Compelled (Vampires in America #10.5) (3 page)

“No?” Nick said, shifting a lazy look in Raphael’s direction, meeting the vampire lord’s cold eyes. “What do you think, vampire? Can our Cyn sense magic?”

Raphael’s expression promised revenge, but all he said was, “My Cyn is extraordinary in every way.”

Cyn was studying Raphael, an odd look on her face, but her expression gave nothing away when she turned her attention back to Nick. “We’re here, so I’m guessing one of the two local boys brought the manacles home with him. But why do you need us? Why not walk up to the door, offer them a bunch of money, and buy the damn things? That has to be why they took them in the first place, to sell them.”

“If only it were that easy,” Nick commented. “First, you’re right. The present owner does plan to sell them. But the present owner is not the man who took them from that house in Hawaii. That man died under suspicious circumstances within a week of his return here to Lawrence.”

“Suspicious how?”

“Local authorities are calling it a suicide. His parents don’t believe it, and neither do I. I’m pretty sure his good buddy killed him in order to get his hands on the manacles, which, in turn, he now plans to sell for the kind of money that would motivate a man to kill his best friend. Assuming he hasn’t already. Sold them, that is.”

“So we find our killer and get the manacles, if he has them. If not, then we find out who bought them and track down the buyer.”

“If only it were—”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. What happened?” Cyn said resignedly.

“Our best-friend-turned-killer is in the wind. I assume it’s to prevent the local authorities from charging him with his buddy’s murder, with maybe a touch of fear about the kind of person who might seek to buy something like the manacles from him. That’s probably a wise instinct on his part, although it’s difficult to say until I discover which buyer he’s dealing with.”

“So, the manacles aren’t here, the buyer—if there is one—isn’t here, and neither is the guy who lifted them in the first place. Then why are we here?”

“Because it’s the last confirmed location I have for the manacles, and because our killer’s parents are still here, and he lived at home.”

“You think the parents might know something?”

“It’s worth a shot.”

She shook her head. “I still don’t know why Raphael and I are here. You don’t need us for this.”

“You’re right. I only need you, but the big . . . vampire wouldn’t let you come alone.” It wasn’t what he’d been about to say, but he’d switched words at the last minute in response to Cyn’s squinty-eyed glare. She’d walk away if he pushed too hard, and he really did need her on this. She was better at the kind of straightforward investigation that this case called for. Plus, she wasn’t above a bit of breaking and entering if it came down to it.

His own skill—apart from the true magic of his sorcery—lay along the lines of persuading people to do what he wanted, but some folks were not only immune to his charm, but put off by it. Cyn, on the other hand, could be quite disarming when she put her mind to it. People tended to want to please her, which meant they generally told her what she wanted to know. He was sure it had something to do with her looks. Study after study had shown that attractive people received more favorable treatment.

“You want me to talk to the parents of the guy who sold the manacles,” she guessed now.

“I want both of us to talk to them. You’re going to be my wife.”

CYN DIDN’T NEED to feel Raphael’s hand squeezing her fingers almost hard enough to break bones to know what his reaction would be to Nick’s announcement. He wouldn’t undermine her by saying anything in front of Nick, but he definitely did not want her going off alone with the sorcerer.

“You want us to pretend to be a couple to disarm the parents,” she guessed. “What’s our story? Just passing through, thought we’d drop in and see an old friend? How do we know him?”

“The military, of course. It’s clearly the centerpiece of the guy’s life so far.”

“This is a waste of time,” Raphael interrupted with a growl. “Put me in the same room with the parents, and I’ll tell you everything they know.”

“I thought we’d hold out on the torture techniques until absolutely necessary,” Nick said mockingly.

“Don’t lecture me about cruelty, sorcerer. I know the history between our races as well as you, and I know who you are.”

The air in the hangar was abruptly charged with violence as the two of them glared their hatred across the table. Cyn’s heart was racing. Her brain knew she wasn’t in danger from either one of them, but it was difficult to convince her body of that, what with her well-honed survival instincts flaring bright and sharp and urging her to run. She wasn’t alone in her reaction, either. Raphael’s vampires had gone on full alert all around the hangar, and Juro leapt from the small plane, hitting the concrete floor in a single bound before coming to a sudden halt at the bottom of the stairs.

She glanced at Raphael, knowing he’d told Juro to wait. The big vampire wouldn’t have paused otherwise. The other guards were similarly watching and waiting, on alert, but not moving in.

Nick grinned suddenly, but it didn’t reach his eyes, which were still hot with anger. There was a history between these two, she realized. Raphael had said he didn’t know Nick personally, and she believed him as far as that statement went. He didn’t lie to her anymore, didn’t hold back unpleasant truths. They’d nearly lost each other the last time he’d tried something like that, and he’d sworn it wouldn’t happen again. She believed him about that, too. He loved her so deeply that it scared her sometimes. Not because she feared him, but because she worried she couldn’t possibly live up to the depths of his love.

She reached over with her free hand and stroked Raphael’s forearm, drawing his attention to the hard grip he had on her other hand. He relaxed it right away, but didn’t let go.

Nick stood suddenly, his gaze fixed on their clasped hands, before he lifted his eyes to meet her curious stare. He gave her that same grin, the one that most people would buy at face value. She didn’t, but she didn’t know what was behind it either. Why was Nick so obsessed with her relationship with Raphael? So far, this meeting had only produced more questions. And most of those had nothing to do with the missing manacles.

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow afternoon, Cyn. Assuming your keeper will open the cage door, that is.”

She sighed. He just wouldn’t let it go. This little adventure was going to be exhausting if the two of them couldn’t stop sniping at each other.

“Any particular time the parents are home?” she asked, knowing Nick would have researched that sort of detail.

“I want to try the mom alone first. She’s a homemaker who sometimes runs errands in the morning, but she’s always home in the afternoon, because she babysits the grandkids after school.”

“I’m not doing this in front of kids,” Cyn told him firmly.

“I’m wounded that you think so little of me.” He said it lightly, but a small stab of guilt hit her anyway. The conflict between him and Raphael was beginning to wear on her. She really didn’t think Nick would ever bring kids into a potentially dangerous situation. “I’ll pick you up at one,” he said. “The kids don’t get to Grandma’s ’til three thirty, so we should be good. And I know how you like to hang around in bed and sleep late.”

Cyn closed her eyes when he said that, feeling the tension ratchet back up in Raphael’s big body.

“Okay,” she said, coming to her feet. She’d had enough for one night. “Nick, if you could e-mail me everything you have—”

He nodded, smiling, until she continued.

“—then I think we’ve done all we can, and this meeting is over. Like right now.”

“I’m wounded.”

“Uh huh,” she said dismissively. “Thanks for coming. I’ll see you here tomorrow afternoon.”

Nick gave her a suggestive leer as he stood. “If you need me for anything at all—”

“Nick,” she breathed, both exasperated and worn out by his constant teasing.

“All right, all right. I know where I’m not wanted,” he said, laughing. “I’ll have my girl send you those files, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” He turned and strolled toward the exit, but spun around when he reached for the door, to get in one final shot. “Don’t worry, vampire. I’ll take good care of her.”

Cyn wished for something heavy and a good throwing arm at that moment. Nick gave her a knowing wink and pulled open the door, ducking outside before she could lay her hands on a suitable projectile. This was one of those times when she wished for some magic of her own.

And speaking of magic . . .

She heard a creaking groan and looked back to find the wooden table straining under the grip of Raphael’s powerful fingers. Cyn reached down and placed her hand over his, sliding onto his lap as she did so. Cyn wasn’t big on lap-sitting, but sometimes it was necessary.

“Look at me, Raphael,” she ordered softly.

It took a moment, but he shifted his eyes to meet hers. “If I kill him,” he said in a voice completely lacking emotion, “there will be no reason to hunt down the manacles.”

She laughed nervously, not at all certain he was joking. “We should probably get the damn things back anyway,” she reasoned. “I hate it that Mathilde used them against you. And really, this is partly my fault. I never should have left them there in the first place.”

He hugged her closer. “As I recall, you were otherwise occupied at the time,” he said roughly. And she felt a rush of liquid warmth between her thighs at the memory of those first few moments when she’d unlocked the manacles and set him free. He’d been hungry, starving. First for her blood . . . and then for her body.

“We should get back to Kansas City,” she said, but made no effort to move. She might not be a lap-sitter, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the sensation. Being close to Raphael, having his arms around her, his heart beating against her ribs . . . she wished they could forget about all the bullshit in their world. Forget about European invaders and ancient mystical devices. Forget even about ancient sorcerers, even if one of them was Nick.

She frowned as that thought crossed her mind, but then Raphael patted her butt and said, “You’re right. And the sorcerer is gone by now, so we can leave, too.”

Cyn stood and took his hand, then pulled him to his feet behind her. His standing was a signal, and his vampires were suddenly on the move, hustling in from their watchful corners to establish a new perimeter as she and Raphael made their way, not back onto the Learjet, but into one of the big, black Escalades parked at the rear of the hangar.

What they hadn’t told Nick, what Raphael would never agree to tell him, was that they hadn’t flown from LA to Lawrence. The Lear, for all its comforts, wasn’t nearly big enough to hold all of the personnel necessary for a trip like this. Raphael’s security was always tight, but for this trip, Juro had gone all out. He seemed completely in tune with Raphael when it came to the threat posed by Nick, and Cyn was reminded again that she needed to ask Raphael about what was obviously a long and ugly history between vampires and sorcerers. She hated being kept in the dark, especially when it came to things that might threaten Raphael’s life. In fact, she was a little pissed that no one had volunteered the information before this meeting.

Regardless of that, the fact of the matter was that they’d flown Raphael’s Boeing 707 into Kansas City and driven to Lawrence. The Lear had already been in Lawrence by then, having been flown in during the day along with several of Raphael’s daylight personnel who met with their counterparts on Lucas’s staff. Lucas was Lord of the Plains Territory, which included Kansas, and so it had been necessary to coordinate this visit with him. It was a big deal among vampires when one lord visited another one’s territory, but ever since the North American vamps had come together in an alliance, things were easier. Even without the alliance, though, it wouldn’t have been a problem for Raphael to visit Kansas. Lucas was Raphael’s child, and they remained close, no matter that Lucas now ruled a territory of his own.

They could have just gone ahead and met Nick in Kansas City, where the 707 was parked. But since that was also where Raphael and his vampires were sleeping during the day, he wasn’t about to reveal that location to Nick. So, they’d driven to Lawrence earlier, and were now driving back to Kansas City. There were three SUVs in the small convoy. One of Raphael’s security people was driving their SUV with Juro in the passenger seat. Jared was back home in Malibu. He’d wanted to come with them—Raphael’s vampires were all sort of clingy in the aftermath of Hawaii—but with the war going on, someone had to stay behind to hold down the fort, and this time around that someone was Jared.

It was quiet and comfortable in the vehicle with just the four of them, and a sense of being separate from the world zooming by outside fostered an atmosphere of privacy.

Cyn snuggled closer in the curve of Raphael’s arm. As usual, she was the only one wearing a seatbelt, which made it easier to cuddle in the dark cocoon of the back seat.

“What’s the deal with you and Nick?” Her voice was almost sleepy sounding, she was so relaxed. She felt Raphael’s heavy shoulders move in a shrug.

“He’s a sorcerer. I told you, they can’t be trusted.”

“Yeah, but why? What’s the history between you guys?”

“I never met him before Hawaii.”

Cyn wanted to punch him, or maybe just dig her elbow into his hard gut. He was being deliberately obtuse. “Raphael,” she said with forced patience, “why do vampires hate sorcerers? Everyone seems to know about it except me, and I’m getting sick of being in the dark while you and Nick throw conversation bombs at one another.”

“Conversation bombs?” he repeated, and she could hear the amusement in his voice.

“Raphael.”

He sighed lightly. “It goes back to before I was born, though not before your friend Nicolas Katsaros was.”

She blinked in surprise. “But you’re nearly five hundred—”

“Exactly. I don’t know precisely how old Katsaros is, but I can feel the weight of his years pressing on me when we’re in the same room. He is ancient, my Cyn.”