Page 22 of Soul Sucker

“Because I believe in justice for all?”

She was still laughing when she walked away from him. He frowned at her back. She wasn’t stupid and like all empaths she was hyper-sensitive. She’d find out what he’d done, and then she’d be back to question him about it, he was sure of that. The only thing he had to decide was how he was going to handle her when she did.

* * *

When Ella got home,the light was blinking on her phone so she checked her messages while she put off thinking about her stressful day. She’d left the office early, sure that Feehan wouldn’t have the balls to face her again. It was strange to be home in the afternoon, but she planned on taking a long nap. There was something about Vadim Morosov that made her tense and she had a terrible headache.

The first message was from her mom inviting her to Sunday lunch. There was a plaintive note in her mom’s voice that made Ella squirm with guilt. Moms were good at that. But she hadn’t been out to the East Bay to see her parents for three months, so she was well due. Perhaps she’d take Liz along as backup. She stared out her window at the sun as she waited for the second message to click through, and then smiled when she heard Laney’s distinctive drawl.

“Hey, call me! I couldn’t get your cell. I’ve been sent the details of Mr. Wonderful and he sounds…interesting.”

“Interesting.” She deleted the message.

That sounded way too positive. She’d almost hoped that Laney would’ve been sent details of some complete dud. She’d never quite understood why any sane male would want to hook up with an empath anyway. She put the phone down and stared at it. Was Laney settling for anything OCOS offered her because she was too afraid of losing it? Was she really that scared? Ella sighed. Hell, she was getting scared. She kept having nightmares about the instructional movies shown at her school of empaths incarcerated in some of the country’s best insane asylums. She and Laney had laughed and vowed to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge hand in hand rather than go nuts or seek the help of Otherworld to find a psychic anchor. Twenty-seven had seemed ancient then. Now it didn’t seem very old at all.

She reached for the phone and then hesitated. Her mother could wait a couple of days, but she wasn’t sure if she was in the right frame of mind to talk to Laney over the phone. Some things were better said face to face. She sent Laney a text and got an immediate answer. Decision made, Ella picked up her backpack and headed toward the door. If she ran, she’d be able to catch the ferry before it turned around and headed back to San Francisco and meet Laney at their favorite hotel bar for a drink.

* * *

“So where doeseveryone go to enjoy themselves in this town?” Alexei asked Vadim as they walked back to their hotel. Despite the patches of blue sky above the tall buildings, at street level it was dark and rather cold. “It’s deserted at nine in the evening, and there are no taxis anywhere.”

“I have no idea. I’m exhausted and I don’t have your juvenile need to go out and get laid every night.”

“I’m not that young, actually.” Alexei smiled at a tall African-American woman who smiled right back at him. Vadim grabbed his arm and kept him moving. “And you never know, Vadim. With your bloodline, you might live longer than most humans.”

“I hope not.” Vadim didn’t even want to contemplate that horrific thought.

“Just because you want to be one hundred percent human doesn’t make you one.”

“I get that, Dr. Phil.” Vadim looked right and then left before he crossed the complex traffic junction and avoided one of the local trams.

“Who is Dr. Phil?”

“Forget I said it.” Vadim saw the entrance to their hotel and quickened his pace. It was amazing how quickly he was reconnecting with American culture, or lack of culture, depending on how you rated self-help TV shows. “I don’t even know if he’s still around.”

Alexei followed him into the hotel and Vadim felt for his key card.

“I suppose I could ask Liz where she hangs out,” Alexei mused.

“Liz wears a wedding ring. I don’t think her husband will be too keen on her hanging out with you anywhere.” Vadim punched the floor number into the keypad. Jetlag was a bitch. All he wanted was a glass of wine, his bed and oblivion. When had he turned into a cranky old man?

Alexei’s smile grew salacious. “You never know. If her husband is Fae, he might be interested in sharing the love.”

“I forget, you Fae will fuck anything that moves, won’t you?”

“We’re a bit more selective than that, but needs must, you know.”

“Oh yes, I know.” Vadim stepped out onto the brightly colored carpet and turned left. “Whatever you decide to do, leave me out of it.”

Alexei snorted. “As if I’d ask you to go anywhere with me.”

Vadim reached his door and leaned against the frame. “Just make sure you’re ready to go back to work bright and early tomorrow morning, and that you haven’t brought the wrath of Liz’s husband down on you.”

“Sure, boss.” Alexei blew him a kiss. “I’ll meet you in the lobby at eight.”

As soon as he closed the door and locked it, Vadim stripped off his jacket and tie and unbuttoned his shirt. There was no point in getting dressed again as he didn’t intend to remain vertical for long. He poured himself a glass of exceptional Napa Valley chardonnay and turned on the shower.

As he sipped his wine and shed the rest of his clothes, he wondered what Ella Walsh was up to. He pictured her in some cheap bedsit in the city with a gaggle of interchangeable roommates who came and went depending on the current state of their relationships. She still didn’t look to be anywhere near the dangerous age of twenty-seven, but appearances could be deceptive. He finished the chardonnay and headed for the shower. He should’ve told Alexei to call the empath. He had no doubt they both liked to party.

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