He turned and faced outdoors, steaming with anger and arousal. That lovely little mouth, he wanted to kiss it, to make love to it, to feel himself surrounded by her lips. But she would not listen to reason, and he had enough of this 'I am a cop' nonsense. Simone would hang her from her wrists and skin her alive...he’d seen her do it before. They could work the case together, but Kade refused to let Sydney go it alone anymore.
Sydney jumped to her feet. She was beyond infuriated. “How dare you go and talk to my captain without my knowledge!” she yelled. “And you do not get to tell me when to leave this house! I don’t intend to wait around and do nothing while you go off and do business, or whatever you do. I am the detective. You are...you are...I don’t even know what the hell you are. I sure as shit know that you aren’t a freakin’ detective!” She started to pace, afraid that if she stopped she’d be driven to violence...all the while knowing that would be futile.
Kade frowned. She was the most stubborn woman on the face of the earth. She was hot, sexy, beautiful, and damn hardheaded. “I run this city, love. All of the supernatural activity in this town, including any P-CAP investigations, only occur with my expressed approval and permission. That is all you need to know about my business. I am the law in New Orleans.” He moved toward her, closing the distance. “So unless you’d like to be tied to a bed, and believe me, I would love to have you tied to mine, you had better follow my rules.”
He had some nerve: arrogant, egotistical, dominant, sexy. Tied to his bed? Duly noted and under consideration. She shook off thoughts of sex and remembered she was fighting for her rights in this investigation. “Okay. Fine. No going out on investigations without you, but I am not staying in a house full of vampires. This just isn’t practical or safe. I am not going to end up a happy meal because someone got the munchies. And I am not going to waste my time sitting around here while you do business. Where you go, I go. We work this case, get the bad guy, and I go home. Seriously, I can’t stay forever, so I want to make the most of my time.”
Finally, capitulation. “Sydney, I want you to know that I admire your independence and tenacity. I just want to keep you safe. I want all my people safe.” He didn’t want her to know how deeply he was starting to care about her. He was pissed as hell knowing that she called Tristan instead of talking to him first. Hell, he wasn’t sure he even liked that he was so captivated by her. After all, he’d been alone for a few centuries now. He didn’t lack for female attention, and he had enough to keep him busy in life without complications. And Sydney was a huge complication. Yet he could not deny that he was very much connected to her and she to him.
Sydney backed away from Kade and sat back into the comfy chair. She pulled her legs up underneath her and faced him. So, this was how it was going to be? He acted like he cared about her, like he wanted her? But he was making her stay here, because he was some kind of a control freak? He didn’t just want to keep her safe...no, he said that he wanted to keep everyone safe. Fine, what did she care? She accepted long ago that she would spend her life alone. That was how she wanted it. She pulled up her emotional wall, nice and high, so he couldn’t read her disappointment. “Don’t worry about stroking my ego, Kade. I get it, you are the protector, and I am the consultant. No problem.” She was clearly annoyed with him. “So what’s next? Where do we find Simone?”
Just then, Luca walked into the room. “Kade,” he nodded and turned to Sydney. “Sydney. I’ve got a lead on Simone. There have been rumblings that she was seen collecting donors downtown at Sangre Dulce.”
“Sangre Dulce?” Sydney asked.
“Sangre Dulce is a local club specializing in...how would you say?” Luca looked over to Kade hoping for some assistance. Finding none, he continued, “It is a fetish club. S&M. Caters to the supernaturals and humans alike. If Simone was looking for someone to torture, she could easily find a submissive there who would go off with her easily. I talked to Miguel, the owner, and he said a bartender reported that a woman who looked like Simone was in the club well over a month ago. We cannot be certain it was her, but we could ask around. And Kade, if we do go to Sangre Dulce, I would advise against taking the human.”
Sydney wanted to smack Luca. Why did he always have to be such a condescending ass? “Hello? Luca? That human is right here. I already established with Kade that we're going together.”
Luca stood stoned-faced. “Kade, she serves no purpose on this trip. Simone will have spies, and they will see her. And others...vampires...they will view her as available. She is not marked, nor claimed, nor does she work for us. They will recognize her as an outsider. It is not wise to bring her. I must insist that you reconsider.”
“Luca, your concern is taken under advisement. Effective immediately, Miss Sydney Willows is my employee.” Sydney shot him a surprised look. “She is the Director of Security in charge of my Philadelphia operations. She arrived yesterday to learn from you about security operations in New Orleans. She is known to accompany me to events. After introductions to Miguel, no one will touch her.”
“But, how will she fit in? They will sense she does not belong. It will be bad enough that we have no business that would even call us there.”
Sydney had an idea, “What if we were there for some kind of inspection? If it's true that Kade approves all activities in this town, could we tell Miguel we were there because of a complaint? Cops do it all the time for other businesses when we suspect suspicious activity. Or, we could just say I was there to see New Orleans. Lord knows there are plenty of freaky things going on in this city. What’s a little S&M in this town? Seriously you two...have you ever been to Bourbon Street on Halloween? Everyone lets their freak flag fly.”
Kade burst out laughing. A hearty, sexy laugh that made Sydney want to let her freak flag fly right there, right then, on the floor with Kade. “Sydney, you are quite amusing and you do bring up a good point. But going in under the guise of an inspection will only put people off. You must understand that people, who frequent this club, go there for privacy. Any complaints would be handled directly with Miguel. We don’t want people on the defensive. But if we go in as mere patrons? A date even? Now that would work, and I am more than willing to get freaky with you.” He smiled. Yes, this would work.
Luca resigned himself to the fact that they were taking the human. He didn’t necessarily like her or dislike her. But, he learned long ago that humans simply could not be trusted, not to mention the fact that Simone was dangerous. If she went after Sydney, it would put them all at risk. He didn’t like the fact that Voodoo and magic were involved either. They needed Ilsbeth. When was that damn witch going to call him back and let him know exactly when she was arriving?
But Luca had to admit that his good friend Kade seemed happier with Sydney here. He was clearly enjoying his human entertainment, and Luca did not want to deprive his old friend of a chance at happiness. Life was very dull at times when you lived for centuries. Sure, vampires often had sex or found other vampire friends to share their life with, but it was rare to find someone who you could possibly love forever, a soul mate. There was something about this difficult, human woman that made Kade seem interested in life again. Luca would wait to reserve judgment, but he would keep a close eye on Miss Sydney Willows. He could not allow her to compromise their mission to find Simone.