Dacea left the small house and was talking to his mate again. They looked good together. Even with the anger fuming from Hailey there was visible love between them. Charlie may have been cynical but she wasn’t blind. These two had a spark.
She smiled as she put the binoculars away and began to climb out of the tree. The day was coming when she’d make a move and soon. Killing the girl would maim not just one Sept, but two. Wasn’t that just the icing on the money cake she was about to eat? She loved when the dominos fell to her liking.
Chapter Two
Dane opened the door and Dacea stepped out onto the suburban neighborhood street. It was all very picturesque. Part of him wanted to smile that Hailey had grown up here but then he reminded himself of the neglect and the emotional barriers she had to build to get through her childhood.
The front door opened to a man he had only seen in passing but had not formally met. He was tall and skinny as a rail. His features were pointed and sharp, but the smile warmed his face. His hair was buzzed close to his head to hide the fact that he had a receding hairline. He looked nothing like Hailey but being her adopted father, he wouldn’t. Dacea had to wonder why she had never questioned her parentage before Silas came forward with his relation to her. She truly looked nothing like either of her parents.
Dacea held out his hand as he went to greet James. “Dacea MacKenna, it’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Holloway.”
“Please, it’s James. Come in, you too,” he said to Dane.
Dacea was surprised to see all the boxes. The house was just about completely packed up. He didn’t remember seeing a 'For Sale' sign on the house, but the man was obviously leaving.
“Moving?” he asked.
“I am. Margaret and I are getting a divorce. Papers went in Tuesday. She moved out a few weeks ago and I plan on doing the same this weekend. We haven’t decided what to do with the house yet.” He scratched the back of his head as he looked around. “If I get it, I’m selling it. I don’t really care what she does if she gets it.”
He didn’t really know what to say about that. Dacea had come for a reason though and he wanted to get to it. “Is there a place we can sit?”
“Of course. This way.” James led them through the house to the kitchen where there was a small island with two stools. Dane quietly stopped and stayed in the living room to give them privacy.
James studied him for a brief second before asking, “You want to marry Hailey, don’t you?”
“Indeed I do,” he said a bit surprised at the directness from James.
He smirked. “I don’t know you yet, Dacea, but from how Hailey babbles on and on about you I already can tell you are a good man. And I must admit, your wealth settles me too. I know Hailey will be well taken care of.” He leaned his elbows on the table. “So yeah, you can marry my girl.”
This was going entirely too easy. “I wish we could have met before now. However, I do hope that Hailey and I see you around more often. You are always welcome to our house.”
“Yeah, I’ve been itching to get a look at her new fancy house. I’ll definitely take you up on that offer. Dinner at the very least, a few times a month. I miss my girl. I may not have been a perfect father but I love her and have always wanted the best for her.”
Dacea could see that. He had been hesitant when Hailey had started talking to him more often after he came clean about her adoption, but now that he had met the man, he could tell he was trying. And that was what mattered.
“If you don’t mind my asking, where do you plan on living if not here?”
“Most of this is going in storage for the time being. I’ll be staying with my brother and his wife until the divorce is settled, then moving on with what I’ve got. To be honest, I should have done this a long time ago but it’s easy to ignore the things that are wrong when they’ve been wrong for so long. Hailey is the one who pushed me to do this.” He scratched his two day old scruff. “Wrong wording. She doesn’t actually know about the divorce yet. But the more time I spent with her, the more Margaret became irate. It was an easy choice when it came down to it. Hailey is my daughter and Margaret has been lost to me for many years.”
Dacea nodded. Yeah, he liked the man. In fact, he had a thought that he’d need to talk over with Hailey. “When do you plan on telling her?”
James pointed to three boxes in the corner. “See those? That’s the stuff from her room. I want you to take them with you and then have her call me. I’ll tell her tonight.”
He didn’t see Hailey being too upset about the news. In fact, she would probably be relieved and happy for the man. “Alright. We are getting married next Saturday. She does not know this yet. Actually, she doesn’t know about the wedding at all. She asked me in a roundabout way three months ago and I have been planning this ever since. I’ll have the tailor contact you about getting fitted.”
James smiled. “Oh I really can’t wait to see her face at this one. She is a mixed bag of emotions when it comes to surprises but this, well, she is going to love this.”
“I hope so,” Dacea said in all honesty.
*****
“Dacea?”
“Sorry, Darby. Hailey left me a voicemail and I was just listening to it,” he said half laughing. “She’s a little huffy about my faux proposal this morning.”
Darby shouldn’t have called but after hearing the smile in his voice, she was glad she had. He was happy. Abundantly so. It made her heart smile. It confirmed what she already knew. He was back, he was whole and he had someone to take care of and take care of him. He didn’t need her anymore. Want her? Of course. She wanted him in her life too but that life was coming to a close. She knew that more now than ever before.
It was truly time.
Darby hiccupped a laugh, an anxious smile on her lips.
Lennox.
She’d see him soon. Not only that, she’d be with him. She’d be home. She’d be happy.
“Darby? You still there?”
Her voice was rough with sentiment. She had to clear her throat, which hurt. Her body had faded so drastically in the past few months that she barely recognized herself. A mere shadow, she often thought, of what she had once been. Would Lennox recognize her? The thought startled her. Would he know her as she was now? Could he still make out the woman she had once been through all the shrunken skin and frail bone?
“What’s wrong?” Dacea said with much more seriousness than he had when she first called.
She sighed. “Nothing. My mind is just drifting.”
There was a hushed whisper to Dane about the need for privacy. He was settling in to concentrate on her and her foolishness. Dacea’s worry for her was appreciated but not needed. She knew what came next and didn’t fear it. She embraced it. Death was just another plane of existence and a journey she was ready to begin.
“I can come up tonight if you need me. I’m only a few hours away. Less by flight.”
“So you’ve said for the past two weeks. Stay home Dacea.”
He grumbled a bit but relented. “So what were you calling about?”
“Just checking in.”
He was quiet for a moment. His voice was darker when he responded. “Darby you don’t just check in.” Dammit. He was right. “I’m coming up there.”
“Dacea!” she snapped. “I’m fine. Stop your worrying. Don’t bother coming up here. I won’t let you inside if you do. Besides you can’t leave Hailey when you are about to mate her. She needs you more than I do. Someone has to stop her from wearing those short leggings she wears everywhere and a shirt no one can understand.”
Dacea chuckled softly. “It’s sad how right you are,” he agreed. “Last week she had on a shirt with some cartoon weeping and under it there were the words ‘Llama face.’ I asked her about it and she wouldn’t talk to me for two hours claiming that my lack of Disney knowledge might be a deal breaker and she would need to think over our situation before proceeding further.”
Amused she asked, “And di
d you ever figure out the shirt?”
“No!” he said half annoyed, half amused. “She wouldn’t tell me and I was too distracted in getting into the room she holed herself up in.”
“Dacea,” she chided. “What did you do?”
“Nothing,” he replied sheepishly. “I just thought I would show her all the things she would miss if she chose to go on with this deal breaker thing. I won in the end,” he said proudly.
Darby laughed. “Of course you did. Ok, I’m going to get going. Go back to your woman.”
“You sure you don’t-“
“Stop,” she snapped. “I’m fine. Good night Dacea.”
He may have been annoyed but she could still hear the smile in his voice. “Night Darby.”
Chapter Three
She heard voices when she came down the stairs. Silas had shown up at some point. When she had first met the two men in her life they talked with heavy hostility and rarely left a room without blood being shed. It had mellowed over time and turned into reluctant acceptance. They knew they had to cooperate if they wanted her in their lives, so they did. In the five months since Silas blurted out their relation in front of all of her friends, the majority of which wanted to see him dead, they had grown tolerant of each other. Hailey however had begun to get to know Silas in her confinement with him and had seen something not horrible in him. The hostility between Silas and Dak had stayed but at least they weren't trying to kill each other anymore.
Hailey was happy to have him but sometimes he could be too much. He was more than what her parents had been growing up. More protective. More arrogant. More understanding. More honest. More loving. It was a lot to handle at times. Especially since she had come from a family who was still mourning the loss of their son even after all these years.
"Who is this woman again?" Dak asked Silas.
"Lou's daughter."
Hailey walked into the living room. Silas was seated in her favorite plushy, oversized chair. He had a tumbler of what was probably whisky in his hand. Her brother was always perfectly put together. There had only been a handful of times that she could remember not seeing him in a suit. His hair was the same color as hers, only a bit deeper. This time of year, her hair would lighten from the sun to a chestnut brown, instead of the espresso that Silas sported. He had it slicked back in his signature gravity defying swoop.
Silas didn't see Hailey until she was upon him. She sat on the arm of the chair, leaned over to kiss his cheek and in the same moment, grabbed his glass. He was just about to say hello when she downed the inch of whisky.
"Well, ok then," he stated amused at her bravo. "Something on your mind little sister?"
She caught Dak’s smirk out of the corner of her eye. Something wrong? Well yeah, Dak just played a dirty, dirty trick on her. All afternoon she had been in a pissed off daze. She could admit now that it was a little funny but the smirking asshole didn’t need to know that.
Dak shook his head and took the empty glass from her, handing it to Silas. He pulled her to her feet and into his arms. Reluctantly, she accepted the contact, not that she had much of a choice in the matter.
“Where were you all afternoon?” He and Dane had snuck out at one point and came back a few hours later.
“Ah, well, I actually went to me you father. He called and said he had a few boxes of your things he wanted to give you and thought it would be a good time to meet me.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me? I would have gone along.” Hailey would have jumped at the chance to see her dad. They had been trying to build up the relationship that had been destroyed by her mother over the years. They didn't get to see each other often, only lunch every few weeks. But they emailed regularly. She really liked her dad. They had a lot more in common than she previously thought. Small things like TV shows they both watched and books they both loved were the bridge they used to find each other again.
“Was my mom there?” God, she hoped not. That wasn’t a meet and greet he needed to do solo. If she had it her way, her two sides would never meet. Silas had ruined that idea from the start but that didn't mean he had the desire to ever see her parents again. But Dak, well he wanted to meet them. He wanted them included in their life. Maybe it was because his own parents couldn't be there since they had passed years before. Maybe it was because he believed in family. Whatever the reason, she didn't like it. Hailey was a different person when her mother was around. Someone weak and compliant. She didn't speak up for herself, didn't rock the boat, she didn't say no. It was just easier that way.
But with Dak, she was alive. She had an opinion and could actively express it. She didn't have to hide any part of herself around Dak and Silas. They accepted her and only asked that she did the same in return. It was refreshing and just a bit scary, at least in the beginning. Hailey was still learning about herself when she had met Dak. Living on her own had brought on a wave of self-discovery. Hailey liked who she was. She liked the person she was when around her dragons.
She did not like the mouse she turned into when her mother was around.
“She wasn’t there,” he said with love in his voice. “No need to get all mama bear on me.”
She blushed. Hailey couldn’t stand up to the woman on her own behalf but on Dak’s she’d protect him no matter what it took.
“Your father would like you to call him,” he said with a tinge of sympathy.
“Alright,” she replied hesitantly.
Hailey laid her head on his chest and just enjoyed the comfort of him. He and Silas talked while she let the sounds of their hushed conversation lull her into a content daydream. Dak was slowly rubbing circles on her back. His chest vibrated with the soft rumbling of his voice. She hadn't been paying attention but he had picked his previous conversation back up with Silas.
"Why are you still watching her?"
"Does it matter?” Silas said defensively. “I got this information by following Charlotte. Be grateful and leave it at that."
Hailey turned her head so she could look at Silas but still stay in the safety and warmth of Dak's arms. Silas was hiding something. His face was like stone. He had completely closed himself off.
"Who's Charlotte?" she asked surprising them both.
Dak kissed her head and let her go. Not too far though. He kept an arm around her waist but let her turn to face Silas while she interrogated him.
"A contact who informed me of a threat to your Mate."
The subject change worked. "Threat?" She lifted her chin and looked at Dak. "How bad?"
Silas answered. "She’s been hired to kill the head of the Sept. Since she’s been watching him, I assumed.”
“But,” Hailey looked between both of them. They were both heads and she had meet the other’s a few months ago. None of them deserved to die. Who would want to kill them? “How do you know all this?”
“I overheard Charlotte talking about it.”
"Is that what the kids are calling it these days?" Dak teased. "In the real world we call it stalking and taping her calls."
Hailey had gotten distracted with the threat but wanted to know more about this Charlotte person. "You what?"
"He's exaggerating," he said brushing off her question. "Don't you two have a father to call?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. She knew this game. Subject changes were a specialty of hers. Apparently, it ran in the family. Unfortunately for her, he was right. Her curiosity of the boxes and what her dad had to say was poking at her. Silas was not, however, off the hook. His dodging her questions only made her more interested in this woman.
"He's right, Céile."
She continued to stare him down. "I know he is." Silas met her gaze with a carefully placed bland look. She saw through it. "I'll call you later so you can tell me more about Charlotte."
"Of course." He stood, placing the empty glass on the coffee table. "Enjoy your evening."
When he left, she turned her sights on Dak. He held up his hands in surrender. "I don't know
anything."
"Lies."
"I don't!" He laughed. "Ok, so I know more than you but not much. She's the daughter of a Green council member. Silas used her as leverage against him in the winter."
That made sense but why was he still keeping tabs? "Fine. I'll get more out of him later.” And Hailey had all the confidence in the world that she would do just that.
*****
Silas took his escape. He wasn't so proud that he couldn't admit he had scurried away into the night like a rat. He also knew Hailey would not be giving up so easily. Bu damned if he was going to talk about Charlotte to her.
And as much as he hated this thought, Dacea was right. Just thinking that made him want to gag. However, there was no reason for him to be continuing on with his attentions. She had served her part, even if she had no knowledge of doing so. He should be done with her. But he couldn't stop checking in on her. It was a compulsion throughout the day. Attend to some business, check on Charlotte, lunch meeting, check on Charlotte, respond to emails and check on Charlotte. He had tried to break his addiction to her but his self-control was not as strong as he had thought.
He wasn't ready to admit to Hailey what he wasn't ready to admit to himself. Silas didn't even know what there was to admit. She fascinated him, but that was it. Fascination however, shouldn't control him like it did.
Then again if it wasn't for his interest in Charlotte, he never would have heard about the plans for Dacea. What he heard wasn't exactly a plan. It had been coded but he understood the idea well enough. Someone wanted what Dacea had. They felt they could do a better job at running the sept than he did. Silas didn't know who, how or even when this would be happening. He just knew that if Charlotte was on the job, it would be done.
The Hailey Holloway Complete Series Page 53