Stake and Dust (Stake and Dust series, Book I) (13 page)

Last night had been pure torture to sit
beside her, while they made their plans to take down Lorelei. As
much as he wanted to take down the Lamia, he had difficulty
concentrating on the plan. He kept imagining Cassandra on the bed –
naked. He didn't know how he managed to hold back from making the
fantasy a reality.

He thought kissing her would help, but then
she kissed him back, and almost put him over the edge where reason
didn't exist.

He'd played with fire last night, knew it and
didn't give a damn. Maybe because he knew she desired him too.
Sure, there was a chance she wouldn't be so keen on the idea if she
found out he wasn't a hunter. Scratch the above, if she knew he was
a vampire, she would stake him rather than kiss him. Knowing all
this, he still longed for her.

He liked her sense of humor, her commitment
to her job, her bravery, and he liked how she felt in his arms.
Sheerin believed him smitten. Maybe he had it right. Why else would
he suggest they date after the assignment was finished? His
infatuation for the hunter would prove detrimental for both of
them, and that's why when this was all over, he had to let her go.
She didn’t belong in his world and he certainly didn't belong in
hers.

He glanced at the clock on the wall.
Cassandra would be walking through the doors to his pub any time
now. He glanced at Morris. "I need to ask a favor of you."

Morris looked at him. "Whatcha need,
Boss?"

"I may need you to handle the bar for the
next few days, meaning I need you to open and close up shop,
too."

"No problem," Morris said. He wasn't one for
long conversations or asking too many questions. He liked that
about the lad.

"Thanks. As soon as the person I'm meeting
here tonight arrives, we'll be heading out again."

"No problem," Morris said again with a nod
toward the front door. "Is that your gal?"

Tremayne turned to see Cassandra maneuvering
her way around couples who were chatting and carrying on as they
enjoyed their evening night out. She brushed past a werewolf, who's
eyes glowed as he assessed her attributes with a lick of his lips.
The werewolf stood to go after her, but he must have sensed
Tremayne's attention on him. His eyes darted toward the bar, and
Tremayne growled low with a warning only a werewolf's keen hearing
would pick up in a crowded bar. The werewolf glanced toward
Cassandra one more time but then shrugged, clearly deciding he
wouldn't pursue her and looked elsewhere for his night's
entertainment.

"That would be her," Tremayne confirmed with
a grumble, and then realized what Morris had said, but before he
could correct his bartender about his assumption, the guy spoke
again.

"She's one foxy lady," Morris said and his
lips curved with appreciation.

Tremayne had the urge to wipe the silly grin
off the man's face. What was with the males in this place? Hadn't
they'd seen a good-looking woman before? He peered at Cassandra and
the way she held her head up as she strode toward him with a
purpose. Her dark mahogany hair was pulled back into a ponytail,
revealing her fine bone features. She had the greenest eyes and the
longest lashes he'd ever seen on a lass. And her figure in those
tight black clothes… "Heaven above," he whispered on a hiss. No
wonder his clientele, workers and himself included were slack-jawed
when it came to Cassandra Hayes.

Morris thought she was his gal. He wished he
could say she was, but a stolen few kisses didn't make it so, and
he had no right to be tense and ready to rip the heads off those
who glanced her way with interest.

Morris must have sensed his uptight stance
and glanced his way with a lazy grin. "Don't worry, Boss. Just
making an observation is all. She's all yours."

His frown deepened, but before he could say
something to the contrary, Cassandra had stepped up to the bar.

"Can I use your printer?" she asked.

She'd text him earlier, telling him she
wanted to print the info about the hotel. "Sure, follow me." It
took her no more than a few minutes to access what she needed from
his computer since she attached the document to her email.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked once the
papers were in her hands. The woman was all business. No hint about
what they shared last night or rather early this morning. Surely it
couldn't have been all one sided.

"I'm ready," he told her, but when they
headed up front, he caught sight of Sheerin sitting at one of the
tables, near the back wall, the farthest from the band. His cousin
waved to him in a discreet manor if there could be such a thing at
six-four and hair so light it appeared unnatural. Towhead he once
heard someone call a child's hair of the same shade.

Despite the oddities to make Sheerin standout
like a wolf among sheep, his bookish charms seemed to tone down
what would otherwise have appeared threatening.

"I'll be right behind you," he told
Cassandra. "I'll meet you in the alley. I'll be but a moment."

"Sure she said, her head turning to follow
his gaze, but before she could put her sights on Sheerin, he
purposely stepped into her line of vision. Her right eyebrow arched
high on her forehead, but she didn't pursue it. "Make it quick,"
she finally said. "We've already wasted enough time." With those
parting words, she turned on her heel.

He waited until she slipped out the back door
before he strode over to Sheerin to find out what he wanted.

"I see you've made it your mission to play
second fiddle to the hunter," Sheerin said with amusement. "She
tells you where to go and how fast you should run to get
there."

"Feck off, Sheerin. You know the reasons why
I have to stay with her."

"Oh I know. Bram and I had a nice chat. You
shouldn't have gotten so close to Cassandra Hayes. Taking vamps
hostage, cavorting with a hunter, and taking a serum to walk in the
sun. You're in over your head."

"I haven't taken a serum to walk in the sun,
as you should well know." He didn’t bother denying the rest.

"No?" Sheerin frowned. "Oh aye. I haven't
given it to you as yet." He fished into his coat pocket and took
out a vial. He slid it over to him. "This is the serum. You need to
take the liquid at least three minutes before you attempt to walk
in the sun, but I warn you I have no idea how long it will last or
if it will even work on you. It's all experimental at this
point."

He picked up the vial and stared at the
bluish-green liquid inside with renewed interest. "Have you tried
it?"

"I have." Sheerin nodded, but didn't appear
pleased with the results.

"And?"

Sheerin met his gaze with a long sigh. "I had
a severe side affect. As it wore off, it hampered my vision and
weakened me. In a sense I was as vulnerable as a human until the
serum had run its course. So do not use it if you can avoid it.
Especially if you're playing with a hunter."

He ignored Sheerin's warning and asked the
most important question. "How long does it last?"

"Mind you, I'm the only one who has tried it.
It could react differently with each of us." He pulled out his
notebook from his coat pocket and flipped back a few pages. "Twelve
hours, forty minutes and three seconds."

Tremayne rolled his eyes. An estimation would
have sufficed, but that was Sheerin with his experiments and book
worthy notations.

"So I have at least twelve and a half
hours."

"I would think it would be safe to say so,
but don't push it to the limit, Tremayne. I cannot warn you enough
in this regard."

He clasped Sheerin's shoulder. "Don't worry.
I will only use it if I have no other choice."

Sheerin nodded. "Good. Then you best run
along. The hunter is most likely growing weary of waiting for
you."

He chuckled as he thought of Cassandra
outside, tapping her boot with impatience. He glanced at Morris
behind the bar, who was handing a bloke a beer and a drink flavored
with something a little more for a preternatural being. Morris had
everything handled, he thought as he headed out the back door.

One glance at the night sky, and Tremayne
knew he had hours before the sun would rise and fry his arse.
Plenty of time to catch one psycho bitch Lamia and find shelter
from the damaging rays. No need to take Sheerin's experimental
serum…yet. He fingered the vial in his pocket. Maybe he'd never use
it, but he liked to have a back up plan if the need arose.

He spotted Cassandra, but she wasn't tapping
her foot with impatience. Instead, she paced the alleyway until she
caught sight of him. Then she stood like an army sergeant. The pent
up energy radiating off of her was like a bolt of static
electricity. Oh the heavens, she was beautiful. Long limbs,
graceful and lethal—a winning combination in his book, except for
one tiny little problem… He sighed with regret. Hunters and
vampires didn't mix. Funny how he had to keep reminding
himself.

When his gaze leveled on her face once more,
his eyebrows arched as he witnessed her appraising him in the same
fashion. When their eyes finally met, he recognized the interest in
her gaze, only because he was sure it mirrored his own. So their
shared kisses had made an impression after all. He'd be thrilled,
but he had to also keep in mind her interest was for Gerard Green,
a hunter not for Tremayne Greer/Graystone from the Oiche Sith
sept.

"You ready?" she asked, her voice huskier
than usual and she cleared her throat.

He was ready for many things, but he had a
hunch there was only one thing she referred to right now, and it
had nothing to do with going back to his place for a tumble.

They would take down Lorelei and maybe if
they were lucky they would save the human she had secreted away as
well. He didn't hold high hopes on the saving department. He had a
hunch they'd find another body if not more.

"Let's go," he said and took a step but her
hand snaked out and halted his progress.

"We'll take my car unless you want to drive,"
she offered.

Drive? For a moment, he'd forgotten flitting
to the destination would be out of the question. He owned a
vehicle, drove into work and back home again, but most of the time
he just flitted to where he wanted to go. Saved on time and gas.
"We can take your car," he said, sensing she needed the control.
"Drove with you once and survived." He gave her a half-cocked
smile.

"I'm the best driver you'll ever meet."

"Is that so?"

"No one's lived long enough to tell me
otherwise." She threw him a grin.

"Duly warned." He chuckled. "Lead the
way."

Chapter Eighteen

Once parked in front of the hotel, Cassandra
opened the trunk to reveal numerous weapons she had stashed for
safekeeping.

"Do you expect the apocalypse soon?" Tremayne
asked in surprise.

"I believe in being prepared."

"No kidding," he murmured.

She reached for a weapon that resembled a
crossbow, but much smaller in size. "This is something my brother
Derek came up with." She glanced his way. "Do you want to use
anything in here?" She inclined her head toward her arsenal.

"I'm good." He palmed his dagger, revealing
his weapon of choice.

She nodded as she strapped the full quiver to
her back, and then grabbed a thin bladed sword.

She closed the trunk and looked at him.
"Let's go."

They made their way to the front of the inn.
Cassandra handed him the plans to the building she pilfered,
courtesy of her brother. They wouldn't be going in blind. They knew
the layout of the rooms, where the elevators stood on each floor,
and where the stairs were located for emergency exits. He folded
the paper and slipped it into his pocket. They'd gone over the plan
more than enough times, but something didn't sit well with him. It
all seemed too easy.

"Let's do this," Cassandra said, but Tremayne
reached for her, halting her progress. Her gaze met his with a
frown.

"You take the room from the inside and I'll
take it from the fire escape," Tremayne said. He reached in his
pocket for his mobile. "I'll text you with 'go' when I'm in
position. This way the Lamia won't be able to slip by us." He
didn't mention how he'd be able to secure the situation and avoid
Lorelei from choosing Cassandra as her next target.

Cassandra appeared as if she'd like to reject
his suggestion, but couldn't disprove the solid plan. "Fine." She
shook free of his grip and strode to the entrance with sure steps.
He hurried to the back of the inn only to find there was one teensy
problem with his plan. The fire escape listed on the hotel's plans
weren't in place anymore.

Tremayne stared at the window high above with
only a ledge and rods where a balcony once stood. He could easily
jump to the ledge, but how would he explain to Cassandra how he
managed to burst through a window that was more than three stories
above?

He knew without a doubt Cassandra would only
wait a few more seconds before she'd make her entrance with or
without backup.

He didn't hesitate. He jumped and landed with
ease on the ledge outside Lorelei's window. He peeked inside, his
vision hampered by the curtains, but a there was a small slit where
the curtains didn't quite meet. He caught sight of Lorelei staring
at the door as if she expected a visitor. He could only assume her
attention had been drawn to Cassandra's footsteps in the hall.
Lorelei's impeccable hearing would detect movement and would most
likely be leery of anyone who lingered too close to her room.

He hoped she wouldn't worry about anyone
coming through the window since the balcony and fire escapes no
longer existed, probably courtesy of her.

Before he could gain entrance, Lorelei lunged
for the door, throwing it open and revealing Cassandra standing
there with her handheld crossbow ready. She let off a shot, but
Lorelei shimmered out of the way as the arrow whizzed harmlessly by
her.