Sundown & Serena

by Tara Fox Hall

  “You know I don’t need to ask you,” he hissed angrily. “I’m asking to be nice. But if you aren’t nice to me, I’ll just do what I did to Esperanza.” His voice dropped lower. “Only this time, it won’t be role-playing.”

  My terror and panic mounting, I forced myself not to scream. No one would hear me anyway. The shutters were rattling loudly, the sound of breaking and falling palm trees barely audible over the howl of the wind. “Stop, or Devlin will—”

  “Dev will do nothing,” he hissed confidently in my ear. “Save request I pay you for your time. And I’ll do that gladly, ten times over.”

  I began to shift form, thinking to escape him that way. Lash saw the fur sprouting on my arms and tightened his grip. “You turn, and I’ll turn, too, little coyote,” he hissed darkly. “You want it that way?”

  In his coils. I’ll be in his snake coils! My dread shot up. “No! Stop!”

  “Tell me ‘yes’,” he hissed menacingly. “Tell me ‘yes’ now, Serena.” His voice dropped lower. “Or I’ll just stop pretending you have a choice.”

  My thin veneer of control cracked in half, my fear bursting through in a long, loud wail of terror. “No!” I screamed, sobbing. “No! Let me go! I don’t want you! Leave me alone!” I cried hard, waiting for Lash to pull up my nightgown, to take me as he’d threatened to, knowing I had no power to stop him.

  Instead, he swore loudly and abruptly let me go, leaving the kitchen.

  Swiping at my falling tears, I ran to my room as fast as I could, locked the door, and had a good long cry snuggled into Vince’s sleeping arms. That night I promised myself never, ever to be alone with Lash again.

  Chapter Nine

  On December twenty-sixth, hell broke loose. I woke up to a pounding on my door. I got up, slipped on my robe, and ran to the door. Nick was there, his mood wild and happy. “Serena, we’re going home!” he said with glee. “Pack your bags! We’re leaving tonight.”

  “What?” I uttered, stunned.

  “He said pack your shit!” Lash hissed loudly, stalking by. “The plane leaves in four hours. If you aren’t on it, you’ll be left behind.”

  Nick rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything until Lash was on his way downstairs. Then he pushed me inside the room, and shut the door. “Devlin’s frantic. Something is very wrong at home. He talked to his brother last night, and he’s been on the phone ever since, arranging the plane, and talking to Titus.”

  “Who’s Titus?” I asked curiously.

  “He’s one of Devlin’s men, the magic man who made those potions we’ve been using. He’s been watching Hayden, Devlin’s estate in the US, for the past few months. You’ll like him, Serena.”

  I looked around at my bed, and everything I’d come to think of as mine. “Do we have to leave all this behind?”

  “Hayden’s beautiful,” Nick assured me, slipping his arms around my shoulders. “It’s true, this place is nice, but it’s really too fancy for me, and the rest of the guys. It’s not home.”

  “It’s become home to me,” I said sadly. “I was happy here, Nick.”

  “You’ll be happy there, too,” Nick said, brushing my cheek with his lips. “Vince and I’ll be there with you, along with Kev, and the rest of the bears. We’ll have good times.”

  I knew I didn’t want to leave. I’d lived here my whole life. But what choice do I have, really? What’s left for me here, if I stay behind? Going back to the diner to work? Scraping by on macaroni and cheese? I couldn’t do it, not after how I’d lived so well, these past few months. “I’d better get packing,” I said, gently pulling away from his embrace. “I have a lot more to bring with me than I did months ago.”

  “I have to pack too,” Nick said, letting me go. “But Vince and I’ll help you like before. Just pile boxes near the door, and we’ll take them out. There is a semi already here in the driveway, ready to take our stuff to the airport. Anything can be taken except furniture.”

  I began to pack as Nick left, shutting the door behind him. There was a lot to take. I’d spent a week’s pay each month just on new clothing, another on books and music; all the things I hadn’t been able to afford before. But I’d saved the rest, all of it that I hadn’t given in tithe anyway. There’s a lot, but I haven’t been too sinful.

  The hours passed quickly, Vince and Nick carrying my boxes downstairs as fast as I packed them. Other bears were also going back and forth hurriedly, carrying boxes and calling out questions, Lash and Devlin’s voices sometimes heard giving curt answers.

  “We’re leaving for the airport, to guard the truck,” Vince said, taking the last box from me. “We’ll see you soon!”

  “Thanks,” I called after him, then shut the door. I took a moment and looked over the mostly empty room, saying good-bye to the place where I’d finally come to know happiness. But Nick’s right. I can be happy somewhere else.

  Suddenly, Lash banged on the door. “Serena! Serena?”

  I opened it nervously. “Yes?”

  He glared at me. “Are you ready? We’re moving out.”

  “All ready,” I replied quickly, and stepped out into the hallway with my purse with a sigh.

  He shut my door, herding me downstairs. “Devlin is finishing up,” Lash hissed, his eyes flicking everywhere in succession, taking stock that everything was packed. “I’m going to bring the Hummer around front. Come outside with him, and we’ll leave. Everyone else is already waiting there for us except Brock and Justin, who will be guarding us on the way.”

  “Okay,” I nodded, sitting down on the couch as he left by the front door.

  In a moment, Devlin came bounding down the stairs, looking wired and stressed. “Serena, come on!” he said, irritated. “We have to hurry!”

  “Lash is bringing the Hummer,” I assured him, swiftly getting to my feet. “He said it would be a few minutes”

  “Damn it!” he swore, upset.

  I’ve never seen him so frantic. “What is it? Does Perseus know you’re here?”

  Devlin gave me a shocked look, then a quick smile, his hand on the door to open it. “No, he doesn’t know.” He opened the door.

  Esperanza staggered in, falling against him. “He does!” She went to her knees holding her side, blood dripping from a huge gaping wound. “Get out!” she gasped, looking up at him with pain-filled eyes. “He’s on his way, with men!” She swayed, then collapsed.

  An explosion rocked the house. Devlin bent and gathered Esperanza up, then started for the front door. I ran behind him, wishing I’d taken up some of the guys’ offers to get me a gun and give me shooting lessons. We emerged to the Hummer burning on the driveway, Justin’s body on the pavement beside it, charred and shredded.

  “Devlin Dalcon,” a hissing voice called menacingly. “What a surprise to see you.” A man came toward us with a gun pointed at Devlin.

  “Victor,” Devlin said, his words dripping malice. “Still working for Perseus?”

  “He’s on his way,” Victor said, grinning to show his snake fangs. “He’s very upset you’ve been here all this time, and never invited him over. He said you owe him, Dalcon, and he means to get paid in full.”

  Victor screamed as his chest was suddenly shredded as if from within. He convulsed hard, dropping the gun, and falling on his face at Devlin’s feet.

  “Get to the truck!” Lash hissed, running toward us from the road, his gun still smoking. “Hurry!” A red truck was behind him parked halfway up the yard, idling.

  “Grab the gun!” Devlin shouted to me, as he began to run. I reached down and grabbed it up from the ground, sprinting hard after him. We got to the truck and got in. Lash closed the door behind me, and then he ducked as a bullet whined off the truck’s reinforced armor. Devlin pushed me down as more bullets hit the truck, the impact rocking it on the tires but not penetrating it.

  I peered out. Lash was fighting hand to hand with a huge red-skinned man. They were slashing at each other, their knives moving so fast they blurred.

&nbs
p; “Take her!” Devlin said, handing me Esperanza. “Give me the gun! I have to help him! That’s a demon!”

  I took her limp form carefully, handing him the gun I’d taken from Victor as I tried to put pressure on Esperanza’s wound. He fired out the window, the bullet striking Lash’s assailant in his side. The huge demon jerked, but didn’t go down.

  Lash launched himself at the demon, stabbing him in the heart with all his momentum behind the deadly blow. With a snarl, the demon sliced again at Lash, opening up a huge gash on the side of his face in a spray of blood. Lash snarled, but he didn’t let go of his knife, working it deeper into the demon’s chest, shoving with all his might. His momentum forced the demon backward, its body banging into the driver’s side door with a thud. Devlin shot the demon again and again. The supernatural being jerked, huge wounds opening in its back, but the monster didn’t let go of Lash. It squeezed with all its strength, trying to crush him in its arms.

  Lash fought hard, his flailing denting the truck and cracks spider-webbing the driver’s window. But he couldn’t get loose.

  “Serena, give me your cross!” Devlin shouted with an outstretched hand. I jerked it from my neck, throwing it to him. He snatched it out of the air, and punched through the cracked glass with his other hand, shattering the window. With a quick movement, he grabbed the demon’s head and tossed the cross down its throat. The monster screamed, acrid black smoke boiling out of its mouth. It let Lash go, clutching at its neck.

  Devlin shoved Lash into the backseat, the snakeman staggering but alert. The demon went to its knees, its torso on fire, screaming. A stench of sulfur and brimstone filled the air, along with the charred smell of burning meat. Devlin pushed Lash into the passenger seat, and he got behind the wheel, peeling out at top speed. Lash alternately hissed and groaned in pain, holding his injured face.

  Devlin ripped off his shirt with difficulty as he drove, handing it to Lash. “Why isn’t it healing?” he said frantically.

  “I don’t know,” Lash answered, obviously scared. “The bastard must have had werepoison on his blades. He knew I’d be here guarding you.”

  “Keep pressure on it!” Devlin ordered. “We’re almost there!”

  We drove into the airport at eighty miles an hour, barely missing passengers leaving the terminal. Devlin drove to the farthest hanger, where a private plane waited. Nick ran up to the car with some of the other bears, guns drawn. Devlin stopped the car, and hopped out. “Everybody get on the plane!” he shouted. “Perseus will be here in ten minutes or less. We’ve got to get in the air!” Devlin grabbed hold of Lash, and helped him into the plane. He was still bleeding badly, and hissing in pain.

  Nick hugged me so hard all the breath went out of me. “We couldn’t get any answer on the cell,” he said worriedly.

  I pushed at him, worried more demons would come. “We have to leave. Can you help me with Esperanza?”

  “She’s dead,” Vince said softly, holding Esperanza’s limp body. “Should we bring her?”

  “Bring her!” Devlin said, calling out to us from the plane’s doorway. “She gave her life to try to warn us. Get the last bags from the car and get into the plane!”

  We hurried fast to the portable stairs, climbing aboard the plane and taking our seats. Nervous, I clutched Vince’s hand as we began our trip down the runway, the engine noise going from a thin whine to a steady roar. As the land disappeared beneath us, I glimpsed a line of car headlights racing to the entrance of the airport. I shivered in relief, knowing we had just escaped in time.

  Chapter Ten

  The journey was a long one to the United States. I slept most of the way. Most of the men slept, played with their various electronic devices, or talked. No one was drinking, though everyone obviously wanted to. The tension level was high, the unspoken question of what awaited us at our destination a very frightening possibility. We escaped one enemy, but will another be waiting for us when we arrive? Perseus must have friends. And Dev was in hiding where we were. I wonder if we’re not heading from the pan to the fire.

  Devlin spent much of his time beside Lash, by themselves in the front of the plane in first class. The bleeding from Lash’s facial wound had stopped, but the gash remained raw with no signs of even clotting. After an hour with no indication of it closing, Devlin sewed up the gash with a first aid kit he’d found in the bathroom. Lash cursed him intermittently, whenever Devlin sank the needle into him.

  “Damn it hurts!” Lash hissed. “That bastard better be frying in hell.”

  “He’s there burning, and you’re alive,” Devlin assured, as he tied the last knot. “You’re going to be pretty nasty-looking for a while, ’till it heals, but I think most women will see it as an improvement.”

  “Fuck you!” Lash hissed, grimacing. “I’m in pain and you’re being a prick! Best friends are supposed to be supportive.”

  Devlin laughed, then he gave Lash a hug. “There. Feel better?”

  I watched in silence, shocked. I hadn’t known they were anything more than employer and employee. Yet, Lash is the only one I’ve ever heard call Devlin “Dev.”

  “Rest,” Devlin said affectionately. “We’ll be back in The States in another ten hours.”

  “Esperanza is dead, isn’t she?” Lash asked. “I thought I saw Vince carrying her.”

  “Yes,” Devlin said softly. “She came to warn us, but someone shot her with an explosive bullet. It shredded a lung and most of her heart. She died on the way to the airport.”

  “I told her she could come with us,” Lash hissed sorrowfully. “I was going to help her start a new life in the US, maybe help her find a job. I didn’t want a life with her, but I couldn’t leave her behind.”

  “I’m sorry,” Devlin consoled. “She only warned us because of you, Lash. She cared for you a lot.”

  “I know she did,” he hissed softly. “And it led her to her death. Big surprise.”

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Devlin said firmly. “As it is, we’re very lucky we were already leaving. If I hadn’t learned Sar was dying—”

  Sar is dying? No wonder Devlin was so worried.

  “Sarelle’s dying?” Lash interrupted, looking at Devlin in disbelief. “Of what?”

  “Danial said she’s colder,” Devlin explained, deeply upset. “She hasn’t had any blood from him, and he hasn’t been with her, so she can’t be turning! I think she might need regular doses of the virus to live now, but I won’t know until I see her, or taste her...” He trailed off.

  “You know Theo’s not going to let you just be with her,” Lash hissed meaningfully. “I don’t know why she didn’t tell him about you and she, Dev, but you’re stupid if you think that’s not going to come out.”

  “He might be leaving her, Lash,” Devlin broke in, with barely restrained excitement. “He left today for Europe, to go see Tasha. The Russian girl, the one you found him with after he went missing.”

  “That fucking stupid cat!” Lash hissed spitefully. “He leaves his mate alone, when she’s sick, to go to that girl? After all Sar did to find him? Could he be more of an asshole?”

  I didn’t understand any of this, except that Devlin thought he now had a clear path to Sarelle, and that she needed him. Very romantic, especially if he saves her like he hopes to. But Lash is right, it’s a dangerous game.

  “I need to get to her in time, Lash,” Devlin said, desperate. “I’m asking Titus to meet us at the airport. He’ll teleport me home, and I’ll leave immediately for her house.”

  “Dev, it’ll be day by then!” Lash hissed, his eyes wide. “I’m too hurt to go with you. You’re being crazy. Don’t go getting yourself killed for a broad who—”

  “Nick will go with me,” Devlin assured. “I’ve called Brian. He’s got things in motion so I can get close enough to see her, to tell if she does need me.”

  “She fought you the last time you had her,” Lash said harshly. “What makes you think this time will be any different?”

  “If s
he needs me like I think she does, she won’t fight me at all,” Devlin assured him. “She’ll want me badly, like she wanted Danial for months now. Like I’ve wanted her for months.” His voice dropped lower, becoming husky. “And I told you, that last time with her, she seduced me, Lash, and after, when we talked...” He trailed off.

  “And?” Lash prompted.

  Dev gave a sigh. “I think deep down she always wanted me, from what she said. Things may be very different when she sees me again.”

  “Theo’ll want to kill you, no matter what happens,” Lash said. “And then I’ll have to kill him, Dev, to keep you safe. She won’t forgive you for killing her mate, no matter what he’s done.”

  “If I’m right, Lash, I’ll need you to do something else for me, besides keeping Theo out of my hair,” Devlin said, appearing not to hear Lash. “But I’m not going to think about that until I see Sar. If I’m wrong, and she doesn’t need me, then I’m going to let her go. We’ll move operations to another state, and that’ll be the end of it.”

  “Like hell!” Lash hissed, rolling his eyes. “You can’t let her go, or you would have already! You’re in love with her! You’ve talked of nothing else but her for months! For years! Her and her damned summer blood!”

  “Fuck you!” Devlin growled angrily. “You’ve never been in love, Lash! I’ve got a chance to be with her again, maybe to claim her for my own! How can I not take it? How can I not try at least?”

  “I’m sorry,” Lash hissed less stridently. “You’re right, I’ve never been in love, I don’t understand. I want you to be happy, Dev. I’m just hurting bad.”

  “Lie there and rest,” Devlin said forcefully, making Lash sit back in the seat and recline. “I’ll get you some more painkillers. Vince has some.” Devlin seemed to notice me for the first time. “Serena, go ask Vince for some of his pain pills.”