Her Vampire Mate (2 page)

Chapter 2

Poisoning someone in a restaurant could get tricky. The problem wasn’t the poison itself—there were plenty of poisons that could be delivered in food or drink and a variety of responses from immediate and violent to sedate and hours later. The problem was how to get the poison into the mark’s food without anyone seeing and also without the mark getting suspicious.

Antonio de Marco had spent a lot of time deciding how to kill this one. On the one hand, the man needed to suffer—both as part of his payback and also as a warning to others. On the other hand, Antonio wanted him to know who had killed him.

At length, he’d figured out a basic plan but the delivery was the problem. If Scott Warner so much as spotted Antonio in the building, he’d be on guard.

And so it came to this. Nicely disguised with a wavy-haired wig, fake mustache and glasses—looking nothing like himself, but still looking suave—Antonio sidled up to a beautiful blond at the restaurant’s bar. She had a short stature with soft, delicate curves and sweet-looking eyes. He gave her his most persuasive smile and his best American accent. “I wonder if you could do me a favor.”

“That’s an interesting pick-up line,” she said.

He laughed. No way could he bed her, especially after Warner died, but he’d play along if it got him what he needed. “I’m trying a new one. How’s it working?”

She turned toward him, leaning her elbow against the bar. “Let’s hear what your favor is first.”

Antonio moved an inch closer to her to promote a feeling of intimacy. “See the guy sitting at the booth along the wall? He’s the only one sitting alone.” Antonio didn’t turn around.

“I see him.”

“We’re old friends and we’re always playing jokes on one another.” He leaned forward even further. “One time, we were on a trip to Borneo and he put this huge snake in my bed.” He held his arms out to show how big the fictional snake was. “I freaked. It wasn’t until
after
I’d run screaming that he told me it wasn’t poisonous.” He shook his head. “Asshole. Anyway, I just wanted to play a little joke on him. I’ll buy him a drink and the waitress can take it over but she’ll tell him it’s from you. But when he comes over to you, act like you don’t know what he’s talking about.”

Her eyebrows rose. “That’s your practical joke?”

Antonio shrugged. “It’s the best I could come up with on short notice.” And she was right, it wasn’t funny at all, but as long as it got the job done he didn’t care. “So what do you say? Want to help me out?”

Her eyes found Warner and she shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

Antonio touched her arm for a second. “Thank you. I’m in your debt. Really.”

When she smiled, he noticed she had a dimple in one cheek. Charming. Too bad he could never see her again; he’d love to unwrap her.

He leaned closer to the lovely blonde. “Order him a martini. I’ll pay.”

She waved over the bartender and placed the order and her request. Antonio surreptitiously pulled out some cash using only the tips of his nails—slightly risky but he could hardly wear gloves—and slid it onto the bar when the bartender wasn’t looking. Then he reached into his pocket and palmed a tiny vial containing his favorite poison, a concoction of his own he called Black Veil, so named because it invariably caused a man’s widow to wear a black veil. One of the key ingredients was epinephrine but he’d never divulge the entire recipe.

Antonio thought he might have to work to get the poison into the drink but the bartender put it on the bar in front of them and motioned to the waitress. It all happened very quickly after that—the bartender turned to respond to another customer, the waitress paused at a table and Antonio said, “Is he looking at us?” With the blonde focused on Warner, Antonio held his hand over the drink and quickly poured the vial of Black Veil into it then retracted his hand smoothly, brushing his finger against the blonde’s cheek as though that had been his intent all along.

He squeezed the woman’s arm one more time. “I’m going to make myself scarce so he won’t see me.”

She slid her hand over his. “I’ll see you again.”

“Of course, beautiful. You think I’d pass up a gorgeous woman like you?” He smiled charmingly then slipped away to the side hall leading to the bathrooms. He could see both Warner and the blonde but neither one could see him.

Everything played out exactly the way he’d envisioned it. The waitress took the drink to the mark, who took a sip while eyeing the blonde. For her part, the woman ignored Warner.

Antonio really didn’t care whether Warner talked to the blonde or not—he only cared about Warner drinking enough of the martini to get a good dose of poison.

After another long sip, Warner approached the woman, who played her role expertly. After she’d rebuffed him, Warner went back to his table but didn’t drink any more. He was probably suspicious, as well he should be.

No matter. He’d taken a long enough drink. Even now, he rubbed his chest as though feeling some discomfort.

Antonio made his way to Warner’s table. He didn’t sit down; he just paused at the end, his hands shoved into his pockets to avoid accidentally leaving any prints. “Warner.”

Warner looked up at him. “Yes?”

“You knew the rules. No insurance work.” Antonio might be an assassin but he had standards and he made sure all of his clients knew them. No women, no children, and no innocent men being knocked off for someone else’s convenience. But Warner had purposely led him to believe his last mark was abusing his wife, when really his wife had hired an assassin to kill her husband in order to get his hefty insurance payout. Antonio hadn’t found out until after the mark had already expired.

“Don’t be an ass. In your line of business, you can’t afford to be choosy.” He coughed.

“On the contrary, in our line of business, you can’t afford to cross anyone. Chest feeling a bit tight?”

Warner coughed again and then his eyes grew wide. “What did you do?” His voice sounded dry and soft like he had laryngitis.

“A little warning to anyone who thinks they know better than me how I should run my business.” Antonio leaned closer. “Don’t bother calling out for help. In another minute you won’t be able to speak. Two minutes and you’ll have a massive heart attack.” He straightened. “I’ll make sure everyone knows what you did to deserve it.”

Warner clutched his chest. Antonio turned, ducking his head, and headed for the front door. He probably shouldn’t have spoken to Warner and risk being seen but he couldn’t help it. The rage he’d felt at being double-crossed could only be assuaged by seeing the fear in Warner’s eyes.

Just before he left the dining room, Antonio looked back. Warner reached toward him then fell sideways, toppling out of his booth onto the floor. As people gasped and at least one person ran to help, Antonio slipped through the foyer, out the door and onto the street.

Next up, he had a special job to do for the Council. As the demand for poisoners had lessened over the centuries, he’d branched out into other areas. He had gotten rather good at detective work, particularly finding people who didn’t want to be found. This job had the added benefit that the Council had practically begged him to do it. All he had to do was find one world-walker and get a nice payout. Easy money.

***

Jennalynn hung out near Phillip Kent’s apartment for the entire day. For a while, she sat in the slightly dirty coffee shop across the street where she could keep an eye on his place through the smudged windows. When she’d worn out her welcome there, she hunkered down in her rental car and tried to look inconspicuous. But seriously—how did one look inconspicuous when sitting in a car for hours on end, staring at a door and trying not to fall asleep?

The rental reeked. Jennalynn had never understood how people could fawn over that “new car smell.” To her it smelled like toxic chemicals which she imagined seeping into her lungs and killing her slowly. She opened the windows to get some fresh air.

Many people came and went from Kent’s building but none of them was Kent and not once did she see any movement or light or other signs of life coming from the two windows she’d identified as his apartment. Not that it was easy to tell with the thick layer of dust and dirt covering the glass. Would it kill him to wash his windows once in a while?

Darkness fell. At some point, she’d go in and check the place out but she would rather find Kent himself. And maybe he’d been away at work; maybe he’d show up now.

She dug into her backpack to get a protein bar. Not much of a dinner but she could get food later. As she bit into the nutty goodness, a man in black jeans, a leather jacket and biker boots approached the door. She hadn’t seen him pull up, so he must have parked around the corner. With multiple empty spots in front of the building, that raised a flag.

Jennalynn leaned forward and watched the man open the building’s door and disappear inside. She might be on the job but she couldn’t help noticing how nicely he filled out his jeans. Looking was all she did these days, so it was good to see some eye candy once in a while.

She was still picturing the man’s tight buns when she saw movement behind the brown windows of Kent’s apartment. She hadn’t seen Kent enter. So who exactly was in there?

And how would they feel about a werewolf joining them?

In less than a minute, Jennalynn had made it all the way across the street and up to the landing outside Kent’s door. It was closed, so she paused for a moment and listened. For a few seconds, she heard nothing. Then she heard a small squeak that sounded like a door opening and after that, the shuffle of a foot against an uncarpeted floor. It paid to be a werewolf with super-hearing.

Should she go for stealth or barge in? What were the chances she could even open the door without it making a racket? Barging in it was.

Jennalynn turned the door handle and pushed the door open, producing a lot less noise than she’d expected. When she stepped into the room, Mr. Tight Buns turned toward her. A lock of his dark brown hair had fallen out of the small queue at the back of his neck and down onto his forehead. His chocolatey eyes met hers as he straightened.

She kept her eyes on him but couldn’t miss that the room was empty. Completely empty—no furniture, no nothing. “What are you doing in Phillip’s apartment?” Might as well pretend to be an indignant friend of the missing Phillip Kent. Maybe he could explain why Kent’s stuff was gone.

“I could ask you the same thing, angel.”

His voice caressed her at the same time his scent reached her. It told her several things about him but most became buried by the rush of emotion and sensation that swept over her. She could never have imagined being turned to molten lava by a smell and a handful of words. This could only mean one thing. She’d found her mate.

Worse, her mate was a fucking vampire.

***

When the woman moved, Antonio knew instantly she was a werewolf. There was something about their lithe bodies, the way their muscles moved. He’d never been able to put his finger on it, but he’d never been wrong, either.

As a rule, he didn’t like werewolves. At the same time, there was something extremely sexy about her. There shouldn’t have been. He liked long hair and while her chestnut hair was long, it was pulled back from her face and fell in a braid down her back, masking its beauty. And while he preferred curves, she looked more muscled than lush. He preferred sweet, demur women like the blonde in the restaurant. This woman looked like she’d have a good shot at taking him in a fight.

Not that it mattered. When it came down to it, he loved women. Surely he could find something to love about this one.

After he finished perusing her body, he took another look at her face. Her bright blue eyes were wide, her full lips slightly open.

“Surprised to see me?” he said.

She cleared her throat. “What are you doing in Phillip’s home?”

“Sticking with that tune? I can tell you’re a werewolf. What is it you’re doing in Phillip’s home?” His tone twisted on the man’s name.

After licking her lips, she said, “Who are you?”

What was up with her? She looked positively shell-shocked. “You can hardly expect me to answer.”

“Fine. Vamp. Don’t answer.” She spun on her heel and left the apartment.

Chapter 3

He might not know for sure but it was a good bet she was looking for the world-walker. His council contact hadn’t said anything but Antonio knew the vamps and the wolves were in sort of a cold war and it wasn’t much of a leap to figure the wolves would want a world-walker just as badly as the vamps did.

So he’d better follow her. He quickly left the apartment, closing the door behind him, and sped to catch up with her. By the time he reached her, she was standing in front of a downstairs apartment knocking on the door. The look she gave him could have wilted concrete.

Oddly enough, he found he liked her strong spirit. He leaned against the far wall while they waited for someone to answer the door. It gave him a good view of her butt, which was damn fine.

“I know you’ll be able to hear everything from over there,” she whispered. “Just join me.”