Chapter Nineteen
Tessa jumped every time the phone rang, always expecting it to be Andrei or Bailey, but it never was. She didn’t know whether to be relieved when she didn’t hear from either one of them, or worried.
Unable to concentrate on the file in front of her, she chewed on her thumbnail. She hadn’t seen or heard from Andrei since Monday, couldn’t help worrying about him. Vampire or not, he was hanging out with a woman he had once found irresistible, a woman who was older and more powerful than he was.
A woman who had tried to kill him. Had Katerina tried again? And succeeded? She banished the horrible thought from her mind.
And then there was Bailey, a girl who was, for all intents and purposes, a complete stranger. She couldn’t help wondering what Bailey was doing. For all she knew, the girl could be lying about being a runaway foster child. Maybe she was a professional thief. She could be older and more worldly-wise than she looked. Maybe she had concocted that story about being a runaway so people like Tessa would feel sorry for her and take her in. Then, the first time she was left alone, she robbed them. Maybe . . .
Exasperated by her wild imaginings, Tessa took the elevator down to the cafeteria for a blueberry muffin and a cup of coffee.
She was staring into her empty cup when Andrei slid into the chair across from her. He looked incredibly handsome in a pair of faded jeans and a dark blue shirt. Just seeing him lifted her spirits.
Reaching across the table, he took her hand in his. “Are you all right?”
“I am now.”
“I sensed something was bothering you. Do you want to talk about it?”
“I was worrying about you.”
“Me? Whatever for?”
“I hadn’t heard from you . . . I was afraid you were . . . that she . . .”
“No one’s ever worried about me before.”
“She tried to kill you!” Tessa exclaimed. “How can I not worry? Where is she, anyway?”
“Resting.” He squeezed her hand. “I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.” She pressed her lips together to keep from asking the question that was ever present in the back of her mind.
“Tessa, don’t ask.”
“I won’t.” Her gaze searched his, as if she might find the answer there, even though she kept telling herself she didn’t want to know.
Andrei blew out a sigh. “I’m not sure how much longer I can hold her off. But whatever happens with Katerina, you must believe it has nothing to do with my feelings for you.”
Tessa nodded. “Has she said any more about me?”
“No. I’m trying to find a way to ask what she wants with the woman the fledgling described without arousing her suspicions about you.”
“Is she suspicious?”
“I don’t think so. I stopped by your place earlier to check in on Bailey.”
“How’s she doing?”
“There’s something about her . . .”
“I knew it! She isn’t what she seems, is she?”
“Not exactly.”
Something in his tone sent a chill down her spine. “What do you mean?”
“I didn’t notice it last night, what with everything else that was going on, but today . . . you remember I told you vampires aren’t the only supernatural creatures?”
Tessa nodded. “Is she a vampire, too?”
“No. She’s a shape-shifter.” At her blank expression, he said, “You’ve heard of werewolves, right?”
“So, they’re real too? Good heavens, please tell me I’m not harboring a werewolf under my roof!”
“No. She’s a were-panther.” Andrei gave her hand another squeeze. “She’s not like a werewolf. She won’t go crazy when the moon is full.”
“But she can turn into a panther? Like, a real panther?”
“When she wants to. I don’t think she’s done it in a long time. If ever.”
“Jilly will never believe this,” Tessa muttered. “Not in a million years.”
“I’ve got to go. Walk me out?”
Alone in the elevator, Andrei stopped the car between floors. Tessa’s heart thudded against her ribs when he pulled her into his arms. She forgot about Katerina, about were-panthers, about everything but the man whose gaze burned into hers. Though his kiss was gentle, she felt his power wash over her, the tightly leashed strength of the arms that held her tight. Tighter. His tongue stroked hers, inflaming her senses.
She moaned in protest when he lifted his head.
One last kiss, and he was gone.
Head reeling, lips still tingling from his kisses, Tessa returned to her office to find Jilly waiting for her.
“Where have you been? I was about to leave you a note.” Jilly frowned. “Are you coming down with something? You look a little flushed.”
“I was with Andrei.”
“Oh, well, that explains it. Listen, I can’t meet for lunch today. I forgot, I’ve got a dental appointment.”
“Okay, call you later. I’ve got a lot to tell you.”
“Uh-oh. Is it good news or bad?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” Tessa replied as her phone rang. “Gotta go.”
* * *
Tessa drove home slowly. Was Bailey still there? Should she mention the shape-shifter thing?
After parking in her space, Tessa sat in the car, reluctant—and a little apprehensive—about facing her houseguest. Vampires. Were-panthers. What next?
She glanced around, making sure she was alone before she got out of the car and ran up the stairs.
Inside, she locked the door, then dropped her handbag on the sofa, and kicked off her heels.
She found Bailey in the kitchen stirring a pot of spaghetti sauce.
“Hi.” Tessa gestured at the pot. “Smells good.”
“Thanks. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. How was your day?”
“Quiet.” Bailey filled a pan with water, set it on the stove, and turned on the burner.
“Well, that’s good, I guess.” Needing something to do, Tessa began to set the table.
“Andrei stopped by while you were at work,” Bailey said.
“Yes, he told me.”
“Oh. What else did he say?”
Trying to decide how to answer, Tessa laid the silverware.
“He told you, didn’t he?” Bailey said.
“Yes.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
“No. No, of course not. It’s just . . .” Tessa pulled one of the chairs from the table and sat down. “It just came as a . . . a surprise, that’s all.”
“You’re scared of me now.”
“No, I’m not.”
“I can smell your fear.”
Tessa blew out a sigh. Andrei could read her mind. Bailey could sense her emotions . . . good grief, could the girl read her thoughts too?
“I’m not really afraid of you, exactly,” Tessa said, choosing her words carefully. “It’s just that, until a few weeks ago, I never knew vampires were real, and now . . . well, it takes some getting used to, that’s all.”
“It took some getting used to for me, too.”
“What do you mean?”
Bailey turned the fire down low on the sauce, then sat across from Tessa. “I didn’t know about the supernatural part of me until I turned sixteen. It freaked me out.” She shook her head. “One night I was just like everybody else and the next I had this amazing, scary power.”
“Have you met any other . . . ah, people like you?”
“No. Maybe there aren’t any.”
“Well, there must have been at least one or two others, or you wouldn’t be here,” Tessa said, grinning. “And there are probably a few more. Maybe Andrei could help you find them, if that’s what you want.”
“It’s something to think about,” Bailey remarked. Pushing away from the table, she went to the stove to add a package of spaghetti to the boiling water.
She was quiet during dinner.
Tessa glanced at her from time to time, wondering again what being a shape-shifter entailed. Were there rituals? Rules? Did were-panthers hunt prey, like vampires? That was a scary thought and she shied away from the question, thinking she didn’t want to know the answer. But even as she sought to ignore it, she remembered Andrei telling her there were werewolves, too. Were were-panthers ferocious killers like the werewolves portrayed in books and movies? How closely related were werewolves and were-panthers?
Her appetite gone, Tessa carried her dishes to the sink and rinsed them off, then covered the leftover spaghetti sauce and put it in the fridge.
“I can finish cleaning up,” Bailey offered.
“Great, thanks. I’m going to go get into something more comfortable.” Tessa paused a moment. “Listen, we need to get you a couple of changes of clothes, some shoes, maybe a jacket and a pair of boots. Why don’t you go online and see if you can find anything you like? Just make a note of colors and sizes and I’ll order it later.”
“I can’t ask you to do that!”
“You didn’t ask,” Tessa said with a wink. “I want to do it.”
In her room, Tessa changed into a T-shirt and a pair of sweats, then called Jileen, who didn’t bother with hello.
“So, what’s the news?” Jilly asked.
“Are you sitting down?”
“I am now.”
“Andrei rescued a girl from Katerina’s clutches last night. Saved her life.”
“Go on.”
“Her name’s Bailey. She’s only sixteen and since he couldn’t very well take her home, he brought her here.” She didn’t tell Jileen that Katerina had almost killed Andrei, or that her blood had somehow saved him.
“Is that the good news?”
“Just listen. It turns out Bailey ran away from a foster home. It sounds like she’s run away from more than one. Anyway, not only is she a runaway teen, she’s a . . .”
“A what?”
Tessa sighed. Might as well just spit it out. “A shape-shifter.”
In the silence that followed, Tessa knew Jilly was trying to decide if she was joking or not.
“It’s true,” Tessa said. Then, taking a page from Jilly’s playbook, she sighed dramatically. “So now I’ve got a runaway teenage were-panther on my hands.”
And if there were werewolves and were-panthers, were there also were-lions and tigers and bears?
Oh, my.