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“Be quiet,” Dave whispered in my ear.
I couldn’t decide whether to be freaked out that he was technically going to be at my date in virtual form, or safer that he was there to hear what I might not. That was the bonus to having a partner in the field. When I missed something, Dave was guaranteed to pick it up.
“Just a touch more lipstick,” Kate said as she heavily applied it on my lips. “Don’t cringe.”
What can I say? Being made up like a doll was not my idea of fun, even if Kate was very good at accentuating my best parts, or so she said.
“Why do we need to be quiet?”
Frowning, Kate went up close to the camera attached to the strap of my dress and stuck her tongue out at him.
Yes, I was wearing a bloody dress. Somehow Brianna had persuaded me to buy a deep red flowy dress that hugged my hips and butt. I couldn’t say that I was the most comfortable, but the straps had pretty black connectors where it joined with the top of the dress, which made for the perfect place to hide the camera.
Sniffing, Dave didn’t answer straight away. He was obviously testing the equipment on his end to make sure he could see and hear okay. “It all looks good. You’ve got to get going.”
Blotting my lips for the hundredth time, I batted Kate away when she tried to fluff my hair again. It was odd having it loose around my shoulders. Especially as it now bounced with big curls. Why the hell had I agreed to let Kate get me ready for the date? Oh yeah, because Brianna would’ve been ten times worse.
“Main objective,” I said to Dave as I glanced in the mirror.
“Fuck me, woman,” he blurted. “You look stunning.”
My mouth snapped shut as I was taken out of agent-mode and into stupid embarrassed female-mode. Staring at myself for a second, I blinked, unable to recognise who the feminine woman was in front of me.
“Er... thanks?”
Dismissing his compliment, I turned back to Kate and held out my hand. Placing my dagger into my palm, she stood back and crossed her arms over her waist. She wore a black mini-skirt with a crop top, her extremely toned mid-rift showing. With knee high boots and her hair as big as she could get it, she looked like a goddess. It amazed me how different we were, and yet, ever since she’d told me a bit about her past, I’d felt a little bit of a kinship with her. Yeah, apparently, I could feel a bit of compassion, so shoot me.
Clipping my dagger to a band around my thigh, I grinned to myself when I let the dress fall over it. I’d been practicing my magic earlier in the day while the others did recon on Joseph. We weren’t going to rush in his questioning. We needed to get the timing right.
“I’m ready.”
“Go get him,” Kate said, winking when I screwed up my face.
As if.
“Yeah,” Dave said in a high pitched fake American voice. “Go get him, girl.”
Rolling my eyes, I waved before I transported myself to Jake’s side. He was outside the restaurant, sitting in a black hatchback. When he turned to me as I appeared in the passenger seat, he did a double take. Laughter escaped me as he clasped his chest and pretended to have a heart attack. Yeah, he even fake fitted and everything.
“Okay, I get it. I think I look better in my book T-shirts, too.”
Both Dave and Jake snorted simultaneously. Ha bloody ha. What was wrong with my normal wardrobe? The amount of times that I’d asked myself that question might be a slight indication. Oh, well.
“Is he inside?”
Blinking at me, Jake stared, unable to take his gaze away. A growl in my ear made me shake my head.
“Tell him to stop staring like that. You’re not a piece of mature beef rump with pepper sauce and a side of fries.”
“What...?”
They both took my question for themselves.
“You just look...” Jake cleared his throat without finishing his sentence.
“You know,” Dave said at the same time. “A bloody good steak meal.”
Tempted to rip the bud out of my ear so I didn’t have to listen to Dave’s bollocks, I reached for the door handle.
“Wait!” They both said in unison.
Jake took my arm, pressing gently against my skin. “He’s inside. He’s on his own. When Dave sent me his information, I checked him out. Seems he’s a legit business man. And, he really is into reading.”
My breath caught in my throat. A business man into reading? What were the chances?
“And, he’s a vampire?” Why was my throat croaky when I spoke?
“Yep.” Dave sighed. “Keep on your guard. He’s either with Joseph or against him.”
I already knew that our new friend had arranged this ‘date’ for a reason other than being interested in my library skills. Whatever he wanted, I had to keep my agent head firmly on. Even if he did spout book stuff.
“Go,” both of them said.
Taking a deep breath, I flicked my hair over my shoulder as I got out the car and walked across the street. My goodness, what was happening to me? I was holding up my dress so I could concentrate on walking in my slight heels. Bloody heels! My flat knee-high lace boots would’ve looked fine with the dress, but Kate and Brianna had insisted that I wear some cute shoes. As if I could pull off cute.
“Name?” The waiter asked when I made my way inside.
Searching my brain as it went blank, I tried not to look completely stupid as I attempted a flirtatious smile. Oh boy, if his cringe was anything to go by, I was no good at this.
“The table is under Alfie Roberts.”
Inclining his head, the waiter led me to a private alcove. There was no denying that Alfie had taste. The restaurant was top quality. Certainly not suited to a Paranormal MI5 agent who was used to being in the field and grabbing a take-away or ready-meal for dinner.
“You must be Gemma,” Alfie greeted me as the waiter left us.
My stomach flipped as the tall, dark handsome man got up and took my hand. His gentle lips fluttered over the skin on my knuckles before he guided me to sit.
The semi-circle booth was hidden from the rest of the restaurant. The enclosed position gave us more privacy than I would’ve preferred considering I was technically on a mission and not a real date.
“Brianna told me a lot about you,” he said as he poured a glass of wine.
Trying my hardest not to shudder under his intense gaze, I ran my tongue over my lips to wet them. When I got the taste of the thick lipstick that Kate had forced me to wear, I only just managed to hide my wince.
“She didn’t tell me much about you. How do you know each other?”
“Too formal,” Dave muttered in my ear. “He’s a good-looking son of a bitch, so he’ll be used to women falling over themselves. Act more like that.”
There was no way I was fawning over the man. Yeah, he was a little attractive. Or, a lot, but who cared? I was there for one reason only. To find out what he knew about Joseph Cambridge.
Alfie’s dark eyes were framed by thick lashes. His skin was tanned a slight golden, his hair the same colour as his almost black eyelashes. It was cropped and spiked up slightly, the ends reaching high above him.
“That’s a beautiful dress,” Alfie said, his eyes running from my head and down to my waist where it disappeared behind the table.
“Thank you,” I replied, suddenly intimidated by his presence. “And, Brianna?”
He shook his head, laughing to himself slightly. “I’m sorry, I was so caught up in your beauty, I forgot to answer.”
“I’m just getting my sick bucket,” Dave muttered.
“I’ve been around Brianna in our circles. We hit it off as friends straight away. She’s as loud as me.”
Handing me the glass, he sat back and sipped his own wine. I tried to relax my shoulders, but they were up around my ears. The red of the liquid in my glass reminded me of the blood he drank. Waving my hand over the top of the glass, I smiled to myself when the dark red lightened to white.
“Well, she is certainly full of life.” I tried to sit back, but my head rebounded off the high seat.
The corner of Alfie’s lip sank into his cheek. The amount of times I’d read about a man having a sexy half grin in my books made it impossible for me not to compare it to him. Yep, he would go into one of my books nicely.
“Prefer white wine? I’ll remember that. I hear you work at the library.” He drank again as he stared.
Not bothering to pick up my wine, I stared at him. This was not comfortable at all. What the hell was he trying to get at?
“I hear you know Joseph Cambridge.”
“Gemma!” Dave barked.
That half grin was back on Alfie’s face as he leant forward, his gaze searching mine. We both knew what we were really here for. The romance wasn’t going to come into it. It never did. Not because I was a frigid woman, but because no one could live up to my book boyfriends. Well, it was mostly because I wouldn’t be able to live a double life. Not telling my man about my job would be impossible, and if I did, I would be fired from the agency. That wasn’t something I could risk.
Staring at me, Alfie kept eye contact as he recited a short quote. What? Had the man just quoted Harry Potter to me? J.K Rowling had inserted a few inspirational quotes into her books, and I’d lapped them up like a puppy drinking its mother’s milk.
“I see Brianna told you what books I like.”
Shrugging, Alfie folded his arms on the table and spoke words from Jane Austen. In fact, it was from one of her books that I’d never told Brianna about. She knew I loved Pride and Prejudice, but she wasn’t aware that I’d read every single one of Jane’s books.
Tilting his head to the side, Alfie smiled genuinely for the first time. His perfectly white teeth almost glimmered under the soft lighting.
“I read a lot. It’s been my favourite past-time for the last two hundred years. It gets monotonous being a vampire sometimes.”
“Your heart is beating too fast. He’s not a real book boyfriend, don’t forget. He’s a threat.” Dave’s tone was low in my ear.
Agent-mode snapped into gear. Putting the ice on my current melting self, I sat up straight and looked him directly in the eye. “We’re not here to talk about books. What connection do you have to Joseph Cambridge?”
Leaning closer still, Alfie cleared his expression. “I want him killed.”
Okayyy. That wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Not that I knew what I had been expecting.
“We like this guy. You can fancy this guy. Just don’t get involved with this guy. Vampire slash witch doesn’t go. Plus, you’re a Pisces. He’s an Aries. It’s not a good combo.” Really Dave?
If he didn’t shut up, I would excuse myself to go to the toilet and leave the camera on when I went for a pee. Ugh. Since when did he compare bloody star signs?
“I’m sorry,” I said to Alfie, attempting to laugh daintily. “I’m not sure how I can help you with that. Working at a library doesn’t-”
“Don’t patronise me. I know exactly who you are.” His stare was soft, his hands steady where they rested.
My heart may have fluttered slightly when he reached for his wine and downed the lot in one. If the man knew who I was, why did he think he had the right to use me as- what exactly? A killing machine?
“Ask him why he wants him killed,” Dave instructed. “Don’t get defensive.”
Stopping myself from telling Alfie that he could shove his wine up his arse, I sat back, my forced elegant manner forgotten. When Dave let me know how much he knew me, it actually pissed me off. It took a lot to hide myself from people. Even though I worked closely with Dave, it was becoming scary to think that he knew me better than anyone.
“Why do you want Joseph killed?”
Realising that I’d dropped my persona, Alfie let go of his. Sitting back, he rested his hands over his stomach as he watched me. “I’m so glad you stopped pretending to be something you’re not.”
“I see you’re a natural at dodging questions whether you’re faking or being real.”
Laughter burst from him. It brightened his whole face, showing him in a different light. Jeez, if he spoke any more book to me, I might just be attracted to the man. Which would be a first for a long time.
“Joseph Cambridge is my sire. I want him killed because what he has planned is evil. I can’t let him go through with it. Too many people are in danger.”
“Oh crap,” Dave muttered. “You’re going to be falling in a minute.”
Falling? What?
“You know,” he went on, probably realising that I was confused by his words. “Falling in love with the perfect man, who probably morphed out of one of your books.”
Coughing to shut him up, I sat forward, genuinely wanting to speak to Alfie. Okay, so his Jane Austen quote might have drawn me in, but I was just interested in his knowledge of Joseph. That was all.
Tucking my hair behind my ear, I ran my finger around the rim of my wine glass. “What exactly does he have planned?”
“You’re flirting!”
Grabbing my hand back, I sat upright. Crap, I had been pulling a few flirty moves without meaning to.
“You know perfectly well. He’s let everyone in the PFF know that you interrupted a very important resurrection spell.”
If he knew the PFF, there was a chance he could actually be a spy for Joseph. His intentions might have sounded clear with his declaration of wanting the leader killed, but what if he was trying to lull me into a false sense of security?
“You’re part of the PFF?” I couldn’t help the heat that flashed into my veins. Just a small amount of emotion stemming from disappointment.
His quick shake of the head followed by a sneer told me that I’d offended him. “No way. Being sired by him means I know quite a bit about what he’s doing. We have a connection, which I despise. However, I cannot break it. Which is why I can’t personally kill him.”
“If you know who I am,” I said, leaning my elbows on the table. “You know full well that I can’t kill him, either.”
Our gaze held as we stared at one another. An emotion I rarely felt slipped through me, making my insides quiver. I really did find the man attractive. That wasn’t good.
“No, you can’t personally kill him, but what if I told you that he was planning more than the demon rising?”
Perspiration popped out of my pores as he pulled out his phone. Pressing a few buttons, he held it up for me to see. A video of Helen Cambridge going into a warehouse played on the screen. Several men turned up with crates of... was that fertiliser?
“The bomb,” I muttered.
“Shit,” Dave said. “That’s going to be a huge bomb. Peter was right. We need to bring her in. Now.” Dave was already typing something on his keyboard, I could hear the tapping.
He was probably asking my mother permission to bring Helen in. Joseph already had a warrant out, although it was proving difficult to find him. Jake and Kate were currently watching millions of CCTV cameras to see if they could trace him in London.
When the video had finished, Alfie put his phone on the table. “The bomb is going to kill many innocent people, I’m sure. I’ve been trying to keep track of their movements, but it’s proving difficult. I see Joseph every other week to catch up. He rarely speaks about the PFF, but every now and then he lets something slip. He trusts me. That’s why I know about what happened in that warehouse. Well, most of it. I don’t know what happened after he left.”
“And you never will, mate.” Dave was being typical Dave.
Glancing down at my red dress, I clenched my hands in my lap when the colour reminded me of Brianna. “And, what about my best friend? Will you leave her alone? I don’t want her involved in any of this.”
Scratching his clean-shaven face, Alfie glanced at the waiter when he came over to take our order.
“I’m not staying.” My impulsive words were met with raised eyebrows from both men.
Not bothering to look at the menu, Alfie smiled at the waiter. “I’ll have my usual.”
Once we were alone again, I folded my arms on the table. “Thank you for showing me that video. So, if I’m understanding correctly, you want us to arrest Joseph? You know that the government doesn’t tolerate terrorists in either paranormals or humans, so they’ll execute Joseph, like they do any paranormal who threatens humans.”
“Yes, that’s right. When Joseph turned me, I was a young reckless lad. However, I had a daughter who was barely six months old when I ‘died’. My regrets over having to leave her and my wife made me do things I’m ashamed of. When my grown daughter showed up at my door one day, I almost had a heart attack. Well, I would’ve if I’d been alive.” The small laugh was joined with a look of happiness.
Something in my chest squeezed hard. He’d loved his daughter, there was no doubting it. There was something sexy about a family man. Even if he was a vampire.
“My life turned upside down then. She’d somehow found out that I’d been turned into a vampire, and yet, still wanted a relationship with her father.” He stared at the wooden table surface, lost in memory. “I watched her grow old and die.”
A lump came to my throat when tears came to his eyes. Oh boy, this was getting dangerous. It was as if he was reaching out of a book and into my heart. Bloody men!
“The day she left the planet, I swore to protect humans and paranormals from harm. I had to make up for the amount of lives I’d taken and ruined in the process.”
Not able to say anything, I sat in silence. Even Dave was quiet in my ear. The vampire was a bloody good actor if he was lying, but my bullshit detector was good. He was real. He was bloody real and bloody gorgeous. It was time to get away from him.
“I promise to look into your claims thoroughly and try to stop the PFF.”
Blinking, Alfie snapped out of his reverie. Glancing at me, he smiled gently before sitting up straight and tapping his fingers against his thigh. “I need your info to send this proof. It warrants a search and arrest, no?”
Nodding, I pulled out my phone and insisted that he gave me his details. Our transaction went smoothly as we swapped information. The vampire had my email. To be fair, Dave had a tight security wall around it so he could vet those who contacted me.
After exchanging a lingering look, I got up from my seat and glanced down at him.
“This is quite vomit inducing,” Dave muttered. “But, why are you leaving already?”
“Thank you for the evidence.” Ignoring Dave, I gave an awkward wave towards Alfie’s phone. “I have to go now.”
I wasn’t going to sit and play happy evening with him all night. There was something about him that put me on edge. Not only the fact that he was a fellow book nerd but his vampire connections to the man who had threatened me made it hard to trust him.
Alfie threw me a smile, although it was less smarmy than before. “I can tell you don’t trust that I’m being genuine. I wish you wouldn’t rush off. However, I understand. I will show you that I’m on your side. I promise.”
Nodding curtly, I left, my fake persona completely out of the window. A few people stared after me as I clip clopped out of the restaurant, making far too much noise in my little heels.
“You could’ve got so much more information out of him. “
Marching across the road to where Jake sat in the car, I quickly got inside. He jolted awake as soon as my hand was on the door handle.
“Having a nice nap?” I asked, grinning at him when his cheeks blossomed red.
Dismissing me with a wave, he started the engine. “I was resting my eyes. Plus, Dave set up a camera in here a while ago, so he sees all. You were perfectly protected.”
Sighing, I leant back in the comfy leather chair and kicked off the irritating shoes. I couldn’t wait to get back into my boots. They didn’t strangle my feet.
“Go well?” the shifter asked as he sniffed the air. “You don’t smell like you ate.”
Frowning, I smacked his arm. “That’s gross. You use your nose to find out what people ate?”
“It can come in handy sometimes. Although, it does have a way of biting me in the arse. When I’ve been in a club and a couple comes out of the bathroom, I can smell-”
“Stop!” I shouted, the one word echoing around the car.
Dave’s chuckle made me grit my teeth. Men were so crude. Not that I minded often, but there was only so far it needed to be taken.
“How did it go?” Jake asked seriously.
Trying not to sigh again, I crossed my legs on the seat, not caring that the dress rode up my thighs. “Really well. I think...” I paused, not really wanting to jinx it. “...that we have a credible witness who’s close to Joseph Cambridge. If we can confirm that he’s on our side, we might just get the lead we need to end the PFF.”
