Laif didn’t swear. He didn’t raise his voice. In fact, he didn’t say anything. For some reason, Laif believed that. He hoped it wasn’t because she’d been so abused that she looked for that in a relationship.
Did she have a relationship with Shane? Laif turned and watched Memphis sleep, brushed a few strands of red hair off her cheek. She wouldn’t have agreed to go out with him if she had a boyfriend. Would she?
Logically, he knew he was rushing into this without taking her current situation into account, but since he didn’t seem capable of using logic with this woman, he had to play it by ear.
Even so, he had enough sense to know that staying with the man who shot her was not in her best interest, no matter what she might think when she woke up.
“No,” was all he said.
Lydia nodded in agreement. “She can stay with your father and me.”
Bryson held up his hand and said, “How about she makes up her mind about what she wants to do when she wakes up. We can’t decide these things for her.”
Bryson was right. Laif knew it. And somehow, he’d sit back and wait for just that.
Tiegan squeezed Laif’s shoulder. “I think we’ve probably disturbed this young lady enough. Call if we can help.” He then left to go find his wife and kids.
Lydia smoothed Laif’s hair before kissing his cheek. “Let’s go, everyone. Well, you should all go. I’m working in ten minutes.” She started shooing everyone out. When they’d all gone, she turned to Laif. “If you need anything, let me know.”
He gave a nod and sat. Laif took Memphis’s hand and she stirred for a second before settling back down.
Kyrell followed the perky, little Asian girl into the supply closet and leaned against the door, watching her take a syringe of a sleep aid from the small fridge. She thought if only a little were missing, no one would notice. He loved the stupidity of people.
The female had already checked on Memphis twice that day and was scheduled to do so again one more time before the shift change. He’d simply step inside, make himself at home, and kill Memphis with some Morphine in her IV.
With a laugh the woman didn’t hear, Kyrell took possession and helped himself to a few bottles and needles of his own. He’d have to wait until most of those do-gooder Craigs left the hospital, but it wouldn’t be long before he had that red-headed little whore. Laughing, he thought of all the ways to make her suffer. Maybe he’d kill her soulmate in front of her. That always seemed to dampen the spirits of those he tortured.
In the body of the nurse, he left the supply closet, smiled at a male patient pushing an IV stand, and went about the work he’d read on her duty chart. No sense in making anyone suspicious just yet.
Laif hadn’t been able to get Uncle Ewen out of his head and wondered if he’d welcome the reminder of the woman he’d lost. He’d never looked at his uncle quite the same after hearing that conversation between his parents.
Maybe a trip to Ireland was in order in the very near future. He could go stay with his aunt and uncle, see his cousins, show Memphis the land his father had come from. Where his grandparents had raised two boys and a daughter to be normal in a world that was anything but. Where his dad had first learned about Night Shadows.
Yeah, as soon as Memphis was up to traveling, he was going to take her to Ireland. It felt like the right thing to do. Matter of fact, it seemed almost necessary.
A soft knock on the slightly open hospital door brought Laif’s head up. A man with short-cropped dark hair, a heavy five o’clock shadow, and stormy grey eyes peered around the door.
The man, probably a little older than Laif, was as least as tall as Laif’s six-three and probably had a good thirty pounds of muscle on Laif. A tattoo peeked out of the collar of his black, tight-stretched t-shirt; a scorpion tail that ended just under his left ear.
Laif wanted to dislike him immediately—and almost did. Mostly because he stared at Memphis with such pain that Laif almost felt sorry for him. But since he was pretty sure the man was Shane Evans, he let the feeling pass.
“How’s she doing?” he asked, taking a step into the room and closer to Memphis.
Just to make sure he was who he thought, Laif asked with clenched teeth, “And you are?”
The guy had the decency to look ashamed as he answered, “Shane Evans. Her friend.”
At that moment, it didn’t matter that the man had been possessed. That he didn’t remember what happened to Memphis. It only mattered that he’d harmed her. “What are you doing here?”
All contriteness left Shane. He stood straight and tall; a hard line etched his jaw as he stared hard at Laif. “She’s my family and I needed to see for myself that she’s alright. If you’ve got a problem with that, that’s too bad.”
Laif laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Considering you’re the one who put her in this bed, I have a definite problem with it.”
Shane’s shoulders slumped a little, but the hard edge was still present. “And who are you to say who can see her or not?”
His right eye twitched with anger. Laif figured most of it was directed at himself. He did not want to respect the man.
Laif let out a sigh. “I’m Laif Craig. We were supposed to have dinner. Instead, I had to watch her stumble into the street, bleeding from a gunshot wound in her stomach. I’ve spent the last few days by her side watching her suffer.”
At the accusation in Laif’s voice, Shane seemed to sink in on himself. He entered the room the rest of the way and lowered himself onto the extra chair. He rubbed big hands over his face before meeting Laif’s eyes with his stormy grey ones.
“I don’t understand what happened. I’m not trying to make excuses, but I truly don’t remember that night.”
At that moment Laif didn’t want the man there. “Yeah, well, good for you. Glad you can forget everything, but I never will.” His voice was rising, and he struggled to lower it. “There’s nothing I can do for her and it’s killing me.”
Tough Shane was back. He sat up and glowered at Laif. His look said he’d thought Laif had lost his mind.
“Yeah, screw you. You just met her. I’ve known and loved her for years. I’ve been her shoulder to cry on and a whole lot more before you were even a thought in her head. And she’s been mad at you for two weeks. So, screw off, I win.”
Laif was out of his chair and had Shane slammed into the floor, his arm pressed into his throat before he’d even realized he’d moved. “She is mine,” he growled. “Do you understand me? MINE.”
Turbulent grey eyes turned hard. “Who do you think you are? You haven’t even gone out with her.”
Shane tried to push Laif away but didn’t budge him. Though Shane was a little larger, Shane wouldn’t be able to move a Guardian on his best day, and today wasn’t a good day.
“Her soulmate.”
Something in Shane seemed to change. He relaxed just a little bit. “How can you be sure?”
That helped Laif calm down enough to let Shane go. “I can’t explain it. I just know it. So does Memphis.” He hoped. Prayed. Doubted.
“Swear to take care of her, and I’ll back off unless she tells me otherwise.”
Laif knew Shane was giving a lot here, and he grudgingly accepted it. Respected him. It warred with his need to protect Memphis. Protection won. “I’ll take care of her. But you have to stay away. I don’t trust you right now, and unless that changes, you will stay away from her.”
Shane wanted to protest. Laif saw it in his eyes. But he didn’t. Instead, he pushed at Laif, who moved off him and stood, extending his hand, and Shane took it.
Shane moved quietly to Memphis’s side, bent, kissed her forehead, and whispered something Laif couldn’t hear. With a nod to Laif, Shane turned and left.
Laif should have felt better but didn’t. He knew the man cared about Memphis, but he couldn’t let him stay in her life. At least not for the time being. Maybe he’d have Tiegan dig up everything he could find on the man. Until Memphis was safe
, Shane would stay away from her on his own, Laif was sure of it.
Chapter 8
The idiot male Guardian was asleep. In the same bed as the female. Kyrell laughed. Oh, this was too good. How did he expect to keep himself pure and clean when he was already sleeping with the woman? Humans were so stupid it was laughable.
His laugh caused the nurse he possessed to giggle. He hated giggles. He hated this senseless, desperate woman. And her brats at home…. If he had to spend any more time with her, he’d kill her himself. As it was, he was almost gleeful at the pain her family would suffer. He would enjoy watching her life, as she knew it, end. She would be fired, and probably go to jail if she didn’t just kill herself to avoid the mess he would create using her body.
He moved quietly into the room; the syringe full of morphine in hand. At Memphis’s bedside, he took her IV and had just begun to insert the needle into the tubing when a hand shot out and grabbed the nurse’s wrist. The hold caused the nurse to drop the syringe and Kyrell cursed them both. Laif Craig reached into the pocket of his sweatpants and pulled out a bag of his senseless white sand.
Kyrell couldn’t afford to spend the next few hours out of commission, so he abandoned the body and disappeared from the room. He hated the Craigs. If these two stayed together, it could ruin everything. Well, he wouldn’t let that happen. He’d just have to come back and finish the job, one way or another.
His heart slamming against his chest, Laif called his dad. When Regan answered at—Laif checked his watch—three seventeen, he was alert. “What happened?”
“A nurse came into the room with a syringe full of something. She’s not one of Memphis’s nurses today, hasn’t been for a couple of days.” He glared at the woman in question. “Claims she doesn’t remember even coming into the room. Says she doesn’t remember much of anything in the last two days.”
Regan swore. “I’m on my way.”
Before he could hang up, Laif added in a whisper, hoping the hysterical woman wouldn’t hear, “She was possessed. I don’t think I can do this alone. What if I hadn’t woken up?”
“Just hold onto her. Your mother and I will be there in twenty. I’ll call Tiegan, just to cover all bases.”
Laif thanked his dad, hung up, and called Bryson. He needed the support of his family tonight. He needed his big brother. The ramifications of what would have happened if he hadn’t woken in time played over and over in his mind. He had no clue what was in the syringe, but he was sure of one thing, it was deadly.
When everyone had entered the room, some thirty minutes later, the woman was still crying, trying to convince Laif that nothing like this would ever happen again if he’d just let her go. Yeah, like that would happen.
“Tell us the last thing you remember,” Lydia said to the nurse in her I-am-on-your-side-you-can-trust-me voice.
The nurse, Joy Lin, shook her head. “I don’t remember.”
“Nothing?” Laif growled. “You don’t have a single thought in your head?”
Joy shrank back and his mother shot him a let-me-handle-this look.
“Joy, you need to talk to us. Help us understand what you were doing before you came into this room. I know you remember something.” His mother paused, then seeming to make a decision, went on. “Nothing you say here will be used against you. If you’re involved with illegal activity, then we will help you.” Lydia held up her hand when Tiegan started to protest, waving away whatever he would have said. “There are programs for nurses and doctors on drugs.” She took Joy’s hand. “Is that it? Do you have a drug problem?”
Fresh tears streamed down Joy’s cheeks as she nodded her head. “I’m a single mom and live with my mother. She watches my two boys. I work the night shift and sometimes pick up extra shifts. My boys are three and five. Their dad died two years ago in a car accident.”
She coughed on a sob and covered her face. “I can’t sleep anymore. I work in the Maternity ward and we give Stadol to women in labor. It can help you sleep. So sometimes, if the woman doesn’t require the full dose, I take it.”
Her head fell into her hands. “I just wanted to be able to sleep again,” she whispered.
Lydia moved from her chair by Joy and gathered her in her arms. “Oh, honey. I’ll help you. Some programs are anonymous for things like this, and we can help you with your boys too.”
It never failed to amaze Laif with the level of love his mother had for others. She treated people with such respect, even when they were doing wrong. She’d always said that Jesus was the only perfect person and that if we didn’t forgive and help others, how could we ask God for forgiveness of our sins and shortcomings?
She was right. But it was hard to forgive people who hurt your family. And Memphis was his family.
Joy raised her head. “You’d help me after what I’ve done.”
Lydia gently squeezed her fingers. “Tell us what you’ve done.”
Joy looked at Memphis. “I don’t remember coming in here. The last thing I remember is taking a syringe of Stadol from the supply closet and then I came to in here, with him—” she nodded at Laif “—holding onto my wrist like he wanted to kill me.”
Yeah, well, she was trying to kill Memphis, so what did she expect? Okay, Laif had to admit that she hadn’t personally been trying to kill Memphis, a demon had. Probably Kyrell. But she had been the vessel and therefore… Well, crap. He didn’t know. His mom was right. The poor woman needed help. He was sure Memphis would feel the same way. If she ever woke up.
The impromptu meeting ended with Bryson staying to help guard Memphis, though now, Laif was wide awake, and Nurse Joy was going home and letting his mom help her get her life back together. Maybe things would get better for the woman. If Laif knew his mom, she wouldn’t rest until it did. After all, the woman counseled rape victims once a week at a woman’s shelter. Yeah, Joy would get her life together and no one would be the wiser that she’d been possessed by a Night Shadow hell-bent on killing Memphis.
The grey mists that had constantly clouded Memphis’s mind began to clear. Antiseptic smells pierced her senses and she fought off a wave of nausea. Where in the world was she? She remembered grabbing her purse from behind the counter at Beauty’s Skin Deep and leaving through the back door. She’d said bye to Shane, who’d had his head in one hand, a bottle of Bud in the other, and had looked beyond beat. That was it. She didn’t remember anything past stepping into the alley.
Memphis blinked her eyes open when the steady beeping in the room finally registered. A hospital. She was in a hospital. Why? Something in her peripheral vision moved so she looked to see a beautiful sleeping man in the chair next to her bed.
Laif.
Mussed dark hair fell over his forehead and curled slightly around his ears and on the nape of his neck. That strong, square jaw was set in a tense line. Even in sleep, he was not relaxed. His dark brows furrowed at the center and long, black lashes sat softly against his high cheekbones. Black Irish, her Grands would call him. She wondered why he was here.
Then she remembered.
She’d had a date with Laif. Well, dinner. He’d wanted to apologize.
After saying goodnight to Shane, she’d left through the back, taking the trash with her. She’d held her breath, hoping not to gag on the stench, and had thrown the bag in the dumpster before letting the lid drop back down. Plus, Memphis had wanted to see Laif first, and coming out the back way would let her get a look at him and gather her courage. If he was actually waiting outside for her.
Not paying attention to her surroundings because she’d been too focused on what she’d say to Laif, Bailey hadn’t gone more than ten feet down the alley behind Skin Deep when Shane had called her name. When she’d turned, about to ask if she’d forgotten something, there’d been a strange gleam in his eyes, and then he’d lifted the Berretta M9 he kept in his desk drawer for protection.
It was when he’d lifted the gun that she saw Kyrell, but it was too late to run. Shane had been drinking. Obviously
, more than Memphis had thought. He pulled the trigger. The flash of light. The slicing of the bullet as it hit her stomach. The blood.
Kyrell.
She’d stumbled away from him and didn’t remember anything but falling into the arms of her angel.
Her breathing hitched. She’d been shot by Shane.
Shaking her head, she brought herself back to what was important. She was in a hospital and Shane was probably in trouble. She needed to get out, like yesterday. When she tried to sit up, her insides pulled, and she collapsed back onto the very uncomfortable bed.
Her movement must have startled Laif because he jumped up and looked around.
“Shane. I have to help him.” Again, she tried to rise, but Laif’s large, warm hand gently pushed her back into the pillow. Twinges of longing crept through her heart, making her wish for things that couldn’t be.
When she stared up at him, she saw him. Really saw him. She knew his face. His one-sided-dimpled smile. His scowl. It brought her comfort. And scared her half to death. He’d been the boy, then the man, she’d seen in her dreams when she’d been scared and alone as a girl. In her nightmares, Kyrell would step into the body of some passerby and beat her or her mother.
The dreams always left her shaking and drenched in a cold sweat. He’d been the vision of light that would save her. Bring her comfort. Make the bad dream dissolve. But he’d quit coming after he’d become a man, and it had devastated Memphis. She’d soon stopped believing that anyone would ever save her. Until she’d found Jacob Riley. He’d looked so much like her angel that she’d fallen in love with him at first sight.
Well, that had been a long time ago, and she was no longer that trusting girl. She wouldn’t fall for someone just because they looked like her childhood imaginary angel.
And now the man, not an angel, sat beside her hospital bed, holding her hand. Even though he made her feel safe and protected, she couldn’t forget that he was just a man.
In The Dark (The Guardianship Trilogy Book 1) Page 8