Sunglasses at Night

by Jessica Lynch

  He’d never been so anal retentive about his keys before. And then, last winter when they were working on the task force, he accidentally dropped them and didn’t realize that Colton Wolfe had picked them up until he also discovered his car was gone.

  Having to walk halfway through Grayson before he could call one of his old cop buddies to pick his ass up like he was some damsel in distress had done a number on him. Since then, it was keys, phone, wallet, dagger, and keys one more time for good luck before he went anywhere with his car.

  He patted his front pocket, assuring himself that his keys had stayed put, then glanced around at the empty darkness. No one else was around for miles. He couldn’t hear anyone, or sense them, either.

  It was just him and Tabby.

  They had left early, giving them plenty of time to make the drive out, and there was still an hour to go until Tabby’s contact was supposed to appear. Adam crossed his arms over his chest, leaning up against the side of his coupe. Tabby blew another bubble—this one only about a quarter of the size of the previous one—then hopped up to sit on the trunk of Adam’s car.

  He didn’t even bother telling her to get down. Tabby Winslow was going to do what Tabby Winslow wanted. Who was he to stop her?

  They chatted companionably while they waited, though it didn’t escape Adam’s notice that, every time he brought the subject back around to their meet, she quickly changed it. He did learn that they were waiting for a witch, a coven witch named Holly who preferred to stay out of the politics of Coventry, and that was it.

  She seemed more interested in asking him about himself. And though he still mourned the human life he lost, Adam told her about being a cop, even mentioning what it was like growing up with his mom. Of course, then Tabby asked about her, and it was Adam’s turn to change the subject.

  He had a much easier time dealing with the grief that came with his own death than his mother’s sudden heart attack last September and it showed.

  Before long quiet fell. It was calm. Content. But while it was quiet, it wasn’t silent. Between the wind rustling through countless branches, leaves dancing on the breeze, the music of crickets, and Tabby’s occasional snapping of her gum, Adam didn’t mind it so much.

  Like the drive, it was surprisingly nice.

  About thirty minutes into their wait, Tabby’s phone began to go off. It was on vibrate, so while it didn’t ring, the incessant buzz as it rattled against the top of his car would’ve caught Adam’s attention even if he wasn’t completely in tune with her.

  She snatched it up, but she didn’t answer it. It became clear, though, that it wasn’t a call, but a flurry of messages coming through on her end. Despite the darkness, using the glow from her screen and his amazing eyesight, he could see her frown, tell from the wrinkles around her eyes that it probably wasn’t the best news.

  Adam cocked his head. “Something wrong?”

  “Nah. And it’s got nothing to do with the meet, in case you’re wondering. It’s just... a slayer’s never really off. Sorry. And I told Boone that I wouldn’t be available tonight, but who was I kidding? That’s never stopped him from paging me before.”

  “Boone? Who’s Boone?”

  Jealousy seeped into his tone. He couldn’t help it. It was something he dealt with nearly his entire life; as his mom used to teasingly tell him, it was a product of being a spoiled only child. Whenever Adam thought of something—or someone—as his, he hated the idea of sharing. He knew he could be pushy. He knew it had lost him a couple of girlfriends over the years. You think he would’ve learned better by now.

  Nope.

  Being a recently turned Para made it even worse. He had these new instincts coupled with a lifetime of bad habits that he couldn’t control.

  Luckily, Tabby didn’t seem to be put off by his question. Most likely because she was too busy tapping away on her phone, answering this Boone guy.

  “Boone?” She spared a quick glance up at him before reading the next incoming message. She tapped back another reply. “Oh. He’s my handler.”

  Adam tightened his jaw. “Handler?”

  She shrugged. “Boss? I guess that’s a better word for it. I work for him. He assigns the hunts. I told him I was taking the night off since I’d run out of leads in Grayson, but he’s got a gig for me here.”

  “In Woodbridge? That’s lucky. How did he know you’d be around?”

  She tapped her fingernail against the back of her phone. “He saw my location on this baby.”

  “Your boss tracks you? That doesn’t seem right.”

  “Boone tracks all the members of his team. If a call for a slayer comes in, it’s up to him to see who’s closest to answer it. It’s fine. I trust him.”

  Easy for Tabby to say. She could trust him. Didn’t mean that Adam did.

  “What’s he want?”

  “There’s a Nightwalker coming in hot.” Adam knew what that meant. Hot, because Nightwalkers’ skin held a chill unless they were gorged on blood straight from the source. “He’s left two partially drained, and he’s not too far from here. He’ll be in his hole by dawn. If I don’t go after him now, he might get another couple of victims before he can be exterminated.”

  That couldn’t happen. As much as he wanted to get the elixir, even saving one life would be worth missing out on it.

  “Then let’s go.”

  Tabby held up her hand. “You stay here. Holly knows to expect you. If I’m not back, tell her I went to take care of some slayer business. She won’t ask.”

  “If that’s the case, then why did you insist on coming?”

  She didn’t have an answer for that.

  “Let me come with you,” he pushed.

  “Adam. No.”

  “The elixir can wait,” he said. And if Tabby got in trouble while he sat on his ass, waiting for the witch, he’d never forgive himself. “You might need help.”

  “I’m a big girl,” scoffed Tabby. She hopped down from the car, determination coming off of her in waves. “Stay here. I’ll be fine.”

  He reached out to grab her arm. As a Nightwalker, he was fast.

  She was faster.

  Tabby managed to evade his grasp, throwing a shoulder at him so that she was blocking him from trying to latch onto her again. She never once lost her sweet smile, though the humor in her voice turned to steel as she snapped, “Adam. Stop arguing with me. We came all this way because you need to talk to Holly. Don’t screw this up. I want my favor.”

  “Tabby,” he tried again.

  She wasn’t having it.

  “I’ve got my phone,” she said, holding it up so that he could see it, “so I can call you when I’m done. If you want to leave without me, that’s fine. I’ll deal. Find out about that elixir, okay? Now I’ve gotta go.”

  There was no arguing with her. Adam was beginning to realize that, despite being so petite, Tabby was one hell of a blonde dynamo.

  And, damn it, he liked it.

  She had her phone. She knew what she was doing.

  “Okay. Come back as soon as you’re done. I’ll wait for you as long as it takes.”

  To his surprise, she actually grinned at his order. “Sure thing, champ.”

  Before he could scowl at her for using that ridiculous nickname, she reached up on the tips of her toes, stealing a quick kiss against the corner of his mouth that left him both speechless and a little stunned. Her eyes twinkled, almost as if that was what she was going for. A second later, she was sprinting away.

  Holy shit, she was super fast. And she moved as if she knew exactly where she was going to intercept the bloodthirsty Nightwalker.

  Hang on—

  How did she know?

  “Tabby, wait!”

  She stopped on a dime, her ponytail whipping around her, slapping her in the face as she spun to look at him again. “Yeah?”

  “Are you going the right way?” he asked. “How do you know exactly where he’s going to be?”

  Even though she’d alr
eady put close to twenty feet between them, he could still see the way her teeth gleamed brilliantly in the darkness. “I don’t have to. Don’t worry. He’ll find me.”

  With that, she turned again, streaming past a large oak tree and disappearing into the woods.

  9

  Adam stayed behind.

  It was hard, every fiber of his being shouting for him to tail behind her. He didn’t, though, and, for some reason, he thought of Evangeline while he paced next to his coupe.

  Ah, Eva… when he finally convinced her to give him a chance last summer, it was after years of Adam watching her from a distance, eager to keep her away from Maddox Wolfe. He’d spent that time convinced the shifter was responsible for Eva’s near-fatal accident. Without a bond tying her to her mate, Adam thought he could protect her. Save her.

  He was wrong.

  Even if it wasn’t for Maddox being “rehabilitated” and let out of the Cage, it never would’ve lasted. His overprotective instincts coupled with his need to shield her from the bad out there in the world created a wedge between them that he could never overcome.

  And what was he doing with Tabby?

  The same exact fucking thing.

  It made it worse that Tabby was a slayer. Unlike Eva, who worked from home as an editor for a small publishing house, Tabby spent her nights fighting against the dregs of paranormal society. If Eva hated the way he hovered over her, Tabby would despise it.

  So he had to stay back. No matter what—

  Adam stiffened. As the breeze blew past him, ruffling his blond hair, causing the trees to dance in the weak air, something rich, something hot, something delicious slammed into him.

  Blood. That was blood.

  And not just any blood.

  Tabby. She was hurt. Bleeding.

  No.

  Adam took off like a shot, only pausing long enough to grab his dagger, stick his claw in the dip at the hilt, and turn it into its enchanted shape. When the blade went from a silver glow to a pale red shine, he knew that he wasn’t the only Nightwalker chasing after Tabby now.

  The scent of her blood called to him, like a beacon for him to follow. As he raced through the trees, barely using his glowing blade to lead him toward the bloodthirsty Nightwalker, it finally dawned on him why Tabby had been so sure she’d find the murderous vamp. Like a shark zeroing in on a single drop of blood nearby, all it took was a swipe with her blade and Tabby had all she needed to lure the Nightwalker to her.

  Because that was her plan, wasn’t it?

  Damn it.

  He should turn back. As Tabby reminded him, this was her job. She knew what she was doing.

  But what if she needed help?

  What if she needed him?

  Adam kept running toward the source of the blood. When the ruby red glow surrounding his sword only grew brighter, he knew he was right. The Nightwalker had already tracked her down.

  His senses were overpowered by her rich blood. Just beneath it, he could barely pick up on the rancid stench that had to belong to a blood-bloated Nightwalker. Isn’t that what she said? That the bastard had nearly drained two victims already, working his way toward a complete kill?

  Adam would be damned if he let that be Tabby.

  The sound of fighting hit him at last. Feet pounding against the dirt. Grunts. Gasps. The rustle of clothing, and the unmistakable sound of metal whistling against the wind as it sliced through the air.

  He pushed himself even harder before bursting through a particularly thick copse of trees, finding himself in a clearing with two others.

  Tabby!

  It only took him a few seconds to get a read on what he was seeing before he realized that there really hadn’t been any need for him to follow after her.

  Unlike the other times when he found her at the mercy of a raging Nightwalker, Tabby obviously didn’t need his help.

  As he watched her whip her weapon toward a bellowing Nightwalker’s throat, the sharp blade slicing through the thick muscle, tissue, and sinew like a hot knife through butter while he thrashed and screamed, Adam began to wonder if she’d ever needed it before.

  Tabby waited for Adam to say something about her methods.

  When he didn’t, staying stoically silent as she slapped on a magic-aid before cleaning up the scene, she wasn’t sure how to take it. He hung back as she got rid of any sign that they were there, then quickly left the clearing. He shadowed her, staying a few steps behind, and that bothered her more than the look of shock on his face when she slew the Nightwalker.

  Finally, she had to break the heavy silence.

  “I told you I was a slayer.”

  Adam grunted. Not much of an answer, but at least he was listening.

  And if he was listening, then Tabby was going to talk.

  She didn’t worry about keeping her voice low. Between the two of them, they were more dangerous than anything else in the woods. She wasn’t afraid.

  She talked about Rosie, because the old, toothless hound dog was still the light of her life. She made a point not to mention her uncle again, since Adam’s reaction had been a little… interesting when she brought up Boone before. Prattling on about slaying was awkward while she wore the blood spatter of her last kill, so she cheerfully told her brooding Nightwalker the entire plotline of a movie she caught on Witchflix last night.

  It worked. Treating the Nightwalker like a person and not just a Para brought Adam back from that dark place where he had a tendency to go.

  By the time they were heading back out of the woods again, he’d lost that rigid stance, relaxing in a more graceful stalking motion as he moved alongside her.

  Until they were closing in on the car and reality set in.

  It had taken some time for her to get deep enough into the woods to position herself before she sliced her arm, sending out enough blood to call the Nightwalker to her without attracting Adam. Even though that part had obviously failed—otherwise he wouldn’t have tracked her down, finding her right as she was finishing up her hunt—she’d put a lot of ground between her and the car. Then she had to clean up, get rid of the corpse, and walk with Adam through the trees again. It ate up a lot of time, something she worried about while working to boost Adam’s spirits.

  He was the one to first bring up their scheduled meet. Peeking at his phone, he bit out a curse when he realized the time. “Shit. We were supposed to meet that witch over an hour ago. What are the odds she waited?”

  “Honestly? Not so great. Holly probably would’ve stuck it out, but if she caught wind of the Nightwalker in her territory? She knew I was bringing you, but you’re harmless—”

  “Harmless? I’m not harmless, Tabby.”

  Of course that’s the one thing he would take away from that. She bumped him with her hip. Due to their height difference, she got him in his lower thigh, but the thought was there. “My mistake. You big, scary vampire, you.”

  When he scowled, she couldn’t hold back her laugh even as she apologized. “Sorry. I shouldn’t be teasing. I just feel bad that we came all this way for a dead end. I can’t even call Holly to reschedule tonight because it takes like three different contacts and a line through reception at Coventry before she’ll even accept a message being passed onto her. Who knows when she’ll agree again.” She lost some of her humor as guilt replaced it. “Damn it. This is my fault.”

  Adam let out a soft sigh, erasing the scowl from his handsome face. “No, it’s not. You said I should wait for your contact. I’m the dumbass who ran into the woods… ah, forget it. We can try again another time.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Maybe we should start heading back to Grayson.” At her grimace, he paused. “What? What’s wrong?”

  “It’s after four.” She glanced at her own phone, peeking at the time. Oof. How did it get so late? “It’s almost four-thirty, to be exact.”

  “Yeah.” He cocked his head curiously, as if he had no idea where she was going with this. “So?”

  “Grayson is like two h
ours away, right? And, um, I’m not so sure we’re gonna be able to get back before the sun rises.”

  It took him a second to understand what she was getting at. When he did—

  “Fuck.”

  “I knew the meet would be cutting it close, but I had hoped we’d be in and out. But that’s alright. We’re not completely screwed.” Looking him up and down, an impish smile coming to her face, she said, “I know you said there was some lines you weren’t going to cross.”

  “Yeah…”

  “How do you feel about a little B & E?”

  Adam closed his eyes behind his sunglasses. She could tell by the way his whole face went slack as he raised his hand, using a knuckle to rub at his temple. “Oh, no.”

  On a laugh, Tabby said, “Oh, yes.”

  And that’s how she convinced a former Grayson police officer to break into an empty house about a twenty minute’s walk away from where they abandoned his car.

  Hours later, Adam was jerked awake by a howl so loud, so shrill, the piercing sound had him gritting his teeth.

  It felt like he’d just fallen asleep, since the two of them had stayed up well past sunrise to plot their next move and, well, just get to know each other better, and he knew instinctively that it was too early to get up again.

  Just like he knew instinctively that something wasn’t right.

  Tabby was tucked into his side, her head resting against his chest. At least, it had been. As Adam bolted up, his back slamming into the wall of the basement where they’d taken shelter, Tabby jostled in his arms before shoving one away and pulling herself into a crouch.

  Her dark eyes were bright. Clear. She was already awake and, now that he was trying to figure out what had ripped him from his content dozing, she lifted her finger to her mouth and whispered, “Shh.”