The Guilty Innocent (3 page)

I walked over to his table, he was sitting with John Fallon, John was the night manager of
Desires Unleashed.
As I approached the booth, Darian smiled at me, flashing those sexy schoolboy dimples. He whispered something to John, who nodded then slid out of the booth, leaving Darian alone watching me as I approached. Darian rose to his feet when I reached his booth.

“Hi Darian.” I said, feeling like a gushing schoolgirl in his presence but I tried not to show it. Just looking at him sends tingles down my spine. His beautiful forest green eyes scanned over my body, taking in every inch of me, making me blush even more. I knew what those eyes were conveying to his brain. I knew what he wanted to do to me, because it was the same thing I wanted to do to him.
Control yourself Natasha.

“Hello Natasha, what brings you down to my club?” he asked his smile widening. “Here, have a seat,” he gestured to the open space next to him in the black leather-covered booth.

“I'm here for photo opts. I hear the governor is coming down to pump up some publicity. I guess he wants to get more support from the supernatural community. So why your club?” I ask, doing my best investigative reporter impersonation.

“Well, why not here?” he waved his hand around to gesture towards the grandeur of his club. “There's no better place to spark up publicity for him than
Desires Unleashed,
don't you agree?” he asked playfully.

I shrugged one shoulder. “I suppose so. Hey, have you seen Annette tonight? Did she work her morning shift?” I asked, trying to hide my anxiety.

He frowned, he seemed to be thinking and I did not like the expression on his face.

“No, I have not seen her tonight. John said she did not come in, he called your apartment but did not receive an answer. I was going to ask you if you knew anything about that? You know, a no-call, no-show is grounds for termination.” He said as he sat back in his seat, one arm resting on the back of the booth. Sometimes his cold attitude annoyed me, I reminded myself that I was working on lightening him up, no one said it would be easy. I told him once before, if he's going to be in my life, he's going to have to show some compassion, seriously.

“Darian, I could care less about your damn work policy right now! Annette did not come home last night and I'm worried about her!” I said, even I could hear the shakiness in my voice.

Darian realized just how upset I really was and he slid closer and took me into his embrace. His strong arms closed around me, bringing my body closer to his chest, his warmth. I felt my tears brimming. I would not cry, I will not cry, I cannot cry, to cry is to fear the worst, to forsake. I will not cry!

“Oh darling, I'm sorry.” He said as he kissed the top of my head softly, lightly brushing his hands over my hair.

I looked into his face, his eyes were full of warmth as he gazed down at me.

“Let me find out if she left with anyone last night, I'll be right back.” Darian said then he released me and disappeared into the sea of dancing people.

I sat in the booth, my hands trembling in my lap. I needed to calm down, I pulled out my cell phone to call home just to see if Annette might be there. The phone rang several times until the answering machine picked up. Okay, okay, now I'm really worried. I look up to see Darian returning, gliding across the floor moving like a phantom.

“I'm sorry, John did not see her leave with anyone. Did you check your apartment, she might be home,” he asked concerned.

“I just called, but got the voicemail.” I said, fighting back my tears.

Annette is like a sister to me, I did not like not knowing where she was, or if she was okay. There was a loud applause, interrupting my thoughts, and an array of flashing lights from media cameras filled the club. The Governor had just arrived and the media frenzy was on. I was supposed to take pictures, but I could not even lift the camera to my face. Darian did not move from his position, I knew why. He would not go to the governor, the governor must come to him. Being this close to Darian allowed me a great photo opportunity. I decided to take the pictures, hopefully, it would take the worry for Annette off my mind. Darian rose when the governor reached our booth. Governor Wallace smiled for the cameras as he held Darian's hand firmly in a masculine handshake. Darian stood there next to the governor, as dignified as any man I've ever seen. I took my photos of Governor Wallace and before I left, I asked Darian to contact me if he should hear from Annette. He promised that he would, then walked me to the exit, kissing my hand before we said our goodbyes.
So Charming.

At home, I walked around Annette's bedroom, fighting the urge to peek into her life. I had formed a connection with Annette even before I knew about my ability, but had avoided having visions of her. I felt it was an unnecessary invasion of privacy.
Besides, if the worst was happening, did I really want to see it?
I started to have a sinking feeling that something was horribly wrong. I called Warren, I knew that Annette had not been missing for forty-eight hours yet, but I really wanted to let Warren and Matthew know so that they could keep an eye out. Warren picked up his cell phone on the second ring.

“Hello Natasha. What's up?” he asked.

I supposed he recognized my telephone number. Shape-shifters must have excellent memories, then again, I may have an easy phone number for some people to remember.

“Hi Warren, look, I need your help. I'm really worried about Annette, she has not come home and I have not heard from her! Darian has not seen or heard from her either. This is not like Annette, can you keep an eye out for her?” I tried to keep my words clear and even, when I get nervous or excited, I have a tendency to speak very fast and my words come out incoherently.

“Sure, of course. Hey, when was the last time you saw Annette?” he asked concerned.

“Yesterday morning, we had breakfast together, then she went to
Desires Unleashed
to work she was also going to put in extra time. She's been saving up to get a car. That was the last time I saw her and I'm going out of my mind!” my voice was starting to tremble, this was not good.

“Look, I'll put out an APB for Annette, I'll also make some calls to the police department to see if they have heard anything. You just sit tight and try not to worry, okay?”

“Thanks a lot Warren, I really appreciate this.”

“No problem, let me get on that now. I'll call you to let you know the minute we hear anything. Take care of yourself, Natasha.”

“I will, Thanks a lot, Warren. I really appreciate it,” I repeated myself.

“Don't mention it.” He said calmly, then he hung up the phone.

After speaking with Warren, I called a few hospitals to see if Annette might be there. No such luck, not that ending up in a hospital is a good thing. I tried to keep my mind in the positive zone. Annette was a smart girl, I'm sure she could take care of herself... but just in case I laid down in my bed and struggled to go to sleep. In my dreams is the only time I see the visions. After what seemed like hours, I finally drifted off to sleep. Darkness fades away to rampant images. Using the techniques that Darian taught me, I had navigated through the visions I didn't want to see. I searched for the visions that might carry some information on Annette, I saw nothing. No sign of where she might be, who she might be with, all I saw was darkness. The darkness is never a good sign.

Chapter Three

Day 1

I woke up from a horrible night's sleep and ran to Annette's bedroom, still no sign of her. Okay, now it's time to throw caution to the wind, and panic. I called off work, no way in hell I'm going in today! When my supervisor picked up the telephone, I told her I had food poisoning. That seemed to pacify her, especially after I told her that I took the photographs of the governor's publicity party at
Desires Unleashed.
She told me to get some rest and 'drink plenty of ginger ale and eat crackers'. I thanked her for her concerns. Next, I called
Desires Unleashed,
I knew someone would be there at this time to clean and receive deliveries. The day operator picked up the telephone. Before the lady could go into the sultry phone greeting, I asked to speak with the person in charge. I was told to hold on, after a few minutes, a female voice came over the telephone.

“Hello, this is Angela, how may I help you?” the voice asked, the voice sounded like the female who held onto Annette's day position during the time she was in the hospital.

“Hi, I'm a friend of Annette Balfour, I wanted to know if Annette came in today, or have you seen or heard from her?”

“No, Miss Balfour has not come in yet. May I asked who's calling so that I could leave her a message when she does come in?” she asked. This was getting more and more grim and I did not like it.

“Yes, please tell her that Natasha called. I'll probably call back later. Thank you.” I said, then I hung up. I called Warren's cell phone. It was nine o'clock in the morning, I wondered if he would
be awake, probably not. Warren and Matthew worked all sorts of hours, they say 'crime never sleeps', and rarely do these two. The phone rang four times and a slightly groggy male voice answered.

“Hello!?” I recognized the voice of Warren's lover, Adrian, and he did not sound too thrilled that I had called so early in the morning. I hated doing it, but I could not wait.

“Hi Adrian, this is Natasha, I'm so sorry to wake you, but I really need to speak with Warren. Is it okay?” I asked politely. I could hear Adrian releasing a long sigh.

“Oh hey, Natasha, I should have known it was you. Who else would call so early in the morning? Yeah, one minute.” I could hear his voice in the distance as he awakened Warren.

“Hey Natasha,” Warren greeted me in a groggy voice.

“Hi Warren, I'm calling to find out if you've learned anything about Annette's disappearance?” I asked as I nervously twirled the spiral phone cord around my forefinger.

“I have not heard anything yet on Annette. I take it that she did not come home last night?” his voice was clearing up. I could tell he was trying to shake the sleep off.

Shit!
“No, she did not and I did not get any visions from her, either!” my voice was shaky, the words breaking up as I fought back my tears.

“Natasha, calm down, okay? We'll figure this out.” Warren voice was steady. I knew he was trying to project his calmness to me but I was too far gone for that. “What do you mean? You did not see her? Was there just darkness?” I could tell he was becoming more alert, he must have sat up in his bed.

“Yeah,” I responded. “Only darkness. Warren, you know what that can mean don't you!?”

“Yeah, I remember you telling me about that when you helped us with the Evanston case. That was the time when you lost contact with the victim for a day. Could it be possible that Annette is unconscious?” he asked, trying to check out all possibilities and the best way for us to act upon them.

“Quite possibly, can you help me look for her?” I asked, keeping hope alive. I figured because he is a shape-shifter, he might be able to get some sort of scent if we visited Annette's favorite hangouts.

“Sure, anything I can do. Just give me some time to get dressed and get over there. I'll see you soon, try to stay calm.” he said, we both hung up.

I took a shower, dressed quickly in a pair of blue jeans and green t-shirt, grabbed an apple and pear to eat then sat on the sofa to wait for Warren. I could feel my heart sink to my stomach as the minutes past. Finally, after an hour I heard the buzz of my intercom. I ran to the door, buzzing whomever it might be inside. I was so upset that I forgot to ask who was at the door, I hoped it was Warren. I listened for footsteps and heard none, but there was a knock on my door. I looked through the peephole and saw Warren standing there, eyes forward as if he were looking directly at me. I opened the door wide, allowing him to step inside.

He turned to face me. “How are you holding up, Natasha?” he asked as he gave me a hug.

I could feel the tears welling in my eyes but I held them in check. I hugged Warren with all my strength, trying to wrap myself around something or someone that gave me that feeling of protection.

“I'm so worried, I'm going out of my mind! I just want to get out there and look for Annette, come on, let's go!” I said as I released my hold on him, and grabbed my purse, coat and keys. We left the apartment and climbed into his car. I looked around, it was a nice sports car, he received it as a Christmas present from his Pack master and foster father, Xander. I supposed it suited Warren, he is a speed demon. I told him the directions of a few places I knew Annette liked to patronize. The first on our list was a place called
Devine’s
, a trendy little spa where one could go to get facials, mud baths, messages, body wraps and all sorts of other ways to pamper your body. Annette enjoys going there for full body messages, mainly because the masseuse was a hunk and British. When Warren and I arrived at the spa, the hostess greeted us at the door.