by C. C. Wood
I had to trust my vision and believe that Rhys would be there the night of the final battle.
Now it was just days before the solstice and we were going over final preparations before Ricki and Ivie arrived. A Council member I’d only met once before at Kerry’s house, joined us. Gabriel Crow was a tall, dark man with cold, intense black eyes. I didn’t want to call him emotionless, but I felt nothing from him. No sadness, no happiness. He didn’t seem good or evil. Just nothing. It was if he didn’t exist inside the shell that was called Gabriel. He was like an abyss with no end.
It was unnerving, but Conner and the other vampires seemed to trust him. I decided that, if they could trust him, so could I. After all, he’d helped us deal with Joanna when she’d tried to kill Kerry.
We were going to call Lex and Calder, so that we could bring them and their mates up to speed on the entire plan. Ivie and Ricki hadn’t been to the mansion once since we decided to ensnare Cornelius. I’d been keeping them updated, but this was the final meeting before the solstice.
Tomorrow, we would bait the trap.
The plan was actually pretty simple, despite all the hours of research we put in. We would lure Cornelius to the ballroom, where Kerry would be waiting to complete the ritual. Ricki, Donna, and Ivie would head straight for the basement apartment and the protection offered by a steel door that no vampire could breach. The rest of us would fight.
It wasn’t elaborate, mostly because we couldn’t predict exactly how Cornelius would attack. That was the danger of setting a trap with live bait. The bait didn’t always fare well.
We were confident Cornelius would attempt to infiltrate the house by impersonating Rhys. The only problem would be differentiating between the two.
“Are we ready to begin?” Conner asked the room in general.
When everyone gave their confirmation, he picked up the phone and punched in the numbers. After he had both Lex and Calder on the line, he hit the button for the speakerphone.
“Let’s begin.”
* * *
Two hours later, we were done. The plan was set and tomorrow they would be here.
Conner invited Gabriel Crow to eat dinner with us, but he politely declined before taking his leave.
I was surprised when we went downstairs and found a huge meal laid out on the table in the dining room.
“We’re going to enjoy tonight,” Conner insisted. “We’ve worked hard the last three weeks and it’s time for us to relax, at least for the next few hours.”
I grinned at him and Donna leaned over and gave him a big kiss.
“You’re amazing,” she murmured.
He kissed her again. “So are you.”
We sat at the table and passed around dishes, serving ourselves. The food was delicious and the company wonderful.
I ate, drank, and laughed more than I had in months. Duncan and Luca joined us halfway through the meal and I realized how much I’d missed them.
As the meal wound down, we carried our coffee into the living room and continued talking.
“What do you think it will be like when all this is over?” Donna asked. “Everything has changed.”
Conner shot her an arch look.
“I just mean that our lives will be different now, with all of us settling down,” she continued.
“I’m looking forward to opening the shop again,” Kerry shared. “Oh, and having our usual coven meetings. Well, maybe not the usual coven meetings. I’ll be shaking things up a bit, so I’m sure they’ll be a lot more lively.”
I grinned at her. I could only imagine what the older, more conservative coven members would have to say about Kerry’s plans.
“What are you going to do, Shannon?” Donna asked.
I thought about it for a minute. “Well, I’d like to go back to work. I’ve missed it.”
I felt Asher’s shoulder tense where it touched mine. I glanced over at him, but his face was suspiciously blank.
“I feel the same way,” Donna confessed. “I’m sick of never being able to leave the house.”
Conner cleared his throat, giving her a pointed look.
“It’s a beautiful house, Conner, but I’m tired of never seeing the sunshine. Or having anything to do. Hell, I’d be happy to go have a cup of coffee with one of my girlfriends without an armed escort.”
He pulled her deeper into his side and kissed her hair. “I know, lass. It’ll be over soon.”
“We’ll still spend time together, right?” Kerry asked, her gaze darting between Donna and I.
“Definitely,” I answered.
“Are we going to start having dinner parties?” Donna asked, looking horrified.
“Isn’t that what we did tonight?” I fired back, smirking at her.
“Well, shit. It’s too late. We’ve become old married couples. Next thing you know, it’ll be all about Bridge Night and the country club.”
I shook my head at her exaggeration. “I seriously doubt that.” I gestured at Conner and the rest of the vampires. “Do they look like they play bridge to you?”
Kerry laughed. “She has a point Donna. Now, Strip Poker Night, I might be able to support, but only if Duncan and Luca join us.”
Duncan stared at me with wide eyes but I just shook my head. There was no way Conner or Finn would go for that.
We talked for a little while longer, but I wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation. Something was bothering Asher, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what. He’d been tense since I mentioned going back to work when this was over.
Finally, I got to my feet. “It’s been fun, y’all, but I’m tired. I’ll see you in the morning.” I glanced down at Asher.
“I’ll be up later,” he murmured.
Interesting. If he thought he could avoid talking about whatever was bothering him by staying up late, he was going to be sorely disappointed.
“Okay. Night.” I leaned down and kissed him.
“I’m going to bed too,” Donna stated.
Everyone called good night as we left the room. Donna didn’t say anything until we got upstairs and out of earshot of the roomful of vampires.
“What’s going on with you and Asher?” she whispered.
“I’m not sure. He got tense after we talked about going back to work.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “That doesn’t sound good.”
I shook my head. “I’m trying not to speculate about what it could be. With Asher, you never know. I mean he seems to understand me so well. Surely he knows that there’s no way I could stand sitting around the house all day. I’ve been doing it for the last couple of months and I’m about ready to lose my mind.”
Donna nodded. “I understand completely. I mean, I’m working from home right now, and I love it. I can actually sit around in pajamas all day and do everything I did at the office. Still, it would be nice to meet you or Kerry for lunch once in a while or go to the bookstore.”
“We’ll be able to do those things again. Though I have to admit, the idea of working in PJ’s does have its appeal.”
She grinned at me. “It’s kinda awesome.”
“Well, I’m going to go get ready for bed and wait for Asher to show up so I can find out what’s bugging him.”
Donna hugged me. “Night, babe.”
“Night.”
We went our separate ways. I washed my face, brushed and flossed my teeth, and put on my pajamas. Then I got out my Kindle and settled in to wait for Asher to come upstairs.
When he hadn’t arrived within an hour and my eyes were getting heavy, I set a little surprise for him by the door and turned out the light. I shouldn’t have gone to the trouble of setting that trap, because now, as I laid in the dark, I was wide awake when I’d been sleepy just moments ago.
I wondered what was bothering him. Asher never shied away from difficult conversations with me before. It made me nervous that he seemed to be avoiding me now.
It was unnerving how quickly I’d become used to hi
s honesty and his ability to understand me. He slid effortlessly into my life as though there were a space already there for him.
I was beginning to fear that it wasn’t the same for him. Was I uncompromising?
The answer was staring me in the face. Asher repressed his urges to boss me around “for my own protection” because he knew I didn’t like it. Yet I had no idea what I might have done to upset him.
I sat up, pulling my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. It seemed I was doing all the taking in our relationship and the thought wasn’t a pleasant one. I hated the idea that I’d been selfish, but that seemed to be exactly what I was doing.
My head came up as the door opened quietly. Then the lower edge hit the metal vase I’d placed in the door’s path. It fell onto the hardwood floor with a bang and rolled away.
I reached out and turned on the lamp beside the bed.
“I’m sorry I woke you,” he apologized, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him.
I got out of bed and went to pick up the vase against the far wall. “I wasn’t asleep,” I murmured.
I replaced the heavy vase on the dresser and faced Asher. He looked a great deal more relaxed than he had before. We studied each other from across the room, neither of us speaking.
Finally, I broke the silence.
“You seemed upset downstairs. Is something bothering you?”
He walked past me toward the closet, unbuttoning his shirt as he went. “No, I’m fine.”
I could feel the brush of his emotions against my mind and he was telling the truth. Now, he was fine, but he hadn’t been before. He might be a complicated man, but he couldn’t hide that from me. I shared things with him and his evasion stung.
I followed him into the walk in closet. He’d already stripped off his shirt and slacks and dropped them in the hamper.
Taking a deep breath, I let go of my pride. “Please talk to me, Asher. I want to know if I did or said something that upset you.”
Something in my voice made him stop and really look at me. “But you didn’t,” he answered.
“Then why did you get so tense and quiet when I talked about going back to work?” I knew it had something to do with that conversation. That was when his body tightened and he’d stopped talking.
He hesitated.
“Talk to me, Asher. Please. I don’t want you to feel like you can’t share things with me. Even if it’s not what I want to hear. I’m a big girl, I can handle it.”
After another pause, he finally answered me. “I realized tonight that you’ll probably be going back to your job at the security firm, which means that you’ll also likely take on dangerous assignments.” His eyes locked on mine. “I know you value you’re independence. And I also know you’re well trained and more capable of taking care of yourself than any other female I’ve met, but I hate the idea of you putting yourself at risk. I have to admit, I hate the idea that you’ll be gone on long assignments from time to time. Now that I have you, I don’t want to let you go far.”
I understood why he’d been hesitant to talk to me. We’d argued when I told him my plan for defeating Cornelius for these exact reasons.
However, this was different. We weren’t talking about removing a threat to my life; we were talking about what I’d be doing once our lives returned to normal.
“You’re right. I would be gone on long assignments. Probably often. As soon as my boss realizes I’m a vampire now, he’ll probably give me the most dangerous jobs because he knows my body is nearly indestructible.” And he would too. I liked my boss, but he was coldly pragmatic. I hadn’t given it a thought before, but my turning would change everything for me at work, and not in a way I’d like.
Asher’s eyes glittered at my words, but he remained silent.
“But I don’t like the idea of becoming cannon fodder, especially now that I have someone to come home to at night.”
The stiff set of his shoulders relaxed slightly.
“I still want to work in security,” I stated.
Asher came toward me, resting his hands on my waist. “I understand.”
I placed my palm against his bare chest, right over his heart.
“I appreciate what you tried to do tonight, Asher, but please don’t do it again.”
He looked down at me with a quizzical expression.
“You can’t be the only one who compromises in this relationship. Eventually, you’ll start to resent it, and me. I realized tonight that you fit into my life as though you were made to be there, yet I have no idea if it’s the same for you.”
Asher covered my hand with his, pressing it harder into his skin. “Shannon, I didn’t have a life before I met you. I merely existed.”
I leaned forward and rested my forehead against his pectoral. “You always say the sweetest things.”
He released my hand and used the side of his index finger to tilt my chin up so that he could see my face. “No, I’m always telling you the truth.”
“Stop it! I don’t know how to handle the sweet talk!” I cried. “Sweet talk has never been part of my relationships before.”
Asher grinned. “Okay, what kinds of things should I say?”
“I don’t know. How about make me a sandwich? Or no, honey, your ass doesn’t look fat in those jeans. It looks flat?”
He chuckled. “I’ve never been a human male, but I’d say that may be why none of them can keep a good woman.”
“You’re probably right.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Today was the winter solstice.
Ricki and Calder would be arriving right after lunch and Lex would bring Ivie over just before sundown.
The foreboding I’d been feeling for the last week seemed to grow exponentially overnight. The sensation was so intense, I expected to look out the window of the house and see a dark cloud hovering over the property.
From the moment I woke up, I felt like I was going to crawl out of my skin. Asher must have gotten up a while ago because his side of the bed was cold. I dressed in workout gear and went to the gym for a run on the treadmill. It was enough to work off the excess adrenaline so I could focus.
After a shower, I got dressed and headed downstairs. Donna was in the kitchen, eating breakfast.
“Hey, how did you sleep?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Okay. You?”
“You’re funny. Sleep wasn’t my friend last night.” She shook her coffee cup at me. “I’m empty. Will you please get me another cup while you’re up?”
I took her cup and filled it, then poured one for myself.
“Are you nervous?” she asked when I brought her coffee back to her. “Scared? Terrified for your life?”
I smiled at her. “Yes, I’m nervous. Even knowing how this is going to turn out, I’m still on edge.”
“You look like you’ve got your shit together.”
“Years of practice,” I quipped.
I grabbed some bread out of the breadbox and stuck it in the toaster.
“So are we just going to sit around and stare at each other all day?” Donna asked. “Just waiting for the asshole to show up.”
I hadn’t given it much thought. I’d been consumed with plans and preparations. I hadn’t taken the time to think about what we would do before shit went down.
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Let’s do something normal. Something we haven’t done in a while, like watch a movie or something,” she suggested.
“That sounds good,” I answered, nodding.
“Conner wants to get married after this is all over,” she mentioned absently. “I told him I wanted a real wedding and a real honeymoon if we were going to do this the old-fashioned way.”
“When?”
“As soon as we can plan it. He’s got that scary event planner who says she can put it together in six weeks.” She glanced up at me. “I told her to make it eight because I intend to have a huge hand in planning my own weddin
g. I could tell it pissed her off, but Conner was there and she wasn’t going to do anything to make him angry.”
I laughed. I remembered the event planner she was talking about, though her name escaped me. That lady was like a drill sergeant in stilettos.
“Will you be one of my bridesmaids? I’m asking the other girls too.”
“Of course I will!” I cried, coming around the bar to hug her. “I’m honored you asked me.”
“Well, who else would I ask? Kim Kardashian?”
I laughed and hugged her tighter. “I guess not.”
We both jumped when my toast popped up from the toaster.
I released Donna. “As soon as all this is over, I’ll help you with whatever you need for the wedding. Even if it includes strong arming event planners.”
“Thanks.”
* * *
We didn’t end up sitting around and staring at each other all day.
When Ricki arrived, everyone was so happy to see each other that we spent most of the afternoon talking. Calder hovered for a while before disappearing into the study with the male vampires, probably picking over every aspect of the plan.
Mid-afternoon, Ivie and Lex showed up and it was like a reunion. It was the first time the five of us had been together in months, and it felt wonderful.
It was also frightening.
This was it. The final battle between us and the Faction. At some point, Cornelius would come for the Five and it would be done.
We all tried to keep smiles on our faces and ignore the reason as to why we were there, but I knew the other women were thinking about it as well.
“Does anyone else feel like this is weird?” Ivie asked, breaking the peculiar spell that had fallen over us all.
“How about some tea or coffee?” Donna asked. “I’d offer booze, but Shannon and the guys insist that we stay completely sober. Like nuns.”
It was the comic relief we needed to let go of the awkwardness.
We’d barely settled in the living room with cups of tea and coffee, when it happened.
The vision hit me hard, carrying me with it like a riptide. Rhys stood before me, a snarl on his lips and malevolence swirled around him so thick I could barely breathe.