Darkness Unmasked (DA 5) (9 page)

Just for a moment, I felt the flash of his anger—it rolled over me like the heated wind of a desert, drying my skin in an instant and sending little sparks dancing across my sweater. Then it dissipated, and he chuckled softly. “You really
do
like tempting the devil, don’t you?”

“I have to deal with the devil in the form of Madeline Hunter on an almost daily basis, so maybe I’ve just become a little blasé about it.” I sat down beside him, my shoulder touching his lightly. Although the heat was fierce, the tension within his body began to dissipate almost immediately. “And you avoid talking about your dates only when they go like crap. What happened?”

“Nothing. She was lovely, we had a good time, and we parted making plans for another date.”

“So why all the doom and gloom?”

He sighed. “Because I’ll have to break it off. She really
is
nice.”

I frowned as I took a sip of drink. “I’m not understanding the logic of that statement.”

“It’s this.” He waved a hand down the length of his body. “How can I commit to anyone for any amount of time when I have no idea just how long—if ever—it’s going to take me to control this thing?”

I just about choked on my Coke. “Good grief, did you just admit to a connection? Is the lone wolf—the man who doesn’t believe in long-term commitments—actually thinking he might have found the woman who could change that?”

He grimaced. “We went on
one
date—”

“And sometimes that’s all it takes. You’re a wolf, not a human or a monk.”

He snorted. “I’m half wolf, and I’m certainly
not
a monk.”

“Neat sidestep of the actual question, my friend.”

He smiled. It was a somewhat pale reflection of his usual smile, but I was happy to see it nonetheless. “God, you’re more tenacious than a dog with a bone. And yes, there was a connection.”

“Then I can’t see the harm in chasing it.” I hesitated. “And it might just give you another reason to fight.”

“Or another person I’m fearful of hurting.”

“You won’t.” I nudged him gently. “I have faith in your strength, Tao.”

He took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Yeah. And that scares the hell out of me, because you’re seeing what I’m not feeling.”

“Risa?”

I glanced up as Rachel appeared in the doorway. “What?”

“There’s a gentleman here to see you.”

“Business or personal?” I frowned as I glanced at my watch. It was after midnight, so it could hardly be business.

“He didn’t say. Just said it was urgent.” She shrugged, then added, “Tao, I may need help in a couple of minutes. A big group just came in from the Blue Moon wanting burgers.”

“I’ll just finish my drink and then I’ll be in.”

She nodded and disappeared. I climbed to my feet, then hesitated and looked down. “I can pull Danny off waiter duties to help Rachel if you’d like a few more minutes out here.”

“It won’t help much. I’ll be fine.” He squinted up at me, expression half-mocking. “Isn’t that what you’re constantly telling me?”

It was a rebuke—a gentle one, but a rebuke nonetheless. I smiled, though it felt a little tight. “Yeah. And I’ll keep saying it until you damn well believe it.”

And with that, I left him. There was only so much I could say and do because, in the end, I couldn’t help him win his war. He had to find the strength—and the desire—within himself to stop the elemental from taking over completely.

And, despite what I kept saying, part of me feared he wouldn’t find either.

I walked back through the kitchen and into the café. The place was beginning to fill up again with wolves and a spattering of other non-humans, but we’d rolled into the next shift roster and there were plenty of people to deal with the rush. I couldn’t see anyone obviously standing by themselves, so I poked my head back into the kitchen and said, “Where did you put him?”

“End booth, near the bathrooms,” Rachel replied, without looking up.

“Thanks.”

I headed down to the last booth, only to discover there was no one in it. But there was certainly someone standing in the shadows to the right of the booth. My gaze traveled up the long, lean length of him and clashed with his darkness.

This was no stranger. This was Markel Sanchez, one of the vampires who’d been ordered to not only follow me about astrally, but report my every move back to Hunter.

And as a Cazador, he was one of the most dangerous men I’d ever met.

I stopped abruptly. “Why are you here?”

“I am under orders, as you no doubt suspect.” His voice held neither warmth nor inflection and yet somehow managed to be pleasant.

“So who’s following me about on the gray fields right now?”

“Nick Krogan is currently on duty. Janice Myer shares the task at other times.” He shrugged, the movement elegant. “It is my night off.”

So they had female Cazadors? I guess there was no reason why they shouldn’t, but it surprised me, for some reason. “And yet here you are.”

“Because the wise in this world do not ignore the wishes of Madeline Hunter.”

And yet I baited the bitch. What did that say about me? “Are you here to poke me into action or what?”

Amusement flickered through the darkness of his eyes and briefly warmed the coolness of his expression. “I am not here to poke. I merely deliver.”

“Considering you’re here under orders from Hunter, I’m rather hesitant to ask what, exactly, you’re delivering.”

The amusement was more pronounced, but he merely reached inside his rather classy-looking black trench coat and withdrew a small leather folder. With some trepidation, I took it and opened it up.

It was a badge. According to it, I was now an official investigator for the high vampire council. Talk about the shit-hole getting deeper.

I blew out a breath that did little to ease the tide of tension and shoved my shiny new credentials into the back pocket of my jeans. “Is that it?”

“For now, yes.” He hesitated, his dark gaze flicking past me briefly. Then, more softly, he added, “Tread warily with Hunter on this one, Risa. She is ready to tear someone’s throat out over this loss, and you are already close to pushing her past the limit.”

I stared at him for a moment, then swallowed heavily. “Thanks for the warning.”

“You are most welcome.” A slight smile touched his lips, and just for a moment lent his austere features a surprising warmth. “I actually enjoy this duty. It makes a pleasant change from bloodshed, and you are certainly never boring.”

I half smiled. “You obviously haven’t been following me around for long enough, then.”

“Perhaps not.” He touched my shoulder lightly as he stepped past. “Be respectful. At least until this killer is caught.”

“I will.”

He nodded and walked away. I turned, watching him move through the crowd with ease, wondering how long he’d been a Cazador. He certainly wasn’t the cold-blooded killing machine I’d grown up believing them to be—not on the surface, anyway. Of course, neither was Uncle Quinn, and he’d been a Cazador for centuries.

But that, I knew, was a rare feat. Most either died on the job or were killed by the council after the endless killing sent them insane.

I headed back upstairs. Azriel still sat on the sofa, and I shook my head as I walked over to my desk to grab my coat, purse, and keys. “Don’t you ever get bored, sitting there doing nothing?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Who said I was doing nothing?”

I glanced around. “Well, that’s what it looks like from where I’m standing.”

“Well, perhaps you should stand a little closer.”

I grinned. “I keep trying. You keep pushing me away.”

He rose and plucked the jacket from my grip, holding it out for me. “I did not mean in the physical sense.”

I snorted softly as I shoved my arms into the sleeves. “Well, I can hardly get close to you mentally. The connection isn’t two-way, remember?”

“I was not talking about either physical or mental connections.”

I swung around, but he didn’t move his hands, and his fingers trailed across my skin. His touch was warm, electric, and stirred to life the unsatisfied embers of desire once more. “What other connection is there?”

He hesitated. “For you and I, perhaps no other.”

It was the “perhaps” portion of that statement that had me intrigued. “But reapers
do
have other choices?”

“Yes. It is the manner of our beings. This world of yours is filled with a vast array of energy harmonies, and it is a beautiful and wondrous thing to listen to.”

“And rather noisy, I would have thought.”

He smiled. “You learn to tune out the noisier melodies.”

I arched an eyebrow. “You don’t seem to have much luck tuning me out.”

“No, but then, you’re noisier than most. And more determined.” His gaze lingered on mine for several heartbeats and, just for a moment, those bright depths showed a hunger as fierce as anything I was feeling. But it was gone just as quickly. He released his light grip and stepped away. “You’re going to talk to the manager of Dark Soul now?”

I sighed in frustration, but there was little point in saying anything. He’d already stated that nothing would happen between us until I was stronger. “Yes. I’ll drive, though. I feel like getting some air for a change.”

He nodded. “I shall meet you there.”

With that, he disappeared, making me wonder if he’d come closer to the edge than I’d presumed.

He didn’t answer that particular thought, so I headed into the changing room, donned my leathers, then headed out to the secure underground parking lot where I kept my newly repaired Ducati.

Of course, she was no ordinary bike, but one of the first hydrogen-powered bikes to come onto the market. She was also the first thing I’d bought when RYT’s finally began making a profit. And while she was nowhere near as efficient or as powerful as the current generation of hydrogen-fueled bikes, she was still sleek and sharp and comfortable, and that was enough for me.

I stashed my purse in the under-seat storage, then shoved on the helmet and sat down. The leather seat wrapped around my butt like a glove, and I couldn’t help smiling as I fired her up. The vibration through the metal told me she’d come to life, although there was little other noise. Hydrogen bikes ran so silently that when they’d first become commercially viable, state laws had required manufacturers to add a fake engine noise device to warn people of their approach. I kicked up the stand and headed out. The night was cool and the streets relatively clear of traffic, enabling me to let loose. My grin just grew. Damn, I’d missed this.

Unfortunately, even though I’d taken the long way around, I reached Dark Soul far too soon. I reluctantly found parking up the road from it, then stored my helmet and walked back. Azriel appeared by my side as I neared the entrance.

“You should do that more often,” he said softly.

“Do what?” It was said absently as I eyed the building in front of us. Dark Soul matched its name. It might not be a vampire-only hangout, but with blacked-out windows and smoke drifting out through the gothic metal gates guarding the doorway, it certainly gave off a dangerous vibe. Or maybe that was merely the haunting, ethereal melodies drifting from the shadowed interior.

“Ride your bike. It makes your soul glow.”

I stopped abruptly and swung around to face him. “Damn it, Azriel, you’re going to have to stop doing that.”

Confusion briefly crossed his features. “Stop what?
Complimenting
you?”

“Yes.” I shoved my hands in my pockets and forced my feet onward again, feeling suddenly foolish.

He was beside me in an instant. “Why is this suddenly a problem?”

“Because,” I muttered. “It just makes me want you more.”

“Ah.” Amusement laced his tones. “I see.”

“No, I’m betting you don’t.”

“Then you would be wrong, Risa Jones.”

I glanced up, saw that flare in his eyes again, and my breath caught briefly in my throat. Because it
wasn’t
just need. Wasn’t just desire. It was far deeper—far scarier—than that. Something that should not—could not—be, if only because we were two very different beings from two very different worlds. We might have made a decision to pursue this thing between us, but he was not of my world and never could be. What I’d just seen could
not
be anything more than an echo of my own emotions. It was an illusion—one that would turn to ash and totally destroy me once all this was over.

But maybe it was already far too late to start worrying about
that
happening.

I swallowed heavily. “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time, would it?”

“No. And more than likely not the last.”

Sadly, a truer statement had never been made. The doorman opened the metal gates for us, and Azriel lightly cupped my elbow and guided me into the interior. It was, as the name suggested, a dark place, and it took a couple of seconds for my eyes to adjust. There was little noise in the room, even though it was full. Everyone’s attention seemed to be trained on the stage at the far end of the room, their expressions one of rapture as they listened to the dark-skinned woman who played a pan flute. The music was haunting and beautiful and definitely not something you’d hear on the radio. I wasn’t sure it was worthy of the rapture that seemed evident around us, but then, a pan flute, however nice the sound, wasn’t really my cup of coffee.

The room itself was thin and narrow. A metal bar lined the left-hand side, and the scents emanating from it suggested it wasn’t only booze being served, but synth blood. Maybe that was the reason behind the darkness—they didn’t want to scare the human patrons with the knowledge of what they were serving vampires. It certainly wasn’t illegal to serve synth blood, but it wasn’t often done in places that catered to all races. Humans, vamps, and blood—even if only synthetic stuff—sometimes
weren’t
a very good combination.

I made my way across to the bar. A small, thin vampire came up and gave me a pleasant smile. “What can I do for you?”

“I need to talk to the manager.”

He raised a pale eyebrow, his gaze briefly skating down my length. Or what he could see of it, anyway, given the bar stood between us. Energy spun through the air, teasing the outer edges of my mind. He was trying to read me telepathically, but he didn’t have a hope in hell, thanks to the superstrong nano microcells that had been inserted into my earlobe and heel. Nanowires—the predecessor of the microcells—were powered by body heat, but for the wires to be active, both ends had to be connected so that a circuit was formed. The microcells were also powered by body heat, but they were contradictory forces that didn’t need a physical connection. Once fully activated, the push-pull of their interaction provided a shield that was ten times stronger than any wire yet created.