Two Lives in Waltz Time

by Vivien Dean

  Cash didn’t buy the new attitude at all. The bastard had shown his hand when they had still been inside, and no amount of polite conversation was going to change the fact that Mack was seething with fury. White hot, if Cash’s assessment was correct.

  “If you want to piddle about with small talk, be my guest,” Cash said. “But I’ve got a job to do inside, so if you don’t mind—”

  “Actually, I do.” He took a long drag of his cigarette. “I’ve been asking myself how it is you actually got Maddy. I mean, you’re certainly a good-looking fellow, but let’s face it. I don’t pay you enough to keep her in the lifestyle to which she’s accustomed.”

  That stopped Cash. This was about Maddy. “I love her.”

  “Oh, I don’t doubt that you do,” came the smooth reply. “But has she actually said the same to you?” Mack chuckled. “She has a tendency to be very stingy with the words. I was only ever able to get her to say it to me once.” He glanced at Cash. “Right after I bought her a diamond bracelet. She can be very…grateful.”

  “What do you want?” It was all Cash could do to keep his voice level, to keep his anger in check. He didn’t like what he was hearing, or how it was being said. The way this Mack was talking, it made Maddy sound like—

  “…just a cheap whore, really,” Mack said. “Hardly worth losing your job over, don’t you think?”

  “Maddy’s worth a hell of a lot more than a stupid job.”

  Mack’s smile was slick. “Of course, you would say that. Trust me, I’m more than aware of her charms. After all, she is one of the best in the business. But if she’s encouraged your infatuation, I’m afraid you’ll only end up getting hurt, Mr. Vinci. She collects hearts the way she collects clothes.”

  His every nerve screamed at him to act, but Cash stifled the urge by biting the inside of his cheek. “You don’t know her at all.”

  Dropping his cigarette into the gutter, Mack stepped away from the curb to face Cash again. “A presumption I would make of you, as well. However, for the sake of our discussion, let’s focus on something a bit more tangible, shall we?” He reached into his inside coat pocket and extracted a long, thin billfold. “What do you think it will take to break you of Maddy’s charms, Mr. Vinci?”

  Bile rose in the back of Cash’s throat, while red spots danced before his eyes. “Whatever it is you’re suggesting,” he snarled through gritted teeth, “I suggest you don’t.”

  But Mack wasn’t shaken. “No, really. What’s the going rate for girlfriends these days? One thousand? Two?” He smiled, a lecherous smirk. “Perhaps a whore of Maddy’s caliber is worth five.”

  That was the final straw.

  Cash’s anger erupted in a blinding flash and a single uttered word, instinct acting before reason as fire leapt the distance between the two men. Mack’s billfold went up in flames, but before he could drop it, the blaze spread up his sleeve with an incendiary glee, surging more swiftly than Mack could stop it so that the flames began licking up his neck.

  While Mack struggled to get out of his jacket, Cash tackled him, his fist slamming into the other man’s face as they both tumbled to the hard concrete. Rolling along the sidewalk tamped down the fire, but that was incidental to Cash’s repeated blows. Within moments, Mack was unconscious beneath him, and blood dripped from Cash’s knuckles.

  Aware of the crowd suddenly growing around him, Cash stood, backing away from the nightclub owner’s bleeding body. The rise and fall of his chest confirmed Mack was still alive, but it was the charred suit coat that commanded Cash’s baffled attention.

  Fire. From nowhere.

  There was only one explanation for that, but it shouldn’t have been possible. Had been impossible for the past seven years.

  Staring down at his hands, Cash flexed his fingers, feeling the residual power crackle along his skin. “Incendo,” he whispered.

  A small fireball appeared in his palm, and he hastily clenched his hand into a fist to extinguish it.

  It wasn’t a fluke, after all.

  He had his magic back.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  He had almost forgotten how it felt, the power hovering at his fingertips to bend and yield to his command, the surge along his skin while the charge waited to be expelled. There was a sense of completion that Cash hadn’t realized had been absent, a knowing of who he was, what he was, what he could do, what he should do. He had lived so long without the means to perform any type of magic that he had allowed himself to forget how satisfying it could be, and now he wondered how he could ever go back to such a half-existence.

  He would have to, though. It wouldn’t be safe for anybody close to him if his enemies discovered he was back.

  His blood ran cold at the thought of Maddy. How would she react to the discovery? She had been all right with the idea of magic when it was intangible, but now there was bleeding proof of it right in front of the Rising Sun. Whatever she might think of Mack—if she had an opinion at all—Cash strongly suspected she would be violently opposed to such a dirty brawl, especially if she learned how badly it appeared Mack was hurt.

  Slowly, he backed away from the crowd, cognizant of the worried glances being shot his way. Most people had seen the fist part of the fight, but there was too-visible evidence of the fire as well. Cash had no idea how they would set about explaining that, and frankly, he didn’t want to stick around to find out. Before he could disappear back inside the club, however, a strong hand clamped down on his shoulder.

  “You need to go clean up,” Gino murmured into his ear.

  The instinct to lash out was quelled at the familiar voice. Letting Gino guide him to the side of the building, Cash remained silent until they stood outside the rear entrance.

  “How much did you see?” he asked.

  Gino’s eyes were even blacker in the dark alley, and his broad shoulders shrugged noncommittally. “Doesn’t matter about me. What matters is what other peepers are going to testify to.”

  Cash hadn’t thought about that. Mack was a powerful man. There were going to be repercussions.

  “What did he say to push your buttons so bad?” Gino asked. “I mean, I figure it has to be about Maddy, but—”

  “He tried to pay me off to stop seeing her. Like she was a piece of property he could buy. As if anybody could even think of putting a price tag on her, on how I feel about her.” His anger was returning, fresh and scalding as he remembered the coldness of Mack’s gesture. “Frankly, I think he got off too easy.”

  Gino held his hands up to ward it off. “And I’m not arguing with you. But this is Mack we’re jawing about. You got to be smarter than this, Cash. Even I know better than to go after the bossman.”

  There was a long moment where the only sounds were the dull roar of engines as they whizzed past the club, the occasional honk accenting the automobile chorus. Neither man moved, each locked in his thoughts. The spell only broke when gravel crunched heavily at the mouth of the alley.

  “Vinci!”

  Lombardi’s voice boomed between the brick walls, and Cash’s head dropped. Shit. Here came the other shoe.

  “Don’t start with me,” Cash warned without looking up. “I’m not in the mood right now.”

  “Not in the mood?” Lombardi said. “That’s funny. You a fucking WC Fields now?”

  The energy was starting to build again, fueled by Cash’s rising fury. He couldn’t help but inwardly laugh at the irony of having it so accessible already.

  Lombardi wasn’t done. “You going to tell me what the hell you were thinking? Are you specifically looking for a Chicago overcoat? Because Mack’s on his way to the hospital. Fucking unconscious, probably a coma, knowing my luck.”

  Swallowing down the urge to set Lombardi on fire too, Cash chose instead to whirl and face him, using his full height to tower over the portly man. “The bastard tried paying me to stop seeing Maddy! What the hell did you expect me to do?”

  “I expect you to keep your trap shut and let me deal wi
th it. I told Maddy to play along with Mack until I got him smoothed over about you two. I just expected you to have better sense than to clock him, especially right in front of his own joint.”

  “Nobody tells me what to do. Certainly not some blighter with piss-poor timing. He had it coming, and I’d do it again without blinking an eye.”

  Lombardi sighed. “I fucking hate this. You know I gotta let you go, don’t you? No way I can let you stay without Mack saying it’s jake. You’re just lucky the coppers aren’t getting involved.” He shook his head. “Get your stuff and go home, Cash. Make it easy for both of us. And when Maddy gets off work tonight, you better appreciate her for what she’s costing you. Because things are going to get real cold around here for both of you until Mack’s free and clear.”

  There was no point in arguing with the man, and frankly, Cash was more than a little grateful for an excuse to get away from the club. With Kate’s presence, an end to all of this was finally in sight.

  “I need to do one thing before I go.” His eyes bored into Lombardi’s, daring him to defy this last request.

  “You got five minutes. Mack’s boys have gone with him to the hospital, but that don’t mean they can’t come back.”

  Five minutes. That was enough for what Cash needed to do.

  When Maddy saw Gino was now missing from his normal post, she gathered up her skirts and bolted for the employee entrance, catching Ava’s curious glance as she whizzed past. Explanations would have to wait. She had a sneaking suspicion that Mack and Cash’s conversation was not going to end well.

  The hallway was eerily quiet. Sammy was nowhere to be found, and Lombardi’s door stood wide open, the interior deserted. Everybody was out front working, though she had never seen Lombardi venture from his office unless it was off hours or there was a problem. Her nerves jumped, but she headed for the rear exit anyway. If Lombardi was now in the mix—

  Maddy skidded to a halt when the door opened and Cash stepped inside. His hair was mussed even more than usual, and his eyes were oddly bright as they fixed on her. She only had a moment to take it all in before he was taking long strides toward her, crushing her against his chest as his mouth found hers in a fervor.

  In the back of her mind, she was aware of the scent of smoke clinging to his jacket, but it was lost in the tumult of the sudden embrace. Her skin burning, her breath in gasps, Maddy returned the kiss with just as much desperation. It wasn’t until she heard someone clearing his throat behind Cash that they separated.

  As he slid her back to the ground, she looked around his arm to see Gino hanging out by the doorway, cheeks red with embarrassment. Lombardi and Mack were nowhere to be seen.

  “What happened?” she demanded, turning back to Cash. “I saw—”

  “I don’t have time to go into it right now,” he interrupted. “I need you to do something for me.”

  “What is it? Why can’t you do it?” When Cash tried to step away from her, she grabbed his arm and held him firm. “Don’t make me—”

  But she didn’t finish the threat. The sight of his bloody knuckles stopped it in her throat.

  Cash followed her stricken gaze and grimaced as he tried to extricate himself from her grip. “I’ve only got a few minutes. And I need to talk to Kate before I go.”

  Fear held her still, but Maddy lifted her burning eyes to his face anyway. “Did you kill him?” It was the only possibility she could come up with, and with the sparse details she had on his past, knew it was an altogether too real possibility.

  “No.” His jaw hardened as something closed off in his face, and Maddy cried out from the unexpected force he used to yank his arm free. “I don’t have time for this right now. Kate’s on the bandstand, which has to mean she knows how to get out of this place. I want you to bring her back to the apartment after work. We’ll talk about all this then.”

  Maddy became aware of two new presences in the hall, Lombardi alongside Gino and a lighter, female step behind her. Risking a glance back, she saw Ava cautiously approach, her worried eyes jumping between her two friends, but the questions tumbling inside Maddy’s skull drove her gaze back to Cash.

  “Is that where you’re going to be?” she asked. “Home?”

  Cash winced at the label she used, and nodded.

  “Car’s waiting,” Lombardi said.

  There was no kiss good-bye. Cash couldn’t even meet her eyes as he backed away. “Tell Kate…it’s back,” he said when he reached the door. “I don’t know how, but…tell her it’s the way it used to be. Before Dubai.”

  He was gone before she could reply. Maddy stared at the dark abyss of the empty alleyway.

  For the first time since she’d met him, Lombardi looked uncomfortable, shifting his bulk from foot to foot while he edged his way toward his office. “You want the rest of the night off, go ahead. With Mack in the hospital and his boys out of the joint, nobody’s going to notice if you’re not around.”

  “Thanks,” she murmured, though really, she didn’t have a single clue what she was going to do.

  His office door slammed shut, leaving the two women with Gino. He looked even more ill at ease than Lombardi had and ducked his head as he walked around them toward the dance floor, mumbling something about needing to get back to his post. All too quickly, Ava and Maddy were alone.

  “Are you okay?” Ava asked, slipping her arm around Maddy’s shoulders.

  The comfort was a welcome relief, and Maddy leaned into her friend, closing her eyes against the images that refused to go away. “I think it’s physically impossible for us to have a day here without something going to hell.” She took a moment to enjoy the hug, and then pulled away. “Did you see what happened?”

  Ava hesitated. “I saw Cash leave with Mack, and then there was some shouting, and Gino went running out. Aaron took off a few minutes later.”

  “Aaron?” Maddy hadn’t expected that. “What’s he doing here?”

  “He came through with Cash’s sister. That’s who the new singer is.”

  More of Cash’s words made sense now. She hadn’t had time to give the singer on the bandstand any attention before, but that was going to change as soon as she could drag the woman away from the orchestra. If Kate had a way to get them out of here, Maddy wanted it done before Cash got into any more trouble for what he’d done to Mack.

  She’d deal with the issue of why he had done it afterward.

  Kate decided within a minute of meeting Madeline Cardinale face to face that she liked her. In spite of her obvious distress about the situation, she wasn’t taking any of it lying down. She was fighting back with the same fire Kate had witnessed in the hallway earlier. If Maddy was Cash’s choice, Kate would support him one hundred percent.

  “That’s the best you can do?” Maddy paced back and forth in the dressing room the women had commandeered for the duration of Kate’s break, her skirt rustling with every angered step. “I’m beginning to wonder what the point of all this special magic is if it’s just around to mess up people’s lives.”

  “It’s hardly a cure-all,” Kate said. “It’s a tool, and like any tool, it requires expertise and patience to use. I can’t just cast spells on a whim and hope I get the results I want. Magic doesn’t work that way.”

  “The magic on this painting doesn’t seem to have the same discretion you do. It’s taking stabs at Cash every time we turn around.”

  Kate couldn’t help but smile at Maddy’s automatic inclusion in Cash’s life. “That’s because it was created specifically to kill him. That’s the entire purpose of opening a portal like this up.”

  “You keep saying portal,” Ava interjected. “Are you telling us this place is real?”

  “As real as you or I am. Think of it as a conduit between dimensions. This one just happens to have better style.”

  Maddy came to a halt in front of Kate. “So we’re stuck here until we find this safety, right? By the mark you said he’s going to have?”

  “Or she,” Kate c
larified. “And yes.” She frowned when Maddy whirled away, grabbing a coat that hung on a nearby hook and heading for the door. “Where are you going?”

  “You already said we can’t do anything tonight.” Maddy slipped on the coat as she held the door open. “So I’m going someplace where I might actually do some good.”

  The heavy slam only served to widen Kate’s grin. “Cash isn’t going to know what hit him.”

  Ava nodded, knowingly. “I actually think that’s what he likes best about her.”

  Kate chuckled. “Knowing my brother, I’d be inclined to agree with you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Maddy took a cab rather than wait for the car to return for her. The sooner she got to the apartment, the better it would be. But as the taxi streamed through the Manhattan traffic, she began to wonder if Cash even wanted her there. She was returning without his sister, without a definitive plan about how they were going to escape the painting. While the latter was Kate’s call, Cash had been more than clear that he expected some kind of completion. Maddy wasn’t sure how he would react to not getting it.

  She stared out the window, her ghostly reflection gazing back at her in wan solemnity. Her bones ached, not from the physical exertion of dancing, but from the barrage of doubts and fears that had attacked her body ever since Cash had walked away, since he’d turned his back on her questions to choose his own counsel over hers. Maddy knew part of that was her fault. In her ignorance, her mind had leapt to an obvious, but insulting conclusion, and a proud Cash had taken understandable offense. Coming so soon after his suggestion that his feelings for her ran deeper, she knew it had to hurt. And yet, she didn’t think it was inconceivable he would go to such lengths. He’d killed men in the past. Why was it wrong to think he might be pushed to that point again?

  It was a question she meant to ask him as soon as she could.

  At least she knew the full story now. Gino had told her everything, detailing Mack’s offer and how angry that had made Cash. Frankly, it infuriated Maddy as well. She doubted she would have been able to hold back from attacking Mack if she had been present, though that would have likely made the matter even worse. Cash had an old-fashioned sense of honor to him. This was something he would have preferred taking care of himself.