Charisma

by Wendy Stone

  “I’ll get the candles,” Dimitri said, dropping a kiss on her forehead as he passed her and went into the deserted dining room.

  “I’ve been trying to get a hold of Nashe,” Lee called as he shooed the last of the underlings out of the kitchen. “Do you know where they went on their honeymoon?”

  “I’ve got an emergency number. Let me try it,” she said, going into Nashe’s office and using his phone. The number rang twice and then the line cut out. She dropped the dead phone onto the receiver and picked up her cell phone, trying again. This time she got a blaring busy signal that cut to a recorded voice saying tall circuits were busy.

  “Shit,” she growled, shaking her phone as if that would help.

  “The candles are out, love. We should get out of here too.”

  Samantha stared around the room. “I don’t know if I can,” she said quietly.

  “Sam,” Lee called. “Come on. I’ve got to lock up. We’ll get a hold of Nashe tomorrow, when this is all over.”

  A sob shook her shoulders. Tomorrow, Abstracts could be a thing of the past, gone in a flash of gas and fire. She felt as if she were walking out on a good friend, someone who’d depended upon her for his safety. “I-I…” she held her hands up, turning to look at Dimitri helplessly.

  “Go,” he told Lee. “We’ll take care of locking up.”

  “Okay. but Sam, you’ve got to go. It’s just a building.” He headed for the door.

  “It’s not just a building,” she said with a sharp cry. Another explosion shook the floor, this one closer, making a small shrill scream erupt from her lips.

  “No, it’s not just a building,” Dimitri said, holding out his hand to her. He pulled her close, holding her tightly against him. “But it’s not worth being killed over, is it?” he asked softly, against her hair.

  Sam wiped her eyes, staring up at the man who’d only been in her life twenty-four hours. He seemed to know her better than others who’d been around her for years. “No, it’s not.”

  Dimitri breathed a huge sigh of relief and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Let’s lock up and then we can go to your place—or Lukah’s if you don’t want to be in the city tonight.”

  Sam nodded, suddenly so tired she didn’t want to make decisions. “Whatever you want,” she said, giving him the keys to the back door to let him lock it. She’d already armed the alarm.

  “Good,” he sighed. “Then we’ll drive by the beach on the way there.”

  He helped her into the car as a police cruiser flew by, heading towards where more explosions were going off. He went the other way, driving the roads as if he’d been in the area a lifetime.

  They were driving along the old Wharf Road, the flames bright across the way. Suddenly Sam sat up, her eyes squinting into the brightness. “What’s that?” she exclaimed, pointing across his arm toward the waterline.

  Chapter Fifteen

  A soft tongue touched his lips and Kadian opened his mouth, moaning under the kiss. “Charisma?” he sighed, grunting as that tongue slipped down to his neck, lapping at the water collected there.

  He moaned again, hands reaching for her before he opened his eyes. His fingers touched something furry. He stopped, opening his eyes just a crack and seeing the stray dog wagging its tail with ill-constrained joy.

  “Ick…yuck,” he growled pushing the dog away and sitting up on the beach. He spit, clearing his mouth of salty water and sand. “Get out of here,” he growled at the dog. It turned, walking over to Mirina and sitting down next to her unconscious body.

  A soft, feminine giggle caught his attention and he noticed Charisma sitting next to him, her naked body glorious in the light of the fire. “You’re okay?” he asked, holding out his hand to her.

  “I’m wonderful,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Hood…” she began.

  “The sharks,” he said quietly. In his mind, he could see the fat man struggling as he tried to drag him out of the tank and into the open sea. He’d squirmed and pushed off his jacket, getting away from Kadian. Before the dragon could go back and pick him up, the sharks had started to circle. The first Great White, a shark of about sixteen feet, had latched onto Hood’s fat leg.

  Without a thought, Hood reared forward, digging his own teeth into the huge shark’s side and tearing out a piece of its flesh.

  It was like ringing the dinner bell. Sharks of all shapes and sizes came swimming hungrily forward, feasting on the two unfortunates, tearing chunks of bleeding flesh and contributing to the gore that floated upward. When one huge shark swam close to him, he decided he’d seen enough and followed after Charisma. She was swimming away, Mirina upon her back.

  It seemed they swam forever before finally coming to the beach. Kadian helped Charisma out, watching as his mate fell forward, breathing heavily as her body shrunk to human size. Mirina fell to the beach, coughing up some water she’d swallowed.

  “It’s over,” Kadian said, holding Charisma tight. “Hood is dead and can no longer threaten you. You’re free,” he whispered against her ear.

  “I’m not free,” she said sadly. “I never will be.” She sighed heavily, peeping at him from under her lashes. “You see, I have this very demanding mate that I don’t think will ever let me be free.”

  Kadian narrowed his eyes at her. “You can say that again. You’re mine and no one is going to take you from me.”

  A screech of car tires came from the parking lot alongside the beach. Both turned and looked to see Dimitri opening a car door. “Kadian?” he called, his accent very apparent. “Is that you?”

  “We’re saved,” he said to Charisma, chuckling as he watched Dimitri and Samantha walk toward them.

  She wrapped her arms around him again and snuggled into his warmth.

  * * * *

  They took Mirina to the hospital. She was admitted to begin the long process of healing, both physically and mentally. Then, Charisma decided they should go to ASP.

  “I still have to face charges for the three men I killed,” she said, waving away Kadian’s bluster. “I have to get this behind me. I do,” she insisted, refusing to even listen to anything else.

  Dimitri drove the two-hour trip to the garage, giving his name and those of the people he had in the car. He was given a parking pass and told to go to the third basement level and park in the left side of the first lot he saw.

  “They make it hard to find this place, don’t they?”

  Charisma watched from the back seat as a small door opened to the side of the huge garage like doors. She’d expected it would be like the police descending upon a crack house. Lots of cries and screams, ending with her handcuffed, held accountable and thrown in jail.

  Instead, only one person stepped out. She was a bit taller than Charisma, her black hair pulled back and up into a long ponytail, the color almost blue against the silver of her suit. She limped a bit, but she was smiling.

  Kadian got out, his shoulders held tight as he waited to see what would happen. He opened the back door of the small car and held out his hand to Charisma. Both wore borrowed clothing. He kept her hand in his, even after she got out of the car, pulling her over so she stood a bit behind him and to the side.

  “Kadian James,” Callie said, reaching out with a grin and shaking his hand. “I’m a big fan. I especially like ‘Haunting Love’. It has such a compelling melody.”

  “Thank you, uh…” he automatically took her hand. Charisma watched, still waiting for the handcuffs and the sirens.

  “Callie Wolfe,” she said. “You must be Charisma Snow.” Callie laughed, the sound rich and full. “You led us on quite the chase. You don’t know how great it is to see both of you alive and well. You are well, aren’t you? I mean, neither of you were hurt in the explosion?”

  “N-no, we’re fine. We were in the sea when the building went up.” Charisma stepped forward. “I killed three men. I have to pay for what I’ve done.”

  “Oh pish, please. Some days I do that before br
eakfast,” Callie laughed. “Come on. I know Shadow is going to be pleased to see you. Bring your mate,” she said, seeing the scars on Kadian’s wrist. She didn’t even need to see the matching scars on her neck to know they were mated. Kadian’s protective attitude more than said it—she is mine!

  Turning, she walked back toward the door, hips swinging with an unconscious sensualism inside the skin suit she was wearing. She held the door open, ushering them in.

  Charisma shook. She was terrified. The strange greeting from people that had been hunting her for the past few weeks only made it worse. “I’m not going to jail?” she asked Callie.

  “No, Miss Snow. We aren’t going to arrest you. My mate just wants to talk to you. You’ve become something of a hobby for him and I think he is pretty loathe to let it go without getting some questions answered.” She smiled reassuringly to the pretty Siren, reaching out and squeezing her hand.

  They walked toward what looked like the front of a police station. But this station was unlike any she’d seen before, and she’d seen enough of them. Instead of the usual uniformed men and women, this place was run by Weres and vampires, demons and ghouls. She thought she even caught a glimpse of a centaur as they passed a huge room full of mats.

  Silver uniformed officers stepped aside as Callie approached, a few even going as far as to salute her while she rolled her eyes in exasperation. “He’s going to have to do something about this,” she groaned.

  “About what?” Charisma asked.

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be airing my own dirty laundry,” Callie said, laughing. “I’ve just found out in the past few days that being the daughter of the founder of ASP and the mate of the head of ASP can be very unnerving.”

  “It’s the salutes,” Charisma decided. “It’s like they’re sucking up.”

  “Gods, thank you,” Callie exclaimed. “That’s it exactly. I’m an officer of ASP, no matter who my father or my mate is. It’s nice to see someone else understands it.”

  “Understands what?” a voice said from behind them.

  Charisma whirled, uncomfortable with people coming up behind her that quickly. Her hands came up in a fight or flight instinct.

  “Dammit, Angel, I’m putting a bell on you if you continue doing this to me.” Callie put her hand on her chest. “I’m sorry,” she said, touching Charisma’s arm comfortingly. “Charisma Snow, Kadian James, this is one of my teammates, Angel Rand.”

  Angel nodded at Charisma but gave Kadian an evil look. “James,” she said.

  “Blondie,” he said right back, using the same deadpan tone she had.

  Marcus grabbed Angel before she pounced. “It’s good to see you’re okay, Kadian. Angel’s tired. Aren’t you honey,” he said meaningfully.

  “Yeah, tired of his fucking atti…”

  Marcus slapped his hand over her mouth. He smiled, not even flinching when she bit down on his finger, sucking on his blood. “I was just coming to get her.” He turned, holding her feet about two inches off the ground and heading back the way they had come.

  “She’s a bit on the jumpy side,” Callie said to Charisma. “They’ve decided to get married and she’s going nuts planning a wedding.” She took Charisma’s arm, leading her toward Shadow’s office. “Come on, let’s go see the mighty leader.”

  “She’s a vampire, right?” Char asked, following the beautiful Were.

  “Yes, and he’s an Atlantean demi-god.”

  “That should be one hell of a party,” Kadian said with a smile.

  “Here we are,” Callie said, stopping in front of a closed door with the words Director Shadow on a small card pushed into a holder on the side closest to the doorknob. Callie knocked once and then pushed the door open, letting them go in first.

  The man on the other side of the door was nothing like what Charisma expected. He looked up from the pile of paperwork on his desk and smiled, a warm and welcoming look meant to put her at ease. “Charisma Snow,” he said, rising and holding out his hand. Taking hers, he squeezed it gently then released her, ushering her to the chairs set at angles in front of his desk. “Mr. James, I have to say, you look much better than the last time I saw you.

  “Well, being poisoned and almost dropped and then fought over in mid-sky does prevent you from looking your best.” Kadian smiled and sat down next to Charisma, one hand coming out to take hers possessively. “I see they made the position a permanent one. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you. I’ll miss the field, but I’ll still get out there occasionally.” He sank back behind his desk, laying his hand on Callie as she came and sat down on the arm of his chair. “I have to admit to being curious about what happened in the warehouse.”

  “Oh the usual,” Kadian said, his voice dripping sarcasm. “Hero rescues the girl, gets the warehouse blown up, loses the bad guy to a bunch of sharks and almost kills the girl trying to get away.”

  “It wasn’t like that,” Charisma spoke up, giving Kadian a dirty look. “Hood sacrificed himself to those sharks and you didn’t almost get me killed, I almost got Mirina killed.”

  “Hood’s gone?” Shadow asked.

  “In the belly of about fifty sharks. There was nothing I could do for him.” Kadian lifted Charisma’s hand, playing with her fingers. “But that’s not what we’re here for.”

  Shadow looked from one to the other of them, confused. “Is there a problem?”

  “I killed those three men,” Charisma said in a rush, needing to get it out. “I’ve come to turn myself in.”

  Shadow glanced at his mate and then back at the redheaded siren. “Miss Snow,” he began, “the supernatural community is not always the most peaceful of places. You killed those men in defense of your own life, did you not?”

  “Yes, but…”

  “There are no buts. If you hadn’t stopped them, Hood would have had you and the powers that are in your voice. He could have done major damage in both the supernatural and the human world. You stopped him from being able to do that. In my book, that makes you a hero, not a murderer.” Shadow smiled, his blue eyes kind. “Now that you’ve come forth though, we will register you and give you an identification card. Have you thought about what you’d like to do next?”

  “Sleep for about a week,” she said softly.

  “That one I can understand,” Shadow laughed. “The reason I was asking, though. If you ever give up your music career, Mr. James, I know I could find positions for the two of you here at ASP. We’re always looking for individuals who are brave and selfless and can think on their feet.”

  “Me?” Kadian laughed, “A member of ASP? I just don’t think it would work.”

  “Well, if you ever change your mind…” he handed each of them cards with his phone number on them and then sent them off with Callie, to get them registered with ASP. Fingerprints and DNA were taken and each of them got an Identification card. Then, they were sent on their way with a smile and a thank you.

  “You didn’t want to take him up on his offer, did you?” Charisma asked Kadian as they walked to the car where Sam and Dimitri waited.

  “To what, become a Secret Agent Man?” He shrugged. “No, I have my music and you. That should keep me well occupied for at least the next hundred or so years.”

  “Good,” she said, turning and wrapping her arms around his neck to pull his mouth down to hers. “I plan to give you a lot to keep you occupied,” she said just before his mouth captured hers.

  “Mmm,” Kadian moaned, his tongue pressing between her lips. He kissed her thoroughly, finally lifting his head to look down into her flushed face. “Do you want to go back to Lukah’s?”

  “Where else could we go?”

  “Home. My apartment. Now that we’re back in the city, and not on the run…”

  “You won’t have to jump off anymore ledges.”

  “Oh, it wasn’t that bad, was it?”

  Charisma heard Dimitri start the car. She turned, waving good-bye to the couple who’d picked them up and driven t
hem all this way. “It wasn’t too fair to them, was it?” she asked.

  “Trust me, Dimitri didn’t mind. He’s having a few problems convincing Sam that she’s his mate, even though they already went ahead and got the physical part out of the way.” Kadian grabbed her hand and began to walk toward the sign that said exit.

  “Poor girl,” Charisma said. She snuggled next to Kadian as they went down a short hallway and found an elevator. Getting inside, Kadian hit the button for the main floor. He wrapped his arms around Charisma’s waist, pulling her close.

  “Do you know, in all this time, I’ve never once heard you sing,” he stated. “I’m beginning to wonder if you actually can or if this is all an act.” He narrowed his eyes at her.

  Charisma leaned forward, rising up on her toes to get close to his ear. The tune that came from her mouth was beautiful and sweet, and Kadian’s eyes glazed over immediately.

  When the life came back into them, he looked around, finding Charisma standing on the sidewalk. “What just happened?”

  “You wanted to hear me sing. I sang.”

  “I don’t remember any of it,” he said, his eyes narrowing as he tried to concentrate on the missing minutes. “How did you do that?”

  “I’m a siren, Kadian.” She took his hand and began pulling him away from the parking garage and down the street to where the traffic was zipping by on a cross street. “I can sing a song that would drive you mad with lust, or one that would just drive you mad. I could also kill you with one note.”

  “Is that what you did to the three men?” he asked, pulling her back so she walked at his side.

  “Yes,” she said, looking up into his face. She didn’t like what she thought she saw there. “This is why I wanted you to wait until you got to know me, to know what I’m capable of before we were mated. Now you’re regretting it.”

  “Whoa,” he said, halting in his tracks. “You’ve got to stop putting words into my mouth, little one. I don’t regret anything. I’m just trying to understand.”

  “Understand what? That I’m some kind of freak of nature?” she tried to get her hand out of his, wanting to run now that she was back on familiar ground.