Irresistible Magic (5 page)

“Trust me.”

Nodding once, he snapped his fingers and Link stood at attention, ready to follow us wherever we went.

On the way out, I grabbed a light sweater to combat any overzealous air-conditioning later in the evening. The three of us walked in silence down the front path and then crossed the street to Coliseum Square Park.

Link lifted his head and sniffed deeply. He turned right then left. Satisfied there wasn’t a threat, he curled up on my toes.

“Willow?” Tal stared down at me in the darkness. “What’s going on?”

Just say it.
“David came to see me today.”

“The
vampire
wants you to meet him at a hotel?” he asked, anger vibrating in his tone. “Have you lost your mind?”

A chill swept over my body. Tal never spoke to me like that. Had he just turned into a possessive alpha male right in front of my eyes? I took a step back and placed my hands on my hips. “Could you calm down? It’s not like—”

“He has no business speaking to you, and you sure as hell shouldn’t be meeting him at a hotel. And tonight of all nights…” A flash of something close to pain flickered through his eyes. He blinked and the anger was back full force, but he didn’t say anything else.

I gave him a moment to cool off and then in a quiet voice said, “There’s concern the house is bugged. That’s why I brought you out here. And I only saw David today because Allcot sent him to warn me that not only am I being followed, but it’s likely I’m being watched as well. Phoebe is working on a sweep of the house, but she needs to get another witch in there to help her. If anyone managed to break in, then he or she was skilled enough they could have planted bugs Phoebe can’t detect.” I took a deep breath. “And the meeting is with Allcot, not David. He was just the messenger.”

Tal didn’t move, then he dropped his chin to his chest. “Jesus.” He glanced up. “Sorry, babe. I was a dick.”

I smiled because it was true. As long as Allcot was protecting my nephew, I would be in contact with him. Tal knew that and would have to be okay with it. “Trust me?”

“Yes.” He pulled me into his arms.

“Then act like it.”

“I’ll do my best.”

***

Located in the heart of the French Quarter, the Hotel La Blanchet had a nefarious reputation from days past. It’s rumored the establishment was used for everything from a brothel to slave quarters for human women who were kept around as vamp food.

These days, vampires got their blood by frequenting food banks with willing participants or they employed private donors. No doubt Allcot had an entire team at both his personal residence and his various businesses. I glanced around, wondering if any of the high-class barflies propped up on barstools were really blood hostesses. Most likely.

It wasn’t my policy to take Link on a date, but walking into vampire territory with a volatile fae was more than I thought I could handle on my own. Understandably, Talisen was not happy to be sharing me with anyone, especially not Allcot or David, who was bound to be present.

I pursed my lips and prayed Link didn’t take a bite out of anyone. He was already vibrating with nervous energy. I squeezed Tal’s arm. “Can you rein in your anger a little? Link is going to lose it at any moment.”

Tal glanced down at the pacing Shih Tzu. “Yeah, sorry.” He took a deep breath and murmured soothing words to Link. The dog froze mid-step and planted his rear between us.

David appeared and nodded for us to follow him. He led us to a quiet corner of the bar and pulled a chair out for me. “Have a seat. Eadric will call for us as soon as he’s free.”

I stared at the chair and then raised one eyebrow in David’s direction. “I thought we had an appointment.”

“You do. Have a seat and I’ll get you a drink.” He ignored both Talisen and Link.

I didn’t sit or look at the drink menu. “I’d like a bowl of water for Link, a citrus margarita for myself and,” I said, nodding at Tal, “a beer for Tal. Abita Amber, I think.”

Talisen nodded and shifted into David’s personal space just enough to force David to move away from me. He then positioned two chairs next to one another and nodded as if to say, “Have a seat.”

I picked up Link, who was shaking from the vampire energy, and took my place next to Tal.

David studied us with his deep, midnight-blue eyes as I soothed Link with one hand and let Talisen take the other. Yes, we were a happy little family. David had no place in it. But that was his fault, really. He’d broken up with me and then chosen to turn vamp. And everyone knows faeries and vamps don’t mix.

Except David and I sort of did. I’d turned him into a daywalker, after all. Every other vamp in the vicinity could bring me to my knees just by touching me for a few seconds. My vampire disability is odd. Their touch alone is like fire on my skin and leaves bruises. Some would call it a sensitivity. I’d call it a fucking nightmare. Even if I did take those self-defense classes Phoebe always harped about, they would be of no use. Not when their touch was every bit as bad as taking an unblocked blow.

There was a time when David’s touch could bring me to my knees…in a good way. A tantalizing, make-my-body-turn-to-gelatin way. But that was before he’d turned vamp. Before I’d found out he’d lied to me during our entire relationship. Before I knew he was a coldhearted bastard.

I blocked the memories from my mind and met David’s impenetrable stare. “We don’t have all night.”

David glanced once at Tal and then back to me. His gaze traveled the length of my body and paused at the hem of my skirt. “Looks like that’s exactly what you have.”

Heat burned my face, but I refused to look away. “We have plans. Tell Allcot we’re here.”

“No need for that.” A slow Southern drawl I’d come to dread filtered through the jazz music. I whirled and found Eadric Allcot, David’s father—both vampire and legally adoptive father—leaning against a partition, blocking us from the rest of the bar. “You can go upstairs now.” He nodded at David. “Take your girlfriend to my office. I’ll meet you there.”

I stood. “I’m not his girlfriend. Not now. Not ever. And Talisen and Link will come with me.”

He raised one amused eyebrow. “I do love a feisty fae.”

Link growled and one look at Talisen told me he was moments from clocking Allcot.
Shit
.

“The dog and your fae friend will wait here.” Allcot’s tone was thick with finality. “Davidson,” he said, “take her upstairs.”

“And if I refuse?” I challenged him through clenched teeth.

Allcot pinned me with cold, hard eyes. “Do not test me. The wolf cannot come up because he’s already too agitated. The fae is not welcome. You know why.”

David opened a door that was concealed behind thick blue drapes and gestured for me to go first.

What did that mean? How was I supposed to know why Talisen wasn’t welcome? Was it because he was fae or the fact that I obviously was on a date with Tal and David didn’t like it? Either way, it was bullshit. I bit my tongue to keep from lashing out.

“Willow?” David prompted.

I glanced at Tal, my eyebrows raised. I didn’t want to go with David. And I especially didn’t want to go without Tal.

Talisen glared at David but reached out for Link. “Give him to me.”

Link happily scooted into Tal’s lap, and I couldn’t help but be jealous.

“Go on. The sooner you find out what he has to say, the sooner we can get out of here.”

Tal’s voice was tight and I could tell it was taking all his control to stay calm. But his expression was soft, meant just for me. He wanted me to be safe, and if that meant playing Allcot’s game, then that’s what we’d do.

They’d spent the last year keeping me safe. They weren’t likely to harm me now. “Fine.” I swept past David, annoyed when my shoulder brushed his. The resulting tingle of pleasure was not welcome. Not welcome at all. I’d shut the door on that over a week ago after I’d found out David had been lying to me from the beginning.

I sure wished my body would get the memo. I steeled myself and kept walking in short strides, trying to stay upright in my heels, as if he hadn’t affected me at all.

It took me a moment to realize David hadn’t followed me into the corridor. Pausing, I glanced back and glimpsed Allcot shaking hands with a tall, dark-skinned man with bodybuilder-type muscles and David speaking with a shorter, wiry blond-haired man with dark brown eyes.

What? They had to be human. If they were vamp, I’d feel it. They didn’t move like fae, and I couldn’t sense any underlying magic, so while it wasn’t impossible they were witches, I doubted it.

The dark-skinned man said something to Talisen, making him scowl. That’s it. Whatever was going on, I wasn’t leaving him with Allcot’s lackeys. But when I started to move back into the room, Tal’s eyes met mine and he gave me a tiny shake of his head. He didn’t want me to interfere.

I didn’t get a chance anyway, because right then, David strode into the corridor, blocking the scene from my view.

“Who are those guys with Talisen?” I demanded.

David put a hand on the small of my back and I jumped.

“Don’t do that,” I snapped.

“I’m being a gentleman, Willow.” His tone implied he was anything but.

“Right. We broke up. We aren’t even friends. I’d prefer you let me keep my personal space.”

He shrugged. “You didn’t seem to mind earlier today at the shop.”

“You barged in on me while I was half-naked. If you hadn’t been all secret agent and going on about how I was being followed, I would’ve thrown your ass out.”

His lips turned up into a ghost of a smile. “That would’ve been fun to see.”

“Shut up.” I huffed. “Who were those men?”

“Security for your shop. Father wants insider eyes on anything that goes down during daylight hours.”

My natural instinct was to decline. To tell them to stuff their security where the sun didn’t shine. But the Void wasn’t taking this as seriously as I wanted them to, and short of hiring a few witches to set wards that would keep more customers away than bad guys, I wasn’t sure what else to do. “Why is Allcot talking to Tal about it?” It wasn’t his shop, dammit. It was mine.

“They have business to discuss.”

“But it’s my shop. Not Tal’s.” If they thought for one moment they could sidestep me or coerce Talisen to get me to do something I didn’t want to, they had better back their fanged asses right up. I wasn’t a goddamned pushover. “Any business should be discussed with me.”

David cast me a sidelong glance. “Father is discussing healer business with him. Nothing to do with your shop.”

Oh. Talisen was gifted in healing, but he didn’t sell his services. No wonder he’d looked pissed off. He’d spend the next hour refusing whatever it was they wanted. He didn’t hesitate to use his skill when he needed to help someone, but he couldn’t be bought. He had a research job at the university that paid the bills. There was no need to whore himself out to the highest bidder. Especially not to the mafia-like vamp corporation that was otherwise known as Cryrique. “Good luck to them.”

We ascended the third flight of stairs and finally came to an open reception area. David crossed to the middle of the room and sat in one of four pristine white armchairs. “Have a seat while we wait for Father.”

I scanned the room, thoroughly confused. Usually Allcot’s offices were full of ornate, old-world, over-the-top furniture, and all business was conducted behind closed doors. This was entirely too open to discuss anything of importance.

“You might want to sit down,” David said.

“Why?”

A delicate clearing of the throat came from directly behind me. “Willow?”

Shock held me frozen in place for a heartbeat, then I spun. “Mom?”

Chapter 4

I ran to my mom and pulled her into a hug, then jerked back and scowled in confusion. “What are you doing here? Why are you in Allcot’s hotel?”

Her amber-rimmed, hazel eyes filled with tears. “Maude called me and filled me in on a few details you neglected to mention.”

Shame coiled in my gut. A week ago, I’d learned my aunt had been controlled against her will for almost three years, why my brother had been murdered, and that along with his death, I’d inherited a surprising ability to sense vamps and turn them into daywalkers. I’d sort of glossed over some of the story when I’d told Mom what happened. I hadn’t wanted her to worry. Had Maude told her everything? Even the fact that I’d almost died the day I’d saved David’s undead life?