“But it wasn’t long before this sorcerer learned of Sakal’s predicament, probably from Sakal himself. They approached Josep soon after, asking for a chance to allow the new sorcerer to restore the full measure of Sakal’s magical power.” He sighed in regret. “And Josep agreed.”
“But something went wrong.”
“Yes, it did. If I’d been there, I would have reminded Josep how well his meddling in magic had turned out the first time. As it was, the spell did work, after a fashion. Sakal recovered virtually all of his sorcerous power. Unfortunately, what he lost was his sanity.”
“He’s not crazy,” Layla insisted. “No nutjob could have orchestrated this campaign, these guerilla-style tactics. They don’t even care if they inflict casualties on our side. It’s enough that they keep us on edge, wondering when the next attack is going to come. And then there’s the disappearing act with his troops that he pulls off every time.”
“They’re not disappearing,” he corrected mildly.
“I know that, but anything else sounds too much like, “Beam me up, Scotty.”
He studied her as if worried she’d lost her mind.
“Star Trek, dude. It’s a TV show, where they teleport people”—she shrugged—“using some electronic, computer thing. I’m not sure how it worked, but it was definitely not magic. And we’re getting off the point. Today’s kidnapping is a clear escalation, even if it didn’t work out for them. We need to figure out his next step, before it happens.”
“I agree. But first . . . ”
Without warning, he rolled in her direction, reaching out as he did to wrap her in one arm and pull her under his body. It all happened so fast that the next thing she knew, he was kissing her, his lips firm but soft, his mouth demanding as he urged her lips apart and his tongue slid against hers like warm silk, seducing and claiming in turn.
Layla knew she should fight the seduction. She was strong. She should throw him off, then toss some whiskey in his face to cool him down. Who the hell did he think he was?
Except . . . she didn’t want to do any of that. What she wanted was . . . every touch of his lips against hers, every stroke of his tongue . . . the strength in his fingers as he gripped her hip, holding her in place. And God save her, the weight of his rigid cock against her thigh.
Her heart was racing, her nipples stiff against the confinement of her sports bra. She wanted to be naked with him, wanted him to—
As fast as it had begun, it was over. He gave her one, final hard kiss, then jumped from the bed and said, “I have a prisoner to question. Want to watch?”
If she’d had a gun in her hand, she’d have shot him at that moment. She didn’t even care that it wouldn’t kill him, or that he’d heal in no time. It would hurt. Hell, maybe she’d shoot him anyway. She only had to roll a tiny bit to reach the Glock stabbing her in the kidney right now, because she was lying on the damn thing. Thanks to him.
But before she could act, he grinned and said, “Now, now, Commander. You don’t want to shoot your employer. Besides, if you do that, I’ll recover easily enough, but you’ll miss the interrogation.”
She got to her feet and growled. “You can just tell me about it later.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“You’re such an asshole. Where is this interrogation?”
Chapter Twelve
JOAQUIM AND CHUY were both waiting when Xavier led Layla through the office and out to the hallway. Walking back toward the stairs and then beyond, the four continued down a section of bare walls until they reached a square, deeply recessed alcove that contained a thick metal door.
“I didn’t know this existed,” she said.
“Why would you? This is a place that very few vampires are free to access.”
“Has my father been here?”
“Only once, long ago.”
“He never talked about it.”
“And neither will you.”
“Ah. I see.”
“Not yet you don’t. But you will.”
He placed all five fingers on a biometric scanner to one side, and heard the door open with a soft buzz. Not long ago, that release would have been much louder and less sophisticated, but he believed in making use of modern technology, whether it was individual keys for the doors, or electronic locks.
“This way,” he said, pointing to the left, where he could smell the human’s fear waiting for him. He opened an unlocked door and entered a small observation room. It contained three plain chairs and a small, narrow table on which sat several notepads and pens. There was also a compact refrigerator and a small microwave sitting on top of it. The refrigerator would hold a few pints of blood, which Rémy would have seen to when he’d stowed the prisoner in the adjoining cell. It was there for Xavier’s use, or any other vampire accompanying him. And sometimes when the prisoner was vampire, it was used on him as well, for both benefit and torment.
“You’ll remain here,” Xavier told Layla, then nodded at Chuy to indicate that he would remain also, and put a hand on the cell door, ready to open its lock.
“Why can’t I go in with you?” Layla demanded.
“Because you can’t,” he responded simply, then released a small burst of his personal power into the door, freeing it to crack open a bare inch. He could sense Layla’s anger, but ignored it, and without so much as a glance back at her, he opened the door all the way and walked into the cell, with Joaquim stepping inside as well, before closing the door behind them.
Xavier studied the girl. She was strapped down, lying on a thinly padded metal table, and seemed to be out cold, but he searched her consciousness, wanting to be sure. His main concern wasn’t that she might be faking her insensible state, but that she could be carrying magical booby traps that might be triggered if he used coercive power to interrogate her. What he found confirmed her allegiance, or at least alliance, with Sakal, or some other sorcerer of considerable power. But the trap he found wasn’t for him. Rather, it was a failsafe to protect Sakal by destroying her heart and killing her before she could divulge any secrets. He wondered if she was aware of the fatal device, and if her allegiance was that strong.
Well, he’d soon find out, but first he had to remove that damn magical explosive.
He deepened her unconscious state to avoid a sudden and unwanted awakening. He had the power to nullify the magical failsafe, but it would be a delicate operation. If she woke abruptly and began thrashing about, she could die anyway, before he could question her.