5 Darkness Falls

by Christin Lovell

  Chapter 14

  One month later…

  The past month had been trying for all of us. Tensions ran high as Cecilia remained hidden away, Rashik had yet to turn up and Kalia had dropped off the planet with him. Kellan had been increasingly distant lately, fielding phone calls in the middle of the night. Though not irregular for a vamp, his secrecy regarding them was. He’d purchased a Mac desktop recently that he was utilizing often. Each time I approached him though, he minimized all programs and windows.

  Approaching my apartment, my hand shook as I reached for the note protruding from between the door and the frame. My stomach churned; my pulse sped up.

  The letters had started up again two days ago. This time though, it had risen to a creepy stalker level. Everywhere I went, around every turn, a new message appeared on the same kind of lined notebook paper.

  Drexel moved in right behind me as Sanders swept the perimeter, even checking the stairwell before coming back to us, just as perplexed as always.

  I took a deep breath, but it did nothing for my nerves. I unfolded the paper.

  Watch and listen. -CR

  I crumpled the note in my hands. She was always cryptic. Why weren’t people direct anymore? I was tired of the games.

  “Let’s check the security footage.” Drexel reached around to unlock the door. He immediately pulled me out of the way. Sanders stepped in front of me, taking extra precaution. Thirty seconds later, Drex returned. “It’s clear.” He held the door open for me.

  I’d just gotten comfortable on the couch when my phone rang. “Any luck?”

  “Another dead property,” Jarrod announced. “The guy hasn’t lived here in over a century. It’s a fucking wasteland. We did a thorough check just in case, but nothing.”

  “Freaking sugarplums on high!” I huffed, letting out an exasperated groan.

  I sat for a moment, staring at the TV across from the sofa. “How many more properties are on your list?”

  “Fifty-two.”

  “Alright. Be careful.” I hung up, tossing my phone aside.

  I’d divided my team into threes and sent them out with a list of properties. Thus far, they’d found a lot of abandoned properties, a few rented out and only one vampire actually living in his home.

  “What else can we do guys? There has to be more.”

  They exchanged looks. “You’re already doing everything strategically. You’ve got men in the field doing footwork and checking leads. You’ve got people trailing you, trying to find the ones tracking you and leaving notes. You’ve got Frank checking all the traffic and business cams around where the notes were left. You’re doing everything right, Baby Cakes.”

  “I’m gonna check the footage,” Sanders said, moving for Kellan’s Mac. The oversized monitor-computer combo sat atop the desk in the back of the living space.

  I got up and moved behind Sanders. Drex stood beside me, both of us watching closely as Sanders logged in and pulled the footage. I sighed. Just as with all the others, whoever was leaving a note for me was incredibly fast, even compared to a vamp. He, she, it was merely a blur, a blip on a single-second frame.

  We’d tried slowing the feed, but couldn’t make anything out. “I’m going to start calling it Flash. At least then I have a name.” I gestured towards the screen. Sanders had frozen the image, their action appearing as a pixilated line of motion on the display.

  I sighed, moving away. I gazed out the window, trying to search my mind for something. We had to be missing some avenue. No one was this good. Everyone left a clue.

  “We’ve already checked the building’s cameras. Flash is flying past the lobby and up the stairs, but never seems to slow down.”

  “Fingerprints!” I exclaimed, running for the stack of papers. “Maybe we could dust them for prints. I know it’s a long shot, but it’s something. I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

  Drex and Sanders hesitated, communicating through expression again.

  I ignored them, giving them time to figure out if they were going to fight me on this or not. I grabbed my phone and dialed Kai’s number.

  “Hey, Leka.”

  “Hey. Where are you?”

  “Condo. Why?”

  “Can I come over?”

  Only a second passed before he spoke. “Of course.”

  “Thanks. I’ll see you in a bit.” I picked up the pile of notes. “I’m going, guys.” I made a beeline for the front door.

  I’d just rounded the corner when Drex leapt in front of me, halting my escape. “We’ll escort you.”

  “I would argue, but I know it would be pointless. Let’s go.”

  He and Sanders fell into step at my side.

  ***

  Each man flanked me as I knocked on Kai’s door. My knuckles were about to strike for the second time when the door flew open.

  He stood casually in a pair of basketball shorts and a thin white tee. His feet were bare; his stance was relaxed. His lips mashed together as he appraised Drex and Sanders. He stepped back and jerked his head, gesturing for us to enter.

  I moved past Kai, surprised when the guys hung back.

  “Make sure you protect her!” Drex asked. He crossed his arms over his chest, planting his feet shoulder-width apart.

  Kai rolled his eyes. One second he was at the door, the next he had Drex pinned to the wall just beyond the threshold with his gold dagger at his throat. “Good enough?” Kai growled.

  Drex didn’t flinch. “I guess.”

  Kai backed away, tucking his blade into a hidden holster.

  “I’ll be back later, Baby Cakes.” Drex smiled, winking at me.

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  “Bye, babes.” Sanders gave me a small wave before moving towards the elevators with Drex.

  Kai closed and locked the door. “Are you dating them now too?” he smirked, his eyes filling with whimsy.

  I rolled my eyes. “Oh hush.”

  “What’s going on? I see papers in your hand, so I’m assuming you need help with something.”

  I blushed. I really did only come to him for help. We never just hung out. We always seemed to act like business friends. “Yeah.”

  I followed him into his condo. The ultra-modern design always caught me off guard after seeing him in the lake house, which had a more traditional décor.

  He sat down at the dining room table; his two laptops and a pile of papers were waiting. From the looks of it, he was studying reports. He moved the papers aside and slid out the chair beside him. “Sit.”

  I slipped into the seat, immediately tugging on my shirt, trying to cover my full belly. Aside from maxi dresses, nothing seemed to cover me anymore. I’d been practically living out of them lately, but changed into sweats and a tank the moment I got home from the office, though the opening was really annoying though.

  I focused on the bigger issue. “I’ve been followed lately. All of the cameras we checked only show a blur of motion. We’ve tried freezing the frames, but whoever it is moves too quickly, even for a vamp. What Flash leaves behind every time is a new note from Cecilia. With no luck at other angles, I wanted to see if we could go the human route and dust for fingerprints, maybe find a match by chance in the system.”

  He eyed me for an exaggerated minute. His features slowly softened with each passing second. “You know it’s a long shot, right?” He brushed the back of his hand against my cheek.

  I shook my head, my skin warming beneath his touch, my heart flittering. “Yeah.” My voice was barely above a whisper as I gazed into his inviting brown eyes.

  We were stuck in the moment. Neither one of us could move. It was like an invisible magnet was pulling us together, forcing us to stay that way. Our breathing synchronized as our eyes locked and we became lost in each other. I didn’t have the same unveiling with Kai when I kissed him, but at times like this, he volunteered his soul for me.

  Suddenly he turned away, dropping his hand. “Let’s, uh, see what we can get.”

 
; I watched as he opened the cabinets of the sleek TV console. He pulled out a few pieces of equipment, unloading them on the table. He held out his hand for a note. I passed him the latest one.

  He ran a black light over it followed by some sort of handheld scanner. “Nothing on this one. Next.”

  I handed him all nineteen notes one by one.

  “They’re all clean. Sorry, Leka.”

  I groaned, leaning back in the chair. Why couldn’t this be easier?

  ***

  Kellan

  “Are you positive?” I studied the dark shadow on the screen.

  “Ninety-nine point nine,” was the snarky reply.

  My informant and I had a rocky relationship. I still hadn’t figured out why he was helping me, but he was helping, so I wasn’t going to piss him off by pushing his buttons.

  I sat back in the chair, considering my options.

  “Either you’re coming or you’re not.”

  “Hold your pants, man. It’s not that easy.”

  “Either you want to protect her or you don’t.”

  “It’s not black and white,” I spat out.

  “It is to me. You have twenty-four hours. I’ll text you the information.” He ended the call, as always, leaving me to stew in my thoughts alone.

  I sighed, resting my head on my hand. Damn it. I hated leaving her. But he was right. If I wanted to protect Lexi and our baby, then I needed to go take out Cecilia. I didn’t want Lexi near her. Her team was close enough. The stakes had tripled in the past few days with the recent activity.

  And that settled it. I guess I was going to Canada. I would give Auggy and Kalel a courtesy call, maybe let Drex and Sanders in on it too, but I wanted it handled quickly and quietly. No thunder of soldiers advancing on her. I wanted to catch her off guard, unarmed. There was only one man I could trust with this approach: my dad.

  My gut twisted as I thought about getting into a plane and flying away from her. With her stomach rounded and filling out nicely, it was a daily reminder of what I was fighting for, why I was going and why the secrecy was necessary. She didn’t need to be handling this. She didn’t need to be doing half as much as she did. I knew if I mentioned anything, I wouldn’t be able to keep her from going with me. For her protection, she couldn’t know.

  I pushed away from the desk. As I stood to go pack, I caught sight of the scattered pile of notes on the dining room table. My chest tightened, my stomach sank. They, he, she, whoever, was too close to all that I held dear. I didn’t want to admit it. As much as it killed me, I was going to have to ask him for the favor. Drexel and Sanders made a good pair, but under the current conditions, I wanted – needed - an extra pair of eyes to watch over and protect the mother of my child.

  Chapter 15

  Lexi

  One day later…

  Kellan got up from his computer. I watched as he padded towards the door without checking the security monitor; he must have been expecting this guest. I’d spent yesterday with Gabi and Mel; they’d chased me around the office, talking my ear off as I studied camera feeds and a new list of properties, so I knew the earliest they would pop up would be tomorrow.

  “Thanks for coming,” Kellan said.

  I frowned as I listened. The second his scent hit me, I was on my feet. I watched as Kai entered the room. My heart sprinted in my chest and the baby moved inside me, reacting to my excitement.

  Kellan joined Kai, standing beside him. They both looked at me as I stared at them. Kellan had finally cut his hair, making him stand out. Wait, why were they standing there together? My heart slowed as worry knotted my stomach. Something was going on.

  “What’s going on, guys?”

  I turned, startled when Drexel emerged from his room.

  “You okay?” he asked pointedly. His eyes swept the area before honing in on both vamps. Drexel’s eyes conveyed skepticism. “Good luck, Baby Cakes.” He chuckled as he closed his bedroom door.

  Kellan glanced at Kai before approaching me. He placed his hands on my upper arms, rubbing them gently in a soothing up and down motion. “I asked him to stay with you while I’m gone.”

  I was plagued with fear. Kellan was hiding something from me. I’d suspected as much over the past few weeks, but I hadn’t seen anything when we connected. Whatever it was, he kept it locked up tight…which meant he didn’t want me to know for a reason.

  I wrestled free from his grip. “Where are you going?”

  His features tightened. His eyes never turned away as he regarded me. “I have something I need to take care of before the baby gets here.”

  “We have twenty more weeks for that. Why now?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

  He pursed his lips, sighing deep. “I’m not waiting until the last minute. This needs to be taken care of sooner rather than later.”

  I narrowed my eyes, anger rising. It pumped through my veins, burning like acid, as my pulse kicked up. He was keeping secrets. I was carrying his child, and he was keeping secrets from me.

  “Please calm down.” His voice was a rushed plea as his gaze traveled over me in anguish.

  Without looking, I knew I was glowing. Dang it, Sir Staten.

  “Leka.”

  Instinctively, I responded to his call, looking directly at him.

  “Why don’t you go change, and I’ll take you out?” His tone was appeasing; the slight pressure on his lips confirmed it.

  I could tell he was trying to distract me. I could tell he was determined to get my mind off Kellan and onto something new. I could tell he was just looking out for my well-being, intending to help me let go of all that had me glowing.

  I looked at Kellan. His face was solemn, his expression one of pained sorrow. Slowly, he nodded his head. “Go. I promise to be safe.”

  I snapped, leaning into him. “If you get yourself killed, I hope you go to hell.”

  Tears stung my eyes as I quickly retreated to the bedroom.

  ***

  Kellan

  I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I couldn’t fuck this up. I couldn’t let her down.

  An immense pressure bore down on my chest as I considered her action. There’d been an angry fire in her eyes when she delivered the final verbal blow. I couldn’t help but stop and question if that was how I looked every time I blew up at her. I couldn’t suppress my guilt; if the pain she’d inflicted with that one line was even a smidgen of the pain she’d felt every time I lashed out…then I did deserve to go to hell.

  Damn, I was such an idiot. I saw the pain in her eyes; I heard the anger and fear in her voice. To watch her suffer, and then, become her punching bag was brutal. How the hell could I have put her through that so many times? I really am an asshole.

  Damn if this wasn’t a reality check for me.

  “I’m going to check on her,” Kai announced.

  I turned towards the vamp. He was biting his tongue, but I could see the storm brewing in his eyes and the intensity of his features as he glared at me. There was a hard glint in his brown eyes that spoke volumes.

  I didn’t look away, accepting his silent threat. “Thanks,” I muttered.

  He started towards the bedroom, but stopped. He angled his head back to me, but kept his gaze down. “For her sake, don’t get yourself killed.”

  I watched as he slipped into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. The implication of his words jarred me and left me standing there frozen.

  ***

  Lexi

  I huffed in frustration, tugging down on my tight shirt. My belly bulged out beyond the hem. Tears cascaded down my cheeks as I looked down.

  Emotions swirled in my chest, landing in my stomach. It seemed like I was gaining too much weight too quickly. Because everything fit so tight, I couldn’t help but panic that I’d go back to the way I was before, to the old, overweight me.

  It didn’t help my confidence any that Kellan had been steadily pulling back over the past couple weeks. He had become so distant. While he didn’t e
ntirely withhold affection, it was given more as an afterthought, like he’d realized he should have been doing something and then reacted obligatorily. He no longer acted on his instincts or on his emotions, this was probably meant to protect me from his outbursts. Or hell, it could be that he was still acting on his emotions, but his feelings for me changed after seeing me start to balloon up again.

  I jumped when I felt his touch. Where has my head been these days? I wasn’t as aware as I was before, as alert. I was so easily lost in myself - in my warped mind - that I was missing too much, even the simplest of things.

  I rapidly swiped at my tears before I looking up at Kai. I gave him a meek smile, trying to hide it all.

  His eyes reflected the truth back at me though. He saw it, and he was worried. He moved his hand to cradle my head as he leaned in and kissed my forehead. “You’re still beautiful.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You don’t have to be nice.” I gazed down at my protruding stomach. It wasn’t a perfectly round shape yet. Kellan argued that it was, but my belly weight sat more like an egg, heavier on the bottom half. I was waiting for it to start jiggling any day now.

  “Look at me,” he ordered.

  I bit my lower lip, lifting my eyes to meet his.

  “I’ve never lied to you, have I?”

  I couldn’t fault him there. He’d always been truthful with me, opting not to speak at all when he didn’t feel like he could be brutally honest. “Sorry,” I muttered.

  I focused on my closet. It was full of clothes…that didn’t fit.

  “Put on some shoes, and I’ll take you shopping.”

  “But my belly is hanging out.”

  I gave a tough yank on the bottom of my shirt again, but the black tank refused to stretch anymore to meet my capris, especially since my lower belly was now hogging the length of them and typically they sat just over the largest part of my hips. There was a good four inches of my belly exposed, and it wasn’t sexy or cute.

  Kai stepped back and removed his shirt, revealing a plain white tee beneath that looked nice with his dark jeans. He passed me the pale blue shirt he’d been wearing. “For the record, I think you’re beautiful just the way you are. If it was up to me, I wouldn’t cover up any part of you.”