by SK
Even though she needed to sleep, she wanted answers.
Before she could stop herself, she asked the one that bothered her most. “What did you and my dad fight over the night they died?”
Jess fell quiet as her whispered question stirred old memories that cut him up deep inside. Things he’d tried not to think about. Things that had haunted him for years. As bad as those memories had been for him, he could only imagine how much harder they’d been for her. Damn shame for a mite to see such a thing as what had happened to her parents.
A part of him wanted to lie, but in the end, he spoke honestly. “Your mother.”
She sat up in the bed to stare at him. “What?”
Lowering his arm, Jess sighed at the inevitable confession she deserved to hear. “Your pa thought I was trying to steal her affections away from him.”
“Were you?”
“Hardly. Me and her were friends and nothing more.”
“You’re lying,” she accused.
If only it’d been that simple. “No, sweet. I’m telling the truth. No need for me to lie about this.”
“Why would my father think that unless you gave him reason to?”
’Cause he was fucking loco, but Jess would never say that to her. The man was her pa, and the last thing he wanted to do was taint her memory of him. The truth, though— her pa had been insanely jealous of any male in Laura’s life who was over the age of five. He assumed every man was eat up with lust for her, and in his world someone couldn’t just want to talk to her because she reminded him of someone else. Nah, and the worst of it was that he’d accused her of cheating on him. Something Laura would die before she did.
Since Jess couldn’t say any of that, he went with the other simple truth. “ ’Cause I loved your mama, and there was nothing in the world I wouldn’t have done for her or you.”
Abigail felt tears sting her eyes as she remembered the beauty of her mother’s face. She’d seen her as a wonderful angel with a smile that was filled with more warmth than the sun itself. Most of all, she remembered how safe and loved she’d felt every single time her mother wrapped her arms around her. God, to have one more second with her …
“If you were in love with—”
“Not in love, Abby. That’s what your pa couldn’t get through his thick skull. What I felt for her wasn’t that. I just wanted to make her happy and keep her safe.”
“Why?”
Jess felt the tic start in his jaw as a wave of agony swelled inside him. Laura had been a perfect physical copy of Matilda. Even some of her mannerisms. But she wasn’t Tilly, and he’d known it. “She reminded me of someone I used to know.” Someone I once loved more than anything on this earth.
“I don’t understand.”
And it was hard to explain. “I met your ma not long after she moved to Reno. She was a waitress in a restaurant where I used to go and eat sometimes.” He hadn’t been paying a bit of attention to the occupants as he took his usual seat in the small diner. He’d been staring out the window, skimming the crowd as people outside walked by, when a cup of coffee appeared on his table.
“Much obliged,” he’d muttered, expecting it to be his usual waitress, Carla, who always brought him coffee the minute he sat down.
“You’re welcome.” The soft lilt of that unfamiliar voice had dragged his attention to her face. Even now, he could feel the shock of looking up and being sucked back in time.
“Are you all right?” she’d asked.
He’d sputtered and mumbled something back at her that was probably as stupid to her as he’d felt when he said it. Over the next hour, he’d coerced enough information out of her that he was able to get Ed to run a thorough background check on her.
That report had stunned him as much as seeing her in the diner. Laura was the great-great-granddaughter of the child Bart had fathered the day he raped Matilda.
A child Matilda had given up for adoption.
By the time the Squires told him about the infant a few years after it’d been born, he’d been unable to locate it. Records weren’t kept the same way then as they were today. Until the night he’d stumbled across Laura and Ed had run his own check, he didn’t even know that child had been a boy.
At first, he’d been livid with the discovery and angry at fate for dropping that living reminder slap-dab in the middle of his territory. Since he knew he’d never dishonored Matilda by taking her before their wedding, there was no doubt about the paternal sperm donor for Laura’s line.
But by the next night, he’d chosen to focus on two things. One, it wasn’t the baby’s fault that he’d been conceived by violence, and there was no reason for Jess to hold that against the boy’s descendants. Two, they were every bit as much a part of the woman he’d loved as the children she’d kept and raised, and the descendants he had the Squires watch over. It was only fair he take care of Laura, too.
In Laura, he’d only seen Matilda’s genteel face.
In Abigail, he saw both. The woman he’d loved more than his life and the man he’d hated with every part of his being.
It was one hell of a combination.
“And?” Abigail prompted. “She was a waitress …”
“We became friends,” he said simply. And it was the absolute truth. “I’d go in a few times a week, and we’d chat for a bit.” He smiled at his bittersweet memories. Like Matilda, she’d been sweet and unassuming. “She was highly intelligent and quick-witted. Funny as all get out. I used to love listening to her banter with her friends and the other customers.”
“Did you ever go out with her?”
“Never. DarkHunters aren’t allowed to date, and I knew I had nothing to offer her. I just liked being in her company. She was a good person, and there’s not a lot of those around. I left big tips, and she threatened the life of anyone who dared try and wait on me anytime she was working.”
“Then why was my father angry at you?”
He was a psychotic idiot.
But Jess didn’t say that. “I made the mistake of giving your mother a butterfly necklace that I’d seen in a local shop on her birthday. I thought it was pretty, and the blue diamonds in it reminded me of her eyes. I meant nothing by it, but your pa didn’t see it that way. Even though I’d known her long before she met and married him, he accused her of cheating on him with me, and I left before I physically hurt him.”
Abigail searched her mind for some memory to either refute or sustain his words. All she could remember was the loud sounds of shouting voices. Her parents didn’t fight a lot, but it’d been enough that she knew to hide whenever they did.
Her hiding over it was the very thing that had saved her life.
Sundown sighed. “I went out on my patrol, but I couldn’t shake the bad feeling I had. I didn’t want to leave her with him so mad. But I knew if I’d stayed, I’d have rearranged a few of his organs, and that would have only upset her more. I figured if I left, he’d calm down and everything would be all right…. At ten, I tried to call and got no answer. That worried me even more. So I headed back and …” He hesitated before he spoke again. “The police were already there and they wouldn’t let me in. I looked around for you and asked about you, but there was no trace. They assumed that whoever killed your parents took you as well. We searched for you for a long time, but no one ever saw you again.” He scowled at her. “So what happened to you, anyway? Where did you go?”
Abigail tried to recall when her adoptive father had shown up. But all she saw was Sundown walking out of her room. And then it’d seemed like forever before she heard a familiar voice call her name. “My adoptive father took me home with him. I don’t remember seeing the police or really anything much about that night except you.”
“What made you think I killed them?”
“I saw you in my room.”
“I wasn’t there, Abigail. I swear to you.” There was so much conviction in his tone that he was either the best liar in the world …
Or he was tell
ing the truth.
“He looked just like you. He even had on cowboy boots.”
“A pair of shit-kickers in Reno is normal footwear. That don’t mean nothing.”
That much was true. Still …
“My adoptive father confirmed it. He said you slaughtered my parents because they were allies to the Apollites.”
“I had no idea they even knew what an Apollite was. It’s not something I normally talk about to anyone outside of the DarkHunter network, you know?”
That made a little too much sense. Abigail rubbed her forehead as she tried to discern the truth. Her feelings were so conflicted.
“So what do you believe now?” he asked.
Overwhelmed by ever/font>
But all of the past was like a ride on a merry-go-round compared to what it was right now. It was confusing and terrifying.
And if Choo Co La Tah was right, she only had an extremely short amount of time left to live.
Or the world would end.
What have I done?
What was she going to do?
Suddenly, Sundown was there, sitting on the bed. “Don’t cry, Abby. It’s all right.”
It wasn’t and they both knew it.
He gathered her into his arms and held her close. Something no one had done in a very long time. God, it felt so good….
Abigail buried her face into his chest. His heartbeat was strong and sure, and in this moment, she needed that reassurance that she wasn’t completely alone— even if it meant cuddling against her enemy. “I’m so sorry. I don’t normally do this.”
“Don’t apologize. My ma used to say that crying is good for you. Tears are the path that free your mind of sorrowful thoughts.”
“You sound like Choo Co La Tah now.”
He nuzzled his face against her head while a gentle laugh rumbled deep in his chest. “He is kind of like Yoda…. ‘There is only do or do not. There is no try.’ ”
That actually succeeded in making her laugh through her tears. “You’re a Star Wars fan?”
“Oh yeah. May the Force be with you.”
She sobered. “If what Choo Co La Tah said is true, I think we’re going to need something a lot stronger than the Force to win this.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll find a solution. There’s always a way.”
His positive attitude amazed her. “How can you be so sure?”
He shrugged. “You’re talking to a man who came back from the dead just to even a score. You think I’m going to let something like Coyote win this? Hardly. One thing about Bradys … We don’t run and we don’t lose. Come hell or high water, no one gets the best of me. And I’ll be damned if I let them take you. We’ll find a way to keep you safe and save the world. You have my personal guarantee on that, and that’s not something I give lightly.”
His conviction stunned her. “Why do you even care? A few hours ago, I was trying to kill you.”
“And not that long ago, you saved me from stepping into daylight. I haven’t orgotten that either. Besides, I understand wanting retribution. Spent my whole human life in search of it. I won’t hold that against you or anyone else.”
That was so different from the things she’d read about him. Was it possible he wasn’t as soulless as they claimed?
“But,” he continued. “I would ask that if we do manage to save your butt and the world’s that you find another hobby besides killing us.”
How easy he made that sound. “Do you really think they’ll let me live after what I’ve done?”
Jess paused as he considered it. She was right. The final decision wasn’t his to make. The Powers were even more vengeful than his brethren were. Blood for blood. Tit for tat.
Still, things happened all the time that didn’t make sense. And the Powers …
They were downright unpredictable.
“Have faith, Abigail. Sometimes the world surprises you.”
Abigail swallowed at his words, wishing she could put her faith in them. “Yeah, but it’s never done so in a pleasant way. At least not for me.”
And deep in her heart, she knew the truth. This wouldn’t end until she’d paid for her actions.
She was going to die, and not even the infamous Jess Brady could stop it.
8
Abigail woke up to the sensation of someone cradling her against an impressively hard chest, as if she were unspeakably cherished. She honestly couldn’t remember the last time a man had held her like this.
If ever.
He was wrapped completely around her. Warm. Seductive. Inviting. Protective. It was the kind of sweet, loving embrace people dreamed of finding themselves in, but seldom did. For a full minute, she lay there in complete satiation.
Until she remembered who he was.
Sundown Brady.
Outlaw. DarkHunter. Killer.
Enemy.
She jerked involuntarily, which immediately caused him to awaken and push himself up on his arms to look around, as if expecting more coyotes to leap out of the walls and devour them.
When he didn’t see an immediate threat, he scowled down at her. “Everything okay?”
Yes … He was so incredibly sexy in that pose. His hips were pressed intimately against hers, and his arms bulged with his raw strength. It made her ache for the very thing she would die before she gave him.
“No, you’re on top of me.” She pushed at his chest.
He rolled off her and onto his back with a taunting grin as he wiggled his hips to settle into his new position. “Now, that’s not normally the way a woman reacts when I’m on top of her. I usually get a little more enthusiasm and welcome than that.”
She gave him a withering stare to mask how incredibly yummy she thought he was right then. No need in feeding that ego. “Well, that’s what happens when you pay women for sex.”
To her surprise, he laughed good-naturedly. Damn, he was devastating when he did that, and he made it hard to remember she was supposed to hate his guts.
Stretching like a languid cat, he yawned. “Sorry about crushing you all morning. I think we fell asleep in the middle of a conversation.”
They had. One she could barely recall now. What she did recall was how comforting he’d been while she’d cried, and that was the last thing she needed to think about. “Yeah, but I’m not sure which of us fell asleep first.”
“I’m pretty sure it was you.”
She had a suspicion he was right, and this was getting a little too familiar for her tastes. She wanted to keep a gap between them. A nice safe chasm that protected her from caring about anyone, especially him. So she changed the subject. “Your gun’s still on the floor.”
He scratched at the manly shadow on his cheek in a way that was boyish and somehow endearing. He was so nonchalant with her and she should be aggravated by that, not charmed. “Glad I didn’t need it, since it’s all the way over there.”
No kidding. That could have been a bloody disaster. “So what time do you think it is?”
“Feels like it’s still daylight. Not sure of the exact time, though.”
“What do you mean it feels like daylight?”
He yawned before he answered. “Wicked power we have. We can sense when the sun’s up. Which it still is.”
No doubt they’d been given that to help keep them alive, since Apollo would kill any DarkHunter or Apollite he found in his domain. The Greek god was a real bastard that way.
And you killed two of Jess’s brethren by trapping them in daylight. She didn’t even want to think about how the others died.
Please, please don’t let me have killed a protector….
Trying not to think about that either, she got up and went to the bathroom.
Jess didn’t speak as he watched her plod across the room. She had the most seductive walk he’d ever seen on any woman. Slow and sensual and full of sass. It was the kind of walk that made men turn and stare. Most of all, it made him ache to take a bite out of that hot little body of hers, especially th
at well-shaped ass.
Man, to have that naked aed aeapped around him …
Uh, hello, cowboy? You’re not supposed to have those thoughts about a human who’s been offering your friends up as sacrifice to the dark gods.
Maybe not, but he was a man, and his body wasn’t about to listen to his brain, especially since all the blood was now gathered into the part of him that craved her most. It wanted what it saw, and she was definitely worth an ass-whipping or two dozen.
Pushing that out of his mind before it got him into some serious trouble, he closed his eyes and used his powers to sense Ren. He knew the moment he made contact. Ren pushed back with his own telepathy.
“What, cowboy?”
He shook his head at Ren’s surly tone in his head. He didn’t like anyone near his thoughts— not the Jess blamed him. Mind readers weren’t his favorite thing either. “Wanted to see if you were awake yet.”
“I’ve been awake and meditating. And to answer your next question, it’s almost four, so you have plenty of time to grab ass if you want.”
Jess quickly blocked the image in his mind that those words conjured. Grabbing Abigail’s ass was a lot more appealing to him than it should be. “Stay out of my thoughts.”
“Believe me, I’m trying to. I don’t want to throw up right after I brushed my teeth.”
Bastard.
“By the way,” Ren continued, ignoring the insult that questioned his parentage, “I’m about as weak as I’ve ever been. Other than the telepathy, which I obviously know is working, how are your powers doing?”
Jess winced as he realized his were down, too. “Probably drained as much as yours are.”
“Guess we’re going to pretend we’re human for a bit.”
Jess snorted. There were many folks, including Abigail, who would say that he’d never been human. “Can you shape-shift at all?”
“Never a problem.”
Now, that was interesting. “Care to tell me why that one isn’t malfunctioning?”
“It likes me best.”
Jess shook his head. Smart-ass.
His attention shifted as he heard the water in his bathroom come on. Abigail was taking a shower….