Summers' Shadow (Hunters Trilogy Book 2)

by Sara J. Bernhardt

  “Don’t worry about that,” I answered.

  I wasn’t sure exactly what my cover story would be, but I had the entire drive home to come up with something. If Ethan had to know about me, I figured it was best to make me look more like the hero than the bad guy. I could simply say that Becky had some bad luck with an older guy, which would have been believable, and Jane went over to make sure she was all right, and the guy came back—out of nowhere. Something like that would do well enough.

  I parked the car, and Rudy rushed to the back seat to wake up Jane, who had finally fallen asleep.

  “You’re home, sweetie,” he sang.

  I pushed him aside. “You all right, love?”

  Rudy glowered.

  “I told you I’m fine,” she said, groggily.

  “That never means much coming from you.”

  “Becky,” she whispered. “Becky, honey, wake up.”

  “Are we at the hospital?”

  “We’re at Ethan’s,” Jane told her.

  “Good.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Not sure,” she said. “Tired.”

  “Anything hurt?”

  She shook her head. “Just a little sore.”

  “Can you walk?”

  She nodded and sat up slowly.

  “Don’t try!” Rudy called.

  “Really, Rudy, I’m okay,” she insisted.

  She stumbled toward the porch. “Is…this a different car?”

  I laughed. “Yes. The other one was out of gas.”

  “How long had I been out?”

  “A while.”

  “Ethan isn’t home yet,” Jane announced, “which is good. Gives us time to come up with a plausible story.”

  “Already taken care of,” I said, tapping my finger against my temple. “Just let me do the talking.” Hopefully Rudy could keep his mouth shut.

  Becky went straight to the living room to lie on the couch. “Can you call Aaron?” she asked.

  Aaron… And I thought he liked Jane.

  Jane picked up the phone and quickly dialed his number.

  “No, it’s Jane,” I heard, unable to hear Aaron on the other end.

  “Yeah, she’s here. Things are complicated, but we’re both okay.” She paused. “Of course. That’s why I’m calling.”

  She hung up the phone, saying Aaron was on his way.

  Becky perked up the second a knock came at the front door.

  “Lie down,” Jane ordered, but Becky shoved her out of the way and ran into Aaron’s arms in ten seconds.

  “Oh my God,” Aaron choked out. “Becky, what happened? Are you okay?”

  She moved away and avoided eye contact. “I’m okay,” she said. “No worries.”

  The tough-girl act always troubled me, but it lasted only until Aaron stared into her eyes, with his eyebrows pulled together. She pressed her face into his chest, sobbing.

  “I’d rather Ethan didn’t know exactly what happened,” Jane said softly.

  He nodded. “Can you get her some clothes?”

  “Of course. Come on, Becky,” she said. “Upstairs. You need a shower.”

  “So do you,” she said, wiping her eyes.

  “I’m a little more worried about you at the moment.”

  Of course she would be. Jane tended to put herself at the bottom of her priority list.

  They disappeared upstairs, and Aaron launched into questioning.

  “What the hell happened?” he demanded, locking his gold eyes on me.

  “It wasn’t exactly his fault,” Rudy said. “Well, I mean, it was, but—”

  “Rudy, shut up,” I breathed. “It’s sort of a long story.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Great. I’m patient.”

  I sighed. “Accepting blame wouldn’t make anything better,” I started, “so I will simply tell you in my own words what happened, and you can judge for yourself how you feel about it.”

  He nodded.

  We sat down at the bar, and Rudy stood beside me. “I have history with a band of very bad people—people who want to hurt Jane and her family because her grandfather was a member of a rival group.”

  “What?” Aaron breathed. His voice was hardly coming out. He jolted his eyes to Rudy. Rudy bowed his head and nodded, breaking eye contact.

  “You mean…?” His face was tensed and creased. He looked completely terrified and confused.

  I nodded. “A friend of mine told me where to find Jane. Rudy insisted on coming”—my voice swelled with irritation—“and Becky, for some God unknown reason, hid on the floor under the back seat. I can’t believe I didn’t see her.”

  “You wouldn’t,” Aaron said. It looked like he was trying to smile. “She knew something was up the second Jane didn’t call her.”

  “I know,” I said. “Either way, Rudy should learn to keep his mouth shut.”

  Rudy shot me a dirty look, but I ignored.

  “So, Jane was…kidnapped?” He choked up again.

  “You could put it that way. I will get us all out of this mess, though. I swear.”

  “But you aren’t…?”

  I shook my head. “Don’t even think it, Aaron!” I demanded. “I am not one of them.”

  He nodded, bringing his gaze to his shoes. “And to think,” he muttered, “I thought Becky was losing interest.”

  I actually smiled at his response, but it faded when I saw both he and Rudy give me blank stares.

  It was silent for a long time. Sometimes Aaron would sigh or wring his hands together. Rudy took a seat at the bar beside me and just rested his head in his hands. I had to try to think of something other than Jane in a dark basement where Ian had mentioned a corpse. Charming. I knew Jane well enough to know that a dead body was enough to bring actual hatred into her. I only hoped she knew I had nothing to do with it. I sighed at these thoughts, realizing the time had to eventually come when she found out about her brother if she didn’t know already.

  My thoughts were shattered when I heard Becky yell Jane’s name.

  I perked up and went to stand by the bottom of the stairs. Aaron flew past me and into Jane’s room.

  “What do we do now?” I heard.

  “Ask Aidan,” I heard Aaron say. “Sorry to intrude, but I think the new kid is the only one who can know what to do.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Jane Callahan,

  We know who you are, and we know that you are the reason for James West’s betrayal of The Sevren. Because of your love for him, your blood is tainted, so it is not yours we want. We have your father. Bring us Rudy Thompson, and your father’s life will be spared.

  ~Dorian

  P.S. I think it best that you do not disregard this note.

  I sighed, placing the note on the table in the kitchen. I knew it was impossible that Dorian knew where she lived. It was most likely delivered by Mike.

  “Before anything else is done, Jane, you need to be taken care of.”

  “Aidan, I’m fine. We don’t exactly have time. They’re going to kill Ethan.”

  “No,” I retorted, “they won’t.”

  “And why not? How do you know they haven’t already?”

  “One,” I said, reaching into my pocket, “they wait for Abraham’s call.” I pulled the stolen cell phone out of my pocket. “Two, he’s bait to get to Rudy and to get to me.” I left Jane’s name out of that list for obvious reasons.

  “We have to find Ethan.”

  “We’ll get him back, Jane, and nobody will be hurt in the process—except maybe me.”

  Rudy opened his mouth to speak, but Jane yelled at him not to say anything.

  He put his hands up and nodded.

  “Now please,” I continued. “Aaron brought some food. Eat something.”

  “Thank you.”

  Aaron smiled and pulled his arm a little tighter around Becky’s waist.

  “I doubt she’s going anywhere,” Jane said, smiling.

  “Eh—you never know.”
>
  I stood beside my love and ran my fingers through her damp hair. She finally looked a little bit more like herself, at least enough for me to see her beauty.

  “Why me?” Rudy asked, bringing my attention to him. “Why me and not somebody else?”

  I shook my head. “Because they can’t use Jane. Her blood is tainted. To them, you are the next best thing.” That was true enough though I wasn’t sure yet of the exact reason behind it.

  “I don’t even like you.”

  “Yes, but they don’t know that.” I ignored his rudeness as usual. “They are using you to get to me”—I couldn’t hold it back—“and Jane.”

  “Me?” she yelled.

  “Even though they do not want your blood, that does not mean you won’t end up like…” I trailed off, cursing myself silently for letting my words slip that way.

  “Like what?”

  I couldn’t say anything. I wasn’t even sure she knew about Sharon Walters.

  “Aidan?”

  I sighed. “Like…one of their victims.”

  “Oh my God.” Her voice was completely throttled. “You know about Sharon.”

  I bowed my head and sighed. Too late. I nodded softly, not able to bring myself to see the look on her face.

  “I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to any of you!”

  Rudy slouched down on the couch with his arms crossed in front of his stomach. I saw the concern in his face and could hardly stand to look at him. I focused my attention on Jane until I saw her get up to talk to Rudy. I put my head down in my hands, trying to ignore their frightened voices.

  I couldn’t help but to tune in to their conversation when I heard Rudy say he loved her.

  “Everything about you, Jane—your courage, your love…your beauty…everything.”

  Ah Rudy. Still not giving up.

  “Rudy…” I heard her mumble just loud enough for me to perceive.

  “I know…” he said, “I know as I knew from the beginning that I can be the one to stand beside you—to protect you. You love me, Jane. I know you do. I don’t want to die without feeling you close to me at least one time.”

  “That isn’t fair,” she demanded harshly.

  “I love you, and so does Aidan. That means there will be a fight, Jane, so here I am—fighting. And I don’t fight fair. There’s little gain in that.”

  I was prepared for him to fight but wasn’t expecting him to be so deceiving. Telling Jane he was going to die just to get his way was so like Rudy. Whatever it took, he was willing to try.

  There was a long moment of silence and then Rudy’s soft apology.

  Jane raced past me and up the stairs to her bedroom. I knew exactly what had happened. I followed her and knocked lightly on the door.

  “Go away!” she called.

  “We both know you are going to let me in, so either open up now or argue with me for fifteen minutes.”

  She opened the door and pressed herself against me. I wrapped her in a hug, realizing a kiss from Rudy shouldn’t even have me worried. She led me into her room and shut the door.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, trying to get her to tell me herself.

  “Nothing,” she retorted.

  I leaned slightly forward, raising my eyebrows. “Nothing?”

  She sighed heavily. “I don’t want to talk about it. Just be with me.”

  She attacked me with a heavy kiss, which I resisted, irritated by her trying to convince herself she loved me.

  “Stop it, Aidan,” she hissed. “Just kiss me.”

  She pushed me against the door, and I softly moved her away.

  “Jane, what’s with you?”

  “I love you,” she whispered. “That’s all.”

  She was never very good at lying. I tried to oppose her still but was completely outmatched by her passion. I welcomed the kisses and thought only of Jane—the softness of her skin and the fragile feel of her tiny body in my arms. I could feel myself giving in. I felt my actual body soften, helplessly lost for her. Electricity rushed through my limbs, and I felt almost mad with desire. I wanted her closer to me, closer than anyone had ever been before.

  “I love you, Jane,” I whispered, “but just tell me again that you’re okay—besides the obvious issues.”

  “I’m okay,” she whispered.

  That was all I needed to hear. Whether it was the truth or not didn’t matter then. I reached under her shirt, stroking her back, feeling the warmth of her flesh almost burning through me, and the kisses became deeper and more desperate with each movement. They remained soft, both of us aware that there was no need for haste. I felt her love transform from the softness a moment ago to an almost roughness in her touch. She moved only inches away from me, removing her white tank top. It was unfair that she had to be so beautiful. How could I resist her?

  I stared, almost bewitched by her perfect belly and her small, delicate breasts only half covered with a lacy bra. I tried to look away, tried not to focus on the perfection of her skin. I moved away with all the force and strength I had left in me.

  “What’s wrong?” she whispered.

  My heart sank, almost regretfully. Ruining a perfect moment wasn’t something I was good at.

  “If you want to do this…” My voice was far away. “I’m sorry, but if you want to do this, I think we should wait until things settle.”

  “It may be too late by then,” she murmured, touching my cheek softly. “What if you don’t come back?”

  “I’ll come back. I know you love me. I am not worried about that. I am not going to let one kiss from Rudy make me even as much as nervous.”

  She gasped almost angrily, and I suppressed my laughter.

  “Damn, Aidan. How do you do that?”

  “You ask me that question a lot.”

  “Well…it’s like you have eyes that come out and follow me wherever I go.”

  I chuckled, shaking my head. “I wish that sometimes. Neither of you were being very discreet. I’m pretty sure Becky and Aaron knew what he was up to.” I tried to hide the tension in my voice. I definitely didn’t like Rudy.

  Her cheeks turned bright red, and she grumbled, pressing her face into a pillow.

  “It’s okay.” I laughed. “I won’t kill him. He loves you. I was prepared for him to fight.”

  “He doesn’t love me,” she said, lifting her face up and staring at me through narrowed eyes. “He just thinks he does.”

  “Jane, stop being so modest. He loves you, but you know I love you, and I know you love me. You don’t need to prove that to me, and you shouldn’t have to prove it to yourself—not any other way than being with me.”

  She nodded, pulling her shirt back on, covering up with that horrific fabric. I despised it.

  “But don’t think I don’t want to,” I retorted, trying to engrave the image of her bareness in my memory. “I do—of course. But I would rather it not be because of Rudy or The Sevren or your fear of me not coming back—for no negative reasons but because we care for each other. Is that fair?”

  She nodded. “I understand…but don’t leave.”

  I smiled and lay beside her on the bed, taking her hand in mine.

  “Rest your mind,” I said. “Everything will be fine.”

  I was tense and unsettled. I rolled onto my side and propped myself up on my elbow, staring into Jane’s perfect auburn eyes. I whispered her name, unable to say anything else.

  “I know,” she said. “We should go back downstairs.”

  Wasn’t at all what I was thinking, but she was right.

  “We all need to be there for each other,” I said, almost annoyed that I couldn’t stay lying beside her. “I wish there was some way I could make you believe me that I won’t let any harm come to you—any of you.”

  She sighed, closing her eyes. “I wish that too.”

  I left, feeling anxious to leave her alone even for one night. Walter knew as soon as I got home that something wasn’t right. I told him everything, e
ven about my murdering of Abraham.

  “I told you he needed to be killed,” he said.

  “But it was me who did it. I murdered the man I called Father.” I felt myself sinking into a sudden sickness. I felt nauseated and cramped.

  He pulled me into a hug. “It’s all right,” he said. “Everything will settle, and The Sevren will be stopped—I swear.”

  I sighed. I loved Walter’s faith and his optimism, but it made me more uneasy to realize he had no idea how strong The Sevren really was. I perked up when I heard a knock on the door and grumbled.

  “Great. Mike.”

  I was not looking forward to explaining myself to him. I opened the door, but it wasn’t Mike.

  “James?”

  I stared at his face, not sure who he was.

  “James? Yes?”

  I nodded reluctantly and stepped outside on the porch and shut the door.

  “Who are you?”

  He looked older, mid-twenties. He had dark hair and stubble on his chin. He was lengthy and unattractive.

  “My name is Joseph. Mike sent me.”

  “For what?” I spat.

  “The girl.”

  I instantly felt a need to attack him. “What about the girl?”

  “Doesn’t she know you killed her brother?” he bellowed, lifting his hands overdramatically.

  “Leave her out of this!” I growled through clenched teeth, moving so I was only inches from his face.

  “Oh, but this is about her, James. It always has been.”

  I stiffened my legs. My breathing was completely irregular, and my hands were shaking. I wanted to rip him apart. I wanted to tear his throat out and leave him a bloody heap on the porch. I restrained myself, trying to stay calm and composed. It was hardly possible.

  “You were supposed to kill her,” he spat.

  “I never agreed to kill her.”

  “Agreed?” he shouted. “You were ordered.”

  I shunned him and turned away. He walked a few feet then turned back.

  “Dorian wants the boy,” he called.

  I turned back to face him. “I’ll kill him first,” I growled.

  He laughed. “Oh, will you?”

  “I will kill him before he touches any of them.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  I walked back inside, completely livid. I thought seriously about going back outside and hunting him down. Following through with literally tearing him into pieces. I rushed to my room and started fumbling through my dresser drawers. Luna walked in, as usual without knocking.