Love and Brimstone

Chapter Fifteen

Matthias left that night for London to investigate, which was both a blessing and a curse. Apparently she’d missed meeting his cousin, Rafael, who’d arrived and left again while she was unconscious. Taz couldn’t help but worry about Matthias, now that she admitted how she felt about him. Pissed off, check. Betrayed, double-check.

Romantically attracted to the big dope?

Triple-check.

It was nice not having to control her every thought. She needed time to sort out her feelings for Hawthorne. Obviously, he wouldn’t have a problem having a relationship with her, but she didn’t know if she wanted a relationship with him, or anyone else, for that matter. Not with demons and crazy wolf-things coming after her.

The new routine was creepy at first. Soon, however, it became a comfort. Especially when she thought about the thing that attacked her and nearly killed Matthias…and the evil growl it made. There was always a heavily armed contingent of guards close by, but they were discreet. She reluctantly gave in to Robertson’s request to remain at the house. They gave in to her request to work from wherever she wanted on the grounds, even outside.

Yay strong wireless connection. Between her laptop and BlackBerry, she was still able to work. And for her, the only choice was to work or figure out how to get a Thorazine drip. Working, at least, kept her distracted. Robertson or Albert, one of them always stayed at the house with her, ran to the office to fetch anything she needed. The second day she sent Albert to Tampa four times, mostly out of spite and irritation. She felt a little guilty later when he didn’t complain about the multiple and mostly unnecessary trips.

But only a little guilty.

Matthias returned three days later, just before midnight. Taz was working on her laptop in the library, a Dave Brubeck CD on the stereo. Matthias had an awesome collection of jazz music. She’d give him brownie points for that.

“Hello, Anastazia.” The sound of his voice startled her. She never heard him walk in. She also hated the way her heart skipped at the sound of his voice.

“Did you find out anything?” she asked.

“Not as much as I’d like. Whatever’s going on, it originated here in the States. The other Clans are as outraged as I am and are sending assistance.”

She’d had time to think things through and sent him a test thought.

“Testing one, two, three, you big dumb jerk.”

He smiled. “Yes, I can still hear you.”

“Shit.”

“Would you feel better if I slept downstairs?” he asked.

“No.”

She watched him stifle another smile.

“This sucks!” Even she had to laugh at that one before her laughter turned to sobs.

Apparently alarmed by her reaction, he went to her, put his arms around her, then folded her against his chest. She didn’t have to speak.

“You were dying, I thought I was going to lose you before I even knew you, and now you can read my thoughts. Oh my God this sucks…”

He whispered to her, “It’s okay…it’s okay,” as he rocked her in his arms, comforting her.

She eventually composed herself and sat up. He handed her a tissue. “Better?”

She nodded.

“I could stay in the guest house, if you’d prefer.”

She shook her head. “No.”

He reached out and gently stroked her hair. “You’ve been through a lot. You haven’t had time to process it. It’s overwhelming.”

She reached out and pulled him to her, kissing him. Then she pushed him away, shocking herself at her lack of self-control.

Why couldn’t she control herself around him?

And God, did it matter? He was a hunk, and she wanted him! Taz reached for him again, but he sat back and gently grabbed her wrists.

“I’m not going to take advantage of you.”

“But I want—”

“Listen to me, Anastazia. You aren’t ready. I’m not going to do that to you. If you decide you want to have a relationship with me, we will. I’m patient. I can wait. But I won’t take advantage of you, especially when you’re vulnerable.”

She felt herself falling into his deep, blue eyes, sleep overtaking her.

She let her sleepy voice drift into his mind. “Taz.”

“What?” he said.

She felt her eyes getting heavy, so tired. Was this more of his vampire powers? “You can call me Taz,” she whispered.

She awoke the next morning, alone, in her bed. He must have carried her upstairs.

Damn it, that is so not fair!

He could read her mind and put her to sleep?

“This sucks.”

She showered and dressed and stormed downstairs. Matthias was already at the kitchen table.

“We need to talk,” he said.

There was a full spread laid out on the table for breakfast. She sat and scooped food onto her plate. She dug in, choosing to eat instead of talk.

If he wants to know what I’m thinking, he can read my mind, by God.

Matthias smiled. She pointed her fork at him. “You are sooo on my shit list, buddy, it’s not even funny.”

“I know. I deserve it.”

The food was delicious. She recognized Robertson’s hand in the food, in the eggs and pancakes. God, she felt like she could eat a horse! Talk about a bottomless pit.

“I’m sorry about last night,” Matthias apologized.

She stared at him for a long moment. “What the hell did you do to me?”

“I thought it best you get a good night’s sleep so we could deal with things today.”

“What things?”

Matthias took a deep breath. “I know you’re used to being in control. This is one time you must let us guide you and take charge of the situation. Just until we can find out who’s behind this and make it safe for you again.”

She stared at him, waiting for him to continue.

“And I wanted to warn you it’s possible you might not feel like yourself. Between the shock of how you found out and then with what happened the other day between us, your instincts and powers are rapidly awakening. It may feel very overwhelming. You might have wild mood swings, anything from anger to euphoria.”

“You’ve obviously never seen me PMSing.”

He smiled. “We wanted to ease you into this transition, help you develop your skills. Robertson did as much as he could to teach you self-control, but it’s obvious you are far more powerful than we first thought. You have to be very careful not to let it get away from you.”

She snorted. “Riiight.” Well, she did feel jumpy, but that could easily be because of Matthias. Or her third cup of coffee.

“Ask me anything you want,” he offered.

She thought about it and decided it couldn’t hurt to play along. “If you’re”—she tried to do the math in her head and gave up—“around six hundred years old, how the hell did you manage to stay under the radar for so long? And how did you amass such a fortune?

“Six hundred and nine.”

“Aw, you don’t look a day over five hundred.”

Apparently used to her snark, he continued as if she hadn’t interrupted. “I wasn’t always a businessman. I ended up in government for a while. Eventually, when I had to move on, I became an entrepreneur. I’d create a business, run it for several years, then sell it to someone else.”

“Who would actually be you?”

He nodded. “Yes. Obviously it was easier to shuffle that kind of thing around before computers and the Internet. Ironically, now it’s easier to stay personally anonymous, but the business must be run legally to avoid scrutiny.”

She thought about what Bob Stanley said. “So Bob wasn’t dealing with your father?”

Matthias shook his head. “Me.”

“And what do you do now? To shuffle things around?” This was a surreal conversation.

“I have a few doctors on the payroll. Every few years one of them creates a new birth certificate for me. I file for a social security number, hold onto it.”

“So what is your real name?”

“Matthias is my real name. But I have to create new personas for legal purposes. I mean, really, I can’t go around with a driver’s license listing my birth date as 1900, can I? I use corporate credit cards, have several trusts, so I only have to update my personal identity every couple of decades.”

“How do you keep track?”

“Albert is my right hand. I could never do it without him.”

Albert and Robertson had snuck in at some point. She looked at Albert. Then it hit her. “How old are you?”

“Four hundred and eighty-four.”

She spit her mouthful of coffee into her mug. It was that or spray it across the table, and spit takes weren’t attractive. “But you look older than Matthias.”

“I don’t have as much of the line in me. Which is why I couldn’t help him the other day.”

She looked at Robertson, speechless.

“Two hundred ninety-seven. I’m the baby. Well, except for you, sweetheart.”

She closed her eyes. This was too much, too soon. Overload. “What about me?” she asked.

“According to the lab report,” Matthias said, “you have nearly all the DNA markers that we are aware of. The line is very strong in you, but we still don’t know for sure what combination of talents you have. Don’t you think it’s odd you’re thirty-five and still get carded? By everyone?”

She looked at him and he continued. “No wrinkles. No grey, without any cosmetic assistance at all. When was the last time you got sick, had a cold, a bruise? And look how fast your wrist healed.”

She stared at him. She just thought she was healthy. Lucky. Fortunate.

Matthias smiled. “Do you notice when you walk into a room, you immediately make friends? People gravitate to you. You could sell ice to Eskimos. All the times you got your friends out of trouble in school by smiling and talking them out of it, how they let you handle the cops or their parents or teachers for them. How you are so successful at your job. How you went into court and won cases even when the evidence was against your client. You’ve got a record Perry Mason would drool over.”

She opened her mouth to object then closed it. She couldn’t argue with a thing he’d said.

“And how many traffic tickets have you had?” he continued. “I don’t mean how many times you’ve been stopped, but actually ticketed?”

None. She had her father’s lead foot. Considering she quit counting the traffic stops when she hit twenty-five, the number was considerable. There were three or four stops a month.

The officer always issued her a verbal warning.

Matthias continued. “Notice I don’t have any women employed directly underneath me, except you. My executive assistants are all men. Otherwise I’d never get anything done. Women don’t feel catty toward you. They want to be your friend because they trust you, want to be around you. Didn’t you notice while you didn’t feel…” He hunted for the word. “Spectacular about any of the men you dated and had relationships with, they were absolutely nuts for you? You’d look them in the eye and they’d lose their train of thought, want to touch you, plead with you not to leave. You always wondered why they seemed so strong at first. Then they just seemed to melt, to change into someone without any will of their own.”

She wanted to yell, slap his face. How dare he know so much about her?

And how true it was. Every word.

“And Robertson didn’t even tell me most of that,” he quietly added.

It took her a moment to find her voice. “How did you know?”

Matthias leaned back. “Because, Taz, you and I are a lot alike.” To Albert he said, “Call Mayfield, please.”

Albert looked puzzled, but went to fetch the head groundskeeper.

“I see you need a demonstration,” Matthias said. “When he comes in, I’m going to stand behind you. I want you to look him in the eyes when I give you the signal and tell him exactly what I tell you to say, all right?”

She nodded. He took her hand and helped her to her feet.

Albert returned with Mayfield, an amiable man in his fifties, married with several kids. While she hadn’t done much more than say good morning to him a few times and pay him compliments on his work, she knew from overheard conversations he was dedicated, devoted to his job, and took great personal pride in the rose garden. Featured in magazines like Southern Living and Florida Gardener, he had cultivated a show-stopping collection of rare heirlooms. Carefully framed copies of the articles hung, prominently displayed, in the living room.

Matthias made small talk with him for a moment then walked behind Anastazia and put his hands on her shoulders. Being the polite man he was, Mayfield turned to face them.

She felt Matthias’ breath on her neck, his lips nearly touching her ear. She gulped, trying to ignore the nearly painful pleasure churning deep in her belly from his touch.

“Look into his eyes,” he whispered.

She forced herself to do it, ignoring the dangerous roll her stomach took. The gardener’s grey-blue eyes widened and fixed on hers.

“Dig a swimming pool,” Matthias whispered.

“Dig a swimming pool,” she repeated. That’s a good parrot. Polly want a cracker?

She felt Matthias’ fingers tighten slightly on her shoulders and knew he was trying not to laugh. At least one of them thought this was funny.

The gardener bobbed his head up and down. “Yes, ma’am. Wherever you want it.”

“Dig up the roses. Put it there,” Matthias breathed in her ear.

“Matthias—” His fingers tightened on her shoulders, not painfully, but she swallowed hard. “Dig up the roses. Put it there.”

The gardener nodded again, smiling, eager. “I’ll get started on it right away, ma’am.”

She gasped, knowing he wasn’t kidding. She turned to Hawthorne. “Matthias, no.”

“Mayfield, it’s a great morning, isn’t it?” Matthias stepped from behind Anastazia, and the gardener’s eyes clouded for a moment, confusion apparent.

“Uh, yes, sir, it is.”

“The roses are absolutely beautiful. I wanted to tell you that. Keep up the good work. You have my full confidence, and if there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask myself or Albert or Tim.”

The gardener still looked puzzled. “Uh, yes, sir. Thank you. I, uh—”

Matthias moved in front of Anastazia, blocking Mayfield’s view of her. “Sleep.”

The gardener’s eyes dropped shut. His chin hit his chest. She didn’t know how he stayed upright.

“You did that on purpose,” she hissed. “You’ve hypnotized him before.”

Matthias turned to her. “No, I haven’t. You did it. You don’t often look people in the eye, do you?”

She stepped away. She’d done this? She looked at Albert and Robertson. Albert looked shocked and amazed. She didn’t think it was possible to shock him.

Of course she didn’t look people in the eye. They always seemed to lose their train of thought. Not to mention it just wasn’t comfortable for her, like she could see into their souls. Robertson had always taught her not to be rude, that it was rude to look people directly in the eye, especially when asking for something. To never, ever stare and ask for something.

“Anastazia,” Matthias said, “you have no idea how powerful you are. He would slit his own throat right now if you asked him to.” He turned to Mayfield. “Forget about the pool. That conversation never happened. You came in to answer her questions about the roses, and we had a quick chat. You’re doing an excellent job. We’re very happy with the work you do here. Wake up.”

Mayfield’s eyes snapped open and he smiled. “Thank you, sir. I enjoy working here.”

“Thanks for talking with us. I know you’re busy.”

“Anytime, Mr. Hawthorne. Ms. Proctor.” He shook hands with them and left.

Anastazia collapsed in a chair and tried to process her shock. “I did that?”

“I don’t know if you have all the gifts, but that is one of them.” Matthias stood in front of her. “Apparently you are very strong, considering you have no training. I don’t have a complete workup of your lineage. For all I know, your father’s family might be of the line, too. I haven’t been able to find anything beyond his grandparents because the records were destroyed by a fire during IRA bombings. From what I’ve heard about his…habits, he was also very persuasive.”

She looked at Robertson. “You teased me about my puppy dog eyes when I was a kid.”

Robertson smiled. “Your mother was exceptionally talented, although she didn’t know it. Why do you think people ran to do what she wanted?”

“You always told me not to look people in the eyes unless it was someone I wanted to be very close to and trusted. Or you or my parents.”

“And because I’ve known you since you were little, I’ve managed to build some immunity to it. Although no doubt, now that you know about your powers, if you wanted, you most likely could break through and take me over.”

“Son of a bitch.” She stood up and paced.

“Yes, Anastazia,” Matthias said. “You are very powerful.”

She turned on him. “Then why the hell doesn’t it work on you?”

Matthias grinned. “That’s not exactly accurate. Fortunately for me, you didn’t know it was among your many charms, and you haven’t had time to train. And after you saved me the other night—”

“I inoculated you.” She couldn’t stand the smarmy smile on his face.

“I wouldn’t put it like—”

She slapped him and stormed upstairs.

Robertson moved to stop her, but Matthias shook his head as he rubbed his stinging cheek. “No, let her go, Tim. I deserved it.”

Taz locked the bedroom door behind her. What kind of hell was she in? This must be a dream, a coma. She’d been in an accident and was hallucinating in a hospital bed.

She didn’t know who to trust. How could she trust Matthias? He had an agenda, and she didn’t know how to separate fact from fiction.

Yeah, he was cute—he was a hunk. Under different circumstances she’d give her left tit to be in his bed every night. But she couldn’t trust his motivations. She lay on the bed and closed her eyes.

Damn them all!

She wanted to be mad at Robertson and couldn’t. He was family. She wasn’t just a job to him—he really cared about her. Now with the truth out, the fact that he didn’t seem to have any family of his own made sense. He’d done his best to help her, prepared her as much as he could without revealing anything. At any time, she instinctively knew, he would have laid down his life for her, out of love and loyalty.

Taz returned downstairs after calming down. She found the three men sitting at the kitchen table. She slid into a chair on the other end, away from them.

“I’m sorry I slapped you,” she mumbled to Matthias.

He nodded. “I did warn you your emotions might run out of control.”

She studied her fingernails. “You ain’t kidding.” She took a deep breath and glanced down the table at the men. “Any ideas what happened?”

“I still don’t know who’s behind this,” Matthias said. “We need to get out of town. I already have a planned business trip to Yellowstone.”

“You do?”

“I originally wasn’t going to take you, but now I have to.”

Another surge of rage washed over her. “Cut the reluctant bullshit. Why don’t you just admit the reason you hired me was to work your way into my pants? Last night proves you can. Quit playing around and get it over with.”

“Anastazia, I told you I will not take advantage of you. Did I hire you to have you close to me? Absolutely. But I mostly hired you because you’re good at what you do.”

She focused her anger on Robertson. “And you had something to do with that.”

“Robertson didn’t push you into your line of work,” Matthias said. “If I remember his recollection of the conversation, you told him you wanted to be a ‘fixer.’ Like him.”

She thought back. He was right.

Damn him.

Matthias continued as if he hadn’t heard her thought. “If I knew making contact like this would put your life in danger, I would have come up with an alternate plan.”

She pushed back from the table, wanting to be as far away from him as possible. How much of her feelings for him were due to his funky vampire charm?

“I’m not going anywhere with you. I’ll stay here, thank you very much.”

“You don’t have a choice, I’m afraid. We leave this afternoon.”

She stared at him. She wasn’t sure what shocked her more—the recent revelations or that statement.

Matthias sensed her outrage. “Anastazia, you don’t understand. Someone wants to hurt or kill you. I cannot protect you if I’m not with you.” His condescending tone of voice did nothing to soothe her ire.

“You just left for Europe for a few days and felt pretty safe doing that.”

“That was stupid of me. Had I known then what I know now—”

“You said you didn’t know what was going on.”

“—I never would have left,” he continued as if she hadn’t interrupted. “Anastazia, you don’t understand. They have a purpose, and they will not stop until they succeed or we stop them. I will never forgive myself if you are hurt. Or worse.”

She stood and started to walk away. Suddenly, Matthias stood in front of her, forcing her to take a step back. He moved so fast she barely saw him.

“Get out of my way, Matthias.”

“No. You have to listen to me. I know this isn’t the way you want to handle—”

She shoved him. It was like pushing against a firmly rooted tree, but he moved.

“I’m not going with you. I’m going to pack, and then I’m taking the first flight out of Tampa to LA, and go back to work for Bob Stanley. I’ve had it with you and this crazy mess.”

“I’m sorry, Anastazia, but I can’t let you go.”

“Try and stop me.” She bolted for the front door. Outside, a guard stationed there turned. Matthias yelled for him to stop her, and she wheeled on the three. Matthias, Robertson, and Albert, who now had something in his hand, all took a step back from the force of her gaze. She turned and focused on the guard again.

Screw it. If she had this seriously wacky hypnotism, by God, she’d use it.

Taz ignored the sickening roll her stomach took as she fixed her eyes on the guard. “Let me out. Now.”

The guard’s eyes widened. Matthias yelled as the man moved to the side, out of her way.

She stepped through the door when something painful hit her in the back, between her shoulders. And as the front porch swooped up to meet her face-first, the world went dark.