Fireborn

CHAPTER 4

I ran on, but all my senses were trained behind me. Whoever it was, they were little more than the occasional whisper of footsteps and a distant shimmer of heat that was too cool to be human.

Vampire.

Fear and panic surged, making my heart race and a cold sweat break out across my skin. I could protect myself better than most, but I’d been attacked by a rogue vamp in a past life, and it was an experience I had no wish to repeat. Legend might suggest a vampire’s bite was orgasmic—and they certainly could be—but it was a harrowing, hateful thing when you were an unwilling victim.

And the bastard had killed me, too, simply because he’d caught me off guard and had ripped out my throat before I could fully react. And if a phoenix died before their allotted one-hundred-year span was over, the subsequent rebirth was a wretched, traumatic experience.

I shivered, suddenly thankful Magenta’s was close. I raced for the warm pink glow of the bar, slowing only once I’d reached it. A quick glance behind me didn’t reveal my follower, but if it was a vamp, I wouldn’t see him. The bastards were well able to surround themselves in shadows and all but disappear.

At least I was safe for the moment. Whoever it was would hardly make a move in front of so many people.

I shook the rain from my hair, then unzipped my jacket and held the laptop in one hand as I made my way through the crowd hanging around the front of the place, smoking and drinking. Sam wasn’t among them. Inside, the music was loud and bass heavy, and the air rich with the warm heat of humans. It took me a few minutes to find Sam, as he’d positioned himself in a rear corner and was half-hidden by the shadows.

He rose as I approached, his gaze scanning me and suddenly sharpening. Just for a moment, his concern washed through me, thick and sharp, and it not only warmed me deep inside, but provided yet another hint that the man I’d once loved was still in there somewhere. Which only made the steely front all that much harder to take. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m being followed,” I said. “A vampire, by the feel of him—”

He made a disgusted sound and sat back down. “He was supposed to keep out of your damn sight.”

I stared at him for a moment; then anger surged. “He’s one of your people?”

“Yeah.”

He motioned me to sit. I ignored him. That odd sense of darkness flared again, sending a shimmer that was part desire, part fear, down my spine.

“Why the hell are your people following me? I’ve been doing all that I can to help you, and this is the thanks I get?”

“Emberly, sit down and calm down.” His voice held the whip of command. “It’s not what it seems.”

I snorted in disbelief and shoved the computer at him. “You might want to have your people look at this. It’s Mark’s laptop, the one we used in the lab to transcribe his notes. We erase the drive regularly, but I’m guessing you’ll have someone who can recover data.”

“We do.” He frowned. “But we searched both the lab and his house thoroughly—where the hell did you find it?”

“He had a special compartment built into the desk.” I stripped off my sodden jacket. The shirt underneath was soaked in thick patches that clung to me like a second skin. It was also white and, where it was wet, more than a little see-through—something I couldn’t do much about. But it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen me exposed before. Wasn’t like he was even interested.

“So, explain why the hell you’re having me followed.” I dragged out the chair opposite him and sat down. “Because it certainly smacks of you not trusting me.”

“Actually, we don’t trust anyone, but in this particular case, we just don’t want you dead. Would you like a coffee? You look cold.”

I was cold, but I’d be damned if I’d let him do anything for me—not even something as simple as getting me a drink. I crossed my arms and said, “All I need is for you to explain that comment.”

He grunted. “Think about it; Baltimore is dead, his home and office ransacked, and you’re the only link we have to both Baltimore and the false security guard. And if they haven’t found what they’re after, it’s logical to think they’ll come after you next.”

“But I don’t know—”

“They don’t know that,” he cut in brusquely. “Adam will continue to follow you at night, and someone else will shadow you during the day. At least until we know for sure they’re not going to snatch you.”

I glared at him, though my anger had slithered away faster than rain down a drain. I could hardly argue about what he was doing when it was being done to keep me safe. “You could have at least warned me. I damn near had a heart attack.”

He grimaced. “You weren’t supposed to know he was there. Most people can’t sense vampires when they shadow.”

“Well, I’m not most people.”

“No,” he said, voice dark. “You’re not.”

And he would never forget it. God, I needed a coffee. No, what I really needed was alcohol. A bucket of it, preferably. But I couldn’t be bothered getting up to order anything and I wasn’t about to ask him.

So I simply said, “I don’t think anything was missing from either the lab or his office, but when I went to his apartment, I booted up the laptop and discovered his stash had been erased.”

“His stash?”

I nodded. “Mark backed up all his research in an online cloud service as an additional security measure. Only he and I knew the codes, so that’s one of the things they must have beaten out of him.”

“What time did they access it?”

“Three forty-five this morning.”

“Well after he’d been murdered and everything ransacked.”

I nodded again. “Which doesn’t make sense. Why do it after they’d ransacked? Why not do it before?”

He half shrugged. “Maybe they accessed it only after they hadn’t found whatever it was they were looking for elsewhere.”

“But all his notes were stored there. All of them—” I stopped suddenly. All except the ones I had, that was.

“What?”

I cleared my throat. “Mark asked me to type up some notes the night he died. I’ve still got them.”

“Fuck. You should have mentioned—”

“I forgot,” I snapped. “It’s not like I did it deliberately.” Not like I wanted his grumpy, forbidding ass in my life any longer than necessary.

And if I kept telling myself that often enough, I might eventually believe it.

Sam grunted. His expression wasn’t giving much away, but the darkness in him was stronger, its caress making me shiver and yearn. It almost felt like the aura a vampire used when they wanted to make their blood taking as pleasurable as possible. Not all of them did, of course. Some, like the one who’d killed me, rather enjoyed the taste of fear and panic. But at least the bastard had suffered, because I’d managed to burn a good part of his body before I’d died. Vampires couldn’t regenerate ruined flesh any more than a phoenix could—although at least our rebirth did give us a fresh, scar-free start.

“Are they still at home?” he asked.

I nodded. “I usually transfer the files across to the institute once I finish transcribing, but I forgot to do that with everything that happened.”

“Probably just as well, given they’ve managed to steal everything else.”

“Meaning they did get into the institute’s system?”

“Yes. Although they only erased Baltimore’s notes.”

I rubbed my arms, trying to get some warmth into them. Saw his eyes flicker briefly downward and felt my nipples harden.

And wished like hell there was some way to make myself as immune to this man as he was to me.

He leaned back in his chair, his face a mask. “Then we’d better go get them.”

“Fuck it, no.” The words were out of my mouth before I’d even thought about them. “I’ve just spent the last thirteen hours crawling around floors, stacking papers, and going through books. I’ve done more than enough for one day. Besides, I have a goddamn date.”

He raised an eyebrow, his expression almost mocking. “With the Fae you ran into at the apartment building?”

Anger flared again, and the heat of it touched my cheeks. “What if it is?”

“Given what has been going on in that building, it might be better if you’d wait until he’s fully checked out.”

I snorted softly. “You lost the right to tell me who I could and couldn’t see a long time ago.”

“I never had that fucking right.” His low voice was so cold it felt like I’d been slapped by ice. “Even when we were together.”

“And you never gave me a chance to explain why!”

“Cheating is cheating, Red,” he bit back. “End of story.”

It wasn’t, but it would never matter. It was over between us, and nothing could ever repair the damage, no matter how desperate my foolish heart might be to believe otherwise.

He took a deep breath, and the darkness and anger in him retreated. “Fine. I’ll have someone drop by tomorrow morning to collect them.”

“Fine,” I retorted. “If you need anything else, you know where to find me.”

“If we need anything else, someone else can fucking find you.” And with that, he rose and walked out.

I released a slow breath, but it didn’t do a whole lot to ease the anger and tension that ran through me. What I needed was time in the arms of someone who cared, but Rory was no doubt in Rosie’s tender embrace by now. A hot and sexy Fae—even if he was a total stranger—would have to do instead.

I plucked his business card out of my pocket and gave him a call.

“Jackson Miller.” His voice was deep and warm, and I closed my eyes in pleasure as he added, “How may I help you?”

“I believe you promised me a drink,” I said. “And I’m finding myself in need of one right now.”

“Emberly! I wasn’t sure if you’d call tonight. I thought I might have scared you off with my straightforwardness.”

I laughed softly. “Trust me, a straightforward man will never scare me away. Are you busy?”

“I’m never too busy to have a drink with a pretty lady.” He paused. “Where are you?”

“Magenta’s. It’s just—”

“I know exactly where it is,” he cut in cheerfully. “I’ll be there in five.”

Meaning he was close. Good. I needed to steal some of his warmth. A chill seemed to have settled into my bones, and I couldn’t risk flaming in a bar that was packed with humans.

Jackson was as good as his word and appeared five minutes later, a big, lean man who radiated sexuality and heat. His grin, when his gaze met mine, was easy and delighted, creasing the corners of his green eyes.

“Emberly,” he said, and leaned down to drop a kiss on my cheek. Though it was little more than a light brush of lips, the memory of it seemed to linger on my skin, all tingly and warm. “You have no idea how pleased I am to hear from you so soon.”

I smiled. “I wasn’t sure what you drank, so I haven’t ordered anything yet.”

“Good, because a lady should never buy a man a drink. Not until the second or third date, anyway.”

“I think most ladies would disagree with that,” I said dryly, “given it often leads to unwarranted expectations.”

“Oh, I have plenty of expectations.” Mischief sparkled in his eyes. “But as I’ve already told you, they’ll come with our second date. What would you like to drink?”

“Just a chardonnay, thanks.”

He nodded and went to get our drinks. On returning, he sat in Sam’s recently vacated chair, filling the space with warmth and sunshine rather than moody darkness.

“So,” he said, crossing his arms on the table and studying me with an intensity that was different from and yet no less unsettling than Sam’s. “Tell me about yourself.”

I gave him a vague outline of what I did for a living, then said, “You?”

He half shrugged. “I own an engineering company. We design and develop new industrial machinery to clients’ specifications.”

“Sounds more exciting than my job.”

“It’s not. You been in Melbourne long?”

My turn to shrug. “For about nine years now. You?”

“Most of my work is here nowadays, but I do the occasional job in Sydney.”

I took a sip of my wine, then said, “So why is a fire Fae working in a city as big as Melbourne?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Why is a phoenix?”

“Change of scenery.”

“Same. Of course, it certainly doesn’t hurt that there’s a female Fae here only a few years away from becoming fertile.” That slow, sexy smile appeared again. “And there’s certainly more non-Fae possibilities to explore more sensual pastimes with here in the big smoke.”

Once again, his expression left me in no doubt that he was hoping to explore some of those sensual pastimes with me. Excitement shivered through me. The Fae were, according to Rory, fantastic lovers. He’d been lucky enough to spend some time with one several rebirths ago, but I’d never met one before now.

“So this female—her name wouldn’t happen to be Rochelle, would it?”

He shrugged. “I’ve only caught her scent a few times, and we’re not likely to meet until she’s ready to reproduce. We Fae are an antisocial lot.”

With one another, not with other races, obviously. “So has your pursuit of sin here in the big smoke been a successful endeavor thus far?”

“Yes, though it is never a sin to either enjoy or give enjoyment through sensation and sex.” Amusement crinkled the corners of his bright eyes. “Though I do have to say, virgins are a bit thin on the ground these days. Unless, of course, you catch them young, and that goes against the moral grain.”

“A Fae with morals? I’m shocked!”

He laughed. “Some of us do have them. Not many, granted, but some.”

The conversation flowed easily from one topic to another, until it felt as if I were talking to a longtime friend rather than a stranger. Hours came and went unnoticed, although the wine was eventually replaced by coffee.

By three, the bar had lost a good half of its patrons, and the raucous, bass-heavy beat had been replaced by more intimate music.

“I guess I’d better go,” I said, more than a little regretfully. As much as I enjoyed his company, I was dead on my feet. And if I lingered, we would end up in bed together, but I was just as likely to fall asleep as enjoy myself. “Otherwise, this will roll into breakfast and if it does, then breakfast cannot possibly be classified as a second date.”

He reached across the table and took my hand in his. He turned it around and, with one finger, lightly traced the outline of my palm and wrist. Desire slammed into me, and breathing with any sort of normality suddenly became impossible.

“I do hope you realize,” he said, voice husky and passion burning bright in his eyes, “that I intend to seduce you senseless the next time we meet.”

My heart was hammering so hard I swear it was trying to tear out of my chest and leap into his lap. What Rory and I had might be brilliant, but it was also a necessity. While we both enjoyed flesh-on-flesh contact, it was something we indulged in with each other only occasionally. Sam might have accused me of cheating, but I’d been as faithful as I ever could be given the restrictions of my nature, and Rory and I had been strictly flame only.

“If you don’t,” I replied, keeping my voice low and sexy, “I’ll be very disappointed.”

His bright smile was filled with promise. “And we wouldn’t want you disappointed, would we?”

God, no. “When and where?”

“What about a late brunch? I can pick you up around eleven, if you’d like.”

Sam’s warning edged its way into my thoughts and I hesitated. Damn you, I thought. You’re not going to spoil this. I wouldn’t let him. “That would be lovely.”

I gave him my address. He rose, took my hand, and pulled me to my feet. “And now? Can I drive you home?”

I shook my head. “I always prefer to catch a cab home on a first date.”

“Then let me walk you down to the cabstand.” He picked up my coat and held it out so that I could slip my arms into it. His fingers brushed my breasts as his hands fell away, and delight skittered through me.

“I can smell you,” he whispered, as his lips brushed the base of my neck. I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation. “I can smell your heat and your desire. It intoxicates me, sweet Emberly.”

I shivered, torn between the need to be safe and the growing hunger to take what this man offered. His kisses traveled up the side of my neck; then he gently nipped my lobe. A groan escaped. Mine, not his.

“Please,” I said, and wasn’t entirely sure just what it was I was asking.

He chuckled softly; then he stepped out from behind me, his hand sliding sensually down my back and coming to rest on my backside. His touch was almost hot enough to brand, and the flames inside me shivered and danced in response. “Shall we walk down to the cabstand?”

I wasn’t entirely sure I was capable of walking anywhere, but I nodded anyway. And the only thing I was capable of thinking was that if he could do this to me with a few softly spoken words and some well-placed kisses, then what the hell could he do when he actually set his mind to full seduction?

One thing was sure—I’d find out later today. And I couldn’t wait.

The rain had eased outside, but the night was still very cold. Not that I really felt it, protected as I was by the intense, animal-like hunger rolling off the man beside me.

At the stand, he didn’t kiss me, as I’d expected, but rather stepped away. He must have caught my surprise, because he gave me a lopsided, totally endearing grin. “Things, I’m afraid to say, are a little knife-edged at the moment.”

“A Fae in danger of losing his legendary control?” I said, in mock horror. “Unbelievable!”

He laughed. The sound rolled across my skin as sweetly as his kisses had only moments before. “I am so glad we ran into each other, Emberly. I’ll see you in”—he paused and looked at his watch—“just over seven hours.”

“I’ll be waiting.” I got into the cab, gave the driver my address, then twisted around to watch Jackson walking away, until we turned the corner and I could no longer see him.

The minute I stepped out of the elevator I saw the small red light situated discreetly above our doorway flashing. I stopped cold. That light said our security system had been breached.

Sam’s warnings came back in a rush, and I stared down the bright but silent hallway to our door with some trepidation. I might be able to protect myself both physically and with flame, but neither was entirely foolproof. And the memory of what had been done to the professor loomed large, a warning of what might happen if I acted stupidly.

I spun around and stepped back into the elevator. Once in the foyer, I called the cops, then sat back in the shadows and waited for them to arrive.

Only the cops didn’t. Sam did.

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. After five years of living in the same city but never meeting, we suddenly seemed unable to get away from each other.

I pushed upright wearily. “I thought you were intending to let someone else deal with me?”

His expression was as remote as I’d ever seen it. “We have your phone tapped, and I just happened to be close when you reported the break-in.”

Annoyance surged. I understood the reasoning behind tapping my phone well enough—as he’d said, I was the only connection now between the professor and whatever else his murderers might have been searching for—but that didn’t mean I had to be happy about it. But all I said was, “I’m already being shadowed by one of yours—why couldn’t he have handled it?”

“He’s a vampire. He can’t cross thresholds unless invited.” His gaze raked me. “I seem to remember you once saying that you made a policy of never doing that.”

I didn’t particularly want him crossing my threshold, either, but it wasn’t like I had a whole lot of choice right now. So I simply shrugged and followed him into the elevator. Which suddenly seemed entirely too small with his dark and brooding presence in it.

“Where’s your key?” he said as we neared the floor.

I gave it to him, being overly careful not to touch him. If he noticed, he didn’t say anything. When the elevator door opened, I followed him out, but was promptly stopped by an abrupt, “Stay here.”

I obeyed. He was the cop, not me. Not in this lifetime, anyway. I crossed my arms and noted almost absently that as lean as he was, he still filled out the rear end of his jeans rather nicely.

He carefully unlocked the door, then drew a gun from inside his coat and, with a speed that seemed almost unnatural, had the door open and was inside.

I waited tensely, shifting my weight from one foot to another, aching to know what was going on. There was no sound, no movement, nothing to indicate there was any sort of scuffle going on in there.

After about five minutes, he reappeared. “If there was someone in there, they’re well gone. But you’d better check to see if anything is missing.” He hesitated. “In particular, you’d better check those notebooks you mentioned.”

I swore internally. They’d be gone; of that I had no doubt. “As long as you stay outside.”

He frowned. “Red, don’t be ridiculous—”

I crossed my arms, and no doubt my expression was as stubborn as his was frustrated. “I can be as ridiculous as I want, because it’s my damn apartment.”

“Fine,” he growled. “I’ll wait here.”

I brushed past him and went in. At first glance, everything seemed perfectly normal. Nothing appeared to have been moved or touched.

Then my gaze fell on the coffee table. My laptop was gone. As were Mark’s notebooks.

I closed my eyes. Fuck!

Almost immediately Sam said, “What?”

I took a deep breath and released it slowly. “My laptop and Mark’s notebooks are missing.”

“Damn it!” The darkness within him seemed to explode, and the sheer force of it had me stepping back. “I should have followed instinct and fucking forced you to hand over the papers earlier tonight.”

“There’s no saying they would have been here even then,” I snapped, guilt and anger swirling through me. He was right. I knew he was right, but that didn’t mean I was about to put up with him ripping me to shreds. Not again. “I’ve been gone for nearly twenty hours. That’s plenty of time for someone to come in here and retrieve the notes.”

“And what about Rory?”

He practically spat the name, and it made me even angrier. “He’s out for the night. And he’s probably enjoying himself a whole lot more than I am.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he growled. “You seemed to be enjoying yourself just fine with that Fae.”

My eyes widened. “You were watching me?”

“I told you we were.” His expression closed over sharply. The darkness within him didn’t retreat, however. It was as deadly and as alluring as ever.

I shivered and walked over to the planter. “No, you told me Adam the vampire was watching me.”

“Adam is my partner.”

I paused and looked over my shoulder. “You? The man who thinks all nonhumans should be dead, with a vampire partner? Yeah, right.”

“I don’t believe that,” he growled. “I never have.”

“Then why say it?”

He snorted, his expression dark, angry. But deep in the unlit recesses of his eyes, there were also the stirring ashes of hurt. “Because when you discover the woman you love is fucking another man, you tend to say things you otherwise wouldn’t.” He paused, then made a sharp motion with his hand. “That, however, is the past, and totally irrelevant. Protecting you, and checking everyone you interact with, isn’t. And that duty, unfortunately, has been handed down to me.”

I finally found the USB and swung around. “And what did you find out about my Fae?”

“Nothing yet. But if there’s anything to find, we’ll find it.”

“And if there’s not?”

He shrugged. “Then you running into him like that really was nothing more than a coincidence.”

I snorted softly and tossed him the USB. He caught it easily, then said, “What’s this?”

“Notes from four of the five notebooks I transcribed. Mark’s caution rubbed off, and I usually keep a copy aside just in case the files went missing in the system or something went wrong in the transfer.”

“What about the fifth one?”

I hesitated, then admitted, “I didn’t get around to copying that over.”

“Well, at least you’ve done something that vaguely resembles smart,” he muttered, studying the USB like a scientist might a bug.

I glared at him for a moment, then said, voice flat, “Get out of my doorway.”

He glanced up, surprise flaring in his eyes. “What?”

“I said, get out. Leave this building. Now,” I added, when he didn’t immediately move.

He raised an almost mocking eyebrow and half turned away, then paused. His shadowed blue gaze met mine a final time.

“One thing you should know,” he said softly. “I don’t believe in coincidences. Trust me, Red. The Fae is up to something.”

And with that warning hanging in the air, he left.