Page 24 of Soul Sucker

“No, his partner, who is farfarnicer. And, as you are already spoken for, you can let me try my talents on him, deal?” Ella waved at Alexei and his face brightened. He started to walk through the packed table toward them, drawing more than a few admiring glances from both sexes. Like most Fae he projected an effortless glamor that made him seem to glow from within.

He bowed and Laney sucked in an appreciative breath.

“Ella. What a nice surprise!”

Ella gestured at Laney. “Alexei, this is my best friend, Laney Phillips. She works for the SBLE down in San Jose.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Laney.” Alexei brought Laney’s hand to his lips and kissed it. Laney made anoohface at Ella over his bent head. “This is my first visit to San Francisco in a long while. I’m still trying to get my bearings.”

“Oh, when were you last here?” Ella asked, as Alexei pulled up a barstool and perched himself on top of it. His hair hung loose down the back of his dark blue open-necked shirt and he wore a faded pair of jeans. He frowned. “In the sixties, I think. I came to see the Beatles at Candlestick Park.”

“I suppose you’re waiting for me to say you don’t look old enough,” Ella said.

His smile was charming. “Well, if you want to flatter me, I’m not going to object. I was quite young then, of course.”

“Scarcely more than a baby, I bet,” Laney agreed. “So are you here to help Ella on this case?”

“Yes I am.” Alexei raised an eyebrow at one of the female bar staff and she practically ran down the length of the bar to serve him. Ella pretended not to notice. All she knew was as long as she stuck with Laney and Alexei, she would never run out of alcohol.

Laney shivered. “It’s terrible to see empaths being targeted like this.”

“I agree. Hopefully, now that we’re pooling our resources, we will put an end to this madness.” Alexei held up his bottle of beer, and they all toasted each other. “Did you know Ms. Morehouse, Laney?”

“Ella and I were just talking about her. Despite the fact that she spent three years with us at college, she left very little impression on either of us.”

“You were at college with Ella as well?”

Laney wrapped an arm around Ella’s shoulders. “Yes, sir. Best friends forever.”

Ella frowned as a faint hint of silver glimmered around Alexei’s head. “Hey, put that away, this is off the record.”

Alexei grinned at her. “Sorry, it wasn’t intentional. Sometimes I swear that Fae-Web has a mind of its own. Would you both like another drink?”

Ella checked her cell. “Sure, just one more and then I’ll have to run, if I want to catch the last ferry.”

“You don’t live in the city?”

“No, I live in Tiburon on the other side of the bay. It’s a lot quieter there, especially when the tourists all leave.”

“And I live in Walnut Creek, so I can get the BART home,” Laney chimed in. Ella was pleased to see that she looked far more relaxed. “So don’t worry about us drinking and driving, unless one of us suddenly decides to highjack the ferry or the train.” Laney winked at Ella. “Hell, we are getting close tothatbirthday, we’re supposed to do crazy stuff, right?”

Ella was about to reply when she noticed someone coming up behind Alexei. “Oh, look. It’s the lovely and charming Mr. Morosov.”

Alexei turned to stare at his colleague who was still immaculately attired in his suit. “I thought you were going to bed?”

“Then why did you text me?”

“Because I knew you would enjoy getting to know Ella in more relaxed surroundings.” Alexei snapped his fingers and another stool appeared. “What would you like to drink?”

To her annoyance, Vadim sat. “A glass of chilled chardonnay, thanks. Unfortunately, the shower I took woke me up when all I wanted was to crash.” He held out his hand to Laney. “How do you do. I’m Vadim Morosov.”

Laney, the traitor, shook Morosov’s hand and gave him the benefit of her dazzling smile. “I’m Laney, a friend of Ella’s. It’s nice to meet you. Are you still suffering from jet lag?”

“Yes.” Vadim’s answering smile made Ella blink. He never leered at her like that. He moved closer to Laney so that he didn’t have to shout. “I have no idea why it’s so bad this time.”

He smelled of some divinely masculine shower products that made Ella want to lean in and inhale him properly. She gripped her glass and finished her entire cocktail in one gulp. He didn’t deserve any more female attention than he was already getting. Three quarters of the bar were now staring at them, and she didn’t think they were looking at her—Laney maybe.

She checked her cell again and slid down from the high barstool. “I’m sorry, guys, I really need to go or I’ll miss the ferry.”

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