Kade jumped in the shower, washed, and quickly dressed in a worn pair of jeans and a white cotton t-shirt. He could sense she was still in the shower. If he hurried, he could get downstairs first. He was just about down the flight of stairs when the doorbell rang, the Chinese food. He quickly paid the driver and set off to get things ready in the kitchen.
Sydney padded into the kitchen wearing just his robe, and sat at the granite counter bar. Relaxed from her shower, Sydney smiled at Kade. “So, Kade, not to be rude or anything, but vampires and Chinese food? What gives? Thought you guys only had blood on the menu. Unless you got that delivered too?”
Kade laughed, “Sydney love, you do have quite a bit to learn about us, and I would love to be the one to teach you.” He winked at her. She felt herself blush. Kade continued, “Vampires do need blood to survive, but we only need to feed a couple of times a week. We can eat food, and it tastes great, but it will not keep us alive, only blood does that. My favorite is Peking duck, but also I got Szechuan shrimp, dumplings, moo shu chicken, and garlic broccoli. I wasn’t sure what you liked.”
Sydney laughed out loud. “So, are we having company?”
Kade shook his head, no.
She was touched that he was so thoughtful to get a variety. “Well, it smells wonderful. I'm so hungry. And just so you know, I love everything you ordered...it's as if you knew what I’d like.”
“You are very welcome. And Sydney love, I do believe I know what you would like.” He was not talking about her food.
Looking down into her shrimp, she tried to hide her embarrassment. He knew she wanted him. Then it occurred to her that he might have known what she was doing in the shower. Shit. She was hoping that he wouldn’t hear or smell anything with the shower going and that delicious strawberry shampoo. Guess she was wrong.
Kade loved the way she blushed. He knew she could be a hard ass on the streets, but she had a sexy, soft side that he fully intended to explore when this mess was over. For now, he could not resist the urge to tease her. “So, you like it spicy? I must confess that I love it that way as well. I just can’t seem to get mine hot enough.”
Syd looked straight into his sexy blue eyes and smiled. She would have loved to have had some pithy, response but her mouth was full of duck and she enjoyed his play on words. Oh yeah, she loved it hot all right.
After they finished, he poured her a glass of brandy. He lit a fire, and they sat on twin leather recliners that faced the fireplace. She wanted to sit back and relax, but knew it was time to get down to business. The man had secrets, and she was going to find out what the hell was going on. “So Kade, what's the deal with the note? I know you're keeping something from me. We’re partners. It's time to talk.” She stared at the crackling fire hoping it would make it easier for him to tell her if she wasn’t looking at him.
Kade knew he needed to tell her. Things had gone too far with Simone appearing to Sydney. He sighed, this would not be easy. “You know Sydney; we live a very long time. There is a specific vampire I suspect is involved in these murders. Luca found her scent at the Jennings’s scene. I didn’t want to tell you. I wasn’t sure, but today; the note, the apparition you saw...it’s her.”
Sydney knew she wasn’t going to like whatever he had to say. But she wanted to make it easy for him. She reached over and touched his hand. “Whatever this is, Kade, whoever this is. You can tell me. Evil is evil. Supernatural or human...all races can be touched by it.”
Kade knew she was trying to make him feel better, but there was nothing that could make him feel better when it came to Simone and what she did to those girls. He stood, getting closer to the fireplace, with his back to Sydney. “Simone, Simone Barret. She was turned in the eighteen hundreds. I found her on the streets and took her in. I was lonely, we...we were lovers.”
Sydney cringed. Okay, so this is it. She pulled her knees up to her chest and kept still. What did she think? That he was a virgin? Of course not. The man had lovers. He was a hot, sexy vampire. Logic told her that he probably had hundreds of lovers over the years. So why did she feel jealous all of a sudden?
Kade turned around and gazed directly into Sydney’s eyes as if he could read her thoughts. “I have not had as many lovers as you would think, Sydney. Sure, I am a vampire, and it is no secret that we may have sex during feeding, but that is all it is, sex. Lovers have been few; a person to share my home and life with...but there has been no one I have ever been in love with. Simone, she was vulnerable and I...I was lonely. We helped each other.”
“She had been trained in magic...Voodoo, and she betrayed me. When I found out she had captured and tortured several young women, I banished her. I should have killed her on the spot, but times were different back then. I thought if I banished her that would be punishment enough, but it appears that I was wrong.”
Sydney could not believe what she was hearing. He had a lover, an evil lover, who killed and tortured girls and now was coming back to kill more girls? What the fuck? She wanted to get up and leave right then, but decided to hear him out. She knew all too often that things were not always how they seemed. She stood up and walked over to Kade. “So, what? Are you in love with her? Why is she here? To get you back? Why kill the girls? She’s in this city?” She heard her voice getting louder and louder, so much for staying calm.
“Sydney, I am over two hundred years old. You must understand that while I loved her, I am not nor was I ever in love with her; there is a difference. Why is she back? Ah, revenge I suspect. I banished her and maybe even broke her heart, if she had one. But if you could have seen what she did to those girls...I should have killed her.” Kade walked away from Sydney and faced the fireplace once again. “And why here? My guess is Tristan.”
Sydney was astonished. “Tristan?”
“Yes, love, Tristan’s sister, Katarina, was one of the tortured girls. He came to me seeking my help. He knew it was Simone who took the girls. He offered pack protection in exchange for finding his sister. It was how we met and later became friends. But Simone, she knew it was Tristan who told me. She may have come here seeking to stir up trouble in Tristan’s territory. She would have known I would come to his aid eventually. What she didn’t count on is that Tristan would be smart enough to recognize right away that a vampire was stirring up problems in his community even before the first death occurred. He contacted me right away.”
Sydney’s thoughts were spinning. Simone was here in Philadelphia? How did she know where they were? Why did she come as a ghost? “Okay, so lover girl has an ax to grind. She comes up here instead of New Orleans to get at Tristan? And to get back at you? Not buying that. I get that she's mad at Tristan for ratting her out to you. But she isn’t from this area. You said she left the country. And what the hell is with the ghost? Why not just show up in person?”
“My best guess is that she is not here physically. She may have a mage or witch helping her. Possibly vampire or human minions, maybe both. As vampires, we can turn humans into slaves should we wish...control their thoughts. Jennings belonged to her, there could be others.”
“Nice little vamp trick, huh?” Sydney sneered. There was a reason she didn’t get involved with the supernatural, and this was it: human slaves, witchcraft, Voodoo. Sydney felt she had heard enough for tonight. As much as she wanted to be with Kade, she felt an overwhelming need to get home.