Pretty When They Collide (4 page)

Circling each other, the woman in the slinky evening gown ended up in the hallway and Cassandra found herself standing in the elevator. With surprise, Cassandra realized she was still holding onto the other woman. The woman
’
s fingertips trace
d
along Cassandra
’
s fingers just seconds before two big men brushed past Cassandra from within the elevator, jostling them apart. Cassandra pressed her back to the wall of the elevator, her breath caught in her throat. Fear still coursed through her veins, but her attention was focused on the face of the young woman watching her as the elevator doors slid shut.

Raising her hand, Cassandra stared at it. She could still feel the woman
’
s touch burning along her nerve endings. Whatever the other woman was, she was pure power. Resting her hand on her chest, Cassandra slowly exhaled.

“
What the hell was that?” she wondered.

Remembering to hit the button to the lobby, she punched it with a trembling hand. As the car slid downward, Cassandra
’
s thoughts didn
’
t rest on her successful endeavor, but the face of the woman with the long b
ronze
hair.

Chapter 4
:

The Touch of the Unknown

Aimee knew the second the stranger touched her that her world had changed forever. Within a few scant seconds, she memorized the woman
’
s narrow face with its strong nose, full lips, and hazel cat-eyes framed by thick chestnut waves that fell to a dimpled chin in
a fashionable
shag. The touch of the woman
’
s hands upon her bare arms elicited deep feelings of desire inside of Aimee that shocked, but also pleased her. A mystical power sparked between them, igniting bits of herself Aimee had long feared were dead.

Reluctantly, she released the woman as the guards shoved them apart. When the door shut separating them, Aimee wanted to fling her
body
against it. She belonged on the other side of the elevator doors and knew it to the core of her being.

Shaken, she stared at her dazed reflection in the burnished surface of the elevator. Frank
’
s touch on her arm startled her and she almost shrugged him off.

“
Come along, witchy girl,” Frank said, sounding annoyed.

“
Just fixing my hair,” she lied and made a fuss of tucking her hair back from her face.

“
Now you worry about your appearance. We
’
re just picking up something from a courier, not meeting with a client.” Frank dragged her along behind him, his fingers biting cruelly into her skin.

Aimee hurried, trying to keep up with him. Frank was being his normal mercurial self, but she felt a pulse of paranoia. What if he had noticed her reaction to the other woman? She wasn
’
t even sure what she would tell him if he asked her what she had experienced. Aimee wished she could find a quiet place far away from Frank so she could process what had just occurred.

The long hall was empty except for two men. They were casually chatting outside of a room, but Aimee knew instinctively that they were guards. The dark power of a vampire
infused
both of them.

“
Sir,” one of them said, noting Frank
’
s approach.

“
Good evening, Ramon. Is Leonard ready for us?”

“
He
’
s having dinner right now,” Ramon said swiftly.

Frank made a point of checking his watch. “By my estimation, I am just on time.”

“
Yes, sir,” Ramon said nervously. He quickly rapped on the door. “Mr. Klein, your guest is here.”

Frank
’
s thumb rubbed the back of Aimee
’
s hand gently, but she could feel the tension in his body. He was anxious to procure whatever the courier was delivering. It peaked her curiosity. Their home was filled with many rare artifacts due to Frank
’
s collecting addiction. He had a deep need to possess the rare and ha
r
d to find. If he believed something was one of a kind, it became even more of a compulsion to collect it. Aimee did not fool herself into believing that Frank loved her for her personality or looks. It was because she was a full-blood witch and, therefore, just one more piece in his collection.

There was no answer from the other side of the door. Frank again checked his watch and scowled. “This isn
’
t acceptable.”

Ramon again rapped his knuckles against the door and raised his voice as he called out, “Mr. Klein, your guest is here.”

Aimee watched as Frank
’
s face began to flush with frustration. It was not a good sign.

Again, there was no answer.

Pointing at the face of his watch, Frank said to the flustered guards, “I don
’
t have the time for this. I
’
m on a schedule and I
won’t tolerate
delays. Open that door.”

Ramon and the other guard exchanged looks, then Ramon nodded. “Do it, Tyson.”

Tiny beads of sweat dotted the black man
’
s brow as he pulled out a keycard and slipped it into the lock. The light above the handle flashed green and Tyson cracked the door open. “Mr. Klein, your guest is here. Mr. Klein?”

“
This is ridiculous.” Frank reached past the guard and shoved the door open.

Aimee recoiled from the sight of the moldering remains of a vampire on the floor on the far side of the suite.

“
And this is
definitely
unacceptable.” Frank appeared personally offended by the scene before him.

Ramon and Tyson quickly drew weapons and cautiously stepped into the suite. Frank waved an irrit
ated hand at his own guards. O
ne of his men followed while the other two remained in the hall to watch over the vampire and the witch.

Aimee reached into her small evening bag and pulled out a protection spell. The dry bundle felt warm and reassuring against her skin. Frank craned his head to look into the suite, impatient with the whole process of searching it.

“
It
’
s clear,” Frank
’
s guard said. “No one is in here.”

Stomping into the suite, Frank scanned the room. “Where is my package?”

“
It doesn
’
t appear to be here,” Tyson confessed.

Aimee was escorted inside by Frank
’
s guards. The door shut with a sharp click. She drifted over to a chair and sat on the edge of the seat. Frank was in a volatile mood and she knew things could deteriorate very quickly.

“
Really? My package that I paid for isn
’
t here? And you two yahoos were out in the hall doing what while my package disappeared and the courier ended up
as
much garden mulch?” Frank kicked the pile of decomposing vampire. “One of you has to explain this to me.”

“
There was a woman with him, but she
’
s not here now,” Ramon said
immediately
.

“
A woman?” Frank arched both eyebrows. “Ah, yes. You said he was having his dinner. So, what was she? Some sort of magical invisible woman?”

“
No, no. She was just a stupid bimbo,” Tyson said.

“
Not so stupid if the courier is dead and the relic is gone, huh?” Frank poked Tyson
’
s chest with one finger, knocking him back a few feet. “What did this bimbo look like?”

“
Blond, lots of makeup, lots of plastic surgery. Red dress. High heels.” Ramon shrugged. “She looked like a thousand other girls with dreams of being a movie star. I just don
’
t get how she got out of the room. The windows are sealed shut and there is only one door in.”

Aimee felt Frank
’
s eyes settle on her and she looked up at him.

“
Well, my little witch? How did she get out? Because I think we
’
re all on the same page that she is behind the theft of my package and the murder of the
courier,
am I right?”

Ramon and Tyson reluctantly nodded.

Aimee scrutinized the suite from her chair. She felt like shrugging, but knew that would not go over very well with Frank. Standing, she strolled over to the closet, then the bathroom, holding her palm an inch over the surfaces. “I don
’
t feel a spell of any kind.” She turned to find Frank right behind her. His vampire stealth annoyed her.

“
So then what? Are they spelled?” Frank pointed at the two very nervous guards.

Aimee strolled over to the two men and raised her hands. Closing her eyes, she flexed her power. It trickled over the men, tasting their aura, and dipping into their minds. Dropping her hands, she shook her head. “They
’
re not spelled and they
’
re not lying.”

“
I really hate mysteries, did you know that?” Frank glared at Aimee.

“
What do you want me to do?” Aimee asked, anger in her voice.

“
Figure it out!” Frank barked at her. “Is my relic really stolen, or is it here?”

Closing her eyes, Aimee exhaled, her liquid gold power filling the space around her. It searched out other magicks, but found nothing. “It
’
s not here. There isn
’
t a spell either.”

“
So I have sealed windows, one entry, guards who aren
’
t lying, a missing relic I paid a shit-ton of money for, and an invisible woman!” Frank
’
s rage was a black fire on her skin and she shrank away from him. “How the hell did our bimbo get out of here? Did she turn into a mouse and crawl through a hole in the wall? Or maybe into a bug and went under the crack in the door?”

“
Or through the air vent,” Tyson suggested, partially joking
ly
.

Frank glared up at the vent. “No one could fit through there. Unless they were a vampire and turned to mist and that would have to be a powerful, old vampire.”

“
She wasn
’
t a vampire,” Ramon said confidently.

“
She was just a human girl,” Tyson agreed.

“
That somehow fit through an air vent that a cat couldn
’
t
–
”
Frank stopped in mid-sentence and became frighteningly still.

Aimee took a timid step away from him. It was dangerous when he acted this way. Violence usually followed.

“
Fuck me.” Frank stared up at the vent in awe. “Fuck me.” Leaping onto the wall, he clung to it and ripped the cover off the vent. Flinging it to the floor before dropping down, he grinned triumphantly. “We have a winner. Tyson, you don
’
t die tonight.”

Ramon squatted and touched something on the cover. “That
’
s putty. But there is no way anyone could fit through that.”

Frank looked absolutely gleeful which made Aimee even more nervous. “No, no. Someone can. My boneless brethren, the dhamphir, could easily fit through there.”

“
Dhamphir?” Ramon appeared mystified.

“
The vampire killers,” Tyson answered. “They
’
re offspring of vampires and humans.”

“
Extremely rare,” Frank said as he wrapped his arm around Ramon
’
s shoulders. “Very, very rare. And now I want one. This one. The one who stole from me. If you want to live, I suggest you figure out where our dear little bimbette dhamphir crawled out of the air ducts.”

“
Yes, sir.” Ramon headed toward the door, Tyson in his wake.

“
Ivan, call the cleaners,” Frank said to one of his personal guards. “We need this suite cleaned up immediately.”

Aimee stared at the cover to the vent at her feet. She had felt something powerful and mystical when she had touched the mysterious woman. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Though the woman in the elevator had not fit the description of the bimbo that Tyson and Ramon had described, Aimee knew without a doubt that she was the one who had ended the vampire
’
s life and t
aken
Frank
’
s relic. The thought made her smile.

“
I want a dhamphir of my own,” Frank said, startling her. He nuzzled her cheek. “My very own little dhamphir would endlessly amuse me.”

“
Wouldn
’
t she just try to end you?”

“
That
’
s what silver and your spells are for. Of course, I could just sell her to the highest bidder to make sure she didn
’
t do me in like stupid Leonard here.”

Aimee tilted her chin upward to stare into his handsome, but cruel face. “You
’
re a sick bastard.”

“
Compliments will get you everywhere with me.” Frank stroked her jaw lightly, his dark eyes staring into hers. “My sweet little witch, so full of secrets.”

Not answering, Aimee diverted her gaze.

Whispering in her ear, he said, “Keep your secrets. I get to keep you.”

The door to the suite reopened and Ramon hurried inside followed by Tyson. “There
’
s a storage room two doors up. It made the most sense she
’
d come out there. We found this.” A long length of blond hair hung from his fingers.