Frost Burn (The Fire and Ice Series, Book 1) (12 page)

“Ok,” Chris agreed. “We’ll give you a week.”

“Thanks,” she muttered sarcastically.

“Anything for you,” Chris assured her as he draped his arm around her shoulders.

Quinn barely glanced at Julian when they stopped before her and her friends. Angie bit on her bottom lip; her admiring gaze raked him from head to toe. Julian instantly looked away from her when Quinn began to speak. “Angie says the four men who took off out of here earlier were heading to the Mitchum’s place.”

“Then we should get going,” Julian said.

“It’s at someone’s house, they might not let you in,” Angie interjected.

Julian flashed her a smile. “There’s nothing I can’t get into.”

Angie giggled, “I believe it.” Quinn’s nose wrinkled, her upper lip curled before she pressed her lips flat in disapproval. “Why are you looking for those guys anyway?”

“One of them stole Chris’s wallet during the fight,” Julian answered.

“That’s awful!” Angie gushed. “But you can always find them some other time, maybe tomorrow.”

“Need my license,” Chris said. “And credit cards.”

Angie’s face fell. “Oh yeah.” She turned to Quinn. “You finally come out and you’re going to leave already.” Her gaze scanned over him again; she gave a little shrug. “I guess I can see why.”

“It’s not like that Ang,” Quinn murmured. “I’m only trying to help out, and I know where the Mitchum’s place is.”

Angie’s head tilted to the side as she studied them all. “What happened to your friend from the other night?” she inquired.

Julian frowned questioningly as he turned toward Quinn. “Oh, Scully was just passing through town and could only stay for a couple of hours. We had a cup of coffee, and he went on his way.” Quinn’s words were flippant, but her eyes had hardened at the reminder of Scully. Stepping forward, Quinn gave Angie a hug. “We should get going.”

Before Angie could protest further, Quinn released her and hurried across the sand. “Have fun!” Angie called after them.

Quinn didn’t look back when she waved at her. “I’ll drive,” Julian offered when they got to the Jeep.

“Nope.”

Chris shot him a look; he made an odd gesturing motion with his hand as his eyes pleaded with Julian to try again. Julian smiled at him before sliding into the passenger seat. Melissa and Chris both hesitated before reluctantly climbing into the backseat again.

Quinn pulled up in front of the large house at the far edge of town, pulled the emergency break, and turned the Jeep off. Dim light shone from around the navy curtains covering the windows on the lower floor of the building. The front stucco façade was a deep orange in color and reflected the moon shining upon it.

Chris leaned forward in his seat and propped his elbow on the shoulder of her seat. “Nice place.”

“It was a movie theatre at one time, but it’s been remodeled since then,” she told him.

“Must be pretty interesting inside.”

“I imagine so.” Quinn could hear country music playing inside as she studied the building. It was a welcoming, mellow beat after the pulse of the strip club and the competing melodies at the bonfire. “I barely know the couple who owns this place. They come into Clint’s once in a while. They’re about ten years older than me, and I’m not sure how they’re going to feel about me walking in there,” she told them.

“They’ll get over it,” Julian said and slid out of the seat.

Quinn didn’t know how to respond to him, but then again, she never knew how to respond to half of what came out of his mouth. She watched him as he walked in front of the Jeep and stopped to study the large building. Her attention was drawn to the shadows next to the building as she spotted people moving amongst them. The couple was mostly hidden behind a large cactus. When she heard the sound of giggling and then a slurping kiss, she hastily looked away. She’d had enough of naked bodies and people groping each other for one night.

Grabbing the keys from the ignition, she jumped out of the Jeep. “Are we going to have to couple up in order to gain entry?” Julian asked her and looked pointedly at the keys in her hand.

The teasing glint in his eyes caused a strange flutter in the area of her deadened heart; she forced herself to scowl at him. “If you put your arm around me, I’ll break it.”

He leaned so close to her that she realized the white band encircling his pupils actually had inflections of pale turquoise within them. She tried not to lose herself to his striking eyes, the smile curving his luscious mouth, or the intoxicating pull of his power. “One of these days Quinn, you’re going to admit you like me.”

Her lips compressed into a flat line. She gave him a disapproving look, but she couldn’t deny the excitement sliding over her at having him standing so close. He rose back to his full height and turned toward the house. Chris and Melissa’s eyebrows were in their hairline when he stepped away from her.

She looked quickly away from the pointed glances Chris and Melissa swapped with one another. They may not be saying anything, but plenty of silent conversation was being exchanged between them. Moving past them, she followed Julian to the front door. He knocked on the door and stepped back when the sound of feet approaching from the other side could be heard. Quinn didn’t recognize the woman who opened the door, but it didn’t matter as the woman’s eyes found Julian and stayed there.

The three of them could have been wearing ninja costumes and waving katanas around, the woman still wouldn’t have spared them a glance. She tossed back her bleached blond hair and stuck a hip out in a seductive gesture. If she pushed her lips out any further, she would be giving Daffy Duck a run for his money, Quinn decided. The woman lifted a hand, wrapped it around the doorframe, and thrust out her ample breasts.

“Hello there,” she purred. Quinn tried to remain impassive, but she felt her eyes narrow upon the woman. Images of knocking those lips back into place and stopping the fluttering of those lashes filled her mind. She didn’t know how the woman opened her eyes with all the goop she’d coated onto those lashes. “Have you come to join the party?”

“We have.” Julian waved at the three of them when he spoke but the woman’s eyes still didn’t flicker in their direction. The sexy smile, and subtle lean in toward the woman that Julian gave her, caused her not to hesitate before stepping aside. She waved her hand in a welcoming gesture, it still wasn’t enough to grant them entrance. “Are you sure we’re welcome?” Julian prodded.

Smooth as grease,
she thought. She couldn’t help but admire his suave manipulation of the woman though.

Yep, she wouldn’t mind plucking every one of those lashes from the duck mouthed woman across from them as she leaned close enough to Julian to press her obviously fake boobs against his arm. “You’re welcome anywhere I am,” she purred and Quinn couldn’t stop the disgusted sound that escaped her as the woman stepped aside. “Come in.”

Julian slid gracefully past her, but Quinn’s movements were more measured. She stared at the woman who gave her as much attention as she would a speck of dust. Melissa and Chris followed her into the dimly lit, massive foyer of the home. Quinn could just barely make out the bones of what remained of the movie theatre in the two massive doorways across from them. She could picture holding her popcorn and drink as she made her way into one of those doorways to see the show. One of the doors had thick red drapes blocking it; the other had black drapes pulled back to allow people entrance.

On her right was a kitchen so large she felt the urge to cook for the first time in six years. Stainless steel appliances sparkled in the dim glow coming from the recessed lights. Shiny copper pots hung from a rack over the island in the center of the room. Nothing remained of it, but she assumed the kitchen had once been the concession area. To her left was a dining room with a table large enough to seat twelve people around it. The china cabinet behind it had at least a year’s worth of her pay tucked behind its glass doors. Maybe it had once been the ticket and entrance area of the theatre, or perhaps it had been some backroom for employees only, either way it was magnificent now.

“This way.” Duck lips wrapped her hands around Julian’s bicep and began to walk with him toward the room with the open drapes.

Quinn tried to focus on her surroundings, but she felt herself glaring daggers into the two backs in front of her. She really hoped this would be their last stop of the night so she could go home and bash the crap out of her punching bag. The idea of pretending the bag was Julian made her almost giddy with anticipation.

She tried not to think about what the feelings rolling around inside her might mean. She didn’t want him in her life and she wasn’t going to
let
him any further into it. However, she still wouldn’t mind kicking old Ducky in the ass.

Shock rippled through her when they stepped into the room. Across the way, the stage that had once held the movie screen had been turned into a dance space with wood floors. The bar behind the dance floor easily rivaled the size of the one at Clint’s. All of the movie seats had been ripped out and replaced with red couches and black chairs that were set up so they faced each other. The people lounging within those seats could talk to each other without having to raise their voices to be heard over the music.

The idea had never once crossed her mind before, but looking around she realized it was pretty freaking awesome to live in an old movie theatre! She found it difficult to keep her mouth closed as she tilted her head back to look into the space above her. Numerous speakers were set within the rafters; the music drifting from them wasn’t overwhelming or too loud. There were various movie posters hanging from the ceiling that had all been stitched out of cloth. They depicted classic movies with the newest one being Anthony Perkins’,
Psycho
.

“Impressive,” Chris murmured from beside her.

“Yeah,” she said and finally tore her attention away from the rafters. “I guess I should see if those men are here.”

Chris nodded and she stepped away from him. She refused to look at Julian and that woman again as she began to mingle with the crowd. The few people she knew greeted her, but most of the people within the room weren’t the type to spend much time at Clint’s. She searched for someone she recognized from the fight and finally spotted one of the men standing at the bar.

With ease, she weaved her way through the crowd toward the stage. The sound of the music was louder up here but still not overwhelming. She climbed the two steps and walked across the stage toward the stranger. Stepping beside him, she rested her hands on the bar and leaned forward to study the bottles lined up before the glass. The assortment of liquor lining the shelves would have made Clint jealous.

“Would you like me to make you something?” the man beside her offered.

“I’m having a tough time deciding,” she replied with a smile as she tried to recall his name.

He grinned at her. “I’ll make you something special.” He made his way around the bar and began to study the bottles on the shelves. “You work at Clint’s.”

“I do,” she answered though it hadn’t been a question.

“I was part of that fight last night.”

“Oh really?” she feigned. “It was all so crazy; I didn’t know what was going on.” Ugh, she kind of disliked
herself
right now. Weak, confused female wasn’t a role she played well. She hoped he’d been preoccupied enough he hadn’t seen her break the other guy’s nose.

He lifted his head to meet her gaze and smiled as he placed a bottle of rum on the bar. He may like fragile women, but at least he knew how to pick a drink. “It was a little hectic. You should have stayed out of it, but I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”

Her teeth clamped together; she forced a smile. “Me too.”

She leaned closer to him while he dropped some ice in the glass.
What am I doing?
She wondered. This wasn’t her; she wasn’t a flirt. She sure as hell didn’t pretend to be demure and weak, especially not around someone who could possibly be the next Jeffrey Dahmer. Then she heard the cackling laughter of Ducky and she knew immediately what she was doing. She was staying away from that shit show. If she was honest, she might admit she could be trying to make Julian jealous, but she found she much preferred to lie to herself right now.

The ice clinked against the side of the glass when he slid her drink toward her. “Thank you.” Her voice had stopped being flirty and airy though. She’d been many things over the years, but one thing she’d always prided herself on was being independent. She couldn’t deny that Julian affected her; she wouldn’t change herself for him though. Julian would be able to find out if this man was a killer just by touching him. Her leading him on would get them nowhere and only make her feel worse about herself.

She grabbed hold of the glass and swallowed the contents. The man’s eyes lit up as he took her glass to refill it. This was the most she’d ever drank. Thankfully her digestive system processed alcohol far faster as a vampire than it had when she’d been alive. She didn’t even have a buzz after all of the alcohol she’d consumed tonight. Which was a good thing because Clint would kick her ass if she crashed his Jeep, his baby.

He refilled her drink and pushed it toward her. Propping his elbows on the bar, he leaned toward her. “So,” he said, and before she knew what he intended, he ran his finger down the scar on her chin. “How did you get this?”

Quinn recoiled from him; memories flooded her mind. For one horrible minute, she was trapped in a place she’d spent the past six years trying to avoid. Closing her eyes did nothing to block out the blood splattering the room. It did nothing to shut out the image of the only woman who’d ever been a mother to her falling before her. The screams of the dying echoing in her ears drowned out the music filling the room.

A shudder ran through her. She forced herself to open her eyes and shake off the memories of the past as she strained to concentrate on the present. He’d thrown her off when he’d asked the question. Most people pretended not to see her scars, others stared openly at them, but in the six years since her face had been sliced open, no one had ever outright asked her about them. She didn’t know if she hated him for asking, or if she had a grudging admiration for having the balls to ask when no one else ever had.

She forced herself to shrug. “Accident.”

It had been far from an accident but she wasn’t about to tell him that. Her hand was steady when she picked up her drink. Instead of drinking it she placed it back on the bar.

“Car?” he asked.

“No,” she replied abruptly. “Thanks for the drink.”

He seized hold of her wrist when she went to turn away. Her first instinct was to zap his hand away from her, but she managed to suppress it. With the mood she was in, she might just cause him to fall into the bottles lining the glass shelves and attract far more attention to them than she was looking for right now.

“What’s the rush, honey?” he inquired.

“I’m not bear food, my name is Quinn. I have to get back to my friends.” She tugged on her wrist but he didn’t release it. Her teeth ground together. The cells in her body began to slide toward his; she could feel the crackling energy within them as they sought out his skin. “Let me go.”

The flood of her energy pooled against the palm of his hand. It would be so easy to pull the life force from him, to feed on it and absorb it. She was a vampire in every sense of the word, a drainer of life in every possible way, and the idea of taking it was so very enticing. No matter how tempted she was to give him a jolt he would never forget, it wasn’t enough of a reason to flirt with the lure of darkness that came with her ability. There would be so much pleasure if she ever gave in and allowed herself to wield her ability freely, but she could never let herself become one of the monsters she’d always despised. She would walk into the sunlight first.