When Darkness Comes

by Beck Cummings

  “Trent, we said no games.” I interrupted. “If you don’t want me here, I will pack up my things, take Bodhi and go. Just tell me.” I closed my eyes and hung my head, preparing myself for his answer.

  I felt Trent gently grab my chin and tilt my face up, but I kept my eyes tightly shut. Trent’s hand on my lower back pulled me closer to him and a tear escaped my eye when he placed a tender kiss on my lips. The hand that was on my chin moved to my neck and I found my body instantly relaxing in response to his touch. I reached up, grabbing Trent’s face with both of my hands as he continued to move his lips against mine.

  Trent broke the kiss to speak. “I want you here, Paige.” He kissed me again. “Forever.” He kissed me once more before pulling his lips back and resting his forehead on mine.

  I shook my head in disbelief as more tears trickled down my cheeks. Why is it so hard for me to believe him? Why can’t I fully trust him? Maybe it’s because this morning, he seemed like a completely different person.

  “You promised to not give up on me.” Trent’s voice was soft, but rough with emotion.

  I leaned back and opened my eyes to look at Trent, and in that instant, I knew exactly why I was having such a hard time with this and he needed to know why too. “This morning just reminded me of...” I trailed off and bit my lip.

  “I’m not Zane.” Trent cut in, understanding where I was headed with my sentence.

  “No, but the look in your eyes this morning... Trent, it brought back all the memories of Zane whenever he was using.”

  “I’m not Zane, Paige. I have NEVER done drugs in the past, nor will I ever do them in the future. I’m not that guy.”

  “I know that, Trent. It just scared me.” I closed my eyes again. I knew deep down that he wasn’t using drugs. I knew that he wasn’t Zane. But it seemed that no matter what, I would always be waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  “I really am sorry, Paige.”

  I opened my eyes and placed my hand on Trent’s thigh. “I am too. I know you’re not Zane, and I know I really should stop comparing you to him.” I lightly squeezed my fingers on his leg.

  “So, can we just call it even and start over?” The corner of Trent’s mouth rose slightly as he spoke.

  I knew deep down it was time for me to let go; let go of all the pain and hatred I’ve held inside of me for all these years. Trent didn’t deserve to be blamed for all of Zane’s wrong-doings. Trent WAS NOT Zane. Sure, Trent has some issues. He pushed me away in New York, but we worked through it. This morning, I thought he might be pushing me away again, but as it turns out, his rough night just kind of spilled over into his morning. We all have bad days, right?

  I smiled. “Hi, I’m Paige. I have deep-seated relationship issues.” I picked my hand up and held it out to him.

  “Nice to meet you, I’m Trent. I have deep-seated abandonment issues. Plus, I have shitty taste in beer.” He winked at me and shook my hand.

  “Well, we make quite the pair.” I laughed.

  “The perfect pair.” Trent nodded. “I love you, Paige.” He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. “I’m gonna go take a shower. I feel like I have dust all over me.” He said as he rose from the bed.

  “I’ll probably be downstairs in the office.” I replied.

  I watched as Trent lifted his shirt over his head and unbuckled his belt. He unbuttoned his jeans and shucked them off, tossing them onto the bed beside me, leaving him in just his black boxer briefs. My mouth went dry at the sight. I planned on averting my eyes, embarrassed by my ogling, but I froze when Trent turned his back to me. Three angry red lines ran from his left shoulder to his right hip.

  “Sheezus, Trent! What did that to you?” I jumped up from the bed and quickly made my way to him. I tentatively reached out and brushed my fingertips across one of the lines. It was raised and looked eerily like a welt from a whip. It looked like it hurt, big time.

  Trent didn’t flinch from my touch; instead, he hung his head low. “I don’t know.” He answered quietly.

  “You have to have some kind of idea of what it might’ve been.” I prodded. Trent was a smart guy. He clearly had some inkling to what may have caused the awful scratches.

  Trent took a deep breath. “Yeah, I do, okay? But, trust me, you don’t want to know.”

  I placed a soft kiss on his bare shoulder and shook my head at his evasiveness. “Do I need to know though?”

  Trent took another deep breath. “No, babe, you’re good. I’m good.” And with that, Trent ended our conversation by disappearing into the bathroom.

  I glanced at Bodhi who stared back at me from his bed. Thoughts swarmed my head as I heard the shower water turn on. I decided to be proactive regarding this matter. I decided to find out for myself just exactly what was going on. Trent wasn’t the only investigator in this house; Paige Bond could do some investigating herself.

  I strode purposefully downstairs and into our office, with Bodhi right on my heels. I tapped my fingers along the desk nervously while waiting for my laptop to start up. As soon as it did, I opened the internet and went to my trusty old friend, Google. I wasn’t quite sure what to look up so I just typed in what I knew. ‘3 scratches received during paranormal investigation.’ There. That should pull up something.

  The first results were videos with titles like ‘demon scratches woman during paranormal investigation’ and ‘ghost hunter attacked by ghost’. Not exactly what I was looking for, so I scrolled further down. Flipping back and forth through several pages, the one thing that caught my attention time and time again was the word ‘demonic’.

  Sheezus. I looked at Bodhi who had squeezed himself underneath the desk. Well, I might as well do some ‘light’ reading before Trent finishes in the shower.

  I turned my attention back to the laptop and pulled up one of the question and answer pages. Goosebumps covered my flesh as I read the words: ‘3 scratches represents demonic entities’ mockery of the Holy Trinity’.

  Demonic? Mocking the Holy Trinity? What has Trent gotten himself into?

  “Ready to eat?”

  I almost jumped straight out of my chair at the sound of Trent’s voice behind me. My watch dog had done absolutely nothing to warn me of the intruder’s presence. Okay, so Trent wasn’t an intruder, but Bodhi still could’ve given me a heads up about our company in the office. Worthless watch dog.

  I quickly closed the browser and turned my chair to face Trent. He was leaning against the doorway and he had on one of his old Boston University hoodies with a pair of athletic shorts. His hair was wet from the shower and his feet bare. He looked every bit the part of typical all-American boy. So, why did the word ‘demonic’ keep flashing in my mind like a bright neon sign?

  It’s becoming obvious that despite my physical prowess, I would never make it a day in the life as an international spy because I care too much about the man standing before me. Any national secrets would never be safe with me if Trent were ever held captive. I would bargain anything I could. Case in point, I was about to rat myself out just so I could ensure his safety from whatever demonic entity he had encountered last night.

  I bit my bottom lip and stared at my boyfriend apprehensively. “Should I be worried, Trent? I’m going to be honest with you...” I swallowed. “I looked up what the scratches could possibly mean.”

  Trent closed his eyes and exhaled loudly. I worried that maybe I had overstepped my bounds. This morning, Trent had made it clear that I was NOT a part of MPS and that I shouldn’t be involved with group business. But I couldn’t just butt out, not when Trent had been physically attacked.

  Trent opened his eyes, walked straight over to me, and knelt in front of my chair. “Damn it, woman. Why can’t you ever leave anything alone?” He shook his head and smiled softly.

  I let out a sigh of relief. He wasn’t mad.

  “Because I love you, and I promised to not give up on you.” I shrugged.

  He gathered my hands in his and gently rubbed his thumbs along my knuc
kles. “Don’t worry, okay? I used provocation last night during the investigation and I ended up pissing off an entity. It retaliated. I’m not going to lie, it kind of rattled me.” Trent lifted one of my hands and pressed a soft kiss onto it. “I’m good now. I promise.”

  “Trent...” Somehow, I just don’t believe him.

  “Paige...” He mimicked my tone.

  I lifted an eyebrow at him and smirked. “Knox.” I retorted.

  Trent’s jaw dropped slightly and his tongue darted out, running across the top row of his teeth. I had to fight back a chuckle at his playful demeanor.

  “P.K.” He countered.

  Now it was my jaw’s turn to drop. He must know why J.J. calls me that, right? They are best friends. Surely, he knows...

  I chose to play along and see where this might go. “Uh-oh... You’re not going to start calling me that too, are you?”

  Trent’s shoulders raised and lowered quickly. “Why not?” He challenged.

  I eyed him speculatively. “Trent, you do realize what the “K” stands for, right?” I exaggerated an eye blink to get my point across.

  A full-fledged smile spread across Trent’s face. “Trust me, I know what it stands for.” He winked at me.

  I mouthed the word ‘oh’ and nodded my head in response to his comment. “Okay... Well, it certainly doesn’t stand for kiss, Knox.” I made sure to emphasize his last name.

  Trent shook his head at me as he stood on his feet. He offered me his hand and I took it, rising from my seat. I watched while he interlaced his fingers with mine, and I couldn’t help but smile when he wrapped my own arms behind my back and pulled me close to him. He had successfully trapped me against his body, and I certainly wasn’t complaining.

  “It could stand for kiss.” He joked, leaning in and pressing a kiss to my lips.

  I was so glad that I was being held in his arms. If I hadn’t been, I might’ve just slid right down to the floor, melting to a puddle of goo. I can’t believe his kiss can still make me weak in the knees, even after several months together and several hundred (okay, maybe thousand) kisses shared.

  I smiled when he pulled back. “I think I’d be okay with that.”

  “Would you be okay with what it really stands for?” His tone was soft but serious, and his green eyes searched mine for an answer I wasn’t quite sure I was ready to give.

  My heart skipped a beat and I took a quick breath. Nope, definitely not ready to vocalize how I feel about this subject.

  Instead, I chose to do what I do best, avoid and deflect. “You’re just trying to get out of talking about what happened with the scratches.” I accused.

  Trent kissed me again, causing my heart to stutter once more. “Nope.” He smiled. “But you’re trying to avoid talking about marriage.”

  “Trent.” I said quickly, my pulse racing.

  “I know, Paige. I know how you felt before. I just hoped that since we’ve moved in together and all... I thought maybe your position had changed.” His eyes were full of hope and a bit of apprehension shone through as well.

  Had my position changed? I had moved in with Trent, which was something I never did with Zane. But that was different. This is different... Oh, man...

  “I’ve spent the last... gosh... six years... Wow, I can’t believe it’s been that long.” I bit my bottom lip, trying to choose my next words carefully. “I haven’t thought about the possibility of marriage since then, Trent, you know that.”

  Trent nodded solemnly. “I know you spent six years nursing one hell of a broken heart, Paige. I just hoped that maybe these last eight months with me had...”

  “You said you don’t believe in marriage, either.” I interrupted.

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Uh, yeah, you did... The very first night we met.”

  “No, Paige. I think I’d remember that. Now, what I did say was that I preferred casual sex.”

  “What’s the difference?!” I raised my voice a little higher that I honestly intended to, but quickly unfolded our fingers, taking a step back. I felt extremely uncomfortable with our current conversation.

  “The difference was you, Paige. You know damn well I threw casual out the window the night I met you.” He took a step toward me and I immediately took a step back.

  I was abruptly stopped when the backs of my legs bumped the office chair. Bodhi scurried out from under the desk and took refuge near the doorway. Trent, with his lightning fast reflexes, reached out and grabbed both of my arms, steadying me on my feet and keeping me from falling backward.

  “Relax, woman, and quit trying to run away. I’m not proposing to you today.” He chuckled and a smile formed on my face. “I won’t even do it tomorrow. Now, any day after that...” He raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

  “Everything that has a beginning, has to have an ending, Trent. Do you remember saying that?” I said quietly and almost bitterly. I’m not quite sure where the bite in my tone had come from and I frowned at the sound of it.

  Trent dropped his hands and took a step back. He nodded his head a couple of times. “I did say that, that night at Echo. But my feelings have changed. And, I guess I ... just wanted to know that marriage isn’t completely off the table for us.” Trent shoved a hand through his hair and turned to leave the room.

  My heart dropped to the very bottom of my chest as I watched him walk out of the room. I knew damn well that things were different with Trent. With Zane, I was young and stupid. And yes, I loved Zane, but the magnitude of what I feel for Trent... Well, there’s just no comparison. I like the thought of being Paige Knox someday. Actually, I love it.

  “It’s not off the table!” I yelled out to the empty office. Why couldn’t I have just said that while he was still in here? I made a move to sit back down in my chair when Trent reappeared in the doorway, his expression unreadable.

  “You mean it?” He spoke utterly deadpan.

  I smiled at the poor guy in front of me, trying so hard to keep his impassive demeanor in place despite the fact I now know how much marriage means to him. “I’m not saying yes.” I shook my head at him.

  “I’m not asking.” Trent grinned. “Not yet, anyway.” His smile widened and then quickly diminished into his trademark smirk. “I knew you’d come around, P.K.” He turned and exited the office with extra swagger in his step.

  I rolled my eyes and laughed. Trent was going to ask me to marry him. Someday. I couldn’t help but hope that it might be sooner rather than later. And yes, that scared the ever-lovin’ daylights out of me.

  I plopped down in the office chair and spun around. Well, this is so not how I pictured today going. Trent, going from beyond crabby this morning to absolutely charming this afternoon. And once again, he successfully avoided the subject of what happened during the investigation. That man is a master manipulator and he never gives anything away. You know, HE might have a future as an international spy. Forget Fort Knox, I think I’ll just call him Bond. Trent Bond.

  chapter 17

  “What ARE you doing, woman?”

  I jumped clean out of my skin and turned around to glare at my boyfriend. “Sheezus, Knox. You scared the crap out of me!” I smacked him on the arm and noticed that he was shirtless with just a pair of long, athletic shorts hanging on his hips, the tattoo on his ribcage on full display. I turned away from him, focusing my attention back to the task at hand, instead of focusing on ravishing my sexy man, which was what I really wanted to do at that moment.

  I felt Trent step right up behind me and place his strong hands on my hips. As he pressed his bare chest and stomach into my back, he whispered in my ear “You know... I used to hate you calling me Knox. But now it doesn’t get under my skin anymore.” He gently nipped at my earlobe.

  I leaned to the side and turned my head to glance at him skeptically. “Oh, it doesn’t, eh? And why’s that?”

  His fingers raised the hem of my purple cotton racerback tank and my breath hitched. His knuckles slid higher and higher alon
g my ribcage and came to a stop at the band of my bra. “You know exactly why.”

  I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face as he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on my lips. Yeah, I knew why. He hoped that someday it would be something that we both shared; the last name of Knox.

  “Now, tell me why you’re messing with my old, broken stereo.” He stepped to the side of me and tapped his finger on the big, black boom-box.

  “Well, I came across some of my old CD’s and I remembered seeing this in the closet.” I shrugged. “I’m a better cleaner-upper if I have music to work to.”

  Trent lifted a CD case from the counter and read the cover. He quirked an eyebrow and held the case in front of me. “And you really think that Theory of a Deadman is going to help you out?”

  I bit my bottom lip to keep from smiling. “It makes me “So Happy”!” I tossed out the title of one of my favorite songs by the band.

  “You been thinking about throwing me out?” Trent teased as his hands reached for my hips again, pulling me close to him.

  I loved that this man knew the lyrics to all of my favorite songs. Most of all, I loved his playful side. It was always so much fun to banter with playful Trent.

  “Yup. I’m fed up, so get up and get out.” I put one hand on his hard chest and the other gripped his strong bicep.

  Trent threw his head back and laughed and a chuckle escaped my own lips. “Oh, you’ve got jokes, huh?”

  I lowered my head and then looked up at him from underneath my lashes. “That’s why you love me.” I pouted my lips just a little bit and played with the dusting of hair on his chest. I smirked when Trent shifted his weight from leg to leg. I don’t think I will ever tire of the way I affect him.

  “Oh, you’re such a Bad, Bad Girlfriend.” Trent teased, naming off another of Theory’s songs. He gently lifted my chin and kissed me. My lips parted and Trent’s tongue met mine, the taste of black licorice still lingered on his.

  MPS investigated an old, allegedly haunted manor last night. Trent said the investigation was boring, with absolutely no activity. So, when J.J. offered Trent to go ahead and leave, instead of sitting through a pretty much pointless review, Trent jumped at the opportunity. He crawled into bed with me and Bodhi at about 5 a.m. We’ve spent the entire day just hanging out at the house and he finished off his package of black licorice shortly after dinner.