Page 12 of Nexus
Ruen stared at me in something close to awe as his boss slumped slightly in his seat. “I suppose I should pay you now,” Drake muttered, then gracefully rose to his feet.
I stared at the lord’s muscular thighs and butt as he crossed to a painting of a fantastical landscape. The artist must have visited one of the regions of the underworld to have come up with the weirdly shaped black trees. The sky was green and the grass was red. It was like looking at a landscape of an alien planet.
A safe was hidden behind the painting. It was blocked from my sight by the artwork when Lord Gilden swung it open. He unlocked the safe and I heard the clink of coins as he counted out my payment. Locking the safe and closing the painting, he strode over to me. He held his fist out, clutching the coins in a white-knuckled grip.
I held my hands out, waiting for the payment to drop into my palms. A pained expression crossed Drake’s face, then he forced himself to let go of his property. Seven shiny gold coins fell into my hands. “Thank you, Lord Gilden,” I said, quickly tucking them into my wallet so they were out of his sight, since letting them go had distressed him so much.
“I’ll escort Ms. Sterling home and arrange for her to receive a key to her new apartment,” Ruen said. He shot to his feet and lifted me out of my chair with a hand beneath my elbow. Bowing submissively, he kept his eyes on his boss as he backed us towards the door. Drake’s gaze remained fixed on my handbag. He stood stock still with his fists clenched. Smoke began to waft from his nostrils and Ruen picked up his pace. He stopped at the elevator and pressed the button to call it. Once the door opened, we backed inside it.
My heart started hammering in fear as the cloak his boss wore began to slip more and more. When his spell was in place, I couldn’t sense much about him. Once the veil was lifted, I could feel his power. It was enough to warn me never to go up against him. I might be far stronger than most supernatural creatures I’d killed, but I wasn’t stupid enough to fight a weredragon.
Chapter Ten
“IS THAT DRAKE’S USUAL reaction when he pays his employees?” I asked as the elevator began to descend.
Ruen let go of my elbow and slumped against the wall. “Like he said, dragons have difficulty parting with their property,” he reminded me. “The more they have to hand over, the harder it is for them to control themselves.”
“He looked ready to shift and roast me to death with his fiery breath,” I joked.
“Lord Gilden is honor bound to uphold his end of the bargains he makes,” the leech said in defense of his master. “He would never harm his employees. Not unless they did something stupid, like attempt to steal from him.”
I made a mental note not to take anything from the lord without his permission as the elevator reached the parking level. Ruen led me to the same SUV that had brought us here. “Where do you live?” he asked as we climbed in the back again.
“You’ll have to drop me off at my car,” I said.
“I’ll need to know where to pick you up from tomorrow night,” he insisted.
Mom liked her privacy and I wasn’t about to divulge her address to these strangers. If Ruen was going to be my partner, I would have to learn to trust him. That didn’t mean I had to trust everyone else who worked for Drake. “I’ll drive you there, then take you home,” I decided. I could write her address down for him, but I would get a kick out of torturing him by making him remain in my presence. He’d made no secret of his disdain for me.
Our driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror and shook his head slightly, annoyed that I didn’t trust him. I told him where I’d parked my car and he drove us back to where my night had first begun.
Ruen and I climbed out when the SUV came to a stop, then the shifter drove away. I crossed to the hatchback and unlocked the doors. The vamp made no move to climb inside. His expression was horrified when I looked at him to see what the holdup was. “Please tell me you don’t expect me to ride around in that orange abomination?” he said in disbelief.
“I can strap you to the roof, if you’d prefer,” I said in annoyance. “Or you can run behind me, I guess. It’s only a twenty-minute drive home.”
Muttering beneath his breath, he opened the door and gingerly slid inside. I had to put my kill-bag on the floor behind my seat this time. I hoped I wouldn’t have to slay anything on my way home. If we ran into any trouble, I could always throw the bloodsucker at my attackers. Snickering silently at my joke, I buckled in and drove home.
Ruen’s expression remained sour throughout the drive to mom’s place. He didn’t utter a word, so I sang along to the radio. My sullen companion winced whenever I tried to hit a high note. Singing wasn’t one of my best skills. What I lacked in talent, I made up for with enthusiasm and volume.
It was late and most of the houses were dark when I coasted to a stop. Mom was a night owl, so she was still up. She opened the door when she heard me arrive. Ruen sneered at the small bungalow, but was wise enough not to disrespect our house.
“I’ll just let mom know I’ll be dropping you home,” I said.
“I’d like to be home before the sun comes up,” he said with a frown of annoyance at the delay.
“I won’t take long,” I said airily, then climbed out.
Mom was squinting at the car, trying to make out who my passenger was. “Who’s the vamp?” she asked when I reached the tiny porch, accurately identifying his species.
“His name is Ruen. He’ll be my partner for a while, until I’ve learned the ropes.”
“You got a job as a bounty hunter already?” she asked in delight.
“Yep,” I said proudly. “I’ll tell you all about it when I get home. I have to drop the dead guy off before the sun comes up and he turns into a scorched Sleeping Beauty.”
We both knew he could hear every word we’d uttered and snickered together. “Hurry back,” she urged me. “I want to hear every detail.”
“I’ll see you soon,” I replied, then gave her a quick hug and hurried back to the car. I assumed Ruen had made note of the address, because he didn’t ask me for it when I took off. “Where do you want me to take you?” I asked.
