He shook his head. “Gideon is well known for his ability to charm others. Don’t let him make you believe he is anything other than a killer.”
“I haven’t forgotten that.”
“You haven’t?” His brow furrowed and his hard expression finally softened. “I know you have a great capacity for compassion, Sarah. Don’t let that get in the way of your better judgment.”
“It’s not. I wish the Red Devil hadn’t told you.”
“I’m glad he did.” He drew closer to me and stroked his cool hand against my flushed cheek. “He told me about what happened with the fledgling as well.”
I cringed. “That I went insane and almost tore her throat out?”
He shook his head. “That you tried to help her.”
“And then I tried to tear her throat out.” I hugged him tightly and inhaled the light, spicy scent of his familiar cologne.
“But you didn’t.”
“Only thanks to Red. Whoever he is.” I looked up at him. “Are you going to tell me more about him?”
“Perhaps he will remain as much a secret as your meetings with Gideon Chase have been.”
There was a strange edge to his words.
I raised my eyebrows. “Don’t tell me for one moment that that’s jealousy I hear.”
He leveled his gray gaze with my own. “I know all too well that you have a soft spot for hunters you feel you might be able to redeem.”
I tensed in his arms. “Gideon isn’t redeemable.”
“And you mustn’t ever forget that.” He brushed his mouth against mine in a kiss that helped me stop thinking about all of my problems for a moment.
“Can you stay tonight?” I whispered against Thierry’s lips.
“Do you want me to?”
I slid my hand under his shirt to feel his warm skin. “Very much.”
A smile twitched on his lips. “Then—”
There was the sound of a key in the door and his gaze flicked to it.
“—unfortunately it will have to wait for another time.” Thierry’s smile faded. “Please be careful, Sarah. And please don’t see Gideon again alone. It’s too dangerous.”
The next moment he was gone from my arms and the room.
George entered the house and looked at me standing in the dark all by myself. “Oh, hey.
Feeling better?”
I sighed. “Until I was interrupted.”
“Did you have fun with the mysterious Mr. G?” he asked and waggled his eyebrows.
I forced a smile. “So much fun they should lock me up and throw away the key.”
“Well, I’d love to hear the details, but I’m exhausted. As Scarlett says, tomorrow is another day.”
It was. And I wasn’t entirely convinced that was a good thing.
The next morning, I felt something poke me in the shoulder and it yanked me out of a perfect, dreamless sleep. I liked perfect, dreamless sleeps. They were my favorites and very rare these days in my usual sea of nightmares. I pulled the covers off my face and glared at my intruder.
George smiled down at me. “Morning, sunshine.”
“What is it?”
He had the cordless phone in his hand. “It’s your friend Claire. She says it’s urgent.”
That jolted me the rest of the way awake. I grabbed the phone. “Claire? What’s going on?”
“Sarah, I have good news. I found someone who can help you.”
Claire was an old high-school friend of mine who had been present at the reunion when I’d been cursed. Since she was also a witch, she’d done her best to help, but it hadn’t worked out. She left to go home to Niagara Falls with the promise she’d keep trying.
“You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.” My heart was already doing a Rockette kick of joy at the thought I might not be dependent on Gideon to break my curse.
“He’s a wizard and he can see you today. He’s moving somewhere in Europe really soon, so you need to get your butt over to Mississauga while he’s still in this country.”
I jotted down the info she gave me, a phone number and directions to the place, which was twenty minutes west of Toronto. “This is fantastic. How did you find him?”
“Honestly? On Craigslist. But he’s completely reputable. He specializes in breaking curses and his track record is amazing. Or so he says. The best part is he’ll only charge you two thousand bucks.”
My eyes widened. “That’s a lot of money.”
“Trust me, these kinds of things normally cost way more.”
“You wouldn’t happen to have two thousand dollars I can borrow, do you?”
She laughed at that. “Sorry, no. Why don’t you ask your dreamboat of a boyfriend for the money? He looked like he was loaded.”
I cleared my throat. “We broke up.”
She actually gasped. “But you seemed perfect for each other.”
“You are the only person I know of who thinks that.” I glanced at George, who stood nearby with a curious expression. “We’re not together anymore. I’m moving on. Know any rich master vampires you want to set me up with?”
“Don’t forget dark and miserable,” George added.