Forsaken Talisman

by Ashleigh Raine

  The corners of Craze’s mouth tipped up slightly as though he were holding back a full grin. “Now, Twyla, how could he resist a woman with the kind of power you have? Blocking my attack on your mind as well as launching your own attack? Hmmm…you can’t play dumb on that one now.”

  She swallowed hard. Had he discovered what she’d done? “And just what do you mean by that?”

  He took the wineglass from her hand and abruptly changed the subject. “You know, you still owe me the rest of tonight’s dance.” He walked over to the incredibly high-end stereo system and put on some slow jazz. Then he dimmed the lights and held his hands out to her.

  Dammit. Switching gears again. There had to be a trick up his sleeve, but she knew she’d look too suspicious if she made a lame excuse to get out the door. And with the darkness back in his eyes, running out of there would likely mean certain death. Then again, when they were outside, he’d practically gotten off on their conversations about her power so maybe he simply wanted to explore some of that a little further. He was clearly seeking more than just small talk from her now and wouldn’t kill her until he got it.

  And that was her best card to play. She would tolerate his games, talk to him about Freeze. And maybe this time, learn something from him in the process.

  With renewed confidence, she stepped into his embrace.

  He remained quite the gentleman, moving her slowly to the seductive jazz rhythm. Using the natural flow of the dance, she snaked closer, pressing herself tightly against him. She couldn’t mistake his body’s interest, whether in her power or in her actions she didn’t know. Not that it mattered. She was leaving him cold and alone once this song was through.

  Unexpectedly, he whirled her around a corner, pinning her against the wall with his body. There was no room to struggle, no way to escape.

  Lifting her up, he brought his face to hers, his words whispered into her parted mouth. “Let’s not make this into a scene. I know you got the woman out of here. Come on, Twyla. I think you know me better than that, don’t you? It’s okay, though. I’m not in the least bit concerned. In fact, I’m more concerned about who’s gonna break into my house to pull me away from you. Because this time, there won’t be anyone to stop me from killing him, whoever he might be.”

  His calmly spoken words tasted sweet like the wine they’d shared. “You really didn’t think I’d be taken by surprise with your little rescue, now did you?” He smirked. “I’m disappointed in you, Twyla, underestimating me like that.” He tilted his head as though he were listening for something and applied more pressure against her body with his own. He slid his thigh up between her legs, grinding against her pussy, holding her to the wall. “Where’s your cavalry, Twyla? There has to be another Shadow Walker ready to break down my door to steal you back from me. Maybe if I just hold you a little longer…or make you scream…”

  She gulped and forced herself to match his intensity while trying to ignore the heat of his body so intimately close to hers. She would not let him scare her. “There is no one, Craze. I am alone. Go ahead. Finish what you started.” She rode his thigh, letting go of her fear, and mustered all of her power. With Freeze, she’d evoked a weapon tornado. Perhaps against Craze, she could do something similar and force enough power to annihilate him—or at least give her enough time to get away.

  His tongue found the base of her neck and licked upward, leaving a trail of erotic fire in its place. She knew what that one lick meant. Months ago when he’d captured her, she’d licked him to show that he couldn’t control her. Now he returned the favor.

  Her thoughts spun angrily as his teeth deliberately sank into her earlobe and another wash of red heat shot through her. His hands found her ass, guiding her back and forth along his leg, creating a burning, throbbing need in her pussy until she had to fight her body to keep from coming. Damn her attraction to bad boys. Too bad Craze was beyond even her preference. There had to be a way to punish him for manhandling her, but her mind wasn’t clear enough.

  With the same slow movements, Craze released her from his body’s trap. Through his removal, she regained her breath, but full recovery of her senses was another matter altogether.

  He grinned wickedly. “Go home, Twyla.” He shoved her through the house and out the front door.

  * * * * *

  Marlin moved from window to window. It had been two minutes since Craze had danced Twyla out of his view, two minutes of wondering if she was being hurt or tortured. He couldn’t hear anything above the jazz music. If anything was happening to Twyla while he stood there waiting…

  That was it. He was going in. He reached into his jacket and curled his fingers around his .38. At such close range, he wouldn’t need to use one of his larger guns.

  Marlin stepped toward the front door when an inside light flicked back on and Twyla came into view, being pushed by Craze. Marlin ducked out of sight as the door opened and Twyla was shoved out.

  “We’ll be in touch.” Craze’s voice sounded normal, but there was an edge of malice to his words.

  There was no verbal reply from Twyla as she abruptly turned her back on Craze and walked down the front path. Her eyes were somewhat dazed, though anger showed in the death grip on her purse.

  Craze lingered in the doorway, watching her walk all the way to the street before closing the door.

  Marlin waited to make sure the coast was clear before creeping through the shadows, following Twyla. She sighed and shivered as she passed the next house, folding her arms around her purse in front of her, closing herself off from the world around her.

  After edging along a low fence to a bush, Marlin emerged, directly blocking Twyla’s path. Her eyes were downcast and she didn’t even notice she was about ready to collide with him. “Twyla. You all right? If he fucked with you, I swear I’ll kick his ass right this time.”

  She stopped in her tracks and quickly looked up, her eyes registering surprise. Then, just as rapidly, there was a visible shift in the way she carried herself. She looked Marlin up and down with a smirk. “And you’re here why? I can take care of myself, Prettyboy.” She briefly glanced back toward Craze’s house before continuing on her way. Marlin fell into step next to her.

  “Sure you can, but I’d feel better knowing I at least tried to help. Dusty already took my car. I’m walking you home.” He put his jacket over her shoulders and she sighed. What the hell had happened to her in there?

  “Thanks, Marlin, but I’m fine. He was remarkably…um…well-behaved.” Twyla turned the corner onto her street.

  “Right. You know I’m not buying that.”

  Twyla came to a halt and turned to face him. She lifted her chin and met his eyes. Pain blossomed in his chest at the raw emotion visible there. She took a deep ragged breath before speaking. “He knows we got the woman out of there. But he doesn’t care. I don’t know why he doesn’t care, but he doesn’t. And that’s what scares me the most.” She lowered her eyes and continued up the pathway to her house.

  “And I hate to tell ya, but the woman looks just like Mariah.”

  Twyla paused for a moment. “And I hate to tell ya, but I don’t think I wanted to know that, Marlin. That just makes everything worse.”

  “Yeah, I know. Sorry.” Marlin blindly followed Twyla as she sat down on her front porch swing. His mind was awhirl, trying to make right what she’d said. Craze had known about their rescue of the woman and he didn’t care. So what did he have planned? Fuck! Had they walked right into another trap? He clicked-in to give Dusty the news and was met with an eerie silence.

  Dusty? Dusty? Are you there? Adrenaline raced through his veins and his heart began pounding painfully. Why wasn’t Dusty responding? Had something already happened and he didn’t have enough time to click-in?

  Dusty! Answer me dammit!

  A low rumble of sound, then, What the fuck do you want? I’m trying to sleep here. There was a brief pause and Marlin could almost hear Dusty’s mind waking up. Shit! Is Twyla okay?


  Fine time for you decide you wanna sleep. Twyla’s all right considering she just spent the last hour with a killer. How’s the woman? Marlin took a deep breath and waited, trying to decide the best way to break the news. To hell with it, there was no easy way to say this. Shit, Dusty. Craze knows we got her out of there.

  What? Is he comin’ after her? How’d he find out?

  Twyla just told me he knows we got her and for some reason he doesn’t care about it. I dunno about you, but that tells me he planned this whole thing out. You have to be careful. Watch your back. Don’t let her out of your sight. I’ll talk with Stephan about it come morning. Until then, stay away from her. Don’t fuck around.

  Dusty’s voice quieted. Yeah. Whatever. I’ll make sure she stays here. Let me know if you learn anything else. I’m goin’ back to sleep. He clicked-out before Marlin could say anything else.

  He turned his attention to Twyla, sitting silently next to him, staring up into the night sky. She’d been holding an awful lot in lately, he knew. He recognized that sad look in her eyes as a mirror of his own in the months after Judy had been taken from him. At that point in his life he’d been almost suicidal, stepping into fights with a foolhardy attitude, truly not caring if he won or lost. And that seemed to be exactly what Twyla was doing.

  She broke the silence. “You sure got quiet. You all right? I was expecting a scolding for what me and Dusty did tonight.”

  “Oh, you’ll hear about tonight from Stephan, not me.” They lapsed into silence again as he tried to think of what he could say to get her to talk to him. His mind latched on the one thing he could ask Twyla about without her accusing him of digging into her life. And maybe if he offered up his own problems, she’d be willing to share as well.

  “Hey, can I ask you something? I think I need a woman’s point of view because I have no idea what’s up.”

  Twyla finally shifted her gaze from the distant stars and focused on him. Her lips curled into a half smile. “You’re asking me for advice on women? You? Mr. Prettyboy, ladies’ man? What the hell is wrong with the world when you’re needing advice?”

  “It’s not funny. This is somethin’ I can’t figure out.” He grinned as her smile widened. “C’mon, I’m serious here. I’m wondering what’s up with Ana. She avoids me like the plague.”

  Twyla settled deeper into the swing. “I haven’t talked to her much, but there’s definitely weirdness between you two.” Her grin widened and she winked, her words turning saucy. The old, cocky Twyla that he hadn’t seen in months was back, if just for the moment. “I can’t imagine why any woman would avoid you, Marlin. I’ll bet you and Ana had something going on. Something she maybe hasn’t gotten over?”

  “Well, nothing happened. I mean, we were close. We slept together once, on the night we became Shadow Walkers. But her mom moved her out of Talisman Bay right after that and I never heard from her again, until she showed up three months ago to help us fight Craze.”

  “Any idea where she went?”

  “None. Well, I think Jake heard from her a few times. They were always close. Like brother and sister, ya know? But I never heard a thing about her. She just disappeared out of our lives. I mean it’s not like we made any promises to each other. We slept together that night to celebrate life and our survival. And I do care about her. But why is she staying so distant from me? She’s fine with everyone else, but when I walk into a room, she pulls away. What am I’m missing?”

  “Marlin, you care about every woman you sleep with. I can see it in your eyes. But I also know you won’t give your heart to any of them. Did Ana want your heart or something?”

  Marlin shook his head. “No. We were just friends. That was it. We’d talked about it a lot. Both of us knew our lives were taking us other places.”

  “Maybe she did want more and you just didn’t give it to her.”

  “No.”

  Twyla shifted positions, tucking her legs underneath her. She wrapped his jacket tighter around her shoulders like a blanket. “Look, before you dismiss my advice so quickly, at least think about cornering her and asking her what’s going on. Neither one of us can read her mind, you know.”

  Marlin ran his hands over his face in sheer frustration. “I tried talking to her tonight but she pushed me away.” He laughed at himself. “First time that’s happened to me in a long time.”

  Twyla choked out a sarcastic laugh. “It’s funny. I watched you tonight and saw how every woman tried to throw themselves at you, yet you just weren’t interested. You wanted to be, but it’s like you just couldn’t go there. Maybe that’s what’s up with Ana. Think about it. I mean, I know that one night with you would make me want more. Maybe she still wants you but doesn’t know how to get past the memories.” Twyla grinned. “I know I’d fuck your brains out, too, if given the right opportunity. It’s those damn chocolate brown eyes of yours. They scream sex whenever you look at a woman and you don’t even realize it.” She shrugged. “But we both want more than that. I can tell.”

  Marlin stared at her in astonishment. She’d just gone from talking about talking to talking about fucking in one breath. “What, exactly, are you saying?”

  “Both of us are wishing for the one who was taken away from us. Jake told me a little about Judy and how you lost her. I think your Judy is my Freeze. We both lost the half of us that made our worlds make sense. But you know what, Marlin? Tonight, while talking to Craze, I actually had a revelation about that.”

  This was getting interesting. “A revelation?”

  “Yeah.” She opened her purse and pulled out an amethyst crystal, pondering it as she spoke. “If I continue to let Freeze live in my life even though he’s dead, I’m gonna end up dead right alongside him.” Her voice trailed into a shaky whisper as she closed her hand around the amethyst.

  Marlin placed a hand on her shoulder as she continued. “That’s not something I was put here for. I have to take what I learned from him and put it to good use. Sure I miss him and what could have been, but who knows? In any case, I’ll bet my memories of what happened plus my fantasies about what will never happen are better than whatever our reality would have been. He’s a memory I’ll cherish forever, but if I let him take over my life, I might as well not live. Have you gotten to that point yet? Or do you still hate waking up in the morning alone?”

  “Yeah, I still roll over sometimes looking for Judy. But it does get easier.”

  “Maybe you’ll find the woman who makes you want to get up in the morning—or should I say will make you want to stay in bed all day with her.” She smiled up at him, but this time the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Maybe that girl is Ana.”

  He shook his head. “No, not Ana. I do love her, but not in the way you mean. Even growing up, she always seemed distracted. Like she’d be on my arm, but always looking for someone else. That’s one of the reasons nothin’ ever really became of us. We both had our hearts in separate places. But I do want to be her friend again. It seems that lately, we need all the friends we can get.”

  Twyla nodded in understanding as she put the amethyst back into her purse. She slipped her legs out from underneath her, placing them back on the porch. “It’s cold out here and there isn’t much night left. Come inside with me. I don’t want to sleep alone tonight.”

  Marlin stood up, his feet already moving him away from Twyla. “I dunno. Seems like it could be a bad idea. We’ve both got too many open wounds.”

  Twyla laughed lightly. “Come on Marlin. Like you’ve never slept with a woman without having sex. And there won’t be sex tonight. I’m too damn tired.” She sighed and the weariness seemed to surround them both.

  He turned back around to face her. “I haven’t. Not since Judy.”

  “Well, let me show you how nice it can be.” She held out her hand to him.

  Marlin hastily considered the options but it was an easy decision. He didn’t want to be alone tonight either. He took her hand, letting her lead him into the house and up to the bedroom
. She quickly shed her dress and slipped under the covers, closing her eyes on another weary sigh. He removed his clothes and slid in next to her, letting their bodies fit comfortably together. Their shared warmth lulled him into a much-needed rest.

  He smiled as he fell asleep. Twyla had been right. This was nice. There was nothing between them.

  * * * * *

  I’m not Mariah…

  She drifted almost casually into wakefulness, sure of only two things: one, although she still had Mariah’s memories, she wasn’t her and two, because of those stolen memories, the man sleeping in a chair with his feet propped on the bed was someone she could trust with her very existence.

  Careful to remain quiet, she turned her head. Before her rescuer knew she was awake and aware, she wanted time to look at him. It was very strange for her. Part of her knew this man, had conversed with him, shared laughter and dreams…but that part of her wasn’t really her. It was like she was looking at him through two very different sets of eyes.

  The side of her that didn’t know him indulged her curiosity. His dirty blond hair was longer than was fashionable and unkempt as though he never did more than run his hands through it. His hair had brushed against her face during their earlier struggles and it had been soft, like the caress of a feather.

  His eyes were closed, but she could remember their light brown color. He had small wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and mouth. Laugh lines. Under better circumstances he probably was a lot of fun to be around…but she already knew that, had seen his playful side through Mariah’s eyes. She tried to clear her mind of the foreign memories, wanting to focus on what she knew and not what had been forced inside.

  He wasn’t relaxed in sleep. His body remained taut, ready to spring to life at the slightest noise or movement. His hands were crossed in front of his naked chest…he’d never put another shirt on. She swallowed hard as she took in the full view. He had large hands, strong arms, and a torso of pure, rock-hard muscle. A fighter’s body. She didn’t know how she knew that, but she knew without a doubt that this man could take someone down with one punch. He had a light smattering of blond hair on his chest, and a darker patch of hair that started around his belly button and disappeared into his jeans.