Dark Secrets: A Paranormal Romance Anthology

by Colleen Gleason

  Chapter Two

  Just like in one of those really obnoxious romantic movies, the voices grow muffled and everything around me slows down. I know it’s not really happening, and I feel like a total sap-ass jerk, but the imaginary tunnel obscures everything but the man in front of me. Keller O’Leary. His dark and dangerous looks, his three-week-overdue-for-a-cut hair, his two-day beard, his jet-black eyes. Eyes that have always seen too much. Eyes that probe until I feel as if he can see inside my soul. He wants to own me, still. I can tell. He doesn’t even try to hide it from me. I wasn’t ready for his intensity last time. Considering my heart is tumbling through my lava-hot blood in the direction of the floor, I know I’m not ready for him now either.

  I never will be.

  He demands everything without ever speaking a word.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask. I shove past, ignoring the electric jolt when my shoulder brushes against his arm. It’s always been that way. Such explosive passion should not exist between two beings. It’s not safe. He’s not safe.

  He grips my elbow and I immediately throw up my walls and fortify them with gumption and determination. This time will be different. “If you’re looking for Sage,” I say, “she’s not here.”

  Keller smiles, slow and wide. His eyes offer a hint of laughter, and already my walls start to crack. Right now they're just surface cracks, tiny little microscopic fissures, but it won't take long for him to obliterate my entire foundation. I’m so weak around him and I can’t stand it.

  “Yes,” he says. “I know. She’ll be in later. I’m here to play, Josie.”

  As if. “Well, I’m not a toy. And I have work to do.” Except I want to be his toy in a really bad way. If only he could learn how to keep things light.

  He laughs. His dark gaze scans the crowd and I wonder what he’s up to. He knows I’m a huntress. That it’s my job to keep tabs on my patrons. Not his. That’s one of the reasons we broke up. As a matter of fact, that reason sits at the tippy top of a very long list.

  “As much as I’d love that,” Keller says. “I don’t have the time. My band mates are unloading the gear now. We’ll be set up in a half hour tops.”

  Whoa. What? “Band mates?” Regardless of how sexy those words sound coming from his Irish mouth… Uh, uh. Not gonna happen. Keller has always loved music, but I’d thought drumming was just a hobby. Conveniently—not—an image of him shirtless, his lean muscles slick with sweat as he drives the beat of the music is way too easy to conjure. I realize I want to see him play and that just burns my bloomers. I thought I was over him. Out of sight, out of mind has never worked, so why the hell I thought seeing him again wouldn’t affect me had been an ignorant assumption on my part. And here I pride myself on actually having brains. Said brains are now mush.

  Keller leans his elbows against the bar, striking a pose that is meant to be casual. It’s not. His back is straight, his jaw tight. “I thought Sage would have told you.” He shrugs. “I joined a band. We were in the area and she said we could play tonight. I guess you had an open slot.” Reaching for my hair, he slides his thumb along my cheek before wrapping a curling strand around his finger. “How incredibly fortunate.”

  For him, maybe. “No.” I pull my hair away. “Sage did not tell me.” I’m going to kill her. I’m not stupid. I know a setup when I see one. This is a big one. Epic. But business is business and if Keller’s band mates are anything like him, they’ll rock it tonight. He never does anything halfway. Never. “Fine. Whatever.”

  “Things are heating up outside, Josie. You need to be careful.”

  Though I know what he’s talking about, I don’t take the bait and I definitely don’t appreciate the stern tone of his voice. “Of course it’s heating up.” I give him my best duh look. “Winter’s over.”

  He narrows his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

  I tilt my head. “Do I?”

  I scan the crowd and spot a dressed-to-kill sorceress perched on the end of the bar. Strappy sandals snake halfway up her bare legs. Her skirt is so short, any slight bend on her part will expose more than I’d ever care to see. Her hair is sleek yet tousled; blood red lips frame her enchanting smile. Already two cowboys are making their way over to her. I’ll have to watch her closely. Make sure she keeps her magick contained. I sneak a look at Keller to see if he’s noticed her. If he has, I can’t tell. Not with him staring at me like a starving vampire. Oh, wait… Right. Vampires are always starving for one thing or another.

  “What’s the name of your band?” I ask absently to quell the sizzling tension. “I’ll make an announcement.” I shift so I can see the sorceress better.

  Keller leans in, skims a knuckle over my jaw to draw my attention back to him. “Crimson Beat.”

  Hello, dramatic eye roll. “You have got to be kidding.” He nods his head toward the front of Wolfie’s. I turn just as the rest of the band walks through the door, and I know Keller isn’t kidding at all. Vampires. Every last one of them. Strong, lean and sexy as hell. I turn back to Keller, narrow my eyes and jab my finger into his chest. “No trouble. Do you understand me?”

  He wraps his hand around my finger, brings it to his lips for a kiss. I jerk away, but not before my breath catches in my throat. He notices, runs a fang across his lower lip.

  “Yes, love. I understand. I’ll tell the boys to keep their fangs to themselves. Though I can’tsay the same for myself.”

  Before I can respond, Keller pushes off the bar and makes his way to the stage. As if on cue, someone hits the stage lights, illuminating Keller in a bright, tinted blue halo. I’m not fooled. Keller is about as far from being an angel as I am from being a saint.

  * * *

  The night went better than I expected. Crimson Beat rocked the house, playing a mix of country and rock. They even threw in a couple of Celtic jigs in honor of Ostara and managed to make them sound contemporary. Wolfie’s was packed for hours. Sage had finally made an appearance, but I didn’t have the time to grill her. We were too busy. Instead, I recruited her to help out behind the bar while I made sure the lore in attendance stayed on the up and up. Not an easy task in general, and the pull of Ostara made it even more difficult.

  Thankfully, I was able to keep the peace in Wolfie’s with only a handful of scuffles and evictions, and had only been mildly distracted by Keller’s show. Whatever. Very distracted, but it didn’t keep me from doing my job. No matter how freaking hot he looks rocking a drum solo. Whether I wanted it or not—that would be a big fat not—he insisted on playing the role of security during his breaks. I swear Keller’s full name must be Keller Irritate-The-Hell-Out-Of-Josie O’Leary.

  Now the band is packing it up. I usher the last of the patrons out the door. I feel Keller’s stare from across the room and ignore it. I head upstairs to prepare for the night and run into Sage, who is more than a little frazzled. Nervous energy buzzes around her like a swarm of killer bees.

  “What gives, Sagey Sage?”

  A blush spreads across her cheeks. Unusual for a vampire to show so much emotion, but Sage and I are close and she can’t hide her feelings from me.

  She brushes her bangs to the side. Wide grey eyes stare at me. “I’m sorry, Jose. Keller was sort of in the area, and I just think—”

  “Don’t go there,” I say, waving my hand in front of her face. “Keller and I can’t be together.”

  She stomps and crosses her arms over her chest. “Yes, you can. And you should. You know it just as well as I do.” She narrows her eyes. “You’re just being stubborn.”

  I lift a brow. Sage isn’t usually this aggressive. “It’s not a matter of being stubborn.” I sigh and close my eyes briefly, collecting my thoughts. “Look. I know you think your brother and I are meant to be, but it’s not going to happen. After a while, all the head-butting causes a relentless headache.” It’s true. Keller thinks I need someone by my side to protect me day and night, namely him. I can’t stand it. I’m strong on my own. Always have been. Except whe
n it comes to him, but I’m not going there again. I’m not.

  I slide my hand down Sage’s arm. “I’m sorry. I’ve got to get out there. I have a feeling this night is gonna be hella bad.”

  Sage smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Be careful.”

  “Always am.”

  “No, you’re not. You take unnecessary risks and one day those risks are going to bite you in the ass.”

  I laugh to lighten the mood. I know she’s right. It’s already happened. But every time my ass has been in trouble, I manage to get myself out. Maybe not unscathed, but out. That’s why the lack of support from the Assembly bothers me so much. I have a lot to give. The fact that they don’t see it…screw it. “I’ll be careful. Promise.”

  Sage huffs and stomps down the stairs. Again, the sense that something more is at play here tugs at my mind, like an idea, a memory, just out of reach. I shake my head and focus.

  Gathering my blades and strapping them to my body soothes my inner turmoil. Each weapon has its place. I can do this with my eyes closed, but I don’t. Tonight is not a night to relax. Urgency settles over me like a scratchy blanket, and I make quick work of arming myself. I’ve learned many ways to conceal over the years. Two blades strapped to each ankle, hidden beneath my tall boots. Three blades holstered around each thigh, hidden beneath the layers of tulle on my tutu. I tuck a couple more into my waistband and head downstairs.

  Other than Wes and Sage, Wolfie’s is empty now. My heart hurts a little that Keller left without saying goodbye. Yeah, yeah. I know my thoughts contradict themselves. It is what it is. I can’t blame Keller for his fast exit. I hadn’t been very welcoming, and had probably told him to leave at least a dozen times throughout the night. Still.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see Sage watching me with a curious and knowing look. I hitch my chin up and plaster a smile on my face.

  “I’m out,” I say.

  “Typical. Why is it you never help clean up?” This from Wes.

  Sage elbows him in the ribs, yet I’m the target of his venomous stare.

  I bat my eyelashes, unaffected. “That’s what you’re paid for.” Further discussion is not needed, though I hear him grumbling behind me.

  I step into the night and suck in a deep breath. I catch a whiff of the budding promise of cherry blossoms. A sure sign of spring. Too bad that isn’t the only scent drifting on the breeze. Death taints the air of Nashville. By sunrise, the odor will be pungent. Humans will dismiss it as pollution. In a way, they are right. Pollution in the form of nasties.

  One more breath dictates my direction. Tonight, I head south.

  I meld with the shadows, gaze flicking side to side. Festive banners decorate the sidewalks and storefronts, announcing tomorrow’s big Ostara street party. A party that will leave some grieving for something they’ll never be able to fully comprehend. I’ll do my best to keep the numbers of fatalities down.

  My hearing is acute. Whispers to my left. Heavy breathing to my right. I turn, note the source of the panting and move on. Just two lovers sharing a heated kiss. If I warn them the streets are unsafe, they’ll only laugh. Like I said, ignorance, bliss, and all that shit.

  The whispering though, takes on a heated edge. I creep around the corner, careful to stay hidden. Five males are huddled around a body. An unmoving body. I unsheathe two blades and step into the light, drawing their attention. I suck in a surprised breath. All eyes are on me now and I desperately want to rub mine. This can’t be real. Not much surprises me anymore. These killers have just made that statement a fallacy. How could they? I glance at the dead man. His throat is torn wide-open, blood pooling around him. “What have you done?” I ask the assailants, but my eyes zero in on one of them, nailing him with a gaze so intense I’m surprised he doesn’t burst into flames.

  “It’s not what you think, Josie.”

  But it is. It so is. Even though my mind screams the denial, the evidence is laid out before me. I crouch into fighting stance as my target steps forward. Sage is going to hate me. I can’t help that. All five members of Crimson Beat are about to die.

  “You promised, Keller.” My voice is shaky.

  Keller shakes his head. “That promise is kept. We found him like this.” The other vampires nod, step forward as if they can protect Keller from me.

  I want to believe them, but the blonde one has blood on his hands, under his nails, and the others are acting strange, fidgety. To me, that equals guilty. Guilty of what has yet to be determined.

  The ground begins to shake. Very bad timing. I shake my head disapprovingly at the vampires, crouch lower and distribute my weight. The vamps do the same. Three red-scaled demons squeeze through a crack in the asphalt. Menace oozes from their auras. Hot air wheezes out of their nostrils, fetid and thick. I don’t have a choice but to give Keller and his band mates the benefit of the doubt. For now.

  One demon snarls low in his throat and lunges at me. I hold my ground, slam my blade into his gut and pull up. He screams and lashes out with sharpened claws. With a curse, I pull my arm back, but the damage is done. I’ve got a major injury, but at least this demon is dead.

  Only two more to go.

  My arm hurts like a bitch, burning, throbbing, and my breathing grows shallow with the pain. Instinct kicks in. Swinging around, I jump over the tail of another demon, listing to the side.

  Keller rushes to me and closes his hand over my gaping wound. “I told you to be careful,” he snaps. He quickly brings his hunger—if not his anger—under control, but not before his eyes flash red at the scent and sight of my blood. I curse loudly this time, my words directed at Keller rather than any of the demons. Damn him for distracting me. If he hadn’t been here, this wouldn’t have happened. Now he sees me as weak again. The crux of our debates.

  Pulling me close, Keller lifts my arm to his mouth and sucks out the poison. I sway. Not from the pain, but from the pleasure. He licks the wound and it closes up tight. A boost of renewed energy surges through me. Again, damn him.

  “I’ve got this,” I tell him and yank my arm away. He merely lifts a brow as his vampire friends kill the last two demons by wrenching off their heads. But they aren’t the last. The night is young.

  Chapter Three

  Unfortunately, for the rest of the night, I’ve got five bodyguards. Lucian, Matthew, Alex, Grant, and Keller. I’ll admit they are badass fighters, and maybe they hadn’t killed that man in the alley, but I don’t trust them. Especially not Keller. He’s acting all weird and shit, more possessive and protective than he’s ever been. And if he stands any closer to me, he’ll swallow me whole. At this point, I’d rather be eaten alive by a shifter.

  I can’t breathe with all his crowding. But having the assistance of these vamps has helped to keep the streets of Nashville semi-safe, so I’ll deal with the Keller-induced claustrophobia. This is what I’ve been asking the Assembly for. Draw up an agreement for the light and dark lore, and let me put a team in place to enforce it. Not that Keller would be on said team, but maybe someone like him.

  Rules, laws, whatever the hell the Assembly wants to call it… All beings need to be held accountable for their actions. This free-for-all method of mayhem doesn’t work. Everyone wielding their powers without care for the damage they cause, and the curtains of obscurity they rip apart in the process, only leads to more fear and destruction. Eventually the lore will no longer be considered fairy tales and figments of human imagination. Is that what the Assembly wants? I had never considered that as an option. Now I have to consider that they might. My gut sours at the thought.

  The first colors of dawn eventually leak over the horizon. I wait for the vampires to react to the sun. They don’t. I start to ask, but then remember that Ostara allows them to walk in full light without being affected. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have to live in the dark all the time, never seeing the light of day, never feeling the warmth of the sun. No wonder so many of the lore consider this one-day holiday the equivalent of
being reborn.

  I watch as the vampires, Keller excluded, tilt their faces toward the sky and let the heat of the sun wash over them. Keller doesn’t have time for the sun. He’s too busy watching my back.

  I’m exhausted, sweaty, and bloody. So many kills tonight. I never predicted Ostara would be this bad. Stalking shifters, destructive trolls, witches, warlocks, a phoenix hell-bent on arson, shadowed creatures I’ve never seen before… Why don’t we add confusion into the pot and call it one hell of a clusterfuck, shall we? Hitting the shower is first on my to-do list. I turn to Keller. “You’ve got some explaining to do,” I say quietly, not wanting to interrupt the blissful moment his friends are having. I haven’t forgotten about the dead man in the alley, but I have come to the conclusion that Keller and his friends are innocent of the murder. If those demons hadn’t popped up when they had, I may have temporarily lost my mind and ashed five blameless vampires. I shudder. “I assume you’re not leaving town today?” Assumptions do not equal hope. Not even close. I’m glad I settled that with myself.

  Keller shoves his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. His t-shirt stretches tight against his flat stomach. I drag my gaze to his when he chuckles. “Yes. I’ll be in town for a bit,” he says without committing or admitting to anything. That irks me more than it should. He turns to the members of Crimson Beat and tells them he’ll catch up with them later. When he turns back to me, his eyes are liquid pools of simmering emotion. “I’ll walk you home.”

  I shake my head. “No, thanks. I’m good.”

  “Stop being stubborn.”

  “You and your sister need to trash that word, okay?” I don’t wait for an answer, just barrel on. Keller, once again, is the source of my anger and frustration. “I’m not being stubborn. This is me. Take it or leave it.”

  He smiles and I realize my error. I back up. Keller follows, stalking me like this is a game of cat and mouse. It’s not a game. But my heart rattles around in my chest. Damn it, I’m excited. A good hunt always spins my adrenaline out of control. That I’m the hunted this time makes no difference. In fact, it only exacerbates the situation.