Blood Of Fire (The Blood Burden Series) (4 page)

Nicole carried the bag inside and laid
it across her bed before she raised the plastic covering. She gasped at the
most beautiful, black satin cocktail dress she had ever seen.  She held it up
against her body, admiring the mermaid fit and the perfect princess cuts down
the sides.  A delicate strip of black chiffon lay across one shoulder, held
into place by a large diamond broach.  She didn’t know a lot about dresses but
she knew for sure this one cost more than a month’s pay back at the police department. 
“Kat would die to wear this,” she whispered as she stood in front of the full
length mirror on the bathroom door.  A bit of homesickness filled her heart as
she thought of her best friend.  This was the first time they had been this
many miles apart since they met in middle school many, many years ago.

With a sigh, Nicole pushed the memories
to the back of her mind.  She was in Ireland to keep Kat safe, along with
everyone else she loved.  She wouldn’t let Loch use Kat or her dad again to
trap her.  There was no going back until her job here was done so she continued
preparing for the night to come.  At the same time she prayed the gift that she
had loathed for so many years had now not left her forever.

Laying the dress back across the bed she
wondered why Slade was going through such trouble to for her.  Was it that he
thought she could be easily swayed by gifts and flaunting his elite status into
being more than friends?  She shook her head at the thought.  He didn't strike
her as a womanizer so she hoped his kindness was just the result of observing
all her belongings were packed into a single backpack which couldn't possibly
contain a dress appropriate for a cocktail party.  Why else would he send her
such a beautiful gift?  Nicole was having a hard time profiling him, which was
an action ingrained into her DNA thanks to her years of police work, and it was
putting her on edge.

Shortly after she had finished the final
touch ups on her lip-gloss she heard a soft knock on the closed French doors of
her room.  She slid on the strappy, black shoes from the box then opened the
door to see Slade dressed in a black tuxedo with a crimson tie and gleaming
diamond cufflinks.  His hair lay in silky, blond strands framing his face and
his light blue eyes were glowing with desire as he stared at her.

“You look stunning, Nicole.” Slade
smiled taking a step back to get the full view of the long dress.  “I knew it
was a beautiful dress but now I can see that it was made to be wrapped around
you.”

Nicole could feel her cheeks heating
from his smoldering stare, “Thank you, Slade.  You’re very handsome yourself
tonight.” She instantly wanted to take those words back the moment after she
spoke them.  She didn’t want him to think she was interested in him outside of
the friendship they had so quickly formed.  The last thing she needed right now
was a man pining after her as she tried to save the world.

“Are you ready to go?”  Slade offered
her his arm with a smile.

“Yes.”  She did feel very beautiful
tonight even if it was far from her normal, country girl comfort zone.  The
reflection in the patio doors caught her attention as they walked past.  She
stood with her hand in the crook of Slade’s arm and the couple that reflected
back was the most glamorous she had ever seen. 
Wow, my life has taken
another strange turn
, she thought as they walked out into the night.

Nicole looked around as they entered the
room further, taking in all the people that were seated around large tables
covered in crisp white linens as well as the guests standing in groups talking
in low mumbles.  Everyone was dressed so perfectly and in the highest fashion
money could buy.  The glitter of diamonds around fingers and hanging from ears
added to the ambiance of the room as the women moved gracefully about in their
cocktail party attire.  Nicole smiled lightly when she didn’t see a woman
wearing a dress she loved more than the one she wore.

A waiter approached them quickly
carrying a tray of champagne filled glasses.  Slade handed one to Nicole before
taking one for himself.  Nicole watched curiously as he downed one glass then
quickly grabbed another before the waiter walked away.  She shifted
uncomfortably when she realized everyone had turned their attention on them. 
She flashed a small smile at the watching eyes then took a small sip of her
drink.

Slade grinned a smug, half smile at her,
“You ready to meet a bit of Ireland’s high society assholes?”

Nicole let her eyes drop down to his
half empty glass then back up to his eyes, “Are you?”

“Just a small word of advice,” he leaned
over and whispered in her ear. “Keep an open mind because I’m sure tonight is
going to be interesting.” Slade straightened back up and clinked his glass off
of hers before taking another long drink.

Nicole’s brows knitted together in
confusion over his words, “What do you mean?”  She asked, but only received a
sly wink in response from Slade.

He smiled large enough to show the
dimples in both of his freshly shaved cheeks then placed his hand on the small
of her back as he guided her further into the room.  Nicole felt a small shiver
that raised goose bumps on her arms as they moved forward.  It seemed like her
body was trying to warn her but it was so weak she didn’t know were the unease
was coming from. 
Now’s not the time to get jumpy Nicole.  Get it together,
she told herself as they approached a group of smiling people.

“Ah, Slade, so nice of you to join us,”
said a tall, slightly graying man.  “And with such beautiful company too,” he
gave Nicole a tight smile as he reached to shake her hand.

Nicole shook his hand lightly then moved
back to Slade’s side.  The shiver began to dance a bit stronger across her
skin.  She rubbed her arms, trying to subdue the tingling as she looked around
the room.

“Nicole, this is Mr. Casey and his
beautiful wife Calumina.”

“Please call me Cal,” said Mr. Casey’s
wife as she smiled broadly.  “So Slade, have you given Nicole the grand tour of
your hotel yet?”

Slade finished off his second glass of
champagne before answering the question.  “No, unfortunately I’ve been a bit
tied up with business but she did get to see most of the spa today.”

“Oh, the spa here is to die for.  The
masseuse has the hands of an angel.  But you must make Slade walk you around
the gardens.  They are beautiful,” she smiled as she patted Nicole on the arm
then stepped back to her husband’s side.

“Thank you, I would love to see them,”
smiled Nicole.  It was nice to find a friendly person in a room of strangers. 
She could feel the eyes of others on her, watching her like she was an intruder
in their world.  But wasn't she really just that?  Pretending to belong just so
she could find her path.  Hoping that some useful information would make it to
her ears as she tried to act normal among Irish high class.

Nicole heard someone call out Slade’s
name from somewhere in the crowd.  He rolled his eyes as he snatched a glass of
red wine from a passing waiter, “If you’ll excuse me for just a moment Nicole,
seems I am needed for business again.” He pulled her hand to his lips, pressing
a tender kiss into her fingers, “I won’t be long, I promise.”

Nicole watched as Slade made his way
across the room, stopping every now and again to say hello to overly pushy men
and women, practically begging for his attention.  She noticed a tall brunette
step in his path who traced each inch of his body with her eyes like she was
mentally undressing him.  She leaned up to whisper in his ear, placing one
black lace covered hand on his cheek as she spoke.  After a few seconds the
woman’s piercing, green eyes locked onto Nicole’s over his shoulder.  The edge
of her red lips turned up as she placed a kiss on his cheek and stepped around
him, walking in Nicole’s direction.

Slade turned to meet Nicole’s eyes with
his steely gaze.  His jaw clinched as he lifted the glass to his lips and
finished off his wine.

Nicole was sure she saw a flash of
regret in Slade’s eyes before the woman cut off her view of him.  She let her
eyes meet the woman’s cat like orbs as she approached.  The tingle she felt
when trouble was near was growing in her body with each step of the woman as
she drew closer.  It felt like the fight or flight instinct that most people
have built in was telling her this was a bad situation, and she need to get the
hell out of there.  But she fought it, forcing her feet to hold their place and
her chin to raise high.  She held the woman’s gaze, refusing to be bullied by
her soul-deep stare.  Nicole pasted a smile on as the woman came to a stop in
front of her.

“Hello, dear,” she extended her glove
clad hand, grabbing just the tips of Nicole’s fingers in a light shake.  “I'm
Morena.  I’m a
close
friend of Slade’s,” she purred putting extra
emphasis on the word “close” like Nicole was too dumb to catch the underlying
meaning.

Nicole took a sip of her now warm
champagne, “Nice to meet you Morena, I’m Nicole.” She stared into Morena’s eyes
unblinking.  Her face was powder white with high, sharp cheek bones; a stark
contrast to her bright red, full lips and her almost glowing eyes.  She wore a
short, black dress that hugged each curve of her body.  The deeply cut neckline
gave the room a good look at her ample cleavage.  Her long hair draped around
her shoulders with the top pulled back into an elaborate braid.  The silence
began to stretch between them but Nicole didn’t offer to pick up the
conversation.  She hoped the brunette diva would get the hint and move her
ghostly ass on to the next target.

“Are you enjoying Ireland, dear?” Morena
asked with what sounded like genuine curiosity in her voice.

Nicole nodded, “Yes.  I’ve only been
here one day but so far everything I’ve seen has been beautiful.”

“Yes, I imagine it’s much different from
your small home town in the States,” she chuckled as she raked her eyes across
Nicole.  There was a taunting undertone as if Morena was pointing out how far
from home she truly was.

“Oh, is it that obvious that I’m
American?” Nicole smiled then took another sip of her drink as she slowly
counted to ten in her head.  She could tell this woman had it in for her and there
was no way to getting around it.

“No, I only know because Slade told me
this afternoon over drinks.  He mentioned you had just flown in from the U.S.
and that you were kind of,” she paused tapped her chin like she was searching
for words that were foreign to her, “Oh yes, he said you were backpacking
around Ireland.”

Nicole was enjoying Morena’s soothing
voice and company about as much as she enjoyed the sound of fingernails raking
across a chalkboard.  She understood that Morena was marking her territory over
Slade and she wasn’t about to fight her over it.  He was a wonderful man who
had been very kind to her but that was the extent of things.  Realizing the
silliness of the situation, she now had her gut’s fill of the Snow White Diva
for tonight. “Listen Morena,” Nicole stepped up to whisper in her ear, “I know
what you're trying to get at so you can lay off the snide, low class jokes. 
I’m not after Slade nor do I plan on sticking around here for long.  So get
your snooty, plastic nose out of my business before you get on my bad side.”
Nicole leaned back, taking in Morena’s wide eyes and tight lined lips then
continued, “It was so nice to meet you,
dear
.  Do take care.” Nicole
made a subtle flicking motion with her hand as if she was swatting away a fly
then watched as Morena turned on her heels and walked away.

Nicole shook her head as she wondered
how she managed to get herself into such odd situations.  After a few moments
of glancing around the room to see if anyone else had noticed the unpleasant encounter,
she decided it was time for action.  Powers or no powers, she had to figure out
if anyone knew Loch.  After all that was why she was here and she wasn’t going
to let anything, not even a jealous woman, stop her from reaching her goal
tonight.

She spotted Slade in a group of chatting
men.  He was downing another glass of wine as if it was water to a man who had
walked out of the desert.  “Why in the world is he drinking so heavy?” she
asked herself as she made her way around the large room.  She had only walked a
few feet when she started to catch random words in her head.  She stopped where
she was, afraid that if she moved she would lose the flicker that was trickling
in, and listened. 
Some nerve he has, flaunting her like a trophy,
an
unfamiliar gruff, male voice spit. 
That bitch better be glad I can’t lay a
finger on her right now.
A mischievous grin turned up the edge of Nicole’s
lips as she listened to the female ranting.  She had a good idea whose thoughts
those were without digging too deep.