Chapter Five
Ava
I didn’t have to glance behind me to know that Macgrath was there. As I had all afternoon, I felt him close by. His presence changed the very atmosphere, creating a charge in the air. A tension that I couldn’t escape.
I could feel his stare as he watched me, the weight of his attention making my skin tingle and my heartbeat quicken.
Now that he was closer, it was wreaking havoc on my senses. My head grew lighter and my stomach twisted. I sucked in a deep breath to steel myself as I walked into my office, standing to one side so Macgrath could enter as well.
When I shut the door, the room seemed to shrink, the vampire’s presence filling the already small space.
I flopped down in the chair behind my desk and stared up at him. When he didn’t sit as well, I gestured to the chair against the far wall. “Have a seat.”
He glanced at the chair then looked back at me. I lifted an eyebrow at him, refusing to take the hint. That chair was half the size of my desk chair, but I wasn’t about to give an inch of my advantage to this vampire. He screwed up my equilibrium too much as it was. I needed the upper hand whenever I could get it.
He sighed and folded his long length down until he settled into the seat. The wood and metal groaned from his weight and he froze. I bit back a laugh at the expression on his face and his obvious unease that the little chair would collapse beneath him.
When the structure held, he carefully leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest, and stretching his legs before him. There was no trace of his earlier uncertainty over whether the seat would hold his bulk. A hint of a smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“What did you want to talk about?” he asked, reminding me why I’d invited him to follow me back to the office.
My eyes narrowed as I regarded him. “Do you know where Rhiannon is?”
Though his body didn’t move an inch, I could nearly see the fine tension that suddenly ran through his muscles. “I don’t.”
I cocked my head to the side and studied him closely, looking for any sign that he might be lying. Vampires were good liars, usually because they’d had years to perfect the practice, but I’d been around for a few centuries myself and I knew quite a few of their tricks. “You wouldn’t be lying to me, would you?”
Macgrath’s legs bent and he leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “No, I wouldn’t lie to you.”
There was no sign of deception, at least none that I was familiar with. I glanced down at the ring I wore, a blue stone set in fine silver. The gem glowed softly, the color remaining the same pure azure it usually was.
He was telling the truth.
I relaxed slightly, realizing that I’d been tense as well. “Any ideas how we can find her?”
He resumed his reclining position, his eyes clashing with mine. “A few. You?”
This felt like a defining moment where I had to decide how much I trusted the vampire. After the dream this morning, my hormones were telling me that not only could I trust him with my personal safety but with my body as well. My brain told my hormones to fuck off. And my heart…
Well, my heart was useless. For centuries, I hadn’t loved anyone or anything. Not until I met Savannah. While some of the ice inside me had thawed over the years, I was still partially numb.
I hadn’t been this conflicted since I woke up with no memory of my previous life, which had been about two millennia ago, give or take a year.
I decided to split the difference. I would share just enough but not everything.
“I’ve tried all of the usual magical avenues.” When I paused, his brows lifted, so I continued. “And some of the unusual ones. Nothing. The witch seems to have disappeared, as though she never existed.”
Macgrath nodded. “She’s good at that. I haven’t been able to find her either. At least not with magical means. But I think I know someone who can track her down.”
“A witch?”
He grinned and shook his head. “No, a hacker.”
I frowned at him. “A hacker? How could they succeed where powerful magic can’t?” As soon as I asked the question, I knew the answer. “The money. Rhiannon likes the finer things, doesn’t she? Designer clothes, luxury, everything. She’ll need funds to maintain her lifestyle. I don’t see a woman like Rhiannon living without her creature comforts for long.”
Macgrath’s grin widened. “Exactly. There is no way she’d rough it. I’ve known her long enough to be familiar with her vanity.”
His words reminded me once again that he’d spent a hundred years aligned with the evil bitch. I pressed my lips together and frowned as his smile slowly faded.
He uncrossed his arms and straightened once again. “I know you won’t be able to forgive me for what I did and that you’ll never forget that I was once Rhiannon’s…” he trailed off.
“Minion,” I supplied.
He huffed a laugh. “For lack of a better word, yes.” He swallowed. “But I won’t make the same mistakes twice. I made a piss poor choice when I fell in with Rhiannon.” His eyes lost focus, as he stared straight through me. “People were hurt and I could have prevented it. Instead I chose to focus on myself and pursue what I wanted. Even if everyone else could forgive me, I’ll never forgive myself.”
I understood exactly what he meant. I had similar demons. When my selfishness had put others at risk, when people had gotten hurt because of it, it had taken me a long time to move on. The Goddess blessed me with amazing power and gifts. I had a responsibility to use them wisely and to help others and I hadn’t always lived up to that responsibility.
“Anyway, even if she used magical means to hide her financials, there’s always a paper trail. It’s nearly impossible to hide everything when it comes to money.”
Considering him for a moment, I asked, “And do you intend to share the information when you get it?”
The vulnerable expression left Macgrath’s face. The smirk was back and I realized he used it as a mask. A way to keep others at arm’s length. “That depends.”
“On?”
“A lot of things,” he replied, getting to his feet.
I scowled at his non-answer. “Care to be more specific?”
“Not really.” His tone was bored and it was pissing me the hell off. He reached for the door handle.
With a wave of my hand, I sealed the door shut. “Well, I would prefer a little more information before I blindly take your word.”
Macgrath laughed and faced me, leaning his back against the door and crossing his arms over his chest. “And you think locking me in here will encourage me to talk? Because there’s a small flaw in your logic.”
I mirrored his pose, crossing my arms as well. “Please, enlighten me.”
There was definitely something wrong with me because I was enjoying this. The verbal fencing, the tension that simmered between us, I liked it. It was exciting and invigorating.
Macgrath pushed off the door, dropped his arms to his sides, and crossed the short distance between us. My muscles grew tight as he leaned over me and placed his hands on the arms of my chair. Our faces were only a foot apart, close enough that I could see the emerald of his irises and the sunburst of gold that surrounded his pupils, spiking into the green like the points of a star. He also smelled of leather and soap and another scent that I couldn’t place. Something earthier.
“If you think that locking me in this room with you will make me talk, you’re wrong. Being close to you, even trapped in a room with you, isn’t a punishment, Ava.” His gaze moved over my face, hesitating for a bit too long on my mouth. Then his lips quirked in a wicked half-smile. “It only gives me all sorts of interesting ideas.” He inhaled deeply and the amber in his irises glowed. He stared at me, his gaze probing and intense. “And I’d give anything to know what you’re thinking right now.”
Thinking? I couldn’t think. All I could do was feel. My body alternately throbbed and tingled, my fingertips itching with the need to touch him. Heat spread beneath my skin. I was quickly losing all semblance of control.
Then reason pierced the spell he’d woven around me. I was letting that stupid dream weaken my defenses. The Macgrath in that dream wasn’t the vampire standing before me. He was a fantasy, created by my subconscious. The real Macgrath, the one standing before me, was an enigma. His smiles weren’t as warm or genuine, and he carried darkness within him. He was dangerous and… thrilling in a different way.
Still, I couldn’t trust him. Not yet. Now that I knew we shared similar demons, I found myself more willing to give him a chance, but he had a long way to go before he’d prove himself trustworthy.
I lifted a hand and the wicked smile on his face faded, replaced by surprise and more than a little hunger. He sucked in a sharp breath when my fingers touched his chest. The heat radiated from him, through the soft cotton, and down my arm, but I remained focused on my plan.
“Ava,” he whispered, lowering his face until our mouths were the barest inch apart and our breath mingled.
I let a small spark of power flow through my arm and out my fingertips. Macgrath jumped back.
“Fuck me!”
I couldn’t help myself. I laughed. “Not today, vampire.”
He rubbed his chest with a hand then grinned. “But another day?”
I laughed again. “You can dream.”
The smile on his face dropped away. “I always dream of you.”
Taken aback, I did nothing to stop him when he left the room.