CHAPTER 17

 

Lara didn’t want to leave Vincent’s bed. She lay there drowsing for a while, pretending that they didn’t have places to be and succubi to drive off. If only they could stay there all night. Order takeout. Listen to music, or maybe watch a movie on Vincent’s flat screen. She didn’t really care what they did, just that this feeling wouldn’t end.

She’d been with plenty of men before, of course. Even if she hadn’t been a cupid, she was an attractive, intelligent, successful woman. She generally didn’t have problems picking up someone to spend the night with, if she was in the mood for that. But those encounters often left her wanting more without quite understanding what “more” meant. She’d had orgasms a plenty, but still left hungry. Now she finally understood that feeling. Not only did she feel physically satisfied—and boy did she ever—but she felt comfortable. Secure. Loved. Maybe it was too early to use that word, but it was how she felt.

She only wished she could take more time to savor it. But they didn’t have that luxury. It was getting late, and although she really wanted to confront Tanith on her own, she had to admit that it would be a very bad idea to go into that confrontation without at least telling Annamarie what she was about to do. Things could go wrong. If they did, she’d need the backup. And if not, maybe Annamarie would give her a little more credit when it came to dealing with succubi and other love manipulators. Just because she was a cupid didn’t mean that she couldn’t deal with this. She wasn’t stupid, after all.

Beside her on the surprisingly comfortable futon mattress, Vincent stirred. His lean, muscled arm worked his way around her, and then he groaned. Her head whipped around to stare at him in concern, and he grinned.

“Don’t panic. I just don’t want to get up. But we should,” he said.

“Just one more minute,” she replied, nestling into the crook of his arm.

“How can I say no to that?”

They snuggled together for more than a minute. Lara couldn’t see a clock, but she figured it had to be at least five, and she was trying to work up the motivation to get up and put her clothes on when her cell rang. Vincent startled at the noise, his arm jerking beneath her head, and she snickered as she got up and crossed the room to her bag. She could feel his eyes on her, and she gave him a coy look over her shoulder as she fished the still ringing phone out. She was rewarded with a look of delighted awe as his eyes took her in.

It felt good, but her sense of delight faded when she saw the number. Ignazio. They’d exchanged contact information. Hopefully, he was just calling out of nervousness, but she couldn’t shake the instantaneous feeling that something must be wrong.

“Hello?” she answered.

“You’ll never guess who I found,” purred a voice into the phone. No one in a million years would have mistaken it for Ignazio. No, this was unmistakably Tanith.

“Put Ignazio on the line,” she said.

“Now, why would I do that? Especially when I find him only to realize that he has your number. He tells me that you saw each other earlier. How is that possible, my sweet Lara, when I hired you to bring him to me? Perhaps you’ve forgotten our business arrangement?”

“No,” said Lara. Her mind raced. Should she play stupid, or call Tanith out? It was clear that the succubus already suspected something. Most people would try and hide, or run like Ignazio. Tanith would expect that. Lara didn’t like doing what was expected when it came to her targets, and Tanith was just that. A target. And Lara was going to bring her down. “I remember. But I don’t like handing people over to hungry succubi.”

If she hadn’t been listening closely, she might have missed the sharp intake of breath on the other end of the phone. Tanith recovered quickly, but Lara knew her arrow had found its mark. She’d surprised the succubus. Knocked her off guard just a bit. Hopefully she wouldn’t regret it later.

Vincent sat up bolt upright now and kicked off the sheets. If she hadn’t been so distracted, she would have taken the time to admire the lean lines of his body before he began to pull on his jeans. But Tanith’s response took up all of her attention.

“And how did you figure it out?” Tanith asked, seemingly delighted. “I thought I smelled a whiff of something otherworldly about you. What are you, my sweet?”

“I figured it out in the course of my investigation into Ignazio. There were no tapes, were there?”

“Of course not. But I can’t have people wandering around with knowledge about my true identity. Which means we have a bit of a problem, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t have a problem,” said Lara tartly.

“Well, I do. But here’s what we’ll do. We’ll meet. Have a nice chat. I’m sure we can figure something out, can’t we?” purred Tanith.

“You must think I’m insane. Why on earth would I meet you, knowing you’ll just try and suck me dry?”

“You’d like it, you know. But no matter. We both know you’ll come, because I have Ignazio, and you have a hero complex. Don’t you, darling? Meet me at the theater. With traffic, it shouldn’t take you more than an hour. And don’t be late. I’m terribly hungry, and who knows what would happen?”

Tanith’s throaty laugh filled the line, and then she hung up.

Vincent paused with his shirt balled up in his fists. His hands worked at the fabric.

“She called to threaten you, didn’t she?” he asked.

“She called to find out what I knew.”

“So you just told her?” He cocked his head to the side. “I’m confused.”

“She knew I’d figured something out. So I hit her with it. If she’s feeling cocky, she’s more likely to make a mistake. At least that’s what I’m hoping for.”

“At least she didn’t waste her breath on empty denials. So she’s got Ignazio, and we’re going after him?” At her questioning look, he said, “Hey, your volume is up really loud. I couldn’t help but listen in.”

She chuckled, even though she didn’t exactly feel like laughing.

“Fair enough,” she said. “And yes. I mean, I’m going. I assume that you’ll come with me?”

“Lara, I’d follow you into a volcano,” he said sincerely. “I want to be wherever you are.”

His gaze warmed her, and she found herself smiling despite the whole situation. Funny how it felt like everything would be okay when she looked into his eyes, even though she knew there were a million ways things could go wrong.

“I need to make one more call before we go,” she said.

“Cool. I’ll run a brush through my hair. You’re welcome to use it too, if you want. I think you look great, but you might not want to fight a succubus with I-just-had-sex hair.”

This time she laughed outright. He went into the bathroom, and she dialed the phone.

“Hey, Lara,” answered Annamarie. “What’s up?”

“Tanith Q is a succubus,” she said.

There was a shocked pause.

“Are you sure?”

“Sure enough. I confronted her with it, and she didn’t deny it. Didn’t even blink. The whole theft story was just an excuse to get her hands on Ignazio, because he’d figured it out and was hiding from her.”

“You confronted her? Are you nuts?”

“Over the phone. She called to find out what I know.”

“Damn,” muttered Annamarie. “I’m going to have to delete all her songs from my playlist now.”

“Life’s tough,” said Lara.

“Yeah, I guess. Okay, you get out of town, and I’ll see who I can send in,” said Annamarie, typing furiously.

“No can do. She demanded to see me. If I don’t go, she’ll follow me. Besides, she has Ignazio. I’m not going to run and let her drain him dry in retaliation.”

“You’re too valuable to waste, Lara.”

“If I let him die because I’m too afraid to face her, I’ll lose my edge. You’ll lose me anyway.”

“Then let me send backup,” persisted Annamarie.

“I already have backup.”

Another pause. “The tall guy from the hospital?”

“Bingo. He’s an angel of death. Kills with a touch. Although he’s still developing control over it.”

“Reeaally…” Annamarie drew out the word thoughtfully. “He’s not looking for a job, is he?”

“If this works out, I was thinking of recruiting him as my partner.”

“Okay…” From the sounds of it, Annamarie had a lot of questions, but she held off on them. Instead, she turned back to the topic of Tanith. “I’m still sending someone. And I’m activating your tracker. I can have Lazlo there in two and a half hours. If you haven’t checked in by then, I’m sending him to your coordinates.”

Although Lara felt a bit annoyed at the lack of confidence in her abilities, she was surprised to find how relieved she felt too. If something went wrong, Lazlo would step in to help. He regenerated. They didn’t work together much, because the agency usually gave her no-kill jobs, while he made sure his targets never got up again. But she’d partnered with him a couple of times, and it felt good to know he’d be there just in case.

“Cool. Thanks.”

“Send me all the info, and check in as soon as she’s neutralized.”

“Sure thing. Traffic’s a bitch, so we won’t get to the theater for about an hour. Don’t panic.”

“I’ll be watching your tracker and biting my nails. Let’s not delude ourselves,” said Annamarie, and then she hung up.