Page 48 of Fighting for Her Heart
“Who are you here to see?” he asks.
“We’re here to see Octavia Puglisi.” I lean onto the counter and tap my fingers as if this is the most natural thing in the world.
His eyes widen. “Do you have an appointment?”
“No need. I know my way up.” I head toward the turnstile blocking the elevators. Pretty sure her office is on the top floor.
“No, sir,” the guard says sharply. “I need to call up first.”
The guy’s got a hint of fear, or something in his eyes. He’s not just on a power trip—so I shrug. “Tell her Ryker’s here. She’ll see me.”
The guard’s hand trembles as he turns away. Something’s wrong. He’s giving off more than your standard keep-people-from-bothering-the-CEO reaction, but I’ve got no more cards to play at the moment, so I hold my bluff. Maybe I was right to assume that Tavi lost her job on top of everything else.
He presses a button, then speaks into his headset. “A man calling himself Ryker is here for Ms. Puglisi.” After a few moments, he nods. “Someone will be right down. Please wait over there. The windows have protective coatings from sunlight. You’ll be safe in spite of your risky arrival time.” He gestures toward a group of Eames chairs to the side of the marble lobby.
“Okay.” I shake my head, and then Axe and Nora follow me over to the chairs.
“What’s wrong?” Axe asks once we sit.
“Doesn’t feel right.” I shift in the chair.
“Why not?” Nora asks. “The witches aren’t near, I can tell. And waiting a few minutes to see the CEO of a company—even if it’s a vampire syndicate—seems pretty normal to me.”
“That’s because you don’t know Tavi.” I cross one leg up over the other. I can’t shake the feeling that something was up with that guard.
One of the elevators opens and Tavi steps out, looking gorgeous as always, but somehow smaller and weaker—almost like she looked when we first got together.
But no, back then, even though she was weaker, she had a fire in her eyes, and an I’ll-kill-anyone-who-wrongs-me tension in her posture. Those are both missing now. This new Tavi seems broken.
She’s trailed by two vampires I don’t recognize. One’s a slight female with very long hair, and the other’s a tall man who looks like he could be from the Middle East and wearing a long silvery robe.
I stand and Tavi’s expression changes as she approaches. For a few seconds, she looks terrified, but then seems to squash it down as she looks back at me. “Didn’t expect to hear from you again, you asshole.”
“Asshole.” I put my hands over my heart. “Oh, Tavi, how your terms of endearment make my heart pitter-patter.”
Her stern expression breaks, and she tries to hide her smile as she shakes her head.
I step to the side and gesture to the others. “Axe here, youmightremember—” Axe growls “—and this is Nora, a friend of ours.”
Axe’s growl grows louder, and Tavi flinches, just enough so I notice. Her demeanor could be explained by guilt, given all that’s she’s done to Axe. But I’m not sure Tavi is capable of feeling guilt.
She damn well should, given what she’s done to all of us, but my desire for revenge is less important than Ember’s safety, and I can only assume Axe feels the same way. At least he hasn’t pulled out a concealed wooden stake to kill her yet, or turned into a bear.
Tavi steps closer to me. “Ryker, can we talk alone?” She ignores the vampires who followed her. They’re now standing about thirty feet across the marble lobby, but it’s clear that they’re watching her, watching us.
I shake my head. “What’s the point in pretending we can have a private conversation?” I tip my head toward the vampires. “Your pals are clearly listening, and I’m just going to tell Axe and Nora whatever we discuss, regardless.”
Tavi’s eyes narrow. For a second I fear I’ve made a tactical error. Her heart is racing. Something is off.
“Fine. Let’s talk in the Executive Lounge,” she says, her tone resigned. “I need a drink.”
“Little early for that, no?” It’s barely past seven a.m.
Walking away, her curvaceous ass swings in her red pencil skirt, and she glances back over her shoulder. “Never known you to turn down a drink, Ryker, no matter the time of day.”
“Depends on the drink I’ve been offered,” I say low and deep. “How areyoutasting these days?” I lick my lips, hoping flirting still works on this new version of Tavi.
With a salacious laugh, she continues, her black bob of hair swinging in opposition to each step as we follow her past the bank of elevators to a large set of highly polished steel doors at the far end of the lobby. It’s guarded by one of the biggest vampires I’ve ever seen. Dude is almost as big as Axe, making me glad we’ve got an undercover grizzly on our team.
