by Ford, Lizzy
The two talked for a moment. It wasn’t enough for Kaylee to figure much else out than Zyra left dissatisfied and Eddy was wary. Only when the glowing taillights of Zyra’s car made it down the driveway and disappeared as she turned onto the main road did Eddy drop his hand and walk back into the house.
Kaylee moved away quickly from the window.
“Do me a favor and stay away from any windows from here on out. And stay inside the house,” he directed.
“Everything okay?”
“For now. She’s a bit … violent is all.”
Violent. Suddenly, the vision Shadowman had showed her of what happened to Mike crystalized again in Kaylee’s mind.
Zyra was the woman who hired and then killed Mike.
What did that mean? Mike was a mistake, from what Nathan said. Why would the person who murdered Mike be talking to Eddy, who seemed to be playing for a completely different team than Nathan?
“You know she killed my boss, thinking he was the anchor, right?” she asked Eddy, confused.
“Wouldn’t put it past her. She’s got ice in her veins,” Eddy said. He drew the curtains on the picture window. He flipped on all the lights. “Close all the curtains and turn on at least one light in every room.”
“You’re afraid of her?” Kaylee asked.
“Just being cautious.”
“Why did you bring her here then?”
“Don’t ask too many questions. It’ll give people more of a reason to kill you,” he advised.
“Whatever.” She moved to the kitchen and did as he said while he went through the rest of the house.
“Lock the back door,” he said, ducking his head in.
She did and then listened to him move to the guest bedroom.
Kaylee withdrew the bag with stones and dumped them into her palm. She replaced all but the two-toned one then squeezed it in her fist.
Two images popped into her head: one of the kitchen and one of a shopping mall. She closed her eyes to focus on them better. The two visions became clearer the more she concentrated. She saw the appliances lining the counters and was able to make out which shopping center it was.
Why was Shadowman at a mall?
“What’s wrong?” Eddy turned on the lights overhead.
Kaylee opened her eyes and shoved her fist in her pocket to deposit the stone. She turned to face Eddy.
“Nothing,” she replied. “I take it gardening or stargazing won’t be my new hobby?”
“No.” He left the doorway and returned to the living room.
Kaylee trailed, folding her arms across her chest. She was getting tired and more overwhelmed by her evening.
“I think I’ll try to get some sleep,” she said.
“I’ll be here.”
“You’re entirely too happy about all of this.”
Eddy flashed a smile.
Kaylee went to her room and closed the door. It was cool and dark, the low light on the nightstand too soft to bother her. She stretched out on the bed and found herself breathing in the scent of Nathan that lingered the pillow he’d used. She shivered, her desire blooming at his spicy male scent. It relaxed her, though not as much as his touch, and she closed her eyes.
Maybe this time, when she woke, she’d be out of the nightmare.
No sooner did she fall asleep than she heard someone call her name.
“Wake up, sweetheart.”
Kaylee jumped at Nathan’s quiet voice, certain she was mistaken. She twisted to face him in the low light of her room. Her heart somersaulted at the sight of his muscular form, and her body awoke instantly at his heady scent. She pushed herself up and swung her legs off the bed, standing.
He wore all black, tactical style clothing, and was armed with a gun and a couple of knives at his thighs. His clothes were snug enough to hint at the hard body beneath them, the one she spent hours exploring the day before.
“Nathan,” she whispered, gaze darting towards the door. “Eddy’s right out there. You shouldn’t be here.”
His dark gaze was steady, penetrating. Unfriendly even, a look that fit him but that she didn’t expect to see. It made her step away even though her body burned for his touch. He was too different from the man who made love to her with tenderness.
This Nathan was detached, distant.
“What’re you doing here?” she asked uncertainly.
“I need you to listen to me,” he replied. He set down a small bag on the nightstand beside the bed where they’d made love not twenty-four hours before. “Shadowman’s wiped out another hundred people today. He’s getting stronger, Kaylee.”
Her mouth felt dry. “You came to kill me.”
“Temporarily.” He held up a syringe with clear liquid. “Completely painless. I’ll sit right here beside you. I give you the shot, you’ll fall asleep, we’ll bring you back when he’s gone.”
It took her a moment to respond. Some part of her had hoped to see him again, just under different circumstances.
“Sounds too easy,” she said. “What happens if you’re wrong? Or if you can’t bring me back?”
“This will work. It’s the only way we can get Shadowman to leave you alone and save lives.”
His confidence floored her. He’d protected her and made love to her like a man who cared. That he, too, was moved to killing her made her feel ill.
“Trust me. Please,” he said, warmth appearing in his gaze. “You can give yourself the shot, if you want.”
I don’t want to die. How horrible of a person was she, if she saved her own life instead of those the Shadowman was taking?
“It won’t hurt?” she ventured.
“Nope.” Nathan held her gaze. “You’ll go to sleep. When you wake up, it’ll all be over.”
She suspected she was getting the damn shot one way or another. While thrilling, the idea of him chasing her down was not ideal.
“I’ll be right here,” he added. “If you want.”
She gave him a long look, unable to interpret what he meant by the measured words. Was he interested or not?
Did it matter, since he was there to kill her?
Kaylee swallowed hard and moved towards him.
He sat on the bed and patted the place beside him then reached back to grab the small bag. She sat close enough to smell him but not touch him. Her body ached for his, to feel his hot skin against hers and consuming passion ensnaring her senses. She didn’t trust herself enough to touch him, though, not after the events of the past day. Her guard had dropped hard under his kisses, and she still wasn’t certain how to handle the feeling of vulnerability he’d caused. It left her confused. How did she trust him when he came to kill her?
How did she not, when she’d already given him every part of herself in bed?
“This is what you do for a living?” she asked in the tense silence. She watched him withdraw a syringe of clear liquid.
Nathan grasped her arm with his strong fingers. He maneuvered it to rest on his thigh. He was hot again, radiating heat.
“Every case is different,” he replied. “But yeah. Supernatural caseworker.”
“Do you sleep with every case you work with before or after killing them?” she snapped, furious at his casual response.
He chuckled. “Usually the people I kill stay dead.”
“You’re not helping anything, Nathan.”
“We’re both on new territory here,” he said, glancing up.
Kaylee’s face grew warm under his direct gaze. She looked down, not liking how he seemed to devalue the time they had together. It meant nothing to him, but she was forced to admit, it did to her.
“Let’s get this over with so you can move onto the next case,” she said.
Nathan was still for a moment.
Say something! Tell me I’m not just another name on the list! She willed him silently.
“See you when you wake up,” he replied and took her arm.
Kaylee closed her eyes, not wanting to see the shot that kill
ed her.
“It’ll sting a little,” Nathan warned.
She said nothing, throat tightening. It was hard enough to will herself not to cry knowing she was operating on blind faith in trusting him.
The familiar sting of a shot came. Beyond that, she felt nothing. She waited until Nathan had withdrawn the needle before opening her eyes. He put the syringe aside then placed a band-aid over the small bubble of blood.
“You’re killing me. Don’t think you need to worry about a little blood,” she told him.
“You don’t believe I’ll bring you back.”
“I don’t think you have any reason to. You want Shadowman dead and consider me a case to be resolved before you move on,” she pointed out. “If I wasn’t such a coward, I would try to off myself to get rid of him.”
“You’re the bravest person I know,” he replied. “If I had no intentions of bringing you back, I wouldn’t be using a needle.”
She didn’t want to admit he was probably right. By the way he was built and the weapons he carried, he could easily just beat her to death or stab her or shoot her dead.
“Lay down. This is supposed to take affect within three minutes,” he said. He stood, moving out of her way.
She evaluated herself mentally as she lay down, waiting to feel something. Pain. Sleepiness. Anything that indicated the drug was working. If it was, she didn’t notice it.
She stretched out on her back and stared at the ceiling. As long as she focused on her breathing, she wasn’t going to cry or panic.
Nathan sat at the edge of the bed, hand on her thigh and eyes on her face. Kaylee didn’t look at him, too angry and confused to know what she felt towards the man who seemed far too calm about killing her to care.
“Five minutes,” he said, glancing down at his watch. “How you feeling?”
Kaylee focused inward for any sign the drug was working. “Um, normal. You said it was fast acting.” She lifted her arms to double-check. “I don’t feel any different.”
“Interesting.” He stood and went to the drugs then held up the second syringe. “One sec. Let me check something.”
She twisted to gaze at him. He closed his eyes and tilted his head, the same way he had when he read her memories.
Kaylee sat up, testing herself. “I feel fine, Nathan.”
Nathan shifted. His eyes opened, and he stared at the syringe in his hand.
“Fuck,” he muttered then dropped it into the bag. He took a deep breath. “Bad news, Kaylee.”
She was on her feet before he finished.
“Someone swapped these out with regular old saline,” he said, facing her.
Kaylee saw his hand drop to the knife at his thigh. He tapped it long enough for her to realize he hadn’t stopped thinking of taking her life, even if the drug was no longer an option.
A painless, quick death was one thing. Being stabbed was quite another.
“Okay. You can go get more, right?” she asked. She eased away from him towards the door, her ability to control her panic slipping.
“Let’s talk this out, okay?” he said and took a step towards her. “There are alternatives.”
“You said if you had no intention of bringing me back, you’d use said alternatives.”
“It was a shitty attempt at a joke.”
“What do you recommend?” she snapped.
“The less damage I do to you physically, the better my chances of bringing you back.” He drew a knife and lifted it. “I can do this. Simple, quick, little damage.”
“Painless wasn’t among those words.”
“It’ll hurt. But I’ll make it quick,” he said.
Oh, god! Kaylee whirled and darted for the door. She wrenched it open a few inches, only for Nathan to plant a hand above her head and slam it shut.
She didn’t move, didn’t breath, waiting for the pain to hit.
Nathan’s breathing was irregular, indicating he wasn’t as calm as he appeared to be. His body at her back radiated heat.
“Kaylee …” he started then stopped. He placed a hand on her arm, letting it skim down to her wrist before it slid to her stomach and lower, hovering over the sacred apex of her thighs. Need flared to life, filling her lower body with heat.
When he didn’t stab her, she turned to face him and pressed her back to the door. For the first time since meeting her, Nathan appeared torn. The hand at the small of her back drew her hips against his, letting her feel the long length of his arousal against her belly.
The ache she experienced was so quick and deep, she gasped. She needed him too much. The connection between them couldn’t be normal. The space between them was charged, her senses aware of every part of him, from the movement of his chest as he breathed to the combined scent of him and the gear he wore.
He touched her cheek, brushing away tears she didn’t feel fall. The knife was sheathed. The soft lamplight dispelled shadows from half his face while deepening the natural shading of his chiseled features on the other side.
He appeared to be studying her features, as if to memorize them for after she was dead.
“Say something, Nathan,” she whispered hoarsely. “Tell me you don’t want to do this. Tell me I’ll survive. Tell me … I’m not just a case. Anything.”
He offered a faint smile and cupped one cheek. His dark eyes seemed fathomless, the curve of his full lips begging for kisses. She remembered too clearly what he’d done with his mouth, how his hot kisses robbed her of any shred of second-thought when they’d made love for hours. The feel of his hands roaming her body, the way he regarded at her, possessive and tender at the same time. She’d felt both more vulnerable and more secure in his arms than she had anywhere else.
By the intensity of the look on his face and the hard ridge pressed to her belly, he was thinking the same.
“We need to get through this,” he said finally.
Her hope – and heart – crumbled.
“You can’t say it, can you?” she whispered. “Because it’s not true, or because you’re scared?”
With effort, Nathan moved away from her.
“Say something, Nathan!” she cried, embarrassed by the raw note in her voice.
“Please. Let’s just …” he paced, rubbing his face with both hands. “We’ll talk later. I need to show you something.” He nudged her out of the way and opened the door, breezing by her.
She gasped, waiting for Eddy to pounce.
“He’s not here. We have him occupied elsewhere,” Nathan said. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were worried.”
“You’re the one who wants me dead!”
The mirth faded from his eyes. “Not want, Kaylee. There’s more at stake here than us.” He turned abruptly and walked down the hallway.
“Thank god there is no us or someone might get hurt,” she retorted before she could stop the words.
“Exactly.”
It wasn’t possible for there to be a relationship with a man like Nathan. He was too … selfish to understand the feelings of another, too guarded to express himself.
Too perfect for her to walk away.
Maybe it’s a good thing he wants to kill me. Might be better than a broken heart. More tears formed. She swiped them away angrily but followed him down the hallway and through the living room.
Some protector. Eddy was nowhere to be found.
Kaylee stepped into the chilly night, not caring that she had no jacket. She was supposed to be dead, after all. She expected Nathan to stop and show her whatever it was he wanted her to see. Instead, he got into the car and started it, waiting.
Reluctantly, she climbed into the passenger side.
Nathan said nothing as he pulled out of the driveway and drove down the road. He headed towards the way opposite of town, north towards Columbia. Kaylee watched the trees and lights fly by, unable to shake the sense that her danger was not yet over. He turned off the main road onto a gravel street that meandered into the forest.
“This is
the part where the bad guy takes the poor, helpless victim back to the forest and kills her where no one can hear her scream. It’s the plot of half the horror movies I’ve seen,” she murmured.
“A little trust, honey.”
“We’ve never had the benefit of trust, Nathan.” She sighed, struggling with her emotions and more not to show just how devastated she was.
The winding road took them up a small hill, and Nathan pulled over to a scenic overlook to the side. She glanced at him.
“I don’t think you brought me here to make out,” she said, puzzled.
“Another time,” he agreed. “I brought you here so you could make a choice.” He turned off the car.
Silence and darkness filled the car. Kaylee clenched her hands together, afraid of what he’d say.
Nathan got out of the car. After a deep breath, Kaylee did as well, joining him at the railing. Their southern view was of the towns of Crofton and Bowie, great swaths of dark forest punctuated by bright clumps of light.
“Shadowman’s power is growing,” Nathan started. “He swallowed your office building the other day. He swallowed a mall today. Tomorrow, he could be strong enough to take out half a city.”
She listened, horrified.
“He’s invincible in every way, except for one.” He faced her and shifted closer. “The fact I’m even considering keeping you alive should mean something to you.”
“I don’t know you, Nathan,” she said softly. “You don’t exactly make it easy to understand you. Not that it matters. You’ve made up your mind.”
“I haven’t. I brought you here to see what Shadowman is doing. If you choose not to trust me, I’ll let you walk away. If you choose to trust me, I swear to you, Kaylee, I will bring you back.”
She looked away, uncertain what to think at the hushed note in his voice. Her gaze went out over the valley. Movement caught her attention. At first, she though it was smoke. Something darker than night was moving over the south side of the city of Crofton.
“It’s him, isn’t it?” she asked, striding towards the railing. “What’s he doing?”
“Probably looking for you. The trunk of my car is filled with moonstones. He can’t sense you. Our distraction wouldn’t have occupied him for long, so I imagine he realizes it was a ruse and is trying to find you.”
