The girl was all over him. She wore a jean skirt that barely covered her ass and a top that automatically drew his eyes to her cleavage. Her long, tanned legs were around him as she straddled him on the chair. The bartender glared at them and shook his head as if he were disgusted by their behavior. Jonas Carden knew that the balding, middle-aged man was actually seething with envy.
Her lips grazed his ear again and Carden felt the chills distantly. Her breasts were pressed up against him, but he couldn't feel it. He stared past the girl on his lap into the airport terminal. He surreptitiously glanced at his watch while the girl nibbled at his throat.
His plane to Los Angeles left in an hour. He had no fucking idea what he would do when he got there. His work had been his life and now Carden was technically unemployed. He wondered if Starbucks had any openings.
The girl ground herself against him and Carden tried to enjoy it. But his attention kept wandering back to Risa.
Fucking Aiden St. Helen. Carden had managed to put Risa out of his mind for the better part of a decade, but since the moment he'd stared death in the face, he hadn't been able to think about anything else but her. Her bitter voice rang in his ears, her slap still stung his cheek.
Carden reached for the shot of vodka that rested on the bar and, pushing back the girl on his lap slightly, he swallowed his drink. The alcohol burned his throat on the way down. He could afford better quality vodka, but without the burn, drinking didn't seem worth it.
"What do you say we find a bathroom somewhere?" the girl murmured drunkenly. She continued to purr a long list of suggestions into Carden's ear, each idea more lascivious than the last.
Why the hell was he so bored? Men killed for a girl this creative…
I will track Risa down, and find some rather creative things to do to her before I rip her heart out…
Carden shot to his feet, abruptly pushing the drunk girl off of his lap. She stumbled backwards and barely caught herself on the barstool behind her before she fell. "What the hell?" she cried, but Carden didn't hear.
A minute later he stood at the airline's ticketing desk without knowing how he'd gotten there.
"Can I help you?" the agent asked.
Carden slammed his boarding pass to Los Angeles down on the counter. "I need to change my flight," he said urgently.
Lex didn't like flying, so Daybreak rented a car for them. Reece drove her over to the apartment she'd shared with Tristan. Alexandra showered, changed clothes, and for a while she just lay on the bed in silence.
It was strange for Reece to see her there. He sat on the sofa in the living room and watched her roam around the apartment aimlessly. There wasn't anything that he could do for her. The life she'd led with Tristan was hers alone; Reece was not a part of it, nor did he want to be. He just waited until she was ready to leave.
She packed a bag and then they got the hell out of there. Daybreak would take care of the rest.
They drove back to the compound and parked the rental car on the street in front of the building. Reece ran inside and came back out carrying his duffel bag and shoulder bag. Lex got out of the car as he put his things in the trunk.
"Are you ready?" he asked her as he slammed the trunk shut.
The sun had set by then, the sky a deep blue in the twilight, matching the color of her eyes perfectly. "Yeah," she answered. "I want to go."
Reece knew that she would never come back to Washington, DC. He wasn't sure that he would either.
"Okay, we'll go in a minute. I've just got to wait for Nigel, he said he'd be right out."
The door of the compound opened and the top set of hinges broke loose. The small witch who'd come out awkwardly tried to steady it, but then gave up. The door leaned forward, held to the door frame only by the bottom hinges.
As the witch came closer, Reece saw recognition in Alexandra's eyes. He had almost forgotten that she'd crossed paths with Nigel before.
"Hey, Nigel," Reece greeted him apprehensively. "This is Lex. Lex, Nigel."
The witch bowed his head slightly. "It's nice to meet you, finally. I don't quite know what to say. Sorry for staking you?"
Lex just seemed amused by his discomfort, much to Reece's relief. "Sorry for tripping you."
Nigel gave a short laugh. "Ah, don't ever bring that up again," he said, his face reddening. "That was quite embarrassing."
"We're headed out now," Reece spoke up. "Did you want to come with us?"
The smaller witch shook his head. "No, I'm going to stay and help heal these people. The witches are overworked after the attack."
Reece nodded. Even in the short time it had taken for him to retrieve his bags from the compound, he'd seen too many injured people and too many exhausted witches. He probably should stay to help as well, but Alexandra was his primary responsibility and she wanted to leave.
"What about Carden?" he asked. "I tried to call and he didn't answer."
The witch winced. "He's gone, Cahill."
The color drained from Reece's face and a sinking sickness turned his stomach. "What?"
"No, no. It's not what you think. He's just missing. His hospital room was found empty. He must have packed up and left on foot. Can't say I blame him, after what Anton did."
"Anton is making a huge mistake," Reece said bitterly. He still believed that Carden had been holding something back, something vital that explained why he let Aiden into Alexandra's room. Reece just hoped that, whatever it was, Carden sorted it out. Then maybe he could plea his case to Thierry Descouedres so that he could be reinstated. Reece would unquestionably argue on Carden's behalf. But for now, it was out of his hands.
"No argument here. And by the way, Carden isn't the only one missing."
Reece closed his eyes. "Oh, don't say it."
"Aiden St. Helen managed to escape under everyone's nose as well."
Reece sighed heavily. In the corner of his eye, he saw Lex turn her face away, not quite hiding her smile. It shouldn't have stung, but it did.
"You know," he said tiredly, "sometimes I wish that I'd just gone into accounting."
Nigel laughed. "You'd die of boredom, Cahill, you know it."
"Yeah. Sucks to be me."
"Excuse me?" Alexandra broke in indignantly, poking him roughly on the shoulder.
"No, no!" Reece quickly replied, giving her a placating look. "I mean, it's great to be me, as long as you're around."
Lex smiled smugly.
"Okay, I'm going to go back in," Nigel said, rolling his eyes. "Take care of her, Cahill."
"I will," Reece assured him. "Take care of yourself."
The witch just nodded and started back towards the compound.
Reece and Alexandra got into the car and he started the engine. He looked over at his soulmate and found her pushing her shining hair back over her shoulder. She lounged back into the car seat and put her bare feet up on the dashboard, looking more comfortable and relaxed than he'd ever seen her.
She had really changed in the few days that he'd known her and he didn't know how that was possible. The glow of her inner light was brighter and it was evident in her eyes, her smile, the simple way she carried herself. It was truly humbling.
But then, he had changed as well. He would rather not think of it, but his mind kept coming back to the feel of Angie's neck in his grasp and the rush of the illegal spell surging out of him. The satisfaction that he would never admit.
Again and again, Reece heard himself demanding the name from Angie and he heard her whispered response. His pulse quickened as he began imagining plans that he would carry out once he got back to Montreal. There was so much research to be done, discreet contacts to call, information to gather. This had to be done carefully, without the knowledge of his team or Alexandra.
She had been through enough. The images of her past flashed before his eyes, each one cutting through him like a blade. No, she shouldn't have to know, shouldn't have to worry about it as Reece worked. Maybe one day, after it was over, he would tell her what he'd done. But then again, maybe he wouldn't. If she could move on from the past, he simply had no right to inundate her with it again. It would be enough for him to keep the knowledge to himself, to know that her Maker would never hurt her or anyone else again.
He had the name. He had the resources to get it done. And he couldn't let it go.
Reece turned his gaze back to the road in front of him, so that Alexandra wouldn't see the hate in his eyes. He put the car in gear and pulled out into the traffic. He startled when he felt her hand on top of his. The soulmate link opened and the darkness in Reece faded away as if it were never there. It was only him, Lex, and the road ahead.