Black Magic Rose (2 page)

“Aye.” Dr. MacDuff patted her shoulder. “He is, lass. He doesn’t need corrective action. He handled that situation just as I would have.”

And this was Sofia’s number one biggest challenge—the bizarre belief that death was the appropriate response to every performance, behavior, or personality problem. She was fairly certain it was this perspective that gave Dr. MacDuff the odd belief Dragomir was appropriate.

Sofia hadn’t been able to make a case to get rid of the brute in spite of sending several well-written emails, including reference material about violence in the workplace, impact on morale, and her own fear of the monster. Both Dr. MacDuff and Fergus, the president and werewolf alpha, responded with, “We’ll take your requests and all the accompanying information into consideration.” Then two seconds later a second email would arrive. “We determined the appropriate outcome is to leave everything as is. Thank you.”
 

She’d taken to yelling and hissing, banging her fist on the desk and finally giving up in complete and utter frustration. It was like talking to a wall. Or yelling at one.
 

“My counsel on this issue doesn’t seem to have any impact,” she huffed.

Dr. MacDuff merely offered a slight nod.
 

Though Sofia had known about vampires most of her life, she’d only ever known two—Dr. MacDuff and Noelle Duluth, Cader’s Director of Nursing. As Sofia grew up, they visited her parents now and again, but their condition was never a topic of discussion, so Sofia never thought twice about them. Nor did she consider that as her parents aged they did not.
 

Dr. MacDuff still had the dark curly hair and youthful skin of a man in his late twenties in spite of being hundreds of years older.
 

The wolves, though they hadn’t really accepted her, treated Sofia like she was accustomed to being treated. They liked her when they felt she’d done what they wanted and didn’t like her when she disagreed with them. For the most part, they were completely ambivalent toward her. It was the same way that every other employee in any organization felt about Human Resources, and very familiar.
 

On the other hand, with the vampires she felt like she had a giant spotlight shining over her head. She literally
felt
them looking at her. It was as though their gazes held temperatures. Some were cold or downright frigid. Others were warm. Sometimes she’d swear someone was touching her, but she’d turn to find no one near her, just a vampire down the hall.
 

Dr. MacDuff smiled, and his green eyes sparkled against his pale skin. When he touched her cheek, his hand was warm.
 

He’s fed.
She recoiled at the thought.

“He will no’ hurt you. No matter what you’ve heard or believe. I trust Dragomir with my own life. I’m absolutely certain he will safeguard yours as well.” He unrolled his sleeves and pulled two cuff links from his pocket. Black dragons on ivory backgrounds. The Cader House crest. He wore them every night.
 

“How can you be so sure? He’s like an animal.”
 

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Sofia stopped, knowing she was caught in a sticky situation.
 

Dr. MacDuff raised his eyebrows. “An animal? More savage than say Donald or Meg or Fergus? What about Osgar? Is Dragomir wilder than a werewolf?”
 

She shook her head, never taking her eyes off his hands as he cuffed his sleeves. “You know what I mean.”
 

His fingers worked the cuff links with such speed she hardly had time to process the movements.
 

“Nay, I don’t.” Dr. MacDuff placed his hands on her shoulders and held her gaze. “You feel safer with werewolves than with a vampire who has sworn a blood oath to me? I’m at a loss, child. I’ve no idea how to comfort you. But I will not risk your safety. You can come down to meet with The Alliance or go home. Either way, Dragomir will be present.”
 

Meet with The Alliance? Nope. Sofia did not want to do that.
 

She sighed. “What if he just follows me and then leaves?”

“Absolutely not. Have you so quickly forgotten the break-in and the brush fire behind your house? What about the blown-out tires on the drive home?” Dr. MacDuff stepped toward the entrance to the Lower Lever. “I haven’t. Those were not coincidental.”

“I could get an alarm,” she offered for the four hundredth time.

“By the time anyone responded, you’d be dead.” He didn’t budge.
 

 
In two months her entire life had completely changed. She’d become an adult orphan, moved back home to her parents’ house, lost her long-time job at what she thought was a stable company, and been recruited to Cader.
 
She’d had to finally accept that not only did vampires exist, but werewolves did too, and together they ran the hospital as a front for The Alliance, the organization tasked with maintaining balance in the supernatural community. Cader’s chief vampire was her dad’s best friend who just happened to be a bit overprotective.
 

“Bas Dubh is on the move. We are at war, Sofia.” Dr. MacDuff’s gaze hardened.
 
“I never should have…” He touched her chin. “What’s done is done. Now I must ensure your safety. Kiernan knows you work here. If I don’t send a guard, he’ll come for you.”

Sofia scowled at the floor. There was nothing in the world like being a prisoner in your own life. She couldn’t argue. She’d completed enough workers’ comp reports to know Kiernan didn’t play nice. And if Dr. MacDuff hadn’t sent Bernie, Cader’s electrician, to install motion detectors at her house the day of the brushfire, she’d probably be renting a room at the local motel.

“And if he takes you, it won’t be to help decrease the amount of workplace violence in his organization.” Dr. MacDuff had a way of tying everything to Sofia’s number one personal agenda. She’d never worked in a place where it was not only perfectly acceptable but encouraged to beat the hell out of new staff during the training period. She could not allow it to continue.
 

“Can’t Osgar come home with me?”
 

“Osgar needs to train the new recruits. He cannot spend all his time guarding you.”

“He’s monitoring
all
the trainers?” Sofia asked, stressing
all
. She’d already had a run-in with Rick, Osgar’s second in command. He clearly disagreed with her definition of acceptable training practices.
 

“I’m sure he is.”
 

She’d managed to convince Dr. MacDuff to assign Osgar to her for day duty. If she’d thought quick enough, she’d have suggested that simply being at Cader during the day was enough and that Osgar could guard her at night. Instead, she thought she’d save herself from being guarded by another werewolf, a very pleasant, very young man who talked her ear off, making it completely impossible for her to get any work done.
 

Dr. MacDuff gave her what she wanted. Osgar by day. And then got what he wanted and assigned her Dragomir by night.
 

Sofia sucked in her cheeks and glanced into the lobby. The dead man faced the exit. His black leather duster covered all but his boots and a couple inches of his jeans.
 

“As much as I enjoy spending time with you, Sofia, I do have a meeting to attend. Are you coming or going?” He stepped toward the stairwell.

“Dr. MacDuff…”

“Sofia.” One word and his tone said it all.
 

Chapter Two

Sofia’s Camry bounced along her unpaved driveway. She knew the half-mile ride well and easily maneuvered around the potholes and ridges. She’d lived in the chalet-style home most of her life. It officially became hers a couple months back when her mom died.
 

She pulled into her usual spot directly across from the porch and pushed the gearshift into park before taking a deep breath. She’d managed to get past
him
without having to speak. But now she’d be very clear on her expectations and what
he
was allowed to do.
 

A truck pulled in beside her, dwarfing the Camry with tires four feet tall, a truck bed that had to be six feet long, and an engine compartment that could easily house the Camry. Rays of light shot into the woods, illuminating a twenty-foot area.
 

Why does every vampire have to drive something ridiculous? Porsches, Hummers, jet airplanes. Can’t even one of them drive a normal vehicle?

She huffed, pulled her gold cross from beneath her blouse to lie exposed on her chest, and reached for the handle. The door opened before she touched the lever.
 

“There is absolutely no need for you to have any contact with me,” she snapped without turning to face him. “I can open my…”

The door closed.
 

Sofia threw open the door. “That was rude.” She pulled her handbag and lunch box from the car. “You will stay outside. You have no need to come in. You can simply do that thing you do and sniff around to figure out if anyone has been on the property. I’ll wait here.” She slammed the door and leaned back against the car, arms folded across her chest.

Dragomir didn’t move.
 

She waited, tapped her foot, and refused to look at him, knowing he was staring at her. More easily than with any other vampire, she could always tell when he was watching her. It was one of the many things about him she did not like. Other vampires didn’t make it so obvious they were looking. But Dragomir made no secret of it. He let his gaze linger as though he was trying to stare right through her, and even though she never felt threatened by him, she didn’t like it when they made eye contact.
 

She avoided his eyes as if he was Medusa, and she might turn to stone looking at him. Only she knew she wouldn’t turn to stone. She had more of a jelly sort of reaction to his gaze. Whenever she met his stare, she felt like she was falling down a deep, bottomless pool, one that left her helpless and exposed.
 

Her body did things she didn’t appreciate. Her arms turned to rubber, making her drop things. Her stomach flipped and her legs barely held her up, causing her to trip in front of him. She was not a klutz, had always been agile and graceful, played sports, took dance lessons, never had any problem controlling her limbs before. She absolutely did not like this sudden lack of poise.
 

“Well? Are you going to just stand there all night?” She glared up at him, trying to focus on his chin, but his lips drew her attention. For a quick second, the red lines parted just enough to show a sliver of white teeth, then they closed and it was as though he vanished.
 

He practically disappeared into the night, a silent shadow. If it wasn’t for his scent, she’d have sworn she was standing alone.
 

But she could smell him, a combination of leather and something woodsy, like pine or fresh air or the crisp scent of autumn. And the faintest hint of soap.
 

She inhaled. It always flummoxed her, the soap scent. What was it? Irish Spring? No. But what? She inhaled again.
 

Distracting. That’s what.

“Well? How long are we going to stand here?” she demanded. Her bags slid down her arm.
 

“I did not want to disturb you,” he answered, his voice so low it rumbled. His scent wafted around her as he stepped closer. Her stomach knotted.
 

“Disturb me? What are you talking about?” she growled, straightening her back and realizing her bags were no longer in her hands.
 

He sniffed. Once, twice, three times. “You smelled something. Maybe Jankin is teaching you how to scent. If so, I did not want to disturb your practice.” His deep Romanian accent made the words roll together. He held her bags in front of her.
 

Sofia’s cheeks heated, and she was damn glad for the darkness. She swallowed and snatched the bags from his hands, returning them to her shoulder.
 

“What? No. I wasn’t doing whatever, scenting.” She waved her hand in front of her face and her bags slid back down her arm. “How long before you complete your task, and I can go in the house?” Her bags dangled at her wrist and she shifted them to her other shoulder.

“My task was complete before I opened your door.” He stepped closer and she couldn’t resist the urge to look up at him, past his mouth, into his dark eyes. He rested one hand on the top of the Camry, and his body shielded hers from the cool night breeze.
 

It was happening. Her arms and legs were melting into jelly. She had to get away from him before she ended up in a puddle on the ground. “Fine.” She turned and marched up the steps, triggering the sensor that turned on the porch light. She unlocked the door and slipped inside.
 

“Just so there’s no question,” she said through a crack in the doorway. “You are not welcome in my home.” She slammed the door, locking both locks behind her.
 

It was true. A vampire couldn’t enter a personal dwelling without an invitation. She made sure every vampire, with the exception of Dr. MacDuff, knew they did not have an invitation. And even allowing Dr. MacDuff in was a huge concession.