Bound by Blood (The Garner Witch Series) (21 page)

“Wow, that’s cool.”

“Now, you try.”

I shut my eyes, directed my energy to my head, and envisioned the blonde hair that I had always dreamed of having. When I opened my eyes, Nathan was looking at me, pride shining in his eyes.

“That is excellent,” he said, holding up the mirror. “You are a quick study.”

I saw the hair of my imagination. I felt the silky strands with my fingers, swaying my head back and forth to watch it gleam in the sunlight. “This is amazing I might never go back to being a brunette. Either that, or I’ve just discovered a convenient way to get my tan back.”

He laughed. “It will be hard to maintain the level of concentration necessary to keep it permanently. Besides, I hope you will remain exactly the way you are. You do not need to change a single thing about yourself, you are absolutely perfect the way you are.” He leaned in to kiss me. As soon as his lips close over mine and I felt the intensity behind his kiss, I knew we were finished for the day.

The next day, he wanted to practice having me mentally attack him with pain. I was reluctant and only agreed if I could try while we sparred.

“That is actually a fantastic idea,” he said. “If you are able to incapacitate me during a fight, you should be able to do the same to the killer if he attacks.” I was surprised with his eager attitude. Although he never went easy on me anymore, he usually he dreaded our fights.

When we were about to start our sparring match he made a request that stunned me.

“Absolutely not!” I yelled as he held out a knife to me. “There’s no way I’m stabbing you.”

“Brianna, this knife is not made out of silver, so even if you do get it into my heart, it will not kill me.”

“I’m still not doing it.” My admission came out sounding a little whiney.

“As you pointed out to me before, you need to practice for real. There is a merciless vampire out there who wants to kill you, and you need to be able to fight him.”

“I realize that, but I don’t see how actually stabbing you in the heart is going to make any difference. What if I just pretend I have a knife and aim for your heart?”

He gave me an acerbic look. “You know this is important. If you agree to try your best to get the knife into my heart, I will promise I will not hold anything back at all. I will attack you at full strength.”

“You’ve still been holding back?” I asked,incredulously. I was surprised because I’d never even come close to beating him—he was so strong and fast. And I thought he was fighting full out before. He knew I’d never be able to resist the challenge. “Okay, fine. I’ll stab you in the heart.”

The knife felt like a hot branding iron in my hand, and I was hyper-aware of the weapon. I really didn’t want to wound him, but he was right—I needed to know if I could. If I couldn’t put the knife into his heart, I wasn’t going to be able to do it to the other vampire. I needed to know.

I gave a shaky nod of agreement.

He slowly circled me as I closed my eyes and opened myself completely to my other senses. The feelings were much more lucid than ever before. I knew the moment he was about to advance, and I moved stealthily to avoid the blow. However, I still wasn’t fast enough.

His fist connected and I sailed through the air until I crashed into the wall behind me and crumpled to the ground, the wind was knocked out of me. I gasped for breath, but recovered quickly.

The next attack, my response was marginally faster, but still nowhere near fast enough. He struck me again. The painful demonstration of Nathan’s true strength was more than a little disheartening. I’d thought I was getting better with all of the sparring we’d been doing, but I was still no match for a vampire’s speed. I was pretty sure that I’d broken a rib as I coughed up a bit of blood.

“Brianna, do you need to stop?” he asked, concerned when he saw the blood.

“No. Keep going.”

He shook his head, face grim, but nodded.

When he was ready to advance again, I waited until that exact moment and mentally shoved a jolt of pain into him. His face twisted, and I could see he was suffering, but he still pushed forward, considerably weakened and struggling. I was able to avoid his punch. I spun around as he passed me and thrust the knife into his back, right over his heart.

His legs gave out and he crumpled to the ground. Fear overtook me and my legs gave out. I’d never imagined I’d actually get close enough to hurt him. I was so worried, I forgot to safeguard myself from channeling his pain, and when I pulled the knife out the agony hit me like a sledgehammer. A tormented scream tore from my lungs, and the blackness of unconsciousness slammed into me.

I heard his voice calling me the same time I felt a familiar tingling throughout my body. He must have given me his blood to heal me while I was unconscious.

“Brianna, can you hear me?”

“I’m fine,” I said in a gruff voice as I opened my eyes and tried to sit up.

“No, do not move. Wait a few minutes until you heal completely. I think I broke your ribs,” he said, wearily.

“Yeah, well, since I stabbed you in the heart, I think we’re more than even.” I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “You think we need couples therapy.”

“I should have never used my full strength and speed on you.”

“
Did you
use your full strength and speed?”

“Yes, I did. If I were withholding anything, you would have stopped me cold with your mental attack. If you were fighting a human, you might have killed them with the force of what you pushed into me,” he admitted, proudly. “The knife was nothing compared to that.”

“So, you were using your full strength, and I managed to get the knife in your heart. That makes me feel a little better.”

“I feel better, too. Knowing you can hold your own against this killer. I am still terrified, but at least I have hope now that if he does manage to get you alone, you are quite capable of defending yourself against him.”

He helped me up, and we decided to relax for the afternoon before heading back to the city.

Chapter 15

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this.”

“You promised Reece.” Morrison reminded, wearing a purely predatory smile. It was Monday afternoon, and he was calling in the favor I owed him for covering for me the other day.

“Okay, but you’d better not whine at me like a baby after I kick your ass.” I mocked.

“No way are you getting the upper hand this time. You caught me by surprise last time.”

Luckily for Morrison, he’d grown on me lately, so I took it easy on him while we sparred. Holding back significantly, I even took a few punches and kicks for the sake of his ego. Besides, it wasn’t too hard. After sparring with a vampire for the past few weeks, Morrison moved like a snail in comparison—and his punches—let’s just say, comparing Nathan’s hits to Morrison’s would be like comparing a Tank to a Beetle. But it wasn’t the pain that caused me to bristle. It was the slew of mocking insults and taunts that accompanied each blow. Still, despite everything, I had the last laugh when I took him down in minutes. The only difference between this and the last time I knocked him on his ass, this time there were no witnesses.

Extending my hand, I helped him to his feet, “Good fight Morrison.”

“You too, I have to admit, I’m glad we’re fighting on the same team. How is it that someone so petite, and so... beautiful, fights the way you do?” His tone had changed, and if I was more perceptive when it came to men, I would have recognized why.

Shrugging off the statement, I turned away, avoiding eye contact while I grabbed my water. “I told you, I’ve been train—”

Before I finished the statement, he caught me completely off guard when he captured my mouth with his. I was absolutely stunned. At first, my brain didn’t register what was happening. It wasn’t until I felt his tongue stroke against mine that I pulled back. Shit. If I’d have known his intention I’d have avoided the situation. God, this was awkward. “Um...Morrison...I’m seeing someone.” I said uncomfortably.

He shook his head as if he just now realized what he’d done, then stepped back. “Reece? Oh god, I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. Fuck. I think have a concussion or something.” He joked, clearly trying to lighten the uncomfortable atmosphere. “Do you think you can forget that this happened?”

Relieved he’d taken the rejection so well, I elbowed him playfully in the ribs. “No problem, we’ll just chalk it up to endorphins from the fight.”

He smiled at me gratefully. “Let’s get changed and get back to work.”

Morrison was much more graceful about losing the fight than I expected, although that’s probably because we hadn’t had any spectators this time. He was also being very understanding about my rebuff earlier. When we were back on the road, headed to the medical examiner’s office, he asked, “So who’s this mystery guy you’re seeing and why haven’t you mentioned him until today.”

Shrugging my shoulders, I tried to seem indifferent. “It’s no one you’d know, and you haven’t heard about him because I’m a private person.”

“Now that I think about it you have been all glowy and moony lately, it must be pretty serious.” Raising one brow playfully, he cast me a sideways glance.

“I guess so. I really don’t want to talk about it yet, I don’t want to jinx it. Can we drop the subject?” I hadn’t meant to snap at him so impatiently, but I just wanted him to stop prying. The last thing I wanted was him finding out the nature of my relationship with Nathan.

“Sure, whatever you want.”  He dropped the subject, but I could sense his suspicion brewing. Cursing myself for my reaction, because I’d just stoked his curiosity.

***

It was close to quitting time and I was just getting ready to leave when my cell rang, “Hello”

“Hello, Brianna.”  Amazingly, even the sound of his voice on the phone caused my stomach to flip-flop.

“Hi Nathan, is everything okay?”

“Yes, I just called to let you know I have a meeting with an important client this evening and I will be late. My driver will be at the usual spot to pick you up. Will you be all right?”

“Nathan, its sweet of you to be concerned but I’ll be fine, please go. And don’t worry so much you’ll get wrinkles.”

He chuckled. The sound travelled through the phone stroking and teasing my skin. Suddenly, I was flashing to another time, when his lips were against my ear and the vibration of his laugh sent chills up and down my spine. Oh boy, I needed to focus. I shook my head and said, “I’ll see you later.”

“Goodbye.”

The office building was right in the heart of Denver, but I always had Nathan’s driver pick me up a few blocks from work so I wouldn’t be seen with him. On top of being his driver, he was also one of the top security guards at Donovan Security, and a vampire. In fact, Nathan’s guards consisted mostly of vampires, which was ideal since they were much more powerful than humans. It was one of the reasons Donovan Security was the best, and it was also the reason he felt more secure having a vampire protect me. Close to the car, I almost broke into a run but managed to keep my pace at a brisk walk. I refrained from looking over my shoulder as I slipped into the back seat, but it was difficult because I had the distinct feeling I was being followed. I hadn’t seen anyone, but I couldn’t shake the feeling—and I’d learned to trust my feelings.

Just to be safe, I had his driver take a detour and drive us around aimlessly for a while until I felt fairly certain that I wasn’t being followed. Finally, after at least an hour, we arrived at Nathan’s building and parked in the underground garage. His poor driver probably thought I was crazy, but I didn’t want to alert him for no reason. I said goodnight and headed upstairs, feeling certain
someone
was close by.

Suddenly, my eyesight tinged with a hazy red film as anger washed over me. Whoever was nearby, he was seething mad. But it was strange, despite the anger I sensed, I had a strong suspicion it wasn’t the killer. Whoever lurked nearby
was
angry, but there was no accompanying evil, and certainly none of the power I felt earlier. Hurrying to the elevators, I let out a relieved sigh as the doors closed and the car began to rise. The further I got from the basement, my panic and fear began to abate.

Inside the apartment, I showered and changed into my yoga pants and decided to pass the time reading. With a glass of wine and my book, I plopped into the oversized chair next to the fireplace and had just begun to relax when the doorbell sounded. That was strange in itself, no one could come up to the penthouse without a key or if someone in the apartment released the lock on the elevator. I tried to glean whatever emotions I could from whoever was behind the door, but again I felt only anger. Maybe I was mistaken and it
was
the killer. Although, would a serial-killer ring the doorbell?

What was I going to do?

All of a sudden, I remembered the silver knife I carry in my purse and ran quickly to get it and then returned. Crouching behind the door, I decided that my only shot would be a surprise attack. I unlocked the bolts as quietly as possible. Turning the doorknob, I yanked open the door and pounced, aiming my knife for the heart. It was just a split second, but luckily, I caught a glimpse of the person on the other side and managed to stop myself in time. Just. Dazed, I realized tip of my blade hovered precariously above Morrison’s heart. Holy shit, I’d almost killed my partner. With a look of pure shock he stood there, but soon, realizing he was out of danger, the surprise ebbed and was replaced by anger.

“Reece” he said sharply, while brushing past me into the apartment.

“Morrison...what are you...how did you find me?”

“I think the better question would be what the
fuck
are you doing here?” Pure crimson, his face flushed and nostrils flared.

“Morrison it’s not what you think.”

“So you’re not sleeping with, and by the looks of it, also living with a person of interest in an FBI murder investigation?” He bit back sarcastically.

“Well, I guess when you put it like that it is kind of how it looks. But I can explain.” I followed desperately. If Morrison went back to my superiors with this information, I could not only lose my job, but possibly be charged with obstruction of justice and go to jail.