by Tina Folsom
Kim nodded. “It does. I wish I didn’t have to pack it all up. I don’t even know where to start. My mother kept a lot of stuff.”
“Did you grow up in that house?”
“Not really. I was already fourteen when Mom and I moved there.”
“And your dad?”
She cast him a long sideways look. “I don’t have a father.”
He met her gaze. “So, you don’t get on.”
She shook her long dark locks. “No, I don’t have one. Mom was a single mother. My biological father was a guy she had a one-night stand with. She didn’t even know his last name.”
“Oh.”
Kim shrugged. “I didn’t judge her for it. I didn’t miss having a father. Though right now, it would help to have one, you know, to share the grief.”
He understood that need. “It’s hard going through it on your own.”
“And you? You mentioned you lost a parent too?”
Manus gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I lost both of them on the same day.”
“Oh no! I’m so sorry.” She let out a soft breath. “Was it a car accident?”
“House fire.” It was a lie. It wasn’t the fire that had killed them, nor the massive explosion that had ripped apart their home. Still, it was the only explanation he could give her. Telling her the truth would mean exposing his people’s secrets. “It was an inferno. It was the most terrible thing I’ve ever had to watch.” He let out a bitter chuckle. “Guess at least I didn’t have to go through all their belongings to decide what to keep.”
“The house burned to the ground?” Kim asked, her voice filled with sadness.
“Down to the foundation.”
“And you were there when it happened?”
“I got there too late. I couldn’t get them out…” He pushed back the memory of the flames burning away his shirt, the heat entering his nostrils, the smoke obscuring his vision.
“I’m so sorry, Manus. I feel really selfish now.”
He turned his head. “Selfish, why?”
“Because I’m complaining about how much work it is to pack up my mother’s house when you never got the chance to go through your parents’ belongings and save those things that have a special meaning for you.”
“They’re just things,” Manus said, surprised at how understanding Kim was, and how willing he was to share things with her he’d never shared with any of his fellow Stealth Guardians. “I still have my memories of them. No fire can destroy those.”
For a moment they locked eyes, silent in their shared grief.
“They are worth more than anything in the world,” she murmured softly. “I hope they’ll never fade. That you’ll always remember them happy and full of love for you.”
Manus smiled. “I hope you can do the same.”
11
A half hour later, arrived at the storage facility on the outskirts of town, Manus let Kim deal with the facility’s employee to gain access to her mother’s unit.
“I don’t think anybody notified us that Mrs. Britton passed,” the bored college-age man with the nametag that identified him as Brian said. He shrugged. “Maybe the manager knew, but Mr. Songhurst isn’t here today.”
“I didn’t realize she kept a unit here,” Kim said. “Do you know when she was last here?”
Brian shook his head. “The units are self-serve; the renters have their own keys. We don’t keep tabs on their comings and goings. Maybe the manager knows. But as I said…”
“…he’s not here. I guess we’d better check out what’s in the unit then.”
“You’ll still have to pay the overdue fee.”
Kim reached into her handbag and pulled out her wallet. “Do you take credit card?”
Brian nodded, and Kim handed him her card. While he processed the transaction, he said, “This will give you until the end of next month to clear out everything that’s in there. After that, we’ll have to re-rent it.”
“I understand,” Kim replied. “That’ll be enough time, won’t it?”
Manus nodded. “Well, let’s see what she kept in there.” Maybe the storage unit would provide clues as to why a demon had killed her.
“Oh, and the office closes in half an hour. Please drop the key back in the lockbox outside the office before you leave, since that’s the office’s key,” Brian added.
“Will do,” Kim promised.
“Oh, and if you can’t find your mother’s key, we’re going to have to keep the key deposit,” he added.
Key in hand, Kim walked next to Manus, following the directions the kid had provided. By Manus’s estimate, the lot held approximately four hundred storage units. They looked like garages with wide walkways in between the rows so a van could drive up to each unit to load and unload. The property was surrounded by mature trees and bushes.
Kim’s mother’s unit was an end-unit in the third row. Kim stopped in front of it and turned to Manus. “I can’t imagine why she didn’t tell me about this.”
“Maybe she didn’t think it was important.”
“What if she was hiding this from me on purpose?”
“Why would she do that?” Manus asked. “I thought you two were close.”
“We were. But what if there was something in her life she didn’t want me to know about? What if she had a secret?”
Kim had no idea how close to the truth she was getting. Manus put his hand on her forearm to calm and comfort her. He regretted it immediately. Touching her, even in this platonic fashion, brought back memories of the kiss from the night before. Of the way he’d pressed her body to his, of the way he’d reacted to her. He wanted to tell her why he’d stopped so abruptly, but what good would it do? He could never tell her the truth about himself, about who he was, about what her mother had done for his race and who’d killed her. And if he couldn’t tell her the truth, then he didn’t deserve what he was craving.
“Don’t speculate. You’re just driving yourself crazy.” He let go of her arm and motioned to the lock. “Let’s get this over with.”
Finally, Kim unlocked the padlock and removed it from the door. Manus reached for the handle and lifted, rolling the wide steel door up toward the low ceiling of the unit. Several shelving units with banker’s boxes lined one side, furniture was stacked up against the back wall, a stack of paintings and an antique-looking mirror were leaned against the other wall, and more boxes and smaller items were littering the center of the unit.
“Grandma’s rocker,” Kim exclaimed and pointed to a wooden rocking chair covered in dust. “I thought she’d sold it after Grandma’s death.” She walked toward it, then veered toward the left. “And that mirror is from Grandma’s house too.” She looked over her shoulder. “When Grandma died, Mom cleaned out her house. She said she didn’t want to keep any of Grandma’s things.”
“Why not?”
“They had a difficult relationship. They fought a lot. I assume it was because Mom was a single mother, and my grandmother was very conservative, staunchly Catholic and all. You know, the whole no-sex-before-marriage thing. Guess Mom didn’t have the heart to get rid of Grandma’s favorite things after all and wanted to look at them occasionally to remind herself of her.”
Manus shook his head. “My guess is she was keeping your grandmother’s things for you.”
For an instant, Kim fell silent. A wet sheen drew over her eyes, and she sniffled. “She knew how much I loved her. No matter how much the two fought, Grandma loved me unconditionally, and I her.” Kim sighed. “Oh, Mom, if you can hear me, thank you.”
Manus looked away and moved toward the banker’s boxes, feeling himself get nostalgic and wanting to squash the feeling. “I wonder what’s in those boxes.”
Kim cleared her throat and sniffled once more, then said, “Let’s look.”
“I’ll start at this end,” Manus said and pointed to the far corner of the unit.
“Looks too dark back there,” Kim said. “Let me see if there’s a light switch.”<
br />
A moment later, a neon light attached to the ceiling illuminated the unit. Manus glanced up. This was a good sign. No demon had been here yet, otherwise the neon light would have burned out as it always did in the presence of a demon. While the demons didn’t have an aura by which to identify them, something about their presence reacted with mercury and neon, both ingredients in fluorescent and neon light tubes used in many industrial buildings. Flickering and burned-out neon lights had saved many a Stealth Guardian’s hide.
“Thanks.”
“I’ll start up front. What are we looking for?” Kim asked.
“Anything a thief might have found valuable.” By thief he meant demon, but of course Manus couldn’t voice that thought. It meant letting Kim in on a secret few were privy to.
Manus lifted the first box off the shelf and opened the lid. It was filled with old files, too many to go through in detail. He leafed through them. They were mostly old tax files and receipts. He closed the box again and opened the next one. It was heavier and contained old books. Some appeared to be first editions. Manus knew that Nancy had been an avid collector of antiques and anything old, and first editions certainly seemed to fit the bill. But could any of these books be valuable to a demon? Since he couldn’t inspect each and every one more closely while he was with Kim, it was best to call in reinforcements.
Manus looked over his shoulder and noticed that Kim was going through a box containing photos. Perfect. She would be occupied for a while. He turned his back to her and pulled his cell phone from his pocket, set it to silent, and typed a quick message to Enya. He pressed send and received a positive reply just moments later. Satisfied, he slipped the phone back into his pocket and glanced over his shoulder. Kim was still going through the box of pictures.
Manus went through more of the boxes. One contained antique dolls, another was filled with tin soldiers and other metal items, a third contained manuscripts and playbills. It appeared that Nancy hated throwing anything out. The next row proved to be more fruitful. One box contained artifacts that appeared to be genuine though he couldn’t be sure. He rummaged through the box, lifting figurine after figurine out of it.
Had Nancy stolen items from the museum with the intent of reselling them later? Had she not been as honest a person as everybody assumed? Had she maybe even dealt with the demons, supplying them with artifacts they were looking for? He had to consider this possibility. What if Nancy had been a double agent? It was something he had to bring up with his colleagues. But he couldn’t voice that suspicion to Kim. Just the idea that her mother could have stolen items from the museum would crush her. The possibility that she could sell them to the evilest creatures that existed would destroy her faith in humanity.
Making sure Kim hadn’t seen the items, he packed them back into the box and closed the lid. “Are you finding anything?”
Kim turned her head toward him. “Old photos. Lots of them. But nothing a thief could want. And you?”
“Old tax records, bills, a doll collection, but nothing that looks valuable enough to warrant—” He stopped himself. It wasn’t necessary to mention her mother’s death again. “Nothing of real value.” He glanced outside, where it had gotten dark. “It’s getting late. Let’s see if we can go through the rest of the boxes.”
For over an hour, they continued searching the boxes, but nothing stuck out as important. Manus was glad when Kim started to yawn.
“Shall we call it a night?” Manus asked.
Kim rose and brushed the dust off her pants, and Manus couldn’t stop his eyes from roaming over her slender legs. He could think of a lot of things he wanted her to do with those legs, all highly inappropriate yet deliciously tempting. If only they’d met under other circumstances. Then he could at least take her to bed for one night of passion.
“I think I’ll come back tomorrow during the day,” Kim said.
Manus swallowed away his sinful thoughts, hoping they weren’t reflected on his face. “Good idea. I’ll drive you home.” Though it would be safer if he got her a taxi.
“Thank you. I appreciate all your help.” She glanced around the unit once more. “I wish I knew what we’re looking for.”
“I’m sure if it’s here, we’ll find it.” Whatever it was. “And if it isn’t, then we’ll follow other leads. I still think we should talk to your mother’s colleagues at the museum.”
It would give him an opportunity to figure out if there was any way Nancy could have stolen anything from the museum that subsequently got her killed. It was his best guess.
12
Zoltan slid farther behind the bush and peeked through the branches, making sure he didn’t lose sight of the two people who were now closing up the storage unit. He’d struck gold: Kim Britton, whom his underlings had been surveying for the past three months, was accompanied by a Stealth Guardian warrior. What an extraordinary stroke of luck!
The moment his scout had notified him that a Stealth Guardian was visiting Kim at her mother’s house, Zoltan had made his way to the human world and taken over surveillance himself. He didn’t want his idiotic subject to screw anything up for him because the presence of a Stealth Guardian confirmed that his intuition had been right. The Stealth Guardians were looking for the same thing he was looking for.
He’d followed the Stealth Guardian and Kim, and they’d led him to a storage unit that nobody had been aware of previously. He’d watched them rummage through the contents of the unit and even listened to snippets of their conversation. Luckily, they didn’t know what they were looking for, and they were leaving empty-handed.
Zoltan already congratulated himself. He just had to be patient and wait until the two were gone, then break into the unit and retrieve the one thing that would finally reveal all of the Stealth Guardians’ secrets and thus deliver victory to him and his demons. He was so giddy he could barely contain his excitement. In a few minutes, he’d hold the key to his triumph in his hands.
Nobody would doubt him then. Nobody would question his leadership then. He wasn’t blind. He knew what was going on behind his back. Somebody was vying for this throne. Somebody was sowing discontent amongst his demons, planting doubts as to whether Zoltan could truly lead the demons to victory and subjugate the human population.
He wasn’t sure how long he would be able to keep his demons in line with threats and fear. What he needed was a victory, one that would not only squash the Stealth Guardians but also wipe out his unknown rival. Despite his best efforts, he’d still not found the traitor though he had his suspicions.
When he heard Kim and her Stealth Guardian companion drive away, Zoltan waited for another thirty seconds before readying himself to come out of his hiding place. But before he could make a single step, he froze in place. He wasn’t the only one intent on exploring the storage unit.
A woman suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stopped in front of the locked unit. Her sudden appearance wasn’t the only thing that identified her as a Stealth Guardian. Her aura, something only preternatural creatures could perceive, gave her away too. Not that he would have needed either clue to identify her. He knew who she was. He’d seen her before though she’d never laid eyes on him.
Enya, one of the Stealth Guardians assigned to Baltimore.
She wasn’t the kind of woman one would ever forget. There were beautiful women, even beautiful demon females, and then there was Enya, a woman who had it all: beauty, sex appeal, power. He’d never watched a woman fight like her. Never seen a woman so wild, so ferocious, so savage. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say she was a demon. She exhibited all the qualities he wanted in a demon mate, yet she was on the wrong side.
If he were a poet, he’d say she was the Juliet to his Romeo, but he wasn’t a poet. He was a demon. The leader of the Underworld. The Great One. And as such, he desired a demon mate, a woman who would bear his demon children to populate the world once he’d overthrown it.
From his hiding place, he ran his eyes over her body. She w
as petite, and he was sure that many a demon warrior underestimated her because of her size. Zoltan wouldn’t make that mistake. She was as good if not a better fighter than her male brethren. But his thoughts weren’t with her fighting skills right now. He was more interested in bathing his eyes in the sexy sight she was.
Enya wore a tight black bustier that accentuated her small but shapely breasts. Her hips were slim, her waist slimmer. Her toned legs were encased in leather pants, her ass filling out the garment like she’d been sewn into it. If only he could get his hands on that ass and peel her out of that leather, bend her over the nearest flat surface, and sink his rock-hard cock into her, he’d find true satisfaction. Of course, she’d fight him because he was a demon, but that would only add to his pleasure. He’d hold her down, loosen the thick braids of her golden hair, and ride her until she submitted to him. Yes, one day, when he’d destroyed the guardians, he’d make her his slave.
But not tonight. He couldn’t risk bungling this. It would take too long to get backup from his demons, and fighting her on his own might not have the desired outcome. After all, he couldn’t be sure that she was the only Stealth Guardian here. For all he knew, one of her brethren was with her and had remained invisible to watch her back.
It irked him to have to content himself with watching Enya pass through the steel door into the storage unit as if passing through air. He hated the fact that demons didn’t have that skill. However, he remained quiet in his hiding place, listening and watching. He wouldn’t do anything to her unless she reemerged with the object of his desire. Only then would he attack her and have to find out if she was truly alone, or if she’d brought backup. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that and, just like her colleague from earlier, she would leave empty-handed.
13
This was the second time in as many nights that Kim stood at the entrance door to her condo, Manus by her side. However, this time she wouldn’t make the mistake of inviting him in. Not because she wasn’t attracted to him, but because she didn’t want to deal with another rejection. To Manus’s credit, he hadn’t brought up the debacle from the night before, and she was grateful for it. They could both pretend that the kiss had never happened.
