N. Walters - Damek's Redemption

“Are you sorry to leave your job behind?” He worried she would grow to resent him.

“No.” She shook her head and played with a lock of his hair. “I enjoyed teaching and the research, but it’s time to start a new chapter in my life.”

The vehicle sped through the streets of the city, the lights and people never ending. They were silent, both of them lost in their own thoughts, until the car pulled in just down the street from the building they were going to.

Damek hit the intercom. “Stay here. We shouldn’t be long.”

“Yes, sir.” Jerome was human and had no idea his boss was anything but what he appeared to be—a nightclub owner with dubious connections. Most thought he had ties to the mafia and had no idea what he truly was.

He opened the door and drew Sonia out of the limo. “Stay close.” She nodded and kept pace as they walked up the sidewalk. Damek barely glanced at the doorman, who immediately opened the door for them. He’d already used his preternatural powers to mess with the cameras so there would be no record of them coming or going.

Sonia breathed a sigh of relief when they stepped into the elevator and the doors shut tight. “I’m amazed he didn’t try to stop us.”

“He did not because I planted the suggestion in his mind that we belonged here.”

“Handy skill.” She took his hand and held it as the elevator went up to the twentieth floor.

They ghosted down the corridor and Damek waved his hand and the locks tumbled open. He pushed the door open and ushered Sonia inside.

Sonia wished they were anywhere but Luther Kostas’s home, somewhere they could be alone together. She knew Damek was finding it difficult to be around her family and was only staying in New York for a few days to make her happy. She loved him for it even as she wished he were more at ease around them. It might never happen, but she hoped he might relax around them with time. Of course, if she’d known her family was going to descend en masse for a party she would have told her mother not to do it. She’d planned to keep this visit low-key, to give Damek time to acclimate.

He was so aloof, so alone even in a room of boisterous people, maybe even especially then. She planned to take him back to her apartment when they finished here and show him just how much she loved him.

Damek stiffened, turned and stared at her, his eyes glowing with lust.

“Oops.” She’d thought too loudly again. It was difficult for her to hide her feelings from Damek, especially her sexual ones.

“Later,” he growled.

Right. They had a job to do first. She looked around with interest, wondering what kind of place a vampire hunter would live. The living room had the requisite sofa, chair and big-screen television. There was a dining area beyond with a table that would seat four.

She walked through the room and peeked into the kitchen—stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and tile floor. Classy all the way and totally impersonal. It reminded her of Damek’s apartment, but she’d soon change that. She already had plenty of ideas of what she wanted to change in her new home.

His hand rested against the small of her back. “There is nothing here. Let’s check the bedrooms.”

“Okay.” They walked down the short hallway, past a bathroom that was small but luxurious. “This hunter had money.”

“Yes, he did.” Damek stood before a closed door. “I’ll have to find out where it came from.”

“You’ll get Craig to do that.” She’d come to realize that Damek liked the human male and enjoyed his clever mind.

“Most likely.” He paused. “Do you mind?”

“Why would I? I like Craig.”

Damek ran his hand over the door. “Can you feel it?”

Now that he mentioned it, she could sense a humming, almost a vibration in her bones. “What is it?”

“Power. There are powerful objects in this room. Let me go first.” He pushed open the door and stepped inside.

“Holy crap,” she whispered as she followed him, stopping just inside the door to look around. This was where the vampire hunter really lived. The room was covered with weapons and artifacts. She found herself drawn to a wall covered in swords. “Many of these go back hundreds of years. They’re not reproductions.” She’d seen many ancient weapons during her years of research, and the ones in this room were worth a small fortune.

“This is more valuable.” Damek stood beside Luther’s desk and thumbed through a book whose pages were old and brittle.

“What is it?” She hurried over to his side, wanting to see what he’d found.

“A personal history of vampire hunting dating back at least five hundred years.”

“Personal, as in his family.”

“Yes.” Damek shut the book and set it aside. “And there is more. Open your senses and look for an area where the energy is most concentrated.

Sonia focused all her power, wanting to learn how to use it. Every day was a learning experience for her, and while she didn’t have near the power Damek did, she was no slouch either.

“You know where it is, don’t you?” She scowled, drawing a slight smile from him.

“Of course.”

“Of course,” she mimicked. Shoving aside her frustration, she concentrated on the task at hand, letting her gaze flow over the desks, the walls and the bookcases. “There, behind that shelf.”

“Very good.” Damek walked to the bookshelf and felt behind it. She heard a click and then the entire thing swung outward.

“Wow, that’s cool.” It was like something out of a movie. A small steel door about two feet square was visible. “Can you open it?”

“Such insults.” Damek place his hand over the door and within seconds she could hear tumblers fall into place. He turned the handle and opened the door.

“I bow to your greatness,” she said, tongue firmly planted in her cheek.

“As you should,” came his quick reply. He reached in and drew out several leather-bound journals, a file and several boxes. He placed everything on the desk and began shuffling through it. The boxes were filled with old jewelry, a pocket watch and other memorabilia. They closed the boxes and Sonia carried them back to the safe.

Damek flipped through the journals. “We need to take these. This is information about the vampire hunters’ organization.” He opened the file and did a quick shuffle. “This is personal information, bills and such. This can go back.” He handed it to her and she took care of it.

Damek was right behind her and closed the safe with a thunk. He returned the bookshelf to its rightful place and took one last look around. “That’s all for this room.” He gathered the book and journals and ushered her out.

“What about his bedroom?” Sonia didn’t think they should leave any stone unturned. She didn’t want to have to come back. It was creepy enough being in a dead guy’s place, let alone going through his stuff. It would be more difficult if he hadn’t tried to kill her. Something like that tended to put things in perspective.

They went to the last door and opened it. Like most of the apartment, it was generic in nature. The bed and dresser were nothing special. Still, they looked through the closet and all the drawers, finding nothing.

“We need to leave. Now.”

She felt it too, a stirring in the air. Damek hustled her to the front door and out, pausing only to rest the locks. They started down the hallway toward the elevator, but he pulled her into the stairwell.

The elevator bell dinged and two men climbed out, walking to Luther Kostas’s front door. They banged on the door and waited. “Where in the hell is he?” one man asked the other. “It’s not like him to stay out of contact so long.”