Summers' Shadow (Hunters Trilogy Book 2)

by Sara J. Bernhardt

  “Didn’t you kill Abraham?” he asked.

  “Of course not!” I lied. “Stop listening to rumors. Meet me in North Bend.”

  He nodded. “I’ll be there.”

  Oh, I am sure you will. I’ll let Walter take care of you when you get there.

  It was so easy to gain his trust. What an idiot!

  I called Walter and let him know what was going on.

  “He and the others should be there by mid-day tomorrow.”

  “All right,” he said. “We’ll be waiting. Thanks, Morgan.”

  “No,” I said. “Thank you—for everything!”

  Three Months Later…

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Walter and Luna had sent Jane to a small town in Florida, still unsure all The Sevren were destroyed. I felt it was time to bring myself back to her if ever I wanted her to look at me the way she used to. North Bend was safe if she wanted to come back. She would want to come back, right? All of her friends were there and Ethan—and me. I was the reason she left. I was hoping to be the reason she came back.

  I went to her as I was so used to doing, watching her walking through the grocery store, occasionally glancing at a shopping list. She came to the shampoo aisle and glanced at the list again. My memory flashed with the first day I met her at the bookstore. She stood on the lower shelf and reached for the bottle. I watched as she stumbled off the shelf, bringing the entire thing with her.

  I rushed over to her as fast as I could and tilted the shelf upright, handing her the purple bottle she was reaching for. She lowered her arms from in front of her face and stared at me for a moment.

  I smiled, unable to stop myself. “Hi,” I said, lending out my hand. “I’m Morgan Wright.”

  It was silent for a long time. She didn’t even shake my hand. She just stared at me like I was a ghost.

  “Aidan?” she whispered.

  I dropped my hand, smiling. “You say that like you’re unsure.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m here for you. I told you I would come back to you when it was safe. I meant it.”

  She shook her head. “After everything you have done, Aidan, how can I still let myself love you?”

  “Because I saved your life,” I said harshly.

  “You...” Her voice faded to an even quieter whisper, trying to avoid the spying eyes of the customers in the store. “You killed Danny.”

  “In an act of mercy, Jane.”

  She was silent for a moment. “Is that true?”

  “Of course it’s true.”

  “Why should I believe you?” she asked. “Please give me a reason, Aidan.”

  “Because I no longer have any reason to lie to you,” I said. “You know everything. You can confirm the entire event with Luna if you wish. She was there.”

  Jane nodded. “Mercy?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t need to hear about it from Luna. I don’t want to hear about it at all. But I want to believe you, Aidan…so badly.”

  I took her hand. “Then believe me. It’s the truth, Jane. You know who I am. I do not like to hurt anybody.”

  That was true, wasn’t it?

  “Except maybe Rudy.”

  She tried to laugh. “I need some time.”

  “I know. I am willing to give you that. Are you ever planning on coming back to North Bend?”

  “Is it safe?”

  I put my hand up. “Completely. I promised you I would make you safe.”

  She smiled. “Then I assume I would eventually.”

  I smiled.

  “But don’t get your hopes up too high, Mr.…Wright.”

  I chuckled. “Understood.”

  “By the way,” she started before walking away. “A few months ago…in California…”

  “Yes?”

  “You have it all wrong. Ian and I were never like that. It was one time, Aidan, and it was only a kiss.”

  If you call THAT a kiss.

  I nodded, realizing there was no need to argue.

  Epilogue

  In Jane Callahan’s Point of View

  I always wondered what he would do when he was done being Aidan Summers, who he would become, where he would go. It didn’t seem to matter.

  The Sevren were dead, and Aidan was alive. I was alive. My friends and family were safe, and all of North Bend was safe again. Rudy had his grandparents. Everything worked out. It was always right at times when things seemed perfect that things got messed up. I wasn’t sure how it was all going to play out for me. I knew I would return to North Bend someday; I just wasn’t sure when. I was weighing the pros and cons for days. I would return either when Aidan would no longer be there or when I was able to let myself love him again. There could be no in between for us.

  I wanted to believe what he told me was true, but after so many lies, I couldn’t be sure. He killed Danny out of mercy. If that was true, then in some twisted way, he had saved him. It hurt to think about it, to think about Danny’s death in a play by play like a horror movie in my head. If I wanted to free myself from the pain, the easiest thing to do would be to believe Aidan, but I had to do what was right, not what was easy.

  Aidan had been my guardian angel and my sun on the darkest, coldest days of my life. He was my hero, my love, and my enemy all at the same time. I would never have that kind of connection with anyone again. We shared something that only comes around once in a lifetime. I would always love him. I knew that. We had something amazing, and then it was over. Maybe it was best to just leave it that way. Maybe it was best to just let all of it go and go on living my life with the other people I loved.

  It physically stung to think about leaving Aidan and never seeing him again. At the same time, it sounded so easy in my head. It sounded sweet, like a simple small-town life with my friends, strolling down the aisles of the mall with shopping bags full of clothes I would never wear and laughing at ridiculous things while Becky snapped pictures. All of it without Aidan. Would I really feel as happy as I did in my mind?

  I turned to look at Aidan, who was still sitting beside me on the couch in my mother’s front room.

  “What are you going to do, Jane?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

  “We should go somewhere.”

  I smiled. “What?”

  “For coffee,” he said.

  “Are you being serious?”

  “I am.”

  “Why?”

  “To hang out,” he answered, still with a smile behind his words. “To just be together as friends so I can show you how easy it is to be with me.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know, Aidan.”

  “Please.”

  He had this sad look on his face that was so unfair. He knew I couldn’t say no when he looked at me that way.

  I nodded, and a huge smile spread across his face.

  “I need to take a shower,” I told him. “I’ll be quick.”

  “Take your time.”

  I stepped into the bathroom, admiring the space I didn’t have at Ethan’s. I turned on the water, just letting it get to the right temperature. I stared at my face in the mirror, trying to figure out who I was to Aidan Summers. How could he love me so completely? Just then, he came storming into the bathroom without so much as a knock.

  “Aidan, what are—?”

  My question was cut short by a hard, passionate kiss. He pulled me into the shower, still in our clothes. The feeling of his arms around me was like something from a dream. I wasn’t sure at first if any of it was real. I returned his touch, and the sopping wet fabric sticking to his body was driving me near mad. I pulled his shirt over his head, and I heard him shudder. I dropped the garment on the floor of the shower and stared at his perfect body—the thin lines of muscle in his stomach and the beautiful build of his chest. I couldn’t keep myself from touching him. I ran my fingers across his shimmering skin, and he closed his eyes. He whispered something, but I was unsure what
he had said.

  “Stop.”

  “Stop?”

  “That isn’t nice of you, Jane.”

  I was trying to think of something to say, but it was too late. His lips found mine again, and he began kissing me almost violently. Before I knew it, we were standing in the shower, wrapped in each other’s arms. He pushed me against the tiled wall, and I let out a quiet gasp. His hands touched every part of my body. I had never felt anything like I felt when I was close to him. I stared at his tawny skin as the water slid down between his muscles. The droplets almost made it look like he was sparkling. The water dripped slowly from his dark eyelashes, and I could only imagine what I looked like to him. I hoped I was beautiful to him. I hoped I was making him feel as I was feeling. My entire body was burning for him.

  His skin was like satin. I knew his body as if it were my own, as if every movement he made I was making. I knew every inch of his skin against mine—his perfect skin. I felt as if the weight of his body above my own could break me into several pieces, but it didn’t matter; I would die in his arms.

  Our bodies moved together in a way I had never experienced, in a way I had never even dreamed. His skin, his heat, his beauty, and his love all wrapped into one ball of illumination completely consuming me. I couldn’t keep that inside, and I heard myself quietly moan before I could stop it. I wanted him now and forever, only him. And for these moments, close to him when I could feel his love, I had him. I only wondered then how long it would last.

  About the Author

  Sara J Bernhardt is an author and poet who has been writing since a very young age and is a winner of several poetry and short story contests. She lives in Southern California with her husband and cat. It is clear that Bernhardt writes in a realistic tone while still creating the enthralling feeling of fantasy. Her writing puts readers in a world that they will truly love to be a part of.

  You can follow Sara at these locations:

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/Sara-J-Bernhardt

  Amazon: www.amazon.com/Sara-J.-Bernhardt

  Website: www.sjbernhardt.com

  Acknowledgments

  All of my thanks and appreciation go to my husband, the first person to read this book and my biggest fan. Thank you for always believing in me.

  And for Annie-Belle, my Becky. Thank you for all the hours of critique and advice, helping make this book what it is today.

  My editor, Kathy Moczerniak, for all her hard work and suggestions that made this as good as it could be. You are truly amazing.

  Special thanks to my family who always supported my passion and encouraged me to follow my dreams.

  Thank you to all my readers and fans. You help keep me inspired and motivated. I hope reading this brings you as much joy as it brought me writing it.