“But you didn’t.” As he studied her, Damek’s gaze seemed to penetrate her very soul.
She swallowed hard and shook her head. “No, I didn’t. It had all the classic signs of a paranormal bounty hunter/werewolf attack. Of course, it could have been a drug killing too. So I kept researching and stumbled on to Inhibitions quite by accident. There was a grainy picture of you in one of the articles. I know most people believe that vampires can’t be photographed or seen in mirrors—”
Damek cut her off before she could continue. “But you know better.” He swore under his breath. “Some idiot snuck a camera into the club and that damn picture was out before I knew it existed.”
Sonia shivered, not wanting to know what had happened to the photographer. “I became obsessed with finding out more about you. Everyone I spoke with about the club seemed to feel it had some kind of hold on them while they were there, making them lose all inhibitions.”
“You, better than anyone, know what mass hysteria can do to a crowd,” Damek pointed out. “As a folklorist, you know all about such things. Look at the Salem witch trials, where everyone condemned those poor people with no hard evidence. It’s the same principle at play at my club. One or two people push the boundaries and before long so does everyone else.”
She nodded. “I know, but I had to see it for myself. To see you for myself.” Sonia looked away from Damek’s penetrating eyes, not wanting him to see how badly she’d wanted to find him, not for research, but for herself.
“This is all a little too pat for my liking.” Isaiah sat forward and put his elbows on the desk and steepled his fingers together. “I don’t like it. This is a problem that needs to be handled.”
Another shiver raced down her spine and Sonia ceased to breathe. She could almost feel the chill of the Grim Reaper brushing against her neck.
“It is not for you to decide.” Damek stepped behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders. He gave them a gentle squeeze and she looked up at him. As unbelievable as it seemed, he was protecting her from the werewolf.
And what was she to think about that? Did she even want to think about that?
A knock came on the door and a man entered. He was in his early twenties with a friendly face, sandy-brown hair and wire-rimmed glasses. His build was lean, not heavy and, whoever he was, he wasn’t a werewolf, at least not a full-blooded one or a half-breed.
“Hey, Damek.” The younger man greeted the vampire and then nodded at her before turning his attention to Isaiah and Meredith. “You needed me for something.”
“Yes.” It was Damek who answered. “Do you know who The Keepers are?”
“Sure,” he answered. “What do you want to know?”
Chapter Eight
Damek could feel the tension in Sonia’s shoulders and wanted to reassure her that everything would be fine. At the same time, he was filled with a consuming need to understand exactly how she’d discovered his identity and why. Betrayal still ate at his gut even though he knew the emotion had no bearing on the situation. They weren’t lovers, not really, as an erotic dream didn’t count. They were barely acquaintances, yet the need to keep Sonia with him was overwhelming.
But that couldn’t happen until he found out if she was really a friend or a foe and fixed whatever problems she might have brought with her. No matter, he would protect her from Isaiah’s wrath. She was his problem to deal with.
Craig’s casual assurance that he’d heard of The Keepers startled Damek. “Tell me about them,” he demanded.
“Ah, sure.” Craig sat on the edge of the desk and swung one leg back and forth. “The Keepers have been around for several hundred years. They’re friends to paranormal creatures of all kinds, helping them survive unseen in the modern world.”
Damek frowned. “What exactly do you mean by that and how did you find out about them? And why do you, a human, know about this group when I don’t?” The last annoyed him greatly. He glanced at Isaiah and knew the wolf felt the same way. Information was power and, wherever he lived, Damek had always gathered as much of it as he could.
Craig grinned and shook his head. “I’ve done a lot of research on werewolves in the past year and a half, and the name kept popping up occasionally on the chat sites of the bounty hunters.”
Damek felt Sonia stiffen beneath his hands and gave her a squeeze of reassurance. Tension hummed through her and he wondered what she was thinking. It would be so easy for him to find out. As tempting as it was to burrow into her mind and read it, he resisted. She would fight him and he might accidentally hurt her. He was reluctant to do anything that might harm her unless it was a matter of safety for him and his friends.
“Continue,” he prompted.
“Well,” Craig continued, “you know me, so you know I had to check this group out. They’ve got quite the worldwide setup.”
“How do you know?” Sonia asked, her voice getting sharper with each word. Her skin was pale and cool beneath his touch.
Craig shrugged. “I hacked The Keepers’ various sites.”
“But they’re encoded and password protected,” Sonia insisted.
“Very well too,” Craig continued.
“Obviously not well enough,” she muttered. Damek noted that her growing anger pushed some of her pallor aside.
Isaiah ignored her and turned to Craig. “What do you mean they help paranormal creatures survive?”
Craig removed his glasses and polished a lens before popping them back on. “It’s harder to hide yourself in the modern world. There are taxes and databases, especially when dealing with large sums of money and property.”
Damek knew all about that. “That’s why I have several holding companies and a fleet of lawyers on the payroll. It’s easy enough to circumvent the system once you study it.”
“For you, maybe,” Craig pointed out. “But not everyone adapts as easily or has the money for such things.” He jumped off the desk and walked around to the computer. Isaiah got up so Craig could sit. His fingers flew over the keyboard and within seconds he had a website open on the screen.
Sonia gasped. “This can’t be happening.” Damek noted her face was white and she was chewing on her bottom lip, a sure sign of agitation.
“See.” Craig pointed at the screen. “They offer financial management, lawyers, and even have gardeners, housekeepers and people who will run errands.”
“For a price,” Damek added cynically.
Sonia shot out of her chair, hands on her hips, her entire body quivering with rage. “How dare you judge us, or me? We’ve put ourselves in danger time and again with the vampire, werewolf and witch hunters. What we do isn’t always easy and it costs money. We can’t exactly go public and raise money like a charity. We don’t turn anyone away because they don’t have money.”
“Sit down, Ms. Agostino.” Isaiah stood, arms crossed over his chest, glaring at her, and Sonia took a step back before holding her ground. Pride filled Damek at her show of courage, no matter how misplaced it was.
“I’d rather stand.”
“Agostino?” Craig asked, excitement in his voice. “You’re one of the Agostinos?”
Sonia nodded, lips drawn tight together.
“What’s so important about that?” Damek resented the fact that Craig knew about a part of her life that he didn’t.
Craig pushed back the chair and motioned to Sonia. “Her family founded The Keepers back in the seventeen hundreds and has been helping paranormals of all sorts ever since.”
“Why?” That was the question Damek really needed answered.
She shook her head. “It’s not just my secret to tell.”
“Right now, you don’t have any choice in the matter.” The threat was evident in Isaiah’s voice as he prowled closer. Damek slid in front of Sonia.
“Out of my way, vampire,” Isaiah snapped.
“No. It is enough for us to know she is not working with the hunters.”
“I need answers.” Isaiah’s voice was low and
steady, but Damek could easily sense the wolf’s underlying anger and tension.
Sonia stepped up beside Damek and met Isaiah face-on, even though he rose to well above her in height. “I need time. Time to talk to some others before I tell you. We don’t disclose ourselves any easier than you do. It’s only to people we know we can trust. Most of the hunters will kill anyone associated with any paranormal creature.”
Damek could tell that didn’t sit well with Isaiah. It didn’t sit well with him either, but for different reasons. He’d never thought much about the humans who’d worked with him over the centuries, at least not where the hunters were concerned. He could sense her sincerity and knew she was telling the truth. There was more to Sonia than met the eye, and he was determined to discover all her secrets.
“We will leave now.” Damek held out his hand to Sonia and deep satisfaction filled him when she took it.
“Not until I get some answers,” Isaiah insisted.
Damek shook his head. “I helped you when you needed it. Now I’m asking you to let me handle this situation as I see fit.”
Isaiah dragged his hand over the back of his neck. Meredith moved in beside her agitated mate and ran her fingers over his arm to help calm him. Damek hoped she succeeded. He’d hate to start a war with the werewolves if it could be avoided. He’d actually come to like them quite a bit over the past few years, although he would never openly admit it to them.
“Okay,” Isaiah grudgingly agreed. “But I’m holding you personally responsible.” He pointed a long finger at Damek. “Anything happens to my pack because of her and I’ll come looking for you.”
Damek stiffened at the threat. “Fair enough.” But it wasn’t fair, not after everything he’d done for this pack. He inclined his head toward Meredith. “Thank you for your hospitality. If you ever need anything you have only to call.”
“Damek.” Meredith reached out to him as she shot her mate a glare. “You’re always welcome here.”
Damek said nothing, as there was nothing left to say. The wolf had made his position very clear. He inclined his head in thanks toward Craig while Sonia grabbed her purse and then they left the room and went back into the club. The number of patrons had drastically declined and there was only a handful left. Damek gave a regretful sigh. He’d had such good intentions when he’d brought Sonia here. When would he ever learn that he was truly alone in this world?
“Hey, wait.”
Damek stopped as they reached the front door and turned to face Craig. He had a soft spot for the human male and the entire Lawton family.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but if you need anything, anything at all, you call me or Quinn. We owe you more than we can ever repay.”
“You owe me nothing.” Damek didn’t want anyone’s pity or handout.
“It’s what friends do.” Craig held out his hand and waited.
Damek stared at it and took a deep breath. He could sense Sonia’s curiosity, but she stayed quiet, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze of encouragement. He took Craig’s offered hand of friendship, easily reading the younger man’s sincerity. “Thank you,” he said quietly.
“Come.” He turned to Sonia. “We must go.”
Hank was still on the door, but he opened it and let them leave without a word. The limo was waiting out front and Damek opened the door and let Sonia slide in ahead of him. The door closed with a thunk, once again shutting them alone inside the luxury vehicle but for the driver up front. And with the privacy screen still in place, it was as if they were truly alone.
Sonia wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, she really did, but she wasn’t out of this mess yet. For a while there, it had been up in the air whether she was going to walk out of the club alive. Paranormal creatures were very protective, driven by instinct more than intellect in some cases, which was why The Keepers approached them very carefully. The last thing they wanted was to be seen as a threat, but that’s exactly what she’d done with her bumbling of the situation.
She could spend what was left of her life running and looking over her shoulder. The wolves saw her as a potential enemy and they would be relentless in their pursuit if they deemed her death necessary. That is, of course, if Damek didn’t take care of her for them.
She eyed the door handle and thought about trying to make a run for it. But that was cowardly. It was also a waste of energy. Not only was the door probably locked, but Damek was a vampire and could easily catch her with his preternatural speed. She caught their reflection in the glass and closed her eyes, trying to calm her racing pulse.
Holy crap. Damek really was a vampire. Now that the shock of the entire situation was wearing off, the truth was beginning to sink in. He’d showed her his fangs. He’d told Isaiah that she knew he was a vampire.
Her instincts had been right.
And they could write that on her headstone. Damek hadn’t survived by being lenient with those who threatened his existence. She wasn’t naïve about what he’d do, what the werewolves would do, if they felt she jeopardized their safety.
Sonia fluctuated between being excited she was right and wanting to throw up. God, she was sitting next to a real live vampire. She smothered a slightly hysterical laugh. Poor choice of words. Vampires were the living dead, not the living.
Her poor brain was awash with questions and thoughts. But she’d never get answers. She’d be lucky if she made it out of Chicago alive. She’d made a mess of everything. None of them trusted her, least of all Damek.
Her eyes flew open when something lightly brushed her face. Damek was seated beside her, his fingers touching her cheek. She swallowed hard as his fingers drifted over her jawline and down her neck, dipping beneath the high collar of her turtleneck sweater. She shifted away but he followed her. The leather seats creaked beneath them.
“Your pulse is racing.” He placed one finger over her pulse and she knew he could feel the heavy thud as blood rushed through her body. “So alive. So beautiful.”
She blinked, not quite able to process his words. He was angry with her, wasn’t he? He’d accused her of terrible things. Not that she could blame him. After all, she hadn’t given him all the facts, had barged into his world and potentially put him and his friends at risk.
“Damek,” she began.
“Shh, little one.” He rubbed his thumb over her jaw, back and forth, back and forth. His eyes were tinged red around the edges but the centers appeared even blacker than usual. He looked like sin on a stick and she was ripe for temptation.
Fear and arousal warred within her and she was very afraid that arousal would win and she would cast all common sense aside. Just being in his presence was enough to raise her blood pressure and make her skin tingle in the most exciting way.
The raucous sounds of the city traffic outside the limo faded until all she heard was her heavy breathing and the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears.
She licked her lips and his gaze followed her tongue. Her body grew heavier with each passing second and her clothing felt rough and confining against her skin.
This was crazy. She should be discussing the situation with him, doing everything in her power to talk him out of killing her. Although if the sensual heat simmering in his gaze was any indication, killing her was the last thing on his mind.
“Your eyes are lovely and soft, like the fog on the Scottish Highlands in autumn. Did you know that?” Before she could answer him, he leaned closer and touched his mouth to hers. His lips were cool as they skimmed her bottom one. He nibbled on the corners of her mouth, making her yearn for more, for a deeper touch.
His fingers caught in her hair and he tugged her head to one side, holding her steady as he covered her mouth with his and dipped his tongue inside. She made a low sound of passion as his tongue slid over hers, teasing and tempting her to play.
There were probably a hundred reasons why she shouldn’t do this, why it was wrong for both of them. Her very life and future well-being hung in the balance with Damek
as judge, jury and potentially executioner. There was only one reason why she should—she wanted him. Sonia admitted she’d been obsessed with Damek since the first moment she’d seen the very grainy picture of him in the Chicago newspaper. He was her mystery man, her seductive lover. Vampire.
She shivered, but not with fear. Heat and passion flooded her body, dampening her sex with growing need. Sonia grabbed his shoulders, needing something solid to anchor her. The thickly carpeted floors beneath her feet and buttery leather seats on which she sat seemed insubstantial in the face of the sexual storm beginning to swirl around them. Only Damek was strong enough to keep her from flying into a million pieces.
“Yes,” he hissed. “Touch me.”
Her hands seemed to move of their own volition, sliding up the thick column of his neck to cup his face. The planes and angles were sharp, giving him a slightly cruel, yet aristocratic look. His hair was like silk as she let it slip through her fingers. This was better than a dream.
She frowned, knowing there was something about that thought that should bother her, something she needed to question, but it was lost beneath the onslaught of his kiss. He took her mouth, claimed it and demanded more.
Sonia lost all track of time as he kissed her as though they had all the time they needed. The world outside didn’t matter, not now, not with passion clenching both of them in its grasp. Every stroke of his hand was magnified a thousandfold. His masculine scent filled her nostrils, making her want to get closer to him. Every nerve ending in her skin was alive and electric, anticipating his next touch.
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