Chapter Five
Ava
Ididn’t haveto glance behind me to know that Macgrath was there. As I had all afternoon, I felt him close by. His presence changed the very atmosphere, creating a charge in the air. A tension that I couldn’t escape.
I could feel his stare as he watched me, the weight of his attention making my skin tingle and my heartbeat quicken.
Now that he was closer, it was wreaking havoc on my senses. My head grew lighter and my stomach twisted. I sucked in a deep breath to steel myself as I walked into my office, standing to one side so Macgrath could enter as well.
When I shut the door, the room seemed to shrink, the vampire’s presence filling the already small space.
I flopped down in the chair behind my desk and stared up at him. When he didn’t sit as well, I gestured to the chair against the far wall. “Have a seat.”
He glanced at the chair then looked back at me. I lifted an eyebrow at him, refusing to take the hint. That chair was half the size of my desk chair, but I wasn’t about to give an inch of my advantage to this vampire. He screwed up my equilibrium too much as it was. I needed the upper hand whenever I could get it.
He sighed and folded his long length down until he settled into the seat. The wood and metal groaned from his weight and he froze. I bit back a laugh at the expression on his face and his obvious unease that the little chair would collapse beneath him.
When the structure held, he carefully leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest, and stretching his legs before him. There was no trace of his earlier uncertainty over whether the seat would hold his bulk. A hint of a smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“What did you want to talk about?” he asked, reminding me why I’d invited him to follow me back to the office.
My eyes narrowed as I regarded him. “Do you know where Rhiannon is?”
Though his body didn’t move an inch, I could nearly see the fine tension that suddenly ran through his muscles. “I don’t.”
I cocked my head to the side and studied him closely, looking for any sign that he might be lying. Vampires were good liars, usually because they’d had years to perfect the practice, but I’d been around for a few centuries myself and I knew quite a few of their tricks. “You wouldn’t be lying to me, would you?”
Macgrath’s legs bent and he leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “No, I wouldn’t lie to you.”
There was no sign of deception, at least none that I was familiar with. I glanced down at the ring I wore, a blue stone set in fine silver. The gem glowed softly, the color remaining the same pure azure it usually was.
He was telling the truth.
I relaxed slightly, realizing that I’d been tense as well. “Any ideas how we can find her?”
He resumed his reclining position, his eyes clashing with mine. “A few. You?”
This felt like a defining moment where I had to decide how much I trusted the vampire. After the dream this morning, my hormones were telling me that not only could I trust him with my personal safety but with my body as well. My brain told my hormones to fuck off. And my heart…
Well, my heart was useless. For centuries, I hadn’t loved anyone or anything. Not until I met Savannah. While some of the ice inside me had thawed over the years, I was still partially numb.
I hadn’t been this conflicted since I woke up with no memory of my previous life, which had been about two millennia ago, give or take a year.
I decided to split the difference. I would share just enough but not everything.
“I’ve tried all of the usual magical avenues.” When I paused, his brows lifted, so I continued. “And some of the unusual ones. Nothing. The witch seems to have disappeared, as though she never existed.”
Macgrath nodded. “She’s good at that. I haven’t been able to find her either. At least not with magical means. But I think I know someone who can track her down.”
“A witch?”
He grinned and shook his head. “No, a hacker.”
I frowned at him. “A hacker? How could they succeed where powerful magic can’t?” As soon as I asked the question, I knew the answer. “The money. Rhiannon likes the finer things, doesn’t she? Designer clothes, luxury, everything. She’ll need funds to maintain her lifestyle. I don’t see a woman like Rhiannon living without her creature comforts for long.”
Macgrath’s grin widened. “Exactly. There is no way she’d rough it. I’ve known her long enough to be familiar with her vanity.”
His words reminded me once again that he’d spent a hundred years aligned with the evil bitch. I pressed my lips together and frowned as his smile slowly faded.
