Under a Crescent Moon by Mercy Celeste

Author:Mercy Celeste [Celeste, Mercy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Erotic Romance Fiction
Publisher: Total-E-Bound Publishing
Published: 2013-05-06T12:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Taylor

The redhead walking along the street caught my eye. I knew it wouldn’t be him. Xan never strayed this far from his section of the Quarter. Eula called me every few days, hoping to find out about him. One conversation stayed with me.

“How am I supposed to know, Eula? He made it clear that I wasn’t welcome anywhere near him. Use your hoodoo gift and ask him yourself. Better yet, pick up the phone and call him,” I’d told her.

“He severed our connection. And he doesn’t answer the phone when I call. He comes in to work after Esmeralda leaves and I can’t get near him. Taylor, he’s so angry. I’m afraid for him.”

That was last week, nearly a month after I last saw Xan in the hospital. I watched the redhead moving with a group of tourists, head down, shoulders slumped against the cold. Tall, slender, male. Xander? He looked up, red stubble gracing his jaw. His eyes seemed so hard, he didn’t smile. But it definitely was Xander.

“I’ll be right back,” I told the waitress just after she took my order. “Really, I’m coming right back, I just need to speak with someone.” I didn’t want to lose my table—maybe I could convince Xan to come and have lunch or something. I just wanted to talk to him. The waitress followed my gaze across the street to the man caught in a crowd that wasn’t going anywhere fast.

“Sure, Detective.” She smiled and nodded. “I’ll get your order in and hold your coffee until you get back.”

“Thanks, Shay,” I read her name tag. “I appreciate it.”

I was out of the wrought iron fenced courtyard and across the street just as Xander untangled himself from the pedestrian traffic jam. “Xander,” I called his name but he kept going. “Xan, please, just stop for a minute.”

He stopped. Squared his shoulders and turned to face me. “Are you stalking me?”

His eyes burned a shade of emerald fire that I’d never seen before. Anger mixed with bitter distrust. And he had a right to distrust me. “I was across the street having lunch.”

“Then you should have stayed there. If I need help I’ll call nine-one-one and ask for anyone except you.” He stuffed his hands deep in his jacket pockets and shivered. His eyes were rimmed with dark shadows, his face gaunt. He seemed frail. I wanted to reach out and pull him into my arms and keep him safe. “There, that’s what the problem is—the ‘Taylor as lord and protector of my world when he really just wants in my pants’ look—that one. Please, just leave me alone.”

“I just wanted to find out how you are. It’s been a while.” Lamest of the lame. Oh my God, what was I, a twelve-year-old girl?

“You put my boyfriend in jail, used me to do it, how do you think I am? I’m fucking happy as a lark. Just peachy keen, thanks for asking. Now fuck off.” He turned but I caught his arm. I couldn’t let him go like this.

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