Fateful Attractions

by Lucretia Stanhope

  The agent showed no expression at his less subtle telling of the night. “I understand you are not from around here?”

  “Florida. I will be here until she has answers and feels safe.”

  “Good. I’m glad she won’t be alone.” He tapped his pen against the table a few times while he read his notes. “Where can I reach you, if I have more questions?”

  Shane gave him a card and they started out of the room. When he made it back to the lobby he found Gwen sipping coffee.

  The agent thanked them both again, and they left.

  As soon as they were in the car, Gwen broke down crying fully. While she cried, he held her hand silently and waited.

  “I knew him too,” she finally said.

  Shane blew out a breath. “Okay, I assumed as much. What are we doing now? Do you want to go home, drive, whatever you need?”

  Her eyes studied him. “If you really want to stay, we need to talk.”

  “That sounds serious.” He started the car and drove out of the parking lot. “Where are we talking? Is it a diner talk or a private at home talk?”

  “Driving talk. There will still be people at the house.” She looked forward. “Shane, before we do this, can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.” He watched the road, wondering what he might hear tonight. Vampires could be it, or witches, or voodoo even.

  “Are you really just an empath?”

  “Yep, any direction in particular?” He turned to her as the houses started to fade into trees.

  She watched the soft light highlight his handsome face. Even as a witch, he was still not safe. An empath couldn’t fight Fannie. “Left here. I can’t drag you into this. I’m sorry. We should have never done what we did tonight.”

  He slowed the car. Panic started to grip him, she couldn’t dump him. Not yet, not after just one time. “What we did? That’s cold after all we’ve been through. Are you serious, you didn’t feel that? I can’t ignore that. I know you were hurt and probably trying to get back at Dillon for lying to you, but I ignored that, because I wanted to be with you so badly.” He wrapped his fingers on the gear shift and turned up the hurt in his voice. “It was more to me. Did it really mean nothing to you?”

  He tried for tears but none came, all he managed was a broken look on his face.

  “No Shane, it wasn’t about Dillon, don’t think that. Please. I’m not like that. I’ve only had two lovers, including you. I was hurt, yes, and we should have waited, but that doesn’t change that I care about you. We wouldn’t have if I didn’t.” She wrapped her fingers together and then chewed her lips. “If someone is killing people I loved, then you need to get as far away as possible. There just aren’t many names between you and Barry.”

  Two, including me? “Because these people who lived in other states were so safe?” His tone came out snarkier than he intended.

  “Do you have family, people you love?”

  “I could.” He reached out and took her hand. “I really could.”

  She swallowed and rolled down the window. “I mean now, mom? Siblings?”

  “Sure, I guess. We aren’t that close, me and my parents.” He pulled off on the narrow shoulder and stopped the car. “What is it, Gwen? I know you’ve been hurt and you are scared, but I’m ready to go all in with you. I won’t lie to you. I won’t abandon you. Can you let me in?”

  “No. I can’t, and for a million reasons that are not Dillon.” She looked away, not wanting to see his hurt eyes anymore.

  “Tell me, what million reasons because there are a million and one little things about you that will wash them all away for me.”

  “Really? Fine, Shane, I’m a witch, a proper make things happen witch. There are people that want me dead, who are even more powerful. There are things that watch over me that are the things of nightmares.” She got out of the car and paced the side of the road.

  He got out and walked over to her, stood in front of her and held both of her hands. “Okay, is that it?”

  She nodded.

  He looked at her, seeing the fear in her eyes.

  She didn’t want to be alone, but she still didn’t feel right about dragging him into this.

  He could sense she was terrified. “It’s not news to me. I could feel your magic the second you walked in my shop. Since I’ve been here, I gathered something nasty is after you. I’m still here. The only thing I have a problem with is being your second choice. That hurts. Can we change that?”

  She was going to protest, but he hit on something. As much as she tried to avoid it, she really cared deeply about Dillon. It was clear to her by how much it hurt when he lied to her and chose Ronda. She loved him. What did she feel about Shane? Something. Something more than frivolous sex, she didn’t do that.

  Everything was fated, as a witch she knew that. Sebastian wasn’t her fate. That was painful, but she recovered and fell in love with Dillon. It seemed Dillon wasn’t her fate. Something drew her to Shane. People didn’t cross paths or come together like they had by chance.

  He dropped everything, even left his livelihood to help her sort her drama. She repaid him by making him feel second. Guilt started to crash in around her. She hurt him. That wasn’t how she treated people.

  Decide, Gwen. He deserves as much, she chided herself and recalled giving Sebastian a similar demand not too long ago. If she was going to date him seriously, he would be first and she would treat him in a way that left him in no doubt.

  She needed to figure out where Fannie was, and end this before it touched him. “I’m sorry. I’ve behaved atrociously. If you really want to see this out, I promise you will never be second to anyone.”

  He watched the moonlight dance on her face and saw in her eyes that he finally accomplished the first step in getting to her heart, clearing out the old rubbish. “I really do.”

  “Do you understand that makes you a target to very dark things?”

  He kissed her, feeling her lighten and relax in his arms. “What do you want to do?” he asked after holding her and letting her fully relax.

  She looked to the sky, seeing that it wasn’t too late. “I can’t do much at night. Trust me on that. Tomorrow I want to go to a place called council.” She stepped back and kicked her toe in the dirt. “I’m not sure it’s safe to take you there.”

  “What do you need to do there?”

  “This debt that requires my life, it’s linked to my family. I need to start tracing my history.” She sighed. “I wonder if we could do it without council. They’ll involve, well, there are things I’d rather not have focused on us right now.”

  He knew she was trying to dance around Dmitry and the witch’s council. Probably the Greta witch that Dmitry seemed to work closely with. “Sure we can. The police didn’t tell us to stay here, we can fly to where you were born and hit the libraries, and court records. You’d be surprised what you can find out.”

  “Have you heard of shadow walking?” Her eyes almost sparkled at the idea of having a witch in her life, someone to love that she didn’t have to lie to. Not about everything at least.

  “No, it sounds like fun though.” He pulled her to him again. “I love the way your eyes light up when you are happy. I’ve missed that since all this awfulness happened.”

  “Let’s go home. I need to talk with Sebastian about a few things. He gives good advice and will know best how to proceed.”

  “The older guy I met before we left?”

  “There’s a lot to Sebastian. Later for that. Just know he is one of the good guys. If you ever find yourself backed in a corner, you can trust him.”

  Chapter Seven

  G wen sighed and closed her eyes when she saw the patrol car still in the yard. “It must be a pretty gruesome sight if they are still here.”

  Shane looked around the dark drive. “It looks like just Dillon, maybe he’s waiting to talk with you and the site is already cleared. Let’s try to stay positive, okay?”

  “Sure, thank you. Really.�
� When all of this was over she would enjoy his optimistic attitude, but at the moment she wasn’t feeling it.

  When they walked inside, Sebastian and Dillon were in the main room.

  The smells of spice and sugar mingled, making a strange blend of the two men she’d loved, who both pushed her away without giving any good reason. Her emotions were still raw and seeing them both there did not help.

  Shane felt a tension fill the air. “You want me to start coffee, sweetheart?”

  “That would be wonderful, I’ll help.” Gwen squeezed his hand.

  “No, I got it. Coffee?” Shane asked and nodded to Dillon and Sebastian.

  “No, thank you.” Sebastian observed him with keen eyes.

  “Sure, thanks. Actually, I’ll help you. Sebastian wanted to talk to Gwen.” Dillon started toward the kitchen and looked back to Sebastian. “Thank you again. I’m sorry it’s been such a long night.”

  Shane gave Gwen a soft peck and walked behind Dillon.

  As soon as they were alone, Gwen and Sebastian walked to the glass room.

  “What’s going on? Have you seen Sergei? How did this happen at our lake without you or Sergei knowing? Was it Fannie?” She paced, wanting to talk to him, but now that they were so close again and she felt the way she always felt in his presence, she wanted him gone. His aura called to her and his arms promised safety.

  He could feel her bristle and tried to avoid prying in her thoughts. “Easy, you always get so far ahead of yourself. Relax and tell me what your instincts say.”

  She spun to look at him directly, her eyes narrowed on him. “Forget my instincts, they said Curtis was okay. They said you were my soulmate. They said I loved Dillon. My instincts can’t be trusted. Yours however are not susceptible to such notions as love, so you tell me what are we looking at.”

  He stepped toward her and she stepped back. “What’s this? Is it about us, has something else changed?”

  “There was nothing to change. Nothing important enough to you.” Her eyes locked on his. They were as always, deep blue pools of love and patience. “Forget us, dead bodies in my yard.”

  “Yes, dead bodies, but you are hurting about something else? Betrayal? Is that what I am feeling? Is it this Shane witch? What’s happened?” His gaze intensified as he looked at her sad eyes.

  “No, it’s none of your concern. My heart is plenty capable of taking a hit thanks to you. You just stay out of my thoughts. Was it Fannie?” She looked away from him, not ready to see those eyes that always beckoned her, followed by the words that pushed her away.

  “No, I got very close and sensed no voodoo, no Fannie and no Lewis. It was a witch.” His desire to hold her and take her away bordered on need.

  That caused her to look back to him. “A witch? Could you tell who?”

  “No one I’ve tracked before.” He started to reach out for her.

  She brushed his hand away. “The man was my first boyfriend, the first one was my teacher, who I had a crush on. My first and second loves.”

  “Who’s next?” He sighed, stepped close, and reached for her face. “Please, let me comfort you. I hate to feel this hurt from you.”

  “No.” She stood back a little more, wanting the distance between them as far as possible, without making it so they had to speak too loudly. “You agree then, this is about me?”

  “I have no doubt.” He looked away from her, the aching she felt was coming off in intense waves and mingled with confusion and fear. He’d felt that the night she confronted him and he told her they had no future. This was about Dillon. He could hear whispers of her thoughts all night, even though he continually pushed them away, not wanting to pry. Now that he let them flow, Dillon’s stiff behavior earlier made sense.

  She started to pace. “Okay, after Barry, I dug into school. I didn’t date again until Freshman year at college. Professor Greenly. He probably still teaches there.”

  “You dated your professor?”

  She looked away as she thought back to her first lover. “Apparently I like mentors. Don’t judge me. I didn’t go out. I worked and went to class, the only people I knew were at school.”

  “Okay, that is a start, after him?”

  “Lewis.” Her aura wavered as she thought about him. There was so much unresolved in her past. She needed to clear it all up before she could really be one hundred percent with Shane. It was the right thing to do.

  “You and Lewis were lovers?”

  “No, of course not. I would have told you.” She looked at him with hurt eyes. “You know familiars and witches can’t be together like that.”

  He walked into her space. “It’s not like you think. Please let me comfort you. What happened tonight?”

  “Don’t touch me. If you want to know, just rip it from my mind like the monster you are.” She looked to him, appearing shocked by her own words. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t fair. Please, help me figure this out. I wasn’t lovers with either of the two dead men, okay. If we are following the line of reasoning, it is just people I loved, or thought I loved.”

  Sebastian read more unease in her thoughts and could feel that her memories of the teacher were not happy. “Okay, we can assume Lewis is safe, witches can’t hurt familiars, there aren’t many creatures that can.”

  “Good, does that mean you will be safe too?” Her hands started to shake. “You know if they are targeting people I loved, you are the prize jewel.”

  He frowned and fought the urge to tell her that he did love her too, still, and always would. “You don’t have to worry about me either.”

  “I’m sorry, for what I said. I’m so weary, Sebastian. I just can’t do this right now. Dead bodies on top of us dissolving before my eyes, and Dillon and I’ve, Shane.” She started to cry.

  “I deserve every harsh word. I will always be here for you. I promise nothing will ever happen to you.” He sighed. “Do you want Yardley here during the day?”

  “No, I want him protecting you. Dillon, Shane, we can’t let them, we can’t let it get to Steven, Mr. Greenly. How can we check on him? I need to take a shadow walk to the school and make sure he’s okay.” Her voice slowly raised in octave as she started to get panicked.

  “Not alone you don’t.”

  “I am never alone at night, you know that. Let me get rid of Dillon. I’ll take Shane with me, you know Sergei will follow us. Can you watch him, Dillon, until daybreak? Please. Please, if something already happened to Steven, and we assume you and Lewis are off the radar, Dillon will be next.”

  He looked at her with eyes that said he wouldn’t let her down. “Nothing will happen to Dillon.”

  “I have to go soon. Sergei will report to Dmitry. He may have heard it in my thoughts. Can you give me a boost for my nerves, this has been a draining day?” She took a step toward him with a tentative look on her face.

  “I’ve been asking to help you with that since you walked in, my love.” Sebastian held her and took away all of her tension.

  When she relaxed a little, she looked up and whispered. “Don’t call me that.”

  His hand stroked her hair, releasing the smell of roses as he pulled off all of her pain and confusion, before he filled her with all of the strength he could. “We can’t be, but you will always be my love.”

  S hane made the coffee, not expecting any help from Dillon, since his hand was wrapped and he winced each time he tried to use it. “Guess you’ll be wary of the car door for a while. That looks brutal.”

  Dillon looked at his throbbing hand and back to the smug smile on Shane’s face. “I guess you know your monster did that. Brutal doesn’t begin to cover it.”

  Shane’s lips formed a circle. “Oh, I see. Hey, we don’t have to be enemies. I’m seriously looking forward to beer and fishing.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Dillon’s face wrinkled and he turned away, getting out three cups with his left hand. “Do you realize what happened tonight?”

  “Sure, what needed to happen. Hey, those monst
ers strong-armed me too.” Shane poured the coffee. “The worst is over now.”

  “The worst? I hurt Gwen. I hurt her, and I’m not supposed to do a thing about it. It’s killing me inside. I love her. Do you?” Dillon watched, waiting for an answer. “Do you love her? Can you love her?”

  Shane turned the coffee pot off. “I don’t have to love her. She needs to love me. I need her in a family way.”

  “Why? Is that what this is about? Is this related to the dead bodies?” Dillon took a sip of his coffee, trying to hold down the urge to brawl with Shane in her kitchen.

  “No, the dead bodies are your issue. Though I must admit, they added to the vulnerable state that finally warmed her up.” Shane raised both his brows. “If you can’t find the killer, Sergei will. He protects Gwen.”

  “Where do you fit in this with the monsters?”

  “They, like you do, think she is something special. Too special for you. I guess I have some supernatural quality you don’t. Too bad. We all have a part to play. I’ll play mine. You play yours, and Sergei won’t have to break your other hand.”

  Dillon’s mouth dropped. “Are you threatening me?”

  “Look, I don’t care if you are friends with Gwen. Just give me a few more days. I’ll let you know when I’m solid.”

  “It’s not like that. It can’t be like that. She’s a treasure. She’s…”

  “She’s mine.” He took a sip of his coffee. “I’ll carry hers since you can’t. I sent Sergei, just remember that when you are feeling all uppity with me.”

  “You? You sent that thing to me?”

  “I did. I will again, if need be.” Shane took two cups and walked out.

  Dillon stood in the kitchen a few more minutes, gathering himself.