The Kotahi Bay Quartet

by J. C. Hart

  Maybe he could be their inside man, maybe he could lure the real villain in and help them finish this once and for all.

  She sat up, her whole body thrilling. That was it; that was the key to this whole thing. It was so simple! She dragged her shoes on and headed back into town. She'd go and see Brandon and he could feel out the limitations, maybe figure out why Kyle was connected to this person in the first place and give her some ideas for how to crack him.

  Chapter Eight

  After Samantha left him, he didn't feel like doing any reconnaissance so he just grabbed a coffee and headed back home. The door was ajar as he walked up the steps and he kept his tread light, pushing it all the way back and waiting a beat before stepping inside.

  "You're home. Did you find what you needed?" Anahera's slightly mocking voice came from the kitchen.

  "How did you get in?" Kyle asked, scanning the room to find his bags open, notes scattered around the lounge. He pushed back his irritation at the invasion and joined her.

  "Oh come on," she said, turning towards him, her long dark hair framing her face. "You didn't really think you could keep me out. Not like you've got anything to hide is there?"

  "No, nothing. I just didn't expect to find you here." He sipped his coffee, keeping his distance from her.

  There had always been something about her that unnerved him. She seemed overly confident, completely sure of her path in life. He had none of that, couldn't relate to it in any way. Until maybe now. He had a sureness about something. About Samantha. Even if he wasn't sure what that meant.

  "I decided to surprise you." A smile lit her face. He knew better than to trust that though. "Did you miss me?"

  He didn't respond immediately, and her face seemed to fall in shadow. She moved towards him though, that smile still playing on her lips, and pressed a kiss on his cheek.

  "I hope you've made some progress. We need the barrier down so that we can get the rest of this show on the road." She slipped her fingers into his and pulled him through to the lounge. “I got you a present.”

  “You did?” He swallowed hard, feeling confident he wasn’t going to like it. But there is was, a box tied with a big red bow on the coffee table. He moved over to it, pulling the ribbon and letting it fall as he nudged the lid off. Inside gleamed the hard metal of a gun. “What’s this for?” he asked, his gut clenching. He didn’t touch it, didn’t want anything to do with it.

  “Thought it would make your job easier.”

  "Why do we need to follow through with that exactly? I mean, you're here now..."

  She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. "Oh come on. Don't tell me you're getting soft or something. It's just a job."

  "I just don't understand, I guess." He shrugged, dropped into the chair opposite her.

  "And you don't need to. You’re one of my minions. My favourite minion. You just need to do what you're told." She crossed one leg over the other and sipped her coffee, sighing in satisfaction.

  "So we get our hands dirty while yours stay clean."

  "Exactly! Oh come on, Kyle. You're not above a little dirty work. You live for it." She ran her tongue over her lips.

  He could vividly remember the nights they'd gotten dirty together. She was a violent thing in the sack, and he lived for the pain she inflicted on him. It had been the only thing that really made him feel alive; until now, with Samantha.

  He stood up and grabbed his bag. "I actually just came back for this. Got work to do you know, gotta keep the boss happy."

  "The boss would be happier if you stayed here."

  "The boss needs to let her favourite minion do the job she assigned him." He forced himself to lean forward, to kiss her full on the lips, though the groan he made when she bit his lip was real. "I'll be back in a couple of hours. I'd say make yourself at home, but you've already done that."

  "It could do with a woman's touch..."

  "Leave it, Ana. I'll bring something back for dinner. Stay out of trouble."

  "Oh honey, that's what I have you for." She winked as he turned away.

  He shut the door behind him and leaned against it to try and get his bearings. Then he pushed off, wanting to get as much distance between Anahera and himself before he did something stupid like go back inside and take her to bed.

  That woman. He let out a sigh as he walked. Sure, she'd looked after him, but something had changed. He wasn't proud of the things he'd done in the past, but they were all things he could live with. Now she wanted him to kill for her and he wasn't sure he could. When she’d told him to it had seemed fine, but ever since the tattoo had been completed he'd felt off, not like himself, or more like himself? Gods he'd like to get drunk right now, because everything was a mess and he didn't know where to go from here.

  What he did know was that he needed to at least look like he was going to do the job she'd assigned, because as soon as he looked like he wasn't towing the line there would be trouble. It would buy him a little time. For what, he wasn't sure.

  Chapter Nine

  She knocked on the door of Alyssa's house and waited. Footsteps approached and then the door creaked open revealing Brandon. Despite it being afternoon he was rubbing his eyes as though he'd just woken up.

  "If you're looking for Alyssa, she's not here," he offered with a mild smile.

  "Actually, I was looking for you."

  "Is that so?" He raised an eyebrow, but opened the door wider, stepping back so she could enter. "This should be interesting."

  "Oh come on, Brandon. It's not like we've never talked before."

  "No, but we're not buddies exactly, are we? I don't think we've had a single solo conversation. Not that I'm opposed to the idea, just putting it on the record." He shut the door, and then led the way to the lounge. "What can I do for you?"

  Samantha sat down on the couch, tucking her feet under her. "Has Alyssa told you anything about Shadow?"

  "Your missing spirit companion? Yeah, she doesn't keep a lot from me."

  "Well, I found where he disappeared to, at least I think I did."

  "Well that's great, what do you need me for then?" Brandon sat down opposite her in the lazy boy. "I have a fairly specific skill-set."

  "I don't know how to put this into words, but we were lovers in a past life—Shadow and me, that is. He's my soul mate. I never thought he'd be in this life, because he was there in spirit. And you deal with spirits. I just... I need to know for sure that he's gone, that he's merged with this man. I think, I think maybe..." Her whole body shuddered and a wail tore out of her lungs. Brandon was on the floor next to her in a moment, cradling her in his arms until her sobs abated.

  "It's okay, it's okay. Sam. I know I don’t know you that well, but we're here for you. Okay? We'll work this out."

  "I thought I was going to be alone, just me and Shadow, for this whole lifetime and now he's inside this man, and when I touched him..." She drew in a shaky breath. "It felt like him. It felt like he did in my memories. But I'm so scared it's all a lie. Can you... Can you do something? Can you reach around in the spirit world and try to find him? Because if he's there, then he's not here in this world. But if he isn't there then..."

  "Then maybe your love has found a way to come to you," Brandon said softly. He leaned forward and wiped the tears off her face and smiled. "That's dedication."

  "I'm so scared that it's not real, Brandon. I need to know, before I do something stupid."

  "Oh Sam, you're the least stupid one among us. You know that right?" He stood and held out a hand, pulling her to her feet. "Why don't you go get a glass of water, and I'll prepare myself for this."

  "So you can do it?"

  "I'll do the best I can." He chuckled. "To be honest, at this point I'm dead curious to see what we can find out. Not the regular scenario I'm given." He winked, then left the lounge.

  Sam hugged herself. The shaking had subsided, but she was left with a gnawing pit in her stomach. She didn't want to hope that her love really was here in the phy
sical world. And of all people, the guy who was working against them. But if he was here... if he was here then maybe everything would be okay. They would find a way out of this. Together.

  Together.

  It was more than she had ever hoped for. The touch of his skin, his lips. When he'd held her it was like the rest of the world had melted away and she was finally home.

  Sam sighed as she moved through to the kitchen and filled a glass of water from the tap. She drank it all, then splashed some on her face to try and freshen up and was patting her skin dry when Alyssa breezed into the room.

  "Hey, thought I'd find you here." Alyssa crossed the room and wrapped her arms around Sam. "Are you okay? You look like shit. That man of mine hasn't been making you cry has he?"

  Sam laughed. "No, I'm quite capable of that all on my own. He's helping me with Shadow."

  Alyssa raised an eyebrow. "Is that something I can help with too, or something you want to keep to yourself? Either way, it's totally fine. I just popped home to grab my towel anyway."

  Sam paused, trying to figure out if she wanted Alyssa to be involved, but the other woman saved her from a response.

  "I'll just head down to the beach for a bit. Take a swim before the weather starts to turn. Might catch you later?"

  "Yeah, that would be nice." Sam smiled. "Thanks."

  Alyssa shrugged, then headed for the door. "Have fun!" she called over her shoulder.

  Fun. Well, that wasn't necessarily the plan, but it would be interesting.

  Brandon came and ushered her into the lounge again, pulling the curtains shut and lighting some candles before switching off the light.

  "What will the neighbours think?" Sam asked.

  "Trust me, they've all been here and done this at some point. You are far from the first."

  "And this?" She waved to the room, now bathed in flickering candle light. "Necessary?"

  Brandon shrugged. "Old habits and showmanship. I don't need it, but it sets the scene nicely don't you think? Have you got something that connects you to Shadow? It tends to make this easier, especially when it's not for the recently deceased."

  "Oh." Sam bit her lip, disappointment threatening to crush in. "No, wait, actually I do." She reached behind her neck and unclasped the necklace. She held it for a moment, the weight of it already familiar, comfortable, before passing it to Brandon.

  "Thanks. Just, sit there and think about him, and I'll do my thing." Brandon gave her a reassuring smile as he pressed his hands to either side of the amulet and closed his eyes.

  She did the same, focusing on the memories she had of him. Shadow, the panther who’d kept her company day and night, his quiet presence a constant reassurance that she was loved. She remembered their nights together in past lives, the memory she had of his lips against hers, of the way her heart filled with love, of his father's rage, and then Kyle was there, foremost in her thoughts. Kyle with his panther tattoo and the way it scowled fiercely from his shoulder. Kyle, with his rough hands, but surprisingly warm embrace, his deep brown eyes and the way they lingered on her as though he thought he knew her from somewhere but had no recollection of where.

  Brandon grabbed her hand, and her eyes shot open. His were pools of darkness and would have scared her if she didn't know that she could trust him. Even then, it sent a chill down her spine.

  When he spoke, his voice was tinged with something strange, something other. "He is here, your true love. I can feel Shadow, but he is one and the same as this man called Kyle, two parts of the one you love, but one piece is still missing." Brandon's gaze snapped to her, and then some of the darkness cleared. "Someone has a part of him locked away, Sam. Someone has made a prisoner of his soul."

  Samantha dropped Brandon's hand, her fingers flying to her mouth in shock. "How is that a thing? How can someone have possession of it?"

  Brandon shook himself free of the last of the darkness, and handed the necklace back to Sam. "I don't know, but this is what I gather from Shadow, through Kyle. Whatever he's doing here in the Bay is in order to get it back."

  Samantha slumped back against the couch. "Of course he has a good reason." She sighed. "He's not a bad man, but he's done some bad things. Does having no soul excuse you of your sins?"

  Brandon smiled sadly. "I'm not sure any of those concepts are helpful here, everyone has reasons for doing what they do, some of those reasons are things we agree with, and others aren't. I've done things I'm not proud of, but I feel like I've spent a lot of time making up for that. Enough that I can live with myself. Maybe Kyle can do the same. Do you think he’ll want to?"

  Sam shook her head. "I don't know him, and yet I know him so well. I have no idea who Kyle is, but I know Shadow would want to make things right. I just have to make him see me, make him remember me, and then maybe we can use him to help us set things right. To protect the Bay."

  "I really hope so, Sam, because otherwise..."

  Her heart thudded harder. "Don't tell the others about this just yet, okay? Please? I need some time to get to him. How close is Alyssa to being able to lock down the barrier?"

  Brandon shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not sure. She wants to test a few things before she does it for real, but I'm worried she's going to burn herself out in the process."

  "Well, you look after her, and I'll work on Kyle." She leaned forward and grabbed his hands again. "Thank you for giving me the answers I needed."

  "That's what I'm here for." Brandon finally relaxed, leaning into his seat. It wasn't until Sam had opened the curtains that she realized how sallow his skin looked, how tired he seemed. She bit back her apology, knowing that Brandon wouldn't have helped her if he couldn't spare the energy.

  "Look after yourself okay? Can I get you anything before I go?" she asked.

  "Nah, I think I'm just going to take a little nap here. I'll catch you later." His eyes closed and a soft snore had filled the room by the time she made it to the doorway.

  Chapter Ten

  She had to find Kyle. The only problem was that she had no idea where he would be. She closed the door to Alyssa's house and took a deep breath, trying to calibrate her feelings and get her head around the fact that Shadow was here. Shadow was Kyle. Kyle was her soul mate.

  Sure, there were a few problems with this, first among them that he was working for the enemy and lacked a soul.

  But they could overcome those, right?

  Sam set her shoulders back and headed down the steps. When she turned into the street she came face to face with Kyle.

  "You," he whispered. He reached out, but then seemed to realize what he was doing and dropped his hand.

  "Kyle." She couldn't keep the wistfulness from her voice. "What are you doing here?"

  He shifted from one foot to the other, then glanced at Alyssa's house.

  "Do you know them?"

  "No, I'm just walking around, getting the lay of the land. Still fairly new to this place." But his eyes moved back to the house and Sam couldn't ignore the tingle along her spine. Was he there to see Brandon or Alyssa? Their combined skill-set made them fairly popular, but chances were he didn't know about that yet.

  She closed the distance between them so that they were only a few feet apart. "I wanted to talk to you about something, but I'm not really sure how to go about it." Despite the distrust curdling in her belly, she still felt the urge to reach out and touch him, to draw him in. Oh gods, how was she going to have this conversation?

  "Do you want to grab a coffee or something?" he asked. His gaze was firmly on her now, and his fingers twitched as if he wanted to reach out to her as well.

  "Coffee, yes. Coffee is good, but..." She looked up and down the street. "Can we go back to my place? I'm not sure it's a good idea that we're seen together. I... I know who you are."

  Kyle's face fell. He reeled backwards as though she'd punched him. "How?" He shook his head. "It doesn't really matter, you can tell me when we're alone. Are you sure you want to be alone with me?"

  She bi
t her lip and nodded, then reached into her bag and grabbed a pen. Gesturing to his arm, she wrote down her address and number before she could take it back. "Meet me there as soon as you can, but you go that way, and I'll go this. See you soon." She clamped her lips together so as not to kiss him. Her stupid body, her stupid soul-deep memory of him was going to get her in trouble but there didn't seem to be much she could do about that.

  She almost ran down the street, desperate to get away from him. Desperate to be near him again. She unlocked her back door and moved inside, putting the kettle on and getting two cups, her hands shaking as she did, making them clatter against each other. When there was a knock on the door she spun and grabbed the handle, yanking it open, her heart thudding in her chest.

  He was there and they were alone.

  She couldn't hold it back anymore, she grabbed him by his shirt and kissed him, their lips meeting like long lost lovers, knowing all the right moves but tentative as if testing the waters to see if anything had changed.

  Oh gods. He was the water she needed after a lifelong drought. Finally he broke the kiss, his lips turning up in a slow smile.

  "I didn't expect to be greeted like that. Are you sure we don't know each other?" His eyes were full of wonder as he ran his thumb down her cheek. "I feel like I know you."

  "I can explain, but maybe we should put a table between ourselves so we can actually talk." Because right now her arms were locked around his neck, and she was feeling very distracted.

  Kyle laughed. "Okay, you might have a point there, it's just that... I know this is going to sound really corny, but I've never felt like this before and I'm worried if I let go I won't get to feel it again." He let out a shuddery breath and she could tell he was being honest.

  So she kissed him again, slow, tender. "I promise you will feel like this again, because I want the same thing." She pulled her arms from his neck and found his hand with hers, leading him to a seat at the table. "Now, how do you like your coffee?"