by Tina Folsom
It was time. The guilt of keeping this secret from her was weighing heavily on him, particularly since they’d made love the night before. He’d been looking for an occasion to tell her the truth ever since, without having to worry about the weight of it crushing her and making her run from him. But now, after seeing how strong Winter was, he knew she would be able to handle the truth. Whether she could forgive him, he wasn’t sure, but as long as she didn’t run from him, he’d accept the consequences of his deception. Even if it meant she would never allow him to touch her again.
“Winter,” Logan said softly and looked across the open-space living area that connected to the kitchen. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
She met his gaze, her body rigid as if she already knew what was coming. “What is it?”
He reached her and took both her hands in his.
“Is it about what I did to Gabriel?” She shook her head, more tears brimming in her eyes. “I couldn’t control it, Logan, I felt like I was in somebody else’s body. It just happened. I didn’t mean to hurt your friend.”
Logan put a finger over her lips. “Shh. Don’t worry about Gabriel. He’s a big boy, and vampires heal faster than any creature I’ve ever met. Trust me, for him, it was just a scratch.”
She let out a mirthless laugh. “You say that so easily. But I feel terrible. I’ve never hurt anybody.”
“I believe that.” He brushed a strand of her silken hair from her face. “You were only defending yourself. It’s self-preservation.” He sighed. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. It’s about what I did. Or rather what I was supposed to do.”
She gave him a quizzical stare. “What do you mean?”
“I need to tell you why I came to your shop. Why—”
“But you already told me, to save me from the demons.”
His heart clenched. This would hurt, maybe him more than her, because she would lose faith in him and see him for what he really was.
“I was there to…”
Winter’s eyes widened, her lips parting. “Demon!” She pointed to a spot behind him and screamed, “Demon! Oh no!”
Logan spun around, pulling the dagger from inside his jacket, ready to slay any demon. When he laid eyes upon the intruder, however, he froze in mid-movement and a ragged breath tore from his chest.
“Shit!”
“Yeah, no shit, Logan!” Manus glared at him. “You really thought I wouldn’t find you?”
“Kill him, Logan, kill him before he kills us,” Winter cried out behind him.
Manus tilted his head a little to one side and glanced past him. “A bit bloodthirsty, your girlfriend. And where are your manners, buddy? Aren’t you gonna introduce us properly?”
“Shut up, Manus.” Logan suddenly felt Winter’s hand on his arm.
“You know his name?”
Logan put his dagger back into his jacket.
“What are you doing?” Winter asked, panic coloring her voice.
Logan turned to her. “He’s not a demon. He’s the same as me. He’s a Stealth Guardian.”
Winter stared at him in disbelief, then gazed past him to Manus, shaking her head. “That’s impossible.” She pointed to Manus. “I recognize him. He’s the one who tried to kill me in my apartment. He was with them. With the demons.”
“It’s the truth,” Logan said with a sigh.
“You let her believe I was a demon?” Manus threw in. “Not cool, bro, not cool at all.”
Logan glared over his shoulder. “You mind shutting up for a second?”
Manus shrugged.
“What is going on here?” Winter said, her voice even tenser than before, her eyes now scrutinizing Logan as well as his fellow guardian. “I’m not crazy. I know he was trying to kill me.”
Logan sighed. “He was.”
Winter shook her head in confusion. “But why, if it’s true what you say? If he is a Stealth Guardian.”
“Because I wasn’t able to do it.”
Winter shrank back from him, her eyes widening. Logan saw shock start to mingle with fear on her face. A breath rushed from her lungs. “What?”
Logan dropped his lids, unable to look her in the eye any longer. “That’s what I was about to tell you before Manus stormed in. I was ordered to kill you. That’s why I was in your shop. That’s why I came. But—”
“But what?” she spat. “You decided to screw me first? Is that it? And now that you got what you wanted, you’re gonna kill me? Or does your friend here get a turn first?”
“No!” Logan protested. “That’s not—”
“Way to go, Logan,” Manus interrupted. “You screwed her? Are you fucking nuts?”
“I said, shut up!” Logan yelled at his friend. “You’re not making this any easier.”
Manus cursed. “Fuck that! You know why I’m here. If you don’t do what you were ordered to, the council will get wind of it. You know what happens then. And I’ll be damned if I let my friend be tried for treason, because he couldn’t follow an order. Now, be smart, man. Finish the job and nobody needs to know what you did.”
“No! I won’t kill her. And if you lay one finger on her, I’m going to—”
“What? Kill me?”
“If it comes to that, yes. Winter is under my protection. If you want to kill her, you’ll have to kill me first.”
~ ~ ~
Stunned, Winter listened to the exchange between the two men. Logan was ready to fight his friend to protect her? That couldn’t be right. She had to have misheard, because only a few moments earlier he’d confessed that he’d been in her shop to kill her.
“Is she such a good lay?” Manus mocked.
“It has nothing to do with that. Winter is more valuable to us alive than dead. She’s the key to fighting the demons. Once the council realizes that, they’ll reverse their order of execution.”
Order of execution. Those words sent a chill down her spine and turned her blood to ice. A race she didn’t know existed until less than two days ago had decided to kill her. And she didn’t even know why.
“Why? Why do you want me dead?” she murmured. She met Manus’s eyes. “What have I done that’s so terrible that it warrants death?”
“It’s not what you’ve done, but what you will do,” Manus said and motioned to Logan. “Tell her, explain it to her. It’s your mission. It’s your mess to clean up.”
Logan cast her a long look. “Our ruling body, the Council of Nine, believes that you’re too weak to withstand the demons and will eventually give in to their demands.”
“Their demands?”
“To tell them everything you see about us in your visions. To become their seer so they can destroy us. And once they’ve destroyed us, they’ll have free rein over mankind. But I know you won’t do that. Because I’ve seen how strong you are. How good you are.”
“Bullshit,” Manus hissed. “Did you not read her file? She’s not strong enough. If she were, the council would have voted for us to protect her.”
Slowly, she tried to piece together what it all meant. “But I didn’t even know that I was a psychic. They didn’t even give me a chance to make my case.”
Her words were directed at Manus, but Logan answered instead. “That’s why I’m going to make it for you.”
“No, you won’t!” Manus griped. “You won’t even get that far. The moment they find out you let her live, you’ll be thrown into a lead cell to wait for your execution.”
Winter swallowed hard. Manus had said something about treason earlier. “Execution? They’ll kill him if he helps me?”
Logan glared at Manus. “Not another word.”
“And why not?” Manus replied. “You don’t want her to know what you’re risking for her?” Manus directed his gaze to her. “The punishment for treason is death. And by letting you live, he’s already committed treason. I’m giving him a chance to rectify this without the council having to find out. So, tell me, Winter, do you want to be responsib
le for Logan’s death?”
A sob worked its way up her throat and she slammed her hand over her mouth to stop it from escaping. Somebody would have to die, either she or Logan. Neither choice was acceptable. How could they be so cruel?
“You’re scaring her,” Logan said.
“None of this would have happened if you had slipped her the poison without her knowing. It would have been easy.” Manus jammed his finger into Logan’s chest. “You made it hard and painful. For all of us.” Then Manus’s eyes traveled to her, softening a little. “I’m sorry, lady, I wish I didn’t have to do this, but we have orders and somebody has to follow them.”
Fear choked off her ability to breathe, even though Manus wasn’t approaching her. Logan had clamped his hand over his fellow guardian’s arm. The two were staring at each other as if locked in a battle of wills.
“There’s another way,” Logan said.
“There’s no other way,” Manus said. “You should have never come to San Francisco. Anybody who knows you would know you’d seek help from Scanguards.”
“I had no choice. Winter needs help guiding and channeling her visions. Wesley is going to figure out a way to help her do that.”
“Wesley? Are you fucking crazy? If he knows that you and Winter are here, Virginia will find out.”
“You mean she would snitch on us, because of her relationship with Logan?” Winter asked, remembering that Logan had said they had history.
“Relationship?” Manus said and exchanged a look with Logan. “What the fuck?”
“I had to cover,” Logan said quickly.
“You mean you lied about that, too?” Winter asked. “Why?” Was anything he’d ever said to her the truth? Could she believe even a single word?
“Because Virginia sits on the Council of Nine, the council that determined your fate. If she finds out you’re here, the gig is up,” Logan said.
This time she couldn’t hold back the sob in her throat. It managed to escape and burst over her lips. “Oh, no.”
“Wesley won’t say anything to Virginia, he knows what’s at stake,” Logan assured her then looked back at Manus. “Wesley will help us. He’ll find something that will help us convince the council to change their vote.”
“You’re delusional,” Manus said. “Besides, your imminent problem isn’t convincing the council, it’s convincing me.”
“I was getting to that,” Logan said quickly. “You remember Gabriel?”
Manus nodded. “Ponytail, big scar, fangs, sure.”
“You might be aware of his gift of being able to access people’s memories.”
Manus shrugged. “Might have heard people talk about it. So what? The file didn’t say that she’s got memory issues.” He jerked his thumb toward Winter as if she wasn’t even there. And maybe in Manus’s mind she wasn’t, because to him she was marked for death.
“Wesley suggested asking Gabriel to try and access some of the visions that Winter has suppressed because they were too terrible to deal with. So that we could use any information we might glean from them to fight the demons more effectively.”
Manus raised an eyebrow, for the first time showing some interest. But Winter knew it would be dashed just as quickly. After all, Gabriel hadn’t even been able to get into her head. She didn’t know why Logan was bothering to tell Manus this when it would lead to nothing.
“So, what did he see? Anything of use?”
“He didn’t see anything,” Logan replied and paused.
“Well, great.” Manus’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “If this is your way of buying time, all you’re doing is pissing me off.”
“Then let me say it again: Gabriel saw nothing, because Gabriel couldn’t access Winter’s mind. She shut him out. She fought him with so much power that she burned his skin. Do you see it now, Manus?”
Manus’s gaze shot to her. His eyes bored into her as if he was looking for something.
“I didn’t mean to hurt him,” Winter said quickly.
Slowly Manus directed his eyes back to Logan. “So you think she’s strong enough to withstand a mental attack by the demons?”
“A mental attack? What does he mean?” Winter asked, a different kind of fear welling up in her.
“The demons first try to bring a human to their side by seducing them with their greatest desires: a loved one cured, a better career, money, anything really. They use their powers of suggestion and for that, they need to get into the person’s mind. If they can’t get in, they can’t seduce.”
She digested the words quickly. “They won’t be able to get into my head. If they try, the same thing will happen that happened to Gabriel.”
Logan nodded. “Exactly.”
Expectantly, she looked at Manus. Would he agree with their conclusion?
“I admit,” Manus said slowly, as if carefully weighing each word, “that this eliminates one method the demons could use to gain influence over you. But that doesn’t mean you’re safe. It doesn’t mean they won’t get you to do their bidding.”
“But I won’t—”
“Will you be able to stay strong if they drag you down to their lair in the Underworld and torture you until you’ll do anything to make the pain stop? Will you?”
Winter’s breath hitched. Her chest heaved, and her heart galloped. She had a low pain threshold. She would crack quickly.
“Didn’t think so.” Manus turned his head to Logan. “So unless you can convince the council that Winter can provide us with actionable intelligence on the demons, then you’ve got nothing.”
“Wesley is still working on figuring out how to guide Winter’s visions,” Logan said quickly.
“Then he’d better work quickly.”
Logan met Manus’s eyes. “Are you saying you’re giving me time to work this out?”
Manus mumbled something to himself. “I should be stabbed for saying this, but you’ve got twenty-four hours to take care of this mess. Either you kill her in that time and come back to the compound, or you go before the council and make your case. Don’t even think about going on the run again. We trained together. I will always find you no matter where you hide.”
Logan extended his hand. “Thank you, brother. I appreciate what you’re doing for me.”
“It had better be worth the risk.” He tossed a look at Winter, then pivoted, marched right through the door and disappeared.
20
Winter suddenly felt her knees buckle and braced herself on the backrest of the armchair she’d sought shelter behind when Manus had appeared in the apartment.
“Are you alright?” Logan asked and hurried toward her, but she lifted her hand to stop him.
“Don’t.”
She didn’t want to feel his arms around her now, not even to support her. He’d lied to her from the very start. He’d been there to kill her. It wasn’t something a girl could easily forgive and forget.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
His eyes shone with regret. “I was afraid you’d run from me. And I couldn’t risk that. It would have put you in danger. But after what I saw today, what happened with Gabriel, I felt you were ready to hear the truth.” He shrugged. “But then Manus beat me to it…”
She shook her head. “I’m not some brainless damsel from a 1950s movie who’s too stupid to know who keeps her safe. I wouldn’t have run. You could have told me earlier.”
The answer seemed to surprise him. “I should have known that.”
“You should have,” she murmured under her breath.
“I’m sorry.”
Well, at least he said all the right things. It was a start. But it didn’t change anything about the facts: Logan had been there to kill her.
“Your plan was to poison me. Why poison?”
He didn’t lift his lids when he answered, “Because it’s painless. We don’t let innocents suffer needlessly.”
She didn’t know whether she should consider it a mercy or not. Was it merciful to not even know that
death was coming?
“Why didn’t you do it?”
This time Logan did meet her eyes. “I witnessed one of your visions and realized what you were going through. You seemed so vulnerable. At first I thought maybe it would be a relief to end it for you, to end what you were going through.” She saw his Adam’s apple move. “So I handed you the glass of water.”
“The water,” Winter murmured, realizing now how close she’d been to drinking it. “But you spilled it. It wasn’t an accident, was it?”
He shook his head. “When we talked about your drawings, when I saw the things you’d seen in your visions, I couldn’t go through with it. I knew that if you were dead, it would be a loss to all of us, humans and Stealth Guardians alike. I knew you could help us.” He blinked his eyes shut for a short moment. “But there was also a selfish reason why I couldn’t let you drink the poison.”
Winter didn’t say anything, didn’t ask a question, just let him take the time he needed.
“When I first saw you, I imagined what it would have been like had we met in a bar or run into each other in a supermarket. I wondered whether…” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter now. We met the way we did. And I’m glad I defied the council’s order. You deserve to live.”
“You committed treason.”
He shrugged. “Manus can be very dramatic.”
“Dramatic, sure, but I don’t think he lied. By not killing me you’re risking your own life.”
“Maybe they’ll be lenient.”
“You don’t believe that.”
The look on his face confirmed her assumption.
“Well, I guess we have no choice now, do we?” she asked. “Either we prove to your council that my visions can help your race in the battle against the demons, or we both die.”
It didn’t help anybody to lament the fact that Logan had lied to her, had hidden his true purpose. She would deal with all that later. What mattered now was that Logan hadn’t executed his orders. He hadn’t executed her. She was still alive, and she wanted to stay alive.