Chasing The Shadows

Chapter Seven

Brightness flashed in the foggy darkness. Michael ducked to his left, and a heartbeat later a hole was torn through the window. The bullet blasted past, so close it stirred his hair and sent heat rippling across his skin before it thudded into the opposite wall.

If that heat was any indication, they were using silver bullets, not ordinary ones—which meant even a wound would have been dangerous to him. Anger rose in a wave, almost engulfing him. If it had been Nikki standing there, they would have killed her. That bullet had been aimed at his head, not his heart.

Bullets can't hurt you, can they?Fear and confusion mingled in Nikki's still sleepy mind voice.

He looked around. She was standing just inside the bedroom door pulling on a sweater. His sweater, not hers. Bullets aimed at my head can destroy me as easily as they can you. And these were silver.

Stay there.

She nodded, arms crossed, hands lost in the sleeves. Be careful .

Always.He wrapped the shadows around him and opened the window. Fingers of fog brushed dampness across his skin as he leapt from the balcony. He hit the ground with enough force to jar every bone in his body—any higher, and he might have broken bones.

He rolled swiftly to his feet and ran toward the car. The gun was still pointed out the car window. The other vamp could obviously control the couple, but not to the extent that he saw what they saw. Which was odd, because he'd obviously had enough mind-power to put the compulsion on the young vampire who'd attacked Nikki, forcing him to leap out the window rather than revealing anything.

He grabbed the rifle, wrenching it from the man's grasp and tossing it aside. Then he smashed his fist through the half-open window and grabbed the driver's face, plunging deep into his mind, chasing the essence of the vampire and surrounding him with energy. It was a psychic cage, but one he wouldn't be able to hold very long.

Who are you?

No enemy of yours.The voice that came out of the depths of the stranger's mind was older than he'd expected and, oddly, full of respect.

Then why are you trying to kill me?

I wasn't even aware of your presence. We were waiting for the witch. I thought it was she seeking to touch my mind again.

A chill ran through him. That bullet had been meant for Nikki. Why waste silver on a witch?

Because this witch is not human. She shifts, becomes something else.

He thought her a shapeshifter? Why? So what harm will a shifter cause a vampire?

She has the power to destroy my dreams. I have seen it.

Sweat was beginning to trickle down his face. He wished he could invade the other vampire's thoughts and discover where he was, but his mind-strength was just a little too strong to attempt both capture and invasion. If he let the net slip to attempt it, the fiend would slither away—or try an invasion of his own.

And while he very much doubted the other vamp had the strength to succeed, it was a risk he wasn't willing to take. Not when Nikki's safety was at stake.

I have the power to destroy your dreams if I ever feel your presence like that again.

I apologize. I didn't realize there was another brother in the city, let alone this hotel.He hesitated .

Perhaps we should get together tomorrow evening. I have not spoken to someone close to my age in years.

He raised his eyebrows at the soft yearning so evident in the other vampire's voice. Obviously, despite his clairvoyant abilities, this vampire had no idea who he was. Why should I trust you?

Ah. A man who has been around longer than me, obviously. We shall meet somewhere public, if you wish.

He knew it was a risk, but one worth taking simply because it might lead to the chance of killing this fiend and ending all their problems. Where?

The Hard Rock Café on Van Ness Avenue. You know it?

I can find it.

Then I look forward to meeting you.

I give no guarantees to be there.Better to let the fiend think he was far from eager for this meeting.

Of course. But if you do show up, ask for Farmer.

At least they now had a name. He released the net and let the other vampire slither from his grasp. The two people in the car blinked, dreamers just waking from a dream. He touched their minds, swiftly searching their memories. They'd just left a restaurant in Hyde Street when the other vampire had taken control. Hyde Street wasn't far from the hotel. The other vampire couldn't have been, either, simply because he wasn't strong enough to hold these two captive over any great distance.

Keeping them mind-blind, Michael punched a hole into the windshield to give them a plausible excuse for stopping, and rebuilt their memories around that excuse. Then he wrapped the shadows around himself, grabbed the gun and walked away. Within a minute, their curses filled the night, then the car started up and they drove away.

Nikki appeared in the window. What little light there was seemed to caress the pale skin of her bare legs, and he found himself wishing he could do the same.

Are you really intending to meet him?

So she had been listening in. Obviously the link between them worked on a far different, far deeper, level than telepathy because he certainly hadn't felt her presence when he'd been questioning the other vampire.

Or had it simply gotten so strong over the last few months that either of them could read the other's thoughts without really trying? That perhaps from now on, it would take a conscious effort to keep the other out?

Yes. You want to throw me some clothes, then get dressed yourself and come down here?

She pulled off his sweater, giving him a tantalizing but all too brief glimpse of her firm, high breasts. She tossed the sweater down to him before disappearing inside. Why?

Because I want to go for a walk and see if I can sense the presence of the other vamp, and I have no intention of leaving you in the hotel alone.

He's nowhere near. I'd feel him if he was.

I'd still like to check, just in case.

He caught the sweater and pulled it on. It smelled faintly of cinnamon and vanilla. He smiled and hoped she was right. Hoped they didn't find the scent, just so he could walk hand in hand with her. They'd spent too little time simply being lovers of late.

More clothes tumbled down to the pavement. Be there in five .

Wait. Catch this rifle and tuck it safely under our mattress.

She appeared in the window again. He checked to ensure the safety was on then tossed the rifle up to her. She caught it deftly, if a little gingerly, and disappeared. He quickly dressed then walked down to the hotel entrance to wait for her.

She bounced out four minutes later, wearing a short black skirt that showcased her wonderful legs, and a dark red sweater that clung to her breasts and highlighted the fact she wasn't wearing a bra.

"You look entirely too energetic for someone who has had so little sleep," he commented, wrapping his hand around her waist and pulling her close. "Are you going to be warm enough in those clothes?"

"The look in your eyes will keep me hot enough, believe me." Her grin was pure cheek. "And we can always find a secluded foggy spot in which to warm each other up."

Thatdefinitely sounded more enticing that hunting a vampire. He kissed her, long and tender. Her pulse was doing a double-time dance, and with the heat of her body pressed against him so wantonly, he really didn't want to go anywhere but back to the hotel room. Which was obviously the effect she'd been after when she'd donned these clothes. "You're incorrigible," he said eventually.

Her eyes twinkled with amusement and desire. "I try hard. Are we walking, or do you have something else in mind?"

"Walking."

Her sigh was dramatic. "Such a spoil sport."

He smiled and led her down the street. The fog was a blanket of white dampness that swirled sluggishly around them, muffling the noise of passing traffic and the late night laughter of partygoers. Street lights twinkled like forlorn stars in the distance, and from the direction of the bay came the haunting cry of fog horns. The night was peaceful, untainted by the touch of evil. It was doubtful he'd find any hint of the other vampire, but he kept walking anyway. He was enjoying the night. Enjoying doing something semi-normal with Nikki.

"Why do you think this vamp wants to meet you?" she said.

He shrugged. "Loneliness. The night can be a desolate place after a few years."

Her expression was curious. "Was it for you?"

He nodded. "You asked why I stayed so long with Elizabeth. Perhaps there lies your answer."

"Yet you survived it. And her."

He smiled at the slight emphasis she placed on her . "Thanks in part to the friendships I formed. But the lifestyle of many vampires does not allow them to form true friendships."

"Because they drink human blood?"

"Yes."

"Can two vampires ever become truly good friends?"

He hesitated. "There are a number of vampires in the Circle, and I would call them friends. But not close. It is never truly comfortable for us."

She raised her eyebrows. "Why?"

"It's the nature of the beast." He shrugged. "Vampires are hunters. Hunters tend to be territorial."

"And no true hunter likes another in his territory?"

"Yes."

"Then why is this vampire inviting you to dinner?" She hesitated, and amusement spun through the link, warm and sexy. "Maybe he's taken a fancy to you."

"Wouldn't be the first time it's happened."

She pulled him to a stop, her expression slightly shocked. "What?"

He grinned and kissed her nose. "Both sexes seem attracted by my natural good looks and charm."

She snorted softly and whacked him lightly on the arm. "Yeah, right."

He raised his eyebrows. "It's true. I've been propositioned by many a male, both before and after death."

She stared at him for a moment. "Before death?"

"Not all our English landlords were as straight as they claimed." He tugged her across the intersection and continued on up Hyde Street hill. "I was barely twelve at the time."

"What did you do?"

"Kept well out of his way, and hid whenever he came to our farm." He shrugged. "He found other sport to chase after a week or so."

"Good grief."

He chuckled softly. "You spent quite a few years on the streets as a teenager. Surely you saw more shocking sights than old men chasing young boys."

"Well, yeah. It's just I never figured you were one of those young boys."

"I ran very fast," he said solemnly. "Believe me, he never caught me."

"And after death?"

"They quickly found their attention directed elsewhere."

She raised an eyebrow, amusement touching her full lips. "Including the females?"

"Of course. How could you think otherwise?"

"Something to do with the expertise you show in certain fields," she said dryly. "What if this vampire intends to lure you into a trap?"

"I doubt he'd do anything in a crowded café."

"What if he's seizing the opportunity to size up the opposition?"

"Then that'll make two of us, won't it?" He studied her for a moment. "What is it about this meeting that worries you?"

"I don't know. He doesn't sound anything like Jasper or Cordell. He sounds normal, and he's very obviously not." She bit her lip for a moment, her gaze sweeping the fog-enshrouded darkness around them. "I think it's going to be a lot harder to stop him than it was either of them."

"Which is why—" Anger flared through the link, singeing his senses. "Don't say it," she warned, pulling her fingers from his.

"Not unless you want an all-out argument right here on the street."

He didn't want to argue at all, here or anywhere else. You keep complaining I don't listen to you, and yet you refuse to consider my reasons.

Her gaze searched his, expression annoyed. "Maybe you're right. Maybe you should fully explain your reasons."

He reached out, brushing the moisture from the tip of her nose. "Not out here. It's too wet."

"The fog may be damp, but the night isn't really cold." She shrugged. "I want you to talk to me, Michael."

He didn't want to talk. He just wanted to enjoy the night and her company in this brief window of peace they'd been given. But her determined expression suggested this time she would not let it go. He twined his fingers through hers again and kept walking. On a clear night, the bay would have stretched out before them. Tonight, there was little more to be seen than fog muffled lights.

"I have been with the Circle since its beginning," he said. "In that time, both the Circle and I have gained a fair number of enemies. There are some alive today who would stop at nothing to destroy either of us."

"I'd think that would be a natural fallout from the type of work you do," she said, voice flat. "You can't run around killing bad guys without the bad guys' friends and relatives getting a little pissed about it."

He smiled, despite his annoyance. "True. The point is, these people will do all in their power to destroy me and everything I hold dear. That has never worried me because, until you, I had no one in my life whose destruction would destroy me."

She stopped, her gaze searching his, eyes glittering liquid gold in the damp night. "Then you know precisely how I feel when you go off on one of your missions and leave me behind."

He brushed his fingers against her cheek. "You're stronger than I am. You would survive my death. But I have spent over three and a half centuries alone, and I could not survive another three if I lost you."

"And you think I'd want to go on if I lost you?"

"No. But I think you'd survive the loss. I think you would go on. I think in many ways you are far stronger than I ever will be."

She turned away and continued down the hill. "You're wrong. So wrong."

He followed her, watching the sway of her fog-dampened hair across her shoulders. "I don't want you to become a target. If you join the Circle, become a part of what I do, you will be."

"Isn't that a risk everyone in the Circle takes?"

"Yes. But because of me, the risk will be doubled for you."

"What if I said I understood that risk and was willing to take it?"

"I'm not."

She swung around to face him again. Her anger seared the night, burned through the link. "So what the hell am I supposed to do with my life for the next three or four centuries? It's not as if I can stay home and watch the kids, is it?"

Shock coursed through him. God, he'd never even thought… He reached out to pull her close, but she slapped his hand away.

"Loving you was my choice. Everything else that has happened between us has been yours. You can't keep making decisions for me, Michael. It'll destroy us."

He took a deep breath and released it slowly. Pictured her slender body heavy with his child. It stirred an ache fiercer than anything he'd thought possible. And while it could never be, he couldn't help the brief wish for humanity. For the chance.

"Did you want children?" he asked softly.

She swung away, but not before he caught the glimmer of moisture on her eyelashes. "No. Yes." She made a helpless gesture with her hand. "I don't know. It's something I never really thought about until you came along."

"I'm sorry."

She crossed her arms and walked on. "Don't be. You made me a thrall to save me from Jasper."

"No," he corrected gently. "I made you a thrall because I love you and couldn't bear the thought of losing you."

She glanced at him. Tears still gleamed faintly in her wonderful eyes, but a smile touched her lips. "First time you've actually admitted that, you know."

"You knew how I felt. You have always known."

"Knowing and hearing it said are two entirely different things."

"Words can lie. Thoughts can't. That's where we share an advantage over most couples."

"We don't share all thoughts."

No, they didn't. He'd certainly never sensed her regret over losing her humanity—anger yes. But not regret. Had never suspected she'd ached to have children. Guilt rose, but only briefly. He couldn't really regret his actions when they were responsible for bringing her into his life.

They continued on in silence, walking side by side but not touching. Below them, the masts of a tall ship loomed, and the salty tang of ocean became stronger.

"I have buried far more friends than I care to remember," he said eventually. "I have no wish for you to join them."

"I think we can safely say death is something neither of us wants." Though her voice still held an edge of annoyance, it was softer than before. "And neither of us is exactly an easy kill, anyway."

"But we are not immortal, either."

"No. But finding death by your side is better than dying slowly inside every time you leave me." She hesitated. "Will you at least consider the possibility?"

He didn't want to, but he didn't want to lose her, either. He was beginning to see that their relationship truly was at stake over this. She'd walk away rather than settle for what she considered second-best. It was odd how quickly things had turned around. Only four months ago he'd been the one wanting to walk away—to keep her safe from the very dangers she was now fighting to share.

"I'll consider, if you'll agree to think about Jasper—and Cordell—and remember that there are things out there ten times worse than either of them. Those things could be hunting me even as we speak. You join me on missions, and they'll quickly be hunting you as well."

Her fear swirled briefly around him. "You can't keep your home life and your working life separate forever. Sooner or later that's going to happen."

He touched a hand to her back, guiding her across the road toward the park. "I'd prefer it happened later rather than sooner."

"So would I." Her gaze met his again, full of determination. "I know the risks and I don't care. I need to be a full partner in your life."

"I'll think about it." Which was certainly more than he'd been prepared to do only a day ago.

"For now, that's all I'm asking." She twined her hand through his and led him through the park. A building that oddly resembled a cruise ship loomed out of the fog. "Have you caught any scent of the other vampire?"

"No."

An impish smile touched her lips, and her eyes twinkled. Trouble headed his way. And he very much suspected it was the sort of trouble he was going to enjoy.

"And people? Any one in the nearby vicinity?"

He let his gaze roam the foggy darkness. The red haze of life burned near the wharf, and in some of the shops that lined the street. "No one close."

"Good." She stopped at a park bench and pushed him down on it. "Guess what?"

She straddled his lap, and he slipped his hands under her sweater, caressing the aroused points of her breasts. "What?"

"I'm not wearing any panties."

He slid his hands past her waist and hips, then up the inside of her thighs until he discovered she was indeed telling the truth. The muted ache that had sprung to life in front of the hotel leapt into renewed focus. "Wicked wench," he murmured. He gently cupped the triangle of her curls, delved carefully into their moist heat. She was as ready for him as he was for her.

"You did say anywhere, anytime." Her voice was teasing, her gaze hot. She slipped back on his lap and undid the zipper of his jeans. "I think it's time to prove you meant what you said."

"This is a little too public for my liking. You'll end up getting us arrested." But as much as he wanted to pick her up and run back to the privacy of their hotel room so he could love her more fully, he didn't move. Couldn't move. Not when every part of him quivered to be inside her. To feel her warm, moist heat wrap around him.

She shifted again, capturing him, thrusting him deep. He groaned out loud at the sheer pleasure of it.

"You'll sense it if anyone comes close, won't you?" She dropped tiny kisses from his cheek to his chin, her breath a sweet caress across his skin, but one that seared deep.

"With you sitting so snugly on my lap, I very much doubt if I'd sense a herd of wild elephants running past." He caught the end of her sweater and pulled it gently over her head. Her skin gleamed in the misty night, nipples dark and erect.

Amusement and passion shimmered through the link. "I doubt you'd have to worry about that happening."

"This is San Francisco. Anything can happen." Including him making love in the middle of a park for every passerby to see to the woman who held his heart.

"Just think." She slipped her hands under his sweater, her touch cool compared to the fever of his skin.

"If we were a team in the full sense of the word, there'd be no more lonely nights, no more long weeks of frustration."

"But there'd be more distraction, which could only lead to more danger for us both." He cupped her breasts, gently kneading the puckered nubs. "Don't think to use sex as a means to change my mind. It won't work."

"I'm not." She began to rock, ever so gently. Heat slithered through the link, wildfire ready to rupture and blow them both into bliss. "I'm just intent on showing you what you're missing out on."

"I'm very aware of what I'm missing out on, believe me."

The last three weeks in Ireland had certainly been hell. Loneliness was something he'd thought himself well accustomed to—until she'd stepped into his heart and made him dream of things he'd long thought impossible. Losing her would be like snatching the sunshine from the sky. He couldn't survive the plunge back into darkness. Wouldn't want to survive.

"I need you emotionally far more than I need you physically." He cupped a hand around the back of her neck and drew her lips close to his. "And I rest far easier at night knowing you are safe."

"I'm not safe. Not really." Her breath tingled across his mouth, her gaze holding his. "It's just an illusion you draw for yourself. Your work is your life. Either I'm a part of that life, with all its inherent dangers, or I'm out. Standing halfway between the two, like I currently am, is the most dangerous place of all."

"You're wrong." He brushed a tender kiss across her full lips. "And what we're doing now is the true danger. Distractions can kill."

"We are lovers, Michael. Occasionally it's nice to act like it." A teasing smile touched her lips. "But if you're really worried, just tell me to stop."

He slid his hand down to her waist and held her in place. "The Man of Steel wouldn't have the strength to tell you to stop right at this moment."

"Then stop worrying and just start loving."

"You are an extremely bossy woman, you know that?"

"And you are the most talkative male I have ever met." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "How about we concentrate on the business at hand before daylight comes and we really do get arrested."

As you wish.

He kissed her hard and began concentrating.

The harsh rap of knuckles against wood jerked Nikki awake. She kept her eyes closed, listening as her heart galloped in her chest. There was no sensation of danger, no hint of evil. The knock at the door echoed again.

The bed bounced as Michael rose, and she opened her eyes. The sunshine filtering past the hotel's curtains was warm and bright, so dawn had come and gone. She glanced at the clock. It was just after eight. They'd been asleep for a little more than three hours.

She sat up and looked around. The warm light played almost lovingly across Michael's well-toned back and shoulders as he pulled on his pants.

"What's wrong?"

"Jake's at the door." He leaned across the bed and quickly kissed her. "And from the feel of it, he's not happy. You'd better get dressed."

She tossed off the blankets and rose. "Something's happened."

"Obviously." He pulled on his sweater and walked quickly from the room. A heartbeat later she heard Jake's angry tones.

She hurriedly pulled on some clothes and walked out. "What's wrong?"

Jake threw the newspaper he was carrying onto the coffee table between them. "That's what's wrong."

The headlines screamed at her. Another woman had gone missing overnight.