Summers' Shadow (Hunters Trilogy Book 2)

by Sara J. Bernhardt

  I turned for a moment, staring out her window at the thick layer of clouds, admiring their graceful movement.

  “Why were you covered in blood but not cut?”

  I locked my eyes on her, being torn almost violently out of the calm state the sight of the gray sky was pulling me into. “As you know, I came in simply because I wanted to protect you. The crazy thing is, Rudy and Eric both thought that the blood was from the garden rake. They came at me instantly as soon as they saw me. The blood wasn’t mine, Jane.”

  I saw her choke up. “What?”

  “One of them found me,” I continued, “one of The Sevren, a lower ranked member than myself. He was going to turn me over to one of the leaders…and he was going to kill you. I had to protect you!”

  “So…”

  I hesitated briefly. “I killed him, yes,” I said, wishing it wasn’t the truth, “with his own knife. I placed the body in front of the alter when I returned to the clearing.”

  “Which is why you were covered in blood?”

  “Exactly. If they find out I killed him, which they probably already know, then they are looking for me.”

  I noticed she was trembling, so I gently started running my fingers through her hair. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” she said. “Worried.”

  “I know. But nothing is going to happen to you.”

  I grasped a lock of her hair and smiled, trying to lighten the mood by saying something. “Your hair has gold in it.”

  “Does it?”

  “Jane, why don’t you ever say what is in your head?”

  “I do.”

  “I don’t believe that.”

  “I’m…honest. Most of the time.”

  “Is that really what you were just thinking?”

  She sighed. “No.”

  “Didn’t think so,” I mumbled. I may not be able to read minds, but I usually can tell when somebody is hiding something.

  “I thought you couldn’t read me.”

  I laughed. “I can’t. But I can tell when you are saying something you are not thinking.”

  “I sometimes don’t even know what I’m thinking or what I’m supposed to be thinking.”

  “Now that was the truth.”

  “How about another truth?”

  I nodded.

  “I’m scared.”

  “Of me?”

  She shook her head mechanically. “I was telling the truth when I said I wasn’t afraid of you.”

  “Do you trust me?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “If you had to choose to trust me or not, would you?”

  “If I had a choice, Aidan, probably not.”

  “That’s probably best.”

  She paused for a long moment, and I could tell she wanted to say something. I looked away from her—I meant to. I didn’t want my gaze to force words from her if she wished not to say them.

  “But…” she choked out.

  I waited anxiously, bringing my eyes back to hers.

  “But…I love you.”

  My heart skipped a beat, and my insides felt like they were shaking. I realized when she said it that I already knew. It shouldn’t have surprised me the way that it did. I felt blessed in that moment. I felt that I could never deserve her love, and I owed it to her now more than ever to protect her.

  “I know,” I answered, trying not to show my surprise. I wanted to keep things calm. “I’ve known that.”

  I could see her face fall in a look of relief. “Still,” she started. “It feels good to say it.”

  “Feels good to hear it,” I answered. “I told you that I need you, Jane. That in itself should have told you that I love you.”

  “You love me?”

  “Of course. I thought you knew. That is why I always wanted to be close to you since the first day I met you.”

  She tried to smile, but she was a terrible liar. “This complicates things.”

  “Actually, it may make things easier.”

  “How?”

  “Love is strong,” I said. “It gives speed.” I wasn’t sure if I believed it, but it felt good to pretend.

  Her face was a collage of hidden thoughts and unfamiliar expressions. I had no idea what was going through her mind. She exhaled slowly.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “Why do you always ask me that?”

  “Because you’re one of the few who baffle me when you’re in thought,” I said, smiling.

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not thinking about anything.”

  “Huh.” I smiled at her sweetly and shook my head.

  She moved closer and leaned in to kiss me, but before our lips met, we were interrupted by a knock on the door.

  “Should I?”

  I could almost feel the panic in her voice.

  I nodded. “It’s all right. It’s safe.”

  She walked out of the room slowly as if she was expecting someone or something to be waiting for her around the corner. It made me sick to know that her fears weren’t without warrant.

  I heard the door open, and Becky’s chipper voice fill my ears.

  “Hey!”

  I couldn’t hear Jane’s quiet response.

  “You okay?”

  Another pause.

  “What are you doing?”

  I was straining to listen, and I walked toward the door of her bedroom to get a little bit closer.

  “I’m a little busy,” Jane said.

  Becky giggled quietly. “Is Aidan here?”

  “Uh…yeah.”

  She didn’t seem interested.

  “You won’t believe who I’ve spent the past three nights with. Aaron. You know, he’s actually kind of cool.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Oh…right…busy.”

  “Shut up,” she laughed. “It isn’t like that.”

  “Telling me it isn’t like that when I didn’t say it was ‘like’ anything means it’s totally like that.” Becky chuckled back.

  “Right.”

  “Okay, well, I’ll leave you to it, but you are coming to opening night, yes?”

  “Opening night?”

  I didn’t bother listening to the rest of Becky’s blabber about her play. I wasn’t interested. I also felt ridiculous for ever seeing Aaron Raines as a threat.

  I parted the curtains and stole a glance out to the yard below, spotting Becky’s truck parked haphazardly in the driveway. Within moments, she was scurrying along the walkway toward the driver’s side.

  I turned to see Jane in the doorway. “Becky?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. She reminded me about her play coming up. I’d…love for you to come.”

  I smiled while inwardly cringing at the thought of having to sit through it. “Sure. So what does she think about…us?”

  “I told her it isn’t like that, but she doesn’t believe me.”

  I frowned. “Well…isn’t it sort of…err…like that?”

  She shrugged. “I’m not sure. I guess so.”

  I chuckled lightly and turned away, noticing a picture on Jane’s dresser. The face caught my eye, but I couldn’t figure out why. I knew him—that I was sure of. My smile fell. It didn’t take long for me to realize he was the face of all of my victims. He was Daniel Callahan. It all became so real in that moment, so painfully real.

  “Aidan?” I heard Jane question.

  I wanted to be sure—I wanted to hear it from her. “Wh—who…?” I cleared my throat, trying to stay composed. “Who is this?” my voice forced out.

  “Who do you think?” She walked up beside me, staring at me and pointing at the picture. “It’s Danny.”

  “Short for Daniel, right?”

  She nodded, looking puzzled again.

  I cleared my throat again. “Oh, of course.”

  “What is it?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s nothing,�
�� I said, finally able to keep my voice even. I smiled at her. “He just reminds me of someone. Never mind.”

  She knew I was hiding something from her, of course, but she let it go. I wanted to shatter the picture frame and tear the image to shreds as if it would make the memories disappear. I continuously glanced at the picture even late that night in the dark. It was making me insane. I felt Jane stir and move closer into my chest.

  “Did I wake you?” I whispered.

  I felt her shake her head against me.

  I softly kissed the top of her head. “Have happy dreams, love.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Are you going to school?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “No. But…I think you should.”

  “I’m not going without you.”

  “It’s safe. You should go,” I said, which was true.

  She shook her head.

  “Will you go if I come with you?”

  She nodded softly.

  “All right. Let me get home really fast. I’ll be back before you’re ready.”

  “I bet.” She laughed. “You have a way of appearing out of nowhere.”

  I smiled, entertained as always by her active imagination. I drove home as quickly as I could, ignoring Luna’s questions about where I had been. I threw on some clean clothes and didn’t even bother with a shower. When I got back, she was still in the bathroom. I focused again on Daniel’s picture until I heard her behind me.

  “He was happy,” I said.

  “Yes.”

  I tried to smile before turning to look at her. “Ready?”

  She smiled back. “Sure.”

  After a boring, surreal day of uptight teachers and seemingly pointless assignments, I dropped Jane off at home.

  “I’ll be back,” I said, “but I need to check something out first.”

  She nodded, but her eyes looked far away. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving her alone, but I couldn’t stay with her every second. I turned away.

  “Don’t do anything stupid, Jane.”

  I drove home and called for Luna. She raced to the door instantly.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked frantically. Walter came in to see what was going on.

  I suppressed laughter. “Nothing’s wrong. Well, besides the obvious, so you can calm down. Both of you.”

  “You’re not funny,” Luna sneered.

  Wasn’t trying to be. “I need to ask a favor of you.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “What kind of favor?”

  “I know you are angry with me, and to be honest, I don’t blame you, but I need your help.”

  She just stared at me, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

  “You are about to be…um…more mad.”

  “James…” she whined, “what did you tell her?”

  “Well, you made that easy,” I said, trying to lighten the mood by laughing.

  Her face remained hard.

  I cleared my throat. “Sorry.”

  “So?”

  “Well…everything,” I said. “Only…not everything.” I continued before she could respond. “I need to tell her the rest, and I need you to pretend like you don’t know.”

  “What?”

  “I need you to stay at your house for a while. Mike will make sure Abraham still thinks we are missing. I’m going to take Jane there. I need you to pretend when I walk in that it’s the first time you have seen me since my betrayal. Jane will be a lot more willing to believe me if she were to simply overhear us talking.”

  “I have no idea what you are thinking!” she spat.

  “Please, Luna. Just do this. For me.”

  She sighed. “You’re lucky I can’t refuse you. I am guessing you want me to keep her there as well.”

  I nodded. “Yes. Please.”

  She huffed. “Fine.”

  I had to tell Jane everything and had to keep Luna out of it as much as possible while still letting her help me. Again I knew I didn’t have the courage to tell Jane the details myself, so I figured if she were just to witness it, like that day in the woods, it would be easier.

  I drove back to her place just as Rudy was leaving. Great. Now what was he telling her? He shoved passed me.

  “She never did have any taste,” he mumbled, glancing at me.

  I stepped inside, since he left the door open, laughing at his reaction. I knew exactly what he was there for.

  I smiled at Jane playfully.

  “Don’t start,” she said acidly.

  “Oh, come on, Jane.” I snickered.

  “It’s not funny!”

  It was actually a lot funnier than she realized. “Don’t you like him at all?”

  “Yes,” she said automatically. “When he’s not being his ridiculous self.”

  I smiled. “I think he’s in love with you,” I said, trying to pretend I felt no jealousy or resentment toward him. I didn’t want Jane to know she had the power to break my heart.

  “Eew!” She smacked my arm softly.

  I leaned against the counter on my elbows and raised my eyebrows, trying to be charming while still playfully irritating her.

  “Oh, please, Aidan.”

  She walked quickly to her room, and I followed.

  “You know, I’m not mad,” I fibbed.

  “You probably shouldn’t be.”

  My mind erased Rudy as soon as I sat beside Jane on the end of her bed and she leaned against me. I put my arm around her.

  “I don’t want you to be afraid,” I said, trying to make my voice sound soft.

  “How could I not be?”

  “If you had any conception at all of how much you mean to me, you would know that I would never let anybody hurt you.”

  “Don’t promise me that, Aidan. You said yourself Abraham is smarter and stronger than you are.”

  “Yes, that’s true. But I have my moments. If I’m doing it for you, it’s enough to give me strength.” That I knew to be true.

  “I’m not sure I understand exactly what you mean.”

  “I simply mean that my loyalty to you will kill me before anything bad happens to you.”

  “That’s supposed to comfort me?” she shrieked.

  “Just…don’t worry.”

  “I’ll get right on that,” she muttered.

  “No matter what happens, Jane, I love you.”

  I hoped she believed that even if she were to believe nothing else. Her face became flushed again.

  “I want to tell Becky so badly,” she whispered.

  “I know.”

  “I don’t mean about what’s happening,” she continued, “but at least about us.”

  I tucked her head under my chin. “She already knows.”

  “Still,” she muttered. “I wish I could tell her.”

  “Jane, do we really have to do this?”

  “Aidan!” she hissed. “Of course. She’s my best friend. You have no idea how much this play means to her.”

  I groaned.

  “You know, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”

  “Of course I do, Jane,” I answered. “I hardly feel comfortable leaving you alone at home. I’m not letting you do this by yourself.”

  “Do you really think something bad is going to happen?” she asked. “At school?”

  I shook my head. “Actually, no, but I won’t be able to relax until I know you’re home safe, so that’s why I'm coming with you.”

  She nodded. “No more complaining, please.”

  “Okay, okay.” I smiled at her, and she returned the gesture.

  “I’m guessing you want to drive?”

  “You guess right,” she answered. “I know my way at least to school.”

  “Are you okay?” she asked, obviously trying to break the silence.

  “I’m fine. Just a little bit anxious. I can’t stop being angry with myself for not having enough self-control to leave you alone.”

  “I trust you. I know you will figure this out.”
r />   It was not at all the response I was expecting, but either way, I appreciated her optimism.

  We waited in line at the little ticket window, and I paid with some cash I had found in the pocket of an old pair of jeans probably from over three years ago. Jane rushed inside as fast as she could to take the middle seat in the front row. I heard Jane’s name, and we both turned to see Aaron.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Jane said.

  “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Aaron chuckled.

  He made eye contact with me briefly then turned away and sat next to Jane. I decided to have some fun with him.

  “Hello, Aaron.”

  “Um...hi,” Aaron stammered.

  The tension was almost unbearable, but I found it more amusing than I should have. Jane looked at me, and I shrugged my shoulders. From the very moment that the lights dimmed to the moment they came back on, I was completely inside my head, contemplating what I had asked Luna for, wishing that I had another option that didn’t include locking Jane up.

  After the play, the crowd exploded in applause as Becky and her castmates bowed gracefully. After the curtain closed, Becky raced over to Jane. I snapped out of it and back into the school theatre.

  “I saw you the second I stepped onto the stage,” Becky squealed. “It was so awesome seeing you right in front of me.”

  Jane laughed. “Becky, you were so great!”

  “You did do really great,” Aaron added and hugged her without a second’s hesitation.

  I smiled at her, trying to be nice. Becky really wasn’t so bad once I was able to get past the loud, unnecessary way she acted.

  “Sorry to say we don’t have any flowers for you,” I said.

  Aaron thrust his hand to his forehead. “You know what? I actually do, and I left them in my car.”

  Becky smiled. “I’ll come with you to get them if you want.”

  She and Aaron walked to his car, and Jane waved as we headed to hers. I grasped Jane’s hand, and I didn’t even feel a slight shudder from her. It felt so normal and so right. I didn’t want to ruin the perfect feeling, but I had to tell her something.

  “I have something I need to do once we get back to your place,” I said.

  “Okay…”

  “It’s important, okay?”

  She nodded. Jane drove us back to my house, and I got in my car.

  “You’re coming with me,” I said.