Kade fell back into the bed off of Sydney, rolling her with him so she lay upon his chest once again. He would never let her go. She would stay here and build a future with him. He knew she was worried about her job, but he would get her one here if that’s what she wanted. Kade would spare no expense making sure she had everything she needed to stay.
Sydney fought back the tears, overwhelmed by the emotions from making love with Kade. God she loved him. He was everything she could ever want in a man: masculine, honorable, sexy, and intelligent. She’d never met a man like him before in her life and was pretty sure she’d never meet another. Kade made her feel loved, desired, wanted. Hell, he made her feel, period. It had been years since she dated anyone more than a month, let alone someone who made her consider moving hundreds of miles away to live with him.
But give up her entire life for a man she met less than a week ago? Could she really just move all her stuff down here not knowing if they had a real commitment? It was true that she had bonded with him, but as a human, she still wasn’t exactly sure of the implications. It wasn’t as if he had asked her to marry him. No, he only said that he wanted her to move in with him. As much as she was tempted to tell him ‘yes’ right away, she had responsibilities waiting for her at home: her job, the center, friends, a life. Okay, so she didn’t have that many friends or family, but still, it was her life.
What was she thinking? How could she have let herself get so involved with someone...on a case, no less? Someone she worked with? Not only did she get involved with him, she was deeply and utterly in love with this man, this vampire. If she left New Orleans, how could she live without him? It would break her heart beyond belief to let him go. She just needed to think about what to do and how to make it work. She’d been held up here in this dark, fantasy world for days. She knew life and death situations had a way of skewing one’s perspective. If she could just get some fresh air...maybe a Philly cheesesteak...back to the office, she’d be able to make a decision with a clear head.
Sydney needed space before he saw her tears. “Kade,” she whispered, “I need to take a shower.”
“Okay, love. You sure you don’t want me to join you?”
“I would love you to, but I really think I just need to take a nice, relaxing bath. You know...decompress after the past few days.”
“As much as I would like to wait for you, I really should get downstairs to help Luca. The woman in the cell...she needs to be questioned.”
“Samantha?”
“Rhea? Samantha? I’m not sure what her real name is, but we need to find out before we release her.”
“Kade, I was in that cell with her. Now granted, I couldn't read her facial expressions, but her story rang true with me. I didn’t even recognize her as Rhea. I mean, how will you know the truth?”
“It shouldn’t be hard. I will scan her mind. See if she shows any signs of deception. I called Ilsbeth over here to see if she has been bespelled. It is possible Asgear put a spell on her that could enable deception. Even though he is dead, Jane Doe down there may still harbor dark magic. If Ilsbeth senses any magic, she will take her to the coven to be cleared of spells and blessed. We cannot be too careful considering Asgear may have schooled others in his dark ways.”
“Others?” Sydney shivered at the possibility that Asgear spawned other mages.
“I sense your fear, Sydney. I would tell you not to worry, but you and I both know the truth of the situation. All I can say is that supernaturals sometimes are not all that different from humans. Evil has no boundaries. And you and I...we both seek justice, albeit in very different worlds.”
“Yes. Crime is everywhere, that’s for sure. Well, I hope Samantha is okay.” There is crime waiting for me back in Philadelphia. Not wanting to end their time thinking of leaving, she kissed Kade, savoring his warmth once more. She knew what she had to do. She also knew he’d be really pissed, more like infuriated, but she needed to clear her head. Not looking back, tears pricked at her eyes as she scurried off to the shower.
Chapter Twenty
Luca shot Kade a look of desperation as he entered the safe room in the basement. The girl was crying again. Shit, no man liked crying. Kade felt a pang of guilt for essentially saving the girl from Simone, only to imprison her, yet again, in his home. Granted, the room was a large, comfortable guest room with its own private bathroom. It didn’t scream 'prison cell.' No, if anything, it looked like a posh, luxurious room at the Four Seasons. Regardless, the girl was scared and confused. He needed to get control over the situation, but fast. Taking a deep breath, he readied himself for the interrogation.
Samantha sat crouched on the bed with her knees pulled up against her chest, glaring at Kade as he sat in an overstuffed guest chair. “Samantha, I’m Kade. Now listen, we are not here to hurt you. I am sorry that we needed to keep you here with us, but we need to make sure it is safe to let you return home. The people who took you were an evil pair of criminals who apparently used you to further their exploits. You may not be aware, but you attacked a very good friend of mine a few nights ago at Sangre Dulce. Do you have any recollection of this activity?”
The girl sniffled, “No. I...I don’t know what you’re talking about. Where is Sydney? She said she’d come for me.”
Kade glanced at Luca. “Sydney is recovering. I need to ask you some questions, Samantha. The faster we do this, the faster you get out of here.” Luca passed Kade a snapshot of Rhea standing naked serving drinks at the club. Kade flipped over the photo, not yet wanting to shock the girl.
“Samantha, do you remember being at Sangre Dulce?”
“Yes, I told Sydney. I’m so stupid. It was my first time. I went there with friends. I don’t even live here in New Orleans. I was at a computer conference. My friends and I went there, you know, just to have fun...see what it was like. There was this guy...James...he seemed so nice. I remember having a drink with him. Then...all I remember after that is being in that cell...he beat me...I couldn’t get out. I told Sydney,” she sobbed, tears spilled down her face.
Not detecting deception in her words, Kade needed her to understand what happened, and unfortunately what was about to happen. She wasn’t going home. “Okay, listen Samantha. Here’s the thing. James, the man you mentioned, was a powerful mage, a warlock. His real name was Asgear, and he practiced dark magic. I am very sorry to tell you that you were bespelled by him. I have someone who can help you, but I’ve got to be honest with you. You need to know what happened. I have a photo here.” He held it up to her, “It is a photo of you in Sangre Dulce serving drinks and engaging in other various duties,” he coughed not knowing how to tell her. “Miguel, the owner, introduced you to us as a submissive. You know what that is, right?”
Nodding her head, Samantha whimpered. “Yes. Oh dear God. No, no, I would never do that. I just went there with friends for fun. Oh my God. How did this happen to me? What did I do?”
“That night, you took one of my friends. You silvered her to a table. Now, before you get too upset, it’s entirely possible Asgear did most of the silvering. You see, my friend was blindfolded. At any rate, you helped this man. So, we need to make sure whatever he did to you is lifted and cleansed...so you don’t do it again.”
“What do you mean? I promise I won’t ever do anything like that again. Am I going home now? I need to get home. My family, my job.” She wiped the tears from her eyes.
Now came the hard part. “I would love to send you home, Samantha, but like I said, we need to make sure you are free of the dark magic. A friend of mine,” he hesitated, “a friend of mine and Sydney’s, she is a witch, a good witch. Her name is Ilsbeth. She is coming here and taking you to her coven. Now, I am not sure how long it will take, but I promise you that you will return to your home...soon enough.”