“Zoe sent me some hate mail after I phoned and left a message for Luc.”
Aiden didn’t look surprised. “It was one of the reasons I was hesitant in giving you the phone number. Zoe can be vindictive.”
“I thought as much. Which is one of the reasons I asked you to come work out with me. I thought maybe you would know one of her weaknesses, or at the very least teach me how to survive an encounter with her.”
He hesitated. “I can teach you some things. I can’t really tell you how to kill Zoe. She is in Luc’s brood. I work for him. It would be a really bad idea for me to betray him.”
“I respect that. I don’t plan to kill Zoe, unless, I have no other choice. I realize I’m outmanned here. She is faster and stronger. I need to be able to do something to compensate for that, and keep myself alive.”
“If you tangle with Zoe, one of you will die. Make no mistake about it. She is vicious.”
“I’ll remember that. Now, let’s spar.”
He shook his head. “Okay.”
He hit hard and fast. Harder than she expected. The first blow knocking her off balance. He fell to his knees beside her on the mat.
“Oh man, Harley. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I mean I meant to spar. I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.”
“It’s alright Aiden. Zoe won’t apologize. Let’s keep going.”
They both got to their feet. This time Harley ducked the first jab and caught him off guard with a return one of her own.
They sparred for the better part of an hour. She gave as good as she got, but she did not have supernatural speed or strength.
After an hour, she called it quits. Sitting on the mat she called for a halt. He sat down beside her.
“You did an excellent job.”
“Not good enough, I realize after all this. I’m not fast enough or strong enough. I’m going to have to think of something else besides just straight fighting to win against Zoe.”
“Yeah, you will. Any ideas?”
“Not yet. Looks like I have some research to do. Unless you have a manual on how to fight vampires lying around somewhere.”
“Nope. I’m fresh out. Gave my last one to a ghoul last week.”
“Well, damn Aiden. You’re no help.”
He looked at her, shaking his head and laughing. “You are kind of a nut.”
“Only kind of? I’m pretty sure I went around the bend several years ago.”
“I’m pretty sure you are going to be all bruised tomorrow and Mrs. Reyes is going to kick my ass.”
“Hey! That’s an idea. I’ll sick Mrs. Reyes on Zoe. I’m pretty sure she has some kind of supernatural mother power that beats all of the bad guys.”
Aiden laughed at her idea. “I don’t know Mrs. Reyes that well, but that may just be true. She can be very fierce.”
He got up and offered his hand to her. “Come on. Let’s get you into a hot bath. You are going to be sore and bruised as it is. Besides, I need a head start so Mrs. Reyes doesn’t kill me.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Aiden helped Harley inside and up the stairs. He offered to help her into the tub. She said she would manage.
His mind was rolling with conflicts. Luc wanted him to keep an eye out on her. He was doing that. He was also developing some real feelings for her.
Harley was like no other woman he had ever met. She seemed to accept people for who they were. She didn’t expect them to meet her standards. She didn’t expect them to change for her.
Being here brought back feelings he hadn’t had since his mother died. She had been killed defending him from yet another person who saw him and instantly thought he was evil.
Aiden had then settled into the darker side of life. He had been working for Luc since his mother died. The vampire had found him, beaten and bloody in a back alley. He took him home, tended his wounds and gave him a job. It was unimportant things at first.
As Aiden’s powers grew, he found himself with more responsibilities within Luc’s business. Now he was his hitman. Though he didn’t think that Luc wanted Harley dead.
No, he wanted something else from Harley. Something he wasn’t even willing to tell Aiden about. At least not yet. Each day seemed to bring more conflict into Aiden’s mind. He wanted to do what his boss needed, yet he also wanted to protect Harley.
The need to protect someone was a new feeling to him. He had done it without thought of consequences when Zoe had wanted to attack Harley. Of course, he reasoned that his boss wouldn’t be happy if anything happened to Harley without his express consent.
He shook his head. What in the hell was he thinking? He needed to do his job and get out. The last thing he needed was a romantic entanglement.
His phone rang. It was Luc.
“Hello.”
“Aiden, how are things going?”
“It’s all going according to plan.”
“She is starting to trust you?”
“Yes, she is.”
“Good. This is very good.”
“Did you know Zoe sent her several threatening emails?"
“I did not. What’s this about?”
“Harley has some kind of new evidence on the case. Something she needed to talk to you about. She called the home phone today and left you a message. Shortly afterward she received over a dozen messages from Zoe saying she was going to kill Harley.”
“Sounds like Zoe really has it in for Harley. Partly, I find this amusing. However, I have plans for Harley. I will deal with Zoe.
“Bring Harley to the house tomorrow
