The Angel of Death

  

             “The first thing you have to do is figure what it is that’s gonna bait the trap for you,” Careena told her friend with a knowing smile.

             “No,” Renni disagreed with a laugh.  “The first thing you do is decide if there’s anything worth the effort!”

             Careena shared the laughter for a few moments then turned her critical eye to the people scattered about the room.  For a supposedly up-beat bar, this was as boring a place as any she’d been in during the past year.  There didn’t appear to be anyone worth talking to, let alone worth a calculated seduction.

             “I see what you mean,” she finally conceded.  “Still, there’s an hour or so left before we have to call it a night.”

             “Ever the optimist,” Renni sighed in mock despair.

             “Call it a gift,” Careena smirked, then caught the bartender’s attention for a refill.

X X X

             “What do you think?”

             “I think you’ve already made up your mind.”

             His smile was coolly amused, and he acquiesced with a slight nod of his fair head.

             “Do you want me to bring them to you?”

             “Which one of them do you find appealing?”

             “The blonde.”

             He laughed, the soft rich sound a ripple of restrained hunger that created a visible shudder in his companion.

             “Your taste is impeccable once again.”

             She turned glittering eyes to his and reached across the small table to trace the generous curve of his bottom lip with a scarlet tipped finger.

             “My taste is whatever you wish it to be.”

             Again, a brief nod was the only answer her wordless submission elicited.

X X X

             “Bastard!” she hissed as she strode up to the bar and glared theatrically at her departing lover.  His step didn’t falter or slow and she spun on her heel so she wouldn’t see his exit.

             “Trouble?”

             Careena started noticeably when the piercing emerald eyes snared her with a look of barely controlled wrath.

             “No,” she answered shortly.  “Just the end of an otherwise perfect romance.”

             “He’s gorgeous!” Renni murmured, her look firmly fixed on the tall man who was just stepping through the doorway.  She was sincerely disappointed not to have met him before he left.

             Careena heard the soft utterance, and she tried not to smile too openly.  The brunette with the sharp green eyes merely raised one perfectly defined eyebrow and smiled a smile that was vaguely disturbing.  There was something eerily predatory in the sudden warmth that emanated from the stranger.

             “He’s a superb lover too,” she commented and grinned broadly at the sheepish expression that stole across the girl’s features.  “Would you like to meet him?”

             Renni’s eyes brightened and she completely ignored Careena’s frown of disapproval.

             “I’d love to,” Renni’s voice was breathless and eager.

             “Then by all means, go introduce yourself.  His car is the silver Ferrari parked in the Reserved lot.”

             Renni met the veiled challenge in the other woman’s eyes with a shiver of unease.  Something about her...

             “We were just getting ready to leave, actually.  Maybe another night?” Careena suggested with what she hoped was the right amount of apology.

             “Then I will walk with you,” the brunette offered.  “If he hasn’t disappeared, you can both meet him.”

             Careena felt a breath of ice kiss the back of her neck.  She shivered and glared at Renni, who was oblivious to her irritation as she grinned at the smiling stranger.

             “What’s his name?”

             The emerald eyes grew dazed, the curve of her mouth softened, and her voice when she answered them was a sensual whisper.

            “The Angel of Death.”