Staked (3 page)

“A more real gem...” The jeweler shook his
head. “I have never seen.”

Stone dragged the pouch off the counter and
shook a diamond into his hand before stuffing the rest into the
front pocket of his Levi’s. “Thanks,” he said, offering the
gem.

Ava’s opinion of Stone plummeted. He was
either very generous or incredibly stupid. Even the smaller stones
represented a steep payment just to confirm the jewels’
authenticity.

The jeweler took the diamond and a smile
stretched across his face. Ava cringed. He slipped the diamond in
his front pants’ pocket and glanced over his shoulder.

Uh oh. Who was the jeweler looking for? Dread
ripped through Ava’s veins like an out-of-control raft riding the
rapids.

Insight exploded in her head and pounded out
through her ears. Sometimes her Karellian blood felt more like a
curse than a good thing. Especially when she realized stuff a
split-second before it happened—too late to react.

She closed her eyes. As if that was going to
help. Maybe if she didn’t see him, he’d go away. Fat chance.

“Well, well, well...” Lucien’s familiar voice
clouded around her like a stifling fog and she opened her eyes. “If
it isn’t Nevada Valentine.”

She wasn’t surprised to see the two guys
lurking behind Lucien, hanging on to Cole like he was some kind of
prize.

The sight of Lucien pulling something out of
his jacket’s inner pocket and Stone stepping in front of her was
the last thing Ava remembered before everything faded to black.

~~~~

Chapter Two

Freaking tiki powder. That crap was like
troll dust on steroids, and somebody had drenched Ava with a
liberal dosing.

She ignored the side-effect—akin to a dozen
imps pounding spiked hammers against the inside of her skull—and
prepared to open her heavy-laden eyes.

If only her will was as strong as her ability
to read people. Then she could easily dissolve the bonds forcing
her eyelids shut—an after-effect of the tiki powder. Rubbing her
eyes didn’t dissolve the pasty sensation, but she managed to pry
them open anyway.

The hammering inside her head escalated.
Apparently the little rascals didn’t like reality creeping in, and
opening her eyes was like opening the curtains on a bright,
sunshiny day, even though it was near-dark inside the pawn
shop.

Ava’s heartbeat spiraled when she saw Mickey
and Skeet lying in the doorway, neither of them moving. She dragged
her head to the other side, even though it felt like she’d been
fitted with a cement cap.

Stone was lying at her side, inches away.
That was both liberating and troubling. Ava’s instincts had put him
at the top of Lucien’s payroll.

Lucien St. James.

The man was a walking nightmare. And the
biggest mistake she’d ever made. Stealing her bounty was one thing.
That was part of the game. But he’d called her by
that
name.

Nevada
.

Ava hated that name. And now, thanks to
Lucien, a whole slew of people knew about it. Lucien was going to
pay for that. Somehow, some way, she’d make him pay.

Just not right now. Right now she had to
figure out how he’d managed to steal her bounty out from under her.
He’d obviously had help.

Damned vamps
.
You can’t trust
’em
.

And apparently they couldn’t trust Lucien. He
had, after all, left them with Ava. Dexter Stone—or whatever the
hell his name was—was going to regret this. Right after he led her
to Lucien.

Ava scrambled to her knees and scuttled to
Mickey’s side, even though her strongest desire begged her to check
Stone first.

“Mickey...?” The site of him looking boyish
and helpless brought out her sisterly side. “Mickey, wake up,” she
said, nudging his shoulder.

All three of the men started coming around at
the same time. Stone, wouldn’t you know it, seemed to recover
quickest. Ava stayed at Mickey’s side and was damned proud of it.
Her apprentice, to the best of her knowledge, had never been hit
with tiki powder. It’d only happened to her one other time, but
she’d seen its terror more than once in her travels.

Stone sat up, inspecting the purple powder
sprinkled over him. Shaking it off, like the whole incident was a
huge inconvenience, he let his eyes roam around the shop and
finally settle on Ava. His glare practically burned a hole through
her. “What the hell was that?”

“I might ask you the same thing.” She huffed.
“You bring me to a place where Lucien St. James is lying in
wait...and now he’s got my bounty. Which I might add, you said
wasn’t here.”

Stone shook his head as his mouth skewed into
a smirk. “And you seem well-acquainted with our attacker. Well
enough to know his full name.” Stone hopped to his feet and held
out his hand to Skeet. “Let’s get the hell outta here.”

Ava sprung up and flew to the door, blocking
Stone’s passage outside. “Uh uh. Not so fast.”

He looked down at her and snorted a
half-laugh, as if that’s all she was worth. “Look, I don’t know
what kind of sick game you’ve got going on with
Lucien
...”
Stone put more emphasis on Lucien’s name than was necessary. He
gave Ava a terrifying glare that almost melted her resistance. Her
brain argued with her body, commanding her legs to stay put. “But
I’m not getting mixed up in it.”

“Excuse me...?” The inquiry fell out of her
mouth before she could think to stop it. This guy infuriated her to
no end. So much that it trumped his spellbinding influence over
her...at least long enough to let her collect her wits. “You’re in
this. I paid you—a hefty fee—to take me to Cole. You didn’t do
that.”

“I beg to differ...” His words poured out
with mocking laughter. “As I recall, your bounty was here when your
boyfriend hit us with that freaky dust.” Stone latched onto Ava’s
upper arms and moved her aside. “I did my part and now I’m
leaving.” He pushed past her and didn’t look back.

A sudden feeling of panic flooded Ava and
flowed out in her voice. “Really?” She chased him outside the door.
“You feel good about taking my payment after the way this played
out?”

Stone looked at her with empty eyes. “You
expect me to feel sorry for you because your boyfriend got the jump
on you?”

She almost bought into that. “No...I don’t.
But I do expect you to take me to the place you’d planned to after
verifying my gems’ authenticity.”

His mouth twitched, like he was about to
snarl at her. It made her stop, momentarily, as a feeling of
dread—vampire dread—washed over her. And then, just as quickly, his
undeniable allure reeled her back in. She wanted to go with him.
For more reason than Cole.

“All right,” he said, and his manner relaxed.
He beckoned her with a nod and headed for the front of the
building. And again, he didn’t look back to see if she was
following.

Ava charged after Stone, as if there was some
invisible cosmic cord attaching them. Where he went, she was
compelled to follow.

By the time she reached the street, he was on
the bike and had it started. He revved the engine and gave her
another of those
hurry-up
looks.

She climbed behind him and wrapped her arms
around his midriff. Stone guided the bike down the street and the
old Indian’s roar drowned out everything else.

Clearly, he couldn’t wait to get rid of her.
She just didn’t get why he’d cast the spell over her when he was so
visibly devoid of reciprocal interest. It was probably best if,
once he took her to the place where Cole had been holed-up, she let
Stone leave. Distance had to break the enchantment.

But could she really do that? Could she let
him leave knowing...? She doubted he’d ever find Lucien on his own.
Not if Lucien didn’t want to be found. Not even an ultra-perceptive
vampire could find Lucien if he meant to stay hidden.

Ava had already ruled out Stone as Lucien’s
accomplice. That distinction belonged solely to the jeweler. She’d
deal with him later.

She clung to Stone while he guided the
motorcycle to a different area of the city. This side of town was
no better or worse than the last. Compact buildings stacked close
together, most in need of paint, lent to the gloomy atmosphere that
left Ava yearning for the comforts of home.

The bike rolled to a stop in front of a
run-down, two-story apartment building. The lawn was bare in spots
and what was there was overgrown with weeds.

Ava dropped her feet to the ground but stayed
on the bike. She sat silently for a bit, letting the sounds of the
night filter in. Automobile horns blared in the distance and
neighborhood dogs barked sporadically, as if talking to one
another.

She gave the area a quick scan, but sensed no
one waiting for her in the shadows. She should’ve done a better job
of checking the last place they stopped, but there had been plenty
of reasons to let it go—all of them centered around Stone. Lesson
learned.

Could she blame Stone for her failings? Not
fairly. If she was mad at anybody it was Lucien, not Stone. She had
to remember that.

“Where in there—” She pointed toward the
building. “—did you have Cole stashed?”

“Second floor. Last door on the left.
Apartment G.”

A small part of her wanted to get off the
bike, let him ride off and never look back. But that would make her
no better than Lucien. Sure, she’d stolen Lucien’s bounty a time or
two, but she’d never ripped off his companions. Lucien had stooped
to a new low.

Ava disembarked from the motorcycle and moved
forward a couple of steps to where the sidewalk met the worn
walkway running up the middle of the yard. She stopped and glanced
over her shoulder. “Hey, Stone.” She waited until he looked at her
before continuing. “You might want to check your pockets.” She
smiled and turned, strolling up the walkway leading to the
building.

She didn’t need to look back to know if he
was going to follow her or drive away. The guy was a mercenary
first and foremost. He was going to want his payment. Ava would put
money on Stone reaching her side before she crossed the front
door’s threshold.

A foot or two from the front steps, she heard
the motorcycle’s engine die. A wave of triumph bathed over her, but
it was quickly washed away by the follow-up thoughts of what that
really meant. What it could inevitably lead to. The one thing that
Ava feared most.

It was the curse she’d been born with.
Tainted blood. She could feel the dormant craving fighting to
emerge. Especially now that she’d run into Stone. It was like he
was the key and he’d turned on the ignition.

She stepped up onto the small landing and
reached for the doorknob. Like a sneaky cat, Stone was suddenly at
her side. Ava’s gaze traveled the length of his body and settled on
his face. His presence drew her like a magnet. She wanted to pull
her gaze away but it was nearly impossible. She was mesmerized by
the smooth lines of his features, the way his jaw curved down to
his neck—

Stop it
!

She tried to choke the dizzying current
racing through her. His presence was so confounding—or at least it
should be. He would very likely be the reason she turned into the
thing she avoided most.

“What exactly are you hoping to find in
here?” he asked.

How did she explain that without giving
herself away? Worse yet, she had no desire to hide her talents,
both proven and unproven, from him.

“It’s a long story.” If she was going to give
up her secrets, she’d better wait until they were in a secure
location.

“What? You think your boyfriend left you a
road map?” He chuckled at his own wit.

“Something like that.” Normally, she would’ve
dropped it at that, but she was overwhelmed by the need to declare
herself available. “And Lucien isn’t my boyfriend.” She hated
hearing the blithering declaration coming out of her mouth, but she
was powerless to stop the words.

Curiosity lit his eyes for just a second
before it was overshadowed by a smirk. “Well, by all means...” He
reached for the doorknob and swung the door open. “Let’s go check
it out.” He waved before placing his hand against the small of her
back and nudging her inside.

Ava laid a hand on the railing and made her
way up the stairs. There was something comforting, albeit a little
troubling too, knowing Stone was behind her. Halfway up she stopped
and turned to face him. “Look, whatever happens up there...” She
looked away. Ava hated asking anyone—least of all a vamp—for help.
But if she drained all her energy trying to figure out where Lucien
had taken Cole, Mickey was going to need help getting her out of
there and into a safe place until she recovered. “What’s it going
to cost to have your assurance that you won’t leave Mickey and me
here?”

His face skewed with a look of curiosity,
like he was trying to figure her out. “Darlin’, until I get my
jewels back...I’m sticking to you like glue.” He gave her a nod.
“So if you’ve got any plans of trying to ditch me before that
happens...forget it.” He nudged her on up the stairs.

She looked back at him while taking careful
steps upward. “You promise.” It wasn’t a question, but she waited
for his reply.

“Glue, honey. Like glue.” He gave her another
push and this time she didn’t stop until she was standing in front
of Apartment G. She reached for the door and he moved in front of
her. “Let me go first.”

“A chivalrous mercenary.” She let out a soft
chuckle. “Watch out, Dexter Stone, you’re going to ruin your
reputation.”

“Not if you don’t tell anybody.” He stepped
through the doorway and surveyed the room. Ava wanted very much to
push him aside. There was no one in there. She knew that. She also
knew she needed to scan the apartment before it got too
contaminated.