Free Cause of Death: Unnatural (The Cause of Death Series) by Eliza Ford Page B

had no choice
but to endure it. And that is because you don't have the power to stop
me." She picked up her wine glass and held it with her lips just brushing
the glass. "You know that, lover."
    Jarek stared a few moments longer, and then
smiled.
    "Come home with me, Emilia," he
said. "You and I are meant to be together. We are powerful, ruthless, lethal together." His eyes narrowed and his nostrils
flared. His voice was deep and seductive. "We are perfect..."
    "I know," said Em, simply.
"And I miss that, Jarek, I really do. But I'm here now. And I like
it."
    "But..."
    "And that's it, Jarek. That's it."
    They stared at each other. Em found she was
the first to drop her gaze. She was tired.
    "Do you want some wine?" she said,
standing up to grab another glass from the kitchen. "And I have
chocolate...?"
    Jarek followed her into the kitchen and took
the glass from her hand. He laid it on the counter and stepped close to Em
until they were almost touching. With a finger, he brushed a strand of hair
from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. His eyes travelled over her face,
and the finger traced a line down her cheek, his thumb brushing the corner of
her mouth, the rest of his hand curling around her neck. His other arm reached
around her waist and pulled her into him.
    He sighed, and she rested her head on his
chest while his hand stroked her hair.
    "If you ever change your mind," he
said.
    They stood there in silence for a long
moment. Em felt the coldness of his body, the lack of heartbeat in his chest.
She thought about Nick.
    "It wasn't human, was it?" she
asked.
    "No," said Jarek. "You were
right. But I ..."
    In her handbag on the counter, Em's cell
phone rang. Neither of them moved for a moment and then Em dragged herself out
of Jarek's embrace.
    "I have to get that," she muttered,
allowing her hair to fall across her face again, not wanting to meet his eyes.
    It was Nick.
    "What's up?" she said. "It's
late. You're not still at the office are you?"
    "I was thinking about what that dealer
said." Nick sounded wired. He usually got this way when he thought he'd
cracked something - when a case started coming together. Em felt the little
flutter of excitement she usually got in the middle of her chest when this
happened. Nick's enthusiasm was infectious.
    "This warehouse with a history he was going on
about," he went on, talking at top speed. "I was googling stuff about... Forget it, doesn't matter. And then I realized I was being too
literal about it. He didn't mean ancient history, just a history . So I hit the crime maps, and the one place kept coming
up. It's a pretty random history - all sorts of jobs there over the last couple
of decades, almost like the place has some kind of criminal attracting
vibe..."
    "Nick," Em broke in. "What are
you talking about?"
    "I think I've found it. The warehouse. Well, I've found something we should look at.
Shit, I've been drinking coffee out of that crummy machine for hours. Em, do
you want to go and check it out?"
    He sounded so eager. Like a puppy with a
stick.
    Em looked at Jarek. He had a resigned
expression on his face. He shrugged.
    "Yeah, I've got time," she said
into the phone. "Meet you at the lab?"

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
    Em made Nick stop for pizza before they headed off to
the warehouse. She knew what that coffee machine in the office was capable of,
and if Nick hadn't eaten he'd be strung out for hours.
    She also knew, thanks to Jarek's little
re-con mission, that they were unlikely to find anything usable at the
warehouse, even if Nick had found the right one. If she thought about it, she
had to admit she'd chosen to come along on Nick's little adventure at such a
crazy hour of the night because she wanted his company.
    She shared his meat-lovers with extra cheese,
sucked down a Coke and watched Nick eat. He ate like he worked - with
determination and with enjoyment. She envied him.
    He looked up at her and caught her watching
him.
    "What?" he said smiling, a