He scrubbed a hand over his face and paused so long that she began to doubt he planned to answer her at all.
“Look. I’ll take care of Ruxandra’s interference. I promise I don’t see her during the day, and I won’t see her in the evenings as soon as I can figure out how to get rid of her.”
“Get rid of her? What are you going to do?”
The alarm must have shown on her face. He said, “Don’t worry. I wasn’t planning to kill her.”
Claudia smirked. “Darn it.”
Anthony pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her hard.
“What was that for?”
He stepped back and turned pale—or paler, if possible. “Did I hurt you?”
“No. I’m fine. But I still want to know what you do during the day.”
He turned toward the door and grasped the handle. “I’m going to check outside. Stay in the office until I’m sure it’s safe, and then I’ll escort you to your apartment. Promise you’ll stay inside tonight.”
“I’ll do no such thing. I need to go to an AA meeting—especially when things get nutty—and the way you’re acting is pretty nutty right now.”
“Look. I can’t help it. At some point, I’ll tell you about my days, but not now. There’s a right time and place for everything.”
“Maybe this isn’t the right time for us.”
She didn’t get a chance to say anything else. In a flash he was holding her and grasping her chin, staring into her eyes. “Don’t say that. I need you…to trust me, I mean.”
Chapter 7
Anthony had captured Claudia’s gaze and mesmerized her. Or so he’d thought. Instead of the slack-jawed, unblinking response he’d expected, she frowned, blinked, and said, “What the hell? Your eyes are turning colors.”
He quickly looked away and sucked in a deep breath. She wasn’t under? Am I losing my touch?
“Seriously. One minute your eyes were the color of milk chocolate, like I’m used to, and then they shimmered gold and then a little purple and finally blue.”
Anthony laughed. “It must have been a trick of the light.”
She hesitated. “Either that or I’m losing my mind—again.”
“What do you mean by ‘again’?”
“Uh, you know. Sometimes when I was coming off a bender I thought I saw things that weren’t really there.”
He snapped to attention. “You hallucinated?”
She shrugged and grinned sheepishly. “Only a little.”
“Has it happened since you’ve been sober?”
“No. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sure it was just a trick of the light or something. I’m getting better every day. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“Let’s not dwell on it. You’re probably just tired. I need to get you home.”
“And I need to get to an AA meeting. Maybe the people who’ve been through this before can tell me if seeing weird stuff is normal.”
Shit. “Fine. I’ll take you.”
“You can’t do that.”
“I’m afraid I have to. I don’t trust Ruxandra.”
Claudia tossed her hands in the air. “So I’m supposed to hide from her until she gets the hint and leaves us alone? Do you really think she’s around every corner, gunning for me?”
The word “gunning” shocked him. But he couldn’t let her see his momentary panic. Anthony caressed her arms and kissed her forehead. “I can’t take that chance. You’re too important to me.”
“Someone needs to be here in case Autumn or Chelsea runs into a problem. The tea room is brand-new, and there are bound to be a few bumps to smooth out.”
Anthony sighed. He had to know more about the protective spell Kurt cast around Claudia to keep her safe. Would it work if Ruxandra was literally gunning for her? Massachusetts had strict gun laws, but there was nothing to prevent her from mesmerizing a gun-shop owner in New Hampshire.
That seemed far-fetched, even for Ruxandra. Maybe he was being overprotective. “Fine. What if Kurt goes with you?”
Claudia’s cheeks grew dark pink. “Kurt knows? Did you tell him?”
“No, but I’m sure he’d understand.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, sure. He was at the bar every day and hardly drank at all. Angie told me he could nurse a beer for five hours. I’m sure he’d know exactly how I feel.”
Should he tell her Kurt was his undercover bouncer? He paid him out of his own pocket and Claudia knew nothing about it. Kurt was needed there in case the paranormals got out of hand. Then Anthony remembered that Kurt was helping Nick on a paranormal PI case right now. I shouldn’t keep taking him away from that.
“Claudia, isn’t there something else you can do? Aren’t there meetings online?”
“Oh, for the love of…” She sighed. “I’ll call my sponsor. Maybe she can come over and we’ll have our own meeting.”
Uh-oh. That was the woman who’d cautioned Claudia to wait a year before getting into a relationship. He mulled over the possible consequences and figured that anything was better than losing Claudia permanently.
“Give her a call. Meanwhile, I’ll go check on the girls and see if there are any problems.”
Claudia smiled, but only slightly.
As soon as he left the office, he strode to the men’s room to call Kurt. He had to know how safe Claudia really was—before she kicked him to the curb for being overbearing and paranoid.
“I’m not giving up on dating Ruxandra. She’s just playing hard to get,” Kurt said.
“I don’t know, buddy. I heard her tell you to ‘go to hell,’ and I’d say she meant it. If you intend to keep trying, you’ll have your work cut out for you.”
“Maybe you can give me some tips. You know her better than anyone. What does she like?”
Anthony leaned against the stall in the men’s room and groaned. “Me.”
On the other end of the phone, he heard Kurt laugh. “Well, that’s not going to help. Can’t you give me any other ideas? Does she have a favorite flower? Favorite color?”
“You know her. She has very expensive tastes. Are you prepared to buy her diamonds and furs?”
“Hmmm… How about tickets to the ballet or opera? Does she enjoy those things?”
“No.”
“Museums?”
“Only if she can knock one over and steal its priceless artifacts.”
Kurt chuckled. “That might make an interesting first date.”
Anthony pinched the bridge of his nose. “Maybe this was a bad idea. I don’t want you spending your life savings or getting arrested, and Ruxandra is trouble with a capital T.”
“There must be something she enjoys that’s not illegal. Long walks on the beach?”
“No. She likes long bouts of hot, sweaty sex.”
“Now we’re talking!”
“But, as far as I know, only with me.”
“Wasn’t she a prostitute in the seventeen hundreds?”
“Yes. And she occasionally worked in a brothel in the eighteen and nineteen hundreds. What of it?”
“She can’t be that opposed to new partners.”
“It was a means to an end. Money is the only thing she understands…well, that and making my life a living hell.”
“Why? What makes her so attached to you?”
“I’m the one who found her near death in a ditch outside the Marquis de Sade’s castle. One look at her innocent beauty, and I would have moved heaven and earth for her. I knew looks could be deceiving, but I chose not to believe it that day.”
After a short pause, Kurt said, “Don’t worry. I know how it goes. Hot girl. Cold dick.”
“Tell me about it.”
“How and when did you two break up?”
“I masked my scent with some hooker’s overpowering perfume and fled New Orleans like it was on fire.”