Death of Darkness

by Dianne Duvall

  The bathroom door opened. Seth stepped out, garbed in the T-shirt and sweats.

  She smiled. “Not bad. I knew the pants would be a little short.” Ben was six foot two to Seth’s—what—six foot eight? “But other than that, they fit you well. The T-shirt, too.” The soft cotton shirt hugged his lovely muscles but didn’t appear uncomfortably tight.

  “Thank you.”

  Hoping to make him smile again, she glanced down at his bare feet, then winked up at him. “Big hands and big feet. Oh my.”

  He laughed.

  “Where are your clothes, handsome? I’ll toss them in the wash.”

  “That’s not necessary. I don’t wish to trouble you further.”

  “It’s no trouble. I have a really good washer-dryer combo, so it won’t take long.”

  His brow furrowed as he handed her the wet clothes. “Shouldn’t you go back to bed? Your store opens early in the morning, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes.” She wrinkled her nose. “But I was having trouble sleeping anyway. Insomnia. It happens from time to time.” She led him toward the kitchen and nodded at the table in the breakfast nook. “Have a seat.”

  After putting the clothes in the wash, she returned to the kitchen. “Would you like some tea or hot chocolate? And before you decide, the tea is decaf.”

  “Tea, please, though I really don’t wish to trouble you.”

  “It’s no trouble.” She put the kettle on, then settled herself in the seat across from him at the small table. “Remember? I told you anytime you need to de-stress or decompress, you’re welcome to drop by.”

  “You’re very kind.”

  She wasn’t kind. She just enjoyed his company. “So,” she said softly as she studied him. His eyes were dark again and full of pain or grief or something else she couldn’t identify. “What happened tonight?”

  He lowered those soulful eyes to the table. Rubbing one index finger on the surface, he remained silent.

  Leah frowned. “Before you tell me… Are you on duty tonight?”

  He looked up. “What?”

  “Are you working? Is your phone going to start ringing off the hook again?” Because that was the last thing he needed right now.

  “Yes, I’m on duty. And yes, most likely it will.”

  “May I see it?”

  “My phone?” he asked with some surprise.

  “Yes, please.”

  Reaching into one of the sweatpants pockets, he drew out the phone.

  Leah took it from him and slid her thumb across the screen. It instantly lit up with an adorable picture of Ami and Adira, no passcode necessary. She tapped the phone icon at the bottom of the screen. “Am I right in guessing David is your right-hand man or second-in-command? Or would that be Zach?”

  “It’s David,” he said, watching her curiously.

  She opened Contacts. Sheesh. There were a lot of numbers stored on his phone. “Did you store his number under his first name or his last name?”

  “First.”

  It looked as though he stored everyone’s number under a first name. There were several Davids. All but one had a foreign country listed by his name in parentheses. “Is this him?” She pointed to the one that didn’t have a country designation.

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you.” She tapped Call and placed the phone to her ear.

  It only rang once before David’s warm baritone voice carried over the line. “Seth? Are you all right?” He sounded concerned.

  “David?” she said. “Hi, this is Leah from Little Gifts.” She glanced at Seth, surprised he wasn’t stopping her.

  Seth watched her as though he couldn’t figure out what in the world she was doing.

  A slight pause ensued. “Leah. You’re calling me from Seth’s phone. Is he all right?”

  “He’s fine,” she assured him. “But I was wondering if maybe you could field his calls for the next couple of hours.” That was the phrase Seth had used when he’d referred to Zach, wasn’t it? Fielding his calls? “I know it’s last minute, but—”

  “Of course,” he agreed easily. “I would be happy to.”

  “Really? Thanks.”

  Seth spoke up. “Have Zach or Jared do it. I don’t want to leave Ami and the others unguarded.”

  Unguarded? Were they in danger? “Seth asked you to have Zach or Jared do it instead,” she relayed, “so Ami and the others won’t be left unguarded.”

  “Of course. I shall see to it at once.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re very welcome, Leah.”

  She ended the call and slid Seth’s phone across the table.

  He studied the picture of Ami and Adira for a moment before he tucked the device back into his pocket.

  “I’m surprised you let me do that.”

  “I am, too,” he admitted. “But then, the past twenty-four hours have been full of surprises.” Unpleasant ones, judging by his expression.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked gently.

  He stared down at his hands. “Not much purpose really. It won’t change anything.” A weary sigh escaped him as he drew a hand down over his face. “It never does.”

  “I don’t know about that.” Reaching across the smooth wood surface, she covered one of his hands with her own. “What happened tonight? What drove you to stand out there, alone, in the middle of a rainstorm?”

  Though he sank into silence, his thumb stroked the back of her hand.

  “You looked lost, Seth.”

  Turning his hand over, he clasped hers. “Not lost,” he corrected, his voice as quiet as hers. “Just… haunted by old ghosts.”

  She swallowed as sorrow suffused her. “I know what that’s like.”

  He met her gaze. “Do you?”

  She nodded. Her attention strayed to the calendar on the wall. “You know how I just dropped by your place out of the blue last night?”

  “Yes.”

  Now she stared down at their clasped hands. “I didn’t do it because I was trying to break my workaholic ways or because I really thought Adira wouldn’t be able to sleep without her toy. I did it because I needed a distraction.” Her throat thickened as a familiar lump rose in it. She had to clear it twice to find her voice again. “This month is always hard for me to get through because I lost my husband and our baby twelve years ago this week.”

  His hold on her hand tightened. Leaning forward, he covered their entwined fingers with his free hand. “I’m so sorry, Leah.”

  Her eyes began to burn with unshed tears. She blinked them back impatiently and shook her head. “It was a car accident. It was bad. I can’t say anything more than that because I still bawl my eyes out whenever I think about it. I just told you because when I saw you standing out there in the rain…” Shrugging, she sent him a sad smile. “You looked like I’ve felt for the past twelve years.”

  Propping his elbows on the table, Seth closed his eyes, raised their clasped hands, and rested his forehead against them.

  Leah’s heart ached for him. Unable to resist the urge, she leaned across the table and drew her free hand over his wet hair in a brief caress, then rested her hand on the nape of his neck, a quiet gesture to let him know she was there for him.

  Seth squeezed Leah’s hand tighter. She had lost her husband and baby and was still struggling to get through her own grief. Yet here she sat in the middle of the night, holding his hand and trying to comfort him.

  She didn’t need him dumping his problems on her. She didn’t need him burdening her with his own grief. Particularly since he feared every minute he spent with her would put her more at risk of getting caught up in Gershom’s sick games. And yet…

  “There are so many people under my protection,” he found himself confiding. “So many I care about. And I keep failing them.” He thought of Yuri and Stanislav. Yuri was dead because of Seth. And for hundreds of years, Yuri had loved Stanislav like a kid brother. He must be doubly furious that Seth had failed to keep Stanislav safe. />
  Seth just couldn’t face that on top of everything else tonight.

  He saw again the hate on Tessa’s face when she had spoken to Sean. And worse, as he catalogued yet again his failures, he relived the moment Gershom had nearly killed Ami.

  “I keep failing them all,” he whispered. And these weren’t minor failures. They were monumental ones for which he would never forgive himself.

  The teapot began to whistle.

  Leah’s chair scraped the floor as she pushed it back and rose. But she didn’t withdraw her hands. Instead she pressed a kiss to the top of his head and stroked the back of his neck. “Give me a minute to fix our tea, then we’ll go sit on the sofa. Okay?”

  He shouldn’t. He should leave and have Darnell return Leah’s brother’s clothing tomorrow. But selfishness drove him to nod. He needed her close tonight. Just this once, he needed to do what he wanted to do instead of what he should do. Then he would let Leah return to her regular life, safer without him in it.

  A couple of minutes later, she handed him a warm mug and guided him over to the sofa where they sank down to sip their tea.

  “I hope it isn’t too sweet. I added a little stevia.”

  He gave it a taste. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

  Both were quiet for a time.

  Eventually, Leah leaned toward the coffee table and set her mug on a coaster. “Talk to me, Seth,” she entreated gently as she settled back against the cushions. “You can tell me anything. I promise it will go no further.”

  He wanted so badly to share his troubles with her but would have to couch it in terms that wouldn’t reveal what he was. “You once said I treat my employees like family.”

  She nodded.

  “Well, I think of them that way, too.” He lowered his mug to the second coaster. Why the hell was he doing this? “I was married once, like you.”

  Surprise lit her curious gaze.

  “We had two children—a son and a daughter. And both were slain alongside my wife.”

  Dismay rippled across her pretty features. “By whom?”

  He shook his head. “Madmen.” Madmen who had learned the truth of what Seth was, then had felt his wrath when he’d discovered what they had done.

  Again she took his hand. “I’m so sorry, Seth.”

  He nodded. “My employees are my family now, my brethren. They’re good, strong, honorable men and women. Though there are a lot of them, we’re a close unit. I love them all and only want to keep them safe and do whatever I can to facilitate their happiness. But as I told you, there are people who would exploit my attachment to them.”

  “The enemies you mentioned.”

  “Yes.” He sighed. “There is an enemy plaguing me now who continues to elude me, one I can’t seem to eliminate no matter how hard I try. And he has cost me dearly.”

  She scooted closer, as though sensing his need for comfort, and leaned into his side. “Tell me.”

  “This enemy was working with a mercenary group that grew very dangerous. Not just to us, but also to the country and—though it may seem an exaggeration—to mankind as a whole. Stopping the mercenary group in their tracks and ensuring they would never be able to implement their plans was a nasty business. Two of my brethren were slain for their efforts on my behalf.”

  She covered their clasped hands and rested them on her thigh.

  “One was killed in battle. An explosion took the other.” He shook his head. “But we were never able to recover his body, so I can’t seem to abandon the hope that…”

  “That he might have somehow survived?” she finished for him.

  “Yes. Everyone else is certain he’s gone.” He shrugged helplessly. “I just don’t want to believe it.”

  “I understand.”

  “Last year the same enemy targeted me personally and nearly killed Ami because he knows how much she means to me.”

  “Oh no,” she breathed.

  “He fatally wounded her right in front of Adira. That’s why you rarely see Adira without her mother. Most days she’s still afraid to let Ami out of her sight.”

  “Poor baby. How is Ami doing? She always seems fine when she comes in the store.”

  “She’s doing well. And we’re doing what we can to help Adira get past it. But my enemy eluded me yet again. He started kidnapping men and women who were loosely tied to me.”

  “Shit.”

  “Some of them he killed. Most we were able to rescue. But a dozen are still missing. We’ve been searching for them for months, but could find no trail to follow until last night. I left so precipitously because I got a call that one of the missing women had been spotted.”

  “Did you find her?”

  He shook his head. “I tracked her as far as I could before I lost all traces of her. So she’s still out there somewhere, at the mercy of this monster.” Again he drew a hand down his face, trying to rub the weariness away. “Even if I’d found her tonight, Tessa wouldn’t have come with me willingly. One of my men spoke with her briefly and… my enemy has poisoned her mind. He has convinced her that I am the villain.”

  “Tessa is the woman’s name?”

  “Yes.”

  Quiet settled upon them. A clock nearby ticked off the seconds.

  “I’m so sorry, Seth,” she whispered. “That response seems woefully inadequate considering what you’re up against, but I am. I wish I could help.”

  He squeezed her hand. “You are.” Just by being there for him and not repudiating him.

  “Can’t the authorities help? I mean, kidnapping is a felony. If your enemy crossed state lines, then it’s a federal crime, too. Can’t the feds help you? I would think dozens of people being taken would’ve drawn their notice.”

  “We remain in contact with several federal bureaus and agencies.” Chris Reordon did, anyway. He had contacts and operatives in all of them, rendering whatever aid they could. “We’ve even worked with the military on occasion.” Seth and his Immortal Guardians had raced to the army’s aid when Gershom had driven vampire mercenaries to attack an army base.

  “Well, it sounds like you’re doing everything you can to get this guy.”

  “It isn’t enough.”

  “I think you’re being too hard on yourself.”

  “Because I’m responsible.” He combed his fingers through his damp hair. “He has turned this into some sort of personal vendetta. He hates me. But I don’t know why.”

  “Some people don’t need a reason to hate. They’ll use any lame excuse that comes along and see nothing wrong with it.”

  He shook his head. “I’ve put them all in danger. I’m placing you in danger just by being here.”

  “Well, you can’t just cut yourself off from everyone and live in a box.” She patted his hand. “And I appreciate your concern, but don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

  “Not against him, you can’t.”

  “Don’t be so sure. With or without weapons, I can take down an attacker. Multiple attackers, if you want to know the truth.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Fury rose. “Did someone try to hurt you, Leah?” Had she been attacked in the past?

  If so, he would demand the bastard’s name and—

  “No.” Her lips twitched. “And I’m going to deviate from the subject here for a moment and say you are freaking hot when you turn into Mr. Tough Protective Guy.”

  Seth shook his head as his anger drained away. “How is it you can always make me smile?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just good at entertaining men.” Her eyes widened. “Wait. That came out wrong.”

  Seth laughed. “You’re such a treasure, Leah.”

  “Nah,” she protested. “I’m nobody special.”

  But she was.

  “Anyway…” She shrugged. “My dad signed me up for every martial arts class he could, beginning at an early age. He wanted me to be able to protect myself.”

  “Your father sounds like a good man.”r />
  “He’s actually my stepfather. My birth father ran out on us when I was so young that all I can remember about him was that he made my mother cry a lot. But then Mom met a truly wonderful man a couple of years later, fell madly in love, and married him. My stepfather has raised me and loved me as if I were his own ever since. And he’s very protective. He knew the statistics—that one in three women in the US will be sexually assaulted during their lifetime—and he wanted to make damned sure that if any man tried to touch me without my consent, I could kill him with my bare hands.”

  Seth nodded his approval. He, Marcus, Ami, and David had already begun discussing when to start training Adira in self-defense. “I like your stepfather. He’s a wise man.”

  She smiled. “Yeah. Dad’s the best. I love him to pieces.”

  “Even so…” Seth covered their hands. “I shouldn’t be here with you, Leah. I fear it will endanger you.” He held up a hand to forestall her argument. “This man—my enemy—is like no other you have fought. All your martial arts instructors working together could not defeat him.”

  “Then I’ll shoot his ass full of bullets. I’m not only good at hand-to-hand combat. I’m good with weapons, too. And I’m not afraid to use them.”

  Bullets would only piss Gershom off, but Seth couldn’t tell her that. “It’s too great a risk.”

  “Why? It’s not like we’re dating. We’ve already admitted that neither one of us is looking for a relationship. There’s no harm in two friends hanging out and sharing popcorn or pizza while we watch a movie, is there?”

  “If he misconstrues it, yes. There is great harm. Or rather great risk.”

  “Well, since the risk is mine, don’t you think I should be the one to decide whether or not it’s a risk worth taking?”

  Not when she had no clear understanding of who and what Gershom was. She still thought a well-placed hit or kick or even a few bullets would stop him.

  That wouldn’t even slow his ass down.

  “Look,” she said, sitting up straighter and turning to face him. “I’m going to level with you, Seth. Aside from my dad and my brother, you’re the first man I’ve been able to hold a conversation with in years who didn’t spend nearly the whole time staring at a phone while mumbling a word or two periodically or who didn’t make me glance longingly at the clock while I fantasized about the sprinkler system malfunctioning or someone clearing the room with one long, loud—and I mean really loud—fart.”