Heart of Darkness

by Lauren Dane

  “I can’t even think with her around. I need some distance and some perspective. I’ll be in New York until Thursday. Maybe I’ll come back clearer.”

  “What’s she say about that?”

  “I don’t have to check all my business dealings through her. Anyway, she’s got her own job; I can’t imagine why she’d be upset.”

  “About your continued hemming and hawing.”

  “Look, I don’t like the idea of not being in charge of my own destiny. Okay? I didn’t grow up in an alternate dimension at the right hand of my dad the king or whatever. You and Meriel both had that experience.” He pushed to stand. “She’s not like anyone I’ve ever met before. I want more. That has to be enough right now until I figure out the rest. She’s giving me the space I need. Every time I push her to finally have sex with me, she reminds me about how it’ll only make our mutual attraction deeper.”

  Simon had laughed then. And laughed some more, the sound of it echoing all the way down the hall in his wake after he’d left the room.

  He’d told Simon that he’d hoped the trip would give him some distance and perspective. And it had, only not in the way he’d imagined.

  Yes, she was on his mind. Yes, he wanted to be with her. But he wasn’t debilitated to be so far away. It didn’t affect him physically to be apart from her. He was getting work done.

  What he did miss, in addition to all the sexy stuff, was her laugh. The way she indulged him and let him be bossy most of the time but pushed back when he got out of hand.

  He missed the way she smelled. Hell, he even missed the way she so effortlessly used her magick. He’d learned a lot from her just by watching.

  He’d come to really like her. As he sat there pushing his dinner around on his plate, he found himself making notes to tell her about this or that thing he’d seen during the day.

  His pocket buzzed and he looked down at his phone to see who it was.

  I think we should go see the Alien/Aliens double feature on Saturday.

  Oh, that was me.

  Meriel

  He laughed and Evan sent him a questioning glance.

  “No, no, it’s fine. I just need to handle this.”

  Evan shrugged and went back to the conversation.

  Charmed, he tried to ignore the warmth in his belly. She’d reached out to him. He knew she was purposely holding back, trying to give him room, which only made him want her more. Her being impulsive and texting meant she missed him just as much as he did her.

  All right. Will you hold me if I get scared?

  Oh, that was me—Dominic

  He paused, wondering if she laughed. Hoping she had as big a smile as he did.

  Only if you try to touch my boob when you put your arm around me.

  It was probably right then that he fell in love with her.

  I think we both know that’s a given. I have a special relationship with your boobs.

  He briefly considered asking her for a picture, but that was best left for when they were alone.

  It wasn’t long before she wrote back. I miss you. Are you having fun?

  Right then as he texted with her he was having more fun than he had the whole day.

  I am now. Good dinner. I’ll bring you here when we visit. I miss you too. What are you up to?

  He ordered another drink and waited for her to answer. Ray was talking about how gorgeous the beaches were in Maui in the background and Dominic imagined what it would be like to lay on the beach with her, alone and far away from the troubles of the world.

  Spent the night at Nell’s last night and had so much fun I’m back again. We’ve ordered Chinese food, looked at lots of great vacation photos, going to watch a movie in a bit.

  “Dom, we’re going to head out after this round.”

  He looked up at his friends, all in various modes of getting ready to leave. Evan, the one who spoke, owned three businesses. A nightclub in Manhattan, a wine bar upstate and the upscale martini-cum-piano bar they were headed to.

  He’d told Meriel a little about his first break into nightclub work because of his friend. Evan had been someone he’d looked to as an example of how to make a success of yourself. Evan, Ray, Dominic and Trey had gotten up to a lot of trouble together in their early twenties when Dominic had left Oregon and moved to L.A.

  Trey was a witch too. Dominic discovered that when they’d been a little, um, light-fingered and they’d been able to break into a door with a quick flick of Trey’s fingers.

  The four had sunk to various levels of lawlessness and one by one, they’d found a way out of the darkness. Evan first, when he bought a pub in Portland and nursed it back to life. He’d taken the profit from that sale and bought the first of his clubs on the East Coast.

  It had been enough to convince Dominic that the path he was on was destined for jail. Or worse. Trey showed up on his doorstep, someone hot on his tail for some infraction or other and they’d said fuck it and went to New York.

  Evan had hired them both. Trey went to business school and worked the bar at night and Dominic had learned to run a club.

  Over three years he scrimped and saved and built up contacts and earned enough to buy the building he and Simon built Heart of Darkness in.

  “Hang on a minute,” he said and then called her instead of texting.

  “Hey, we’re getting ready to leave but I wanted to hear your voice.” The talk in the background silenced and Dominic knew they all eavesdropped.

  “Why, hello there, Dominic.” He heard the smile in her voice. “It’s really nice to hear your voice. I suppose you look rather dapper just now.”

  “Sweet witch, how did you know?” He did take a glance down at himself, flattered she’d noticed. And he happened to have a really nice suit on. He’d just picked it up the week before. He made a note to wear it when he took her out.

  “See? You’re very charming.”

  “Are you trying to convince me? I believe it.” He laughed. “You’re having a lovely time then? With your friend?”

  “Yes, yes, I am. She and her husband would like us to have dinner this weekend. Or she says a lunch since you work at nights. William, that’s her husband, he’s selling half his interest in his club in Vegas and moving up here full-time. You’ll like him. He also has good taste in clothes.”

  There was talking in the background and then Meriel laughed. That twinge of yearning at the sound startled him.

  “Nell also says, you both have good taste in women.”

  He wished he was there.

  “I wish I was there with you right now.”

  “You do say the best things. Makes my knees rubbery. Have fun with your friends and don’t let the maidens get too fresh or I’ll be forced to not only maim you, but perhaps make your nose five times larger and give you impotence.”

  “You can’t do that!” He laughed, but he wasn’t too sure where she was concerned.

  Her laugh made him smile even though he knew he’d be interrogated the moment he hung up.

  “But you’ll always wonder now. My gift to you.”

  “I’ll call you tomorrow. Any new developments in the Rhode Island situation?” He knew it was on the other side of the country from her. Knew it probably had nothing to do with her or threatened her just then. But he hated it anyway. Made him worry.

  “Nothing I can talk about on the phone. But not much more than we already knew.”

  “Well, regardless, take care of yourself. Keep an eye out.”

  “I’m with Nell. She’s badass and will kick someone’s face to protect me. Oh! Food’s here and you have to go off and look handsome while I am here in sweats and a ratty T-shirt. Have something sufficiently glamorous in a glass for me.”

  Next time he came back to New York it would be with her and he’d take her to the Met. She’d dress up, he knew after they’d gone to the opera. She’d had her hair done. Her cocktail dress was classic Calvin Klein beauty. It fit her. Clean lines to highlight her body. So beautiful. Regal
.

  He could probably shuffle his schedule and go home early.

  “Sweet dreams, Dominic Bright. I miss you.”

  “You too.”

  He slipped the phone into his pocket, missing her more than he wanted to allow.

  “Sweet witch?” Trey looked him over, one brow raised.

  “I’m seeing someone. Seriously.”

  “Come on, let’s go. You can pay for the cab and I’ll buy the next round,” Evan called out as they left the table. “You can tell us about this mystery woman on the way.”

  Chapter 12

  SHE did her work and cleared out by just a little after eight. Edwina showed up at nine exactly and she stayed until seven. So wedded to her schedule was she that Meriel was pretty sure she could avoid her mother for at least the next few days. Maybe the whole week if she played it right.

  A court commissioner’s hearing, two land use committees, a strategy meeting with a few of the attorneys Meriel used for contract work when more came up than she could handle on her own, even a trip to DDES and she found herself free and heading back to her apartment by four thirty that afternoon.

  Only, as she stood in the aisle of her favorite local grocery store, unease slithered through her. Someone was watching her. Broad daylight, the place filled with people and the edge of whatever danger lurked was still sharp.

  Regular sight showed her nothing. No one out of the ordinary lurking around. No obvious signs of magick being used. Aside from general annoyance and traffic grump, there were no signs of extreme emotion from anyone in the immediate area.

  She paid quickly and headed to her car. No one was following her that she could see. No one looked out of the ordinary. Everyone in the lot was human and posed her no threat at all.

  And yet …

  She used her othersight and still saw nothing but a slight smudge at the very corner of her eye. Her personal protection wards were intact and hadn’t risen to action so there was no direct magickal attack on her.

  Her eyes told her everything was okay. Her magick told her everything was okay. But her gut didn’t agree.

  She went home, not taking a direct route, watching to see if she was being followed, but she wasn’t as far as she could tell.

  She locked the door and closed the wards and headed straight to the phone to call Nell.

  “Nell, I need you to come by when you can,” Meriel said as Nell picked up.

  “What is it?”

  Meriel gave her a brief rundown. “It’s probably nothing. But my gut …” She shook her head. “It feels like it’s something. I used my othersight, there was nothing there. But it’s not that, it feels like I was blind to something. There was this thing at the very edge of my vision. Like a smudge. But I get headaches sometimes and that happens. I don’t know if I’m explaining this well enough. But your eyes will be better.”

  “I’ll be over shortly.”

  She needed to be busy so she began to prepare dinner and listened to her messages.

  Uh-oh, one from her mother wanting to meet. She’d have to return that call when Edwina was sure to be out of the office.

  More than her concern that Edwina would shove the ascension in her face, Meriel worried that her mother would make Dominic feel small. That she’d take his plusses and make them minuses.

  She toyed with the idea of going to her father first. Her father did tend to run interference for their mother. He was softer, easier with people. He adored his wife and understood her in a way most everyone else couldn’t. Meriel thought it quite sweet.

  On the day she graduated from law school, he’d taken her aside. “Your mother loves you and she’s proud of you. I think sometimes she’s just terrified of making herself vulnerable enough to say it the way you need to hear it.”

  Edwina loved her, she knew it. They just had trouble getting along. But the foundation was of mother and daughter and Meriel trusted that part would carry them through the rough times.

  The sound of Nell’s knock caught Meriel’s attention and she opened the wards as Nell unlocked the door with her key and came in.

  “So there’s nothing on your car or in the garage. Gage went to the market; he says there’s some odd energy there, but he doesn’t recognize it.”

  Nell interrogated her until Meriel felt like a total wuss and that she’d overreacted. She said as much.

  “We all have magickal abilities. It’s what makes us witches. Your magick is intuitive in a way few others possess. If your gut told you to leave, pushed you to go, I have zero doubt there was a threat. It’s your internal alarm system and that’s why clan leaders stay alive. If it happens again, I want you to get the fuck out of there and call me immediately. Just what you did this time.”

  “Stay for dinner. Call Gage too. There’s plenty.”

  “Cripes, I hope this shit isn’t connected to that stuff on the East Coast.” Nell hopped up on the stool and accepted a slice of cheese Meriel offered. “I spoke with the Rodas hunter today and he was helpful. We’ve set up an account where we can input information. Sort of a magickal wiki page.” She snorted. “This could be something related to those mages. Maybe they’re scouting around and found you because you’re powerful. It’s not like it’s a really big secret who the next in line to run Owen is. But I don’t want to jump to conclusions. But what they’re facing is scary shit, Meriel. If that’s what we have, if these mages have sent out teams or scouts to track and stalk witches they’ll target to take and drain, we need to step it up. I’m adding some personnel to do some daily sweeps of the area around the building and the residences of all the full-council witches. We’ll start with that while we work out more info.”

  Meriel’s phone rang and she looked at the screen. Dominic.

  DOMINIC had been in a meeting with a group of boutique small-batch liquor companies when he’d come over feeling quite strange. A flash of energy shot up his spine and brought the hair on the back of his neck to stand.

  He didn’t quite know what to think at first. He wondered if he was coming down with something or if perhaps the ahi he’d had for lunch might have been off. Nervousness brought his knee to bounce until he forced himself to stop.

  As he sipped icy vodka served to him on a tray held by a rather ridiculously beautiful woman who leaned enough to give him a glimpse of her body to her belly button, he couldn’t relax enough to enjoy it. The pretty woman or the vodka.

  It was as he’d been eating some delicious caviar that the flush he’d felt earlier moved to a full body, electric rush of heat and energy. Meriel’s magick. He could smell her on the air, a phantom of her citrusy perfume.

  He held it together for another few minutes, thinking he was just imagining things, willing the presentation to wrap up so he could call her. But it went on and on until he finally held a hand up.

  “If you’ll all excuse me for a few moments.”

  “Is there a problem?” Evan looked him over.

  “I need to check on something. Please do go on. I’ll return shortly.” He said this all as he was already propelling himself from the room, his phone clearing his pocket.

  “Hello, Dominic.”

  The smile she usually had in her voice when she said his name wasn’t there. Her cheer was slightly practiced. That’s when he knew something was wrong. That’d he’d felt it across the country was a punch in several ways.

  Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson once said that the best thing about science was that it was true whether you believed in it or not. The bond was there and to continue to deny it seemed totally pointless when he could not only feel her upset thousands of miles away but that he wanted to be with her.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “What do you mean? Are you all right?” Dominic heard talking in the background, a male voice and another female voice he recognized from Monday night, Nell.

  “I’m sitting here in a meeting and I felt … weird. I hoped it would pass and it did for a while. But then it came back. This thing exploded in me. You. And f
or a second it was like I was with you, touching you. I could smell you, Meriel. Your magick is on my skin as if I’d just held you. What the fuck is going on?”

  He fisted his free hand a few times to keep from shaking. He should be there with her right then.

  “Nothing really, I don’t think. I’m sorry it interrupted your meeting. I should have thought to warn you that we could feel each other sometimes.”

  He snorted. “Don’t be sorry. Tell me what’s happening.”

  “You’re very bossy.”

  “I am. Now, tell me.”

  “I was at the grocery store and had a feeling. Just a feeling. Something wasn’t right. The energy of the place shifted and it was all wrong. I just needed to get out of there. I didn’t see anything. I came home and called Nell. You probably felt it because my magick rose in response to my fear. Really, I’m all right. Nell and Gage are on it. They couldn’t find anything either.”

  He was leaving that night. Period.

  “I’m coming back to Seattle.”

  “Because of this? Oh why? Don’t do that. I’m fine. Really. Nell and Gage both are right here. I’m not a wuss, you know. I can kick butt when I need to. Take care of your job and see your friends.”

  “I don’t want the entire country between us when you’re scared.” Having Nell there was one thing, but he wasn’t going to leave her protection up to anyone else. She was his and he’d protect her. Period.

  “I’ll be getting in long after your bedtime so I’ll call you in the morning.”

  “Are you even listening to me?”

  “Of course I am. But listening is not the same as agreeing. I appreciate your concern for my business, but I’m coming back tonight. And that is that. Don’t open your door to anyone. If you get hurt, I will be pissed off.”

  She sighed, but when she spoke again, the smile was in her words. “All right. Call me when you get in. Or … come to me. I’ll be here.”

  Chapter 13

  FIVE in the morning and she stood before him, light from the nearby fireplace on her skin. He should have gone home and called her at a decent hour but she’d told him to come to her, hadn’t she?