When the Dead Come a Knockin'

by B. L. Brunnemer

  “Come on in.” The door opened. Ethan was in the doorway, his chocolate eyes running over me; his face was frowning.

  “You okay, Beautiful?” I snorted. No, I wasn’t, but I’d deal. I put enough shit on them already.

  “Fine. Why?” My voice sounded weird even to me. I watched his eyes narrow on me in the mirror as I tried to dry my hair.

  “Because you just beat the shit out of Trisha, then ran upstairs.” His smoky voice was questioning. I looked down at the sink.

  “I just… needed time to cool off,” I muttered as I hung up my towel and started packing up my stuff. I heard him snort.

  “Lexie, you’re a bad liar.” I looked up at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes met mine, and they were storming. I looked back down into my bag and found my makeup kit. I pulled it out and went through it. More for something to do then for my makeup.

  “Do you need the bathroom?” I asked still pretending to focus on what I was doing.

  “No.” His voice was soft. “I wanted to know if Trisha’s hits made contact.” I took a deep breath and gave him a reassuring smile in the mirror.

  “I’m fine, Ethan.” I started pulling out the makeup I was going to use. I needed better control over myself. It made my chest tight; I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t want to think about what it meant.

  “Then why don’t I believe you?” Ethan asked. I shrugged then focused on putting on my eyeliner, so I didn’t have to look at him when I told him.

  “I lost control when I heard her,” I whispered. “Then I was outside, and I was hitting her. I broke a rule.” He sighed.

  “Lexie, what you did out there? She fucking deserved it.” I stopped doing my eyeliner to look at him in the mirror. His chocolate eyes were watching me. “She left you for dead. I think hitting her was the least she deserved.” I braced my hands on the sink, my eyes on the drain.

  “I lost control,” I said softly. His hand was warm on my lower back as she stepped next to me at to me at the sink.

  “Think about the memories you have now, think about the pain you’ve been in the last couple days because of her.” His smoky voice was quiet, soft; it made me want to listen. “You losing control for a minute is understandable.” I went still, this didn’t sound like Ethan. I looked up to meet his eyes in the mirror.

  “Miles tell you to say that?” He grinned at me.

  “I told him what I thought was wrong; he told me what to say that would help.” He shrugged. “I’m not good with the emotional shit as he is. I’m... well, I’m wired differently.” I snorted, shaking my head as I looked back down at the sink. He leaned over, resting his chin on my shoulder. “The point is, no one has control all the time. Everyone breaks once in a while. This time it just happened to be Trisha’s nose.” I snorted and looked into the mirror to see him grinning mischievously. His warm eyes met mine again as his fingers rubbed my lower back. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, Beautiful. You’re not perfect.” He said gently. I nodded, letting him know I heard him. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving the bathroom. The knots in my stomach were gone. Yeah, I had lost control, but I was only human. Or Necromancer. Was there a difference? I really hope not. I focused on getting ready for the party.

  Chapter 20

  Saturday Night

  That night, as I waited for Dylan to pick me up my stomach was one huge knot. I checked my clothes again for the fifth time. The same black jeans, black V-neck shirt, and boots. I was still wearing the necklace Dylan had given me. It was a big contrast against the black. I looked at my hair again. Thanks to Jessica’s hair dryer my hair was in a long mass down to almost my waist now. I was going to need a haircut soon. Did I want to do something different? Did I want to for me or because I was nervous about seeing Dylan? Fuck it. I played with the hair tie on my wrist. My makeup was my usual day makeup. I was still contemplating my clothes when there was a knock on the front door. He showed up. Yay! Those knots tripled over each other. I took a breath and grabbed my coat. I made sure I had everything before I left the family room. My heart was racing as I opened the door. Dylan was standing on the porch. His chestnut hair was rumpled as usual. He was wearing blue jeans and a dark gray thermal under his coat. I noticed the bags under his eyes. My chest ached. Please be okay. Come on Lexie, only one way to find out. Dylan’s sapphire eyes warmed up when he saw me then he smiled. The knots disappeared completely. He was okay. We were okay.

  “Hey you,” I said smiling.

  “Hey, you ready?” His husky voice rolled through my ear, and I was just happy to hear it.

  “Yeah, the guys are already out at the party.” I stepped out and locked the door behind me. Zeke had said it wouldn’t hurt to leave Hades alone for a few hours; he needed to learn I wasn’t disappearing. Dylan took my hand as we headed to his truck. “Did you get any more sleep?”

  “Yeah, I passed out. Woke up a few hours ago, watch the ice Sunshine.” He warned me. I looked down and walked carefully around the ice patch. He held onto me till I got to the passenger side of the truck. Then he turned me towards him and kissed the hell out of me. My heart raced, butterflies went nuts, and something inside me relaxed. He was kissing me like I was the air he needed to breathe. I kissed him back the same way. It erased every doubt I had, every fear I had about him. No one could kiss you like that and not care about you. When he eased back, we were both out of breath. His glowing eyes met mine.

  “Sorry, I really needed that.” He whispered. I smiled up at him.

  “Me too,” I admitted. He smirked down at me before stepping back.

  “Come on. We have a party to go to.” He said as he opened the door of the truck. I climbed in, and he closed it behind me. That was a first. Dylan hurried around the truck hitting the hood twice and climbed it. He didn’t even realize he did it. I smiled. Oh, this guy... I took a breath as he drove onto the road. That warm feeling was still running through me. Okay, no drinking tonight Lexie. I smirked at myself. Dylan was telling me about his shift at the store yesterday when he pulled up to the Henderson's. They were rich, almost Miles rich. The house was enormous and sprawling. And packed with people already.

  “Wow, Ethan said awesome parties but...” Dylan snorted.

  “More like epic.” He smiled over at me. “I’m driving, you drinking Sunshine?” I thought about it, with those memories running around in my head. Fuck no.

  “Nah.” He smiled at me. “Come on. The guys are probably already here.” I got out of the truck and slid to the ground. I closed the door and met Dylan at the front. His face was relaxed as he took my hand and we headed toward the house. The house was huge. There was cedar everywhere, the stairs, exposed beams. It looked like anywhere they could they put cedar, they did. It was overwhelming. Dylan led me through the crowd, and I was too short to see if the guys were around. So, when he pulled me into a large room with music playing, I thought the guys were in here. But nope. Dylan took my jacket off and set down then took his off too. Then he pulled me onto what seemed to be the dance floor. The music was slow and well, sultry. It reminded me of hot summer nights. Dylan pulled my arms around his neck then wrapped his arms around me. I smiled as he leaned down, his lips going to my ear.

  “I just wanted you to myself for a couple more minutes.” He whispered in that soft low voice that sent shivers down my spine. “Before your big brothers find us and all.” I snickered. Oh, poor delusional Dylan. I already spotted Isaac in the doorway of the room out of the corner of my eye. I waved Isaac away, he got the hint and moved on before Dylan saw him. I ran my eyes over his face. His bags were dark, and the lines around his eyes were deeper than usual.

  “Honey, are you okay? You look like you haven’t slept at all?” His eyes were warm as they ran over my face.

  “Yeah babe, I just had some trouble sleeping the other night, and I didn’t make up as much as I thought I would today.” He mumbled still looking at me as if he was memorizing me.

  “Wanna bail? I’m pretty sure I c
an find a place for you to take a nap.” I offered, smiling. He gave me a big smile.

  “No, Sunshine. I don’t want to be anywhere else right now.” He whispered pulling me closer until he had me pressed hard against him. I tightened my arms around his neck. I must have really scared the shit out of him. Fuck. He rested his cheek against mine and danced with me. Another song came on, and it was another slow one, he just kept holding on to me. That warmth washed over me again, filling my heart. I moved one of my hands to the back of his neck and started massaging. He groaned and dropped his head to my shoulder.

  “I scared you again, didn’t I?” I asked softly, I kept my hand working on his neck, it was like a rock

  “Little bit.” He mumbled.

  “I’m sorry.” I swallowed hard. “That was newish, even for me.” He tightened his arms around me; it was almost painful now, but I didn’t say anything about it. “That’s my new three; my old three is four now.” I didn’t know what else to say, so I just worked the knots out of his neck.

  “Don’t worry about it, Sunshine.” He mumbled his face pressing against my neck. “Just let me hold you right now.” I nodded. When I was done with the knots on his neck, he lifted his head and ran an arm up my back, his hand cupping the back of my head. I rested my cheek against his chest. His lips rested on my forehead. I was warm, loved, and smelling sandalwood. I was happy there. This must have been the slow music room because he danced with me, holding me like that for four songs. When he was ready, his arms loosened and he lifted my chin. He gave one of his amazing slow, sweet, chaste kisses that got my blood pumping. When he eased back, he was smiling. “Okay, let’s go find the guys.” He sounded so not thrilled.

  “If you want to see some of your friends we can.” I thought that was obvious; he hadn’t introduced me to his in-town friends yet. He shook his head.

  “Most everyone is in Dulcet tonight.” He sighed. “I’m all yours.” I raised an eyebrow at him and grinned wickedly. He seemed to know where my head was because he chuckled and smiled at me.

  “Sunshine. Don’t tempt me tonight.” I winked at him then went to get our coats. I handed him his; he took my hand, and we went out to look for the guys. We found them at a pool table in a game room. I smiled as we reached them. The guys were all standing around talking to girls and watching the game. I put my coat down and got close enough to look at the table. Isaac was playing some guy. He was around Asher’s height, had blond hair and gray eyes. The guy wasn’t too bad on the eyes. And he was doing decent on the table.

  “Hey, guys.” I greeted them, smiling.

  “Hey, Lexie,” Zeke said.

  “Hi, Beautiful.”

  “Hey, Ally.”

  “Hey, Red.” Isaac’s voice was grumpy. He must be stripes on the table. I looked at the table again and got pissed. There was money on the table.

  “Isaac, what are you doing?” I snapped at him. Dylan put his coat down and stood behind me; I leaned a little back against him. His hands went to my hips, his thumbs making circles. Isaac looked at me.

  “Losing.” He grumbled. Ethan came away from the table to talk to us.

  “Guy totally sharked him. He was acting drunk, and now he’s sober.” Ethan whispered filling us in.

  “How much?” I growled low.

  “Only thirty bucks.” Ethan smiled. “But that’ll teach him.” Ethan pulled back and went back to watching the game. I watched the other guy. He wasn’t that good. My wicked side came out to play. I leaned back into Dylan.

  “Want to kick someone’s ass at pool? Or should I?” I whispered. Dylan chuckled softly and looked in my eyes.

  “You, it’ll be so much more fun.” I smiled big and gave him a quick kiss. Then turned back to watch the other guy sink an easy eight ball shot. He raised his arm like it was a huge victory not thirty bucks. It pissed me off.

  “Hey!” I shot at the guy. I walked away from Dylan and towards the table. The guy saw me, then ran his eyes over me before looking at his face. Yeah, an asshole. “Double or nothing.” His eyes warmed as he smiled cockily. The guys went still.

  “You got it red.”

  “You don’t call her red.” Isaac snapped at him. “I call her Red. You can use her name.” His eyebrows went up. Then he looked over at me.

  “Which is?”

  “Lexie. And you are?” I asked sweetly. Yeah, I know not fair, but the fucker messed with Isaac. If he hadn’t acted drunk to get Isaac to play, I wouldn’t care. But he did, so I cared.

  “Doyle Barns.” He held out his hand over the table. I reached out and shook it. My hand instantly felt slimy. “Nice to meet you.” When I got my hand back, I was hard pressed not to wipe it on my jeans. “You want to rack or break Lexie?” His voice grew warm. Was he…? Oh… no.

  “I’ll break if you don’t mind.” I batted my eyes at him. Isaac turned away having a hard time not smiling. Doyle grinned at me.

  “No, problem.” He went to rack, and I went to find a cue that was right for me. I had just found a good straight one when Doyle spoke up. “You want some help getting wood?” I went still; the guys went still. Oh, stupid move pal. But he didn’t know that. I turned and smiled sweetly at him.

  “Oh no, a girl never has trouble finding a good stick to use when she needs it.” I countered. Doyle smiled. Dylan chuckled, and Zeke looked like he was going to have a heart attack. Riley and the others just laughed.

  “Shit... Lexie…” Zeke grumbled and covered his eyes. I snickered. Doyle didn’t notice Zeke. I chalked my cue, taking my time because this wasn’t going to take long. At least, it shouldn’t. And if I were wrong then I would learn something myself. Doyle was waiting, kept my face sweet as I went to my favorite corner to break. I noticed the guys smiling out of the corner of my eye. I focused on my shot. Then I took it. The balls scattered everyone three went in during the break. I stood and smiled at Doyle. He was frowning at the table. Then he looked up at me, catching on. “I’ll take solids.” The guys burst out laughing. Dylan had a big smile on his face. I smirked and moved around the table to a good shot. Doyle kept frowning. And after I sunk three more balls, he got pissed. When I didn’t have a shot, I gave him a shitty one. He glared at me and went to try his shot. He missed. I made another shot than another. I called my pocket for the eight ball and made it without scratching. He cursed.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” He growled glaring at me. I smiled sweetly as I went to the money pile we both had added to. I picked it up and counted it out. Doyle was still gaping at me when I walked around the table.

  “Never play pool shark. Because there is always someone bigger and badder than you, that will tear you to pieces.” I smiled sweetly. “This one just happens to come in a smaller and cuter package than you.” I held up half his money to him between two fingers. He wasn’t glaring at me anymore. He was grinning. He took his money and counted it. Then looked back down at me.

  “You giving the rest to Isaac?” He asked.

  “Oh, hell no.” I snickered. Doyle laughed.

  “Red!” Isaac sounded surprised. I turned and looked at him.

  “You know better than to do this shit.” I shot at him. “I’m keeping your cash.” Everyone was laughing now but Isaac, who was grumbling. I kept laughing.

  “You single?” Doyle asked surprising me. I pointed behind me to Dylan.

  “Nope.” Doyle looked at Dylan.

  “Your girl’s hot man.” Oh, ew. I backed away from Doyle, and the guys stopped laughing. Dylan stayed where he was.

  “Look all you want.” He said, which surprised me. “But touch her and die.” Yep, that was more along the line that I was thinking. The guys snickered around the table. Doyle eyed Dylan playfully like he was sizing him up. Yeah, I didn’t like that. Neither did the guys. They shifted in their seats.

  “I think I can take you,” Doyle said jokingly. Dylan chuckled.

  “Oh, it wouldn’t be me.” Dylan tilted his chin to me. “It’d be her.” Doyle gave me a contemplating look.
<
br />   “Hmm.” Oh, ew.

  “Yeah,” I smiled sweetly. “And if that didn’t work...” I smiled sweetly and pointed to the boys. He turned and froze. Zeke was glaring at him now, popping his knuckles. Riley was watching from her seat, but all the guys had moved forward. Doyle went white.

  “Every Lexie action figure comes with a boyfriend and four enormous best friends. Well, five, but one of them isn’t here tonight.” I said sweetly. The guys burst out laughing; even Doyle laughed at that one. He held his hands up and backed away smiling. His eyes ran over me one more time.

  “Damn girl.” He mumbled before backing away and walking off. I burst out laughing and looked at the guys. Oh, that was funny. Dylan snagged my hand and pulled me back to him. He wrapped his arm around my waist, and I leaned back against his chest. The guys all sat back down.

  “Red, you’re giving me my money back, right?” Isaac asked hopefully. I just smiled and shook my head. He grumbled. The guys laughed. I was happy.

  It wasn’t long before Dylan pulled me away from the guys again to dance with me in the slow music room again. He held me close and whispered in my ear.

  “So, what are your plans this summer?” He asked. I smiled as I remembered the surfing trip he wanted to take me on. But…

  “I was hoping to get a part-time job at the tattoo place in town just to learn about how a shop is run.” I shrugged. “They probably won’t hire me.” He kissed my cheek.

  “Then you’ll need to show up every day and be a pain in the ass until they do.” His voice sounded like he was smiling. I snickered. Yeah, that did sound like something I would do.

  “I probably will. I just want my foot in the door.” I brushed my lips against his earlobe and heard him catch his breath.

  “What about you, honey? Still planning that surfing trip?” I asked softly. His arms tightened around me.