.
“Wow! How cool is that?”
Yvette raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, it’s really cool being locked up by a witch, not knowing what she wants to do with us. But hey, at least you’ve found the silver lining.” The aftertaste of sarcasm had a decidedly … pleasing flavor, she always found.
Wesley glared at her. “I’m not talking to you. You’re a vampire. I hate vampires.”
She pressed her hand against her chest. “You wound me.”
He took a few steps toward her. “Creatures like you should be killed on sight.” His voice was full of venom.
“Wanna give it a try?” Yvette jumped up, ready to teach the wannabe slayer a lesson. She gestured with her hands for him to come closer. “Go ahead. Let’s see if you can do more than hit like some human girl.”
The angry glint in Wesley’s eyes told her she was rattling his cage. Lighting his fuse was child’s play. “What, don’t have the courage after all? Were you just showing off in front of your big brother?”
