Blood and Destiny (7 page)

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between them.

“I don’t want to settle down, Yasmine. We’ve been over this a thousand times. Just because you’re happily setting up house with the local pack doesn’t mean I need to find myself a pride and prostrate myself before the King Rex.”

“Fine. You still need a date for the wedding on Saturday. He’s come a long way to meet you, so at least give him that.”

“Funny, he got a glowing report and I got blindsided. Whose side are you on?”

“Mine.”

I pulled up short and turned to stare at her framed in the doorway. Her linen dress was immaculate and worth more than my car, though that didn’t say much. She had come a long way from the urchin at St. George’s. With a start, I realized I’d put enough distance between us so that we were barely friends. The only thing keeping us together was her dogged determination not to leave me behind.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what, Destiny? You’ve not done anything.” Her tone was so carefully neutral that I knew I’d hit the nail on the head. I tried to explain, wanting nothing more than to make things right between us.

“I’ve not been a good friend to you. When was the last time we had Saturday breakfast and gossiped over our week?”

“Since before I moved in with Kale. I’ve missed that. I’ve missed you. I know it was wrong to spring Luke on you, but I had this misguided idea that if we could get back on the same level in our lives, we’d be as close as we used to be.”

Yasmine had always been the one constant in my life. Shame replaced my temper. I pulled the drapes aside to see the lion leaning against the hood of the black sedan. Without the sun behind him, I could see him clearly. His cotton shirt stretched across broad, muscled shoulders. He was taller than my usual preference, but it made me wonder what kind of lion he could make. Size displacement can be a daunting prospect in relation to a shapeshifter.

“I have to admit,” I said conversationally, “he is nice to look at. I could do worse for my wedding escort. No promises, but I’ll give him a chance to be nice to me.”

I knew better than to promise to be nice to him.

“That’s more than I’d hoped.” The relief was plain in her voice.

Yep, she knew me better than I knew myself sometimes. I let the drapes fall back against the window and we shared a smile.

“Okay, it’s trendy for the bride to be late, but we’re pushing it beyond what’s polite because of my issues. Let’s get this show on the road and take your lion for a spin.”

She opened the door and stepped through it, leaving me to follow. Setting the alarm and locking the door took a moment, but I dragged it out a few extra seconds to compose myself. Usually when I ran away from a man, I didn’t have to face him again five minutes later.

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When I closed the door behind me, I put on my brightest smile and crossed the sidewalk to join them. Was it me or did he straighten a little bit taller when he turned to me?

I was very glad Yasmine had my number as far as my ideal male stereotype, even if he was probably the only lion in the jumbled assortment of Kale’s associates.

Rich brown eyes started at my toes and swept back to my face. Ordinarily, that would have offended me except it made sense this time. He’d already seen my face close enough to kiss so why shouldn’t he check out the rest of me?

He crossed that final step with his hand out and his smile showed the flash of a dimple.

“Hi. Yas tells me I was a bit of a shock. Sorry about that. I didn’t realize we were blind dating. I’m Luke.”

“Is that what we’re doing?”

I offered him my hand even though it was a little bit ridiculous. It felt small and dainty in his. I lifted my gaze from our joined hands back up to his. The earnestness and interest there was a balm to that feminine core of me.

“God, I hope so.”

The fervor in his mutter made laughter boil out of me. I tried to remember when the last time I’d been shocked to laughter.

“Make a deal with you.” I leaned closer to whisper even though Yasmine’s ears were more than keen enough to hear me. “I’ll go along with the blind-dating element of the weekend if you promise to be on your absolute best behavior.”

His mouth twisted up into that dimpled smile again. His hand closed lightly around mine as he lowered his own face closer to my ear to meet my whisper with one of his own.

“Absolute best?” I nodded, and he chuckled low and full of promise. “I think I can handle that.”

We stood like that, drawing in the scent of one another, until Yasmine broke it up with a quick reminder that we were going to be late. Luke dropped my hand and stepped back to the car, making a show of gallantly opening the door to the backseat.

“Since Yas tells me she doesn’t know how to drive, I’ll be your chauffeur for the afternoon. Hop in and let’s be off to navigate this crazy place you gals call home.”

We both laughed as I slid in first, followed by Yasmine. She gave an excited little bounce and a poke to my thigh when he closed the door and hurried around to the driver’s seat. All I could do was shake my head and smile at her enthusiasm. This week was her week to shine. If she wanted to imagine herself matchmaker extraordinaire, I’d play along. At least I’d get the chance to observe a lion in action. How much action remained to be seen.

By the time we reached Daffodil’s, I’d found out three things of interest. First, I should have driven because I was obviously the only one in the car qualified to get us there in one piece. The fact Luke didn’t crash the car was stupid blind luck. Second, in the process of not crashing the car, Luke had displayed quite a colorful language variety. Third, language notwithstanding, nothing seemed to ruffle his good humor. When he opened the door and offered me a hand out onto the sidewalk, he was smiling as if we’d taken a Sunday drive.

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“Now, if you ladies need anything, I’ll be in the bar.”

“Driving under the influence is still a crime, Luke.” My jibe was met with a widening of his smile and a shrug.

“I’ll stick with unleaded drinks, then. I wouldn’t want anything to dull my hunting instincts, after all.”

I narrowed my eyes, trying to decide if he was serious or not before tossing my nose in the air and stalking after Yasmine who was already three steps ahead of me. And if I put an extra sway in my walk, it was the unfamiliar height in the heels. Honest.

The appetizers and small talk were made bearable by frequent flirting between the table and the bar. It passed the time, anyway. His attention was a heady thing considering the looks he was getting from the women scattered around the restaurant. His eyes would pass over the room and come back to our group. It might have been egotistical to assume he was watching me, but it made me feel better about being stuck in the middle of snide and snippy werewolves.

Kale’s sisters weren’t bad, but the rest of them seemed to be at their most obnoxious. Of course, it could have been because the wedding was days away and time was running out to scare Yasmine off. I nearly told them how futile the effort was but didn’t want to make things worse. So I sat back and smiled pleasantly since I couldn’t trust my mouth to listen to the better judgment my brain was handing out.

When the waiter brought our meals, mine came with a very large, very fruity drink that reeked of rum, compliments of the man at the bar the waiter was quick to assure me.

I nearly sent it back on principle, but I needed the fortitude. Raising it in a toast, I took a long drink, relishing the burn of the rum down my throat. Yasmine turned to look over her shoulder to see what was going on since I’d taken the one seat left that faced the bar.

Her smug grin made me wish I’d been more discreet. One by one, my fellow bridesmaids made their excuses and left until only Yasmine, her soon-to-be sister-in-laws and I remained. The looks they exchanged set off every bell in my body. As a unit, they stood. Yasmine turned on the thousand-watt smile that had gotten her out of more trouble than I could count.

“Luke will be happy to drive you home. It’s his rental car we came in. We’ve got to zip back to Kale’s mother’s house for some last-minute arrangements for some unexpected guests.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I couldn’t hide the dismay in my tone. “I can take a cab. He can go with you.”

“You’re nuts if you think I’m getting back in the car with him days before my wedding. Absolutely not. He’s all yours.”

She had the gall to wink at me as she whirled on her heels and strolled away with the two very happy werewolves flanking her. I vowed to find a suitable payback method someday. A quick glance toward the bar found my gift lion with his back to the dining room. I hesitated a moment, rose, grabbed my purse and beat a strategic retreat. Cabs might be too plebian for Marcus, but they suited me just fine.

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Letting myself into the office, I was glad I’d skipped out on Yasmine’s artful matchmaking attempt. The stench of vampire had been replaced by the soft smell of mint. The cleaners had come and gone. Obviously, Marcus had another key stashed. I let myself into the office only to stop dead in my tracks. A vase of sterling roses, my favorite, decorated the center of my desk blotter. A small gift-wrapped box sat beside it.

Cursing the flutter around my heart, I hurried across the room to pull the card from the flowers.

The card read,Judgment and Good Intentions often conflict. I hope this token makes it right .

Rolling my eyes, I dropped the card and picked up the box. Pulling it open, I grinned as I picked out a tiny cell phone. Who needed the confession of a suicidal vampire when someone has a line to the person who pays the bills? Flipping it open, my guess was confirmed. The address book had a variety of interesting entries, but I stopped at the one I needed. Jotting it down, I hurried behind my desk and called my favorite hacker.

Milo of no last name was one of those geeks who loved to find things out for kicks. The phone rang six times before he answered.

“If you’re a telemarketer, I can find you.”

“Well, I’m not. It’s Destiny, Milo. Are you up for areal challenge?”

“Oh, my favorite lady. Whatcha got for me?”

“A number…mobile. I need to know what numbers have come in and out with any regularity, who pays the account, and an address. Think you can do that for me?”

I held my breath, hoping he couldn’t tell how badly I needed the information. Milo was the best and he generally cut me a break on prices. If he knew how much I needed this, he might decide now was the time to get greedy.

“Is it still active?”

“Maybe.”

“Destiny, you always give me the most fun. What’s the number?”

I gave it to him and found myself talking to the dial tone. Hanging up the phone with a smile, I shook my head as I stood to move the roses to the credenza against the wall so I could see them.

Marcus was going to have to get used to the word no, but I’d take the tokens anyway.

The door opened behind me while I was pulling the plastic stick holding the tag from the flowers.

“Destiny St. George?”

“Yes?”

I turned and blinked. The vampire standing in my foyer surveyed me like a cat would its prey. He was old. So old the only flesh showing to the world was his face. A fedora covered his head and shaded most of his face while a very expensive trench coat belted about his middle. He wore equally expensive driving gloves to cover his hands. A pair of sunglasses hung casually from his right hand.

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There was something familiar about his angled features, but I couldn’t place them. I put on my best professional smile even as I slipped the card from the flowers into the tiny pocket of my dress.

We stared at each other for a moment before he smiled and nodded as if reaching a conclusion to a debate I knew nothing about.

“I begin to see what Marcus’s fascination is, I think.”

I started to argue, but restrained myself. If he was a friend of Marcus’s, then the smarter thing would be to let it lie. A vampire that old must be a friend. Instead, I waved him to a seat invitingly.

He stepped into the office, but didn’t cross the small space to the chairs.

“Can I get you something, sir? Coffee? Wine?”

His gaze flickered to my throat where the marks from last night’s feeding were still very evident to a vampire of his age and strength. Something flashed there before he hid it behind a pleasant expression. It was too well practiced to be true and a very subtle shiver ran up my spine.

“Thank you, Ms. St. George, but I’m beyond such mundane refreshments. In truth, I’ve heard so much about you that I simply dropped by for an introduction.”

Sun sensitive and unable to drink anything but blood meant this vampire was probably the oldest one I’d ever met. The older a vampire got, the less tolerant his body became. I couldn’t help but notice he didn’t offer his name, so I took a step forward and held out my hand.

“I’m sure my reputation is misleading, Mr…?”

His smile widened to show the sharp points of his incisors. And then he was suddenly gone. I blinked and whirled, stumbling on my heels. I reached out and grabbed the credenza to keep my feet.

The sharp crinkle of paper under my hand made me spin around before I had my balance. The vase of roses was nearly upset, but I caught it in time. Blind luck kept me on my feet. My catlike grace had abandoned me. Beside the roses was a stiff sheet of parchment-style stationery with a typed message on it.

It read,The man you’re looking for in regards to the missing woman will be at 1128 Westmoreland in the subbasement at two a.m. Don’t come without protection lest you become an entrée .

Fear made my heart pound. No vampire had ever used magic on me to vanish. When the bell above the front door chimed, I turned toward it with a snarl. Luke threw his hands up and froze.