Shiela Stewart - [Darkness 07]

by Consuming the Darkness (epub)

  Her eyes narrowed as she spoke in a low tone. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

  “Do you get what happened to you? You nearly died.” And that tightness in his chest only grew tighter. It was a familiar sensation, one he’d felt when Leo had died, one he thought would kill him then but had slowly eased to a dull ache. He’d loved Leo like a brother and losing him had nearly ripped him apart.

  The realization of what that tightness in his chest now meant had Nathan pausing.

  “And now I’m fine,” Sienna protested, snatching the shirt from his hands.

  He was in love with her. Taking her by the shoulders, Nathan turned her to face him. Her skin was pale, her eyes were dark, her make-up was smudged, and her hair was a mess. He loved her despite all of that. “You nearly died,” he said somberly, then pulled her into his arms.

  Slowly, her arms came up to wrap around him. “I’m okay, Nathan. Really. I’m just fine.”

  Shifting so that they were face to face, he poured his heart out to her. “Do you have any idea what it did to me when I felt your pulse and there was none? I had no idea what had happened, all I knew was that you weren’t breathing. Jesus, Sienna, it scared the shit out of me.”

  She touched her hands to his face and the look she gave him was soft and warm and only made him love her more. “I’m sorry I scared you. I linked with the female; it was her blood on the ground I touched. I felt his fist punch through my chest. Not a feeling I care to have again. I only caught a glimpse of him but if I were to try again, I know—”

  “No!”

  She blinked rapidly at his demand. “Excuse me?”

  “No.” He took her hands in his, looking her directly in the eyes. “You are not going to try again. It killed you, Sienna. You died! They brought you back, this time. Next time you might not be so lucky. You are not doing that again!”

  She tugged her hands free, a fierce look on her face. “Don’t tell me what to do.” Tossing her hospital gown aside, she threw her arms into the sleeves of her shirt.

  He spun her around. “I already lost one person I love. I am not going through that pain again.” Her eyes went wide. “Yes, that’s right. I just said that I’m in love with you.”

  She pulled out of his arms and grabbed her pants, not saying a word.

  Nathan watched her angrily jerk her pants on, confused by her reaction. “Did you hear what I said to you?”

  “I heard you.” She jumped up and down, slipping into those skin-tight pants he loved so much.

  “And?”

  “And what?”

  He rubbed his beard. Not the reaction he’d been hoping for. “Why are you pissed off?”

  “You just told me you love me.”

  “And that pisses you off?”

  “Yes.” Sitting on the bed, she grabbed her boots and slipped her bare feet into the slick leather.

  He stood there, staring at her. “I’m confused.”

  Blowing out a breath, Sienna slipped her other foot into her boot. “You’re a cop.”

  “And so are you. I’m still confused.”

  “I told myself I would not fall for another cop.”

  He tilted his head. “Sienna—”

  “Every cop I’ve ever dated has done nothing but break my heart. After Donald broke my heart I told myself I would stay guarded, not let myself fall again. Then you come around and once again, I’m falling for a damn cop. Now you stand there telling me you’re in love with me and it pisses me off because all you’re going to do is break my heart and carry on like nothing happened. Meantime, I’m left to deal with the pain.”

  “How many cops?”

  Her brow curled. “What?”

  “How many cops have you dated?”

  “That’s not the point.”

  His left shoulder lifted nonchalantly. “Are we talking five? More than five? Less than five?”

  Standing before him, her eyes blinked rapidly. “I’m not getting into this with you right now.”

  He followed after her as she marched from the room. “See…that only leads me to believe it’s more than five.”

  She threw her hands up. “This is not happening. I’m signing myself out,” Sienna stated to the nurse at the desk as she marched past her.

  “Wait, Miss Storm. You need to have the authority of the doctor,” the nurse called after her.

  “Screw the doctor.”

  “How many more than five?” Nathan pursued, following beside her.

  “Drop it, Nathan.”

  “Sienna?”

  She waved Doc Hawthorn off and kept walking.

  “She’s being stubborn,” Nathan explained then hurried to catch up to her again. “And you think just because those assholes hurt you that I’ll do the same thing?”

  “I don’t think; I know.”

  “Oh, what, because you had a little vision or something?” he snorted, hurrying ahead of her to open the door.

  “No, because number one, you’re a cop, and number two, you’re a man.”

  He stopped cold in front of her. “That’s not fair to group me in with the assholes who’ve hurt you. Just stop for a minute.” Grabbing her by the arms, he held her in place. “Do you love me?” He saw her jaw clench.

  “I’m not going to tell you I love you because the minute I do, you’ll leave me.”

  He fought the grin threatening to break free. “I am not that asshole captain Donald and what makes you think I’ll leave you?”

  “Well, duh…you don’t live here.”

  “So what?”

  “This is stupid.” She spun around and he caught her as her knees buckled.

  “You need to go back inside and get into bed.”

  “You drag me back in there and I swear I’ll shoot you in the legs to stop you—wait. Where the hell is my weapon?”

  “Doc took it off of you when he was working on you. It’s in the trunk of my car. You wouldn’t shoot me.” He didn’t hide the grin this time. “You love me.”

  “Don’t!” she warned with narrowed eyes.

  “You love me,” he chimed then kissed her before she could respond. “Fine. No hospital, but you are going to bed.” He scooped her into his arms, laughing when she slapped his chest.

  “Put me down.”

  “When we’re at my car.”

  “I demand you put me on my feet, Detective.”

  “And out comes the rank.” He laughed. When she wanted to keep distance between them she used his rank. But he was on to her now. She was in love with him and he was in love with her.

  Wasn’t life grand?

  “Here we go.” He set her on her feet, then unlocked her car door. “After you.”

  “Jerk.”

  “Aw, now, that’s not very nice.”

  With a snarl, she slammed the car door in his face.

  Laughing, Nathan strolled around the hood of the car to his door.

  Life truly was grand.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  She wanted to be alone, to think, to assess her feelings, his feelings for her and to decide what she wanted to do next. But Nathan had other plans, damn him, and insisted on escorting her to her apartment.

  Didn’t mean she had to talk to him, though.

  But as Sienna entered her apartment, the scent of the lasagna Nathan had cooked for her earlier, still lingered in the air, and rippled through her system to land squarely on her heart. Stepping over the puppy toys he’d bought for her dog didn’t help either.

  “What are you doing?” she asked when Nathan pushed her toward the bedroom.

  “Putting you to bed.”

  She shook him off and headed back to the living room. “Stop playing doctor. I’m fine and I have work to do.” Pulling her c
ell phone from her shirt pocket, Sienna began to dial only to have it snatched out of her hand. “Hey!”

  “First, if I were playing doctor you’d be naked by now. Second, work can wait.” He tossed the phone on the sofa and turned her back to the bedroom.

  “Stop it!”

  “I will when you’re horizontal. I’ll carry you if you keep struggling.”

  Sizing him up, Sienna deduced she could take him in a second. Grabbing his arm, she spun, ready to flip him over her shoulder, and found herself being lifted up and tossed over his shoulder. “Put me down right now.”

  “You’re feisty.” He turned the bedroom light on. “Normally I like that, but not when you’re in a weakened state.” He plopped her butt first onto her bed.

  She stood up, challenging. “I am not weak.”

  He pushed her back down. “Right.”

  Before she could stand again, he climbed on top of her, straddling her legs and pinning her to the bed. Daisy was of no help whatsoever as she hopped up on the bed and began to lick Sienna’s face.

  “Nope, not weak at all,” Nathan boasted with a satisfactory smile on his face.

  It grated on her that he was right. She’d spent her energy trying to flip him over her back. Damn it, she hated being weak. “Get off of me, you buffoon!”

  “Yeah sure, because I look stupid. You might as well stop fighting because I’m not giving in.”

  Grunting, Sienna gave up and lay still, staring up at him. He was so damn charming even with that smarmy smile on his face. She’d never cared much for a man with facial hair before, but the thin dark line over his upper lip and the dusting of dark hair on his chin added to his attractiveness. And made her heart swell even more.

  “Fine, I’ll stay in bed but at least let me phone and make sure the scene was processed properly.”

  “It was. Dante saw to it.”

  “Who brought the bodies in? Doc Hawthorn was with me.”

  “He called in a technician and instructed him to keep the bodies secure until he could get back to them. It’s all been taken care of and now all you have to worry about is taking care of yourself. Look—Daisy has the right idea.”

  There she was, cute as can be, curled up beside Sienna and sound asleep.

  Blowing out a breath, Sienna closed her eyes. Maybe if she tried real hard she could remember something tangible about the killer.

  “That’s a girl.”

  The kiss on her forehead startled her and when Nathan climbed off of her she figured he’d taken her closed eyes as a sign of giving in. It worked to her advantage. She closed them again. She sighed inwardly when he pulled the blankets over her and her pup then kissed her head once more.

  When she heard him walk to the door and click off the light she figured he’d leave her to sleep. And the instant he left the room she planned on making her calls.

  Then she felt the bed give beside her and his arm come over her and all her plans got washed away by the warm sensation of his lips on her cheek.

  “I still have my clothes on.”

  “I have no intentions of jumping your bones,” he whispered.

  “I can’t sleep with my clothes on.” The blanket was tossed aside and when she tried to sit up, he pushed her back down. His hands came to her waist and before she could protest, he was drawing the zipper down. With a heavy sigh, she let him strip her of her boots, then her pants and finally her shirt. In the faint light coming from the bedroom window she saw as he undressed, then climbed in beside her.

  His arm came over her chest and his naked body pressed into her side. His hand caressed the puppy at her side and feeling the fatigue swallow her, Sienna fell deep into sleep.

  ***

  Because Nathan didn’t want to wake Sienna with the fresh scent of coffee brewing, he leashed the dog and headed out to purchase a steaming cup and let the puppy relieve herself. Daisy barely made it to the sidewalk before squatting down in the gutter and emptying her bladder.

  “When you gotta go, you gotta go.” When Daisy had finished her duty, she jumped back on the sidewalk, her tail wagging. “Think you can manage to go three blocks without another break?” When the puppy barked, Nathan took that as a yes and started off.

  It was a nice morning with a little nip in the air that had his eyes snapping open. Which was good, considering he hadn’t slept much during the night. While Sienna had slept soundly beside him, Nathan had counted each breath. He’d dozed off and on but when the dog woke him at six in the morning with a sloppy wet kiss he figured she needed a pee break. He’d been so right.

  When his cell phone rang in his pocket, his first thought was that it was the killer. Checking the ID, he saw it was his mother. Nathan wasn’t sure he was relieved or not.

  But he answered in a cheery tone. “Hello, Mom, how are you this fine morning?”

  “You sound in good spirits.”

  “I am.” And he owed it all to the sleeping beauty he’d fallen in love with.

  “I’m very relieved to hear that. I got your flowers. Thank you.”

  “You are very welcome. Daisy, sit.” When the puppy obeyed, Nathan checked the road before crossing.

  “Daisy? Who on earth is Daisy and why are you asking her to sit?”

  “Daisy is…” How did he describe Sienna to his mother? Aw hell, just come out with it. “A dog and she belongs to the woman I’m in love with.” There was a very long pause. “Mom, did you hear me?”

  “I’m not sure. Did you just tell me you’ve fallen in love?”

  “Yes I did.” He beamed.

  “With a dog?”

  “Mom…”

  “Fine, tell me about her.”

  “She’s a cop, a lieutenant to be exact. She’s beautiful, smart, tough, has the cutest dog you’ve ever seen, and she’s stubborn.”

  “Does she have a name, son?”

  He laughed. “Of course. Sienna Storm. You’ll love her.” And he realized now that he wanted his family to meet her, something he rarely ever did with his other girlfriends. Sienna…was different. She was…dear God, she was the one. “As soon as this case is wrapped up I’m going to bring her home to dinner.” The dog began to bark wildly, drawing his attention. “I need to go, Mom. The dog’s having a fit. I’ll call you later. Love you.” Disconnecting the phone, Nathan tucked it in his jacket pocket then knelt down to see what was wrong with Daisy.

  He felt the presence behind him and as he looked up, his entire body came to alert.

  “Hello, Detective.”

  Nathan stood and, reaching for his weapon, felt his body suddenly seize up. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t move. All he could do was stare into the cold black eyes of the killer.

  “I’ve been waiting for you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Sienna woke to a sluggish sensation filling her body. As she sat up, her chest reminded her of her ordeal and had her pausing a moment to catch her breath. Looking to her left she saw the spot beside her was vacant and looked as if it hadn’t been slept in for quite some time. Glancing at the clock beside her bed, she frowned at the time. It was after eight. She hadn’t meant to sleep so long.

  Pulling her legs from under the covers, she slipped off the bed, feeling groggy and weak. That damn vision had really taken a lot out of her. Grabbing her robe, Sienna pulled it on as she left her bedroom. Fully expecting to see both Daisy and Nathan in either the kitchen or living room, Sienna was more than a little disappointed to find the apartment empty.

  And there was no coffee made.

  Since Daisy was nowhere to be seen, Sienna figured Nathan had taken her for a walk. So she made coffee and while she waited for it to brew, she checked her messages. When someone knocked on her door she answered it, thinking it was Nathan. “Forgot to bribe the caretaker—oh…hey, Mr. Hadley. Daisy
?” Closing her cell phone, Sienna reached out to take her dog.

  “She was barking up a storm outside. Guess you didn’t notice she got out.”

  Cuddling the shaking puppy, Sienna responded, “I thought my…yeah,” she said after giving it a second thought. He didn’t need to know she had a lover over. “I guess she must have gotten out when I got home. Thanks, Mr. Hadley.”

  “Your young friend might have forgotten to close the door when he left.”

  She really wasn’t in the mood for small talk with creepy Mr. Hadley but remained polite. “Thanks again, Mr. Hadley.” She started closing the door, which thankfully, encouraged Mr. Hadley to back up and leave. “Did you sneak out when Nathan left?” she asked Daisy while carrying her back into the apartment. It stung more than a little that Nathan had left without so much as a word.

  Telling herself not to let it get to her, not to feel anything for him, she kissed the puppy on the head and that was when she noticed the note attached to her collar. “What’s this?” Slipping it out, she set Daisy on the floor and opened the tiny swatch of paper. The blood caught her attention before she noticed what it said.

  “I have him. You want him? Come find him.”

  She touched the blood used to print the note and the vision slapped her like an angry hand and knocked her back.

  Nathan’s eyes stared wildly as he was chained to a chair by someone wearing blue jeans and brown hiker boots. His body frozen, he was unable to do anything to stop what was happening to him. Secured, his left hand was lifted and the glint of a knife flashed him in the eyes. She felt the searing pain as it was sliced across his palm.

  She came out of the vision gasping and falling solidly on her ass. Her chest ached, her head throbbed, and as her mind cleared she realized what had happened.

  Nathan was in trouble.

  She tried to stand but her legs gave out on her. “Damn it!” Daisy barked once then scurried off to the bedroom. On her knees, Sienna crawled to the telephone sitting by the sofa and dialed Detective Vega’s cell. Leaning against the sofa, she caught her breath as the phone was answered. “I need assistance. Nathan’s been captured by our killer. Come to my apartment. A.S.A.P.” The phone fell from her grasp and the room went black.