[Draven's Crossing 1] Hidden Diversions (5 page)

The interview started, and Isy prepared to be shown some respect. That wasn’t to be. Halfway through, she knew that something was wrong. Her stomach threatened to rebel with each word he uttered. Her skin itched; sweat beaded along her brow. The longer she sat across from Ivan Evanson the more she wanted to claw off her skin. The smarmy bastard continued to talk about the new programs that he’d initiated since taking office. Every word was:
blah, blah, blah
in her ears. The foul stench of deception hung in the air between them. He shifted in his seat and her dragon latched onto that movement, puffing pale pink clouds of smoke from its nostrils, watching him with great interest. She couldn’t attack him, not physically anyway. She opened her mouth to counter his claims when movement caught her attention.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw her producer give her the wrap up signal.
Damn it.
She wanted to rip into his
accomplishments
, point out that he’d recently supported a move to strip unions of bargaining rights and limit healthcare for the elderly and poor; he’d also made a deal with local big businesses and corporations for bigger tax breaks while putting more of the burden on the mom and pop shops. Also, she wanted to bring up his support of the new programs dealing with rogue and violent shifters, and his odd stances on vampires and the paranormal community in general. Instead, she had to wait until next time. Gritting her teeth, she reined in her temper. With a smile, she thanked Evanson for his time and did the sign off. She hated every minute of it. Coffee or dinner with Torger couldn’t come soon enough. Whatever they did, sex would be the dessert, damn it. She’d make sure of it even if she had to drag him back home with her.

Be polite,
she admonished herself. “Thank you for your time, Representative Evanson. It’s been a pleasure.”
Lie!
Her dragon roared but she ignored the beast and focused on trying to get through the pleasantries. Soon she’d be able to escape to her dressing room and her phone.

“The pleasure is all
mine
, Isadora. I’m just happy you found some time on your show for me.” He gave her a genial smile.

Oh, look he’s actually being civil and acknowledging me, now that he got what he wanted.
She resisted the urge to ignore him and walk away.
Evanson forced his way into an interview and then gave me a list of things I couldn’t ask him about, like his recent trips to a well-known political backer’s retreat
. “Maybe next time we can make this a real interview.
With actual questions.”
She bit her lip and waited for the explosion from him, his posse and Bill.
Nothing.
Which only made her leery.

He chuckled. “Maybe, but then I wouldn’t be in control, would I?” His dark brown eyes glimmered with warning, and he turned on his heel and left without shaking her hand.

She didn’t mourn the loss. Instead, she turned and headed for her dressing room. Isy wanted to strip off the cotton candy pink dress and take a shower. She felt dirty after that encounter, as if just interacting with Evanson had smeared dirt and mud through her clothes.

“Isy!”
Bill, her producer hissed behind her. “You need to setup for the next interview.”

She didn’t bother to respond. Isy took off for her dressing room. And as for setting up, that was a bunch of bullshit. She was the only one doing research so thorough that she could tell the interviewee what they’d worn for their kindergarten class picture. “Later, Bill. Let me change first.”

She rushed to her dressing room, stripped off her clothes and headed into the bathroom. Bill would be furious but she needed time to herself. Once the door was shut behind her she leaned against the thick wood and blew out a sigh. Closing her eyes, she released the pent up negative energy in a plume of smoke that drifted around the small space. A roar built up in her throat. As much as she wanted to let it out, the sound would freak everyone out. Instead, she channeled the sound into heat. Her body temperature built, stacking like blocks. Sparks danced on her skin, as scales rippled along her flesh. Her hair grew longer as her fingers became thinner. Just as the change formed her tail and she could feel her body growing in bulk, she stopped the change and ordered a reversal.

The energy that it took to change and then reverse left her spent. All anger dissipated, the steady rhythm of her heart sounded in her head, drowning out her thoughts. The slow beat calmed her. Once she felt more like herself, more human, she dragged herself to the shower and stepped under the cool spray, not waiting for it to heat up. There was no need. Her body heat made up for the cold. Tilting up, she allowed the water to sluice over her head, washing away whatever it was that had attached itself to her during the interview. As her thoughts ordered themselves, she ruminated over the interview. Something was wrong with Evanson. Deep down in her gut, she felt there was a story there. Something about him was off and she refused to let go of it. The reporter instinct that had long since atrophied due to no new leads on the serial killer case came back alive, hungry for a story. The serial killer stalking the town went on the backburner. Until there was something to tell, this was where her mind would be. Besides, getting progress reports from Draven and Torger were hit and miss. The smallest details were repeated in the news, ad nauseam. She didn’t want to tell people the same old thing all the time. It wasn’t productive and didn’t push anything forward. Isy knew that the taciturn attitude of the administration was due to lack of information.

Each time she’d spoken to Torger, she could feel his frustration. She could understand it.
On the news end everyone was feeling the pressure from the citizens and even outside of their city for something, anything, a scrap to tide them over.
Good news or bad, they wanted it all. Isy was doing her best but it was like crawling around in the dark without a flashlight or a clue. She didn’t know where to look or what to say to make things better. Hanging her head, she let the water continue to rush over her. She knew that once she stepped out of the shower she’d be getting a talking to from Enrique, her hair stylist, and Desdemona, her makeup artist. She didn’t care. Isy needed to be cleansed and she didn’t have any incense with her, so she couldn’t smudge and a chakra cleansing meditation needed time and a place of peace and tranquility. The studio was not an oasis.
Could never be mistaken for one.

Scrubbing away the makeup and hair product she washed herself until she felt completely purified and got out of the shower. Drying off, her thoughts turned to Torger and the upcoming coffee date. Her body heated, and her dragon perked its head up. A tug began in her stomach as blood pooled in her groin. Liquid heat filled her pussy. Gritting her teeth, she fought against the small wave of desire trying to pull her under. Ignoring her attraction to Torger was the norm for her. It had to be due to their jobs. The Werewolf Alpha hadn’t acted on his attraction and at the moment she couldn’t do anything until their date. In the past, she thought she didn’t have time for romance. Most of her lovers had hated the fact that she was a reporter, especially her more high profile paramours. She didn’t think she could take it if Torger rebuffed her for fear of her profession but doubted that would be the reason. With a sigh, she wrapped a towel around herself and stepped into the dressing room area. Both Enrique and Desi were waiting for her. Her assistant, Michaela, gave her a small smile but looked distressed, as usual.

Oh, what is it now?
she
thought as she got dressed.

“Bill wants you in his office as soon as you’re done to do the commercials for your upcoming interviews about the
Ball,
and you’ve got a dozen messages and requests.” Michaela gazed at her with expectation in her eyes. “And then there’s the setup for the next interview. You still have to do that.”

Isy tried not to get stressed.
The Ball, ugh
.
She’d forgotten all about that. It was the one thing she didn’t want to cover. With a deep breath, she fired off the right answer rather than what was on her mind as she sat down in the chair. “Send the requests to my tablet. Which messages are the most important?” She knew the answer but needed to hear it. There would be no way she could claim that the emails were never sent. Michaela was nothing if not precise, organized and paranoid.

Michaela looked down at her clipboard. “Your mom called about the family dinner, again. Your agent said there was an offer for you to host a competition show on that new network for women, and the liaison from the Ball committee called with more details on the activities and the upgraded RSVP list. She also wants to know when the interviews will be conducted.”

Isy didn’t miss the
again
. She’d been avoiding her mother for the last two weeks. The woman was on a matchmaking tear trying to pair her up with every available dragon there was. She’d gotten so desperate she’d even suggested a few female dragons. Isy refused to play along. She didn’t want to give her mother the satisfaction of pairing her up with anyone. That would give her too much power. No matter how desperate her mother was for grandbabies, Isy would say no. “Tell her I’ll call her back, later, and make sure she understands how busy I am. Tell my agent to turn down the offer. I told him I wanted serious gigs, and I’ll look over the Ball stuff when I’m done here.”

Michaela nodded and scribbled everything down.
“Got it.
Anything you need me to do?”

Isy hesitated. She wanted to do a little digging on the Representative but didn’t trust that Michaela wouldn’t blab what she was doing. The young elf was still new to her job and got intimidated easily around people with clout.

“Order in dinner, I’m thinking pizza.
I’ll be working late tonight.” She decided that she’d do the digging herself. Anything she found she’d take to Torger but first, she needed some security. After Michaela left the room she reached for her phone and flipped through her speed dial trying to ignore Enrique and Desi hovering around her like hummingbirds trying to make her pretty.

She found the number she was looking for and hit dial. The call was answered on the first ring. “Better be good. It’s three in the morning and no I won’t suck you off or call you daddy or send a picture of my tits to you.”

“You are such a slut, Nads, and I have no
clue
how you would do any of that.” Isy chuckled.

“Isy, my girl, how are ya?” There was the sound of sheets moving. Nadia yawned over the phone and groaned. “Isy, do you happen to know who I slept with last night? There’s a cute naked guy next to me, and my head is beginning to hurt.”

“Okay, you really are a slut and no, I have no clue. I’m not there with you and seeing you screw someone is a bit too personal for me.” She shooed Desi away from her, trying to apply lip gloss to her mouth.

“Ha! I thought you were a voyeur. Maybe you like to show off a bit, eh? Eh? Anyway, enough slut talk, what’s up?” Isy heard Nadia sip something through a straw.

“I need your help. Can’t talk about it over the phone but how fast can you get to Vamp city?” Isy prayed Nadia wasn’t on a job.

“As soon as I take a shower.
Oh shit! There
are
two of ‘em. Good god, Paris is bad for my brain. I’m gonna get out of here. See you in a few hours.” Isy could hear the smile through the phone.

Her own lips were curled into a grin. She felt better about having Nadia with her. Torger would hate it though. Anytime Nadia was in town someone either tried to kill her or Isy or both of them. Either that or there was trouble not too far on Nadia’s heels.
Didn’t matter though.
She needed her friend’s special expertise and if something happened, so be it. She knew there was a story with Representative Evanson and she wouldn’t stop until she uncovered something, anything to wipe that smug look off of his face.

Later, once she’d gotten the itch scratched, she’d turn her attention toward Torger and how to turn coffee into dinner and from dinner into dessert of the sexual kind. She knew the attraction was there. He just needed a push. Okay, maybe not a push, more like a shove. Isy wouldn’t stop until Torger was hers, tied or handcuffed to her bed. Or maybe it would be the other way around. With a grin, she allowed Enrique and Desi to finish making her up. At least now she was camera ready and she was a little happier doing her job. If only she didn’t have to speak to Bill. She was still sure he was chaffing at her treatment of Evanson. It wouldn’t matter if Isy brought him some good dirt on the guy. And it may get her a partner in covering the Ball. More incentive to find out what Ivan Evanson was hiding.