Chasing the Shadows (Nikki & Michael 3)

She laughed softly. “I do believe the vampire is shy."

"No. Just not an exhibitionist.” He kicked the door shut, his gaze hot and filled with passion. “But I'd make love anywhere you want, anytime you want. I will never be able to get enough of you." She touched a hand to his cheek as her heart did an odd flip flop. “Never is a long time."

"With you by my side, it won't be."

She kissed his cheek. “I do love you, you know.” Even if his old-fashioned ways sometimes frustrated the hell out of her.

"There's only one frustration I'm interested in curing right now.” He placed her on her feet and began to undress her. “The rest can wait."

"For now,” she agreed softly. “For now."

* * * *

Michael brushed a kiss across Nikki's shoulder, then slowly disentangled himself from her. She stirred slightly, murmuring something he couldn't quite catch. The link between them came briefly to life, and a contented rush of love swam around him. He smiled, gently brushing the hair from her closed eyes. It was hard to believe that only four months ago he'd been considering walking away from all this. Odd how swiftly things had changed. He couldn't even begin to imagine life without her now. He kissed her cheek, then rose and went into the living room. After pouring himself a wine from the bar, he walked over to the window and studied the fog-blanketed street below. Seline? he said, reaching out with his mind.

Here. Her instant reply suggested she'd been waiting for his call. Did you find Nikki?

Yes. Nose deep in trouble, as usual.

Seline's smile shimmered through his mind. I'm liking this girl more and more. You're really going to have to introduce us.

That would probably create more havoc than I can handle. The last thing Nikki needs is you telling her all the ins and outs of getting around my moods. She has enough tricks of her own. Seline laughed, a warm, throaty sound. Sounds like you're starting to hit trouble. That he was—though he still didn't entirely understand why Nikki refused to listen to common sense. But he had no intention of admitting that to Seline. All he'd get was an I-told-you-so. We've rescued the third victim. She's been sexually assaulted and looks to have suffered a heart attack, but the doctors seem reasonably confident of a recovery.

At least she's alive. I gather you found nothing on the fiend behind all this?

No, but Nikki seems to think it centers around revenge. If that's true, then it means the three women are all connected somehow.

They are. Apparently all three went to the same high school in Boston. Did they know each other?

From all reports, they were classmates rather than friends. There had to be some deeper connection than that. The man behind these kidnappings didn't just want revenge, he wanted to destroy them—emotionally as much as physically. Can you get a list of everyone who was in their classes and do a crosscheck? I've got a feeling we'll come up with a lot more missing women.

Doing it as we speak. She hesitated. Why does Nikki think it's revenge behind all this?

She's sensing him. He sipped his wine, watching the lights of an approaching car flare against the wall of white fog. Have you found anything else about thralls yet?

We found an old journal from one of the ancients that looks promising. It's just taking a little time to translate it. Worry whisked down the line between them. How is Nikki sensing him? I thought her only gifts were telekinesis and psychometry?

They were. And yet she has been able to sense my thoughts from the beginning, which suggests a latent ability in telepathy.

Telepathy is not clairvoyance. She shouldn't be able to sense this fiend with telepathy. Nikki was starting to do a lot of things she shouldn't be able to do, and it was worrying the hell out of him. Her gifts are mutating faster, Seline. And that's not all—remember the flame imps?

Remember them? Had a chat with them a month ago. Wonderful creatures, they are. Wonderful or not, they appear to have given Nikki the ability to produce flame with just a thought. And if it were a developing gift, it was one they had to get under control fast. Pyrokinesis is a rare talent these days. And a dangerous one. She hesitated again, and her confusion swirled around him. What about you?

He frowned. What do you mean?

There's been a connection between you and Nikki from the very start. It's that connection that allowed you to share your life force and make her a thrall. But unlike most thralls, Nikki was given eternal life out of love, not necessity.

So? The car crested the hill and the light separated, becoming twin beams of brightness before abruptly dying. The fog swirled around the vehicle, almost washing it from sight. He smiled. Whoever was in that car would undoubtedly regret their parking choice in the morning. They were stopped in a tow-away zone.

So what if you shared more than you were meant to share? And what if that sharing went both ways?

Both ways? He certainly hadn't developed any of Nikki's talents ... the thought stopped cold as he remembered this afternoon. Remembered sharing the sensation of evil with her. I don't get what you mean, he said. Even though he was beginning to.

She sighed. Remember, I'm only theorizing, but what if that warning we found—the one that suggested it was better not to turn those with psychic talents into thralls—was more a warning of the dangers involved to the maker, not to the thrall?

How can it be dangerous to the maker? Other than the initial shock of transferring his life force, he'd felt no different, nor had he noticed any change in his psychic abilities—until this afternoon. Thralls are generally created as little more than servants, are they not?

He gave a mental nod. Servants, or, as in Elizabeth's case, obedient lovers. So what if turning someone with psychic talents created a thrall who was not a servant but an equal? One who could not be ordered around?