Deep is the Night: Dark Fire

by Denise A. Agnew

  After ordering the nurse to arrange for the tests, the doctor left. She heard an urgent rush of questions, all of them in Lachlan’s brogue. Then the voices faded down the hallway and mild panic slipped into her.

  Lachlan!

  It’s all right. I won’t be far away.

  The assurance in his strong voice comforted her, and she realized, despite all the doubts she’d experienced before, she trusted him. She could get through more medical poking and prodding as long as she could see him and visit with Gilda soon.

  Her heart twisted, wishing she’d been more forceful and demanding to know Gilda’s condition in full. Guilt rushed through her. Tears stung her eyes as sharply as remorse filled her heart.

  If she’d gone upstairs earlier could she have saved Gilda from harm?

  * * * * *

  Redressed and sitting on the exam table, Erin gave the Dr. Majors a firm look and keep her voice determined. “If there’s nothing wrong with me, I’d like to see Gilda and then home.”

  He nodded. “We can’t find anything serious, so yes, you’re free to go. We’ll check on your friend and get back with you in a minute.”

  After he left the door swung open again almost immediately and Danny and Lachlan stepped into the room. Concern showed on their faces; Lachlan’s strong features showed strain and unhappiness. Danny’s gaze was determined, critical, and somehow possessive.

  Feeling teary, Erin smiled as best she could at them. “Hey, cheer up, guys. I’m almost good as new.”

  Lachlan’s features eased into a genuine smile, relief stark on his face. “Are you really all right?” He reached for her right hand and brought it up to his mouth. The touch of his lips against her fingers comforted her. “I know what the doctor said, but I’m worried.”

  “I’m fine.” She squeezed his fingers in appreciation. “And I want to go home. How is Gilda?”

  Danny spoke up. “She’s all right, but she’s very quiet and they’re worried about her mental state.”

  Erin frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Lachlan and Danny stayed silent long enough, their grave expressions sending worry straight through her like a dagger. “What’s wrong with her?”

  Lachlan shrugged, but he kept his grip on her hand. “She’s acting as if nothing really happened.”

  Erin pulled her hand from Lachlan’s and covered her eyes. “I knew something happened to her.”

  Danny cleared his throat. “Like you she doesn’t have any serious injuries. A few small bruises they say.”

  Grateful for at least that much, Erin dropped her hands away, knowing she couldn’t hide behind a barrier forever.

  Had Gilda been raped? The horrible thought ripped through Erin like lightning. Her stomach lurched and her heart pounded with renewed dread. She felt a darkness lurking, even here in the glaring lights of the hospital. Nowhere felt safe anymore. The throbbing started in her head again. She winced.

  Danny placed a proprietary hand on her left shoulder. “We were very worried when we got the 911 call.” He gestured to Lachlan. “He called it in and we rushed the ambulance over. I’ve got some questions for you about what happened. Do you feel up to it?”

  “I think she should rest first,” Lachlan said, his voice rough around the edges.

  She noticed for the first time the small bruise on the left side of Lachlan’s jaw. “Lachlan, what happened to you?”

  “Came in contact with the bastard trying to hurt you.” His brogue emerged, thick with emotion. “He took a swing at me and connected.”

  “Got away, too,” Danny said in an accusatory tone.

  “If Lachlan hadn’t of showed up, I don’t know what would have happened.” Tears threatened, but she forced them back. She took a shuddering breath. “Let’s not start a blame game.”

  Danny wasn’t ready to back down one hundred percent from his obvious dislike for Lachlan.

  Erin saw Lachlan’s eyes narrow. “I’ll be with her from now on.”

  “That’s up to her.” Danny’s tone held reason and calm seasoned with a coolness Erin found disconcerting.

  Erin held up her hands. “I’m not staying with anyone. I wish you’d stop talking about me like I wasn’t here. I’m going home.” When they spoke at once, she put up her hands again. “I really appreciate your concern.” Tears spilled over and fell on her cheeks despite her efforts to keep them inside. “I don’t want you to think I don’t appreciate it.”

  Danny squeezed her shoulder. “Erin, we can put you in protective custody—”

  “I can protect her.”

  Erin tensed when she saw the muscle twitching in Lachlan’s jaw and the anger building in his intense eyes.

  Danny bristled. “She needs police protection, not some foreign—”

  “I swear to God, Fortesque—” Lachlan started.

  “Stop it,” Erin said. “Both of you stop it.”

  Danny kept his intense stare pinned to Lachlan. “I ought to have you arrested for obstruction.”

  Lachlan’s voice came out a harsh whisper. “You could try.”

  Tense silence filled the room, and the stress of the last day built inside Erin. She couldn’t believe how weepy she felt and how much she wanted to sleep. “Cut it out. I don’t need two testosterone overloaded males playing games over me.”

  “I must question you about the attack.” Danny glared at Lachlan once again, and Lachlan’s returning glower seemed to say he would rumble anytime Danny wanted a fight. “Without anyone else in the room.”

  “Erin?” Lachlan’s voice rumbled over her ears. “I’ll stay if you wish.”

  His protectiveness made her feel safe and, if she admitted it, loved. She attempted a weak smile. “I’m fine.”

  Lachlan headed for the door. “I’ll be outside if you need me.”

  “She’ll be fine with me, Tavish.” Danny’s sour expression disappeared once Lachlan stepped out the door. “How are you really, Erin?”

  “If one more person asks me, I’ll probably scream.” She tossed a half-ticked look his way. “I’m not porcelain you know.”

  He frowned and shifted from one foot to the other. “I know. I just don’t want that man near you any more than necessary.”

  Anger poured into her, and she almost left the room right then. “That man? You mean Lachlan?”

  “Right.” He slipped into a horrible attempt at a Scottish accent. “My poor wee lass and all.” He went back to his normal voice. “He wouldn’t be separated from you even when the paramedics asked him not to get in the ambulance. I thought I was going to have to arrest him. He said something about having to be with you to protect you. Maybe it’s him you require shielding from.”

  “Lachlan wouldn’t hurt me. I know that much.”

  “How can you be sure?” Danny’s perturbed expression extended to her and not just the Scot he loved to hate. “Could you see who attacked you?”

  Uncomfortable with this fact, she cleared her throat. “No.”

  “Then do me a favor, darlin’, and consider the possibility that until this investigation is over, you should stay safe somewhere. Maybe you should get out of town. Go back to Arizona for awhile.”

  She shook her head. “No way. I’m not going back to Arizona any time soon. My family would drive me bonkers.”

  ‘But you’d be safe.”

  “At this point I’d rather be in danger than put up with my parent’s anxiety. My mother already called me and asked why I hadn’t come home yet after these murders. If she hears about this, she’ll pop a cork.”

  Danny stepped closer, and she tensed. “All right. Then at least stay with Gilda and Tom until we catch this bastard.”

  She sighed. “You just don’t get it, do you? You think the answer is for all women to alter their lifestyles and cloister away?”

  “No. Look, Erin, about this morning when I kissed you—”

  “Let’s not talk about that now. Stick with the investigation. I meant what I said about reporting you, Danny. I don�
�t want that kind of relationship with you.”

  His gaze possessed equal parts longing and exasperation as he picked up a notebook he’d put on a table earlier. “I know this is difficult, but I have to know what happened in detail. As long as it takes, I need to know.”

  Erin couldn’t tell him what she’d felt and heard when she couldn’t be certain herself. She scraped her hair back from her face, wishing she had a comb right now. The repetitive motion of smoothing her tangled hair would have soothed her nerves. In this impersonal examining room, she didn’t feel comfortable. It felt as though a million eyes watched her.

  “Erin?”

  “There’s a lot I don’t remember.” In halting sentences she gave details without alerting him to the odd things that occurred.

  He sighed and the piss and vinegar drained from him for the moment. “Erin, can you do me a favor?”

  His request surprised her, but the sincere sadness in his eyes made her realize that whatever he asked he didn’t do it lightly. “All right.”

  “Gilda isn’t saying much about her attack, but I think she’s been…” He inhaled deeply. “That the madman raped her.”

  Erin went still, her mind attempting to wrap around the horrible concept. “Oh, God.”

  “Yeah. Did…” He swallowed hard and perused the floor as if it held answers to the universe. “Did the attacker rape you? If he did, I swear to God I’ll hunt him down and—”

  “No.” She stood, her legs steady. “No.”

  Danny’s frown went harsh. “Tell me the truth, Erin. Did Lachlan Tavish have anything to do with this? If you’re protecting him—”

  “How dare you? How dare you even think that if he had hurt Gilda or me that I’d shelter him from arrest?” When he simply stared at her, she decided to say the one thing she couldn’t have admitted before tonight. “Whoever it was…wasn’t human.”

  “What?”

  “I couldn’t see him, Danny. Whoever had me in his grip was almost invisible. At first he was a shadow, then he faded until I couldn’t see him. All I could feel was his grip. He was so strong.”

  Danny’s officious demeanor dissolved a bit as he came a little closer. He let his pencil and pad hang at his side. “The Chief believes in the supernatural, if you can believe that. But I don’t know if he’s going to believe in the invisible man.”

  She shrugged. “Then what will you tell him? That I’ve lost my mind?”

  “Of course not.”

  Silence covered the room for a minute before she spoke. “What about the other women? Were they raped?”

  “Neither the jogger or Mrs. Pickles showed signs of sexual assault or rape.” He lowered his voice, then took a glance at the closed door. “Jessie Huxley is another story. The medical examiner said she’d had sex not long before the murder. Consensual sex.”

  “Where did they find her again?”

  “In the bushes near her home.” Silence hovered in the room like a beast until Danny spoke again. “Tell me the rest of what you recall.”

  “I heard a man’s laugh a couple of times while I was still downstairs, but I never saw anyone.”

  Danny studied his notepad, then pulled up a stool. As he sank onto the stool he scribbled notes with a pen. “Like a ghost.”

  “I’m not saying it was a ghost I heard or a ghost that attacked me. But the laugh was the only sound I heard that indicated someone else might be in the building besides Gilda and I. I knew it wasn’t Fred because he was in his office. By the way, is Fred all right?”

  Danny’s mouth quirked to one side. “Yes. He never heard a thing because he had his classical music turned up in his office.” As he scrawled new notes, the cop’s tone implied something undesirable about a man listening to classical music in the first place. “A lot of good it did you and Gilda having him there.”

  “You can’t blame Fred for what happened. He had no way of knowing.”

  No one could have guessed at the strangeness of this evening or the invisible entity that attacked Gilda and her.

  Then she remembered that Danny called the attacker “whatever.” “Danny, are you saying you think whoever attacked me and Gilda was otherworldly?”

  He laughed, the sound unforgiving and not the least convinced. “I think your attacker was the man who jumped that jogger and murdered Mrs. Pickles and Jessie Huxley. You were damned lucky he didn’t accomplish what he set out to do.”

  Once he finished his questioning, he clasped her shoulder in a gentle hold. His voice held more of that icy edge she’d heard moments ago. Danny allowed his hand to slip down her arm until he clasped her hand in a proprietary gesture. “You aren’t going to let that Tavish guy bully you into staying with him, are you?”

  “I’m going to see Gilda and then go home.” She headed for the door with him following close behind. “And no one is going to argue with me anymore about it.”

  Danny hooked his thumbs in his wide leather holster belt as he followed her out the door. “You need protection. You don’t know when the bastard might try something again.”

  Before she thought much about what she said, the words blurted. “You can’t protect me.”

  “What? Why not?”

  Could he handle the truth? “Maybe there is something strange going on in Pine Forest. Something evil and new. And if that’s the case, how could you protect me from something supernatural?” He held his thoughts in check, and she waited. When he continued his silence, she spoke. “You can’t keep me safe from something you can’t see.”

  Before Danny could ask any further questions, Lachlan walked toward them. Lachlan’s gaze locked with hers as he approached. He wants you, lass, but I want you more. And you desire me.

  His thoughts whispered into her mind like flowing water, smooth and cool. Tension eased in her mind for the moment, calmed by Lachlan’s presence and the soothing quality of his mind communication.

  Time seemed to slow, just as Lachlan’s approach crawled. The air around her thickened, her thoughts and feelings captured for a microsecond that stretched into infinity. Captured in his gaze, she couldn’t move. Didn’t want to move.

  Then the lengthy languor snapped, and time lurched back into normalcy.

  When he arrived in front of them Lachlan said, “Fortesque was right earlier. You need protection.”

  “Glad you’re seeing things my way, Tavish.”

  Lachlan formed a sarcastic smile, but said nothing. Danny stuffed his thumbs in his belt again and puffed out his chest.

  Erin stepped between them. “I won’t have you overgrown boys fighting over who is going to be my bodyguard.”

  Lachlan’s sense of humor resurfaced as he smiled and backed away one step. “All I want is for you to be safe, Erin. If that means under police protection, so be it.”

  His attitude surprised her, but Lachlan’s acquiesce melted a little of Danny’s bluster.

  “I want to see Gilda,” she said.

  “They’ve given her a sedative and said she’ll sleep through the night. Tom’s with her and they said no more visitors tonight,” Lachlan said.

  Erin decided maybe it was for the best. If she could go home and be alone to think over the strange events of the evening, maybe she could find some peace in her heart. Her belief system had taken a serious beating. Time to regroup. Then her gaze meshed with Lachlan’s, and she knew she wouldn’t feel safe unless he stayed with her. Her worry about his possible deceptions vanished under the wave of protection she felt coming from him.

  Trust me. His voice whispered to her with concern and a seduction she couldn’t resist.

  She allowed her mind to reach out to his. I think I do. “I’m going home, but Lachlan is staying with me.”

  Danny’s chagrinned expression didn’t bother Erin. “If you think that’s the wise thing to do.”

  She nodded and ignored his dismay. “Yes. It is.”

  Without another word, Danny turned and left.

  Lachlan watched the cop for a few seconds before say
ing, “He’s like a dog panting at your heels, lass. It’s disgusting.”

  The amused tone overlaying his annoyance made Erin smile. Tears threatening her eyes moments before abated. “And what would you call your relentless attention?”

  His gaze searched hers. “Can we talk about this somewhere else? After I’ve taken you home?” He pressed her shoulder with gentle comfort. “You’ve been hurt, you’re exhausted, and it’ll drive me insane if I can’t keep you safe.”

  “All right.” Profound sadness welled anew inside her. “Are you reading my mind this time?”

  “Lucky guess.”

  She took a big breath and tried to resurrect her courage. “Danny suspects Gilda’s been raped.” Lachlan slipped his arm around her, and warmth bathed and comforted her frazzled senses. “If he thinks she was sexually assaulted or raped, why doesn’t he think that about me?”

  He pulled her closer to his side. “You weren’t alone with the attacker long, and apparently Gilda said something during his questioning that makes him believe she was raped.” Silence hung between them a moment before he spoke again. “I know who attacked her.”

  She pulled back from him. “And you haven’t told Danny?”

  Lachlan’s hands went up in entreaty. “Wait until we’ve left the hospital and I have time to explain.”

  She crossed her arms and felt a cold shiver start at her back and work its way up. “Just the way you promised to explain your glowing eyes?”

  Although she kept her tone low, he appeared afraid others would hear. “This time, I will explain.” He reached up and brushed a piece of her hair from her cheek and that tiny touch sent new lightning into her system. “For your safety.”

  Lachlan kept his arm around her waist as they exited the hospital, as if afraid she might fall over any moment. Fatigue threatened her, and her body started to feel a little sore. The relentless throb in her head had disappeared.

  You’re weary, lass. We’ll be home soon.

  Home?

  To your house.