by Lisa Emme
“Great. I’ll have another,” I replied, holding my glass up to the waiter who took it with a nod and then disappeared towards the bar.
Salvador was eying me critically again. He shifted in his seat and if I didn’t know better I would have said he was uncomfortable. “So you and Detective Nash, you are, as they say, an item?”
I snorted again. “No, we are not an item,” I replied, my fingers air quoting as I spoke. “We hooked up. It’s no big deal and as I said, really none of your business.”
Salvador shifted again in his seat, his eyes narrowing. Luckily the waiter arrived with my refill, giving us both a moment to regroup. I took my drink, but the waiter didn’t leave.
“Sorry to interrupt, Sir,” he said with a little bow. “The chef has prepared un petit amuse-bouche. Would you like me to serve it now?”
“Yes, that is acceptable,” Salvador said with a wave of his hand, dismissing the man. He leaned forward in his seat to look at me intently. “You have feelings for our wolf?” he asked.
“Yes. No…I...it’s complicated.” I frowned. Why did he care about my love life? Salvador raised his eyebrows giving me a skeptical look. “Okay, yes, I have feelings for Nash, when he isn’t pissing me off going all alpha male on me,” I admitted in a rush, my cheeks turning red.
“And our dear Detective, he is very protective of you. This I have seen, although he has tried to hide it from me.” Huh. News to me, although I guess being overly protective was part of the whole alpha male thing that tended to piss me off.
Salvador nodded his head, lost in his own thoughts. “Good. Yes, this is good,” he said. He smiled at me and took another sip of his drink.
I frowned, totally confused at where the conversation had gone. “Great. Now that you have my love life all sorted out, could we maybe talk about why I’m here? Do you have information for me?”
“Patience, my dear Harry, patience.” Salvador smiled and nodded his head at the approaching waiter. “Let us see what Alejandro has prepared for us.”
The waiter set two small plates in front of us and then clasped his hands in front of his chest like he was about to start singing an aria. “Tonight Chef Alejandro has prepared a caviar amuse bouche. It’s Russia Osetra, crème fraiche and zucchini mignonette, delicately wrapped in a potato crepe.” He bowed taking a step away from the table. “Enjoy.”
I eyed the tiny morsel on my plate suspiciously. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do with it. With a grin, Salvador picked his up with his fingers and popped it in his mouth. He chewed once or twice and then savoured the flavour for a moment before swallowing.
“Wonderful!” he exclaimed, dabbing his fingers off on a napkin.
With a shrug, I followed suit. My eyes widening in surprise as the flavours burst in my mouth. The ever so slightly salty caviar popped against my tongue releasing a sweet aftertaste that was chased by the tangy acidity of the zucchini sauce. The crème fraiche added richness to the whole bite.
“Wow!” I said. “That was fantastic.” I sat back waiting for the next course.
***
“I think I’m going to explode,” I groaned, but nevertheless managed to scrape the last mouthful of bittersweet chocolate tart with red wine sorbet off my plate and clean my spoon with a happy sigh. “That was probably the best meal I have ever eaten.”
Salvador grinned, dabbing the corners of his mouth with his napkin. He had forgone the dessert and instead had been served a tall champagne glass with a suspiciously thick, red liquid. I chose not to comment. Rather that than end up on the menu myself.
“I am glad you found it so enjoyable,” he said.
And I had. Not just the food, which had been out of this world, but once we had both settled down from our initial confrontation, the conversation had been pleasant, if not completely relaxed due to my worry over Christina. I had excused myself to the Ladies’ room once to check my phone for messages, but although there had been several from Nash of the ‘call me’ variety, there had been no news about his sister.
“I did, thank you.” I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, leaning back while the waiter cleared the table. When he had gone, I leaned forward again. “Now can we get to business?”
Salvador laughed. “Ahh, my dear Harry, always so serious.” He waved at the waiter again and then paused as the man approached, carrying a small silver case about the size of a hardcover book but three times as thick. He set the case down on the table in front of Salvador then turned and left without saying a word.
I watched curiously as Salvador opened the case and then turned it to face me. Inside were three separate stacks of one hundred dollar bills. “I believe you are in need of an entry fee,” Salvador said, pushing the case towards me.
I looked around quickly and then reached over and slammed the case shut. “Are you nuts? You don’t just flash that kind of money around.” Salvador shrugged, a sly grin on his face and I scowled at him. I pushed the case back towards him. “Thank you, but we have it covered.” I really didn’t want to take his money. Who knew how many more dinners that would cost me, no matter how delicious.
Salvador steepled his hands in front of his chest and shrugged, his gaze narrowing. “I see.”
“Really. Thank you though.” I said again feeling uncomfortable. “Was that it? Is that why you wanted to meet so urgently?”
“That, and to give you a warning,” Salvador’s voice was flat.
“What kind of warning?”
“Tomas tells me that a man calling himself Elian Navarre may be involved in this situation with the missing werewolves.”
“That name did come up, but I don’t know who he is. Do you?” I sat up a little in my seat, my attention focused on Salvador.
Salvador tapped his steepled fingers together as if deciding what to say. “I have had dealings with this…man,” he said, shifting back in his seat to sit with one leg crossed over the other, his ankle resting on his knee. He brushed an imaginary piece of lint off his pants. “I use that term loosely for Elian is not a man, at least not of the human variety.”
“What is he then?” I sat forward in my seat, curiosity piqued.
“Elian Navarre is the moniker used by the Fae Prince Eliassander of the Court of Underhill. He is a very dangerous creature, a killer with no conscience. I believe he would be called a psychopath by today’s standards. He was once a member of the Wild Hunt, but was cast out by his own people for reprehensible acts.”
I gasped in surprise. The Wild Hunt was the Fae equivalent of a cleanup crew, riding the mortal world at the summer and winter solstices to gather the souls of any Fae that may have passed while in the mortal realm. They also hunted down any who were deemed to be acting against the best interests of the Fae. The Hunt wasn’t exactly known for their humane methods, preferring to run their prey to ground and then trample them to death all while laughing and drinking ale from the horns at their sides.
“So what is he doing here on this side of Underhill? Surely he would be banned from coming to the mortal realm?”
“He is, but for one exception, he may be called by blood to grant a boon once every ten years.”
“So someone, related to him, has called him?”
“So it would seem,” Salvador shrugged. “Elian Navarre has no love lost for werewolves, he would gladly grant any boon that allowed him to do injury to the wolves.”
“Why? What does he have against werewolves?”
Salvador shrugged again. “Perhaps your wolf will know the tale.”
“Why would Nash know anything about this Navarre?”
“Why Harry, because Elian Navarre murdered Detective Nash’s father.”
***
My mind was still processing everything Salvador had told me as I sat in the back of the limo on the ride home, the silver case on the seat beside me. I had tried to leave the money behind, insisting
that I didn’t need it, but Salvador was just as insistent that I take it.
Learning that Nash’s father had been murdered by Navarre cast a new light on his reaction to Christina’s abduction. No wonder he was so worried, if the man responsible for his father’s death now had his sister. What was really bothering me though were Salvador’s parting words.
“Have care Harry and keep your wolf close,” he said.
“He’s not my wolf,” I grumbled back with a scowl. Why did Salvador keep calling Nash that?
“He has Marked you as his mate; he most certainly is your wolf.” Salvador looked at me with laughter in his eyes. Despite his original reaction, he now seemed to find the idea amusing.
I really had no clue what Salvador was talking about, but I knew it had something to do with the hickey that wasn’t a hickey at the nape of my neck. It had felt freaking fantastic at the time, but did it really have more meaning than just a love bite made in the throes of passion? Was I really marked permanently? And what did it mean I was marked as his mate? Wolves mate for life. We weren’t even dating. I had a hard time believing that Nash would consider me his soul mate, even if his wolf did. If I had somehow been marked last night, it was obvious that Nash was less in control than he thought.
As the limo carried me home, I listened to the messages on my phone. There was one from Isaac informing me he was still out looking for Christina and would not be home until dawn and another from Tess saying she was going to bed because she was exhausted and had an early class to teach in the morning. Nash had called four times, his messages getting more and more pissed off sounding as the night progressed.
He thought we needed to talk. No shit. The apartment was dark when I let myself in. I kicked off my shoes the moment I closed the door. My feet were killing me. Why did sexy shoes have to be so damn uncomfortable?
I padded barefooted across the room towards the stairs. When Nash’s voice rang out, I nearly jumped out of my skin.
“Where the hell have you been?” His gruff voice came out of the dark from the living room.
“Nash?” I peered across the room to see his lanky form stretched out on the sofa. He rose to his feet as I crossed the room and flicked on a lamp. He stared at me, dressed in my flirty cocktail dress, his one eyebrow raised inquisitively.
“Out having a good time were you?” he asked with a growl.
“I was out meeting Salvador. He doesn’t take no for an answer.” Nash seemed to ponder that for a moment then he sighed, running a hand through his hair. He looked exhausted. Exhausted and worried. Feeling bad that I might have added to that worry helped to diffuse some of the anger that had been festering on the car ride home. “I’m sorry I couldn’t return your messages. I just got them now.”
“What did Salvador want from you this time?”
“He…well, I guess he wanted to warn me.” I held up the silver case. “And, he gave me the money for the entrance fee for the fight.” Several emotions seemed to flit across Nash’s face – surprise, relief, worry – but the exhaustion weighed him down. “Do you have any leads?”
Nash let out a deep breath and shook his head. “We have a couple things we’re chasing down, but so far everything’s been a dead end.” He tousled his hair again. “Listen Harry, I…”
I stepped in front of him, putting my hand on his lips. “Salvador told me about Elian Navarre.” I wrapped my arms around him. He stood stiffly for a moment then his arms folded around me, pulling me close. He breathed in deeply, his lips brushing the top of my head. “I know we have to talk, but it can wait,” I whispered.
“I…I just need to hold you,” he said.
Without another word, I took his hand and led him upstairs. By the time I was finished in the bathroom getting ready for bed, he was passed out, sprawled across my mattress. With a sigh, I pulled the covers out from under him and slipped in beside him, covering us both. We’d talk in the morning. I was too tired to be angry right now.
Sometime in the night, rough hands slid under the t-shirt I had worn to go to bed, pulling it off over my head. “No clothes in my bed Harry,” Nash mumbled sleepily. His arm wrapped around me, pulling me tight, my back to his front. He rubbed his face in my hair, letting out a sleepy sigh.
“But it’s my bed,” I muttered, my eyes fluttering shut. We could argue about it in the morning.
Chapter Sixteen
It felt like I had barely closed my eyes when I felt the bed move with Nash’s shifting weight. He paused, straddling me and I felt his breath tickling my neck. His lips were feather light as he nuzzled me behind my ear and then the bed shifted again as he climbed over me and stood beside it.
I groaned, putting a hand up to cover my eyes and then splayed my fingers to peek through at him. I was rewarded with a front row view of his tight ass as he bent over to scoop his jeans from the floor.
“Ugh,” I groaned again. “What time is it?”
“Sorry, little minx. I didn’t want to wake you. It’s early.” There was the sound of a zipper then the edge of the bed dipped again as he sat to pull on his socks and boots. “Go back to sleep, Harry. We’ll talk later.” He reached out and pulled the covers up over my bare shoulder, tucking them in under my chin.
“Is there anything new about Christina?” I struggled to open my eyes and leave them open. The room was still dark as night, except for the light shining in from the bathroom. Nash must have turned it on.
“We might have something. I’m going to go help follow it up.” He stood and pulled his t-shirt over his head.
“You’ve barely slept.”
“I’m fine. This was good, just what I needed. What the wolf needed.” He bent over and kissed my forehead. “Go back to sleep, Harry.”
“Bossy wolf,” I grumbled. But I did listen to him - for a change.
***
Hours later I rolled out of bed feeling somewhat guilty for sleeping so late, but much refreshed. I wondered briefly if it was because of Nash. This wouldn’t be the first time I recharged with him sleeping in my bed.
With Isaac still ensconced in his room, doing whatever it was vampires did during the day (sleeping?) and Tess at work, I felt at loose ends. I wasn’t even needed down in the shop where Mrs. P and Tiffy had things well under control.
Gran was still playing it scarce. I was beginning to think she had decided to finally leave. I still had another ghost to talk to though, and so I set Bryce to work digging up everything he could find on Douglas Bellemare. I know we had no proof, but my gut was telling me that he was involved in some way and I wanted to know everything I could about him.
I was just finishing up some gardening on the roof top - it may have been too cold to garden outside, but my container greenhouse was almost feeling tropical - when a mournful howl drifted in from across the roof. Outside, I found the grey wolf ghost I had first seen a few days ago. He was sitting by the fire pit. When I stepped out into the cold air, he cocked his head at me, his tongue lolling out.
“You know, if you would just shift to your two-legged shape, you could get your message out a lot easier. You should have done it a few days ago because now my friend has gone missing.”
The grey wolf jumped to his feet, hackles raised. He whined and then dipped his head down, his posture taking on a more submissive stance. He was looking off to my right. I turned and started with surprise to see the tawny ghost wolf from yesterday. It was Nash’s dad. Here on my roof.
“Daniel?” I asked, hoping for some sign he understood me. The tawny ghost turned and looked at me, holding my gaze for several seconds, and then padded across the roof to the other wolf. The grey wolf lay down on his side, a clear show of submission. Daniel stood over him and snarled then backed away, letting the grey get to his feet.
“Great, now there’s two of you and I still can’t understand what you are trying to tell me.” I shook my head. I started to go back into the greenhouse when there was a loud bark. I turned with a frown to see Daniel snapping at the air. “Alright, alright,” I said putting my hands out in a calming gesture. “Settle down.”
Daniel huffed at me and then turned a full circle, like he was chasing his tail. The grey wolf danced and sidled out of the way, giving a little yip when Daniel trotted to the stairwell leading back down to the apartment. He stopped at the doorway and barked again.
“Okay, I get it Lassie. Timmy has fallen down the well and you want me to follow you.” Daniel growled, whether it was in agreement or because of the Lassie reference, I’m not sure.
I put down my gardening tools, brushed the dirt from my pants and followed the wolves downstairs. Daniel led me to the living room and then padded over to the door leading outside. He looked at me expectantly.
“Do you know where Christina is? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?” Daniel cocked his head from side to side. “Okay, how about this. If you can understand me, bark twice.”
I waited a breathless second or two and then, “Ruh, ruh.” The tawny wolf barked. Just when I was thinking we had finally come up with a system of communication though, he barked again.
“Wait a minute now, was that two barks or three?” I shook my head. “Are you barking because you understand me or are you barking just because you’re barking?” Daniel cocked his head again, looking at me. “Let’s try this again. If you understand me, bark twice.”
