by Lisa Kessler
Within the hour, he returned, parking his car across the street, and walked down her driveway. Replacing the key inside the red rock, he put it back into the flowerbed, leaving no clue he had ever been there. He glanced over his shoulder before removing a second key from his pocket and sliding it into the lock. Relaxation filled him the moment he was safely inside of her house.
It was done. He had access to her whenever he desired, if she ever came home.
Patience, he reminded himself. He plotted for a chance at eternity. Nothing could be rushed.
Her scent lingered amidst her few possessions. He poked through some of the opened boxes, caressing the soft fabrics that touched her skin. Soon he would touch her skin, her soft throat.
The woman with the moon in her eyes would understand the value of immortality. In the end, she would understand why he had to hurt her. She probably wouldn’t forgive him, but he wasn’t seeking forgiveness.
He wanted victory. After surviving an abusive father, a suicidal mother, and the constant fear of not enough food or a place to sleep, he stood on the threshold of the ultimate victory. He would never feel death’s sting. He would never feel fear or hunger or pain again.
And he would love Kate Bradley forever for sacrificing her life to help him achieve his goal. Her blood was a small price to pay for the prize he stood to gain.
A twisted smile curled his lips, as Father Mentigo imagined the scene. She would be a beautiful sacrificial lamb. A perfect tribute to the God he would soon become.
But right now he had another package to deliver to the Night Walker.
He would meet Kate face to face soon enough. He could hardly wait.
Kate balanced on her toes to look through the peephole in Calisto’s door, cringing when she saw Betty outside, reaching to ring the bell again.
Crap! She looked down at her robe.
“Calisto?” Betty called after the second doorbell chime. “I’m going to assume you’re not home and use my key.”
The knob turned. Kate had nowhere to hide. She hoped she wouldn’t look too much like a deer caught in headlights when Betty walked through the door. She smoothed the robe into place and lifted her chin. When the door swung open, sunlight framed Betty in her impeccable dark blue business suit and stylish heels.
“Kate?” Betty frowned. “You scared me. I didn’t think anyone was… ”
Her voice trailed off as her cold gaze took in Kate’s ensemble. The disapproval in her eyes was painfully obvious. “What exactly are you doing here? Didn’t you go back to Reno?”
“I did.” Kate nodded with a forced smile, pulling her robe a little tighter and wishing she’d at least found a brush for her hair. “But I decided to come back here for a while.”
“So I see.” Betty walked past her without a second glance. “Where is Calisto?”
“I don’t know.” Kate turned around to follow her into the living room area. “He left me a note saying he had business all day today.”
“A note. I get a lot of those from him myself.”
Betty spun around to face her so quickly that Kate nearly flinched with surprise.
“So what exactly is going on here? Last time we met, you mentioned something about a job back home. But that probably doesn’t matter to a woman like you.”
Kate wanted to scream, but she didn’t. The cool, controlled tone of Betty’s voice and the way her tight ponytail made her eyes look like slits reminded Kate of a venomous viper, coiled and ready to strike.
Attempting to defuse the situation, she said, “I was mugged last night, and Calisto helped me. He let me spend the night. I’m expecting my friend here any minute with my clothes. She’ll take me to pick up my car.”
“Oh isn’t that sweet,” she said with a sarcastic grin that made Kate sick to her stomach all over again. “Is Calisto aware that his ‘damsel in distress’ has invited her friends to party in his house while he’s away?”
Kate clenched her fists and counted to ten. Betty went into Calisto’s office. What a pill.
“I said a friend was coming. That’s hardly a party.” Kate followed Betty. “We won’t be staying anyway. As I said, she’s taking me to pick up my car.”
Betty settled into Calisto’s leather chair as if it were her own and glanced up from her paperwork. “And will you be coming back?”
“That’s not really any of your business.”
Betty glared, aiming her pen like a weapon at Kate’s chest. “Oh, but it is. Calisto is a bit eccentric and a lot reclusive. He hasn’t had as much experience with gold diggers as I have. I can smell them from a mile away. As the director, it’s my job to keep his assets secure.”
Kate had a feeling Betty was more concerned with Calisto’s ass than his assets. She turned to leave. “I really don’t care what you think, Betty. Calisto’s a grown man, and I’m sure he’s more than capable of taking care of himself.”
Kate didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, she walked away from further confrontation and prayed Edie would drive up soon. She’d feel more prepared for a verbal jousting match when she had clothes on.
Kate went upstairs and made the bed while she waited. Anything to keep busy and not have to cross paths with Betty again. Finally, she heard a car drive up and went downstairs to open the door before Edie could ring the bell.
“Oh my God, this house is gorgeous!”
“Hurry.” Kate tugged Edie inside and closed the door behind her. She made a beeline for the stairs, but unfortunately she wasn’t fast enough.
“And this would be your friend?”
Kate and Edie turned to find Betty standing tall in the hallway with her arms crossed and wearing a judgmental glare.
Kate sighed. “Yes it is. I didn’t want to interrupt your work by bringing her in to—”
“You’ve already interrupted,” Betty said, stepping forward and offering her hand. “I’m Betty Parker, the Director of Foundation Arts.”
Edie took her hand with a tentative smile. “Nice to meet you. I’m Edna Banks, but my friends call me Edie.”
Betty shook her hand with a curt smile. “Then I’ll call you Edna. Please don’t touch anything, and be sure not to give out this address. Mr. Terana treasures his privacy. I’m sure you understand.”
Edie withdrew her hand with a nod and quietly watched Betty disappear down the hall and into the office.
“Wow. She’s not very friendly is she?”
Kate chuckled, heading up the stairs with Edie. “That’s a nice way of putting it.”
“What’s her problem?”
“She’s bent out of shape about finding me here in Calisto’s robe.”
Edie grinned and handed her the backpack of clothes. “Oh I see… She’s jealous!”
Kate took the backpack and slipped out of the robe with a shrug. “Probably, but I can’t say for sure. She thinks I’m after Calisto’s money, and as much as I’d like to smack her for saying that about me, more than likely there are quite a few women out there who are after his checkbook. She’s probably just doing her job.”
“She’s really good at it.” Edie shuddered.
Kate laughed as she tugged her jeans up over her hips. “Thanks for bringing my clothes. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem. I was hoping I might catch a glimpse of him.” Edie walked to the window and whistled low.
“Him?”
“Your Prince Charming.” Edie winked at Kate, then returned to the view.
Kate pulled on the t-shirt. “Unfortunately he left before I woke up, but he left me this.” She handed Edie the blossom and the note, watching her friend intently as she read his words.
Edie clutched the note to her chest. “Oh, Kate! He sounds wonderful!”
“He is. I still don’t know him that well, but… ”
“But what?” Edie grinned.
“Don’t tell Lori or she’ll kill me, but I might be falling in love with him.”
Edie squealed and hugged her tight. Kate grinned. She’d
made the right choice calling her. Edie was happy because Kate was happy, no questions asked, and right now that was exactly what Kate needed.
Because right now, she had plenty of questions of her own and not nearly enough answers.
Betty tried to lose herself in her work. She usually enjoyed sitting at Calisto’s desk. Knowing she was the only person in the world he trusted to use his things… But she wasn’t the only one anymore.
The pencil lead snapped.
“Dammit!” She cursed under her breath, jamming the tip into the electric sharpener on the corner of the desk.
It was the fourth time she’d broken it since she found Kate in that goddamned bathrobe. What else had she touched? How could Calisto have trusted her and left her alone in his house while he was away on business? Kate was practically a stranger. He’d never been so trusting of anyone before. Betty waited a year for him to present her with her own key to his house.
Yet Kate was already in his bathrobe.
She couldn’t stand it. How could he have fallen for her little damsel in distress act? God, it was the oldest trick in the book. Oh please, someone help me… Oh I’m too scared to be alone…
She wanted to vomit.
The pencil lead snapped. Again.
“Shit!” She slammed the weak-leaded piece of crap into the wastebasket. Reaching for a new pencil, she heard a knock at the door.
She got up to answer it with a frown. Kate and her little friend left about twenty minutes ago. They couldn’t be back already. With any luck, maybe they wouldn’t come back at all.
She left the security chain latched and carefully opened the door. “Can I help you?”
“I hope so. I have a package here for a… Calisto Terana?” The man reminded her of one of the homeless guys in Ocean Beach with his wiry beard, but he spoke with an accent that sounded more like Nebraska than San Diego. His brown uniform looked familiar, though, and he wore designer sunglasses.
“I can sign for that. Hold on.” Betty closed the door and unhooked the security chain before opening the door again.
He handed her a clipboard to sign as he glanced around. “This is a beautiful house.”
Betty gave him her professionally aloof smile and handed his clipboard back. “I’m sure Mr. Terana will be glad to hear that you thought so.”
She waited impatiently for the courier to give her the small brown package, but her impatience gave way to unease when she realized he was no longer checking her signature. Instead, he seemed to stare at her.
“It appears that Mr. Terana is fond of many beautiful things.” His dark beard made his teeth look whiter than normal. Almost predatory. A chill slid down her spine. Maybe it was his wiry beard, or the way his sunglasses hid his eyes from view, but now he looked like a wild animal, lying in wait for his prey to come close enough for him to pounce.
Dismissing her irrational fear, she ignored his comment, cleared her throat, and held out her hand. “I’m sorry, we’re very busy now. Can I have the package?”
“We?” He peered around. “Is Mr. Terana inside?”
“That’s really none of your business,” she said, using her practiced, professional demeanor to cover her sudden wave of dread. “Give me the package before I call your supervisor.”
He chuckled and leaned against the doorframe. “You would have a hard time reaching my supervisor. I work for a much higher power than you could imagine.”
His words chilled her. When he offered the package, she snatched it from his hand and slammed the door closed, quickly locking it and sliding the security chain back in place. She leaned against the door for a moment to collect her herself. What a creepy courier.
Something about him, the way he’d looked at her, the way he tried to determine if she was alone, terrified her. She would definitely lodge a complaint to…
Betty turned the box over and frowned. Other than Calisto’s name and address, there were no other markings on the box, no tracking number, nothing. It must have been a private courier service.
She peered out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of his truck, but the only car left in the driveway was her own. Damn.
Placing the box on the corner of his desk, she jotted a note to herself to remember to call all the local couriers to find out who delivered a package to Calisto Terana. That driver had messed with the wrong woman.
Chapter Eighteen
Calisto awoke filled with passion for the night to come. The memory of Kate sleeping in his arms, her raven hair strewn across his pillows in stark contrast to the ivory pillowcases warmed his heart.
His second chance had arrived. This time it would not end in tragedy.
He rose from his sleeping chamber and climbed the stone stairs to his room. Not the master bedroom of the main house, but his room. It was originally a wine cellar, but shortly after purchasing the house, he converted the cellar into a private bedroom and bathroom. His resting place during the daylight hours was far beneath his room, buried deep within the sandy soil.
He showered and dressed, pulling on his black boots and tying his dark hair back without making an effort to slow himself to human speeds. He needed to be with her again soon.
But first he needed to feed.
For a moment, he was tempted to go to the main house, just to see if she waited for him, but he thought better of it. If he saw her, he would never be able to pull himself away to feed. He couldn’t take the chance that his bloodlust might overcome him if they made love before he had a chance to sate his hunger. At best, she would suspect something was wrong with him if she touched his cool skin.
She would never guess he was no longer human, but rather a Night Walker who lived only after the sun died on the horizon. He wished he could shed his immortality and be the man she deserved, the man she thought he was.
He stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked down the beach, disappearing into the night. He was lying to her. No matter how much he believed she was better off not knowing, he hid the truth from her, even denying her the chance to decide for herself.
She had no idea he would never be with her when the sun came up. Eventually he would break her heart daily by leaving her each morning. He had lived among mortals since his rebirth, but he had never loved one, never allowed anyone into his heart until now. Appearing human was simple when no one really knew him, but how long could he live a lie with the woman he loved?
At some point, she would ask him to stay.
With a frustrated growl, he ran as fast as he could, his legs propelling him toward the lights in the distance. He searched for his next meal at a shopping mall, pushing away the shadow of guilt lurking in the corners of his mind. The guilt whispered that Kate deserved a far better future than he would ever be able to provide.
Kate waited, trying not to watch the clock, trying not to count the minutes until Calisto walked through the door. She failed.
After Betty grudgingly left for the day, Kate took a long bath, blew her hair dry, and tried to read a book, but her thoughts kept drifting back to his note. She wished he’d told her what time he’d be back. She would have been happy to pick him up from the airport. It was the least she could do to repay him for saving her life. Or at least that’s what she would have told him if he had asked. In reality, she would have been at the airport the second his plane landed because she couldn’t wait to see him again.
But instead, she sat here, alone in his empty house, waiting.
And the longer she waited, the more she thought about how she might bring up the oddity of his empty master bedroom and unused kitchen. She hoped he wouldn’t be angry with her for snooping around his house.
Thinking about it drove her nuts.
Kate got up from the chair in the office and replaced the leather bound copy of A Tale of Two Cities with a sigh, wondering where he might be. It felt like she’d already waited all night, but the clock said it was only six-thirty. Kate wandered out of the office and down the hall. When she walked into the living room,
she smiled. The piano.
She sat on the bench and looked over the slick black and white keyboard. It wasn’t her mother’s piano, but it didn’t matter. Playing took all of her concentration, exactly what she needed right now to keep her mind off of how slow the minutes crept by.
She warmed up with scales, her fingers flying up and down the keyboard in a building flurry of notes. Finally, she played a careful rendition of one of Mozart’s variations on “Twinkle Little Star,” starting with the simple melody in her right hand and gradually adding the harmony with her left, until the music became more complex and filled the room with its joyful song.
The act of playing, of making music and letting the chords fill the air around her, lightened her spirit. Her emotions bled through her fingertips into the keys, making every turn in the notes sound like laughter and every forte blossom with an almost tangible passion.
It was similar to the way the human voice sang. Loud and soft, crescendo and decrescendo, joy and sadness, major and minor, her fingers could convey a message words sometimes couldn’t achieve.
A communication beyond anything speech could convey.
When she reached the final cadence, she slowly let the sound of the last chord fade.
Applause echoed through the room. Kate spun around with a start, and then laughed.
“God, you scared me!” She rose from the piano. “I hope you don’t mind me playing your piano. I wasn’t sure when you’d be home.”
Calisto walked forward and took her hand, sending a familiar electricity through her bloodstream. “Not at all. What is mine is yours.”
She tried not to lose her head completely when he lifted the back of her hand to his lips, but the moment he kissed her knuckles, coherent thought escaped her.
“I hope you will play for me again soon.” He lowered her hand without letting it go.
Kate could feel the blush burn through her cheeks, but she shook her head and laughed. “You don’t have to flatter me. I’ve got a degree in music. I’m well aware my abilities as a pianist are lacking.”