Awaken (Divine Hunter Series)

by L. J. Sealey

  Until. . .

  “So, how about you?” Lacy said, catching him off guard for a second. “You must miss your family when you work away like this.”

  He should have expected it, been more prepared for it, but the truth was, he was so fixed on listening to the soft tone of Lacy’s voice that he hadn’t really been paying attention to everything she’d said. He cleared his throat, buying himself time to prepare his answer which shouldn’t have been a problem. Lying was a big part of his existence now and it usually came naturally to him. But somehow, now that he was sitting in front of her, it didn’t feel right.

  “I’m actually kind of a loner.” Wasn’t a lie. So far, so good.

  Lacy’s eyebrows lowered. “Oh. . . I don’t believe that.”

  “It’s true, honestly. I don’t have any family around and I’m an only child. So. . . yeah, just me.” He said it matter-of-factly as though it didn’t bother him and the truth was it didn’t anymore, not really. Perhaps it was just because he’d been so wrapped up in his quest to find whoever had killed him that loneliness no longer played a part in his existence. Or maybe he just hadn’t allowed it to.

  “Ok then. . . Girlfriend?”

  He grinned and shook his head. “No.”

  “Um. . . Boyfriend?”

  His eyes widened and so did hers. “No! Definitely not my thing.” He could have sworn she looked relieved for a moment. She took another swig from her bottle of beer.

  “What about friends then? You must know someone.”

  Michael inhaled deeply, pleased that the four beers she’d drunk had given her more courage and that it had somehow made her think that she was hosting an episode of Twenty Questions. He was strangely amused by it none the less. “Just work colleagues mainly.”

  Her shoulders slumped and her tone of voice changed to something slightly more dejected than before. “I’m sorry to hear that. It must be bloody miserable being on your own.”

  He smiled. “It’s really okay,” he said reassuringly, wanting the silly, relaxed, slightly drunk Lacy back even if it did mean more questions. “I have plenty of work to do to keep me occupied. I don’t have time to feel alone.” Thank God that seemed to lighten the atmosphere again.

  Lacy sat upright, her mouth curling up into a warm smile. “Well, Michael, in Oakland you have a friend.” She held her hand out to him over the table. He shook it and hesitated before letting go.

  “I think I can live with that.”

  As the evening went on, and the place filled with diners at the tables and drinkers at the bar, Michael had managed to switch the subject back to Lacy. She was pretty tipsy and he didn’t even need to ask questions anymore; information was just pouring out of her and he found it hard to keep a straight face. He sat listening to her talk about her ex fiancé, Simon, who’d had an affair for over a year with a colleague from his work. She’d only found out about it because she’d become friends with a woman at her weekly spinning class; neither of them knowing that they were seeing the same guy until they went for coffee one afternoon, and her friend had pulled a picture of Lacy’s fiancé from her wallet claiming him to be her long term boyfriend.

  “I seem to be as unlucky with men as my wonderful mother is. . . ” she went on, getting more and more animated much to Michael’s amusement. In fact, he wasn’t even sure what she was saying anymore. He was lost in his thoughts. What was it about the tone of her voice that warmed him so much; making him feel like he could listen to her talk forever? She was fascinating to him and he couldn’t help feeling a connection between them that maybe they both shared. They seemed to have at least one significant thing in common: they were both alone.

  Instead of listening to her talk he studied her face noticing how smooth her skin was. Her large green eyes looked darker in the soft hue of the candle light. Then he realised what he was doing and snapped himself back to a reality he needed to make damn sure he clung on to.

  “. . . and thinks it’s acceptable for a forty seven year old woman to date a man who’s four years younger than her own daughter−”

  Michael leant his mouth on his hand and tried to stifle his laugh.

  Lacy focused her eyes on him as best she could. “Oh dear, I’m waffling aren’t I?” Her words were beginning to slur a little. “And you haven’t spoken for a very long time.”

  “I’m enjoying listening,” he said before asking for the bill from the passing waiter, “but I do think I should get you home.”

  “I think you’re right.” Lacy began to rummage through her purse as though she’d lost something. Michael stood and reached for her jacket from the back of the chair and retrieved her car keys from one of the pockets.

  “Are these what you’re looking for?” He grinned, dangling them from is finger.

  She reached for them. “Yes. Thank you−”

  Michael snapped them away. “I’m driving remember?”

  “Yes. Of course you are.”

  Michael helped her into her coat.

  * * *

  Luckily, Lacy was just about sober enough to remember how to get to her house. With only a couple of wrong turns along the way−and plenty of laughs about it−Michael eventually pulled into the driveway of her quaint, one story home in a small suburb just on the edge of town. He got out and hurried to the other side of the car to help her.

  She giggled as he took hold of her arm to steady her. “Quite the gentlemen aren’t you?”

  “Just don’t want you falling on my watch,” he replied as he guided her from the car to the front door. She rooted through her purse for her house keys under the glow of the porch light, cursing under her breath until she finally pulled them out and attempted to unlock the door. Michael assisted.

  “Are you going to be okay?” he asked as she stepped inside and turned to face him.

  “Yes I’ll be fine. I’m feeling a little dizzy that’s all.” She brushed a stray hair from in front of her eye and tucked it behind her ear. “I had fun tonight.” She smiled.

  “Me too. Good night Lacy.” He began to walk away down the narrow garden path which cut across the grass. The crisp fall air left his mouth on a cloudy exhale as he prepared for his brisk walk back to campus; the walk that would clear his head and bring him crashing back down to reality as he berated himself for nearly letting his feelings rule him for the very first time since he’d been Michael Warden. He was about to unhook the small gate when Lacy shouted from behind him.

  “Wait!”

  He turned back to see her still standing in the open doorway, the glow from the hall light silhouetting her slim frame.

  “How will you get back?” she asked as she took a couple of steps towards him.

  He held his hands out and looked up at the clear night sky. “It’s a great evening. I’ll walk.”

  “But it’s right across town.”

  “I’ll hail a cab or something. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.” Again, he went to open the gate.

  “Why don’t you stay here?” His hand froze on the catch at the same time his breath caught. No. Definitely not a good idea. He turned back to face her as she started to walk towards him. “Look. . . I have a spare comforter. You can sleep on the sof−” She stumbled but Michael hurried and managed to catch her by her arm.

  “Are you ok?” He couldn’t help laughing.

  “Woah! I may need coffee.” She held her hand to her head as if that would stop it spinning. “I’m okay, really. Look. . . it’s the least I can do after leaving you stranded.”

  It would be much easier. And they could both travel to work together in the morning. But he really shouldn’t, not after the way his mind had been working back at Carlito’s. He should be spending less time around her now not spending the night. “I, ah. . . I really should go.”

  Lacy tilted her head to the side and smiled. “It’s just a sofa.”

  He exhaled sharply. Yes. She was right. It was just a sofa. What was he thinking? “Okay. But only if you’re sure.”

/>   Lacy linked her arm through his and pulled him back towards the house. “Of course I am.”

  * * *

  “Michael.”

  A soft voice pulled him out of his slumber and caused him to bolt upright. He rubbed at his eyes and as he did he heard a sudden gasp.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to startle you.” That same voice said. He looked up to see Lacy with a plate in one hand and the other covering her eyes.

  “What..?” He looked down. “Oh. Shit! Sorry.” He cursed again as he realised his boxers weren’t quite doing their job properly. He quickly pulled the comforter over his lap. He must have kicked it off in his confusion. “Panic over,” he assured Lacy who looked through a little gap in her fingers before removing her hand. Michael smiled coyly. “Sorry about that.”

  She shook her head quickly; cheeks lightly flushed and, thankfully, carried on as though nothing had happened. “I made breakfast; my lame attempt at an apology for last night.”

  She handed him the plate of freshly cooked pancakes smothered with syrup. Her cheeks were still a little pink and she looked fresh like she’d been awake for hours. Her hair was tied back from her face and she was wearing gray colored trousers and a slim purple turtleneck top. She always presented herself well.

  “Thanks. But you don’t have to apologise.” He tucked into his pancakes. Man, they tasted good. He noticed her eyes flick down to his naked chest and she quickly blinked and turned away. He smiled.

  “Yes. I really do. I have no idea what came over me.” She walked over to the ornately carved wooden fireplace and leant her arm on the top. “I hardly ever drink but I think I drank more last night than I have for a whole year. I don’t do that. It was rude, and I’m sorry.” She paced across the room, towards the window this time, squeezing her fingers together. “I can’t begin to tell you how embarr −”

  “Lacy,” he interrupted. She turned and looked at him. “Quit apologising. And would you keep still?” It was more an order than a request but she was about to wear a path in the carpet.

  She plunked herself in the chair opposite him and sat quietly.

  “I actually really enjoyed myself last night,” he told her and he meant it too. He was so used to being on his own−and if he wasn’t he was hanging with mostly dead people−that he hadn’t realised he could still be sociable. Last night, for those few hours with Lacy, he hadn’t thought about what he was or what he was really doing here in Oakland. It was a welcome relief.

  She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

  “Are you kidding me? Great food, great company. . . Why wouldn’t I?” He stuffed the last fork full of pancakes into his mouth after making sure he used it to scoop all the rest of the syrup off the plate first.

  Lacy laughed a little. “Yeah. I enjoyed it too.” She smiled at him then, “Oh no,” she groaned, her face disappearing behind her hands. Michael looked down at himself again just to be sure. Yes, comforter still in place. “I told you about Simon, didn’t I?” She looked over at him, her face full of apology.

  He couldn’t hold back his laugh. “Yeah, you did. And for the record. . . He’s a complete jerk!”

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Ok. Don’t forget your assignments need to be in by the end of this week.”

  Lacy raised her voice to her hurried students as they left the class. She packed up her files from her desk relieved that she had a couple of hours before the next lecture. It was a little after one in the afternoon and her stomach grumbled loudly, reminding her that she’d hardly eaten a thing since leaving the house with Michael that morning. A piece of fruit wasn’t sufficient enough for a day’s work, especially with the day she’d had so far. But truthfully, she hadn’t even been able to think of food let alone eat any. Her stomach was just too sensitive today. Add to that the shame of her near-emotional breakdown in front of a work colleague she barely knew and her day could only get better. Right?

  She grabbed her purse and threw it over her shoulder, picked up a large stack of files and made her way to her car. As she walked through the double doors to the outside, she winced at the bright sunshine, squinting as a blast of pain shot through her temple; the effects of last night’s highly embarrassing, drunken stupor refusing to wane. Why did I allow myself to drink that much? She huffed. She’d actually enjoyed herself up until that point. Michael had turned out to be good company which was a pleasant surprise. She’d always thought he seemed a little serious, but she’d seen another side trying to creep through last night, even if she had sensed him holding it back.

  And then there was this morning. She flushed as she recalled seeing him almost naked on her sofa. His body was pale but surprisingly well defined with tight muscle in all the right places. He clearly looked after himself, and she’d found it hard to look away from him as he fumbled for the blanket to cover himself. Oh, God! I hope he hadn’t noticed me gawking at him. She berated herself. She couldn’t have embarrassed herself any more than what she had last night. Thankfully, he’d been very polite and a lot more relaxed as they’d spoken about nothing but work in the car on the way to campus.

  Out in the parking lot she reached her silver Ford Focus, clicked the lock to open the trunk, and placed the files inside finally freeing her arms from the week’s heavy work load. It was going to take her all night to get through that much work and she wasn’t feeling in the best of moods.

  Just as she reached up to close the trunk she paused at the sound of a distressed female voice. Slowly peering around her car she saw Nina, the dark haired girl who Michael had been concerned about, with the same young man who she’d been with yesterday morning in the canteen. They were arguing about something.

  “Just stay away from me!” Nina demanded as she began to walk ahead of the man.

  Lacy watched discreetly, staying behind her car and hoping they wouldn’t notice her.

  He caught up with Nina, grabbed her arm and swung her around so she was facing him. Lacy didn’t like how rough he was being.

  “Let go of me!” Nina cried.

  The young man’s expression changed to something Lacy couldn’t decipher: a look of anger? No. . . Hate. Lacy gasped and quickly put her hand to her mouth. She continued to watch as he bent down towards Nina so his face was inches away from hers and appeared to growl something at her through clenched teeth, his eyes were fierce but he spoke too quietly for Lacy to hear. She watched as Nina’s expression changed in an instant. Strangely, she seemed to relax and nodded at him without saying a word. He turned her around and began to walk with her; his hand gripped tightly around her arm. Her face was blank, almost trance-like as they disappeared around the corner out of view.

  What the hell. . . ? She remembered what Michael had said to her yesterday. He’d been worried about the young woman’s change in personality and the fact that she was hanging around with that young man. She’d told him not to worry, that it was probably nothing. But after witnessing what she just had she knew Michael was right to be worried. Ok. It’s not like she’d never seen young couples argue and fight before, but this was something more than that. That look in his eyes was frightening−anger like nothing she’d ever seen before. For a moment she thought about following them but stopped herself. She had to tell Michael straight away.

  She reached Michael’s classroom moments later. The door was open. She was just about to knock when she saw him leaning on his desk, his fingers pinching the skin between his brows similar to how he’d been yesterday. “Oh, sorry. I don’t mean to disturb you,” she said, unsure if she should trouble him right now as he already looked strung out.

  Michael looked up at her. “Hey. No. It’s fine. Come in. Just feeling a little tired I guess.” He smiled at her from his seat and she felt a little guilty for persuading him to sleep on her sofa last night.

  She closed the door behind her and walked over to him knowing that his day was maybe just about to get a little worse. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

  He looked at her, brows
drawn tight, and she could tell he’d sensed that something was wrong. “What is it? You look a little pale.”

  “I’ve just seen Nina, out by the parking lot. She seemed to be in some kind of altercation with that guy she was with yesterday, the one you were concerned about.” She explained how the boy was acting towards Nina and how he’d practically dragged her with him. “Michael. There was something wrong with his eyes. I know it’s probably nothing but. . . I’m really worried for her.”

  Michael shot to his feet and began clearing his desk, shoving everything inside the top drawer and locking it. “Where was this? How long ago?”

  “Five minutes at the most, over by the admin building. I came straight here.”

  He threw his jacket on and shoved his keys into his pocket. “I need to find them. Where were they headed?”

  “Towards the quad. I’ll go with you.”

  They reached the quad and both stopped to scan through the busy lunchtime crowds. Even though there was a biting chill in the air, the sun was shining which meant half the campus was outside enjoying the sunshine while they grabbed some down time between classes. The quad and the green were both busy, making it harder to spot them.

  There was no sign of either of them as Michael and Lacy rushed towards the student accommodation buildings. They’d rounded the corner, passed the admin building when they heard a loud scream up ahead. Lacy began to run towards John Blake House, the last building on the edge of the parking lot. “I think it came from over here,” she shouted back to Michael as she sprinted towards the main entrance, following the many other people that were now running over to see what had happened. Lacy became more anxious as she approached the crowd that had gathered in front of the building, preparing herself for what she feared she was going to see. She pushed through the crowd, Michael right behind her, and choked back a sob, bringing both her hands to her mouth.