Page 32 of Exes, Hexes, and Strategy
That statement was met with several exclamations of “Aw, that’s so sweet,” but Nina wasn’t planning on sticking around. Scooping up the arrangement, she made her escape, practically sprinting up the stairs to get back to her room. She needed to change, do her hair, her make-up, and she only had an hour…
“From Rafe?” Mel asked as soon as the door clicked shut behind her.
Nina nodded, her smile so wide it made her face hurt.
“I figured,” Mel said, moving forward to sniff the heady aroma of the bouquet with a pleased ‘mm’ sound. “Your parents are thoughtful, but they’re also not the type to send flowers if you know what I mean.”
Nina did. Her family – her mother in particular – was more likely to send a care package of food. She might even get such a care package in a few days. Her mother’s spaghetti carbonara… Yum.
Shaking off the distracting thought that was only making her hungry, she dove into her closet with a yelled, “I have to get ready!” Though she now hoped that whatever Rafe had planned included food.
“Ooh, wear the burnt orange tunic dress,” Mel suggested. “That looks amazing on you. You brought it, right?”
“I did.”
Nina heard Mel groan and she popped her head out of the closet. “What’s the matter?”
“I wish I could stay and help you get ready,” her friend said. “I have to go, though.”
Rushing forward, Nina hugged Mel. “Tonight’s your night. I can feel it. Your target doesn’t stand a chance.”
Mel grinned, backing toward the door, she pointed her finger at Nina. “I want details when I get back. Got it?”
Nina saluted with a grin and then burst into giddy laughter. Rushing back to the closet, she yelled out, “Good luck!” and heard Mel’s return shot of, “You too, not that you need it,” before she got back to the business of getting ready for the night, eager to see what Rafe had planned.
Chapter Nineteen
Nina let out a low whistle and quietly murmured, “Swanky.” Her GPS had led her to the rich part of town by the looks. Many of the houses, situated behind scrolling wrought iron gates, looked like mansions. She felt self-conscious just driving down the street in her old car with its mismatched fenders and abundance of bumper stickers. Nina was willing to bet that the people who lived in these houses all drove luxury cars that were probably cleaned and detailed weekly. Nor would they ever dream of marring the pristine exteriors of their vehicles with fun sayings like Life’s a Witch, Then You Die.
Arriving at her location, she pulled into the drive and took a moment to stare open-mouthed with awe. How much money had Rafe dropped on this romantic endeavor? Holy crap. This place was stunning. Kane Fletcher must have helped Rafe with the details, that was the only explanation she could come up with for how Rafe had managed to pull all this together. Heck, for all she knew, this could be Fletcher’s place.
Feeling a giddy swirl of anticipation in her belly, Nina quickly turned on the overhead light and checked her hair in the rearview mirror. She was nervous, yet exhilarated, as her mind ran through the possibilities. A candlelit dinner maybe? Had Rafe cooked for her? Letting out a quiet squeal of excitement just to get it out of her system before she burst, she then took a deep breath and blew it out slowly.
Exiting her car, she smoothed her hand down the orange tunic dress that fell to mid-thigh which she’d paired with knee-high, brown leather boots. Mel had been right, it was a great outfit for Nina and it suited this fancy environment. Whatever Rafe had planned, she was ready.
Approaching the door that had one of those cool brass knockers shaped like a lion’s head, Nina was just about to knock when the portal swung open easily, revealing a man she’d never seen before. A vampire, she mentally clarified. The guy was a vampire and dressed in a suit complete with white gloves on his hands.
“You are expected, madam,” the man said with a bow, and Nina just barely managed to stifle a giggle at the formality.
He ushered her inside and Nina couldn’t help but gawk, mouth open. Rafe might be used to this kind of luxury, but she surely wasn’t. This place had one of those dual sweeping staircases on either side that Nina had only seen in movies. There were painted urns with potted plants that sat on shiny marble floors, fancy vases of freshly cut flowers sat on equally fancy little pedestal tables with no purpose she could determine beyond displaying those flowers. Artwork in ornate frames hung on the walls and there was even a crystal chandelier high up on that soaring ceiling. A chandelier! In the entryway! And how the heck did anyone clean that thing?
She turned, the question ready on her lips, but the vampire butler – or whatever he was – was leaving through the door she’d just come through. Nina shrugged. So much for having her curiosity satisfied. She also had no idea where Rafe was, now that she thought about it, and this place was huge.
Shrugging, she turned back around and called out, “Rafe?”
“In here.”
His voice was a bit muffled, but Nina headed in the direction from which it had come. “How did you manage to arrange all this?” she happily called out as she stepped into another fancy room filled with more freshly cut flowers in vases on those little display tables. Like the foyer, this room also had a chandelier, though it hung from a lower ceiling. There was also a big, white fireplace, with a crackling blaze already lit for the evening, what looked like heavy brocade drapes covering tall windows, and even archways with columns separating this room from the next. Actual columns! How crazy was that?
She was still looking around in amazement when she heard a voice behind her. “Hello, Nina.”
Nina froze. Her stomach dropped, her heart felt like it was lodged in her throat, and she couldn’t breathe. That wasn’t Rafe’s voice, but it was familiar. It was a voice that had frequently haunted her nightmares.
Vincent DeMarco.
She almost crumpled on the spot, but she stiffened her spine. She was no longer that person he’d first threatened, she sternly reminded herself. Nina was stronger now thanks to the Hunters.
Spinning around to face him, she reached out with her power for any water in the room. Blooms exploded and vases shattered, shooting shards like shrapnel out in all directions as the water within those vases streamed toward her. It was beautiful and perfect, and she would have enclosed that water around Vincent DeMarco’s face, drowning him, and buying her precious time to get away if he hadn’t acted so quickly.
