Scarlet Masquerade (7 page)

Making certain the seeker was gone, A.J. felt herself start to tingle as she followed Clarissa down the street. Clarissa’s long hair flowed in the soft breeze that was blowing and A.J. could smell her. She could smell her perfume, her shampoo and her — orgasm? A.J.’s body was starting to react again to the tension that was rolling off Clarissa. Stopping, she waited until Clarissa had crossed the street and walked further before she followed. A.J. watched, puzzled by the thought of Clarissa meeting someone in the garage for sex. Maybe Clarissa had changed since the last time they saw each other. The thought of Clarissa being straight played on A.J.’s mind again. Maybe she had been wrong about Clarissa all this time. She remembered the bar and Clarissa with the big, strong butch, with her demanding ways and Clarissa’s climax.

A.J. had changed, so it was reasonable to think Clarissa would change too. Gay to straight though was a big stretch for A.J. to accept, but stranger things had happened. The swing of Clarissa’s hip brought A.J. back to the moment. She watched Clarissa look around as if she was waiting for something to happen. Maybe she had felt A.J. when she was in the garage? Vampires were in tune to everything around them. It was survival or death if they didn’t pay attention. Darkness protected A.J. as she followed Clarissa, sitting on a bus bench every once in a while when Clarissa paused and looked back. If she wasn’t careful, Clarissa would see her and then what would she do? Picking up a stranded newspaper, she pulled it open and shielded herself from another gaze from Clarissa. A.J. had to make a choice, follow or go home. Either way, she would eventually have to stop when Clarissa got to her car. A few more blocks, A.J. told herself. What could it hurt?

Before she could get up to follow Clarissa further, her phone vibrated on her waist.

“Yeah,” A.J. said, looking down the block at Clarissa.

“Hey, where are you? I’ve been knocking on your door for ten minutes. I think I’m pissing the neighbors off,” Kevin said.

“I don’t have any neighbors, Kevin. What’s up?” A.J. stood and started walking down the street towards Clarissa.

“Well, I’ve got some more information on that De Marcus guy. But, you better be sitting for this one.”

A.J. watched Clarissa key the alarm on her car and get in.

“I’ll be home in about ten minutes. Wait for me,” A.J. said, closing the phone as she watched Clarissa drive away.

A.J. made the run back in exactly ten minutes. Walking past Kevin, she turned the handle on the door.

“Why didn’t you just go in?” she asked, walking to the refrigerator and grabbing a water bottle. “Want one?”

“No, I’m good. Thanks.”

“So, what have you got for me?” A.J. tossed her jacket over the back of the chair and flopped down in it.

“Well, it took a lot of digging and—”

“I knew you could handle it,” A.J. said, smiling at the frustrated man. He hated it when she interrupted him, but she did it anyway. “Go on.”

“Thanks. As I was saying, this person, De Marcus, doesn’t come up on anyone’s radar anywhere. So, I had a friend do some digging in France’s records and nothing, except a marriage license for a De Marcus and a Clarissa Dumonte. After that, nothing in France. So I had him check out the surrounding countries and bang, up pops De Marcus in England. He bought property in England and then promptly died about a year later.”

A.J. stroked her neck and thought about how she wouldn’t have the pleasure of killing De Marcus. Things were starting to make a little sense, but very little.

“How did he die and are you certain he died?”

“Well, the report is that he was screwing around in a loft and fell on a combine. It killed him instantly. The records are from the coven in England, not local police records. Those burned in a fire.”

“Something doesn’t sound right about this. I want you to keep looking for De Marcus, Kev.” A.J. squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to think about De Marcus alive. Was it possible? Could he have faked his own death to get away from everything? She wouldn’t be surprised if he did, but this put Clarissa in danger. If he was still alive, he would eventually come back for her. It was inevitable.

“Okay. Any particular place you want me to start looking?”

“Well, he was a doctor back then. It was all he knew, so let’s start there.”

“I’ll call London tomorrow and see what I can dig up.”

Looking over at Kevin, A.J. raised an eyebrow at his unintentional pun.

“Sorry, I meant find.” Kevin blushed realizing his mistake.

“Okay,” A.J. said, now stroking her forehead. “Something happened tonight to Clarissa. I want you to put someone on her, a protector. Make sure he’s trustworthy. I don’t want anything to happen to her.” A.J. was now worried someone or something had spooked Clarissa. Her behavior tonight was too out of the ordinary, not that she knew what that was anymore for Clarissa. It just didn’t seem normal.

“Why? Did something happen?”

“I don’t know, but she was acting weird when I saw her, like someone was after her.” A.J. wished she had paid more attention to what was going on around her, but she was so focused on the seeker that seeing Clarissa took her by surprise.

“I don’t know, Kev. I tangled with a seeker in the park this afternoon while I was on my run.” A.J. threw up her hands. “I’ll tell you later. Just put someone you trust on Clarissa and make sure I get a report twice a day. Sooner, if something happens. He has ‘shoot to kill’ orders if anyone tries anything. Got it?” A.J. stared at Kevin and gave him her business face.

“Hmm, A.J. That might be a problem.”

“A problem? For you, Kevin?” The menace in A.J.’s voice wasn’t disguised as she quizzed Kevin. “What kind of problem, Kev?”

“Yeah, well, there are only two people available right now. Brax and Selene.”

The silence was deafening as Kevin waited for A.J.’s response. A.J. and Selene had history together, and it was a history that couldn’t be rewritten, even if she wanted to. And she didn’t want to. Beautiful, sexy, and dangerous were all words used to describe Selene, but so where deadly, vicious and vindictive. A.J. had seen both sides of the beautiful assassin in her former life. In fact, she had loved the danger Selene had brought with her. But Selene had changed after losing her lover decades before and now she walked through the night like a thief, stealing what wasn’t given freely and killing what pissed her off. She had to keep Selene away from someone as innocent as Clarissa. Clarissa would be no match for the gorgeous assassin and A.J. didn’t want to resurrect that part of her life, either, no matter how enticing it was before.

“A.J.?”

“I’m here. Shit. How reliable is Brax?”

“On a scale of one to ten, I’d say he’s a seven or eight. But Selene is the best, A.J. and if you want the best you go with her. She’s trained in this kind of stuff and she doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty.”

“Yeah, I remember. I can’t believe I’ve kept her on the payroll.”

“Look, she doesn’t know who hires her. She just works.”

“Go with Brax.”

“You sure?”

“Kev….”

“Okay, whatever you say, boss. Anything else?” Kevin asked, taking out his phone.

“Yeah, I want you to find out what Clarissa likes, what she’s involved with, and if she’s seeing anyone.” A.J. stood and stretched. “Get it to me by tomorrow.”

“Geez.”

“Is that a problem?” A.J. asked, her tone suddenly menacing.

“Nope, it’s all good.”

“Good. Shut the door on your way out.” A.J. started for her bedroom. “And Kevin—”

“Yeah.”

“No screw-ups like last time.” A.J. had trusted Kevin to protect a client. Instead, the client mysteriously died in her limo waiting for her, while the protector was nowhere to be found, leaving A.J. with a lot of explaining to do when the police arrived. “Has he been found, by the way?”

“No, not yet. Look, how was I supposed to know that—?”

Before Kevin could finish, A.J. had her hand around his neck choking him. Her eyes blood red and her fangs exposed.

“You always know, period,” she said, dropping him to his feet. “That’s what I pay you for. There are no more second chances, Kevin. Not this time, got it?”

A.J. left Kevin standing in the front room rubbing his throat as she slammed her bedroom door behind her. If Kevin screwed this up, he would regret the day they met, A.J. vowed to herself.

She grabbed a towel and made her way to the bathroom. A hot bath sounded good right about now, and she needed to think about everything that had happened. She felt like she was losing focus and that was the one thing she couldn’t afford to lose. Not now. Just like she had told Kevin, A.J. knew there were no second chances for her, either. Maybe it was time to start setting up a new life. Things were getting complicated.

Clarissa watched as the gate closed behind her. She took a deep breath and parked her BMW in the garage, putting the garage door down. She rested her head against the head rest and thought about what had happened in the parking garage. Something wasn’t right. She had been here for years and never once did she run into another vampire. Now, she had felt them two nights in a row and it left her unsettled. Tonight though, she hadn’t just felt one, she had responded to one. She had a sexual encounter without her consent, and it left her uneasy and scared.

Winter break is just around the corner
, she told herself. The free time would do her some good. She could stay home cooped up in her house, or she could go somewhere cozy and get away from it all. Pulling her briefcase and her books out, she went inside and dumped them on the bench in the mud porch. Nefertiti slid against her legs and purred.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite mouser,” she said, reaching down and picking up the cat. Looking around the house for any “gifts” Nefertiti might have left her, she asked, “So what did you do all day? Huh?” She stroked the cat as she went to the bathroom and started a bath.

“I think I need a glass of wine and a nice long bath, Nef. What do you think?” she asked, placing the cat on her bed. The ringing of the phone made Clarissa jump. “I think I need that glass of wine more than I realized,” she said, reaching for the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey kid, are you all right? I was worried about you.”

“Carol,” Clarissa said, with a sigh. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You don’t sound fine. Why’d you take off? I could have given you a ride back to campus, silly.”

Clarissa wished she could confide in Carol. She needed someone to talk to, but she just couldn’t risk it. She would have to call Marge later and tell her everything. Marge had been her only friend when she left Paris with De Marcus and landed in England. She had befriended Clarissa and for that she would always be grateful. Marge had also helped Clarissa navigate between the human world and the vampire world after De Marcus’s death. Hopefully, she would have some advice for Clarissa.

“No, you needed to get home and do your grading, remember?” she said, trying to sound upbeat. “Besides, I needed to walk off that dinner. I’m not getting any younger, you know.”

“Right, you’re practically rail thin, and you’re worried about your weight. Why don’t you let me give you a few pounds? Besides, you look like you need a cookie or two, Honey.” Clarissa was always surprised when Carol referred to herself as fat. Gone were the good old days when women were nice and voluptuous. Actually, Clarissa reminded herself, those days were a century ago; when being fat was considered a sign of wealth.

“Hey, are you still there? Are you sure you’re all right? I can come over and talk if you want.”

Clarissa was tempted by Carol’s offer, but she just would be lying to her if she came over and they talked.

“Yeah, I’m good. Really. I’m pouring a bath and getting ready to have a glass of wine to relax. How about I call you tomorrow when I get up, assuming you’re not otherwise engaged.”

“Alright, but are you sure you don’t want me to come over for some girl talk?”

“Nope, I’m good. I need to check the bath, so I’ll call you tomorrow. ’Night.” With that, she hung the phone up and sighed. Why did it have to be so difficult being different?

Putting her merlot on the side of the tub, she stripped off her clothes and flung them at Nefertiti, only her tail swishing about. Clarissa slid into the lavender scented bath and sunk up to her neck.

“Hey, Nef, wanna join me?” she asked of the inquisitive cat who now sat on the toilet seat. “Water’s fine, jump in.” Tossing a splash of water toward the cat made her instantly disappear.

She rubbed a kink out of her neck and then laid back against the tub, closing her eyes.

“Pardon, Mademoiselle,” said a sultry voice. “I think you are waiting for someone, no?”

She looked up at the woman whose voice was responsible for the goose bumps popping up all over her body. Shielding her eyes, she could barely make out the woman.

“Madam Locke?” she said standing.

“Oh, you are cold. Should I ask the waiter for a table inside?”

“No, no, I’m fine. A slight breeze must have caused them.” Clarissa looked down at her arms and wondered what else Madam Locke could see. Perhaps her hardened nipples pressing against her bodice?

“Please, why must you stand? I am no one special. Didn’t we have this conversation the other night at dinner?” Alexandra asked, sitting across from the beautiful woman.

“Of course. My apologies,” Clarissa said, dropping her head submissively.

“Oh my dear, you really need to get a backbone,” Alexandra chuckled. “Or you will be the object of affection of every eligible man, and some not so eligible men, in the city.

“Excuse me?” Clarissa sat pondering Alexandra’s statement.

“My dear Mademoiselle, men love submissive women. It allows them to train you to their liking.” Alexandra motioned for the waiter. “Besides, you are not ready for marriage are you?”

“Excuse me?” Once again, Clarissa was on the receiving end of yet another question by this seductively, sexy woman.