Death's Dark Horse

by Ruby Loren

  “Babe, babe, where are you?”

  Ryan seized the handle and closed the door again, making sure it only emitted the slightest of clicks. January held her breath as footsteps rounded the corner of the building. Her eyes could just make out Ryan’s in the dark and she could see the whites. He was terrified. She wanted to ask him if he knew who it was, but any noise would give them away.

  The footsteps stopped right outside of their hiding place. January felt ice cold tension wash over her. Maybe they were already lost.

  “Oh, there you are!” The footsteps carried on.

  January heard Ryan start breathing again.

  “What happened? Why have you changed? People could see.” The last part was hissed by the unseen speaker, but Ryan and January’s ears were good enough.

  January felt goosebumps rise up on her flesh as she felt energy being drawn from around her - only stronger than usual. She knew exactly who was outside with the unknown speaker. Ryan did too, judging by the way he’d started to sweat. She wanted to tell him that it was okay and she’d stand up for him, no matter what.

  She wanted to tell him not to break out of the hiding place and turn her in.

  She could do neither - only pray that he would hold fast.

  “She’s gone. I don’t know where. She must have run.” There was no mistaking that voice. Luke sounded angry - seriously angry.

  “Who? What happened here tonight? I went in and everyone’s gone and the place looks trashed.”

  January felt like she knew who the other speaker was, but couldn’t quite place the voice yet. She couldn’t make out Luke’s reply, but it ended with the word ‘January’.

  “January?” The speaker sounded surprised and the identity of the voice suddenly clicked in January’s head.

  She wanted to jump out and challenge the treacherous pair right there and then, but it wouldn’t be clever. Keep the secret, she told herself, trying to think of shifters the world over.

  The sound of footsteps faded away. January and Ryan waited for another ten minutes before they opened the door again.

  “Is it just me, or did she sound way too familiar with Luke?”

  Ryan was busy looking up and down, making certain they weren’t in any immediate danger.

  “Yeah, sure. That was his girlfriend.”

  January felt like the world had stopped spinning. She’d been had.

  “Trace is Luke’s girlfriend?”

  Ryan looked surprised that she knew her name.

  “Trace the deer shifter?”

  “Yeah, how do you…?”

  January shook her head. There really wasn’t time for an in-depth discussion on how stupid she’d been. It had all been a trick - the car accident, the apparent beginnings of a friendship. The only good thing was that Trace had no idea January knew the truth. So, when she next tried to make contact, perhaps she’d find herself being used to manipulate her boyfriend. January was definitely not above that anymore.

  “Is torture and extraction of information part of your job description as Luke’s right hand man?” She asked and instantly regretted it.

  Luke going to such great lengths to help Trace to win her trust had been a heck of a move. After that, she would be an idiot to trust Ryan. Even after what he’d apparently just done to save her. Sure, there wasn’t a clear motive yet, but there probably was one. Luke was playing the long game.

  “Fool me once…” She muttered and Ryan gave her a concerned glance.

  “Don’t risk using your car,” he said.

  They stood in the shadows, looking out across the car park. The blue black Lotus was an inviting island, but January knew he was right. Luke could have done anything to it in the time she’d been hidden in a cupboard.

  “What do you suggest?” She asked, unable to keep the edge from her voice. Whatever ideas he had, they were going to be taken with a big fat pinch of salt.

  “Take my car. It’s parked down the road – the black Jeep.” He held out some keys.

  January looked at them, doubtfully. “What are you going to do?”

  Ryan ran a hand through his rough, military hair. “Go in and try to pretend I’ve been out looking for you all this time,” he said, but he didn’t look happy.

  January was about to tell him that it would all be fine, but she bit her tongue. Was this just more acting?

  She got out her own car key and handed it to Ryan. This whole thing was probably an elaborate trap, but she couldn’t think of a better way out. Maybe it was better to play along. It was starting to rain, too.

  “It’ll be okay,” she said, suddenly unable to help herself.

  His lips twitched but that was all he could do by way of smiling. “I’d better be going,” he said, looking down at his feet. “You should be gone.”

  January turned and walked away, sticking to the shadows and avoiding streetlights. In every moment, she expected someone to leap out and drag her back to The Bingley Bar - or perhaps come face to face with Luke himself - but nothing happened.

  It was only when she hit the main road through the forest on her way back to Hailfield, that she finally allowed herself to relax a little. Her mind strayed to Ryan and she wondered how he was fairing. Would Luke believe him? For all she knew, Luke was rewarding him right now for playing his part so well.

  January shook her head. She didn’t want to believe it. Normally, she would’ve wanted to trust Ryan. It was just that Trace had been so convincing – the nerves… everything! She’d seemed just as scared of Luke as all of the others.

  January felt strangely calm while she drove through the pouring rain. The sound it made when it hit the windscreen and the swish of the Jeep’s wipers were soporific. She just wanted to get home and fall into bed - possibly with a hot chocolate for company.

  Unfortunately, the universe had other ideas.

  “I heard that there was some drama at the shifter place tonight?”

  January stopped, halfway through taking off her dress.

  Gregory Drax was in her bed again.

  14

  I guess that spell did wash away in the rain after all, January thought.

  She pulled her dress back down and shot Gregory a scathing look. It made her think back to her recent conversation with Trace. The other girl had said that sweeping away the dust on the doorstep would’ve neutralised the spell. She sighed. For all she knew, Trace could have been the one behind all of the so-called curses – just another trick to psych her out.

  “Can’t you just wait and knock like a normal person?” She complained, too tired to be really angry. She’d expended all of her energy resisting Luke earlier.

  “Would I be right in thinking that you were at the epicentre of events?” He had an annoying grin on his face – like all his Christmases had come at once.

  “Why are you so happy?” She had to ask.

  “Bingley’s little circus has finally destroyed itself, thanks to you. No one will be going back there in a hurry.” Gregory’s smile faded a little. “I don’t try to compete with the bar. It would be a bad idea to do so, as it draws attention. On the other hand, I do hate to see a man like him getting rich. A bit of bad luck was long overdue.”

  January turned away and took off her tights, taking the opportunity to roll her eyes, unseen. “Glad to be of service.”

  Gregory was pouting when she turned back around. He watched with interest, when she pulled her dress off over her head again.

  “I figure there’s no point in being modest when you’ve seen me naked twice already,” she told him.

  He made no complaint. Funnily enough.

  The striptease ended when she pulled on her pineapple print pyjamas.

  “Just when it was getting good,” Gregory complained.

  He flicked open the duvet covers so she could slide in.

  January hesitated. “Are you wearing any clothes?”

  “Why don’t you come and find out?”

  January took that to mean ‘no’ but also
decided she didn’t care. She got into bed and turned her back on him, hearing the sheets crinkle when he wriggled closer.

  “So, what did happen tonight? I only heard snippets about a leopard trying to kill everyone in the audience.”

  January was about to say ‘I’ll tell you in the morning’ when she realised that wouldn’t work for the vampire. She really must be tired to forget that little fact. “Nothing of great interest. Luke tried to push me into joining his freaky super pack again. I walked out. He didn’t take it too well.” She closed her eyes and found that sleep was just on the horizon.

  Gregory ran a hand down her side, slipping it beneath her pyjamas. She opened one eye and turned to face him.

  “I’m way too tired for any of this. You should just go.” Gregory’s eyes were lively as ever.

  “Really? I think I can prove you wrong.”

  He did something that made January bite her lip.

  It turned out she wasn’t that tired after all.

  When she woke the next morning, her first thought was of Ryan. While she couldn’t remember the details, she knew that he’d been running through her dreams.

  January kicked back the covers and got out of bed, glancing at the time on her phone. She had an hour before work started. She put the coffee on and realised she had a serious case of Sunday morning misery. The desire to call in sick was almost impossible to resist. One phone call and she could go back to bed and catch up on much needed sleep.

  It would mean she wouldn’t risk seeing Luke either, although she had her doubts as to whether he’d keep up his surveillance routine now that they’d had their showdown. But then, he’d surprised her more than once already. His was not a face she wanted to see anytime soon.

  She weighed her phone in her hand. If Luke did turn up at the tearooms and she wasn’t there, it would probably count as a point to him. There was no way she was going to hide.

  “Anyway, you’ve got a cake to bake,” she said aloud, and felt her bad mood lift a little. There were people relying on her to save them from Lucy’s baking.

  She stepped out the door at quarter to eight, planning to walk to work. She hoped it would avoid anyone noticing Ryan’s Jeep. If the game wasn’t already up, she didn’t want to get him caught.

  Her foot crunched on something. She looked down at the doorstep. Three bones had been left, their sharpened points directed at her house - only now, one of them was broken. January shook her head and kicked them out of her way. She didn’t have time for more of this nonsense. As far as she could tell, none of it worked anyway. If they knew anything about my life, they’d know I’m perfectly capable of screwing things up myself, she thought, crossly.

  Her breath misted, and even though the sun was trying to shine, the fields on either side of the main road she walked along were shrouded in a haze. In spite of everything, January felt her spirits lift a little more, when she looked around at the beauty of nature. Everything was fresh and crisp. It had a hopeful air to it. An orange leaf fluttered to the ground in front of her and she smiled for the first time that day. She knew exactly what cake she was going to make.

  “Charlie, can I go to the shop and get a pumpkin?” January asked.

  Charlie raised her friendly face from a stack of accounts. She looked unusually stressed. “Yeah, of course. I think I saw some in there. Oh, there are some cooking apples one of the customers brought in yesterday as a present. You’re welcome to use them, if you’d like.” January tilted her head, imagining the different flavours and textures it would bring to her creation. Yes, it will work, she thought, excited by the prospect of trying something new. This was going to be the ultimate autumn cake.

  Half an hour later, she was swirling the batter into a square tin. While she spread out the golden mixture - stuffed with pumpkin, apple, raisins, and spices - her thoughts turned back to Ryan. She wished she had a way of contacting him to make sure everything was all right. But even if she had got his number, she’d be unwise to call. If he had landed in trouble she’d only push him in deeper. All she could do was wait and see if he reached out to her.

  “I don’t know why you’re worrying. He’s almost certainly on the leopard’s side,” she said aloud, sprinkling brown sugar and cinnamon on the top of the mixture, before she slid it into the oven.

  “Were you just talking to that cake?” Lucy had arrived.

  January feigned surprise. “Oh no! You’ve discovered the secret of my success!”

  Lucy shot her a withering look after dumping her bag on the counter - the way she did at the start of every shift.

  Okay, maybe that had been a bit rude of her, but it had felt sinfully good. Although - not quite as good as the flour she’d sprinkled on the work surface, knowing that Lucy would put her bag there. It was petty, but it made her feel slightly brighter.

  “January, that smells amazing,” Charlie said, breezing into the kitchen. She was trying to sound bright, but it was evident she wasn’t her usual sunny self. “I’m sorry to distract you from the clearing up, but we’ve got our first early customers coming in and Matt hasn’t turned up for work yet.”

  January took off her floury apron and swapped it for a clean one. “That’s okay, I can do coffee.”

  “Thanks, hun. You are a lifesaver. These accounts are due tomorrow and I’m barely done.” Charlie ran a hand through her wavy red hair. It stuck up at unruly angles. “I promise everything will be back to normal by Tuesday.”

  January smiled wanly, wishing the same could be said for her own life. It must be nice to only have the stresses of a business to worry about.

  That was probably unfair.

  Who knew what secret second life Charlie might be living? There was often more to people than met the eye. She was living proof of that.

  January started up the coffee machine and then went to take orders – something Matt would never have done. Lucy was on her own and there were seven tables to do. Even though she wasn’t the other waitresses’ number one fan, she wasn’t going to stand around by the coffee machine posing.

  “Two cappuccinos and a Baileys latte,” Lucy said, pulling a face that said ‘no one should be having liqueur coffee at this time in the morning’.

  January smiled and added a healthy dose of the creamy liqueur. The Baileys latte was for John - a regular. Today he had an older couple with him, whom she suspected were his parents. The permanent line etched across his forehead told her exactly how their morning meet-up was going. She added another dash of alcohol for luck. He looked like he needed it.

  January passed the coffees over to Lucy and then rushed back into the kitchen, sensing that the time on her cake must be up. The room was filled with the delicious scent of spiced fruits. She ran a skewer through the centre of the cake and it came out clean. With a satisfied smile, she tipped the square bake out onto a cooling rack and then hurried back to make more coffee.

  Trace was sitting alone in the corner of the room. The nervous demeanour was back, but January knew it had to be an act. Luke had sent his girlfriend in to do his spying for him today. She pasted a bright smile on her face and walked over, determined not to give anything away.

  “How are you? Can I get you something?” She asked, pretending not to know why the girl was here.

  The deer shifter had already torn the paper napkin on her table into hundreds of pieces, January observed.

  “I have to talk to you about last night. Can we talk?”

  January chewed her lip. “I’m afraid we’re understaffed today, but I finish at twelve.”

  Another waitress, Marie, was starting work that day.

  Trace twisted off another piece of paper from the napkin. “Okay, could we meet in the park again?”

  January nodded wearily, wondering if it was some stupid trap. It didn’t matter, anyway. She wasn’t going to run from Luke anymore.

  The deer shifter stood up and left, leaving her to clean up the mess of napkin. January wondered if she’d studied drama. The nervous energy she�
�d been giving off was catching. Now January felt on edge, too.

  “Better go ice that cake,” she muttered, knowing that the first coffee time visitors would be arriving soon. One of the regulars had even told her they kept a calendar so they knew who was making the daily special that day. January hoped her experimental autumn bake wouldn’t disappoint.

  Ten minutes later, she was slicing up the iced, square cake. It had a similar cream cheese based icing to the carrot cake she’d made recently, but she’d added some brown sugar and a dash of lemon to spice things up a bit. Charlie walked in, just as she was looking down at the sliced-up cake, wondering what it would taste like.

  “New creation?” Her boss asked, glancing at the generous squares. January nodded.

  “I’ve made the pumpkin cake before, but I decided to add apples and a few other things. I think it’s worked, but…”

  Charlie grabbed a bit and took a huge bite, chewing thoughtfully. She pulled a face and January’s forehead creased with worry.

  “Just messing with you. It is a-mazing. Tastes like autumn in a cake! Mmm, I feel all warm and fuzzy now. Thanks for that, it’s my motivation to carry on with all this boring paper work.” She waved the remaining chunk of cake and sashayed back to the little office, halfway down the corridor between the kitchen and the tearoom.

  Feeling pleased, January artfully arranged her chunks of cake in an inviting pyramid and then put the clear glass cover over them. She scribbled a description on a label and then carried the lot down the corridor to take pride of place in the tearoom.

  Lucy ran round the corner and January almost dropped the cake stand on the floor. She opened her mouth to tell her to ‘watch it’ but Lucy was quicker.

  “Matt’s dead!”

  The reprimand died in January’s throat. “What?” She searched the other waitress’ face for sign of a joke, but she looked genuinely upset.

  “One of the regulars who works as a Scenes of Crime Officer came in and told me. His family’s been notified. It’s just about to be released to the press.” Lucy shook her head. “I was just going to let Charlie know.”