by E. J. King
“You don’t sound very convinced.” I sat up, starting to feel panicked. “It sounds like you think I might be right about it being more than a dream.”
“When we do find Benton, there’s a good chance that we won’t all survive. We’ve been lucky so far.” Rafe quickly realized his words weren’t entirely true.
“Hope is a vampire, Rafe. Ethan is under an insanely strong compulsion and Luke is dead because of it. I would hardly call us lucky.” Just thinking about what had happened to Luke made my stomach turn.
Rafe sighed. “You’re right. I never should have said that.”
“There is one way that we could keep people safe,” I said with a pointed look.
“No.” His head shook furiously. “Don’t even think about it.”
“If I go to Benton on my own, I’m the only one in danger. It’s an option we have to consider.” It was hard to seem intimidating with messy hair and rumpled clothes, but I did my best.
“It’s the worst option possible. I knew you would want to sacrifice yourself.” He glared in annoyance and suddenly I understood why he had been sitting up watching me all night.
“You thought I was going to take off again?” I said with an indignant gasp. “You were guarding me?”
He shrugged. “It’s not like you haven’t taken off in the past.”
“You’re my boyfriend, Rafe, not my warden. If I want to leave, I will,” I snapped.
Rafe leaned forward, his voice low. “Kaylie, I respect you more than anyone in this world and normally I would never force you to do something you don’t want to do. But if you try to walk out that door without me, I’m going to stop you.”
“You can’t threaten me, Rafe.”
“I’m not threatening you. I’m protecting you.” He continued to stare at me without blinking. “I’m nothing without you, Kaylie. Selfishly, I can’t risk losing you.”
“You might lose me anyway,” I said softly. There was a very good possibility that Benton was going to win and I was going to die. “I’m willing to die if it means keeping you and the others safe.”
“That’s exactly what keeps me up at night.” He finally glanced away, toward the window. “The sun is almost up. We’ll be leaving soon.”
I understood the dread in his voice. Staying at Mark’s house may not have been a luxury vacation, but it had been a relatively peaceful break in our normally chaotic lives. Once we stepped outside the door, that chaos would be back. Our lives would pick up right where we had left off.
“This will all be over in a couple of days,” I said, trying to sound like I thought that was a good thing. We had to make a quick stop to find Ken Night and then we would be back in Jackson, facing off against Benton.
“Yeah.” Rafe nodded. “It will all be over soon.”
CHAPTER TEN
For the entire drive to the Night house, I felt like I was on the verge of throwing up. It was a feeling I had become accustomed to in the last couple of weeks. My stomach was perpetually doing somersaults. Maybe it was because all I could think about was my likely impending death. I had taken an extra moment when saying goodbye to Mark, realizing that this might truly be our last goodbye. Mark realized it too, embracing me longer than would normally be acceptable.
“Home sweet home,” Ethan said as the car stopped in front of the uninviting Night house. We had spent almost all of our time in the car in silence.
Rafe led the way to the front door with Ethan close behind. Hope and I stayed back a few feet. Their mother, Kate, opened the door looking exhausted.
“James. Ethan.” She said their names without smiling or indicating any emotion at all. “Please, come in.”
“Not exactly a warm family reunion, is it?” Hope muttered. It was her first time meeting their mother and I understood the reaction. Kate treated her sons like strangers.
The last time I had been in her home, it had been obsessively clean and orderly. Now, it looked like a tornado had ripped through it. Papers, weapons, and clothing were littered throughout the house. The only room that was somewhat hospitable was the kitchen and that was where we gathered, seated stiffly around the small table.
“Ken left three days ago to visit an old friend of ours, Daniel Lewis. He was hoping that Daniel would be able to help him find Benton. I told him it wasn’t a good idea, but Ken ignored me. Like always.” Annoyance flashed through her eyes for the briefest of seconds. “I haven’t heard from him since that morning. I must’ve called him at least a hundred times, but he never picked up his phone.”
“Where does Daniel live these days?” Ethan asked.
“Just in the next town over. I can’t imagine what could’ve happened to Ken between here and there. It’s less than a twenty minute drive.” Kate fidgeted with a snag in the tablecloth. “Daniel isn’t answering his phone either.”
Rafe cringed. “We’ll have to pay him a visit.”
“If we leave soon, we can get there before dark.” The last time we had been in town, a nest of Souls had been after Ken. If they were still around, we needed to be extra careful after dark.
“About that…” Rafe hesitated, avoiding eye contact with me.
“You can’t go, Kaylie,” Ethan finished for him. “It’s too dangerous.”
I laughed. “You’re kidding, right? Too dangerous?”
Everything I had been doing with the brothers over the last few months had been too dangerous. Why was this suddenly an issue?
“You don’t understand, Kaylie.” Rafe glanced at Ethan before looking at me. “Daniel is mentally unstable. He also is the most conservative Hunter I’ve ever met.”
“What does that mean?” Hope asked, more than a little confused. “How is a conservative Hunter different from other Hunters?”
“Conservative Hunters have a strict moral compass,” I said, understanding exactly what Ethan meant. “For instance, they would kill you the second they saw those gold eyes.”
“Oh.” Understanding dawned in Hope’s eyes. “So I get why I can’t go, but why does Kaylie have to stay behind?”
Rafe grimaced as he answered. “Because Daniel knows about her blood and he will want to use it to his advantage.”
“How?” Hope’s eyebrows knit together. “Her blood doesn’t really help him unless he’s either a Lost Soul or a Were.”
“It’s not about helping him, it’s about using it to kill Souls,” Ethan explained. “He’ll want to harvest Kaylie’s blood.”
“Let him try,” I said, feeling an intense burning building in my chest. I was really sick of all the people and monsters that wanted to use me and my blood. “I can handle one crazy Hunter.”
“Kaylie.” Rafe shot me a warning glance. “We all know that you aren’t prepared to kill a Hunter over something like this. It’s better to not put any of us in a situation we aren’t ready to handle.”
I hated it when he was right. “Fine. Hope and I will stay back. But you have to check in with me every twenty minutes. If I don’t hear from you, this deal is done.”
“Every twenty minutes?” Rafe’s face lit up with humor. “When did you turn into the overprotective girlfriend?”
“Just now,” I said stubbornly. “Don’t forget, Ken just took this same trip and no one has seen him since.”
The words hung ominously over the table and Kate’s face crumpled. I instantly regretted my choice of words.
“I’m sorry. I just meant that we need to be extra careful,” I hurried to correct myself.
“Don’t be sorry.” She dismissed my apology with a wave of her hand. “You are right to worry about them. Perhaps if I had worried more we wouldn’t be in this dire situation.”
Fifteen minutes later, the guys had directions to Daniel’s place and were ready to leave.
“Be careful,” I warned Rafe, putting on a brave face. “If you let anything bad happen to you, I’ll kick your ass.”
Rafe grinned. “You’re cute when you are worried and irrational.”
“I’m c
ute all of the time,” I objected.
“Yes, you are,” he agreed with another laugh. Then he cupped my face between his hands and leaned close, his forehead pressed against mine. “I’ll be back very soon.”
“You better.” After a quick but sweet kiss, he was gone.
Kate told us to make ourselves at home, so Hope and I went upstairs to find a comfortable place to relax while we waited for the guys to return.
“They’ll be okay, right?” Hope asked, flopping onto the first bed we found. It was the same room where Rafe had hidden the first time he brought me to his parents’ house.
“Yeah, sure. They’ll be back before we even miss them,” I said. But it wasn’t true. I already missed them. “Ooh look! A photo album.”
I yanked the giant book from the bookshelf and Hope made room for me to sit next to her. The book was heavy.
“I wonder what Ethan looked like as a little boy,” Hope said excitedly as I opened the cover. She didn’t have to wait long to find out.
“Aww…” we both chorused at the sight of a pint-sized Ethan.
“Adorable,” Hope added. “We would’ve had beautiful children.”
I gave her a questioning look. “Would have because you’ve broken up or would have because you’re a vampire now?”
“Both.” She shrugged. “I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”
I flipped through a few pages of the Night family’s photos trying to reconcile the dysfunctional parents I had met in person with the ones that smiled lovingly back at me. Then I realized what I was really seeing.
“Where’s Rafe?” I wondered aloud. Out of the first twenty photo, he wasn’t in any of them.
Hope flipped over another page. “He must be in here. They surely couldn’t have an entire photo album without a picture of him.”
A third of the way through, I found him. He was a scrawny kid with dark hair and haunting eyes. I could tell from one glance that he wasn’t like other little boys. He was damaged and it showed in the way he ducked his head and refused to smile.
“Oh my gosh,” Hope breathed. “He looks so sad.”
The only time he didn’t look like he was being tortured was when he was with Ethan. When the two of them were captured in candid moments, Rafe looked almost happy. But those moments were few and far between.
“Wait a minute.” Hope slapped a hand onto a photo. “Who is that?”
When her finger pointed to a tiny girl with a dusting of red hair, my mouth dropped open. “That’s me!”
I remembered that Kate had known my parents. It wasn’t entirely surprising that a picture of me existed in their collection. But it was still shocking to see myself as a baby, propped up against a cushion and wedged between two little boys. One of them, a smiling blond, was not much older than me. Ethan.
The other boy, dark and serious, was older. Rafe was probably almost four years old in the photo and his arm was around my shoulders, keeping me from falling.
“Whoa.” Hope looked as shocked as I felt. “The three of you knew each other back then. How weird is that?”
“Very weird.” I couldn’t take my eyes away from the picture. My chubby little hand clutched at Rafe’s shirt. Instead of looking at the camera, my head was turned toward him and I was staring at him with wide, adoring eyes.
“It looks like you were in love with him even back then,” Hope said with a laugh. “Talk about soul mates.”
Later, when Hope had closed her eyes to get some sleep, I removed the photo from the album and folded it carefully before slipping it into my pocket.
Ethan called exactly twenty minutes later to let me know that they had just arrived at Daniel’s house. From what they could tell, no one was home.
While Hope slept, I went down to the kitchen for some coffee. I found Kate still seated at the kitchen table.
“Sorry,” I stammered, feeling the awkwardness of the situation. “I just wanted some coffee.”
“Sure. There’s a fresh pot. Help yourself,” Kate answered, keeping her eyes on the full mug of coffee in front of her.
Once I had my own full mug, I took a seat across from her. “I’m sure they will find your husband,” I said.
“I should never have called James.” Kate looked at me and I was surprised to see that her eyes were filled with unshed tears. “That man was so terrible to him… he doesn’t deserve to be found.”
“Why did you let him do that to your son?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. As appalling as I found the abusive step-father, I was more horrified that Rafe’s own mother had never once tried to stop the beatings.
“I don’t know.” She blinked hard and a single tear ran down her cheek. “I was a horrible mother to him. I think I was still grieving the loss of Tom at first. I really loved that man.”
“Rafe’s father?” I asked. “I don’t think you can blame grief for your terrible parenting.”
She sighed. “You’re right. I have no one to blame but myself. James was such a good boy, too. He always did whatever he could to make me happy. For a long time, he tried to make Ken happy, too. But that just wasn’t possible.”
“Despite what the two of you did to him, he grew up to be an amazing man. As much as I want to hate you, I don’t think I can. I wouldn’t have him in my life if it wasn’t for you.” I took a long sip of a coffee. “I guess at least you did that one thing right.”
“I can’t take credit for that. He’s just like his father.” Kate looked like she was going to cry again. “He always looked so much like Tom. Especially now.”
“Do you know that people suspect that Ken let Tom get killed because he wanted to be with you?” The words just flew out of my mouth.
Her shoulders tensed and any trace of tears vanished immediately. “Yes, I’ve heard the rumors.”
“You’re sure they are just rumors?’ I pressed.
“I’m not sure of anything anymore.” Her head tilted to the right. “I made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I know the worst mistake I ever made was marrying Ken. But just like how you can’t hate me, I can’t hate him. He gave me my Ethan.”
I nodded in agreement. “Another of your successes. Maybe you’re done more right in your life than you think.”
“You love my boys?” she asked.
“I do.” I smiled thinking about them. “They are my family.”
“Good.” She gave one stiff nod of her head. “You take care of them. Love them better than I did.”
I was surprised at her defeatist tone. “It’s not too late, Kate. You can still atone for your mistakes.”
The way she looked at me said that she didn’t agree.
My phone vibrated as a text message came through. Rafe and Ethan hadn’t found anyone at Daniel’s, but they had found a clue that might lead us to Ken. They were headed back to the house.
Kate was done with our bonding moment. She went over to the sink and began furiously scrubbing dishes. Now that I knew the guys were safely on their way back, a nap sounded like a good idea.
I found a second bedroom that looked inviting enough and instantly fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. Just like the previous night, I began to dream. This dream was the same as the previous, with one small difference. This time I caught my own reflection in the mirror above the fireplace. The first thing I saw was the blood running from the corner of my mouth; the second thing I saw were the two sharp fangs peeking between my crimson lips.
“My daughter at last,” Benton said just before snapping Rafe’s neck.
“Kaylie!”
Someone was shaking me awake and I had to blink my eyes several times to pull myself from the nightmare.
“Rafe?”
“It’s me. You were having a nightmare.” His hand was firm on my shoulder, anchoring me back into reality.
“Yikes. That one was a doozy.” I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’re back.”
“I’m back.” He smiled at me. “Just in time, apparently.”
“Tell me about the trip.” I rubbed at my eyes in an attempt to clear the fog of sleep.
Rafe’s hand moved from my shoulder and rested lightly on my hip. “Daniel wasn’t there. In fact, I don’t think he’s been there in weeks. Ken must not have thought to call ahead before he left.”
“You said something about a clue?” I couldn’t understand why I was struggling so much to pull myself from the lingering memories of my nightmare.
“Daniel had been investigating supernatural activity in the area. He had narrowed it down to a location between his house and here. That’s probably where Ken went missing.” Rafe’s finger flicked something poking from my pocket. “What’s that?”
“Huh?” I glanced down, trying to remember what I had put there. “Oh. Right.”
I grabbed the exposed corner and pulled the picture free. “Hope and I did some snooping while you were gone and look what I found.”
Rafe scanned the photo, a slight smile forming when he realized what he was seeing. “That’s you.”
“It is.” I managed to make myself sit up. “It’s me and you. And Ethan.”
“You were a cute baby,” he said, eyes sparkling. “And clearly you were infatuated with me even then.”
“Clearly.” I rolled my eyes before turning serious. “The three of us have been in each other’s lives longer than we could’ve imagined.”
He refolded the picture and slipped it into my pocket. With no trace of teasing, he said, “We were destined to be together.”
“We never stood a chance,” I agreed. “For once, destiny paid off for me.”
Rafe gave me one last smile before his Hunter face appeared. “We need to leave soon. The sooner we find Ken, the sooner we can leave for Jackson.”
“Right.” I stood quickly and stretched, taking several deep breaths. My head finally began to clear. “It’s good to be back in the game.”
“It’s good to have you back.” Rafe’s Hunter-face waivered. “Just make sure you are extra careful tonight. Ken is a lot of things, but he is a really good Hunter. If something got him… Just be careful.”
“I don’t need to be careful,” I said with a smirk. “I’ve got you watching my back.”