Deep is the Night: Dark Fire

by Denise A. Agnew

  “Interfering with the investigation?”

  “We’re trying to accommodate him because he’s a cop, but they can be the worst kind when it comes to their own kin. Then there’s the general public. They’re scared out of their wits. But I suppose that’s a good thing. Keeps them on their toes and alert instead of stumbling around like witless cows.” He stood up and started toward the door. “Thanks again, and I’ll take it from here.”

  The slight touch of overconfidence in his tone amused her. “I’m sure you will.”

  With a quick salute, he said, “I’ll see you later.”

  After he left, she sighed. Okay, Erin, let’s hope you did the right thing. She wanted to feel relieved, but instead the tattling hadn’t eased her conscience one bit.

  She returned to work a moment later, drained. Her head continued to throb, and she wished she’d stopped to grab an aspirin. Instead she pushed forward with work, chastising herself for being a wimp.

  Later that morning the voice started up while she worked at the front counter.

  Erin, darling, I’m here.

  She wished she wore a thicker sweater. Drafts in this old place assured plenty of chills. Shivers radiated up and down her spine as she waited for more words to fill her mind. It didn’t take long.

  Erin, don’t you know who I am? I was with you last night.

  When Erin looked for Gilda, she saw that she stood at a computerized card catalog station helping a teenager. Gilda didn’t seem to notice a thing. The voice mixed with a bizarre sensation that something else had changed in the huge library. An encroaching darkness weighed down along the back of her neck and shoulders. She stopped working and waited, hoping the sensation would leave.

  The air felt dark and thick. Blackness hovered at the end of each aisle. She tried taking a deep breath, but couldn’t. The pain in her head increased and she touched her temples again. Rubbing did nothing to give her relief.

  Then the front door creaked open, and in walked Lachlan.

  Chapter 6

  Lachlan approached her with that fluid motion that spoke of power and danger. Fear danced along her spine, insistent and unwilling to give an inch. The sight of Lachlan didn’t ease the feeling that something dark hovered nearby. Still, the darkness had come just as he arrived, as well as the strange voice. Suspicion rose inside her.

  No. No way. Mind to mind communication isn’t possible. And the shadows are from clouds throwing gloom over the windows high above, not some sinister entity. I can’t let this crazy town get to me.

  As soon as she considered the thought, the dark shadows floated away like a bad dream. Inching and crawling, the shades receded to the back of her mind. She couldn’t allow recent events to creep her out, or she’d be seeing the boogieman at every corner.

  Lachlan strode toward the paranormal section not far from her. Figures. He stopped at the edge of one shelf, his back to her, and perused the vampire section. Erin’s gaze snagged on his dark red sweater, and she noted how it fit along his broad shoulders to perfection and covered his narrow waist. His casual dark blue pants hugged his sculpted butt. Not too tight, not too loose.

  Mama mia. She swallowed hard as her mouth literally watered.

  He turned and caught her staring at him. A blush spread over her face, hot and sure. A huge grin parted his lips. Warmth filled her stomach as she absorbed once again how damnably rugged and intriguing he looked. When he came toward her, book in hand, she almost held her breath. Every stride brought her nearer to feeling an insane attraction that had no basis in reality.

  Warning, warning, Lachlan is nothing but walking heart-break. Avoid, avoid.

  She must maintain her composure or this man would walk all over her. She should have tame and comfortable like Danny, not a man with who should come with a highly-flammable warning label.

  “Hi, Erin.” His liquid velvet voice cut through her defenses with a soft and seductive tone. “I’ll bet after last night you thought you’d seen the last of me.”

  His golden-brown eyes melted with uncertainty. This big, handsome man was tentative? Did he think she’d slap him in the chops as an afterthought or accuse him of sexual assault?

  Her throat felt parched. Suddenly, even though the library harbored dozens of people, she felt as if she stood with him in a private oasis.

  Before she could speak he said, “Or perhaps you hoped that would be the last you’d see of me.”

  She summoned a weak smile. “I thought you were gone until next Halloween. Doesn’t every good vampire go back to his coffin?”

  “Halloween is in three weeks. I’m here for at least that much longer.”

  Another good reason not to get interested in this man; he’ll be gone soon.

  Lachlan looked at her sharply, and for a moment, she almost thought she’d spoken out loud.

  Before she could say another word, Erin heard the front door open and then Jessie Huxley sauntered into the library. Jessie’s extra sassy distinctive walk seemed designed for male enjoyment. Today she wore a red mini dress that rode high on her slim, beautiful legs. The turtleneck design looked warm, but Erin also realized the short hemline would cause men to drool at fifty paces. Encased in black hose, her legs ate up the floor. She headed straight for the checkout counter, her gaze pinned on Lachlan with voracious intent. Erin knew right away that Jessie wanted to start something with the tall, handsome Scot.

  Jealousy did a spike inside Erin, and she took a surprised breath. Where had that come from? She’d better get a grip on reality. She had no claim on this man.

  “Why, hello.” Jessie’s voice held a purr as smooth and soft as a baby’s butt without the layer of innocence. She placed her hand on Lachlan’s forearm. A mere brush of her fingers, just intimate enough to put her intent across. “Great seeing you here. What are you doing in a library?”

  Lachlan smiled. “Hallo.” His British way of saying hello gave the word a sexy nuance. “Jessie, isn’t it?”

  Damn. The man remembered her name, too?

  Jessie’s smile showed even, pristine white teeth. Her blue eyes sparkled with interest and mischief. She didn’t even greet Erin. “Jessie Huxley.” She removed her hand from his arm and placed her hand on her hip. “That’s me. The kids loved your Halloween program the other night.”

  He nodded and smiled graciously. “Thank you.” Turning his gaze to Erin, his grin went wider. “It was Erin’s program. I just filled in for Gilda in an emergency.”

  One of Jessie’s blonde eyebrows twitched upwards as she allowed her hip to tilt even more. Her sizable breasts heaved in a sigh. “Erin is talented with kids, isn’t she?”

  To Erin, the compliment sounded flat and unauthentic, but she kept her mouth shut and observed how Lachlan would handle this hot mama. “That she is.”

  As he slanted a hot glance Erin’s direction, she felt his words all the way down to the soles of her feet. Embarrassment made her face turn red. Jessie’s gaze landed on Erin and filled with a derision she’d never seen in the woman’s face before.

  Jessie put her hand on his shoulder this time. “Wow, you must work out.”

  Lachlan kept his smile, and even though Erin didn’t think he could mistake Jessie’s flirtation for anything else, he kept his cool. “Five times a week.”

  “Do you use the gym over at the community center?” Jessie’s fingers did a no-nonsense assessment of his shoulder then landed on his chest for a moment. “You have great musculature. You must use the weight machine.”

  “And the treadmill, too. It’s a little hard to walk or run around here in the winter weather.”

  “Oh.” Jessie’s breathy sound came out soft and seductive. “I do, too. Maybe we could meet up there sometime. They have that great little juice bar nearby.”

  Did Jessie’s eyelids just flutter? Give me a break.

  Lachlan smiled at Erin before turning his attention back to Jessie’s preening attention, and for a second Erin could have sworn she heard a rumbling male laugh echo in her
head.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” Lachlan gave a small, noble nod.

  Lachlan kept his gaze pinned on Jessie, and Erin felt that twinge of unwarranted jealousy once again. She almost gritted her teeth trying to hold back a comment. Surprise danced through her. Since when had she become a catty woman with a desire to rip another woman’s hair out?

  Since Jessie started moving in on him with all the subtlety of a freight train, that’s when. I wish she would just go away and stay away.

  Not to worry, lass. I’m not the least interested in her.

  Erin’s mouth dropped open. There was that damnable voice again. It sounded like Lachlan’s, but how could it be?

  Before Jessie could say another word, her kids ran up and greeted Erin and Lachlan. Erin wondered how two such nice kids could come from such a woman. The children started asking Lachlan more questions about vampires.

  Jessie grabbed the kids before he could comment. “Come on, kids. Let Mr. Tavish get on with his business.” She threw another smile filled with suggestions that couldn’t be denied. “Hope to see you again soon, Lachlan. Call me and we’ll get together at the gym.”

  She turned away and herded the children back upstairs toward the kids section.

  Lachlan’s irreverent expression said he either liked the encounter with the overblown blonde, or that he found her humorous. Maybe both.

  He leaned on the counter. “Wow. She’s an interesting one.”

  “Think so?” Erin cringed inside at the spite in her voice. “I mean, she’s always been nice to me.” As an afterthought she mumbled, “She seems like she’s really interested in you.”

  Without a hint of denial in his voice, he said, “Does seem like that. Do you mind?”

  Erin’s mouth opened again without a word coming out. She tried to think of something to say, but it wouldn’t materialize.

  Lachlan saved her. “You seemed a bit annoyed around the edges. As if you cared that she was coming on to me.”

  Damn him for being so honest and perceptive. She kept her voice mild. “Why should I?”

  Gilda walked into their area and startled Erin. “There you are, Lachlan. Still coming to dinner tonight?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it,” he said. “I’ll bring the wine.”

  Gilda grinned. “Sounds wonderful. Why don’t you come over, too, Erin? You haven’t eaten with us in a long time.”

  “Um…” Erin hated sounding like a dunce, but awkwardness crept into her psyche. “Sure? What time?”

  “Six-thirty.”

  “I’ll pick you up.” Lachlan’s matter-of-fact statement surprised Erin.

  “Wonderful idea,” Gilda said as she went off to help another patron.

  “You didn’t have to offer.” Erin wanted to scream because she knew Gilda had set her up again. “I can drive over myself.”

  He stepped closer to the counter, and the world around her receded again, leaving the two of them alone. His masculine, delicious scent sent shivers of pure female appreciation straight through her system. Her pulse went off the charts and into the stratosphere.

  “Wouldn’t you rather have company?” he asked softly.

  “I like being alone.” At least she spoke the truth this time. “After working with a lot of people every day, it’s great to have private time.”

  His gaze locked on hers. Dark fire sparked in his eye eyes again, and the golden glow at the center made her breath hitch in her throat. “I agree. In Scotland, my company keeps me very busy. This has been like an exploration for me.”

  “Vacation?”

  “Not exactly, but I try and fit in a bit of private time.”

  “What is your company, by the way?” Maybe if she led him away from talking about her, she could feel more comfortable.

  His gaze turned thoughtful. “My father founded the business when I was a boy. We restored old castles and estates and sometimes helped the owners start bed and breakfast schemes.”

  “Schemes?”

  His grin added to a teasing light in his eyes. “Scheme means something a little different in Britain than it does in the United States. It doesn’t have a bad connotation. It just means a plan.”

  “Oh. Did your family have a bed and breakfast?”

  “They did.” He looked uncomfortable for a moment. “My home had been in the family about six hundred years.”

  “Wow.”

  Good going, Erin. He’ll think you’re a complete dunce. But then, if he does, maybe he won’t want to date you. Then again, maybe he doesn’t want to anyway. Gilda is the one pressing this issue.

  She didn’t know him well enough to probe into hurtful territory. She thought she saw pain flicker in his eyes. Perhaps he thought about his parents and the fire.

  “When do you get off work?” he asked.

  “Five-thirty. Why?”

  “I can pick you up here rather than at your house.”

  Lachlan’s switch in plans took her off guard. She glanced down at her denim skirt. “I’m not dressed for a party. I need to go home and change.”

  He twisted his mouth into a show of disbelief. “It’s not a fancy ball. You’re beautiful.”

  Beautiful. His gently spoken word hung in the air and made her feel every inch gorgeous, if just for a moment in time. “Thank you. I can go home and get changed. I don’t need a bodyguard.”

  “You might. You heard about that older woman who was attacked last night?”

  “I heard.”

  “That’s why you should have someone leave with you.”

  “You weren’t here last night when I left.” Shut up, shut up, shut up, Erin. He’s going to think you wanted him to stay.

  “Were you frightened?” His brows dipped downward with his frown. “If I’d known—”

  “No…I….no.”

  “That doesn’t sound certain.”

  She made an impatient noise. “Kathleen left the library with me. I wasn’t exactly by myself.”

  Again, Lachlan’s eyes spoke of secrets she couldn’t comprehend. Yet, she wanted to understand him with everything she possessed, and the feeling disturbed her. He drew her at the same time her cautious side screamed for her to run as far and fast as she could.

  “Oh, I was watching you,” he said.

  “What?” Surprise and a little alarm skipped through her veins. “You were watching me? I didn’t see you.”

  “I was there.” He gave her a patient expression, as if he waited for her to explode any second and knew how he would handle the situation.

  “Lurking in the bushes? That’s a bit odd, don’t you think?”

  As he shook his head, hair dipped onto his forehead. “From my car down the street.”

  “You could see me that far away?”

  “I’ve got excellent night vision.”

  A mingling of fear and a bizarre excitement made her wary. She felt caged in and protected by his attention all at the same time. She glanced at that fall of hair over his forehead and impulsively reached over the counter to brush it back. Soft, the tendril of hair caught around her index finger and brushed with an incredibly sensual texture against her skin. She sucked in a breath and snatched her hand back. It was almost…almost as if the hair had clasped her finger on purpose.

  His gaze caught and held hers. Melting gold flared to life in his eyes, and the heat she saw in that look made her want to kiss him so badly, she almost went around the counter and did it in front of God, country, and anyone else who might be in proximity.

  “You’re in danger,” he said. “All the women in this town are potential victims.”

  “You mentioned that already. In fact,” she swallowed hard around her fear, “How did you know Mrs. Pickles was going to be attacked near the library last night?”

  “I didn’t. I simply know that women alone are targets. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist, lass, to know that.”

  While a bit of relief flowed through her, she still didn’t trust him one hundred percent. She’d keep her gu
ard up until she knew more about this mysterious man. She wished now, though, that she hadn’t said anything to Danny. What if she caused trouble for Lachlan and he had nothing to do with what happened to those women?

  A dull stab of pain in her temples made her wince, and she narrowed her eyes.

  Lachlan’s gaze went intense as he searched her face. “Are you in pain?”

  “How did you know?”

  Without saying a word, he came around the counter and stood near her. He reached up and touched both her temples. “Easy.”

  She didn’t have time to protest or worry what people would think if they saw him touching her like this. Instead, she gazed up at him. He snagged her stare and held it. That strange golden glow caught her attention and wouldn’t let her go.

  He rubbed very gently, just under her hair. “Breathe deep and listen to my voice.” Seductive and throbbing low with heat, his tone sounded whisper soft. “Nasty headache, lass. Where did you pick it up?”

  “Pick it up?”

  “Is it this place? This building or this town? Do they worry you?”

  “What? No.”

  He continued the gentle movement of his fingers. “Do the ghosts press in on you and create darkness?”

  She couldn’t even be alarmed by his strange question as dizziness took hold of her. “What do you mean?”

  “I think the headaches might be from overload of psychic energy.”

  She made a very unladylike snorting noise. “Uh-huh. Sure.”

  He laughed softly, a whisper of sound she barely heard. “You’re very sensitive and you need a way to release the build up, or a way to block it out. I can teach you how to do both things.”

  Now she knew this disgustingly gorgeous man was nuts.

  When she wavered on her feet, he stopped his massage and gripped her shoulders. “Steady. Come on, now. Breathe deeper. That’s it.”

  Erin did as commanded, unable to move and grateful for his support. She realized that her eyes had closed, and she opened them with a snap.

  Her headache disappeared, replaced only by a slight unsteadiness on her feet. “What happened? How did you do that?”