Confused, Katia frowned at Sergei. It wasn’t like him to look this uncomfortable. In fact she could probably count on one hand the number of times she’d seen him like this. She snuck another quick glance over at the strange man who had gone back to nursing his coffee. What was it about this guy that was getting Sergei so worked up? Sure it was weird that he kept staring at them. But that did happen sometimes, though normally it was people who had seen them performing together at the Metropolitan. This guy didn’t look like the type of person who spent much time at classical concerts. When they had been at the show earlier, other men had looked at her and Sergei hadn’t been bothered. She was on a date with him, after all; it’s not like she was about to run off with someone else. Sighing, Katia decided it was better to just give in and get the hell out of here. No reason for her to force Sergei to stay and make him more uncomfortable than he already was.
“Hey, you’re right. Let’s just head out.”
“Really? You’re sure you’re okay with that?”
“Absolutely. I just need to make a quick trip to the ladies’ room. I’ll meet you back here in five and we can head home.”
Grabbing her purse off the back of her chair and slinging it over her shoulder, she cast a quick glance at the stranger who was looking at her yet again. She shook her head in confusion and took a couple of quick steps around the table to Sergei’s side, bending down and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Sergei smiled up at her and motioned to the cashier. “I’ll take care of the bill while you’re away. See you in a few.”
Katia headed to the back of the café near the kitchen and walked carefully down the steep staircase to the area where the washrooms were hidden away. She really just needed a few minutes alone to shake off this strange feeling. Everything about that man seemed to have been calling to her. Maybe she was finally losing her mind. Katia plunked her purse down on the countertop in front of the mirror, ran some cold water in the sink, and splashed it on her face.
“I must be crazy — I mean, seriously, I thought I saw an aura around that guy. If that doesn’t make me crazy, I don’t know what does.” Staring at herself in the mirror, she pulled a face and laughed. “And now, I’m talking to myself. It gets better and better.” Shaking her head, she grabbed a couple of sheets of paper towels and patted her face dry. She balled up the damp paper and shot a three-pointer into the garbage can in the corner of the room. “Nothing but net.” She smiled and turned to grab her purse off the counter.
Just as she was reaching for the strap on her bag, the bathroom door banged open and there he stood. They both stood frozen for a moment, eyes locked on each other. As though her brain had just returned from a momentary vacation, Katia snapped back to the moment. “What the hell! Get out, this is the ladies’ room!”
Rolling those gorgeous grey eyes at her, he stepped forward holding up his hands in a show of peace. “Trust me, I know this is the ladies’ room.”
Confused, Katia shook her head at him and turned back to her bag. “Look, I don’t know what your deal is, but if you’re not out of here in five seconds, I’ll have to mace you.” There was a sudden flurry of movement as the stranger grabbed Katia around the middle, picking her up and pinning her arms to her sides. “I’m afraid I can’t allow that to happen,” he said calmly.
As she struggled ineffectually against his hold, she felt a sharp pinch in her neck. “What the…,” Katia began, but almost immediately started to feel heavy and disoriented. She stopped struggling and sagged back against the stranger’s chest, her head falling backwards onto his shoulder. Just as her vision winked out and the sounds of the world went dim, she heard him as though he were speaking from the end of a long tunnel, his breath warm against her ear. “Why did you do it?”
And then her world went dark.
Chapter Seven
“What in all of Sheol is wrong with me?” Luc wondered aloud as he wore a track in the carpet of his bedroom floor. He had been pacing back and forth for the last hour trying to find the answer. He was supposed to grab the woman and take her directly to Satan. But here he was, at his apartment, with the woman drugged and cuffed in his bedroom. What the fuck was wrong with him? Rubbing at his temples and shaking his head, Luc sat down in the leather wingback chair in the corner of the room and looked at Katia’s unconscious form lying on his bed, her right wrist cuffed to the headboard, hair fanned out over his pillows.
Calling himself ten different types of idiot, he got back up and moved over to sit on the edge of the bed. Looking down at her he sighed and reached out to brush an errant strand of her inky black hair off her cheek. She looked so peaceful, so perfect…like a sleeping beauty waiting to be woken. She murmured quietly in her drug-induced sleep and turned her face into his palm. She would be awake soon, the tranquilizer he had given her was wearing off. He rubbed the pad of his thumb gently along her cheekbone, then slid his hand away from her face. She frowned softly at the absence of his touch. Luc’s lips twitched upwards in a half-smile. Shit,
