Dark Secrets: A Paranormal Romance Anthology

by Colleen Gleason

  I park the van next to the old sign and thank the Beast for getting the job done. After retrieving my chicken and biscuits from the back, I hop out and shut the door.

  A low growl sounds nearby. I drop my bags and curse when my food tumbles out onto the gravel. Turning, I grab my short blade from my thigh sheath, lean against the van, and wait as if I don’t have a care in the world.

  Not more than ten seconds later, the mangy drug-dealing shifter rounds the corner. He’s missing several more clumps of hair, and the exposed skin is red and irritated. Dude has a bad case of eczema. Nostrils flaring, he stops, one paw in the air, and tilts his head, studying me and wondering how big of a threat I am. He’s thinner than the last time we met. I can count every last rib like the keys on a piano. Apparently ripping the meat from my shoulder hadn’t been enough of a meal to gain him a few pounds.

  I slowly bend down and retrieve my half-eaten chicken leg. Holding it out in front of me, I ask, “You hungry, boy?”

  He growls his response. I’d ask him to shift, but then he’d be naked, and seeing a boy on the brink of death is more than I can take today. I think he knows who I am, but all light has left his yellow eyes. He can’t be more than a day or so away from his grave. I can’t let that happen. I don’t know what it is about him, but I want to help. I toss him the chicken and wait the two seconds it takes him to inhale it. I briefly think about how chicken bones aren’t good for dogs, but at this point, the benefit outweighs the risk.

  Muttly steps closer and sniffs the air. I crouch and scrape all the chicken and biscuits into the bag. “If you want this, you gotta follow me.”

  Keller is going to kill me. I move toward the factory door with confidence, yet aware of every step. Any fast movement and the dog will pounce or flee. I could fight him off, but that would mean I’d have to kill him, which is the exact opposite of what I want to do. Who knew I had a heart? A black one, but a heart nonetheless.

  The door wrenches open just as I reach for the knob. I sense Keller on the other side.

  “What the feck are you doing?”

  “Shh! Come on, Muttly.” I pat my thigh with one hand and shake the bag of food with the other. “You know you want the chicken. If you’re a good boy, I’ll make some gravy for the biscuits.” Who doesn’t like biscuits and gravy?

  Muttly’s tail thumps against the ground. He growls low in his throat. Yeah. I can totally relate. I’m that mixed up most days of the week.

  I step back and move around the corner, luring him inside with the scents of grease and yeast. “Keller, sweetie. Do you have a leash?”

  “You can’t be serious. You’re not keeping him.”

  I hear my spine crack as I straighten. Hmm… Did someone just tell Josie no? “No leash? No problem. You must have a spare room here somewhere.” I could fit more than twenty of my tiny apartments inside this factory. Surely, there’s a closet or something they’re not using.

  Muttly pokes his head around the corner and whines. My insides turn to mush. I reward him by tossing a biscuit in the air. It smacks him on the snout and lands on the floor. He shakes his head. Spit flies. He lowers his muzzle to the ground and eats the biscuit without chewing.

  Moving farther into the room, I signal Keller to close the door after Muttly makes it through. Surprisingly, he doesn’t slam it. “Have a heart, Irish. He’s starving.”

  Keller pops his jaw. “Do you know him?”

  I throw another leg on the ground. “Not really. I’ve seen him around. Look. I don’t know why, but I want to help him. I met him in his human form. He can’t be more than fifteen or sixteen. He’s angry and alone. I don’t know if he abandoned his pack, or if they kicked him out. But few shifters can survive on their own. Look at him.”

  Keller does. I know the instant I’ve won. Something softens in Keller’s dark gaze. He too knows what it’s like to be alone. It’s not a good feeling.

  “We have plenty of room for a temporary stay. He might not want your help, Josie. You have to be prepared for that.”

  I nod. “I know. He can decide after he’s been fed, bathed and clothed.”

  “I’m not bathing him.” Keller leans down and scoops Muttly into his strong arms. The dog thrashes with what little energy he has remaining. His jaws snap.

  Ignoring it all, Keller says, “Bring the chicken.”

  Be still my mushy heart. I follow, swinging my chicken and biscuits and whistling a victory tune in my head.

  * * *

  “You two need to see this.” Alex points at the television.

  The mayor is standing outside the courthouse, giving a press conference. His face is grim, the lines around his small mouth tight with stress. Several police officers and detectives flank him. Baldy is one of them. Unlike the mayor, Baldy’s expression is smug. I seriously don’t like Dude.

  “The death toll has reached more than a hundred,” the mayor says. “This drug is dangerous. Warn your children, warn your co-workers. No one is immune.”

  My insides are boiling. Cross is turning into Nashville’s equivalent of Hitler. We’ve made national news, and not for our country music.

  I reach across the table and hit the power button on the remote. I’ve seen enough. “Sage, I need you back at Wolfie’s. One of us has to be there tonight.” I’m not lying, but it’s the safest place for her to be. On the off chance I’ll offend her, I decide to leave that bit out.

  “Wes is scheduled to work.” She twirls her thumb ring.

  One of these days, people will say ‘Yes, Josie’ and leave it at that. Right. That will happen about the time cows learn to play the piano. “You know how I feel about Tool Boy. I don’t trust him. “

  Sage chews on her lip, considering.

  Seriously? What’s there to think about? She doesn’t even know how to fight. I’m totally giving her an out. She needs to run with it, and if she doesn’t soon, I’m going to cut off her pigtails.

  “Grant will be there with you,” Keller says. “If Cross is in town, we need to have all our bases covered.”

  Sage nods. “Makes sense when you put it that way. You can count on me. I’ll be there.”

  I need to remind myself to thank Keller for this later. As soon as I throttle Sage for not listening to me from the get-go. Earlier, I’d thought this was going to be a pretty day. Now all I see is blood-coated streets every time I close my eyes. Which is exactly why I won’t be sleeping today.

  “How about me?” Cassy asks, clutching a steaming coffee mug in her hands.

  “How strong is your magick?” I break off a piece of blueberry muffin and pop it in my mouth.

  “Not as strong as Melissa’s yet, but I’ve been working hard.”

  “Okay,” I say. “Alex can escort you to the spot we’ve asked the other witches to rendezvous.”

  “No,” Alex and Cassy say simultaneously.

  Keller stands. “I don’t know what it is with you two, but we don’t have time for this. This city isn’t that big. Learn to deal with it.” He looks from Cassy to Alex, silently daring them to defy him.

  I love when he gets all authoritative like this.

  “Keller and I are the only ones going inside,” I add to break the mounting tension.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Matthew says.

  “It is. Hear me out. Whether Cross is here or not, he’ll have guards. I’m expecting a lot of resistance. Demons, shifters, and pixies, just to name a few. And probably even some doped-up humans. I need you, Lucian, and Alex on the outside, containing the madness. I hope it’s enough. All we need is for you to buy us time.”

  “We got you,” Luc says, and chugs a glass of blood.

  Seeing him drink reminds me just how long this night has been. “We all need to be at top strength. Do whatever you’ve got to do today to get that way.” I stand and stretch.

  “You need to sleep,” Keller says.

  “I can’t sleep.” The backs of my eyelids have turned into a movie theater playing reel after ree
l of horror.

  “You can try.” Keller leads me out of the kitchen, deeper into the factory. His room is bigger than my entire apartment and filled with warm tones of brown and green. His bed has at least ten pillows and sports a down comforter that’s begging me to crawl beneath it and get all cozy. My eyes grow heavy and I rub the sand out of them with the back of my hand.

  “Are you nervous?”

  I turn to him. “I don’t get nervous. You know that.”

  Keller tugs me toward the bed, and gently pushes me down. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

  “I don’t know how to explain it. I feel a shift. I think I’ve been naïve to think we could beat the darkness. Power and money talk. I don’t have any of that to offer, and I don’t see the Assembly stepping up to offer some of theirs. So what’s to stop Cross and other beings like him from taking over?”

  “Sounds to me like you’re giving up.”

  I shake my head, more to convince myself than Keller. I know he’s goading me. “I’m not. I’m competitive. I like to win. Especially when I know I’m right.”

  “And are you?”

  “What? Right?”

  Keller nods and drags the back of his hand over my thigh.

  “Hell, yeah, I’m right. It’s more than that. If I don’t fight to protect the innocents, who will?””

  “Me, for one.”

  “I know that,” I say. “All of you have been fantastic. Are we enough?”

  “We’ll have to be. I think the only solution is to win.”

  I never did get around to telling Keller about my drug-induced nightmares. Now doesn’t seem like the right time. Still, I say, “Don’t die on me, okay?”

  “I’m not that easy to get rid of.”

  “Not joking here.”

  “I know. I’m not going anywhere, Josephine Hawk.”

  “My mama used to say that same thing to me.”

  Keller angles his head and studies me. This time I don’t look away. “Sage said you never figured out who killed her.”

  Insert knife into heart. “No. We didn’t.”

  “Would it make you feel better if you did?”

  I’ve thought about that often. Back then it had been too hard. I’d needed the time and distance. Recently, she’s been in my thoughts more and more. What pisses me off is that it’s not the good parts I’m remembering. “Maybe.”

  “Let’s get through tonight and we can talk more about this tomorrow.”

  “Your place or mine?” Looking around his room, I realize he’s made a home here, yet he chooses to spend his time with me in my dump of an apartment. I crawl into Keller’s lap and wrap my arms around his neck.

  He smiles. “Wherever you are is where I’ll be.”

  Man, this vampire makes me squirm. I unbraid my hair and toss it over my shoulder, exposing the full length of my neck. Keller’s body hardens under me. “We won’t be able to talk once we’re inside. That means we need a strong connection, vampire.”

  “How strong?”

  “Very strong,” I say, doing my best Irish imitation.

  Chuckling, Keller nuzzles my neck and I melt into him. I close my eyes, and for a moment I’m thrown back into the white-washed world where Keller is ashes in the wind. I suck in a sharp breath.

  Keller leans back, his brows drawn in concern. “What’s wrong?”

  My throat is closing around the words I desperately want to say. I swallow past the lump and part my lips.

  “Josie?”

  “I love you, Irish. I am yours.”

  Keller flips me over and sinks his fangs into my neck. I cling to him as tears stream down my cheeks. Life is short. Death is forever. I’d forgotten that. I’ll never forget again.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  It’s time.

  The sun has set and the patrons have left the museum. The witches have formed a circle along the perimeter and are chanting quietly. An iridescent glow surrounds the entire block. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Nashville is on the apex of the Apocalypse. Anyone not already within the witches’ ward won’t be allowed in, instead they’ll feel a strong urge to walk the other way. As hard as the witches are working, they need to work harder and faster if we’re to have any chance of pulling this off.

  If everything is going according to plan, Cassy and Melissa should be stashed inside the museum next to the Reba McIntire exhibit. After Keller and I get in, we’ll lead them to the room forever known as the-room-that-broke-my-ass.

  As I’d predicted, the beings of the occult are thick on the streets tonight. They must really think I’m all kinds of stupid if they believe I don’t know exactly why they’re here. Protecting their goods while working for the devil. Matthew, Alex and Lucian are going to have their hands full. I actually envy them.

  I keep one eye on the sky at all times. Surprisingly, there aren’t any pixies flying around. Maybe they’re expecting us. That, or they’re too busy trying to keep up with the high drug demand. Even with the mayor’s warning, I doubt most will listen. Either way, tonight is the final showdown.

  “Ready?”

  I smile at Keller. “Why do you always ask me that? If I’m not ready, I’m dead.”

  Keller tips my chin up and kisses me for several seconds. “I’ll remember that.”

  We move to make our way to the main entrance. I hear a scuffle behind me. Pivoting on my heel, I retrieve my longest blade from inside my right boot. Keller widens his stance. A demon with fiery orange scales and a wicked-long horn jetting from his forehead runs toward us on all fours. He opens his mouth, exposing two rows of five-inch long teeth.

  I hold my ground until he’s almost on top of me. I jump and slam my blade between his eyes. He screeches in pain. I twist my wrist before jerking the blade free. Acidic blood arcs, sizzling as it hits the air. I hop out of the way of the splatter’s reach. Keller grabs the demon’s tail and flips him onto his back. Like an alligator, Hell’s pet dog goes into a death roll. Keller falls to his knees.

  “Let go!”

  He releases the demon, stands up, and steps back to gauge his next move. The demon snaps his jaws closed and a low growl emanates from deep in his belly. If circumstances were different, I’d be all over this shit. Unfortunately, we don’t have time for this song and dance.

  As if he hears my thoughts, Luc sprints across the parking lot. He jumps onto the demon’s back and punches him just above his horn, leaving a dent the size of a large muffin. Holy shit. The demon flails back and forth. Luc holds tight. “I’ve got this. You two go.”

  I have zero doubt Lucian can handle the situation. With a shrug, Keller and I leave Luc to tangle with the demon.

  We approach the door. I use my blade to pick the lock.

  “What about the alarms?” Keller asks me, his hand covering mine.

  “Melissa has taken care of that.” Other than infiltrating the security company, which would have taken too much time, the witches had been my only option, and a good one at that. I ease the blade into the lock and jiggle it until I hear the mechanism click.

  We’re in.

  I flash Keller a smile, shut the door behind us, and sigh in relief. We move past the information center and straight into the heart of the museum. Even in the dimmed lights, Elvis’s enormous display shines. Having so many rhinestones on one jacket should be a crime. I realize Keller has probably never been inside the museum. One night, we’ll have to sneak back in so I can give him the grand tour.

  Cassy and Melissa are exactly where they should be. Right next to Reba’s infamous burgundy dress. Cassy smiles as we approach. It should be safe to talk here, but once we move downstairs, we’ll have to go into silent mode.

  “You two set to do this?” I ask, glancing around.

  Melissa nods.

  “We’re ready,” Cassy says, excitement shining in her eyes.

  “Good. Keller will lead the way. Once we get inside the pixie headquarters, we can’t talk. There’s a slim chance we’ll get in unde
tected. I’d like to sway the odds in our favor as much as possible.”

  “Understood,” Melissa says. “Cassy and I will need to conserve our energy anyway. It would be a shame to disturb any of this memorabilia.”

  I shake my head. “Not just a shame. It can’t happen. I don’t care what y’all have to do to contain it, but you must. Keller and I will help as much as we can, but wards are your game.”

  I take a deep breath, crack my neck, and give Keller the signal. A quick inventory check, and I’ve got one blade for each hand and several more for backup. I tuck another into Keller’s waistband. Just in case.

  I’ve already told Keller about the secondary entrance to the lower level. It’s hidden under Elvis’s gold Cadillac. We inch between the grand piano and the glass dividers, then I hold a finger up before sniper-crawling under the car. I find the hidden panel, stick my blade under the edge and pull it up. After I set it to the side, I back crawl my way out from underneath.

  Okay, Irish. You’re first. Keller fist bumps me before getting on his belly. Nice ass.

  It is, isn’t it?

  I laugh.

  He disappears in two seconds. Cassy is next, followed by Melissa. I take up the rear. I drop into the black hole and feel strong arms around my legs. What a hero. Before Keller puts me down, I slide the panel back into place, sealing us in.

  Finding our way in the dark won’t be easy. Thankfully, we only have to manage a short hallway that will lead us to the main entryway. The smell of mold tickles my nose.

  We progress slowly, my senses on high alert. We could be attacked at any moment, but I don’t think that will happen. Yet. Something wet and warm drips on my face. I look up. I see nothing and continue on, wiping whatever it is away with the back of my hand. It’s slimy and I almost gag. Each step I take is leading me closer to Cross. I can feel it.

  After what seems like an hour, but is probably closer to a minute, I see the torches. Adrenaline pumps through my veins. I’m in for a good fight and my body knows it.