Wicked Edge (27 page)

Bourne’s cold smile should’ve iced over the walls. “This kind of summoning has more impact and usually gets me the answers I want.” He shrugged. “Yes, I like to intimidate. It’s a weakness.”

Bain had taken a moment to glance around the room. His gaze lingered on the blood-soaked floor and the equally bloody Murmur. He looked worried by the time he returned his attention to Bourne. “So ask.”

“We know why Murmur is here. How do you figure into it?” Bourne signaled his complete unconcern with his safety by sitting on the nearest chair. “Oh, and before you try to lie your way out of this, know that Passion heard the two of you talking.”

Passion winced, and Edge wanted to hammer Bourne into the floor. He could’ve done this without bringing her name into it. How
much did Edge really know about Bain? What if the demon was into revenge? Almost every time the Big Boss opened his mouth he reinforced Edge’s belief that he was a cold, unfeeling bastard. Of course, before Passion those same words would have described him.

Bain stared at Passion. Edge could imagine the demon’s thoughts. How much had she heard? How little could he get away with telling Bourne?

She must’ve understood his look, because she spoke up. “All I heard Bain say was that he’d covered for Murmur so far, but he wouldn’t put his job in danger because of him.”

“You know, I really would’ve liked
Bain
to answer that question.” Bourne’s expression said he knew exactly why she’d answered. Now Bain knew he could keep quiet about everything else he’d said.

Bourne drew in a deep breath, and Edge figured he was trying to hold on to his temper. “So you knew Murmur might be a danger to the castle, and still you kept quiet. Why?” Left unasked was why Bourne shouldn’t fry Bain’s ass.

Edge gave Bain credit. No matter what he felt inside, he kept everything cool on the surface.

“I’ve known Murmur a long time, a lot longer than I’ve known everyone here. And he understood we’d be fighting on different sides if he went with the enemy. And he definitely knew I’d tell you if he made the wrong decision.”

Bourne narrowed his eyes. “I suspect that’s not all of it.” The glance he threw at Passion wasn’t friendly. “But I guess that will do for now.” His gaze turned thoughtful. “At least we now know whoever’s doing this is trying to bring in outside forces.” He looked at Murmur. “Did you hear his voice? Was it definitely a male voice?”

Murmur nodded.

“Okay, so we’re probably looking for a man, although with his power, he could appear as whatever he chose.”

“What will you do with Murmur and me?” Bain subtly changed.
Power flowed around him, and he bent his knees in the beginning of a crouch.

Edge moved closer to Passion, ready to get her out of here if violence exploded. Not that he thought either Murmur or Bain could take the Big Boss. But then, who knew. He’d never seen Bourne in a battle. But he was a legendary figure. The few who had witnessed him in action spoke of his power in whispers.

“What do
you
think I should do?” Bourne aimed his question at Murmur.

Murmur shrugged. “I think Frank Dane had it right. ‘Love your enemies just in case your friends turn out to be a bunch of bastards.’” His gaze slid to Edge before returning to Bourne. “Hey, it could happen. But it’s your call. I might mention, though, that if you manage to destroy Bain and me, legions of demons will descend on this castle. I don’t think you can afford a battle on two fronts. Maybe I’m wrong and your power is limitless. In which case, we’re shit out of luck.”

“Are you my enemy?” Bourne still wore no expression.

“I could be.” Then Murmur smiled. “But right now Mercury is in retrograde, so I don’t think I’ll begin any new enemy-making ventures for a while.”

Edge might not trust demons as a whole, although he sort of liked Bain, but he had to admit that Murmur had balls. Not many would give attitude to the Big Boss.

Bourne seemed to consider his options. Then he shook his head. “Against my better judgment, I’m walking out of this room without doing anything.” He turned to leave but then paused. “That doesn’t mean I won’t be watching.” It looked as though he included all of them in that. He glanced at Edge. “Would you give me a few minutes of your time if you’re through killing demons?”

Edge hated his sarcasm, but he nodded. He stared at Passion. She wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“I think I’ll head back to my room.” She didn’t look at anyone as she left.

Murmur walked over and sat in a chair. “Conflict is stimulating. I’m not even tired anymore.”

From the expression on Bain’s face, Edge figured Murmur was about to get a little more stimulation from his old buddy.

Edge followed Bourne out of the room. Bain slammed the door behind them.

Bourne walked in silence for a few moments before speaking. “What if that had been a trap? What if Passion had lured you to the demon’s room and he’d attacked you the moment you stepped through the door? What if Passion had joined him in the attack?”

Rage flared. “Passion is
not
the enemy.”

“How do you know? Tell me what she is, where she came from. Tell me anything that you know about her other than what your cock is telling you.”

Edge wanted to slam his fist into Bourne so bad that—He took a deep breath. If he lost his temper, Bourne would have something else to bitch about. Why couldn’t he stay calm when Passion was the object of the conversation?

“I don’t have any proof. I just
know
.” Yeah, that would convince the Big Boss.

Bourne shook his head. “I can’t fight emotion. Just do one thing for me, keep your eyes and ears open when you’re around Passion and Hope. Oh, and don’t try to face down a powerful demon alone when help is near. That’s just stupid.”

Edge opened his mouth to argue that he hadn’t gone to Murmur’s room looking for a fight. He closed it. The truth? He’d been itching to kick some ass. Besides, from the expression on Bourne’s face, arguing would just ring the bell on Bourne’s personal piss–o–meter. He’d pushed his leader as far as he was going to go tonight.

“One thing I need to know.” Edge figured this question wouldn’t jiggle any of Bourne’s hot buttons. “How did you know what was going on in Murmur’s room?”

“The universe gives off vibrations. You and Murmur disturbed those vibrations.”

What did that mean? “Yeah, but how did you know we were the ones doing the disturbing?”

“You and Murmur are not exactly common folk. You give off a hell of a powerful vibration. I sensed the disturbance and followed it to Murmur’s room.” He smiled ruefully. “Okay, I know you don’t get it. You’ll have to trust me on this.”

The word “trust” triggered other thoughts—of Passion’s lack of trust in him, of Bourne’s lack of trust in her, of Edge’s lack of trust in the universe.

A few minutes later, Edge was back in his apartment. He raked his fingers through his hair. She wouldn’t sleep in his bed tonight, maybe never. If she were smart, she’d wash her hands of all of them. The only good thing about that was he wouldn’t have to act the part of a spy. No, he was wrong. There was nothing
good
about what had gone down with them tonight.

Passion dropped into the nearest chair while being careful not to make eye contact with her bed. What a disaster. She didn’t know which one of those guys had ticked her off the most. Okay, it was Edge. Because she cared for him more. Yes, yes, she was to blame too. She shouldn’t have acted on impulse and jumped between them. She’d love to believe Edge reacted the way he did because of how much he cared for her, but that was probably wishful thinking on her part. More likely, he would’ve blasted away at Murmur with or without her blocking the way.

Time to stomp on any and all dreams that included Edge. His
boss didn’t trust her, and Edge was, in the end, accountable to Bourne.

She pushed herself out of the chair and was just reaching for her nightgown and robe when someone knocked. Passion closed her eyes. No, no, no. She didn’t want to talk to anyone else tonight. It was almost dawn, and she was drained.

But the knocker didn’t give up, so finally she went to the door. She was wiser now than a week ago, so she asked the all-important question. “Who is it?”

“Cinn. Could I talk to you for a minute?”

Surprise. Passion opened the door.

Dacian’s wife stood holding a big bushy plant in her arms. With her warm brown hair, big hazel eyes, and friendly smile, Cinn didn’t look like Passion’s personal image of what a vampire’s mate should look like. But then, Dacian with his puny circle of sins wasn’t exactly what she’d expect from a big bad vampire.

Passion waved her in. “I’m surprised to see you. It’s almost dawn.” She automatically checked her out for sins. Nothing but a little pale blue. Lust. Not unexpected if you were anticipating curling up next to someone as yummy as Dacian.

Cinn walked over to the arrow-slit-slash-window and set the plant on the floor. “After what happened tonight, I wanted to make sure I got Sweetie Pie to you right away.”

“You wanted to bring me a plant?” Nice lady, but she probably needed to know that Passion was death to plants. Everyone else’s cubicle had a leafy friend to keep them company. Not Passion’s. Every plant she touched went to the great potting shed in the sky.

Cinn sat on one of the chairs and motioned for Passion to take the other one. “You probably should know a little about me so you can understand Sweetie Pie.”

Sweetie Pie needed understanding? Looked like your typical leafy plant to Passion. Nothing exotic about it.

“I’m connected to Airmid, the goddess of all healing plants. So I’ve inherited a certain…talent with them. You saw a few in the greenhouse.”

Passion couldn’t tell her that she saw
nothing
but Edge in that greenhouse.

For the first time, Cinn looked a little uncertain. “I guess there’s no easy way to say this, but my plants are sentient.”

Passion stared at her and then slid a quick glance at Sweetie Pie. “Umm, explain.”

Cinn grinned. “If you have a few minutes someday, I’ll introduce you to all of them. But Sweetie Pie’s claim to fame is that she feeds on sexual energy.”

Well, at least Cinn had come up with a statement guaranteed to take her mind off of her troubles for a few minutes. Passion couldn’t think of one thing to say about Sweetie Pie, so she said nothing.

Cinn’s uncertainty returned. “I know this is tough to believe.”

“Not at all. If I can believe in cosmic troublemakers, vampires, and demons, then I can believe in Sweetie Pie.” Not completely. A plant that fed on sexual energy was just weird.

Cinn’s smile said she recognized and understood Passion’s doubt. “So here’s why I’ve brought my plant to you. As you and Edge were leaving the greenhouse, I noticed Sweetie Pie.”

Passion grinned. She’d bet Cinn didn’t notice the plant for long.

“I couldn’t believe it. She’d grown at least six inches during the time you were there.”

“And that means?” Passion thought she knew.

“Sweetie Pie had been depressed for weeks. We’d tried putting her in a few of the guests’ rooms, but nothing helped.”

“That means the guests weren’t…”

“Not even a little.” Cinn smoothed her finger over one of the plant’s bright green leaves. “Sweetie Pie was devastated.”

Uh–oh. Passion saw where this was leading.

“And now, look at her. She’s all perky and bright. She loved you and Edge. I hate to ask a favor of you, but would you keep her for the rest of the time you’re here?”

“Sure.” One thing she had to know. “She can’t see, can she?”

Cinn laughed. “No, nothing like that. She just absorbs all those delicious sexual vibrations.”

Passion sighed. “Afraid there won’t be much of that around here.”

“Anything you want to share?”

Passion didn’t, but before she could send the message to her mouth, it was off and running. She told Cinn everything that had happened.

“Let me get this straight. Edge was mad because he thought you didn’t trust him not to go ballistic on Murmur. Which he did. Then you pointed out what total opposites you were. Not a smart move. And Bourne doesn’t trust you. Did I miss anything?”

“I think that’s enough.”

“Hmm.”

Passion thought that said it all. She couldn’t think of anything that would mend the tear in the tenuous strands she and Edge had begun to weave between them.

“Tough case. Edge always wears this iron shell around himself, so it’s hard to tell what’s going on inside sometimes.”

“You think?” But Passion
had
seen cracks in that shell.

“Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve gotten the feeling he doesn’t love his job that much. Don’t get me wrong, he does it, but there’s no real enthusiasm there.” Cinn smiled. “Thank God.”

“Edge thinks if he stops killing, he’ll cease to exist.”

“Who’s going to make him go away? Bourne?”

Passion nodded. “Most likely.”

Cinn looked thoughtful. “I’ll have to see what I can do to change the Big Boss’s mind.”

“You’d help Edge?” A spark of hope turned the blackness to at least a dull gray. No matter what happened between them, she wanted Edge to have a choice in his life.

“Why not? He’s family. The Castle of Dark Dreams takes care of its own.” She seemed to already be thinking. “I’ll get back to you. Meanwhile, I’ll leave Sweetie Pie here.” She stood.

Once Cinn had left, Passion climbed into bed.
Her
bed. If Edge and she weren’t meant to be, then she’d better get used to sleeping here. She didn’t think Hope would appreciate sharing her bed once she got back.

Just before turning off her light, she looked at Sweetie Pie. “Sorry, girl, but you’ll have to go to bed without supper tonight. Get used to it.”

She dreamed—of a tawny-haired man with magic hands who made love to her in every single one of the park’s attractions. She lived the fantasy right up until the moment Bourne showed up dressed as the Wicked Witch of the West. On that bit of silliness, she woke…

To the sound of Archangel Ted’s voice in her head. She shivered in the suddenly icy room.

“Something happened last night. I felt it. Explain.”
He didn’t even pretend to care if she’d saved any souls.