Irresistible Magic (Crescent City Fae: Book 2) Read online

  Talisen nodded and shifted into David’s personal space just enough to force David to move away from me. He then positioned two chairs next to one another and nodded as if to say, “Have a seat.”

  I picked up Link, who was shaking from the vampire energy, and took my place next to Tal.

  David studied us with his deep, midnight-blue eyes as I soothed Link with one hand and let Talisen take the other. Yes, we were a happy little family. David had no place in it. But that was his fault, really. He’d broken up with me and then chosen to turn vamp. And everyone knows faeries and vamps don’t mix.

  Except David and I sort of did. I’d turned him into a daywalker, after all. Every other vamp in the vicinity could bring me to my knees just by touching me for a few seconds. My vampire disability is odd. Their touch alone is like fire on my skin and leaves bruises. Some would call it a sensitivity. I’d call it a fucking nightmare. Even if I did take those self-defense classes Phoebe always harped about, they would be of no use. Not when their touch was every bit as bad as taking an unblocked blow.

  There was a time when David’s touch could bring me to my knees…in a good way. A tantalizing, make-my-body-turn-to-gelatin way. But that was before he’d turned vamp. Before I’d found out he’d lied to me during our entire relationship. Before I knew he was a coldhearted bastard.

  I blocked the memories from my mind and met David’s impenetrable stare. “We don’t have all night.”

  David glanced once at Tal and then back to me. His gaze traveled the length of my body and paused at the hem of my skirt. “Looks like that’s exactly what you have.”

  Heat burned my face, but I refused to look away. “We have plans. Tell Allcot we’re here.”

  “No need for that.” A slow Southern drawl I’d come to dread filtered through the jazz music. I whirled and found Eadric Allcot, David’s father—both vampire and legally adoptive father—leaning against a partition, blocking us from the rest of the bar. “You can go upstairs now.” He nodded at David. “Take your girlfriend to my office. I’ll meet you there.”

  I stood. “I’m not his girlfriend. Not now. Not ever. And Talisen and Link will come with me.”

  He raised one amused eyebrow. “I do love a feisty fae.”

  Link growled and one look at Talisen told me he was moments from clocking Allcot. Shit.

  “The dog and your fae friend will wait here.” Allcot’s tone was thick with finality. “Davidson,” he said, “take her upstairs.”

  “And if I refuse?” I challenged him through clenched teeth.

  Allcot pinned me with cold, hard eyes. “Do not test me. The wolf cannot come up because he’s already too agitated. The fae is not welcome. You know why.”

  David opened a door that was concealed behind thick blue drapes and gestured for me to go first.

  What did that mean? How was I supposed to know why Talisen wasn’t welcome? Was it because he was fae or the fact that I obviously was on a date with Tal and David didn’t like it? Either way, it was bullshit. I bit my tongue to keep from lashing out.

  “Willow?” David prompted.

  I glanced at Tal, my eyebrows raised. I didn’t want to go with David. And I especially didn’t want to go without Tal.

  Talisen glared at David but reached out for Link. “Give him to me.”

  Link happily scooted into Tal’s lap, and I couldn’t help but be jealous.

  “Go on. The sooner you find out what he has to say, the sooner we can get out of here.”

  Tal’s voice was tight and I could tell it was taking all his control to stay calm. But his expression was soft, meant just for me. He wanted me to be safe, and if that meant playing Allcot’s game, then that’s what we’d do.

  They’d spent the last year keeping me safe. They weren’t likely to harm me now. “Fine.” I swept past David, annoyed when my shoulder brushed his. The resulting tingle of pleasure was not welcome. Not welcome at all. I’d shut the door on that over a week ago after I’d found out David had been lying to me from the beginning.

  I sure wished my body would get the memo. I steeled myself and kept walking in short strides, trying to stay upright in my heels, as if he hadn’t affected me at all.

  It took me a moment to realize David hadn’t followed me into the corridor. Pausing, I glanced back and glimpsed Allcot shaking hands with a tall, dark-skinned man with bodybuilder-type muscles and David speaking with a shorter, wiry blond-haired man with dark brown eyes.

  What? They had to be human. If they were vamp, I’d feel it. They didn’t move like fae, and I couldn’t sense any underlying magic, so while it wasn’t impossible they were witches, I doubted it.

  The dark-skinned man said something to Talisen, making him scowl. That’s it. Whatever was going on, I wasn’t leaving him with Allcot’s lackeys. But when I started to move back into the room, Tal’s eyes met mine and he gave me a tiny shake of his head. He didn’t want me to interfere.

  I didn’t get a chance anyway, because right then, David strode into the corridor, blocking the scene from my view.

  “Who are those guys with Talisen?” I demanded.

  David put a hand on the small of my back and I jumped.

  “Don’t do that,” I snapped.

  “I’m being a gentleman, Willow.” His tone implied he was anything but.

  “Right. We broke up. We aren’t even friends. I’d prefer you let me keep my personal space.”

  He shrugged. “You didn’t seem to mind earlier today at the shop.”

  “You barged in on me while I was half-naked. If you hadn’t been all secret agent and going on about how I was being followed, I would’ve thrown your ass out.”

  His lips turned up into a ghost of a smile. “That would’ve been fun to see.”

  “Shut up.” I huffed. “Who were those men?”

  “Security for your shop. Father wants insider eyes on anything that goes down during daylight hours.”

  My natural instinct was to decline. To tell them to stuff their security where the sun didn’t shine. But the Void wasn’t taking this as seriously as I wanted them to, and short of hiring a few witches to set wards that would keep more customers away than bad guys, I wasn’t sure what else to do. “Why is Allcot talking to Tal about it?” It wasn’t his shop, dammit. It was mine.

  “They have business to discuss.”

  “But it’s my shop. Not Tal’s.” If they thought for one moment they could sidestep me or coerce Talisen to get me to do something I didn’t want to, they had better back their fanged asses right up. I wasn’t a goddamned pushover. “Any business should be discussed with me.”

  David cast me a sidelong glance. “Father is discussing healer business with him. Nothing to do with your shop.”

  Oh. Talisen was gifted in healing, but he didn’t sell his services. No wonder he’d looked pissed off. He’d spend the next hour refusing whatever it was they wanted. He didn’t hesitate to use his skill when he needed to help someone, but he couldn’t be bought. He had a research job at the university that paid the bills. There was no need to whore himself out to the highest bidder. Especially not to the mafia-like vamp corporation that was otherwise known as Cryrique. “Good luck to them.”

  We ascended the third flight of stairs and finally came to an open reception area. David crossed to the middle of the room and sat in one of four pristine white armchairs. “Have a seat while we wait for Father.”

  I scanned the room, thoroughly confused. Usually Allcot’s offices were full of ornate, old-world, over-the-top furniture, and all business was conducted behind closed doors. This was entirely too open to discuss anything of importance.

  “You might want to sit down,” David said.

  “Why?”

  A delicate clearing of the throat came from directly behind me. “Willow?”

  Shock held me frozen in place for a heartbeat, then I spun. “Mom?”

  Chapter 4

  I ran to my mom and pulled her into a hug, then jerked back and scowled in co
nfusion. “What are you doing here? Why are you in Allcot’s hotel?”

  Her amber-rimmed, hazel eyes filled with tears. “Maude called me and filled me in on a few details you neglected to mention.”

  Shame coiled in my gut. A week ago, I’d learned my aunt had been controlled against her will for almost three years, why my brother had been murdered, and that along with his death, I’d inherited a surprising ability to sense vamps and turn them into daywalkers. I’d sort of glossed over some of the story when I’d told Mom what happened. I hadn’t wanted her to worry. Had Maude told her everything? Even the fact that I’d almost died the day I’d saved David’s undead life?

  “Mom, I—”

  “No excuses. I know you probably have a million reasons why you kept me in the dark, but I don’t want to hear them. You’re in danger and I’m here to make sure you’re protected.” Her tears had dried and she wore her mom face.

  “No excuses,” I said weakly. “I’m sorry.”

  Mom, being Mom, smiled at me and seemed to let go of all her anger right there. She never was one for grudges unless the person in question had hurt one of her loved ones. “I know, sweetheart. You had a lot happen in a short period of time. I’m sure you’re still processing.”

  I nodded and glanced at David. “You could say that. But why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I would’ve picked you up at the airport. Cleared my schedule. You know, all those things normal people do.”

  Her pale, ice-blue wings, identical to mine, flexed. She cast a nervous glance at David. “Does she know?”

  He shook his head. “Not yet. We were waiting for you.”

  “Mom?” What could possibly be so terrible she’d flown two thousand miles to tell me in person…and why did David know before I did? Damn them! They were all keeping things from me again. Then fear took over. What if something had gone terribly wrong? “Is it Carrie? Or Beau Junior? Did something happen to them?” Carrie had been my brother’s fiancée, and unbeknownst to us, she’d been pregnant at the time of his death. Allcot had been protecting her and my nephew for the past four years from the vampire Asher. If Asher found out about Beau Junior’s existence, his life would be very much on the line.

  Asher was a human-loving, religious zealot of a vampire who’d made it his mission in life to track down and kill the first males of my bloodline—the ones who had the power to sense vampires and turn them into daywalkers. His sole reason was to prevent humans from being at an even bigger disadvantage. If vampires could daywalk, they would be more powerful than ever.

  Mom’s eyes filled with tears again, and my heart almost stopped. I took a deep breath and braced myself.

  “I saw Beau today,” she whispered. “He looks exactly like your brother.”

  The nausea that had taken up residence in my gut vanished. It was the first time she’d seen her grandson. I couldn’t imagine what that must have been like for her.

  As my twin, Beau’s loss would never leave me, never get easier. He was my other half, the one who’d protected me, made me laugh when I was sad, and always pushed me to be better when working my spells. He’d challenged me in a way no one else could, always confident I could come up with a kickass version of whatever concoction I was working on at the time. Meeting Beau Junior had stitched back together a small piece of my heart that would always ache for my brother. I hoped Mom had experienced something similar.

  “He’s okay then?” I glanced around at David, but he was busy watching Mom with fascination. I settled my gaze on her.

  “He’s perfect,” Mom said.

  Thank the gods for that. “And Carrie? Is she okay?”

  Mom’s eyes clouded over with fear, which was then replaced by a hardness I rarely saw in her.

  My heart skipped a beat and a tremor snaked down my spine. “What is it?”

  Mom sucked in a steadying breath. “Sorry,” she forced out.

  I grabbed her hands and squeezed. Whatever had happened, I needed her to just say it. Otherwise I was going to jump right out of my skin. My wings vibrated with barely contained terror and a dark desire to unleash revenge on anyone who dared cause Carrie harm. Starting with Allcot. He was supposed to be protecting her, dammit! “Mom?”

  “She’s fine,” David said from behind me and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.

  I jerked away and cast him a death glare, angry with his comfortable and familiar touch. “Don’t do that.”

  He held his hands up in front of him. “Sorry. Habit.”

  “Break it,” I snapped. Not tonight. He wasn’t allowed to touch me as if we meant something to each other. We didn’t. Or shouldn’t. And I didn’t want to. Tonight was supposed to be about Talisen and me. But if something had happened to Carrie…

  “She was attacked on her way to the dentist this morning.” Mom sank into one of the pristine white chairs as if it was suddenly too hard to stay upright. “He was a human, but he all but knocked out her bodyguard before he disappeared.”

  Bodyguard? I knew Allcot was keeping an eye on her and letting her live in a luxury apartment above his club, but I had no idea she had a personal bodyguard. I’d assumed she rarely went out. “This morning? In the sunlight?”

  Mom’s brows furrowed. “Yes. Why?”

  I shrugged. David was a daywalking vampire now. Sure, I’d made him that way, but a few weeks ago I believed such a thing wasn’t possible. Now I wasn’t so sure what else was out there. What the possibilities could be. Allcot’s hired guns were giants. I mean, if actual giants existed, they were the types of dudes I’d expect to be part of that race. Always over six foot tall, with enough bulk and training to take down five average men. Usually only vampires could beat them in hand-to-hand combat. “How did one random dude get the jump on Carrie’s bodyguard?”

  I glanced at David. He raised both his eyebrows and gave me a look, clearly waiting for me to make the connection.

  Hello, lightbulb.

  The attacker wasn’t another supernatural—he just worked for one. Another vamp. Allcot was hardly the only vampire with hired guns. “It was one of Asher’s people, wasn’t it?”

  “It had to be,” David said and Mom nodded.

  I clutched at my throat, horrified. “What happened?”

  “She was leaving the dentist’s office when a man jumped her. After her bodyguard barely managed to fend him off, the asshole sped off in a white SUV.” A fierceness settled over Mom’s features. I hadn’t seen her with this much fire since before Beau died. She’d become a shadow of herself after we’d found him lifeless in her lavender fields. Now she was the strong, determined single mother I remembered from my youth. The one who’d fearlessly raised two kids on her own, without help from anyone, at the tender age of twenty-two. And had done a damn fine job. No question about it. Beau and I had enjoyed a safe, happy, loving household, and while we hadn’t had luxuries, we’d had each other and had never gone hungry.

  Despite the seriousness of the situation, something broke free inside me and fluttered with joy. I’d lost my brother and my mom that fateful day. Now she was back.

  “It’s almost exactly what happened to you today,” David said, his voice full of anger.

  Mom’s frown deepened. “What?”

  I sighed and rubbed my forehead. My wings fluttered a bit, lifting me off the ground. I forced myself to settle down. Both of them knew what the fluttering meant. I was nervous and unsure of what to say.

  “Willow.” Mom placed her balled fists on her hips and raised her chin. “Tell me what happened right this moment.”

  Shit. This wasn’t the conversation I wanted to have in front of David. He wouldn’t let me sugarcoat anything. Not with my life on the line. “A human tried to abduct me, as well, today. Phoebe stopped him. He’s currently in lockup at the Void while they try to pump him for information.”

  “He won’t talk,” David said matter-of-factly.

  “You don’t know that.” I glared at him and wished with everything I had he’d just go away. How
was I going to reassure Mom I’d be fine if he kept this shit up?

  “You have to come home,” Mom said, her eyes narrowed in determination. “You’re not safe here.”

  My chest started to ache. Mom had never wanted me to leave Eureka, the coastal town on the northern California coast I’d grown up in. It was a fae’s dreamland. Lots of trees and the ocean right there, both of which were vitalizing. But after my twin’s death, I couldn’t breathe there. I’d had to get out. I’d moved to New Orleans two months later to live with my best friend, Phoebe. Six months later I’d opened my shop, The Fated Cupcake.

  “I can’t, Mom. You know that. What about my shop? Besides, the people who are after me already know where I’m from. Going back won’t help.”

  “But I’ll be there. And all the fae community. You know they’ll all band together to keep you safe.”

  Like they’d kept Beau safe? I buried the thought. No one had known he’d been in danger. Even if they had, a master vampire had been after him. He would’ve found a way to get to Beau. Just like he’d find a way to get to me if he wanted. I’d be a fool to leave Allcot’s protection. The only way to fight a master vampire is with another master vampire.

  Before I could express those thoughts, David jumped in, “She’s far safer here with Father and me to protect her than anywhere else in the world. It’s the same with Carrie and Little Beau. I think you know that, Bry.”

  Bry? He was calling my mother by her nickname. What the…?

  Mom put a soft hand on his forearm. “You’re right. Of course you are. It’s just a mother’s nature to protect her only child.” Her voice broke on the word only. The ache in my gut widened.

  “And I have to be here to protect Little Beau,” I said softly. If I ran away from this problem and anything happened to my only nephew, I’d never forgive myself.

  Mom glanced at David with a calculating look, and I knew what she was thinking. Beau was our flesh and blood. She wanted Carrie to bring him back home to her. New Orleans was a terrible place for a boy who had faery blood. He needed woods and trees and Fae School to learn his skills. “He shouldn’t be growing up around vampires.” Mom’s tone was cold and full of judgment as she stared pointedly at David. “Look at what happened to you.”