Chapter 15

The friendship thing.


That night Jasper dropped me home an hour later. I couldn’t deal with him talking about everything that happened with Gordon, and I was glad that he didn’t pursue the conversation. I had to get some space, digest everything slowly, and then erase it from my memory.
It was late when I finally went to bed just after two o’clock in the morning. Jasper had to stop a few times during the way back, because I had to throw up on the side of the road. He pretended in front of Gordon that I was his girlfriend, which freaked me out a bit. I didn’t blame him for what Gordon made me do. It was me that wanted to see him, knowing what he was capable of.
I had no bloody idea how I fell asleep that night. The voices and images of the cut finger were flashing in my mind until I drifted off. In the morning I felt more anger than upset. Gordon obviously recognised me as the chief inspector’s daughter straight away. Somehow that psychopath liked Dad and when I showed up he wanted to play a little game with me.
Around ten o’clock I went to work. As I drove through busy London, Nathaniel came to my mind. For him, twenty thousand pounds was probably worth an hour’s work. He made millions from the contract with Paranormal Personnel. I couldn’t borrow the money from anyone else. Ella was out of the question. Her mother worked as a nurse, and she didn't have that kind of cash available. My own mother spent what little savings she had on partying when she found out that my father was paranormal. None of my friends were able to come up with that sort of money. Nathaniel was the only one I could ask.
I reached the office for my late morning shift. An hour later the phone rang; it was Lucinda. She was complaining yet again that the witches were disappearing. Last week ten of them hadn't shown up for work. After I got off the phone, I told Sara to track down a few and find out what was happening. That idea pretty much went out the window. The numbers of the witches who weren’t showing up were out of service. She couldn't get ahold of any of them.
I kept thinking that this new phenomenon must have something to do with the new coven in London. There wasn't any other explanation. Either way, Lucinda was losing money, which meant that Rufus was probably going to be on my back soon. I believed that we had to stop hiring witches and concentrate on vampires. No one needed to know.
Throughout the day I kept glancing at Kate’s old desk thinking about all my options. Kate wouldn’t just give up; she would fight until the end.
Work was slow, and I managed to get off early, just after six. I wanted to go straight to Nathaniel, but first, I needed to check if he was at home. He was probably going to confront me about my late-night trip with Kelsie and Michael. I was still convinced that he was the one who sent a tail to keep an eye on me.
"Julia, how nice to hear from you," he said, sounding relaxed. "How are you?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Listen, I need to see you. Are you at home or at work?"
"I'm driving to a restaurant. I have a meeting. If this is urgent, can you meet me there?"
"Okay, text me the address and I’ll see you there."
I didn’t want to do this over the phone and the restaurant wasn't exactly the place for this kind of conversation, plus he was meeting someone. I couldn’t waste any more time. I had to get this money as soon as possible. Either way I needed to see him.
There I was, going back to my rich ex-boyfriend to ask him for twenty thousand pounds. Pathetic wasn't the word that I was looking for; yeah, I wasn't proud of myself asking him for money.
Nathaniel was somewhere in West London. It took me over an hour to get there, plunging through busy traffic. My palms were damp with sweat once I finally found a parking space near the restaurant. I was curious to find out who Nathaniel was meeting, but at the end of the day it was none my business. We weren’t together anymore.
The restaurant was Tai, filled with bright violet and purple colours and Asian waitresses who greeted me at the entrance. My stomach growled automatically as the smell of delicious food wafted around me.
Nathaniel was sitting at one of the last tables in the back; lucky for me he was alone with a menu in his hand. My heart kicked in my chest and my energy slapped me in between my bum cheeks. I still had feelings for him.
"Hi," I said, sitting in the chair opposite him, not even asking if it was all right. Just in case he was ready to bring up the car chase with Michael and Kelsie; I needed to pretend I had no idea what he was talking about.
"Julia, you look gorgeous."
I smiled. "Thank you, how are you?"
"Excellent, would you like a drink? I'm early anyway, so we have at least half an hour," he said, watching me closely, like always. I thought I might as well get something stronger, just to deal with my nerves.
"Yes, a shot of vodka and water," I said, faking a smile.
Nathaniel nodded to the waiter and when he came over, Nathaniel ordered exactly what I asked for. He could read me like an open book, and he probably sensed that I was a nervous wreck. In his hazel eyes I noticed worry and love. For this one moment, I had to forget that the love of my life was sitting in front of me.
"I'm worried about you, Julia," he said, watching me as I emptied the vodka. "Something is going on with you."
Questions, of course, he wanted to know every last detail. There was no way I could get away with lying to him. Gordon had me wrapped around his little finger. Nathaniel knew that I didn't listen to him and went ahead with my own plan. I took a deep breath and decided to get straight to the point.
"I came here to ask you for twenty thousand pounds. Please don’t ask any questions. This money will save Dad’s life."
His face went blank for a moment. Then he scratched his chin, moved his eyes from my breasts to my lips and said, "I think you should start from the beginning, firecracker. You can’t expect me to give you the money based on a few lousy facts." He chuckled, emphasising the word "firecracker." My face heated up.
"Well," I began, knowing that this wasn't good. I bet he was itching to ask about the other night. "Gordon Lancaster can give me the exact location of the white witch, but he wants money."
Nathaniel stared at me for at least ten seconds before he stood and grabbed my arm.
“Let's go to my car. Now."
He forcefully dragged me out of the restaurant, but we didn’t go to his car. We went around the corner to the back. His grip burned my skin. Nathaniel was furious. He didn’t stop until we were away from any onlookers.
"Are you telling me you went to Lancaster by yourself?"
"Eee … yes … well, Jasper—"
"Right! Your fucking ex-boyfriend, the nut case!" he shouted, extending his fangs. All right, so I’ve seen Nathaniel angry before, but right then he looked like he was ready to strangle me or eat me alive. Either way I was screwed. "Jasper took you to the biggest gangster in London, and you went ahead with it? What the hell is wrong with you, Julia?"
I pushed him away, feeling drained. He didn't even know what I had to do in order to get Gordon to help me. I swallowed back my tears. There was no point going all girly on him.
"I'm trying to save the life of my father and I’ll do anything I can!" I shouted. I couldn’t believe he was treating me like I was stupid and unaware of the danger. "You either lend me the money or I’ll go to someone else. Gordon has information about the white witch. Once I pay him, he’ll give it to me."
Nathaniel shook his head in anger, clenching his fists. With a sharp intake of breath, he pushed me against the wall. His jaw was tight, and his eyes were piercing right through me.
"Julia, your father is the chief of the paranormal unit. Lancaster could have killed you. I can’t believe your ex allowed you to go anywhere near him."
Sweat was dripping down my spine. I had no idea how to defend my actions. Nathaniel’s body was so close to mine that I couldn’t think straight. Despite his anger and fury, I really wanted him to hug me. I wanted him to tell me that everything was going to be all right.
"Nathaniel, please … Dad and Kate…they don’t have a lot of time. I don’t care that he’s dangerous. He has information that I need!"
“He's pulling you into his nest just as a trap, Julia. Why didn't you call me?" he asked, burning me with his intense stare but didn’t allow me say anything and continued. "Lancaster doesn’t need money; he’s going to use you to his own advantage. Forget about this whole idea and let me deal with it. I promise you that I’ll find a white witch or help your father another way."
I shook my head.
"I told you before, I can’t waste any more time. I don’t trust Jasper, but I don’t have any other option at the moment. He’s the only person who can get me in front of Lancaster," I pleaded and before I knew it I burst into tears. Nathaniel had money, but he didn’t get me in front of Lancaster, Jasper did.
He pulled away and cursed under his breath loudly. I hated that it had to come to this, but I didn’t have an easy week, especially when it came to being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It got to the point where I was I howling, feeling lost and broken. Then Nathaniel did something that I didn’t expect. He simply hugged me, bringing me close to his body. As soon as I was in his arms everything seemed better, colours were brighter and problems smaller.
"Shhhh, stop crying, Julia. Of course, I’ll give you the money, but there has to be another way. This is insanely dangerous. I can’t lose you." He kept whispering in my ear. I didn't want to let go of him, but at the same time I was fighting with my wrecked emotions. This was too much—he was too much. Every time he touched me, my knees nearly gave out.
“I'll be fine as long as I keep Jasper on the short leash," I said.
Nathaniel didn't seem convinced. He reluctantly let go of me, breathing harder than he should.
"I don’t trust him, and you shouldn't either."
I didn't say anything, thinking that this was my only chance. After a moment of composure, he took out his stylish wallet with a checkbook, then wrote a cheque for twenty thousand pounds. It was that simple.
"I can’t believe I'm doing this," he said, shaking his head. I took the cheque and then put it my bag. My mouth was dry, and my heart was racing.
"Thank you, thank you. I’ll give it back to you as soon as I can."
“Don't be absurd, Julia. It’s a gift. In return I want you to keep me updated and stop lying to me."
"I will, once you stop sending your people after me."
"I have to; you’re irresponsible. I need to know what’s going on with you," he replied with a shrug. I didn’t say anything to that. Nathaniel knew it all and he was worse than my grandmother when it came to being stubborn as hell.
We were on our way back inside when a car pulled up and a really tall, lean witch came out waving towards Nathaniel. She was blonde and dressed in black. For a moment he looked like he was going to ignore her, but then he cleared his throat and approached her, reluctantly. Now it was all clear: I’d just interrupted Nathaniel’s date.