Walking in the Dark

by Donna Augustine

I shrugged. I was a Shadow Walker, not the crawler whisperer.

  I turned toward Kane. He appeared to be mulling it over, but he didn’t seem forthcoming with any answers. He only wanted more information from me. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

  I laid out every second of my walk: from the apparent division between the two groups to the hissing and flame throwing.

  He nodded as I spoke but didn’t have any answers.

  “But you got a locating spell?”

  “Yes.” Wait, maybe he did offer up a possible answer. “You think the items missing are related to this?”

  “I don’t believe in coincidences.”

  Chapter 11

  I’d thought he was going to drop me off at home, but Kane was definitely heading toward the Underground. I glanced behind us and didn’t see Butch and Leon.

  He pulled in beside the Underground.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I want to discuss something with you.”

  Discuss what? I got out of the car, acting as calm as he always did. Or maybe not, considering the way everyone had read me so well the other day.

  He was walking into the Underground, and I was following him because I didn’t really have a choice. I didn’t have a car and I didn’t have money for a car. And if I were completely honest, I was following him inside because part of me didn’t want to go home and listen to Asher for a couple of hours.

  He pushed open the door to his office a few minutes later and Isabella was leaning over his desk, going through papers.

  “Are you almost finished?” he asked her in a matter-of-fact way.

  Her smile for him was utterly personal. “Just another minute.” She shifted a couple of papers, ignoring my presence completely.

  That smile she gave him, it had spoken volumes. Something had changed. Something big. Something that made me wish I was in the leprechauns’ basement instead of here, because it would’ve been less painful.

  He sat behind his desk, and she shifted a small pile of papers in front of him. “Look these over when you get a chance. I highlighted the areas I thought might be an issue.”

  I watched as Isabella’s hand moved to Kane’s shoulder and her body angled toward him. Their relationship had definitely changed. He’d slept with her, and even though she still wasn’t looking at me, her smile was for me alone now. There was no faking the tidal wave of gloating this woman was putting out. She’d slept with him and he’d rocked her world—that was the face she was wearing.

  Okay, get a grip. You don’t know if it was good. That was a total assumption.

  My eyes dropped to Kane. No, not an assumption. He was good looking in a melt-your-bones kind of way, but that wasn’t it. He was raw and vital in a way you felt just by being near him. If he was bad in bed, I might as well give up on the whole gig, because no one else would have a shot.

  I still hadn’t moved more than a few feet inside the office. I took a step back toward the door, my hand going to the knob, but I couldn’t seem to get my eyes to move off the two of them. “Did you want to talk now? I’ve got other things I could be doing.” Like not watching you and your girlfriend slobber all over each other. Had he brought me back for this? Why was I even here?

  He glanced over at Isabella, who nodded, not nearly annoyed enough to diminish my aggravation.

  She smiled as she left the office, as if she knew every dirty, horrible thought running through my mind. To give Isabella her due, she probably did, probably had it down to a ninety-nine percent accuracy.

  I stepped out of her way, repelled by her nearness.

  He’d slept with her. How long had it taken after I left? A week? A day?

  He might’ve hinted at an interest, but I’d walked out of here after declining him. Not only did I not have a leg to stand on, I didn’t even have toes to wobble on.

  I walked out on him like a thief in the night. I hadn’t even left a note. Then, as far as everyone here knew, I’d shacked up with some guy. Not that he ever brought that up. He clearly didn’t care who this live-in was, or wouldn’t he have asked me about it? I’d worked out an entire fake background story for Asher, and Kane never said a word about him.

  “Well?”

  My head jerked up as I was startled out of my imaginary scenarios. “Hmm?”

  He was staring at me. “Did you hear what I said?”

  I hadn’t heard a word. The only thing penetrating my mind was what he’d done. But that wasn’t my business. So then why did I say, “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

  I pointed toward the closed door Isabella had walked out of minutes prior. “Sleeping with Isabella. Not your brightest move.” Also not a bright move? Me, not keeping my mouth shut. I guess we all do stupid things.

  “What does Isabella have to do with anything?”

  He stared at me, waiting for me to respond, but he hadn’t denied it. He’d slept with her. Of course he had. Why wouldn’t he? He’d slept with that vampire chick, too. That was what he did. He wanted someone, he slept with them. This was why leaving had been the right move. Eventually I would’ve slept with him too, and nothing good would come from that.

  “You like to tell me all about my stupidity,” I said. “I thought that was the relationship we have.”

  “Had.”

  “Then consider it a gift from me, since you don’t seem to understand how women work.”

  “Okay, let’s compare bad moves. Slinking out of here to go shack up with some guy you just met off the street? Bad move.”

  It suddenly felt like the Arctic in here. I’d been mad he hadn’t asked about Asher, but now that he had, it only made me tenser. I had to keep reminding myself that he had no idea who Asher was. This needed to be steered back to Isabella, and it wasn’t a hard turn back, considering I was bursting at the seams to get into it with him.

  “I’m only saying it because she’s going to end up hurt, is all.” That was a good line. Looking out for my fellow women made me a good person and definitely not a raging bitch.

  “And that’s the reason you care? You’re concerned for Isabella’s mental well-being?”

  Obviously he was going to say that with sarcasm, considering he was familiar with our relationship, but I was willing to ride or die on this one. “Yes, as a fellow woman, I am concerned about you damaging her heart.” The way I said it, like I was reading a lecture, was probably overkill.

  He leaned back and kicked his feet up on his desk, all the while staring at me as if that were the stupidest thing he’d ever heard.

  “Who says I’m using her?”

  Kane had just introduced a game changer.

  “Wh-what else would you do with her?” I asked, annoyed how I stuttered.

  “Maybe I’m interested in having a relationship? People have been known to do that sometimes.”

  His words were like knives stabbing me in the chest, and not even sharp ones. It was like getting stabbed with a butter knife over and over again, feeling every millimeter of pain as it left a jagged wound.

  I didn’t even try to speak. I didn’t have any words. He wasn’t the relationship type. That was what I’d told myself. He didn’t open up enough to be the relationship type. He’d proven that when I tried.

  But here he was, having a relationship with Isabella. That was what he’d just said. He was in a relationship. Or heading into one? I was splitting hairs now. Whatever it was, it was happening.

  And it wasn’t with me. And I really didn’t want it to be. Wasn’t that what I’d told myself repeatedly?

  I could feel the tremble in my lower lip and bit it. I had to get out of here, and quick, or I was going to make an embarrassing spectacle of myself, worse than the “naked in high school” dream.

  I stood quickly and headed toward the door.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  I left and shut the door behind me. Except now I was in the Underg
round, and I didn’t particularly want any of these people to see me crying either.

  I glanced around, and my eyes were immediately drawn to Flip. She was staring at me as I descended the stairs, her eyes as wide as mine as I tried to hold the tears back.

  She was grabbing my arm as I hit the last stair and pulling me with her toward the elevators. I didn’t ask where we were going, simply followed her lead.

  Flip spoke as soon as the doors closed. “Heard you were back.”

  I nodded, afraid that if I opened my mouth to speak, I’d start crying.

  “It’s going pretty well, I see.” A small smirk lifted the corner of her mouth as she teased me, contrasting the sharp, concerned look in her eyes.

  “Splendid,” I joked, knowing I was being ridiculous even as I was on the brink of a meltdown.

  “What happened in there? Do I need to go kick his ass?”

  “No.” That was the only word I got out before the tears were racing down my cheeks.

  “I should’ve kept mocking you. Now look at you. Hold it together for one more minute.”

  I nodded as the doors opened onto the third floor. The hall was packed with people lounging around in the hallway, and I managed not to explode into a torrent of waterworks while she pulled me into three-Z.

  The second the door shut, the tears started again. Then I looked around the place and started laughing and crying at the same time. The walls were bright blue with a rainbow that went from the front door all along the wall, swerving until it landed at a green velvet couch.

  “Fun, right?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” I ran my palms over my face, trying to clean myself up.

  “Sit,” she said, as she kicked her shoes off onto the purple polka dot rug. I curled up on the green couch beside her.

  “Now, what’s happened?”

  “It’s…” I shook my head. It was ridiculous, was what it was.

  She did a dramatic head flop to the side before she firmly said, “Spill.”

  “I didn’t want him. I told myself I didn’t, and then I walked away because I was doing the right thing, and I was so damn positive of it until I sat there, and Kane’s dating Isabella.”

  “Really?” She appeared very confused.

  “I saw them together. It’s very clear. I know what I saw.”

  She didn’t look convinced, but nodded.

  “I left here without a word. I wasn’t with him. I get all that. I don’t know why…” I would’ve kept talking, but I started crying instead. I threw my hands over my face. “And I don’t cry!”

  “Well, even if I agreed with you that he is with her—”

  “He’s with her.” I knew what I saw.

  She nodded slowly. “If he is, he doesn’t like her the way he likes…or at least liked…you.”

  “How do you know that?” Why was I even asking? I shouldn’t care. I couldn’t care. It was done. That door was officially closed.

  “I know these things.”

  I put my head in my palm. I knew what that meant. She didn’t have a thing to prove her theory.

  “Seriously, I know for certain, but the way I know…it’s a secret.”

  I looked at her and tried to pretend I believed her. I mean, she was trying to make me feel better. I had to at least put on a show. I ran a hand across my nose, trying to pull it together.

  She watched my failed act and shook her head, looking almost as lousy as I did. “Okay, I’ll tell you how I know, but you have to promise to never, ever repeat it.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ve got some Cupid blood in my lineage.”

  “Cupid? Like bow-and-arrow cupid?”

  “Yes. And don’t look at me like that. For someone who’s seen monsters their whole life, I’d think you’d be a little more generous with the benefit of the doubt.”

  “You’re right. If you say you are related to Cupid, then who am I to doubt you?”

  “Exactly.”

  Cupid was a Fae, right? And she was part Fae. It could happen. I could see a way to get behind this. “This is how you know? Because of this lineage?”

  I was so pathetic. I wanted her to convince me. Just like she had Rip Van Winkle blood and that was why she slept all day. I was hitting an all-time low. I was broke, my roommate was a shadow monster who lived off me, and I was upset a man I’d walked away from had moved on and was dating someone else. A man who had committed murder in front of me not long ago.

  But he had killed someone I would’ve killed myself. Was that really homicidal? I groaned as I wondered what the hell had happened to me.

  “Yes. I’ve known for a while.”

  “I believe you.” Not really, but I wasn’t going to make one of my only friends feel bad, even if she might’ve been a little delusional.

  I pulled myself together for what felt like the tenth time in a week. I had to toughen up. I hadn’t cried this much when they messed up my arms. It was ridiculous. I swiped an arm over my face as I stood.

  “You feel better?” Flip asked, seeming proud of herself.

  “Yes. You really helped me. Thanks.” When she leaned back and smiled, I was happy I’d lied. “Could you do me a favor? Tell Kane I wasn’t feeling well and I had to leave?”

  “Sure thing!”

  Chapter 12

  “No inkling why the crawlers would’ve been fighting?” I asked Asher for the fifth time today.

  “Nope.” He was standing back and looking at the dark grey paint and the mess he was making of the wall. Although I wasn’t sure he had the same opinion, as he smiled and began painting again. He’d announced this morning that he thought we hadn’t found any more Shadow Walkers because the place was too bright, and he knew just how to fix it.

  My cell phone began vibrating where it sat on the nearby desk, and I glanced over to see Kane’s number.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  I stepped out onto the sidewalk before answering, watching through the window as Asher expanded his project to himself and the floor. Not that the carpet had been in great shape, but now it was definitely going to have to get replaced. If it kept him from carrying on about working with Kane, I would’ve let him paint the place black.

  I hit answer on the phone, hoping I didn’t have to work tonight. I needed some distance.

  “I’m going to be there in fifteen minutes. Be ready.”

  The phone disconnected before I had a chance to say I needed more time. Not that his tone had brooked any argument.

  I stared back inside, where Asher looked like he was just gearing up. It would be a fight to get him upstairs that quickly. And telling him where I was going? No way. He was already getting weird.

  Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

  I called Kane back. “I’ll meet you over at the Underground. I was heading that way already.”

  “No.”

  No? Just No? Who does that? Gives you one word with no explanation? Only someone with so much arrogance and so much… Yeah, pretty much Kane.

  “I’m not in my building.” Technically, I was outside my building.

  “You were as of two minutes ago. You couldn’t have gotten far. Go back.”

  What the hell? Was my phone tapped? How else would he know where I was?

  He’d hung up again before I could reply. I looked back toward Asher, who was now staring back at me. Did I call Kane and try again? I could try and empty out the Boston Harbor with a bucket next, too. The only thing that I’d accomplish was making Kane suspicious about why I might not want him here, if I hadn’t already tipped him off. That left one option. Get Asher to hide. I hurried inside.

  “Asher, it’s getting late. Why don’t you go upstairs and lie down? I know you’ve been tired.”

  “I’m going to keep going for a little longer.” He smiled, but his eyes narrowed a hair.

  It was like every man in my life knew exactly what I wanted them to do and then did the exact opposite, just to fuck with me.

  “I’m really worried that you�
��ve seemed so worn down lately.” Actually, he’d been sleeping like a champ and could probably lap me.

  He dipped his brush into the paint with renewed vigor. “No, I feel great. I’m going to hang out down here.”

  Asher had a sick sense like that, knowing when I was trying to get rid of him and clinging tighter than ever. There was nothing else to be done. I’d have to tell him and deal with the fallout.

  “Asher, he’s coming to get me for work. You need to go upstairs.” I didn’t need to specify who he was. It was getting to the point it was easier if I didn’t mention Kane’s name, as Asher’s body always seemed to stiffen as soon as my mouth formed the K.

  His head tilted and he kept painting. “I’m not so sure I do.”

  “Not so sure?” I’d run from the Underground like a guilty thief to save him from this very fate, and he wasn’t sure? “You’re not so sure?” I repeated, trying to make the words sink in. I needed to remain calm. He didn’t understand he was no match for Kane, especially now.

  Wait, he was the one who kept telling me Kane was dangerous. He might not know the man, but he knew enough, according to him. “Asher, you need to go upstairs.”

  “Why? He might not even know who I am. I’ve never seen him.”

  I hadn’t heard the car stopping in front of the building, but I heard the car door closing.

  Dread, the kind that sucked all the joy from your day, filled me as I turned around.

  Kane was heading toward the door, and I could see his eyes narrowing as he looked directly at Asher.

  “Asher, I’m leaving. Lock up for me.” Because I didn’t even want to take the time to dig out the keys. If I stalled that long, Kane would be in the building, in the same room as Asher, and everything in my being told me that was not a good idea. Worse than that. Epic disaster.

  “That’s him, isn’t it?” Asher asked, not answering me about locking up.

  “Lock up.” I pushed out the door, walked past Kane, and headed to the car. He kept walking toward the building, intent.

  “Where you going? Let’s go.” I opened my car door.

  I watched as he paused outside the door. I couldn’t see his face, his back to me, but it was obvious his attention was on Asher.