by Rivi Jacks
“I… need to talk to him about some things,” I murmur, looking down at my hands in my lap.
“And what might that be?”
I look up at him. “Um… I’m… not comfortable talking to you about this.”
Max gives me a long look. Whatever he sees causes him to lean back in his chair and interlock his fingers across his stomach as if he’s willing to wait me out. “I cannot tell you anything unless you explain a little more.”
I look down again. “I need to tell him it doesn’t matter, any of this other—” I swallow. “I should have told Lucas my feelings for him, but all along I’ve known he was keeping something from me. It made me apprehensive. I thought maybe he was married—or something like that.” Geez! I feel my face heat with my confession. I steal a peek at Max and see a smile trying to sneak out of him.
“Tonight… I figured out… what his secret is,” I whisper, knowing Max is certainly the same as Lucas.
“And do you?” Max asks gently.
“Do I?” I look up at him.
“Love him?”
My eyes fill with tears. “With all my heart.” He hands me a tissue, and I feel him watching as I compose myself.
Max’s voice is thoughtful as he says, “I’ve never known Lucas to care for someone as he does you. I know he does not want me to tell you he has gone to Impulse.” I sit forward in my chair. “He left with Dominic and Quanah.”
“Did he say anything—I mean—why did he feel the need to leave me?”
Max smiles gently. “I don’t think he has left you, but you will need to talk to him about that. I’ve already said more than I should.”
I nod. “Okay. Thank you, Max,” I say as I stand and head for the door.
“Miss Sofie—”
I stop, turning back.
“You cannot go to Impulse at this hour.” I open my mouth to argue with him. “Impulse is closed,” he continues. “It is three in the morning.”
“But if Lucas is there—”
“I cannot let you go out at this time of night,” he states firmly. “Lucas would be furious with both of us.” He pauses. “And they might be gone.”
Or—he might be with someone. That thought makes me want to throw up. I swallow convulsively.
Max must see the anguish on my face because he comes to stand by me, putting his hand on my shoulder. “You need to rest. Lucas will probably be here when you wake.”
I nod not trusting my voice, praying Max is right.
I head straight back to the bedroom half-expecting Sawyer to still be there, but he’s left. I hurriedly ready myself for bed and crawl in. So much has happened in the last three days. It’s as if one crisis is taken care of, and another starts up where the last one ends.
I need Lucas here with me. Now. Why would he leave me to deal with this by myself? Maybe he’s mad at me, it does seem as though I’m able to anger him easily.
I try to remain calm, telling myself I’m ridiculous letting old insecurities get the best of me. But I can’t stop worrying about Lucas. I finally fall into an exhausted sleep.
Chapter Two
The sun shining brightly through the wall of windows wakes me around eleven. I stretch and rub the area over my heart, wondering why I have an ache. I sit up abruptly looking around the room, but there’s no evident sign of Lucas having been here during the night. I smooth my hand over his pillow, realizing it’s our first night to sleep apart since I started staying here. Of course, at first, it was just sleeping. Okay, I can’t start thinking about that, or I’ll darken my day before I’m even out of bed. I jump up and hurry to the bathroom. After I quickly throw on some clothes, I brush my hair up into a ponytail.
“Damn,” I swear, noticing how puffy my eyes look from lack of sleep.
I check my phone. There’s nothing from Lucas, only a text from Sawyer asking me to call him. Leaving the bedroom, I look into Lucas’ study to find it empty. There’s no Hummer or any other vehicle but my Jeep parked out front. I guess Lars Aasen has left.
I head to the kitchen to find Max sitting at the table, looking up as I walk in.
“Have you heard anything?” I ask hopefully. Max shakes his head slightly. I think I see pity in his eyes.
“Would you like breakfast?” He asks as he stands.
The back door to the sunroom opens, and I see a couple of the Guard coming in. “No thank you,” I reply as I back up, turning to leave the kitchen. I don’t want to see anyone else right now.
Returning to the bedroom, I decide to shower, taking my time to dress and then drying my hair. The hurt and confusion I felt last night is starting to dissipate, replaced by quiet resolve. I make up my mind, one way or the other, Lucas is going to talk to me. Today.
It’s getting harder and harder to keep the image of Quanah, in vampire mode, out of my head. And to make matters worse, I’m starting to superimpose Lucas’ face over Quanah’s, trying to imagine what he looks like with fangs.
The house is silent as I head back to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. Max is gone, but he’s left me a note stuck to the coffee pot. He’s gone for the day, and at the bottom of the note he’s added, Be patient.
Well, the thing is—I’m not a wait-see kind of girl. Lucas left, not saying a word to me and stayed gone all night, presumably at a bar. A girl could interpret that in one of many ways.
I take my coffee and a croissant back to the bedroom and sit on the couch, grabbing up the phone to call Diane.
I pick Di up, and we’re on the road to Impulse by two in the afternoon. I’ve seen cars there before at this time of day, even Lucas’ Hummer.
I give Diane a quick rundown of the night before. She’s already heard my Uncle Jake’s version. Of course, I say nothing of vampires. I’m starting to wonder if Jake even knows. I mean, he’s known for years about his best friend Nick being a re-born, but that doesn’t mean he’s aware of the fact that there are vampires. Well, if he doesn’t know, he will soon. I can’t imagine Sawyer not telling him and Sam. Being twins, Sawyer and Sam are extremely close, and there’s little the three of us keep from our uncle, Jake.
There are a few cars in the parking lot of the nightclub, but Lucas’ black Hummer is not one of them. Dominic, who owns the club, is Lucas’ good friend and his Porsche sits in its reserved spot.
After parking the Jeep, I look over at Diane. “Thanks for coming with me.”
She reaches over and rubs my shoulder. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Am I? “Yes. I am.” I pull on the door handle. “Please—just don’t say anything to Jake.” I know I put Diane in an awkward position, asking her to keep secrets from my uncle whom she’s been dating for several months now. But I also know that Jake realizes my friendship with Diane came first. We’ve been best friends since kindergarten, and we can’t just turn that part of our relationship off.
“I would never say anything.”
I smile. “I know you wouldn’t. Thank you.”
“Besides,” she adds, “Jake says he doesn’t want to know what we’re up to most of the time.”
I laugh. “Jake told you that?”
“Yeah, he did.” She smiles, flashing her dimples. Diane’s a beautiful girl with long brown hair and big cornflower blue eyes. We’re both similar in stature—that being short—and I love her dearly. She is as sweet as they come.
“Let’s do this,” I say.
Walking across the parking lot, I suddenly remember Lucas revealing he’s had a bodyguard following me for a while now. I glance about, but I don’t see anyone lurking in the shadows.
We walk right into the bar. There’s no security, and the front door is unlocked. We have to stand for a moment after stepping inside though, to let our eyes adjust to the change in light.
“We’re closed girlies
!” A man yells at us from behind the bar as we enter the main room. A woman is sitting at the bar too, but neither she nor the barkeep glances our way.
“Come on,” I say to Diane as I lead the way across the room.
“What do you want?” The same man asks, a little grumpily this time without looking up as he wipes down the bar top.
“I’d like to speak to Dominic, please,” I say politely.
“I just bet you would,” he grumbles right back.
This guy is day staff, so he probably wasn’t here the night I came with Lucas. “Please—if you would just tell Dominic that Sofie is here to speak to him,” I ask.
The woman sitting at the bar laughs and then turns on her stool to look at us, her startled gaze settling on me. “Gus,” she says softly.
The man looks up then, and I see his eyes widen in surprise. I sigh inwardly, irritated, once again, that I have some type of mark on me that only supernatural can see. Lucas’ mark. It was purely an accident the way it happened—a little exchange of blood— but I know Lucas doesn’t regret it happening.
The bartender leans forward with his hands braced on the bar top. “I’m sorry,” he says in a politer tone of voice. “I can’t do that. He left no word that he was expecting anyone.”
“Look,” Diane says as she steps up close to the bar, across from the man. “We’ve driven in from out of town, and if you would be so kind as to inform Dominic that Sofia Reece is here, he will want to know, and I guarantee he won’t like it if you fail to tell him.”
Diane can be a little pistol when she wants to be.
“He’s not here,” the man says.
“His car is,” I reply.
He eyes me speculatively for a moment, and I see the thought process going on behind his eyes. He’s wondering how much he should tell me. He shrugs. “He left.” I exchange a glance with Diane. “I’m sorry, I’m just following orders,” he adds.
“Do you know when he’ll be back?” I ask, my mood sinking with disappointment. No Dominic—no Lucas.
“No.”
“Is Quanah here?”
The man gives me a thoughtful look. “I’ll let Dominic know you were here when he returns.”
“Thank you,” Diane says linking her arm with mine as we turn to leave. I feel totally disheartened.
“You got a number for him?” The guys voice has attitude once again.
I don’t want to give this guy my phone number, especially since his question is plainly stating that I should be calling Dominic directly. Diane must think the same thing because she says, “He has her number.” Then she pulls on my arm, and we hurry from the building.
We sit in the parking lot for several minutes, but Lucas doesn’t return. No sign of Dominic or Quanah either. I’m certain the three of them are together.
“Why didn’t you ask if Dominic was with Lucas?” Diane asks.
“I’m… not sure.” I shrug. “I just felt like…” I sigh. “It would have been one thing just being in there asking for Dominic but…” I can’t tell Diane that I have an invisible vampire brand on my forehead—or wherever it is. “I think that guy knew I was looking for Lucas, and I was embarrassed. Like I’m stalking him or something,” I murmur.
“It doesn’t matter what that guy thinks,” Diane says. “You are not stalking, and frankly, I’m irritated at Lucas for putting you in this position.” I nod in agreement, not wanting to discuss it any further and thankful Diane lets it go.
As we drive back to Sweetwater, I’m anxious thinking Lucas might be back home, and he’ll leave before I get there. But I’m sure he would have called if he were. And why hasn’t he called me? Of course, I’ve not called him either. I don’t want to add the humiliation of him maybe not answering my call. Besides, what I have to say to him needs to be said in person, and I need to see his eyes.
“Sofie, try not to worry too much,” Diane says as I drop her off at her house.
“I just wish I knew why he left and what’s going on with him.”
“I’m sure he’ll be home tonight if he’s not there already,” she says, trying to sound reassuring.
“I hope you’re right,” I murmur.
Sawyer calls right after I leave Diane’s and asks me to come by the Shotgun Shack, so I make a detour on my way home. I think of Lucas’ home that way now. They always say, “Home Is Where Your Heart Is,” and my heart definitely resides in that house on the hill.
I pull into the first driveway to my Aunt Pat’s place. Her homeplace is another farm generated from the original homestead that my great grandparents farmed. When my aunt married Ken Walker, an extremely distant cousin (so no ickiness involved there), this farm was their wedding present. All of my grandparent’s children received land. Of course, my mom never wanted to live on any of it. Right after high school, she married my father and left, never to return except for infrequent visits where they stayed just long enough to drop off another present for me. I think the gifts they brought made them feel better.
I drive the narrow path back to the old milk barn that my cousins have converted into a private bar. It’s a place for friends and family to party—and we do.
I’m surprised to see Taylor’s truck parked beside Sawyer’s Jeep, and my first inclination is to run inside and drag information about Lucas out of Taylor. However, I’ve done enough chasing for one day. I’m starting to regret that little trip Diane and I made to Impulse.
Both Taylor and Sawyer are at the bar when I walk in.
“Sofie!” Sawyer greets as Taylor turns to give me one of his killer smiles.
“Hey.” I sit on the stool beside Taylor.
“How are you?” he asks casually, but he looks at me intently.
“I’m… fine, and you?” Okay. Something’s going on here. “What’s up?”
“How about a shot of Tequila or a beer?” Sawyer offers from behind the bar.
“A beer sounds good.” I keep my gaze locked on Taylor’s. Sawyer opens the old icebox that sits near the bar, pulling out an ice-cold bottle to set before me.
“What did you do today, Sofie?” Taylor asks. I flush slightly, pretty sure that he knows what I did. Oh, this is going to be so embarrassing. I should have been patient as Max suggested.
“Not much,” I murmur.
Taylor smiles gently and tips his beer up, setting the empty bottle back on the bar. “Well, I have an errand to run,” he says as he stands.
What?
“It was good seeing you, Sofie. Sawyer—I’ll be back late tomorrow afternoon if you still want to ride with me to check out that truck.” He takes his coat off the back of the chair and slips it on.
What the hell? He’s leaving? I glance at Sawyer who’s looking down at his phone.
“Sofie,” Taylor murmurs, pulling my attention back to him. “Are you okay?” His beautiful brown eyes search mine. Taylor is one handsome package, and I so want to pounce on him and demand information about Lucas.
“Do you mean am I okay with the fact that there are not only werewolves,” I raise an eyebrow at him, “but vampires too?”
He laughs out loud.
I just recently discovered that Taylor is a werewolf and now I have to wrap my head around my boyfriend being a vampire. A girl could find herself mighty stressed having to deal with all these supernatural details.
“Yeah, that’s what I mean.” He grins, his eyes sparkling. Taylor seems to think I’m funny, laughing at me often, or maybe he just thinks I’m a dork. I’ve not figured it out yet.
“I’m okay.” At least I will be once I talk to Lucas. I feel my chest tighten with emotion.
“I knew you would be. Well, take care.”
“You too,” I tell him as he takes his leave.
Sawyer is now talking to someone on his cell, an
d it suddenly dawns on me what Taylor said. He knew I would be. Does that mean he discussed my finding out about Lucas—with Lucas?
“Sawyer!” I hiss loudly as I shrug into my coat. “I need to go,” I tell him when he looks up. He holds up a finger, as in wait. “Hey hold on.” Sawyer puts the phone against his chest. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Taylor wanted me to call and have you stop by. I figured something was up.”
I frown slightly. “Is that right?”
Sawyer grins.
“Okay, I need to go. I’ll talk to you later.” I walk around the bar and give him a quick hug. I feel better than I have all day.
I look back to give him a wave at the door. He gives me a quick nod, already back to his phone call with some girl, no doubt.
As I get into my Jeep, I smile. Lucas sent Taylor to check on me.
The guard waves me through the gate, and I drive on, parking in front of the house. Lucas’ Hummer is still absent. As I get out of the Jeep, I hear a pounding noise as if someone’s using a hammer. Several hammers. The sound seems to be coming from up the hill beyond the arena area. I heard the noise when I left earlier too, but I didn’t think too much about it as there is always some kind of construction noise going on inside the compound.
The house is quiet as I let myself in. Lucas’ study door is open, but the room is dark. I drop my coat off in the bedroom and head for the kitchen where I check the answering machine and caller ID. Nothing. I would feel truly abandoned except for the fact that I know Lucas sent Taylor to make sure I was okay.
I walk back to the bedroom and sit on the couch watching the flames in the fireplace.
Old insecurities haunt me as I contemplate why Lucas has left me like this. He promised he wouldn’t. I stand abruptly. Okay, I’m not going to do this. I pace restlessly around the room, wondering if maybe I should just go home. My home. I know I don’t really want to do that, though. At least not until I talk to Lucas. What if he’s decided he doesn’t want me anymore, and that’s why he left, to give me time to move out. I can’t believe that. Not after what we’ve shared this past week. I’m missing something here.