“It’s okay if you did, I don’t—”
“We didn’t. I don’t hide what I do from anyone, and refuse to let her lie about this. I didn’t have sex with Ebony. I’m not into girls, I like women.” He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. “I’ve had my eye on you for a long time, Fox. I haven’t let myself be distracted by Ebony, or anyone else.”
I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?” He hadn’t let himself stray, but I had. I’d latched on to Jonathan.
He touched his fingers to my cheek. “I’ve already told you, I like to take my time getting to know someone I want to get serious about. It looks like you got a little impatient.” There was no malice or accusation in his answer.
“Now that I know, I can be patient too,” I whispered, and felt like a fool.
Papan nodded and turned away. When he reached the doorway, he looked over his shoulder and said, “Good, because what we started here isn’t done yet.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Papan…” He stopped before walking out, his broad back facing me. “Don’t be angry with Ebony, or tell her I told you. I’ll speak to her.” Sometimes, Ebony could be a real sneaky shit.
Papan nodded and sauntered out of the bathroom.
Why the hell did Ebony lie to me about sleeping with Papan? And why did I feel so shaky after my exchange with him? I felt a combination of excited and scared—the way he usually made me feel.
I took a moment to collect my thoughts, jumped off the sink and straightened my clothes. I was about to find out why Ebony was playing games with me.
Chapter Six
“It really is good to see you,” Ebony said with a huge grin plastered on to her dark lipsticked mouth. We were sitting in my car heading for Wallace Street, where we would shortly meet up with a bunch of hunters who hunted a variety of things lurking in the dark. She’d been fussing over me since I finally opened the front door and headed out with her, and had even offered to drive.
I’d declined her offer, but driving a car without power steering was a little challenging at the moment. I was determined not to let this thing on my clavicle affect my life any more than it already had. The ointment Papan dabbed on it was still working its magic, cooling away the itchiness and pain, so I could ignore the discomfort of wearing a bandage in an awkward place. Luckily, my denim jacket covered it. It wasn’t really jacket weather but I didn’t want to deal with a bunch of unwanted questions.
“It’s good to see you too. And great to be conscious,” I finally said. She was watching me, had been staring for several silent minutes. “How’s the office holding up without me?”
“Everything’s fine. Don’t worry about the office right now. Let’s just be happy that you’re okay, and we’re on our way to meet our fellow hunters.”
Of course she was happy. She was dating Conrad the Vamp Boy and he would be there. I knew they’d been seeing each other quite a bit lately, but she still seemed smitten.
“Why did you lie to me?” I blurted out.
“Lie to you about what?” Her eyes glowed in the dark interior of the car, but I tried not to look at her by concentrating on the road.
“Eb, you told me you slept with Papan, but you didn’t.”
“Ah…” She giggled. “So you’ve finally asked him about it, huh? I have to admit, I thought you’d crack sooner.”
“What are you talking about?” I stopped at an intersection, and since we were alone on this road, I turned to glare at her. I disliked some of the mind games she played so well—especially when I got caught in them.
She shrugged, sending her mismatched blonde-and-black hair flying over her shoulders. “I didn’t think you’d wait this long to ask him, that’s all. It had to be eating away at you for weeks.”
I sighed. “You’re an evil girl.”
“A wicked woman, more like it.”
“Whatever, I just don’t understand why you’d tell me such a stupid lie—”
“I knew it would bug you, and was curious to see just how much. Judging by the way you’re acting now, it really got to you. But that’s okay because it means you’ve admitted to yourself how much you want him.”
“Eb, that’s not what I’m saying.”
“I always knew you two were meant for each other,” she said with another shrug.
“And you thought telling me you’d slept with him would do the trick?”
“Well, it did, didn’t it?”
I opened my mouth to protest but realized she was right, on some level. Since she’d dropped the “I slept with Papan” bombshell, I hadn’t been able to get Papan out of my mind. I’d turned the idea of them being together over and over inside my head, always trying to pretend it didn’t bother me when it obviously did. Somehow, finding out it had all been an elaborate and very immature prank made me feel a lot better.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” I said with a small shake of my head.
“Fine with me, you’re the one who brought it up.”
“That’s enough out of you, young lady,” I said, fighting to hide a smirk.
“Yes, Mum.” She stuck her tongue out at me.
Ebony might be frustrating sometimes, but she was my colleague and I considered her my best friend.
For the rest of the drive, we exchanged some small talk, even though we both knew she had a hundred and one questions about what had happened to me. Her gaze kept shifting to my shoulder, but we managed to avoid talking about work, the incident, and even boys.
By the time we were walking down the deserted part of town, she was as giddy as a schoolgirl.
“Conrad and I are going out after this meeting,” she said with a giggle. “He’s such a blast. He knows all the cool clubs and how to get in.”
“I hope you’re not letting him rope you into any trouble.”
“None that I’m not willing to take part in,” she said with a wink.
“That’s just too much information.”
“No it’s not. You know I can fill you in with more details if you like.”
I raised both hands in the air, trying to stop her. “No thanks. Why don’t you run ahead? He’s probably already waiting for you.”
“I’m not comfortable leaving you alone,” she said with a shake of her head. The after what happened seemed to hang thick in the air between us.
“Just go, I’ll be right behind you.”
She stopped to give me a hug and whispered, “I’m really glad you’re okay. You’ve gotta stop scaring me this way. After the last time…I never thought I’d be as worried about you making it through as I was yesterday.”
“Thanks, Eb, you know I don’t do it on purpose.”
She stepped back. “The insane thing is that you’re right. Whether you want it or not, trouble always finds you.” Ebony walked ahead, and called out, “I’ll see you inside.”
I nodded and waved, watching her disappear into the shadows. I wasn’t worried about being outside on my own. I doubted anyone would try to attack me when most people steered away from the abandoned part of town.
South Serene Hills was suffocating with ghostly activity, so the average person didn’t want to feel the cold or confusion spooks roused along their bodies without being able to see them. There might only be certain people in this world able to see spirits, but most could still feel their sensory activity—cold spots, goose bumps, their breath misting in front of them, the odd electric shock.
Most ghosts didn’t interfere with the living, just wanted to be left alone for as long as they needed to linger, but some did eventually overstay their welcome. The spooks that usually caused disturbances, mischief or preyed on citizens were poltergeists, orbs, wraiths, shadows and phantoms.
I stopped in front of the chain-link fence and looked out at the motorway. Even at this time of night the traffic remained constant. This forgotten place was all that separated this suburb from the city. The lights on the other side of the motorway wer
e shining bright.
In spite of being alone and already able to hear the murmur of chatter going on at 669 Wallace Street, I’d always felt at ease here. I could feel activity at every corner, prickling along the back of my neck and over my body.
“Glad you made it, Sierra.”
I spun around and found Oren standing behind me. I hadn’t even heard him sneak up on me. Unlike other paranormal beings, he didn’t radiate any activity.
“Oren, how are you?”
“Better than you were the last time I saw you.” His white hair was shiny, even in the dark. His long braid fell over his left shoulder and chest. “We were worried about you.”
“I know. I’m a total pain in everyone’s butt. I honestly didn’t see it coming.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re okay.” When he stepped forward to give me a hug, I didn’t move away like I usually did. Instead, it felt nice to hug his long and slim frame, even if the thick fabric of his jacket scratched at my cheek. The grazes were completely gone, but I felt tender everywhere.
I tried to squeeze away the tears threatening to slip from my eyes. With everyone being so nice about what had happened, I was feeling a little emotional. Not to mention that hugging Oren reminded me of how much I missed Grandpa.
When we pulled apart, I thanked him for the ointment.
“Did it work?”
“If by work you mean cooled away the unbearable itch, then yeah, it’s working just fine. How did you know I would need it?”
“It’s something I concocted myself. I am a witch, after all. White witches are familiar and handy for a lot of things. Not just for catching those who like to mess with dark magic.” A hopeful smile stretched his thin lips. White whiskers were growing on his thin face. “I hope to teach you a few of these handy things.”
“Good to know.” I couldn’t help but smile back, even if I wasn’t quite ready to deal with learning too many witchy things at once. “Do you have any idea what might have attacked me?”
“Jason said it could’ve been a canine hybrid. I’ve started to research and asked a few questions, but don’t have anything solid yet.”
“So you don’t think it’s the Council?” My stomach had dropped at the mention of Papan. The new memories we’d made inside the bathroom were still fresh and haunting me like a wonderful dream does the morning after.
“To be honest, I don’t think so.” Oren motioned for us to start walking toward our destination. “Why would they send out some demented creature to kill you? I think they need you alive, maybe to do the same thing they did to Mara in the hospital.”
“I guess,” I said, sighing. It made some weird sort of sense but didn’t make me feel any better than I did the moment I realized I’d been MIA for more than a day. I’d fallen behind on everything and was still standing at the beginning of the board game, nowhere near having any answers or solving any of the cases I needed to desperately understand.
“I think this is something else…” The way he let his voice trail off made me think he had some idea, but didn’t want to share it yet.
“You need to tell me what you suspect. I refuse to be on someone’s hit list without knowing what I’m up against. I hate feeling so helpless, having all of you worry and watch over me while I’m unconscious. So please, if you think you might have some sort of clue, however small, just tell me.”
“Okay, you’re right, Sierra. You’re a capable woman and can handle things. I’m starting to think that you are going to be continually challenged.” He paused long enough to sigh. “I think this attack has something to do with the Slevani brothers.”
I stopped in the middle of the cracked sidewalk. We were only two litter-strewn storefronts away from our destination. “Are you telling me Troy the lunatic and his brother Travis are coming back? I got rid of the spook, and you got rid of the witch. I saw them die! They’re gone.”
“No, no, I don’t mean they’re back. The Slevani brothers are definitely gone, obliterated. I just get the feeling they belonged to a bigger network. I don’t think I told you before, but I chased that witch for years, always losing sight of him somewhere in Europe. All Troy ever wanted was power, and he searched for it his entire life.” He paused, turning enough to look me in the eye. “Last I heard, he’d actually teamed up with some crazy group, and I think they might be after you. You might be the surge of power they crave.” His light eyes glinted in the dark. There were streetlights here, but none of them worked.
My heart fell because what Oren said made a lot more sense than he probably realized. Sure, I’d heard him say some of this to Troy before killing him, but what Oren didn’t know was that Troy’s brother, Travis, claimed Jonathan and he both belonged to something called the Obscurus.
I hadn’t mentioned it or asked anyone about it yet, but this all made me sick to my stomach.
“I’ll make sure they don’t get you again.” Oren misunderstood my reaction for fear and I didn’t contradict him. “I’ve set up a stronger protection spell and extended the perimeter around your property. I will also show you a few other ways to protect yourself tomorrow. Okay?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“You need to be ready, Sierra.”
“I know.”
“Come on, let’s go to the meeting. We’ll discuss this some more tomorrow.”
I nodded and followed Oren until we entered the dirty building and he motioned for me to take the stairs ahead of him. A thousand thoughts turned inside my head and I couldn’t put them into any sort of order. When we reached the top, Oren offered me a smile and headed toward Ebony and Conrad, who were hugging and whispering to each other in the dark corner near the broken window.
Wrapping my arms around myself, I felt a chill flow through me.
“I’m going to find your boyfriend eventually.”
I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. “Hi, Vixen.”
She stepped in front of me with a malicious twist to her plump lips. Wearing the tightest jeans I’d ever seen and a matching denim tank top stopping just below her breasts, she towered over me. Not only was she tall, but she also wore very high heels.
“I don’t know where you put him, but I’ll find him,” she continued, her dark eyes twinkling in the dark. “You can’t hide the dog forever.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She stepped closer, totally invading my private space. “You know damn well what I’m talking about. The werewolf is as good as gone. I’ve got a silver bullet with his name on it, just waiting for the perfect time. I even cruised by your house a few times last week, but he’s not there. Smart move, putting him somewhere else…” She looked past me and her smile widened. “When you see your doggy boy, tell him we’ll be seeing each other real soon. I’m not going to let him kill every night just because he wants to.”
“Wait, what? Did you say kill every night?” My heart pumped harder. “Have there been more deaths?”
“He hasn’t stopped,” she said with a sneer. When she turned on her heel and left me in the shadows, I didn’t call her back.
Papan hadn’t been out of my house at night in weeks. Not that I believed he was capable of killing randomly, anyway. I might not know where he went during full moons, but he wouldn’t kill innocent, random humans.
“It looks like your plan is working, then.”
“Shit!” I actually jumped this time. “Jonathan, what the hell are you doing sneaking up on me like that?”
“I didn’t mean to scare you.” His eyes were darker than usual and his shadow on the wall behind him was much bigger than it should be. What the hell was up with his shadow, anyway?
“Why are you sneaking around, then?”
“Guess you didn’t want me to overhear her call Papan your boyfriend, huh?” He clenched his jaw and leaned closer. “I can smell him on you,” he whispered.
I trembled at his proximity. He was really starting to freak me out. “He’s staying in my house,” I hissed back,
making sure Vixen wasn’t within earshot. “Of course I’m carrying his scent.” Why hadn’t Vixen detected it too?
“I don’t want him anywhere near you.” Jonathan snaked a hand around my wrist, squeezing. “You belong to me.”
I winced because my skin burned. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. I don’t belong to anyone.” The itching beneath my bandage became almost unbearable and it took all of my willpower not to scratch it.
His top lip curled into a leer and his good looks distorted into a grayish-skinned, gaunt creature with hollowed black eyes. “You are mine, and no one else is going to have you but me.” When he leaned down to kiss me, I turned my face away.
The Jonathan I knew had vacated the premises, leaving behind a demented doppelganger. I’d seen this face once before, but thought I’d imagined it.
“Didn’t you get the message the other day?” I spat, trying desperately to keep my cool and ignore my itchy skin. “It’s over.”
“It’s not over until I say it is.”
“Hey, get away from her!” Lavie appeared at the top of the stairs behind Jonathan, a stern look on her face. She looked pissed. “I won’t say it again, leave her alone.”
The mask dropped away from Jonathan’s face when he turned to look at Lavie. “Hey there, what’s wrong?”
She narrowed her eyes and glared at the hand he still had wrapped around my wrist. “Let her go, I need to speak to her.”
“Sure, be my guest.” Jonathan released my wrist, gave me a quick peck on the cheek and stepped away to join the others.
I caught Oren’s gaze from across the room and he seemed concerned. Had he seen the exchange as well? I was starting to feel like a fool—a battered fool. This charade had to end. Tomorrow, I was going to make sure Jonathan accepted we were over.
“Thanks,” I said to Lavie. The throbbing slowly receded from my collarbone, but my wrist ached.
Split at the Seams Page 9
