Seducing Death

by Cassandra Lawson

  “I can’t get over the fear that I’m being set up by the Fae. Being here is going to get me in a lot of trouble.”

  Ian backed away and ran a hand through his hair. Well, that killed his playful mood. “You said yourself that you’re not technically breaking any rules.”

  “Because there’s no rule against you being involved with the people from your life,” she said, sounding exasperated. “Now, they’re becoming people involved in my life, and I’m not supposed to have that. It’s unnatural for me to be in this world, unnatural for me to be playing house here with you.”

  At his confused look, she continued. “No woman will ever take Kate’s place in your heart.”

  Ian flinched when she repeated what he’d said their first day at his home. “Listen, I was dealing with a lot when I said that,” Ian began, but Kyleigh cut him off.

  “You told me that from the beginning. My bringing it up wasn’t about my need for sympathy. I’m just reminding you of how wrong it is for me to be here in Kate’s home.”

  Ian wanted to argue, but hadn’t he had those very same thoughts?

  “Please give me more time,” Ian said desperately.

  Kyleigh turned away from him. “I didn’t say we were leaving right now, but I need some space to try to figure this out.”

  Ian nodded, because he really had no idea what to say. “I’ll tell Layla you aren’t feeling up to visiting.”

  Kyleigh didn’t respond, just stepped into the laundry room and closed the door behind her.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  The pounding on Danny’s front door at midnight pulled him from the first restful sleep he’d had in a long time. “Someone had better be dying,” he grumbled as he slipped on a pair of sweatpants. He finger-combed his messy hair and padded down the stairs barefoot.

  After opening the door, Danny glared at the man on the other side. “What the fuck was so important that you had to stop by in the middle of the night?” he asked Faith’s father. Danny’s dislike of this man had actually grown since the last time he’d seen him, and the only reason he even let the asshole in the door was because he didn’t want his neighbors being bothered.

  The man walked into the room without looking at Danny, rubbing his hands nervously. “How is Faith?” he finally asked.

  “I haven’t seen her in a couple of days,” Danny said, leaning against the front door with his arms crossed in front of his bare chest. “Last time I saw her, she was still confused about everything.”

  “I can’t even imagine what she’s going through,” the guy said with a sad smile. “Thank you for letting me in.”

  “Why are you here?” Danny asked. “I’m pretty sure you didn’t drop by to ask about your daughter. If you did, I’d like to remind you that it’s the middle of the night and I have to be out on patrol tomorrow.”

  “No, that’s not why I stopped by, but I really am concerned about her.”

  “Why?” Danny asked. “She’s a vampire. I’d think you’d consider her as good as dead.”

  The man let out a weary sigh. “I really wanted to feel that way because I thought I should. It turns out I can’t hate my own daughter. That got me thinking about other vampires I’ve met since moving here, and I realized what a horrible mistake I’ve made.”

  Danny dropped his arms to his sides. Since the guy seemed to finally be pulling his head out of his ass, Danny figured he’d try being more civil. “I’m sure that’ll mean a lot to Faith.”

  “Her mother doesn’t agree with me,” the guy said.

  Danny wasn’t surprised. Things couldn’t resolve themselves that easily. Faith’s father still seemed to be dancing around whatever it was he wanted to talk about. “Are you here because you want to see Faith?”

  The man shook his head. “We’re leaving tonight, along with a few other families.”

  That’s when the pieces to a big puzzle came together for Danny, and he cursed under his breath. “You’ve been feeding Roger information about where to find the other human settlements.”

  The man’s shoulders slumped, and he nodded. “I heard what’s been happening, and it’s my fault. I needed to tell someone before we leave. Our trip to Treasure Island was just an excuse to be away from the settlement. We gave Roger hand copied maps of the locations of the local human settlements.”

  “You and your wife didn’t even go to Treasure Island, did you?” Danny asked in disgust.

  “We did,” the man said, “but only after we’d given the maps to Roger. All we wanted was to live safely with other humans.”

  Danny let out a bark of laughter. “So, you decided to trust a different vampire to make that happen? Do you think, if he decides to use you for blood, he’ll give you the option of donating a bag?”

  “Roger is human,” the man insisted.

  “Was human,” Danny argued. “Bet he was careful to avoid letting you see his teeth when you dropped off the maps.”

  The man opened his mouth to argue, but he obviously thought better of it. “You’re right. I didn’t see his teeth. Even if he was human, I needed to come here and let you know what we’d done.”

  “Why me?” Danny asked. “This is the kind of thing you should tell Connor about.” Then Danny knew why he hadn’t gone to Connor. “You’re still afraid of the vampires here.”

  The man nodded and looked at the door Danny was still blocking.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Danny said. “I don’t give a damn if you’re afraid of Connor. You are going to talk to him. Who else is involved?”

  “All of them left earlier this evening. I stayed behind because my conscience wouldn’t let me leave until I’d told you what I’d done.”

  “And now you aren’t going to be able to meet up with the other traitors,” Danny said, not feeling at all guilty about his harsh tone. This guy had confessed, but it was too late. People had already died because of this asshole’s hatred.

  “I need to grab my phone,” Danny said. “Walk in front of me up the stairs.”

  “I’m not going to run,” the guy said, sounding offended.

  Danny snorted. “While I appreciate that you seem to be trying to do the right thing now, I’m not stupid enough to trust you.”

  Faith’s father nodded and walked up the stairs in front of him. Connor was going to be pissed about being woken up in the middle of the night, but this wasn’t the sort of thing he’d want Danny to handle on his own.

  Danny didn’t turn his back on Faith’s father for a second as he picked up the phone and called Connor. The guy had to know he was in a hell of a lot of trouble and was probably considering bolting.

  Raven was the one to answer Connor’s phone. “Is everything okay, Danny?”

  “No,” he said. “Is Con there?”

  “Yes, he’s sleeping. I’m only up because I got caught up watching a movie.”

  Danny smiled. Raven loved movies and had a tendency to stay up late watching them. “I’m going to need you to wake him. I found out who’s been giving Roger information about where to find the human settlements.”

  “Are they from our old settlement?” Raven asked.

  “I’m afraid so,” Danny said.

  It was three hours later when Danny finally climbed back into bed, hoping to get a couple hours of sleep before he had to head out on patrol. Connor had handled things better than Danny would have expected. It was no surprise that Faith’s father was now staying in the detention center. Connor didn’t seem to know what he was going to do in the end, and Danny wasn’t sure he cared.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Ian had been doing his best to avoid Kyleigh the last three days, which made him feel like a complete dick. One could say he was trying to avoid the inevitable discussion of when they’d have to leave, and that was true in many ways. They couldn’t stay there much longer, but he wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the people he cared about. The fact that he’d settled back into a normal routine was proof he was in denial.

  Of cour
se, Ian wasn’t fool enough to believe that was the only reason he was avoiding Kyleigh. Being around Kyleigh got him hard. All he wanted to do was take her upstairs, strip her naked, and fuck her until she screamed. Actually, he didn’t always take her upstairs. Afterward, he always ended up distancing himself from Kyleigh because part of him felt like he was cheating on Kate.

  Kyleigh never complained, which made it worse. It’s not like she acted like a victim or just let him use her. When he’d apologized for acting like an ass one evening, she’d actually laughed and told him that was like him apologizing for breathing. Yeah, she didn’t mind his moodiness.

  She also seemed to be enjoying her time at the settlement as much as he was. Mitchell loved her, and Ian could tell the feeling was mutual. Kyleigh fit perfectly into his life here, and that scared him. As much as he hated to admit it, he was terrified of how much she meant to him.

  “Ian,” Raven called out.

  There was a strong temptation to pretend he hadn’t heard her and continue walking, but Ian knew how tenacious the nymph could be, so he stopped and turned toward her. “What do you need?” he asked curtly.

  “I just saw Kyleigh,” she said. “She came to spar with us again today.”

  “Did I ask you for updates on Kyleigh’s whereabouts?” Ian asked and scowled at her, trying not to think about Kyleigh sparring because that always turned him on.

  “What is your problem?” Raven snapped. “Kyleigh was distant and distracted the whole time she was there. Now you’re acting like you don’t care where she is.”

  “Mind your own business,” he said and started walking away. The last thing he wanted was Raven meddling in his relationship with Kyleigh.

  “Don’t you dare walk away from me!” Raven shouted angrily.

  Ian ignored her and kept walking. The rock that slammed into his back stopped him. “What the hell?” he asked, spinning around to face the angry nymph.

  “She saved your life, Ian!” Raven shouted.

  Likely, the only reason they weren’t attracting a crowd was the fact that Ian had a reputation for being a real bastard. No one wanted to get between him and Raven when he was pissed off. They all knew he wouldn’t hurt Raven, but very few people were that confident about their own safety around him.

  Raven truly looked ready to slit his throat, and he wondered when she and Kyleigh had become so close. They sparred together, but that was the extent of their relationship, or so he’d thought. “I’m grateful to Kyleigh for saving me, and she knows that.”

  “Then why are you treating her like your whore?” Raven snapped.

  Ian took a menacing step forward. “Don’t ever use that word when you’re talking about Kyleigh. She knows what I’m capable of giving her and understands.”

  Raven jerked back with a look of utter horror on her face. “You really don’t get it, do you? She gave up a piece of herself to save your life, bound herself to you.”

  “I’m aware of that,” Ian said angrily. “Before you get so caught up in defending Kyleigh, you should know that binding us together wasn’t completely selfless. At the time, she was in one hell of a lot of trouble, and this was the only solution she had.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, Ian felt like an even bigger asshole. The way he’d said it made it sound like he blamed Kyleigh for their situation, and he didn’t.

  “Trouble she got into saving you,” Raven snapped. “Everything comes back to Kyleigh’s decision to save your miserable soul. You owe her.”

  “What exactly do I owe her? Am I supposed to fall in love with her because she saved me? Am I supposed to spend the rest of my days devoted to her?” Ian clutched his anger close because he needed it.

  Raven shook her head. “For a little while, I thought you were becoming a better man, but I was obviously mistaken. You can’t even appreciate a woman who risked everything for you, and after everything else, who is probably going to be in more trouble for staying here so you can spend time with Mitchell.”

  Ian’s anger drained from his body. “Kyleigh said it’s not really against the rules,” he finally said. Then he added, “Okay, so I know it’ll cause her problems, and I’m being selfish by staying here so long.”

  “I know,” Raven said.

  “And I’ve been an asshole most of the time we’ve been back here,” he said.

  “Yes,” Raven agreed.

  “I still don’t get why she saved me,” Ian said, not sure why he was opening up to Raven about this. “She must have seen other souls taken by the shadows. Why save mine?”

  “If you weren’t so busy being a jackass, you’d know why she saved you. She didn’t have to tell me for me to figure it out.”

  With that, Raven stormed off, and Ian was left alone with his thoughts, none of them good. Guilt was not an emotion he was ready to deal with, so he latched onto the one he could handle— anger. Why the hell had she saved him? Surely there were people worthier of saving? Was it some stupid infatuation? She’d made no effort to deny him access to her body, but it had to be more than that.

  A sick feeling washed over him as he realized that Kyleigh had already told him why she’d saved him. He just hadn’t realized what it meant at the time. Angry and hurt, he headed back to his house. As soon as Kyleigh got home, she had some serious explaining to do.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Kyleigh was proud of how much she’d learned sparring with Layla. While she had the height advantage, Layla had the strength that came from being a shifter. Neither was afraid to fight dirty, and they frequently ended up wrestling on the ground.

  “You’re really getting the hang of this,” Layla said when Kyleigh kicked the bag hanging from the ceiling.

  “Thanks,” Kyleigh said with a grin. “This helps me work through my tension.”

  “So, are you ready to talk about what’s going on with Ian?” Layla asked.

  Kyleigh had been upset that morning, and Raven and Layla had tried to get her to talk about it. Raven had only been able to stay for about thirty minutes because she was working at the school that day, so Kyleigh and Layla had spent the last hour in companionable silence.

  “I need to leave soon,” Kyleigh admitted.

  “And Ian’s giving you a hard time about that?” Layla asked.

  Kyleigh almost laughed. “Why do you always assume everything is Ian’s fault?”

  Layla shrugged and punched the bag. “Ian has been a real bastard most of the time I’ve known him. It’s just hard to imagine him being easy to live with. Also, I know he doesn’t want to leave Mitchell.”

  “Ian isn’t really that hard to live with,” Kyleigh admitted. It was true; Ian had a hard time being with her in the house he’d shared with his wife, but he was trying to deal with some of those emotions. “Ian has been honest with me about his feelings from the beginning, and he treats me well. Okay, he has moody moments, but I can deal with those. He’s having a hard time coping with his memories of Kate and Sarah right now.”

  “Maybe he needs you to help him,” Layla suggested.

  “That would be a bad idea. There’s some stuff I haven’t told him yet, and I’m waiting until he’s ready,” Kyleigh admitted.

  “About his wife and daughter’s deaths?” Layla asked. “I’m kind of surprised he hasn’t figured that out on his own.”

  Kyleigh shrugged. “Why would he?”

  “It’s just too obvious,” Layla said. “Why else would you save Ian?”

  “Maybe I was in love with him from afar,” Kyleigh suggested, which earned her a laugh from Layla.

  “I don’t think so,” Layla said. “First, Ian is an ass on his best behavior. Second, I could tell you were fond of Ian when you got here, maybe even a little in love with him, but those feelings were pretty new to you. At the time, you weren’t ready to acknowledge them yourself.”

  “This may sound strange, but I actually like Ian more here,” Kyleigh admitted. “Yes, I hate the distance between us, but I like him better when he’s ki
nd of an ass.”

  “I suppose someone has to love him for who he is,” Layla said. “Doesn’t he act this way where you’re from?”

  “Not really,” Kyleigh said. “He’s much calmer, probably because of the soothing nature of my realm. Ian has calm moments here, too, but he’s more real.”

  “I guess I’m glad someone likes the real Ian,” Layla said.

  Kyleigh was about to say more when she felt the summons. “I have to go.”

  “I’ll walk with you,” Layla said.

  “No, this is work,” Kyleigh explained. “Even if you could go with me, I’m not sure you’d want to. If you don’t mind, I need to be alone so I can transport myself there.”

  Layla nodded. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  As soon as the door closed behind Layla, Kyleigh reached out with her senses to find the location of the soul in need, hoping it wouldn’t be anywhere public since she was only wearing stretch pants and a sports bra. That might be hard to explain at one of the smaller human settlements. If possible, she’d prefer not to use the energy needed to make herself invisible. Her energy had been fading since her arrival at Ian’s settlement.

  It was close. Close enough that she could walk there. Heading out the door, Kyleigh followed the summons. After all this time, it still felt strange that she just knew where to go. When she got to the place it was emanating from, she frowned.

  This was going to be a problem if she needed to be visible to those around her, because she was pretty sure they weren’t just going to welcome her into the detention center. If the soul needed to be released from the body, it required her actually touching the body while visible. That was the reason some souls weren’t released before violent deaths. The opportunity didn’t always present itself.

  Moving along the side of the building, where she was less likely to be seen, Kyleigh allowed herself to fade away. Safely obscured, she opened the door to the detention center and headed in. Walking past the rooms with cells, she heard rustling, and one of the doors opened. She’d never met the shifter who stepped out, but she knew who he was. She’d ridden in a jeep with him once. Of course, she’d been invisible at the time so no introductions had been made.