Teased (3 page)

She cleared her throat. “Stop looking at me like that.”

He lifted his head. “Like what?”

She licked her lips, and he groaned out loud. “What do you want, buddy?”

He grinned. “Chalton. My name.”

“Chalton.” She rolled the sound around on her tongue.

Now he fucking loved his name. “Yeah.”

“Russian?”

“A long time ago.” About three centuries, to be exact.

“You don’t have an accent.” Suspicion darkened her eyes to the color of a green sapphire he’d seen once in a royal crown.

“Я хочу, чтобы лишить вас голым.”

“Hmm.” Her shoulders settled, as she no doubt found some measure of safety with people all around them. “What did you say?”

He couldn’t repeat what he said since it involved getting her naked and was no doubt very inappropriate. “I wished you a good day.”

“Right. What do you want?” Clearly, she didn’t believe a word he said.

“To talk.” He glanced around. “Away from the crowds and the cold wind.”

“Ah.” She nodded, the wind lifting her hair. “In your spaceship or lair? You wanna wear my skin as a suit, do you?”

He laughed, unable to help himself.

She blinked again. “Murderous kidnappers shouldn’t have such nice laughs,” she murmured and then stilled.

Did the woman say everything that was in her head? While the idea should irritate him, instead he found an intriguing charm in the idea. Creative people were often the most interesting, now weren’t they? “I have no plans to murder you.”

“That’s a relief,” she snapped, trying to pull her hand free.

He kept it, quite liking it where it was in his. Then he settled. Energy cascaded around her, filtering through the air. “Ah, hell.” Enhanced. The most beautiful woman he’d held in eons was enhanced and thus a possible vampire mate. Was she psychic? Empathic? Human females with special gifts were probably linked to the witches and were possible mates to immortals like him. “The king had better not be matchmaking,” he muttered, losing his smile.

Olivia lifted a finely arched eyebrow. “The king? What king?”

Now he was blurting out his thoughts. “Forget it. We need privacy for a talk as well as to protect your safety. Any idea who the men in the van were?” They were human, but he hadn’t had a chance to interrogate them before she’d bolted into the store, and now it was too late. The cops had arrived and were questioning people down the street.

He knew the second she caught sight of the police because her body stiffened and drew in air. “Don’t do it,” he said, leaning into her.

She gasped, and her head shot up, those green eyes narrowing. “Kiss me again, and you’ll lose a lip.”

He grinned. “Damn, you’re feisty.” Then he lowered his head to within an inch of hers, letting intent and focus show. “And that wasn’t a kiss.”

She swallowed and glanced down at his mouth before looking back up. Pink colored beneath the smooth skin on her face, and she cleared her throat. Her scent of wild flowers wafted around and tempted him far more than he liked, as did the curiosity in those stunning eyes. “Back away,” she whispered.

“Promise you’ll come with me and not scream.” He tried to smooth his face into reassuring lines. “You have my word I won’t harm you.”

She snorted. “Right.” Her shoulders drooping, she glanced around. “I appreciate you rescuing me from the guys in the van, but I don’t know you. Or trust you.”

He nodded. “I understand, but you’re probably still in danger. Let’s get out of here.”

She shook her head. “I’ll make you a deal. There’s a café across the street. We can go in, have a cup, and talk. Make your case and explain why you rescued me from the van, who you are, and what you want from me.” She turned back to him. “Or I start screaming my bloody head off and kicking like you’ve never seen a woman kick.”

His groin tightened. Right there, in the middle of the sidewalk, just like a teenager...he got hard. Spunk and brains had always done him in with women, and this one had both in spades. The cops were getting closer, and there was a good chance the men in the van had friends also looking for the female. “Fine.” He kept ahold of her to lead the way across the street, winding through barely moving vehicles.

Her skin was soft and her hand small. Somehow, it felt just right in his.

He shook his head. There wasn’t time for this. Even as his body rioted, he could feel danger stalking near. Energy popped in the air, and his breath quickened.

Just as he reached the coffee shop door, a ping next to him threw up concrete.

Shit. Somebody had shot at them. He pivoted and shoved Olivia in front of him, propelling her to the side of the building. Covering her with his body, he glanced around the corner.

Sunlight glinted off a riflescope atop the brick building across the street. The gunman was crouched down, barely visible behind the sniper’s rifle. He’d only taken one shot, and the passersby hadn’t even noticed.

“What?” Olivia gasped, her back to the building.

“Sniper across the way.” He looked down at her fashion boots, quickly calculating escape routes. “Can you run in those things?”

“Sniper?” She tried to lean around him and look, but he planted a hand on her upper chest and shoved her back. “You’re freakin crazy.”

He squinted up at the steel-structured building across from his current one-way street. If there was one killer, there might be two, and Olivia was vulnerable on the street. No movement showed across the way, but his instincts kept humming.

Going with his gut, he grabbed the door of a cab driving by and yanked it open. The driver hit his brakes, scattering slush. Chalton shoved Olivia inside before him. He sat and slammed the door.

The cab driver, a swarthy man wearing a spotted tie decorated with Rudolph, glared. “Get out. Light isn’t on.”

Chalton drew out several hundred-dollar bills from his pocket to hand over the seat. “Drive. Now.”

The guy snatched the cash and turned to hit the gas pedal.

Olivia recovered and scooted for the other side, reaching for the door handle.

Chalton clasped her arm and dragged her into his side, giving her a warning squeeze. When she stiffened, glancing at the driver, he leaned in to whisper, “The driver can’t take me, and you’ll put him in definite danger if you ask for help.”

She exhaled slowly, thoughts scattering across her pretty face.

“Drive faster, and I’ll tip you well,” Chalton spoke louder, keeping his gaze on Olivia. Who was trying to shoot her? While he’d read all of her news reports detailing the missing proprietary information from the labs his people had used to generate a cure for a virus that had attacked vampire mates, he hadn’t spent any time reading her other works. “What are you involved in?” he growled.

She shivered and clasped her hands in her lap. “Bite me,” she whispered back.

Hell, he’d love to bite her. A pretty woman should never say such a thing to a hungry vampire.

He leaned over her to look out her window, and she gasped, edging back in the seat. The figure on top of the building ran in pace with the taxi, rifle in hand, easily keeping up. He wore all black—including a mask. Yet there was something familiar in the way he moved.

Chalton frowned. Who the hell was that?

They needed to cross an intersection. No way could the sniper leap across the street.

Apparently the shooter realized the same thing, because he ran ahead. Probably to set up for a shot.

“At the corner, turn left suddenly,” Chalton ordered the driver. “It’ll be worth a thousand.” He hoped he had that much in his pocket.

Olivia turned wide eyes on him. “You are batshit crazy, you know that?”

The driver shrugged and kept to the left, honking his horn several times to keep folks moving.

Bullets sprayed the side of the taxi.

“What the hell?” the driver bellowed.

Chalton yanked Olivia across his body to the other side, blocking her. She landed with a muffled
oof
.

“Oh my God. They are shooting at us,” she yelled.

“Yes.” Chalton glanced ahead.

She frantically patted his sides. “Shoot back.”

He frowned. “I don’t have a gun.”

“Why the hell not?” she yelled.

“Don’t like them.” Not anymore. He didn’t need guns. Finally, they reached the intersection. “Turn. Now.”

Tires screeched as the driver turned. Chalton grabbed the back of Olivia’s head and pushed her toward the floor. “Get down.” Depending on the angle, the shooter might be able to make a shot through the back window.

The driver edged down in his seat, barreling through traffic. The stench of fear filled the car.

Chalton ducked down and took a good look. With his eyesight, he could make out the serial number on the rifle as well as the height of the shooter. The guy stood up, watching the cab, his gun aimed harmlessly at his feet. He stood several inches over six-feet tall, with a well-muscled form. Smooth and graceful even with such bulk.

He yanked the mask off, revealing a cap of dark hair and familiar, mocking dark eyes. Then he smiled—slow and dangerous.

Everything in Chalton stilled. His head jerked back. “Son of a bitch.”

Olivia glanced up from her perch on the floor. “What? Do you know the guy?”

“Yeah.” A rock settled hard in his gut. “He’s my older brother.”

CHAPTER THREE

Olivia planted both hands on the torn leather seat and pulled herself up. Fear tasted like acid in her throat, and an unwelcomed heat filled her lungs as a prelude to a possible panic attack. “Your brother just shot at us?”

“Apparently.” Chalton eyed the festive storefronts now speeding by. “Stop at the next light and let us out,” he ordered the driver.

Olivia edged toward her door that led to the busy street.

The driver, muttering beneath his breath, yanked the car to the curb. “Get out of here.” He turned furious eyes toward the back seat. “I’m calling the cops.”

Chalton handed over what looked like a wad of cash. “No cops.” Without waiting for an answer, he clamped a hand around Olivia’s arm and hastened her across the seat and out his door.

The cabbie sped off.

Olivia glanced at the top of nearby buildings. “Tell me you only have one brother.”

“Two.” Chalton rubbed the back of his neck. “We need cover.” Keeping her arm, he led her across the sidewalk to a specialty cigar shop, quickly texting something on a type of smartphone she’d never seen before.

Olivia’s ears rang and her temples began to pound. She glanced around the shop for another exit, but a glass cabinet blocked the entire rear of the store. One proprietor assisted two elderly gentlemen near the wall. No help there.

Chalton kept his gaze out the window at the people hurrying by.

“What is your plan?” Olivia asked, trying to wriggle out of his grasp.

“Hold on,” he said, not moving.

The strong scent of pipe tobacco wafted around, reminding her of her grandfather, who lived in Washington state near a forest. That’s where she could go for a while until things calmed down. All she had to do was escape Chalton and get on the road. Then she could figure out who wanted her dead.

His hold remained secure around her hand, easily keeping her captive. She reached for his restraining hand with her free one and dug in her nails.

He slowly turned his head and focused on her. “What?”

“Let. Go.”

“No.” He turned back to the window.

She dug in, making sure to draw blood. Her fingertips suddenly burned. “What the heck?”

“Move now.” He opened the door and tugged her outside to where a dark town car had maneuvered to the curb. Yanking open the door, he pivoted and pushed her inside before following.

Coolness surrounded her along with the scent of expensive leather. Chalton sighed and relaxed back into the seat. Then he reached into a side cupboard for two bottled waters, handing her one.

She took the water, her heart racing. A dark partition remained up between the back and front. “Who is up there?” she asked.

“Hired driver.” Chalton opened his water and tipped his head back to drink.

She rapped her knuckles against the partition and then winced. “Hey, buddy? This is kidnapping, and you’re an accomplice.”

“Hired driver paid really well,” Chalton said smoothly.

She whirled on him, her temper finally catching up to the fear of the day. “What do you want from me?”

His dark eyes narrowed. “I want to know who your source is, where your research materials are, and where the latest article for
Life and Science
is.”

“For what story?” She kept her chin up. After working for the magazine for nearly five years, she knew how to protect a source. More importantly, the only way to save her friend’s life was to find the subjects of her article.

He smiled without an ounce of humor. “You know what story. The one about the laboratory in Oregon researching genetic mutations that hints at something...new.”

New? Yeah. That was one way of putting it. The research hinted that there were other species walking around on earth who had more chromosomal pairs than humans. Something more...than human. Something that would certainly have a way to save Ronni from dying way too young. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He exhaled and stretched out long, very long, legs. “Sure you do. Your first two articles in the series detailed missing researchers from Oregon along with hints about their missing research, all leading up to an article coming next week with a big reveal. I’m assuming the big reveal is the actual research into chromosomal pairs, into extra ones belonging to an imaginary species, and you’re being duped.”

“Oh yeah?” She put her hands on her hips and pivoted in the seat to face him. “If I’m being duped, then why are people trying to either kidnap or shoot me?” She was on to the find of the century, and she needed to get back on track to meet her source for the evidence. “Let me out of this car, and I won’t press charges.”

“Do I look like I’m worried about charges?”

No. Not at all. He looked like some badass vigilante in tailored clothing. All muscle, intelligence, and...maleness. So damn
male
he could define the word. “You should be worried,” she countered, her stomach dropping. The guy couldn’t care less. She’d seen his face. She knew his name. “You’re going to kill me,” she whispered, her heart clenching. “Or try to,” she added quickly.