by Jackie Ivie
And his heart leapt.
Tane jumped down to the first floor. It was a drop of thirty feet or so. He didn’t note if anyone saw it. He didn’t care. He maneuvered his way through people. Tried not to react. Snarl. And worked especially hard to hold back an urge to shove.
But he couldn’t get to her in time!
The group of bodyguards about her rushed through the assemblage and into an elevator. Tane watched with red-colored vision as the door shut behind them. He didn’t know how he reached the area, or who he moved out of his way. But he stood there, snarling at the chrome doors right as they closed. The crowd’s reflection was visible all about him. And behind him. He didn’t have an image. That was probably going to get noticed. But he didn’t care about that, either. He was fighting a wave of emotion that demanded action. He yearned to smash his way through the elevator doors. He shook. His canines elongated. Something in his suit ripped as he lifted both fists.
“Yo. Buddy. You don’t want to do that.”
Tane regarded the elevator door. A young man in a black suit stood beside him. He had an earpiece in his ear. Carried weaponry beneath his coat. His reflection was clearly visible. A security guard. His presence meant attention. And Tane had been trying to avoid that very thing.
“I need to speak with the photographer.”
“So does everybody else.”
“No. I need to speak with her now.”
“You need to calm down. Okay? We really don’t want a situation tonight.”
Tane looked up and glared at the ceiling far above him. Took deep breaths. Felt the back of his shirt tear further with each one. By the third one, the red haze had faded to pink. And his canines started retracting.
He lowered his head, turned, and locked gazes with the man. Waited until the guy’s pupil’s enlarged.
“Can you get me to her?”
“Well, I—”
“No, he can’t.”
Tane turned his head further. That had been quick. Now, he had three similarly-clothed gentlemen facing him. The crowd behind him was enlarging, too. He could enthrall all of them, but it would take time. And effort. And he just wanted to be with Katherine! It would be so easy to leap upward. Smash his way through the ceiling. He could find her. He knew he could. He’d just follow the echo of his heartbeat. But, that would be a mistake.
Katherine deserved a gentleman, not a savage.
Tane regarded the man who’d spoken in silence. Then he sighed. Tried to look non-threatening. Started acting like one of the male beauticians. Slightly effeminate. That felt even more foreign, akin to being an alien on a strange planet.
“I just want to see her for a moment. Surely, that’s doable?”
“Maybe.”
“Why don’t you tell me? What would it take to get me in to see her?”
Somebody snickered. Tane ignored him.
“She’ll be down eventually.”
“I’m asking what it would take...now.”
“You might try buying the entire exhibit,” one of them said.
“How much?”
“One-point-eight million.”
Tane reached for his wallet. Pulled out his card. Nigel said he had no limit. Guess Tane was about to find out.
“Who do I see?” he asked.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“That’s not acceptable. It can’t be booked. How many people can possibly be going to Guam next week? Check another flight! No. I will not hold again! Wait! Ah!”
Kat almost slammed the phone onto the table to vent the frustration. She was in the sitting area of the director’s private apartment. He had a fortune in artwork on the walls. Some potted plants. Two over-stuffed leather sofas. Mirrors that didn’t reflect her image with any clarity. Long drapes that covered a wall of windows. She gritted her teeth and walked about the room while horrid music wafted through her ear.
Why do companies use the most horrible music on the planet when they put you on hold?
So, you’ll hang up, she answered herself.
She’d been trying all day to get a seat on the flight back to Pohnpei. And Tane. Because love was that special. It even transcended reality. She’d always thought physics ruled the universe. Well. Now she knew the truth. Love was the real power. And she’d found it. With Tane. She loved him. She needed to be with him. And she was not accepting that every seat was taken until Tuesday! She didn’t care if it was a prime holiday week. That was three days from now! She wasn’t waiting three days! She didn’t want to wait three minutes! Oh! If she only had unlimited funds! She’d book a private flight. But she might get irritated enough to max her cards out and do it anyway.
‘Thank you so much for holding. Your call is important to us. Please stay on the line—’
“Uh. Miss Clark?”
Kat welcomed the interruption from the recorded message, but not the interference. She looked over her shoulder at one of the guards they’d sent for her.
Her.
Katherine Clark.
She had bodyguards attending her. That was unreal, but it didn’t really compete with the level of strangeness she embraced anymore. She knew she was acting erratic. Strange. Completely unlike herself. But there wasn’t anybody she could confide in. Nobody who’d understand. They’d probably lock her up and toss the key if she tried to tell someone what had happened and how she felt. How do you explain that the love of your life is a vampire? Was there a level of insanity in the asylum for that?
She doubted it. So, she stayed silent about what had happened on the island. She didn’t search out anybody, and nobody approached her. That would be tough tonight. She had eight bodyguards, all big, beefy guys. She’d been surprised when they’d arrived at her flat. She didn’t think anybody needed this much security. Once they arrived at the gallery and she saw the crowds, however, she was grateful for them.
Until now.
“What is it?”
She tried to speak tactfully. Keep the acidity from her tone. She already told the sponsors she’d attend the show. And she would. Eventually. She just wanted her plane ticket booked first! Or she’d settle with being able to speak with someone who spoke English. She’d been on hold for so long already, she didn’t dare disconnect. That’s why she’d given instructions not to be disturbed. And what happened?
She got disturbed.
“There is a gentleman out here who wishes to speak with you.”
“And you let him up here?”
“Well...he did just buy your entire exhibit.”
Kat’s mouth fell open.
“One-point-eight million. He just pulls out a credit card. Cool as you please. You wouldn’t have believed it.”
Oh, sweet heaven!
Her first thought was she didn’t need the stupid commercial flight! Her finger clicked the disconnect button without looking. Her second thought was she didn’t have to go meet anyone, either. The sponsors had their cut. She didn’t have to schmooze with anyone. Ever.
“Is he...here now?”
“In the hall outside.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be at your side if you need us.”
“Why would I need you?”
“This gent. We were told he was a bit...aggressive downstairs.”
The bodyguard patted the revolver beneath his coat jacket to reassure her. She was very grateful to have him. And the rest of them. The emotion toward her unknown benefactor had started as a rush of gratefulness. It turned to wariness before she could prevent it.
“Um. Thank you.”
Kat turned to the large mirror to check her appearance, before remembering it would just be a big blob. Earlier, she’d arranged her hair into a bun by feel. Now, she patted any stray hairs back as if she could see them. Retouched her lipstick. She used the time to brace herself. She didn’t need more lipstick. It wouldn’t even show. She’d chosen a nude shade tonight because of that. She couldn’t tell where she painted it on...not exactly. She wore a black figure-skimming
sheath. Flats. A string of real pearls. She just needed to get through the next few moments. Accept whatever praise he might utter. Say some words of thanks. And then she’d be off.
She started listing things.
First, she needed to find a private plane. Book her itinerary. She had enough credit on two cards to charge it. She could pay them both off when the transfer for the exhibit reached her bank. By then, she’d be well on her way back to Tane. In his arms. Close. Her eyes stung with tears at the beauty of the thought. She blinked rapidly. Everything felt like it was awakening within her as if water had just reached a parched flower. Her heart started pounding. Her breath shook.
Wait a minute.
Both her heartbeat and her breathing had an echo, while a sensation of warmth surrounded her like a soft blanket. He felt so near. And, oh! How she’d missed these sensations!
She heard words said in a conversationalist tone, as if the door was already open. She wasn’t really listening, though.
“We didn’t catch your name, sir.”
“That’s all right, gentlemen. She won’t need it.”
She recognized the voice! In seeming slow motion, they opened the door. Her bodyguards were all standing in the hall but her eyes went to the man leaning against the wall opposite her. Shock held her rooted. And everything stopped.
It was Tane, all right, but he looked unlike anything she’d seen or imagined. There wasn’t a description for his range of handsomeness. His hair was cut and combed back. A tux had been fitted perfectly to him, highlighting a form that haunted her. And she must have forgotten the impact of looking at his neon blue eyes.
She was stunned. Close to swooning. Her legs wobbled warningly.
“Well?” he asked. And then he opened his arms.
“Tane!”
Kat launched at him and he caught her. Hard arms enfolded her. Lifted and then held her to his chest. His lips met hers. All kinds of light filled the hall, coming from somewhere to envelop. Fireworks erupted all around them. Her heart swelled to bursting. Some of the bodyguards cleared throats.
“You...know this gentleman?”
One of her bodyguards asked it from behind her somewhere, bringing her back to reality. Tane had lifted from the kiss instantly. He moved his lips close to her ear.
“You will marry me. Yes?”
“Oh, yes!” she whispered back.
Tane lifted his head to look out at others. “The lady and I are affianced,” he announced.
“Oh. Well. No wonder you were pissed.”
Several men chuckled. Kat didn’t care. She was in a whorl of wonder. A plateau of joy. She closed her eyes and leaned into Tane’s chest, and listened to their hearts beating in tandem. His every breath matched hers as well.
She knew none of it was physically possible.
But it still happened.
“Uh...we were hired to protect the lady this evening.”
“I have a limousine downstairs,” Tane replied. “If you can get us there, I think you can consider it a job well done. We shall just...disappear.”
Tane looked down at her. Winked. And that’s exactly what happened.
~ ~ ~
“Well. Well. She disconnected from her call, Sir. She’d been holding forever to get a flight. I was monitoring it. You think that means...?” Nigel left the sentence open-ended.
“I believe that means Tane won’t be available for assignments for a span. And we have a new associate. Before you shut down for the night, Nigel, we need to discuss something. Do you have a moment?”
Nigel turned from the monitor and looked over at Akron’s desk. The man wasn’t sitting at it. He was standing in the shadows behind the desk. But that was normal.
“Sure. What have you got?”
“Remember when I said I’d have to do some manipulating of events in the near future...and I mentioned how you’d be grateful?”
“Yeah.”
“Well. It concerns Paul Henry.”
Nigel shot from the chair into the center of the room, smacking his head on a ceiling beam before he landed. “My grandson?”
“Do we know another Paul Henry?”
“What about him? Quick! Tell me! Now, you have me scared.”
“Well...I don’t know if I should interfere. It could be termed meddling.”
“Akron! Please. What is it?”
“I need a decision. I can’t get it from him. And we have about...oh. Thirty seconds.”
“Yes! The answer is yes!”
“I haven’t even posed the question yet, Nigel.”
“Speak faster, then!”
“Would you rather have him dead? Or a vampire?”
“Dead?”
“Really? I would have guessed you’d want—”
“No! I don’t want him dead. That was a question—never mind! We don’t have time for this! Is he...?”
“His private plane has experienced a carbon monoxide leak. The pilots expired some time ago. The plane is on auto-pilot, so that hadn’t been an issue...but now the gas has seeped into the cabin. Paul Henry has just lost consciousness. They will go down somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Unless I intercede, of course.”
“Intercede, already!”
“He’s not fond of us.”
“I don’t care! Make him a vampire!”
“He might blame you.”
“I don’t care! Vampire!”
“He could hate you for it, Nigel.”
“I don’t care! Vampire!”
“Are you certain?”
“Please? I’m begging you!”
“As long as you’re certain.”
“Akron!”
Akron Profit disappeared. Some words followed his departure as if he was still in the room. Nigel didn’t know how the man communicated psychically, nor how he teleported. And right at the moment, it didn’t matter. His throat had closed off with worry, and his eyes stung.
“You are such a Mother Hen, Nigel. We still have five seconds.”
Nigel sagged to the floor, put his head in his hands, and barely kept from weeping. And that’s where his mate, Mandy, found him.
About the Author
Jackie Ivie lives in the enormous state of Alaska with her husband and three very spoiled pets. She started her writing career writing hot highland historical romances for Kensington Publishing. There are now ten “Clans series” books, available in seven languages. Keeping her head in the clouds most of the time, Jackie now spends her time researching, developing, and writing her paranormal series – the Vampire Assassin League, as well as her other historical line – the Brocade Collection.
Jackie loves hearing from fans, who can contact her at
www.jackieivie.com or www.VampireAssassinLeague.com
Want to keep up with the assassins of the Vampire Assassin League? Consider joining the Assassin Street Team at
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TIME TO DIE is the 32nd installment of the Vampire Assassin League. Check out all the assassins in the VAL, available singly, in 4-book bundles, and in print as 2-packs.
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Copyright © 2016 Jackie Ivie
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