Release Me When the Sun Goes Down

by Lisa Olsen

  The club quickly filled with acrid smoke, and I held my breath to keep from choking as I hustled Hanna into the cool night air. Sirens sounded in the distance and the street was clogged with club patrons coughing and hacking mingled with the lookie loos interested in the spectacle.

  “We have to go back, we left him in there!” Hanna cried, her tears leaving tracks across her soot stained face. For a split second I thought she meant Gunnar, but then I realized she was worried about Lodinn and I had to spend the next five minutes physically restraining her from running back into the burning building.

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’m too pretty to die.” Lodinn appeared, his smile infuriating as Hanna dashed into his arms. Oh joy, he was alive. Cool beans on toast. At least Gunnar was with him, unharmed. “It’ll take a lot more than that to kill me,” he added with a pointed look to me. With a brief kiss to the top of her head, he peeled her off of him and gave her a light shove in my direction. “Now be a good bargaining chip and go with your sister.”

  “But I want to…”

  “Be still, Hanna,” I said with a burst of my own compulsion. Maybe I couldn’t break his hold on her, but I could keep her from chaining herself from his ankle for the moment.

  Lodinn turned to look at the burning building with a flare of pride. “I do so enjoy a good fire,” he sighed as the fire department arrived on the scene. “You have one week to bring Jakob to me or we’ll try this parlor trick at your place. Let’s see how well your sanctuary holds when it’s on fire.”

  Chapter Ten

  My mouth tasted of ashes and I smelled worse, but all I could think about was getting back to Rob. I knew there’d be hell to pay when he realized where I’d gone without him, especially coming home without Gunnar. But the worst part of it was going to be telling Maggie what happened to Marcus. Hanna was silent beside me, still heeding the be still directive for the most part.

  When I pulled up in front of the house, Rob was halfway down the front walk before I even got out of the car. He took one look at Hanna and guessed who I’d met with. “What the hell were you thinking?” he demanded.

  “Not now,” I brushed him off, pulling open the door for Hanna and he bristled, his jaw thrusting forward in a mutinous line.

  “You can’t take off whenever you…”

  “Please, not now,” I said more softly, and I saw his tension shift from anger to worry when he saw the look in my eyes. “Let’s get inside, we have plenty to talk about.”

  “Hanna!” Mason cried out as soon as he saw her, bounding down the path only to have her shrink against my side. “You’re okay, aren’t you?” he faltered, his head canting to one side.

  “What’s he doing here?” she asked, turning an accusatory glare to me. “You’re not seriously trying your hand at matchmaking again, are you? I already told you, we’re done,” Hanna added, fixing Mason with a flat, unfriendly stare.

  Poor Mason’s face crumpled as her words cut him to the core, but he drew himself up, letting out a shaky breath. “I guess I’ll take off, if that’s what you want.”

  “Actually, I’d like you to come inside,” I said. “I have something to say, and I’d rather not have to repeat it.”

  “Fine,” Mason bit out, falling into step behind us.

  “What happened to your face?” Hanna asked with a backwards glance. There was nothing but mild interest coupled with disgust there, any worry she might’ve felt whether she was still involved with him or not completely missing.

  Mason’s scars were improved from when I’d first seen him, but not by much and I could see it bothered him for her to see him like that. “It’s a parting favor your new squeeze left me when he rammed our car and tried to kill your sister.” The last three words were said with particular emphasis.

  “Lodinn would never do anything like that.” The denial sprang to her lips.

  “She’s right,” Rob volunteered, taking a few jogging steps to pull the door open ahead of us. “He didn’t try to kill her that night. He only snapped her spine and left her to watch while he drained me dry.”

  Hanna recoiled from the growl in Rob’s voice. “I can’t believe that.”

  “Don’t matter what you believe for now, what matters is we can’t trust you.”

  “Hey, give her a break, okay?” I muttered, steering her inside. “You know she’s not in her right head.”

  “Hey…” she started to protest but Rob cut her off.

  “All I’m saying is, we’ll have to mind what we say around her. You can bet on it getting back to him any time he asks.”

  “What’s the big news?” Mason interrupted, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his muscular chest. “What is it that can’t wait? ‘Cause I have to be going. Unless you found Jakob already?”

  “No, we haven’t, not yet, but that’s part of the news. Lodinn gave us one week to find Jakob and turn him over, and he gave us Hanna in good faith.”

  “That’s good, isn’t it?” Jenessa smiled, entering the conversation.

  “But he took Gunnar in trade.” Everybody seemed to notice for the first time that the bodyguard wasn’t around. In that same instant Maggie made another realization.

  “And Marcus?”

  “I’m sorry, Maggie,” I said gently, and a pucker of worry appeared on her smooth brow.

  “Then he’s being held hostage as well?”

  “No, Marcus is gone. Lodinn made him… he’s dead.” I didn’t know how else to say it, telling her he’d burnt to death seemed like too horrible a detail to share.

  Maggie’s face crumpled in confusion. “He killed Marcus? But why?”

  “Lodinn didn’t kill Marcus, he’s not like that,” Hanna interjected and I resisted the urge to step on her foot. Now was so not the time to stand by her man.

  “You were there, Hanna, you saw what he did.”

  “I saw the guy, Marcus, kill himself,” she insisted stubbornly. How must she view what happened that night? Was nothing Lodinn’s fault?

  “And you seriously think he would’ve done something like that on his own?” I bit my tongue to keep from yelling at her, it wasn’t helping anything, and Maggie had already dissolved into tears. “I’m sorry, Maggie, so, so sorry…”

  “I’ll take her upstairs for a while and sit with her,” Jenessa offered, wrapping an arm around Maggie’s shaking shoulders.

  “Thanks, I’ll be up later.” The instant they hit the landing at the top of the stairs, I whirled on Hanna. “What is wrong with you?” I hissed. “I don’t care if you think the sun sets and rises out of Lodinn’s butt! How could you say something like that in front of the woman who loved Marcus?”

  “I didn’t know they had a thing,” she shrugged.

  “And the way I phrased it to her didn’t clue you in? What is the matter with you? Did he kill your compassion along with your common sense?”

  I saw her jaw work, but an instant later her shoulders sagged in defeat. “I don’t know, it’s been a really weird night,” she sighed. “All I know is, it can’t be his fault. Lodinn’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  There was no point in talking to her when she was so deluded. “Fine. Why don’t you go down to my room and get cleaned up? You can help yourself to anything in my closet you want. Mason, would you mind taking her down?”

  The only person who seemed more disgruntled than Hanna over the suggestion was Mason. “What’d I do wrong?” he grumbled at the same time Hanna objected.

  “I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “It kind of seems like you do,” I countered. “Mason, I’m sorry, but Rob’s right about this. As much as I hate to say it, I can’t trust Hanna to be on her own right now, her judgment is clearly impaired. Can you please keep an eye on her?”

  Mason looked like he might refuse, but then he forced a smile. “Sure, I’m a fan of Shakespeare, I don’t mind taming the occasional shrew.”

  “Thanks, Mason.”

  I realized the only people left o
n the main floor were Rob and me. As much as I wanted to seek the comfort of his embrace, the look on his face would’ve kept me away even if we were completely alone in the house.

  “What?” I said when he deliberately looked away after I sought out his gaze.

  “Wasn’t very nice of you to stick Mason with her like that. He’s liable to kill her, she starts popping off like that again.”

  “He’s the only one I can count on not to hurt her when she’s not in control of what comes out of her mouth. Beneath it all he still loves her.”

  “That’s as may be, but there’s only so much a man can take, love or not,” he muttered.

  “You’re angry with me.”

  “I’ve every right to be.” I thought he might lay it on the table about how I’d made him worry or the dangers of going up against Lodinn, but to my surprise he kept it strictly professional. “I’m the head of your security, you’re to bow to my decisions when it comes to your safety. How am I to do my job when you don’t offer me so much as a consult?”

  “Well, I’m sorry, but you weren’t available for consultation when the call came in. And it’s not like I knew I was walking into a meeting with Lodinn, you know. All Marcus said was he had a line on Jakob and to meet him at the Café du Nord. I didn’t think it would be such a big deal. Besides, I had Gunnar with me.”

  “Fat lot of good that did ya against the likes of an Ellri.”

  “Exactly. Which is why if I’d known I was going to meet Lodinn I would’ve left you at home just the same,” I said in a harsh whisper, pulling him into my office and shutting the door. “Like it or not, he can use you to hurt me and he knows it. So if that means you staying home sometimes, so be it.”

  “How am I to do my job if I can’t be by your side?”

  “You can’t. This is about more than our working relationship and you know it. Hire on more guards if you need to, especially with Gunnar out for the time being, but you need to understand that I’ll do what I have to do.”

  “So that’s it then, nothing I have to say matters?”

  “Not when it comes to your safety.” How many times had he thrown that particular argument in my face? Both him and Bishop? Now the shoe was on the other foot. I could see the irony wasn’t lost on him and he shook his head in disgust.

  “You’re enjoying this aren’t you?”

  “Nothing about this situation is enjoyable, Marcus found that out the hard way.” I filled him in on exactly what happened from the moment I walked into the club to the time I pulled up to the house. At least now he seemed to understand how grave a situation we were in. “Do you get it now? You can’t do anything to protect me from him. None of us are strong enough. Jakob’s the only one who has a shot at taking him down, so we need to focus on finding him and hope we don’t run out of time before Lodinn feels like giving us another demonstration of his power.”

  “I’ll make arrangements to get you a new head of security.”

  “Aw, Rob, I didn’t mean you had to give up your post. You can still be my head of security.”

  But he was already shaking his head. “It’s clear to me I can’t, not like this. I’m bloody useless from well before sunup to after sundown. You need someone who can watch your back at any time of day. Someone you feel comfortable taking out with you now that Gunnar’s otherwise occupied.”

  “Do you have anyone in mind? It seems like a tough position to fill, especially with the precarious position we’re in. I’m not so sure anyone will want to take the job.”

  “It so happens that I do, but I won’t say more on it until I’ve had time to speak to him. In the meantime, would you promise me you’ll…”

  A soft knock at the door interrupted us and Jenessa stuck her head in when I called out, “Come in.”

  “Sorry to disturb you.”

  “No, it’s fine. How’s Maggie holding up?”

  “I helped her fall asleep. I think that’s the best thing for now, poor girl.”

  “Thanks for that, you’re probably right. Listen, do you think you could help arrange a small service for Marcus at the Bleeding Hart maybe or Nightshade? Nothing fancy, just a night where we can all lift a glass in his memory and I’ll pick up the tab. Ordinarily I’d ask Maggie to, but…”

  “Of course, anything I can do to help,” she readily agreed.

  “And if you’d like to stay here for a while, I think we’ve still got a room available.” I did a quick mental count, trying to figure out where we were going to put Mason and Hanna since they obviously wouldn’t be sharing a room together. With Gunnar gone that freed up his room.

  “The one next to mine is available if you don’t mind sharing the loo,” Rob offered and Jenessa perked up at that.

  “I wouldn’t mind at all,” she smiled, and I had to clench my nails into the palm of my hands to keep from taking the invitation back. I’d forgotten she was a little sweet on Rob since he’d never shown her more than a vague friendly interest. Then again, I was supposed to be sweet on Bishop, not Rob, so I could hardly be angry with him for propagating the ruse, could I? That didn’t mean I wanted to watch them trade a flirty chat about the state of the hot water pressure.

  “Hey, so I talked to Bishop and he seemed fine with the Order using my offices as a temporary headquarters,” I said, changing the subject before she offered to wash his back.

  “Hmm?” Jenessa blinked, completely absorbed in all things Rob. “Oh yes, that should be fine. He promised me we’d have our replacement gear by the end of the week as well, though I’m sure we’ll wait for a final location before they set me up with my facilities. He seemed fairly upset when I broke the news to him about Lodinn’s appearance. I’m surprised he didn’t hop on a plane the moment he got off the call with me.”

  “You know Bishop, he did offer to drop everything and come. I had to order him to stay away or he’d have shown up guns blazing and then I might lose him too. I persuaded him that I wouldn’t take any unnecessary chances.”

  Rob coughed into his hand, but I ignored him.

  Jenessa laid a comforting hand on my shoulder, convinced I’d rather have Bishop by my side from the look on her face. “Don’t worry, you’ll be together soon enough.”

  “Thanks.” I didn’t trust myself to say more, especially when in reality Bishop was just starting to come to terms with the idea that I’d chosen Rob over him.

  “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go pick up a few things and bring them over if I’m going to be staying here for a while. Thanks again for that.”

  “It’s the least I can do.” I tried to ignore the flirtatious smile she gave Rob, more than a little resentful of the gleam in his eye as he nodded back to her, but it was Rob who openly seethed with jealousy as soon as the door was shut again.

  “Do you have to go on about Bishop like that when I’m standing in the room?” he complained, his voice no less threatening for being barely above a whisper.

  “You’re the one who wanted to keep things a secret between us. I was doing as you asked, trying to throw her off the scent. Besides, what about you giving Jenessa those bedroom eyes? What happens when she accidentally walks in on you in the shower? Are you going to invite her in to keep up pretenses? Oh wait, I forgot how good you were at getting into a woman’s bed if that’s what it takes to get the job done.” The only reason he’d ever touched Bridget was to get close to me. If he thought he was going to take things that far again, he had another think coming.

  “It ain’t like that no more.” His hands clenched and unclenched, and I knew his emotions were getting the better of him but I didn’t care. I didn’t like the situation any more than he did.

  “What’s it like then?”

  Instead of tossing out another hissed barb, his hand shot out and cupped the back of my head, drawing me close as his mouth covered mine. His kiss was hot and demanding, devouring me, claiming me, branding me as his. Far too hot… as soon as it registered I pulled away, and I saw a flicker of rejection on his
face.

  “No… it’s nothing like that, but you’re so warm.” I laid my hands to either side of his face, dismayed by the fast rising temperature. “That can’t be normal.”

  “I need to feed, that’s all. I didn’t dare go out earlier with you missing.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything before?”

  “You had plenty going on. I’ll need to feed every night for a while, but I’ll handle it. You needn’t trouble yourself.”

  “Oh, Rob, you don’t need to handle it on your own, we’ll do this together.” I held his face until he looked me in the eyes. “I got you into this, I’m not going to abandon you to it. It’s not a trouble, it’s just got to become part of our routine is all.” Besides, I didn’t want the same thing to happen to him that happened to Ellie. I had to be all kinds of sure he learned control. “You shouldn’t really be feeding alone yet anyway. So, why don’t I go wash the soot off my face and make sure Hanna’s settled in, and then I’ll take you out hunting?”

  “What I should actually do is choke down some of that bagged blood and then get back out there in the search for Jakob.”

  “No, this is every bit as important as finding Jakob. Don’t make me give you an order.”

  “As you wish then. I’ll be waiting by the front door, miss,” he said with a straight face, completely ruining it when he gave my rear end a swat as I passed by. “Cheeky minx…” he muttered under his breath.

  Chapter Eleven

  I won’t lie, I felt a touch of trepidation as we hustled out to the car, but there was no sign of us being watched or anything amiss. It was hard to get comfortable in the car too. Every pair of headlights aimed in our direction made me tense until they came to a stop, reliving that moment when the truck crashed into us with every squeal of brakes.

  But as we drew farther away from the house I started to relax, wondering where we were headed. “So, any ideas where you want to go hunting for the first time?”

  “I figured you’d take the lead, you being the one with the most experience and all.”