Paranormal After Dark: 20 Paranormal Tales of Demons, Shifters, Werewolves, Vampires, Fae, Witches, Magics, Ghosts and More

by Rebecca Hamilton

  He didn’t know where Kale had gotten the knife, let alone how he sneaked it past the guards, Tanya would have had a fit but that, too, was supremely cool. “It’s a promise,” Kale told him. “A promise made in blood can never be broken, understand? It’s the most excellent promise anyone can ever make and is broken only on the threat of death. So, don’t make it unless you mean it. Okay?”

  “What’s the promise?” Cross was already rolling up his sleeve.

  “That no matter what else happens, we’ll always be there for each other.”

  “I don’t need to cut myself to promise you that.”

  “I know, me neither. But that’s now. What about when we grow up? What if we forget? This will remind us. This will cover all the ‘what ifs’ that might ever happen, you know?”

  That had made sense to Cross, but at ten he could never see how he would need to remind himself that he and his brother would always be a part of each other. But it seemed very important to Kale, so he’d nodded and he solemnly swore the oath.

  Kale held the blade under a candle’s flame until it was red hot and then made his little speech. “I will always be there for you, no matter what. I would give my life for you, Cross.” And then without any hesitation he sliced his forearm. The blood had been impressive, but it hadn’t scared Cross. It took a hell of a lot to scare either Delancey boy. Then it was Cross’s turn. He’d repeated word for word Kale’s speech, substituting his brother’s name for his own, and then he cut his arm. It hadn’t hurt nearly as much as he’d thought it would.

  With both wounds bleeding freely, the brothers placed their arms together so the blood would mix. It was a purely symbolic gesture since they were identical twins. Their blood was already shared.

  They’d never told anyone.

  Cross remembered now. He glanced down at his arm. Faded but still visible was the thin scar. A promise made in innocence. A promise he’d meant with all of his heart. He looked over at Kale. He stared into eyes he imagined looked much like his own. He saw hope in those eyes. Hope that Cross recalled the past that still shone brightly for Kale. He also saw raw need and desperation. Cross wasn’t sure for what. “I remember.” The memory was faded, but it was there. Cross nodded in thought. “I remember.”

  “I would still give my life for you, Cross. They’re going to tell you I did things, bad things. I didn’t, at least not all of it.” Kale gave a quick jerk of his head, squeezed his eyes closed for a moment and wiped at a thin trickle of blood coming from his nose. He looked like he was in pain.

  When he opened his eyes again his voice was quiet. “Okay, this is the important shit. You gotta go man. You gotta find a way to get out of here, because they’re never gonna let you go. That was never part of the deal. If you don’t believe anything else I told you, you have to believe that.”

  Cross examined the marks on their arms, identical but opposite, just like Kale and him. “I believe you.”

  Kale nodded in approval. He seemed relieved. “Good. I think I can give you something to work with here,” He squeezed his eyes shut as if some external force was trying to vie for his attention. Cross felt it too. “Wait for a distraction, you’ll know it when you see it.”

  “Maybe it’s not overly apparent, but I can’t see anything. I’m blind, remember.”

  “You can see through other people, use that. Use anything you can. They’ll kill you if you stay. They’ll end up killing both of us. I’m going to try and take out the generator. Everything here, the locks, alarms, all of it, is electric. If I can mess with the system, it’ll give you a chance. Take it.”

  “What about you? How can I get to you?”

  “Don’t worry about me. Just get out.” Kale paused for a moment. He reached out to touch Cross but at the last moment pulled his hand back. “I’m real Cross, don’t let them make you believe I’m not.” Without waiting for Cross to answer, Kale vanished and Cross’s world went dark once more. He rubbed the scar on his arm and felt a little lighter. He decided he didn’t care if he was losing it.

  He chose to believe in Kale.

  I would give my life for you Cross.

  A part of him wondered if that was exactly what Kale was planning to do.

  Chapter 9

  FINN SAT AT the small outdoor café in SoHo waiting for Vic. An expresso sat in front of him growing cold. He had tried to stay away, but he couldn’t get the image of Cross as he left him in that room, out of his head. For two days he’d roamed his loft, but he had no appetite and sleep wasn’t to be found. Tanya had locked him out of the department computers, even deactivated his ID key card. He had no way to get information. That was what was keeping him up at night.

  Last night he took a chance and called Vic. Finn figured Vic would either help him or tell Tanya what he was trying to do. He honestly didn’t care either way. There was no way he was going back to work for her after this. Not after what she did to Cross. Finn had told both Tanya and Coben months ago that Cross was nothing like they thought he was. He recommended taking him off their radar. Coben had made noises like he agreed with Finn. Apparently not.

  Finn glanced at his watch. Vic was late and not for the first time, Finn wondered if he was being set up. He nervously surveyed the area around the café to look for any obvious government vehicles. When he turned back, Vic was sitting opposite him at the table. His stylish gray Armani suit, crisp with seams so sharp you could cut yourself on them. Black reflective glasses gleaming in the afternoon sun.

  “Shit, you scared the crap out of me,” Finn let out a breath. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.”

  The barista came by and took Vic’s order. When she left, he turned to look at Finn for the first time. “I almost didn’t. You are officially persona-non-grata. Anyone talking to you or seen with you is going to end up in the same boat.”

  “Then why are you here?” The man didn’t look the least bit worried. He sat back relaxed and in control. Finn had always admired that about Vic, but right now it only annoyed him.

  “Because I don’t like ultimatums. I don’t like what went down with you, and mostly I really don’t like what is happening to Cross.”

  The barista came back with Vic’s black coffee. Vic charmed her with a smile, and took a cautious sip.

  “How is Cross?” Finn said.

  “He’s been with Tanya for the last two days. How the hell do you think he is?”

  “Fuck. He doesn’t deserve this. The worst part is he thinks I betrayed him.”

  “Really? That’s what you think the worst part is? The way he might perceive your actions in all of this. Jesus, Finn. She spends all day asking him questions he has no way of answering and then her security guys discipline him with a Taser. I have the joy of watching it all on live feed.”

  Finn closed his eyes trying to get the image of Tanya having Cross tortured out of his head. When he opened them again he realized what Vic had just said. “You’re on the monitors?”

  Vic seemed to understand where Finn was going. “Don’t get any ideas. I can’t help him, Finn. No one can. Tanya owns that boy now.”

  “He was our partner. We were a team. I can’t forget about that. Can you?”

  “I can if I want to keep my job.”

  Finn played with the small ceramic espresso cup. “What did I do? What the hell did I do?”

  Vic took off the sun glasses. His soft brown eyes narrowed as he spoke. “You did your job.”

  “My job? I betrayed my partner. My friend. I don’t think that was in the job description. Can you really sit there and tell me that after all the time you’ve spent with Cross, he’s nothing more than a job to you?”

  Vic retuned Finn’s glare, his expression unruffled. “I wouldn’t be sitting here if I did.”

  Finn put his head in his hands. “Jesus, we eviscerated him. I know he started out as a job, an assignment but I swear that’s not how it ended up.”

  Vic studied Finn for a long while as he sipped his coffee. The scrutiny
made Finn nervous. “What?”

  “I don’t know, I guess I’m not buying the whole ‘woe with me’ thing. Exactly what did you expect would happen to Cross in the end? As much as you want me to tell you it wasn’t your fault, you know differently. Cross was your job. There was never anything else. You were hired to profile the profiler. You can’t deny that now because you like the guy.”

  Shame sat like a hot rock in the pit of Finn’s stomach. Truth was something he had no defense against. “Yeah. Guess I was a little too good at my job.”

  “Did you honestly think Tanya and Coben would forget about him?”

  “I hoped.”

  “And who the hell have you worked for? Seriously Finn, face the facts. You did the job you were hired for. Now when Tanya does exactly what you knew she would do, you’re sorry? You want to know why Cross thinks you betrayed him? Because you did.”

  Finn narrowed his eyes and stared right back at Vic. The words stung all the more because he couldn’t deny them. “I guess I thought I could protect him, shield him if I had too.”

  “Didn’t quite work that way, did it?”

  “No, it didn’t.” Finn sat back. Vic sipped his coffee as if he were on vacation. Not a care in the world. “Why did you come here?” Finn said. “You could have told Tanya or Coben I called, and they would have made sure I never set foot back in the department.”

  “I guess I could have, but then I would have missed the opportunity to make you squirm a little before.”

  Finn sat forward, his attention fully focused on Vic. “Before what?”

  “Before I tell you Cross is not as alone as he thinks he is. That’s what I came here to say.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  Vic finished his coffee and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Do you really want to help Cross or do you just want to wallow in self-pity?”

  “Do I really need to answer that? Yes I want to help Cross. I don’t care if he hates me. I know he has that right. I helped to put him in Tanya’s hands and I would like to make that right if I can. So I guess the next move is yours. My hand is on the table. If you are here for Tanya then I guess I’m screwed. If you’re really here to help Cross, then tell me what I have to do.”

  “Don’t do anything stupid Finn. Stay clear of the department. Do exactly what Tanya wants you to do and forget you ever knew Cross Delancey.” Vic stood, put a couple bills on the table, straightened his jacket and walked away.

  Finn watched his back as he disappeared into the crowd. He had no idea what Vic’s word games meant. All he could think of were the images Vic had placed in his head-Cross at the mercy of Tanya and her security team. He pushed away from the table in frustration. “Fuck.”

  He wondered if Cross would survive long enough for Finn to tell him his side of things. Vic’s parting words were not lost on him, but Finn knew one thing. There was no way he was sitting back and waiting for something to happen. No way in hell.

  Chapter 10

  ROBERT GAVE ONE final upward thrust and shuddered as he came. Tanya bit the side of his neck gently as she collapsed on top of him. The man might have his flaws, possessiveness being one of them, but damn, he could curl her toes in bed. He had lasted far longer than her other lovers because of that alone.

  She rolled off of him and reached for the sheet that had been kicked to the floor sometime in the last hour. As her heart rate returned to normal and Robert sprawled next to her, she reached for the remote. She saw his scowl of disapproval as the monitor flared to life. Tanya turned on the live feed into Kale Delancey’s cell.

  “Seriously? Can’t you forget about that freak for more than an hour?” Robert said.

  “Darling, you forget your place. That freak pays your bills.”

  The black and white feed showed Kale pacing the small confines of his cell. There was no audio but Tanya didn’t need one to know her charge was agitated.

  “It’s not like he’s going anywhere. I don’t get it. You got a sick thing going on with him. I don’t like it.”

  Tanya let the feed play, but she put the remote down and turned to face Robert. The man was all hard long lines of nothing but muscle. His face wasn’t bad either. His most attractive quality, however, was he did what he was told. All those things were reasons he shared her bed. But his jealously over how she chose to keep Kale in line might push him out of it if he wasn’t careful. “You don’t tell me how to handle Kale. We’ve had this discussion.”

  Robert clearly didn’t like being dressed down but his tone changed. “Yeah, I know. I know. I just don’t get it, that’s all.”

  “You don’t have to get it, Robert. All you have to do is continue to keep me satisfied and leave Kale to me. He is fragile and now that Cross is back in a cage where he belongs, Kale is going to act out. I expected this. We’ve made plans for this, have we not?”

  “Yes.” Robert sounded petulant now, which annoyed her.

  “So, we follow through with those plans and we have nothing to worry about. Kale requires energy to push. We simply keep him exhausted. If he has no energy left, he can’t push, he can’t contact Cross and he will do as I say. Simple.”

  “I still don’t like it.”

  “You don’t have to like it, darling. You just have to follow orders. Besides, with Kale occupied doing busy-work, I will have more time left for non-work related activities.” Her hand slipped beneath the sheet so Robert wouldn’t have to think too hard about what she meant. His mood immediately improved. Tanya didn’t object when he assumed the dominate position this time. He needed to be mollified and besides she had a better view of the live feed from this angle. She didn’t care if Robert understood why she handled Kale the way she did.

  All she cared about was the fact that she was the one in charge. She called the shots. No one would tell her how to run her unit. No one would deny her because she was female. No one would take anything from her ever again. What was hers, would stay hers. She would fight to keep it that way.

  Sometimes it seemed that was all she ever did, fight just to keep what was hers. First it was her body. When her own father took that from her as a child, she fought just to live. When she grew up, she fought her way out of that life and learned, when she entered the military, that life would always be one fight after another. The trick was to win them or learn from them.

  There was never defeat. This was no different. She had learned one lesson from her father that would not be forgotten. Sex was as much of a weapon as any knife or gun. And Tanya was a fast learner. She wielded that particular weapon with practiced expertise. Even with Robert, there were no emotions involved. Emotions are what nearly destroyed her when she was young. They were a weakness, and Tanya was not weak.

  So, as Robert grunted and sweated on top of her, she watched Kale and she planned exactly how she would use him to gain control over his brother. That was the real challenge, and Tanya would do whatever was needed to win. Anything less was simply not an option.

  Chapter 11

  HE HAD NEVER done anything like that before. The amount of energy he used was terrifying, even for him. But Tanya had convinced Kale he could do it. More than that, she told him if he wanted to keep Cross safe he would at the very least try. What else could Kale do?

  Even before they had brought Cross in, Tanya had him practicing something new. She wanted him to push from a distance. She had talked to him about it but she hadn’t had him try it until now. It had worked with the subject in the next room or even on another floor of the same building. Never any farther.

  Today’s plan was to push everyone in a crowd. A crowd more than two miles away. When he objected and told her he couldn’t, that it would take more energy than he had, she’d told him in graphic detail what she would have done to Cross if he failed.

  So he pushed. All of them, all at once. It wasn’t a difficult suggestion- she simply wanted him to tell all those people to look at their watches at the same time. Just a quick glance at their left wrist whether they wore a
timepiece or not. And it had worked. It had worked even better than he’d expected. It worked so well the results scared him.

  Maybe it was good thing Tanya kept him locked up, away from everyone.

  His nose started to bleed before he was even through. Now Kale lay on his back in his little room, staring up at the ceiling. His brain felt as if it was leaking out his ears. He wiped blood from his face with the back of his hand.

  Getting hit by a truck might have been more pleasurable than what he had just been through. He remembered his face hitting the concrete floor of his room as the push ended. Apparently someone had seen fit to drag him to his bed. He didn’t remember.

  He opened his eyes expecting the pain in his head to increase and he wasn’t disappointed. He brought a hand up to rub the pounding behind his eyes and noticed an IV tubing taped to the back. He had no memory of them doing that either.

  Guess they thought I did a good job.

  Normally if Kale over did it, he was left to his own devices until he healed, but then he was usually trying to piss Tanya off, not help her.

  He desperately wanted to contact Cross. He needed to give him the distraction he promised. He had to help him get out. But he couldn’t. Not now. He didn’t even have enough strength to search for his brother’s unique aura in the mass of humanity at the department. This was the closest physically they had been in ten years.

  Tanya would not be happy if she knew Kale had been in contact with Cross again and Tanya was a scary person when she wasn’t happy. He knew it was only a matter of time until she figured it out. He never could hide things from her from long.

  But this time it was more important. He didn’t care what Tanya did to him, but right now he couldn’t contact Cross if he had to. He was totally tapped out. Even the hand he lifted to his head felt too heavy and he let it drop back to the mattress. Blood smeared on his arm where it had brushed against his face. When he looked down, he saw more blood on his shirt and even on the mattress.