Fighting the Flames (Firefighter Romance #1)(69)

“Sorry to hear that. Maybe we could go to Merlyn's Bar after all and patch things up between the two of you.” Jacqueline eased back, crossing her arms.

“No.” Derek gave her a grim smile. “I have plans that only include you.”

She swallowed hard. What was she going to do? Her heart beat faster. How could she defend herself?

Get a grip. Follow the plan.

A slow smile eased over her face. The whole point of this outing Gabe and her had schemed about was to draw out the wizard who killed her husband and test her powers.

“Did you kill Eric?” Derek's face tightened before she reached killed as if he somehow expected her to ask the question.

“Erik Huston stood in my way. He tracked me and another associate. However, I was not the one that killed him.”

“But you would have.” Jacqueline nodded, certain she was right. Anger welled in her, and with the churning blood came the familiar sense of power. If she could just channel it…

“None of that.” Derek's face warped into an ugly sneer as he grabbed her arm. “Save your energy.”

He closed his eyes and whispered something. The words dimmed her world, and the last thing she saw before passing out was Derek leaning closer to her, his lips gently pressing to hers.



****



Dinner had been strange. Angela sat in her darkened living room, contemplating the weirdness of the evening. She blinked, cocking her head back and forth as the events replayed. Everything had been fine, but then it was like… well, like she'd missed part of the conversation or dozed off. One moment they were talking about visiting Merlyn's Bar and the next thing she knew, Jacqueline was gone. Derek had gone on chewing his food, polite as ever.

None of it made sense as she relived the evening once more.

“Where did Jackie go?” she asked him, searching for her in the restaurant.

“She left, remember? She was complaining about a headache.” Derek pointed at her plate and smiled. “I guess you were so busy eating, you didn't even notice.”

An eyebrow rose. “That's weird. I don't remember her saying anything.”

“Maybe you should slow down on the wine, then.”

Angela looked at her wineglass, which was empty. Wow. Surely, that hadn't caused her to lose some time…

The rest of the dinner had felt off. Derek didn't seem like his usual self either. He met her attempts at small talk with polite yes or no answers. Afterward, she'd been expecting to go back to the hotel room, but he'd dropped her off at her house with a short kiss and sped away.

So strange.

Angela shook it off and grabbed her keys. She climbed into her car, not ready to call it a night. She drove to Merlyn's Bar, halfway expecting to find Jackie's car in the parking lot, but she wasn’t there.


Her brows pinched. How could she just forget her best friend leaving? Angela drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, debating on whether or not to go inside and talk to Toby.

“What the hell,” she muttered.

Toby nodded at her as she walked in, already getting out the red cups he used for serving wine.

“How's it going, Angela?”

“Is Jacqueline here?”

“No. Why would she be?”

“She left dinner so quickly. I just thought she might have come here.”

“Dinner?” Toby frowned as he poured her a glass. “She went to dinner with you?”

“Yeah. With me and my new guy, Derek. But she left quickly. In fact”—Angela released an embarrassed laugh—”I don't even remember her leaving.”

Her laughter died as his eyes pierced her. “You didn't see her get up and go?”

She shook her head and took the wine from Toby.

“Nope. Like she was there and then not. And I didn't really think I had that much to drink either.” She sipped the wine and made a face. “When the hell are you going to get something worth drinking around here? Would it kill you to pay an extra three dollars for a halfway decent wine?”

“Did anything weird happen? Did Jacqueline seem okay?” Toby ignored her comment; he wasn't letting the talk of her failed dinner go.

“Uh-oh… do I detect a bartender with a case of puppy love?”

Toby smacked the bar and glared. “Just tell me how she was acting. It's important, Angela.”

“Okay. Geez…” She leaned back in her chair. “She did seem a little tired to me and on edge.”

“But you didn't see her leave?”

“No.” Angela glared back and crossed her arms. “Like I told you before. Like I'd dozed off or time stopped or something. One second she was there and the next, poof. Gone.”

“Time stopped…” Toby shook his head. “What's your boyfriend's name again?”

“Derek Spark.” Angela let out a long sigh and stared at her hands. “But I don't see what that has to do with anything.”

“Derek Spark?” Toby's face turned ashen, glistening too as his gaze ping-ponged the length of the bar. “This is not good.”

“You know Derek?” He was quiet a minute, staring off into space. “Hey, you okay?” She waved her hand in front of his face. “Toby?”