Chapter 8
Envy was towel drying her hair as she walked out of the bathroom, steam following her path like something alive. Grabbing the alarm clock from the nightstand in her bedroom, she set it for two in the afternoon and smiled in satisfaction. That would give her about seven hours of sleep.
After last night’s activities, that little catnap in Devon’s bed hadn’t done a thing for her, so seven hours of undisturbed sleep sounded like heaven.
Setting the clock back down beside the cordless phone, she climbed into bed. Just as she was closing her eyes the phone rang. Leaning up to look, she glared at the caller ID. It was Trevor. With an evil smirk, she turned on the answering machine and fell back on the pillow.
She knew Chad wouldn’t answer the phone because he used his cell phone for everything. If someone was calling the house, then it was for her and after she’d destroyed the other phone last night, it left the cordless as the only backup.
“Envy? I know you’re there.” Trevor’s voice said in the quiet room followed by a long pause, “We need to talk.”
“Wanna bet?” Envy whispered, then heard the click. She closed her eyes again but fidgeted because Trevor calling had given her a small adrenalin rush. She still felt bad about tasering him… twice. She felt a pain slice across her heart remembering the look on his face.
If what he’d told her in the parking lot had been true, then he really hadn’t deserved the pain of the electric shock treatment… though she had to admit lying to her would have made her break up with him anyway. It took her about twenty minutes to finally calm down enough to almost fall asleep.
She soon deduced that Trevor must have been psychic. As soon as she was completely asleep, he called again. Envy grabbed the edges of the pillow in frustration, pulling it up over her ears. She didn’t know why she bothered because she could still hear him on the answering machine.
“Envy, pick up the phone. You didn’t even let me finish explaining. Damn it, you know I would never hurt you… I know you know it.” Trevor grew quiet again, and then there was another click.
Envy breathed in deeply then let it back out but it didn’t help. He sounded so hurt. Why was it that he was the one who did something wrong and she was the one to feel guilty about it? It just wasn’t fair.
It was another thirty minutes before she drifted back to sleep only for the phone to wake her again. Reaching over, she grabbed it, gripping it so tight it’s a wonder it didn’t snap in half… but sadly it didn’t.
“Stop calling me you jerk!” she yelled at Trevor.
“Um… Envy? Are you all right?” Tabatha asked hesitantly.
Envy pouted, “Oh… hi Tabby. Sorry about that… there’s this stupid telemarketer that has been calling the house all day.” It was lame but hey… it was short notice.
“That’s okay. Anyway, Kriss is off tonight and I am too, so we’re going bar hopping. You’re the only one I know that makes my favorite drink just the way I like it,” Tabatha hinted for an invite.
“Tell Kriss I’m working at the same place he picked me up from this morning. And I have a new drink you might like.” Envy smirked, “It’s called Heat. It’ll knock your socks right off your feet… quite literally. Kriss might even like it.”
“Nice,” Tabatha yawned. “I’m going to go take a long catnap. I just got home from work and I’m bushed. Kriss didn’t even stir from the pillow nest he made in front of the television in the living room. He woke up long enough for me to tell him we’re going bar hopping so we’ll see you tonight girl.”
Envy heard the line click and put it back on the hook. “I hope you have better luck sleeping than I’m having,” she muttered and tossed herself backwards on the pillow, then wiggled around till she was lying on her side with most of the cover bundled up between her arms like a teddy bear.
*****
Tabatha hung up the phone and sighed. She looked over at Kriss with a knowing expression. “Looks like I owe you ten bucks.”
“They broke up huh?” Kriss asked, sitting at the table.
Tabby shook her head, “She didn’t come out and say so but something about her voice tells me they did.”
“Told you!” Kriss exclaimed. “We’d better get some more sleep if we’re going to put operation ‘get Envy a new boyfriend’ into action.”
Tabby had to laugh; Kriss always had a way of putting things to make them seem funnier than they actually were. “Fine, fine, I’ll get back into bed.”
“Want me to tuck you in?” Kriss asked.
Tabby snorted, “The last time you tucked me in, you got into bed with me and Dean caught us, convinced we were sleeping together.”
“Well, we were,” Kriss explained.
“He thought we were having sex, Kriss,” Tabby whined, throwing her hands up in the air. “If I’d found my man in bed with someone else and he wasn’t wearing any clothes, I’d be mad too.” Tabby stopped, as a thought suddenly dawned on her then glared at him. “You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”
Kriss actually cringed away from her. “Um… no?”
“Wrong answer drag queen.” Tabby growled and pounced.
*****
Trevor called two more times, but by then Envy was almost immune to his voice droning on about how sorry he was and that he would make her understand. One thing she did hear, quite clearly, was him saying that he was just as stubborn as she was.
Not thirty minutes later, Envy jerked up in the bed practically throwing herself from the dream she’d been having. She didn’t know how the idea had gotten in her head or in her dream… but she’d been in the dance cage with Devon. She could still feel him rubbing against her almost physically and it sent heat rocketing through areas of her body that were still tender from last night.
She frowned when she broke out in a sweat. Chad kept the apartment just above freezing year round, which made Envy very happy and she never sweated in the house. Sighing heavily, she readjusted the pillows and lay back down to sleep a bit more.
At that very moment the phone rang and Envy opened her eyes to glare up at the ceiling.
“I swear if that’s you…” She sat up and looked at the caller ID just to be sure. Snarling like a wild cat, she grabbed the phone off the charger and pressed the talk button. Placing the phone to her ear, she heard Trevor’s voice.
“Shut up!” Envy growled. “I’m only going to say this once. If you call me one more time today, I’m coming out of this bed and I’m going to find you. Your CIA, FBI or F.U.C.K.U. training won’t be enough to save you,” she slammed the phone down with a satisfied grunt and started to turn over when the phone instantly rang again.
“That’s it!” Envy shouted and stood up, answering the phone as she did so. “Start running, I know where you live!” she said in a voice so cold she gave herself chills.
“Is that an invitation or a threat?” Jason asked, not knowing whether to be turned on or scared.
Envy put a hand over her face and rubbed it in frustration, or was that relief, she couldn’t tell, and it wasn’t like he could see her. “I’m sorry, but I think you’ll understand when I tell you Trevor has been calling all day and I’ve been trying to sleep.”
Jason felt the humor slide away from him. If he had Trevor pegged right, then she might have a stalker on her hands. “I just talked to Tabby and decided to hang with them tonight.”
“More the merrier,” Envy mumbled, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “See you tonight.” She hung the phone up without saying good-bye. She knew it was rude, but she was tired and wanted to sleep.
Looking at the phone on the nightstand, she thought of a better idea than leaving it on the hook. Turning the phone on, she opened the nightstand drawer and tossed it in. If anyone called now, all they would get would be a busy signal… oops.
*****
Kane was sprawled out comfortably in the shade of one of the air conditioning units on Moon Dance’s roof. He’d spent most of the morning reading Nathaniel’s journal with gusto.
It had everything in there from Nathaniel killing Malachi’s wife, to blaming Kane for the murder. What surprised him was the guilt that had ridden the cougar long after the deed was done. He could only guess that Quinn had found the journal after Nathaniel’s death and kept it to himself.
He’d also been surprised about the real reason Nathaniel had killed Malachi’s wife… it had been in a fit of jealousy. Nathaniel had a thing for Malachi’s little wifey and she knew it. She didn’t want Malachi going into business with Nathaniel because she didn’t trust him with all the advances he was making toward her.
“All she had to do was tell the old boy she wasn’t interested,” Kane muttered to himself. “Some women are such idiots.”
Kane frowned at his own statement and lowered the book for a moment. If Malachi’s wife Carlotta enjoyed Nathaniel’s advances and never said anything to deter him…
“Oh you naughty little woman,” Kane exclaimed with a chuckle.
Snapping the journal closed, Kane stood up and elegantly walked to the edge of the roof. Stepping off the edge, he let himself drop to the ground, landing in a crouch. He entered the club through another more discrete entrance. The jaguars were still at the police station but knowing that Warren was well aware of the law, they wouldn’t be long.
Kane slipped upstairs and into Warren’s room. This was something the elder jaguar needed to see. Placing the book on the desk, Kane slipped back out of the club.
*****
Devon sat slouched in the uncomfortable chair and spread his legs out under the table in front of him. It was closing in on two in the afternoon and he’d been able to catch a couple of quick naps, while the police questioned him repeatedly.
It was the same questions like ‘where were you’ and ‘what time’. His answer to all of them was he’d been screwing his brains out… it couldn’t get much simpler than that. What really got him is when they asked for the name of the girl he’d been with.
For a moment, he toyed with the idea of telling them it was his mate but he didn’t want Envy dragged into this. Also, the fact that she had no idea she was even his mate kept him from saying anything. Besides… if they needed proof, the club security cameras would be enough.
The door opened again and the interrogator stepped in with a thick folder in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. He placed the folder on the desk and sat down, crossing his arms on the surface and leaning toward him.
“How about we start from the top?” the officer asked.
“The top of what?” Devon asked, stretching a bit.
“We need to know the name of the girl so you can be cleared of being a suspect in that woman’s murder.” He placed a picture of the woman with her throat slashed in front of him hoping it would get a reaction.
Devon picked up the picture and studied it for a moment since it was a close-up that showed her from the shoulders up. Her head was turned to the side and he noted the puncture wounds. They’d been right. It was a vampire setting them up.
Tossing the picture back on the table Devon smirked, “Now, now, I’m not going to kiss and tell just so you can go harass her about her sex life, too.”
“This isn’t a joke, Santos,” the officer stated, losing some of his composure. “We need names and you’re giving them to us.”
Devon glared at the officer. While he’d been alone, he’d had another heated daydream involving Envy that he would make come true and he couldn’t plan effectively with this guy in his face. Since the first moment he’d met Envy, he’d wanted to get her in that cage with him. Fresh from the erotic dream, he finally sighed and stood up.
“Where the hell are you going?” the officer demanded.
“Home,” Devon answered.
Opening the door, he walked out and tilted his head, in a feline manner, when he saw Warren walking toward him.
“Let’s go,” Warren said, with a tight voice. “They’ve kept us here long enough.”
The brothers walked down the hall, stopping to knock on two more doors before continuing. Kat and Nick soon joined them and they headed toward the exit.
“Hey,” a voice yelled. “You can’t leave yet.”
Warren didn’t stop. “We’re not under arrest and no charges have been filed. Unless you have something on us, then we’re going home,” he snapped.
Stepping out into the sunshine, Kat blinked her eyes at the bright light. “So that’s what the sun looks like.”
The siblings shared a silent smile before climbing into the Hummer sitting in the same spot where they’d parked it. The ride only took them a few minutes and they were soon walking through the front door of the club. Each gave a mumbled ‘good night’ and went to their respective rooms.
Devon undressed and slipped between the sheets on his bed. He inhaled deeply, happy that Envy’s scent still covered his pillows. He lay there for a few minutes then picked up the phone not able to wait any longer. All he would do was confirm that Envy was coming in to work tonight. He was a boss checking up on his employee, nothing more.
He wondered if the gods were laughing at him when all he got was a busy signal.
*****
Michael was lost in thought as he sat in the overstuffed chair in the corner of Warren’s bedroom. His hand rested on the arm of the chair and a leather bound book clutched in the other. He could hear his best friend shuffling papers around in the adjacent office but he knew Warren wouldn’t be long.
Until then, it gave him time to think about all he’d learned from the journal.
Malachi had been just as close to Kane as he and Warren now were… but he and Kane had been closer. Michael had taken a trip overseas to visit his brother Damon and had been gone for almost a year. When he’d returned, it was to find that Malachi had a new wife and Kane had vanished only weeks after he’d left for his trip.
It was because Michael had kept visiting Malachi; hoping for word on Kane, that he’d been there the night Warren was born. It had been storming so bad that the whole city had wound up having a power outage, making it impossible for Malachi and his wife to get to a doctor. So while Malachi had been preoccupied taking care of his wife, Michael had taken Warren in his arms and bonded with him.
He’d found his replacement for Kane in the son of Kane’s murderer.
He raised his hand to blindly trace the bloodstone within his necklace. He and Kane had been alike in so many ways… the bloodstone was proof of that. Most vampires lost their heart when their mortal bodies made the transformation, but if the heart was strong enough to hold the soul captive even after death, then and only then would the magic of the bloodstone work.
If that vampire ever lost his heart, then the soul would flee the evil that rushes in and the magic within the bloodstone would die. They were the only vampires in existence with beating hearts and a soul.
He’d witnessed Kane leave the book in Warren’s office during daylight. Kane was behind the murders. Michael could feel it but had no proof. And as long as the bloodstone held, he knew Kane was not yet forsaken. He’d thought it was Damon he’d seen last night on the roof of the adjacent building… but now he knew the truth. Kane had somehow broken the binding spell.
He wished he had been there during that time forty years ago when Malachi had bound Kane to the grave. He could have talked the jaguar into another course of action and even stopped certain events from taking place. He held part of the blame for not being there when Kane had needed him the most.
Hearing footsteps coming toward the bedroom, Michael made up his mind. He would try to save both of his best friends. Tucking the book inside his jacket, he left the confines of Warren’s room. Once he made it outside the club, he lit a cigarette and walked down the street to do a bit of investigating of his own.
Warren stepped into his room and sat down on the edge of the bed before turning on the small lamp on the end table. Feeling something out of place, his eyes jerked to the chair in the far corner but found it empty and the sensation disappeared. Shrugging it off as paranoia, he lay down on the mattress and was asleep within minutes.
*****
Envy was pulled from her beautiful sleep by an annoying buzzing. Hitting snooze once more, she rolled over and pulled the blanket over her head. She’d just gotten back to sleep when the buzzer went off again. She’d turned it off at least ten times since it went off at two PM but she just couldn’t bring herself to get out of bed.
Finally, she just turned off the alarm and got up with the plan to change their home phone number by the end of the day, so Trevor could never call again. Grabbing a T-shirt long enough to be called a sundress, she wandered into the bathroom to take a shower.
She groaned as the hot water streamed down her body and lathered up her hair with her favorite green apple scented shampoo. Getting out, she dried off and pulled on her brother’s favorite hand-me down… actually, he knew she loved to wear them.
Glancing in the mirror, she wondered how big Devon’s T-shirts would be on her. Her head snapped up from the shirt to clash with her own eyes in the mirror. “Bad Envy, bad,” she lectured herself, then left the bathroom wondering if she’d gotten the water too hot and melted her brain. Wouldn’t be the first time; look at Trevor.
Coming into the kitchen for coffee, she smiled happily seeing Chad sitting there with a full pot already made. “You are so my hero,” Envy leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, as she walked past. “Maybe coffee can kick start my brain.”
“Extra strong, so you’re in luck and as many times as you hit the snooze button, I had to get up,” Chad complained but his mind was still on the mess in his bedroom. He could tell by the way Envy was acting that she didn’t have a clue and that only left one suspect… the dog.
“I’ll make it up to you,” Envy said, as she looked around, “What happened to the dog?”
“I told you earlier that he ran outside… with my best pair of jeans in his mouth I might add.” Yep… it was definitely the mutt.
Envy giggled. “I don’t think they will fit.” Cocking an eyebrow at the look her brother gave her, she pushed her luck and asked, “How far did you chase him?”
“About two blocks. Little bastard was fast,” Chad grinned. It was hard to stay in a bad mood with his sister teasing him.
“We’ll get you a new pair if this new job works out.” Envy told him.
Chad tilted his head as he studied his sister. She looked fine, but he knew better than most that looks could be deceiving. After her breakup with Trevor last night, he knew he would have to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn’t do anything drastic… or worse, become all sad. She made a habit of acting tough, but that’s all it was… an act.
Envy took a seat across from him at the breakfast bar with her coffee in a cup big enough to be a soup bowl. That much coffee would have his sister bouncing off the walls later. Chad just hoped he was around to see it.
“Did you sleep alright?” he ventured, trying to act like he wasn’t meddling and just passing the time.
“Sure, for about twenty minutes at a time. I’ve decided that we’re getting our number changed.” Ignoring his raised eyebrow, she changed the subject. “So, how was your night?”
“There was another murder victim found last night.” He paused before glancing up, “She had her throat slit and was in an alley just a couple minutes walk from Moon Dance. Maybe that’s not the coolest place for you to be hanging out.”
“That doesn’t mean the club had anything to do with it.” Envy frowned at him. “Besides, I’m not hanging out there; I’m going to be working.”
“She had a stamp on her hand from Moon Dance.” Chad corrected.
“Is that why you were called into work last night?” Envy asked.
Chad shook his head, “No, there was a scare at one of the other bars just a few blocks down. Someone called in saying there was a cougar in the parking lot of Night Light. Headquarters even called in Jason and some of the rangers but we couldn’t find anything.”
“So that’s where Jason ran off to,” she mused.
He shrugged. “Both Moon Dance and Night Light are on our radar right now because it seems a lot of the murder victims have been found with one or the other’s stamp on their hand.” He paused before adding, “Those two bars were the last places the girls were seen.”
“I start work in a few hours at Moon Dance,” Envy informed him, as she raised her chin in defiance. She knew he was trying to talk her out of going there but it wasn’t going to work. She liked the place and she wasn’t defenseless. She was a big girl and could take care of herself when it came to one on one combat.
“How do we know it wasn’t done by someone that has a grudge against the two clubs? Did the police ever think of that?” Envy stopped and studied her cup of coffee, as what Chad said reminded her of the same thing Trevor had been saying last night. She’d been too mad to listen and if he’d lied to her about one thing, then she just figured he was lying to her about that too.
Her thoughts darkened realizing Chad would have at least known if Trevor was involved with the investigation of murders.
“Trevor told me he was investigating the clubs.” She tested the waters wondering if Chad would confess. When he remained quiet for a breath to long, Envy’s eyes snapped up to lock on her brothers. “You knew! You fucking knew and didn’t tell me!”
“I warned him several times to tell you the truth or I would. Apparently, he didn’t take my threat to heart,” Chad hedged then sighed. She was right. Protecting her should have been his first priority and he had tried.
“I’m not even sure what the hell his job really is Envy. He just showed up one day talking to the detectives and ever since then, it’s like he’s over them or something. When he started dating you, I cornered him about it and he said if I breathed a word to anyone… even you, then I would be more than just fired. I went over his head and they told me the same damn thing.”
Envy slowly got up and went to her room without another word, taking her coffee with her. Before she could even set it down on her dresser to start getting ready, Chad was standing in her doorway.
“Look, I don’t like him for one reason… he let you think the same thing everyone else thought outside of the investigation team. That he was nothing more than a college prep having fun. Other than that, I think he’s an all right guy, a little on the weird side, but all right. Besides, I think he really does like you. He just needed a shove to tell you the truth, so I gave you the taser.”
Envy nodded and walked back to him knowing he’d done it because he loved her and in many ways, he was right. She would have done the same for him. Sliding her arms around him, she gave him a grateful hug. “Thanks. You were just trying to protect me but I can handle it from here.”
She didn’t blame him for keeping Trevor’s secret as long as he did because now she was doing the same thing. Chad had no idea Trevor was in the CIA . She was still a little iffy about the paranormal investigation thing but to walk in a police station and take over the detectives?
