“Get inside, Claudia!” he yelled.
“Yeah, run. He doesn’t need you. He needs me!” Ruxandra sprang to her feet, ready to grab her slower rival, but before she could get to Claudia, she was on her ass again and one hundred eighty pounds of vampire was sitting on her chest.
“Ow! Anthony, you’re hurting me.”
He paid no attention to her. Instead he called to Claudia, “I’ll hold her until you get inside. Don’t open the door for anyone.”
Ruxandra heard footsteps scuffle up the concrete stairs. Then a heavy door opened and shut. When it was just the two of them on the sidewalk, he focused his angry gaze on her. “What the hell is the matter with you?” The intensity she saw in his eyes was almost too much to bear and she turned away.
He grasped her jaw and roughly turned her to face him, but he didn’t say anything. Instead he glanced up, and a moment later, she heard an unfamiliar voice yelling, “Hey. Get off of her.”
Thank goodness for the stupidity of humans.
“It’s not what it looks like,” Anthony called out.
“Yeah, right.”
When she craned her neck, she caught sight of the guy pulling a cell phone from his pocket.
Ruxandra saw her chance to make Anthony admit their relationship as she saw it. “He’s my husband. Don’t call the police. We’ll work it out.”
Anthony growled.
The guy hit some buttons on his phone, ignoring them. A moment later he was saying, “Yeah, there’s some kind of domestic dispute on Essex Street. Looks like the woman is getting the worst of it.”
Shit. Now both she and Anthony had to disappear fast, and he wouldn’t let her follow him again.
Well, that backfired.
She’d just have to wait until the woman was alone. He couldn’t protect her every minute, and now Ruxandra knew where her rival lived. Or not. The moving van… Was it for Claudia? Was she moving in with him?
Ruxandra saw red.
Claudia wondered why Anthony was taking so long to get rid of Ruxandra and come back with the news that the coast was clear. Either the coast wasn’t clear, or… No. I refuse to believe that. He’d never go back to her.
Pacing, she pondered her situation. She had the moving van for twenty-four hours. After picking it up at noon and loading the lighter boxes into it herself, she’d waited for Anthony to help with the furniture. He didn’t get there until eight and it was about nine thirty now.
Well, if I have to spend the night here, at least I still have a mattress to sleep on. Damn. I was looking forward to getting out of this hellhole and moving into the beautiful, brand-new apartment over the tea shop.
Claudia had never come right out and directly asked Anthony why he insisted on never being disturbed during the day. She respected his privacy, and so far it hadn’t been a problem. But what if he never came back tonight? Would some kind stranger help her load her furniture in the morning?
She almost snorted out loud. Even friends were scarce when it came to moving.
She was just about to give up and unpack a book when a knock sounded on the door.
Thank goodness.
She sprinted to the door and looked through the peephole. “Kurt?” What the hell is he doing here? She left the chain fastened and opened the door only the few inches the chain would allow.
“Where’s Anthony?”
“He’s been delayed. He asked me to help you move. Tory is here with me.”
Tory Montana peeked around the doorjamb. “Heard you could use an ex-linebacker to move some heavy furniture.”
Claudia sagged with a mixture of relief and concern. “I don’t suppose it matters that he told me not to open my door to anyone.”
Tory grinned. “We’re not just anyone, sweetheart. We’re the cavalry.”
That’s for sure. These two were her favorite regulars from the bar. She’d never pictured missing their daily presence in her life until the building went up in flames.
She slid open the lock, opened the door wide, and walked into two bear hugs.
“So, is Anthony coming back?”
“He said it was safer for you if he didn’t.”
She glanced from one to the other. “Do you know about Ruxandra’s hissy fit? How she reacts whenever she thinks we…I mean, that Anthony and I…but we never have!”
Kurt chuckled and laid a hand on her shoulder. “I was there the day the bar opened, the first time she threatened you. She’d act the same way toward any beautiful woman Anthony looked at for two seconds.”
“She called me a whore!”
“She’s just projecting the worst of herself onto you.”
“You mean, she…”
“I shouldn’t have said anything. Just ignore me.” Kurt sported his silly grin. “You know how full of shit I can be.”
“Don’t worry,” Tory said. “We won’t let anything happen to you. And Anthony can take care of himself.”
“Where is he now?”
The guys looked at each other.
“Tell me.”
Kurt cleared his throat. “I think he’s trying to convince Ruxandra to leave town.”
That sounded like an exercise in futility. How many times had he asked her to leave now? Twenty? Thirty?
Claudia’s shoulders slumped.
Tory rubbed her back. “I know. She’s been a pain in the ass for years, but I think he’s come up with some inventive new threats that might work.”
Claudia didn’t know how she felt about that. She certainly wanted Ruxandra out of the way, but did she want Anthony threatening anyone? And would he be able to follow through?
As if Kurt could read her mind, he said, “Don’t think about it. Please. Anthony knows how stressful this has been for you, and he’ll take care of it. He wants you to be able to relax and live your life.”
“It doesn’t seem like too much to ask,” she muttered.
Tory put an arm around her shoulder. “Grab your keys. This furniture isn’t going to move itself.”
Anthony hated the idea of spending any more time than absolutely necessary with Ruxandra, but he had to protect Claudia. He lured his irksome ex to the Harvard Square area, in the opposite direction from where Claudia, Kurt, and Tory needed to go.
They shared a patch of grass on someone’s front lawn. The fragrant foliage wasn’t enough to overcome the irritation of being forced to give Ruxandra his undivided attention. Or it would have been undivided, if he could get Claudia out of his mind.
Why he’d begun a relationship with the beautiful human he’d lusted after for five years was anyone’s guess. But he refused to call it a mistake. He and Claudia had put their happiness on hold for far too long.
The few months they’d spent together since their first kisses were the happiest he’d had in a long time. Under the guise of planning the new business, he’d given Ruxandra the slip and met Claudia in various places around the city. It hadn’t been easy, but he’d become fairly good at it. Unfortunately, he’d gotten cocky too. Now Claudia was in danger, and it was all his fault.
“I’ve told you over and over again…you don’t love me. You’re obsessed. It’s as if you want me just because you can’t have me.”
“That’s ridiculous. I want you because I love you. And you need me.”
“You don’t know what love is. If you loved me, you’d want me to be happy.”
“I can make you happy. I can hunt for you. I can defend you. I can keep up with you sexually. Do you think a mere mortal can do all that? If only you’d give me a chance…”
“I did give you a chance—many chances—and we drove each other crazy. Face it. We’re just not good together.”