"DOUBLE EMNITY"
Chapter 10
The moment Cole entered the penthouse, Olivia greeted him with a martini glass in her hands. "Welcome home! Gibson?" She held out a glass of gin and vermouth martini garnished with an onion.
A smiling Cole stepped forward and accepted the offered drink. Then he placed it upon a nearby side table. "Later. Right now, I just want to hold you." He enveloped his wife into his arms. As usual, she smelled of hot cinnamon. She let out a squeak. "Something wrong?"
"Cole, I have this drink in my hand," Olivia's muffled voice replied.
The half-daemon took the drink and placed it on the nearest table. "We'll drink later. Right now, I just want you." Before Olivia could utter another word, Cole lowered his mouth upon hers. She resisted . . . at first. And he found her actions baffling. But when she slid her arms around his neck, all doubts banished from the half-daemon's mind.
Over a minute passed before the couple's lips finally parted. Breathing heavily, Cole teased his wife. "Now, what were you saying about a drink?"
A sultry smile curved Olivia's mouth. "Absolutely nothing." She grabbed the back of Cole's head and guided it toward her. Once more, their lips met for another passionate kiss. Olivia parted her lips slightly, giving Cole the opportunity to slide his tongue between them.
Overcome by the play of lips and tongues, Cole felt his body grow hard. He swiftly lifted Olivia into his arms and carried her over to the sofa. Once he had plopped down, the redhead shifted her body around, until she ended up straddling his lap.
In their new position, the couple's kissing continued in earnest. Cole felt his wife's slim fingers slide through his hair. He surreptiously allowed one of his hands to cover a firm breast. Then Cole set about unfastening the buttons to her blouse. Once he had finished, his hand cupped what was now a warm globe of flesh barely covered by her bra's thin material. A slight moan escaped from Olivia's mouth. She wriggled slightly in his lap and he felt himself grow even harder. Whatever restraint he had possessed, no longer existed.
Cole quickly shrugged off his jacket. At the same time, Olivia's fingers unfastened his tie, before she began to unfasten his shirt buttons. Then their mouths met for another long and passionate kiss. A groan escaped from Cole's mouth, as her fingers caressed his nipples, causing them to immediately harden. During his own caresses, the half-daemon made a small, yet delightful discovery. Olivia wore a bra with a clasp in the front. With a flick of his forefinger, he unfastened the clasp. His eyes gazed upon a pair of deliciously familiar breasts. Like a greedy infant, Cole encircled one rose-colored nipple that quivered at the tip of Olivia's right breast and began to suckle. Olivia sighed . . . long and hard. He switched his attention to the other nipple. And once again, Olivia's response expressed her pleasure.
Olivia's nails dig into Cole's back, while he continued his ministrations upon her chest. Then he felt one slim unzip his trousers and slip inside. She gave his manhood a tug and a loud groan escaped from Cole's lips. "Olivia," he murmured, while she continued to caress him. Unable to hold his passion in check any longer, Cole flipped his red-haired wife on her back. Then he removed her shoes. She cried with pleasure, as he tugged at her pants off. As he prepared to remove his own pants, the telephone rang. The couple stared at each other and then at the living room telephone.
"Ignore it," Olivia said breathlessly.
"Right." Cole lowered himself on her, before gathering her into his arms for a deep kiss. The telephone rang several more times before it stopped. Cole kicked off his shoes. His mouth left Olivia's and moved to her slender neck. The telephone rang again. Only the ring came from Cole's trouser pocket.
The half-daemon reluctantly removed his mouth from Olivia's neck. "It's my cell phone," he murmured.
Olivia turned slightly and planted a light kiss on the edge of Cole's mouth. "What about it?" She kissed him again.
"It might . . ." Cole broke off, as Olivia captured his mouth for another kiss. His cell phone continued to ring. Cole reluctantly ended the kiss. "Wait . . . a minute." He let out a gust of breath. "It might be an emergency." Reluctantly, he sat up and climbed off Olivia. "Just a . . . just a minute. Damn!" A pout threatening to form on her lips, Olivia heaved a big sigh. Cole reached inside his pocket for his cell phone. "Hello?"
"Cole?" the voice over the phone cried. "Thank God, I finally reached you!"
The half-daemon immediately recognized his ex-wife's voice. "Phoebe?"
The Charmed One continued, "My God, Cole! Aren't you home yet? Didn't Olivia tell you about my premonition?"
"Yes Phoebe, she did," Cole muttered in a slightly annoyed tone. "That's why . . . I'm at home. Now."
A sigh of relief filled Cole's ears. "Thank goodness! But . . . why didn't you answer your regular phone?"
Cole decided not to answer Phoebe's question. "Is there any other reason why you had called me?"
In a more subdued voice, Phoebe replied, "Oh yeah. Um . . . look, about my little rant against Holly McMillan, this morning – I'm sorry. She's your client and I had no business dictating how you should do your job. I'm . . . I'm sorry."
Cole felt satisfied with Phoebe's apology. Yet, he wished she had shown better timing in delivering it. "It's okay, Phoebe. Apology accepted. Listen, I was in the middle of . . . something. Can I talk to you later?"
"You're going to stay home for the rest of the day . . . right?" Phoebe insisted.
The half-daemon shot a glance at his wife, who stood next to the liquor cabinet. "Trust me, Phoebe. I have no intention of leaving this place for the rest of the day." He turned away. "And thanks for the warning."
"Yeah. Okay." Phoebe hesitated before she added warmly, "See you around, Cole."
Cole replied, "Bye Phoebe." He disconnected the line with a sigh. Time to return his attention to more important matters – like his wife. The half-daemon whirled around and found himself facing her. To his disappointment, she was fully clothed.
A smiling Olivia held up both cocktail glasses. "Now, how about that Gibson?"
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Darryl stood in the middle of the alley, shaking his head in consternation. "What in the hell happened to her?" he demanded in frustration. Scott merely shrugged. "I realize that she's a witch, but at least . . ."
A loud thump interrupted Darryl. It came from a nearby garbage dumpster. Both Darryl and Scott paused to exchange glances. "Did I just hear a noise?" the latter asked.
"Yeah," Darryl replied. "Coming from . . ." Another thump resonated. "Someone is in that dumpster." The pair rushed toward the object. They peered inside and found a bleeding and semi-conscious Olivia barely thrashing on a pile of garbage. "Oh my God!" Darryl exclaimed. "Olivia!" He started to climb aboard the dumpster. "How in the hell do we get her out of there?"
Scott shot an uneasy glance at the older man. "I could use magic. If you don't mind." The young inspector happened to be a well-trained sorcerer.
Darryl nodded. "Go ahead."
The younger man peered into the dumpster. He chanted something in Chinese. Seconds later, Olivia's bloodied body disappeared from inside the dumpster. They whirled around and spotted their colleague on the ground, still bleeding.
Darryl knelt beside the redhead to examine her. He could hear Scott summoning for medical help. Her shallow breathing, along with the amount of blood from her chest made Darryl wonder if anyone could help Olivia. "Olivia! Olivia! Can you hear me?" Darryl leaned forward to place his head near hers. "Who did this to you?" he demanded quietly. "What happened?"
Slowly, Olivia opened her mouth. More blood gushed out.
An anxious Scott said, "I don't think she's in any condition to talk." He shot a glance at the dumpster. "I wonder how she got into that dumpster."
Again, Olivia opened her mouth. Her breathing grew more ragged. "T-tel . . . leport. I . . ."
Darryl frowned. "Did you say . . ."
"I think she was trying to say that she had teleported," Scott added. "She must have used a spell."
A gurgle from Olivia followed. Darryl leaned toward her, again. "What? Olivia? Are you trying to say something?" A thought came to him. "Do you know who shot you? Olivia?"
More blood gushed out of Olivia's mouth. She moaned for several seconds, until she replied, "Me. Me shot . . . ano . . . another . . ."
Darryl and Scott exchanged confused looks. "What did she say?" the latter demanded.
"I think she said . . . me." Darryl shook his head in confusion. "Whatever that means. Look, you need to call for help. Get some paramedics over here."
While Scott summoned for help with a walkie-talkie, Darryl continued to attend Olivia. He used his handkerchief to wipe the blood from her lips. He also stroked her damp forehead. Then more blood gushed from her mouth. Darryl feared that she would have no more blood by the time help arrive. Fortunately, the paramedics finally appeared.
"Goddamn!" one of the paramedics cried. "This place has become a regular blood bath!" He glanced at the figure surrounded by trash cans. "Is that guy okay? He looks . . ."
Darryl replied sharply, "He's dead. She's not!" He pointed at the wounded Olivia.
"Okay." The paramedic and his partner set about treating Olivia. From what Darryl could gather from their call to a hospital, the red-haired witch was hemorrhaging badly. Even worse, a bullet may have severed an artery. Several members from the Coroner's Office arrived. While some of them took photographs, a coroner assisted the paramedics.
Finally, two ambulance drivers appeared with a gurney. They gently lifted Olivia's body upon it and began to carry it away from the crime scene. Darryl and the two paramedics followed. Scott remained behind with the corpse and the Coroner's Office members. When they reached the ambulance, Olivia was loaded into the vehicle. One of the paramedics climbed aboard. As Darryl began to follow him inside, the paramedic stopped him. "Sorry Lieutenant. You can meet . . ."
"I'm joining you," Darryl firmly insisted. He gave the paramedic a hard stare. The latter relented and Darryl climbed inside the ambulance.
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The moment Cole turned away to answer his cell phone, the red-haired warlock felt a surge of anger. She was angry that Cole had interrupted a very enjoyable bout of foreplay. She felt angry that the person responsible for the interruption turned out to be that skanky bitch, Phoebe Halliwell. But what really burned Olivia was the fact that she had allowed herself to be distracted. She had forgotten that the Cole of this dimension . . . was not her Cole.
This Cole – the one who now spoke on his cell phone – was a powerful daemon who had abandoned his old life as a demonic assassin. This Cole had not been affected by the drug she had arranged for those British warlocks to feed him with in Scotland, last June. Yet, all this Cole had to do was kiss her and she completely forgotten her task.
Heaving a sigh, Olivia scrambled off the sofa. She quickly donned her clothes and buttoned her blouse. Her eyes saw the untouched glass of Martini. The opportunity still remained for her to finish the job. Olivia snatched the glass from the side table near the door. She carried it to liquor cabinet. Then she prepared another glass of martini before pouring some of the first glass' contents into the second glass. She finished preparing a third glass of martini for herself just before Cole hung up.
Once Cole had ended his call from Phoebe Halliwell, Olivia held out the doctored drink. "How about that martini?" she said with a smile.
Cole frowned. "You got dressed?"
Olivia shrugged her shoulders. "You answered that phone call."
"Oh, I see. This is punishment."
Widening her smile, Olivia replied, "Consider this your chance to make up for interrupting some very promising sex. Starting with a drink." She handed one of the Gibsons over to Cole. Then she saluted the half-daemon with her own glass. "Bottoms up."
Both Olivia and Cole took a sip of their drinks. Through narrowed eyes, the warlock closely observed the half-daemon. To her relief, he failed to notice anything odd about his martini. "Excellent," he proclaimed. "Quite good." He finished the rest of his drink. After placing his empty glass on the side table, he said, "Now . . . about finishing what we had started . . ."
"I haven't finished my martini," Olivia protested.
Cole slowly approached her, wearing a seductive smile that nearly caused Olivia's heart to flip. "Do you mean to say that you're more interested in that martin . . ." His expression suddenly changed before a gasp left his mouth. "What the . . .?" He clutched his stomach.
Olivia stared at him. "Is there something wrong? Cole?"
The half-daemon fell to his knees. "There's something . . ." He stared at Olivia with eyes wide with disbelief. "Wha . . . what did you . . . put . . . in my drink?"
"An onion of course," Olivia blithely replied. "Isn't that how we both prefer our martinis?" Cole cried out in pain, as a black cloud seeped out of his body. Olivia grabbed an empty glass bottle from the coffee table and held it out. The cloud immediately seeped into it. "And a power stripping potion. Considering your immense powers, I had to give it an extra kick."
Breathing heavily, Cole demanded to know why she had stripped away his powers. "Oh God! Either you're under a spell or . . . you're not Olivia." He spoke the last words in a whisper. "But you must be . . . her. You . . . Everything about you . . ."
"I am Olivia." The warlock used her telekinesis to force Cole flat on his back. He stared at her with sheer terror. She then kneeled over him, straddling his waist. "I . . . am Olivia Jocelin McNeill. And I'm certainly not under a spell." She paused dramatically. Cole struggled to sit up, but Olivia's telekinesis kept him pinned to the floor. "I'm from another dimension. An alternate dimension. In my world, I'm a warlock. As for your Olivia," she removed an object from her pants pocket, "I believe I had put one bullet in her chest and another in her gut about less than an hour ago." She pressed a button on the object and a stiletto snapped upward. "I believe she should be dead by now. And you're about to join her."
Without any further hesitation, Olivia plunged the stiletto into Cole's heart. The former half-daemon shuddered for a few seconds, while blood poured from his heart and mouth. Then he laid still. Olivia leaned forward to check his pulse. Dead. She smiled. Mission accomplished.
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The ambulance conveying both Darryl and his seriously wounded partner raced along Clay Street. The police lieutenant looked on in silent anxiety, as the paramedic struggled to keep Olivia alive.
Then Olivia's body began to shudder, taking both men by surprised. The nearby electrocardiogram monitor began to beep erratically. "What's wrong?" Darryl demanded. "What's going on?"
"Dammit!" the paramedic cried. "She's going into cardiac arrest!" He pulled back Olivia's already opened blouse, fully exposing her blood soaked chest. Then he reached for the defilibrator pads. Before the paramedic could add cream to them, the monitor screeched into a long beep. He leaned back and sighed. The ambulance came to a halt. "She's gone, Lieutenant."
A horrified Darryl stared at the paramedic. "That can't be. You didn't even try to . . ."
"She . . . is . . . gone . . . Lieutenant! Dead!" The doors flew open, revealing the two ambulance drivers and a hospital nurse. The paramedic shook his head. "She's gone. Went into cardiac arrest. Time of death around three twenty-eight."
Darryl glanced down at the pair of green eyes now devoid of life. He dropped his head into his open palms, wondering how he was going to tell Cole and the McNeills the bad news.
END OF CHAPTER 10
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