In The Dark

by Sarah K. Jensen

  Okay, then. He didn’t have to be told twice. Laif stood and headed toward the front door, mumbling, “Then I sure won’t keep you.”

  “Laif, wait,” Alannah said, coming closer to him. “This is a bad day for Pop-pop. It’s the anniversary of my grandmother’s death, and he always has a hard time on this day. But we do have some answers for you, and actually, I think most are things I can clear up.”

  Alannah turned back to her grandfather and said, “I’ll see you later tonight, Pop-pop.”

  She went back to him, kissed his cheek, and then ruffled his salt and pepper hair. “I love you, old man. And please be nice to Bryson tonight. You know he’s a good man, so don’t egg on Gabe or Ben. You’ll break my heart if you don’t help me make them and Daddy see that he’s the right man for me.”

  Born Elk snorted but smiled nonetheless. “You know I’d do anything for you, darlin’.”

  Once outside, Alannah nodded toward a path. “Let’s take a walk and I’ll tell you about female Guardians.”

  Laif followed through the thin trail until it widened enough for them to walk side by side. He waited for Alannah to start, but when she didn’t say anything for a few minutes, he said, “Well?”

  She smiled. “There’s a pond down this way. I’ll tell you everything you want to know, or at least what I know, when we get there.” Her smile brightened. “Do you like to fish? There’re poles Pop-pop and I keep down here.”

  “Yeah. But I haven’t been in a couple of years.” As they walked, he asked. “So, um… Bryson told me about the scars on your stomach.” When Alannah didn’t comment, he went on, “And if you’re a guardian, how did you scar like that? Memphis has a few scars too, yet none of us do. Is it because you’re girls?”

  Alannah stopped and glanced at him for just a second before she started walking again. “Any of us can scar if Demon poison is in the cut. My brother was so infected by the demon that his nails had grown long, and the Demon poison infected him. When he attacked, it nearly killed me. That leaves a mark.”

  “Yeah. Sorry.” What else could he say to that? A shudder of fear and revulsion passed through him. He sure wanted to know what Memphis had been through. She’d mentioned demon wounds, but he knew so little about her past. Or about those he fought for that matter.

  It took about five minutes to make it to the pond. Alannah sat, picked up a pole, dug in the dirt until she found some worms, and then hooked one pole. As she handed it to Laif, she said, “Pop-pop worried about you meeting Memphis before now. She’s very special, and he wanted to protect her.”

  Laif frowned. “From my family?”

  “Not exactly.” Alannah hooked a worm on the other pole and cast it into the water. She leaned back against a tree and stared out over the pond. “There’s a legend the old ones tell that says when the children of an ancient magician reunite, they will join forces and that union will create a child who will stop the Sombra de la Noche from coming here anymore.”

  Laif looked over at her and raised a brow. “Sombra de la Noche?”

  She laughed. “Sorry. My mother is from Mexico. Mostly, growing up, we spoke Spanish, and it slips in a lot when anything about the Guardianship comes in. That’s Night Shadows.”

  She wiped her hand on her thigh and continued. “In this legend, if the two children of the magician meet before their appointed time, they would have too many problems and wouldn’t unite. Pop-pop didn’t know who the daughter and son were, but since I was the only female Guardian he knew at the time, he kept me away from your family. I met y’all once when I was thirteen, but he didn’t know my dad was bringing me over.”

  She shrugged it off as not important.

  Laif sat forward. “Wait a sec. I thought your brothers were Guardians.”

  Alannah nodded. “They are. My mom had the blood too, but it hadn’t been seen in many generations. They didn’t think it was strong enough for it to affect any daughters they’d have, but it was. But I knew, deep down, that I wasn’t the Guardian the legend talked about. But I was a female, so Pop-Pop wanted me kept away.”

  “Ok. Makes sense. And Memphis?” Laif asked, dipping the end of his pole in the water.

  After Alannah gave her line a slight tug, she said, “When he saw Memphis a couple of years ago, he did nothing to help her meet your family. He feared if he did, the fates wouldn’t thank him for interfering. He said if things were to work, everyone had to meet when it was their time.”

  Laif slumped back on his elbows, letting his fishing pole drop on the ground beside him. Even he could admit that that made sense. “Okay. So now what?”

  Alannah laughed. “You do what men and women have been doing for thousands of years. You date and get to know each other.”

  Laif walked through his front door, smelling of fish and pond water, and stopped in his tracks. Paulina Winthrop lounged casually on his couch, wearing a long, gold sequenced dress, mile-high heels, and smiling like the she-devil she was.

  “Hello, lover,” she said before slowly standing and walking toward him. When she got within smelling distance, her nose turned up and she scowled. “You need a bath, amore.”

  Laif laughed. It was either that or cry, and he’d done enough of that lately. “What are you doing here?” he asked a little gruffly.

  Paulina’s chin came up about an inch and she said, “I have been calling you for days. You haven’t answered or returned my calls. We have that benefit to attend tonight, and I am not going to let you out of it. Besides,” she said in a calmer tone, running her hands up and down his chest, “I’ve missed you and have had the hardest time staying away these last two days.”

  He had promised he’d take her to the charity ball, granted, months ago. And he’d totally forgotten about it. But that wouldn’t matter to Paulina. Besides, Laif always kept his word. Even when he’d rather sit naked on a fire ant mound.

  He wanted to tell her he’d found someone else, that he didn’t love her, but he didn’t say that either, not yet. Because if he said anything before the ball, Paulina would make his night even more miserable than it was already going to be.

  He looked at his watch, realized he had about forty-five minutes, and told her, “I’ll grab a shower and get ready. You can watch TV until I’m finished.” He started toward his room, then as an afterthought asked, “Is Bryson here?”

  “No,” came her reply.

  “Then how did you get in?”

  She shrugged, and on her, it looked halfway evil. Nothing like the sensual shrug Memphis gave him. “I still have the key you lent me a few years ago. Never saw a reason to give it back to you.”

  He started to call her a liar but didn’t want the fight that would surely ensue. She’d given the key back. He’d insisted. He didn’t want her having access to his home.

  More importantly, Bryson had thrown a fit of hissy proportions, when he’d found out Laif had lent the spare to Paulina because she was fighting with her dad. Oh yeah, they’d gotten that key back. So, that meant she’d made a copy. He’d have to have the locks changed; he didn’t trust her not to have more than one.

  “Give me half an hour and I’ll be ready to go,” Laif said, leaving Paulina alone in the living room and stepping into his bedroom. After he’d gathered a change of clothes, he headed off to take a shower. He should shave but didn’t want to make the effort.

  Dang it, he’d planned on calling Memphis tonight; asking if he could come over, explain his actions. He needed to get to know her and her son better. It still stung that she had a son and hadn’t told him, but he was over the most difficult part. Mostly.

  The hot water felt good on his tired muscles.

  Maybe he could leave early and still make it to Memphis’s before it got too late. It was a Saturday night, maybe she was out on a date. No. She wouldn’t do that. If she’d been in a relationship with someone else, she’d have told him.

  Like he’d told her about Paulina?

  Like she’d told him about her son?

 
; Crap. He didn’t know anything about her. How had he fallen for a woman he didn’t know jack about?

  Stewing over it didn’t help his mood, so he focused on getting himself clean. Once he’d rid himself of the smell of fish and sweat, he stepped out of the shower and dried off. He dragged on his sweatpants, having no intention of putting on a penguin suit in the bathroom, and opened the door.

  Paulina stood, just outside the bathroom door, wearing a completely see-through negligee. Laif swore, harshly. He didn’t need this. Not now. Not when all he wanted to do was spend time with Memphis.

  He pushed her toward the living room, not letting her into the bathroom, or heaven forbid his bedroom. “What are you doing?” he growled.

  Laughing, Paulina ran her hands up his bare chest and licked her lips. She stepped into him, grabbed him around the neck, and pulled his mouth to hers. He grabbed her hips, pushing her back, but the little witch held on and kissed him like she was starving.

  He didn’t mean to kiss her back.

  She had given him two days and Laif still hadn’t called her. Callan had told Memphis to either go over to his house and confront Laif, or he’d hop on a bus and do it for her. Obviously, her son didn’t trust Laif to come back without a nudge from their end.

  Honestly, she wasn’t sure he’d come back on his own either.

  It was with great trepidation that she parked her black Kawasaki Vulcan 900 motorcycle in his driveway. Bryson, tall, blond, and dressed in surfer shorts, a light blue tee, and flip-flops, climbed out of the car in front of her. He grinned and nodded toward her bike.

  “Nice ride,” he said, still smiling.

  Memphis grinned. She loved this bike. “Thanks. It’s fast too. Makes it easier to chase down the Oíche Scáthanna.”

  Bryson’s smile widened. “I can see why you intimidate my little brother.” He looked toward the house. “Are you just getting here?”

  Memphis nodded.

  “I wondered if you’d show up here or not. Laif’s should be inside.”

  “You’re Bryson. Right?”

  “Yep. Good memory.” He stuck out his hand and shook hers.

  “Nice to meet you,” Memphis said with a smile. She liked him already.

  “Why don’t you come on in with me? We can find my little brother and I’ll tell you embarrassing stories from his childhood so you can watch him turn beet red.”

  Unable to hide the smile, she accepted his invitation and followed him to the door. Memphis suddenly had a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. The feeling was very akin to dread.

  When she stepped with Bryson into the living room, she knew why. Laif had a half-naked woman in his arms, kissing her. Blindsided, Memphis couldn’t move, she just stood there and watched. Part of her wanted to believe this was some horrible mistake, but she couldn’t overlook what was right in front of her face.

  Laif was involved with someone else.

  She’d been an idiot to believe a man like him would want a woman like her for more than anything beyond a light summer fling. Either he’d lied about the not-having-sex-thing, or he simply no longer cared.

  At the sound of Bryson swearing and trying to push Memphis back outside, Laif jerked up his head, and seeing her, pushed the woman away from him, almost knocking her off her feet. Neither of them had many clothes on and she wondered how far it would have gone if they hadn’t walked in.

  Bile climbed up her throat and she swallowed it back down. Memphis turned on her heels and headed out the door she’d just stepped through.

  “Wait,” Laif called after her, but she didn’t stop. Just ran to her bike and jumped on, kicking it started with a vengeance. How could she be so stupid? Being a Guardian didn’t guarantee that he’d be a standup guy. He’d pushed her too fast, and now she knew it was because he wanted a woman. Any woman. Maybe he’d gotten tired of waiting and decided to take what he wanted, consequences be damned.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him coming across the lawn in nothing but sweatpants. But she couldn’t stand to hear anything he had to say, so she gunned her bike, screamed out her anger and hurt, letting the powerful engine swallow the sound.

  Callan was spending the night with Joan, and Memphis had hoped to set things right with Laif but wouldn’t let him ruin her other plans for the night. After all, she was dressed to kill.

  Literally.

  Memphis had her dagger in a sheath attached to her thigh and the bastard sword running down her back. Her long hair, styled in her fighting fashion, ran in a braided ponytail to her waist. She was ready for whatever else came her way. All she had to do was put all thoughts of Laif out of her mind.

  Without looking back, she took off into the night to fight a battle she knew she could win. A battle with the Oíche Scáthanna.

  Chapter 17

  Laif slammed into the house, cussing. What was wrong with him? Bryson’s fist connected with his jaw and he stumbled but managed to stay on his feet. Bryson swore as well and asked, “What is wrong with you?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  Paulina cleared her throat. “Lover?”

  Laif felt his gut roll. His heart clenched at the pain he’d witnessed in Memphis’s beautiful green eyes. He was the scum of the earth, holding another woman in his arms and kissing her. It didn’t matter that he’d tried to stop her, he’d kissed her back for a few seconds. Just long enough for Memphis to witness.

  Memphis.

  She hadn’t called since she’d left the message two days earlier asking to talk, and he was sure that now she never would. No doubt she’d no longer want to hear from him. Why had he waited so long to get in touch with her? What was there to be scared about? Was Callan really an issue?

  No.

  If he’d just thought for a few seconds, he’d have realized she was about to tell him about her son. But no, he’d acted like an idiot and stormed out. He should have called and said, I need a day or two. I’ll call you back. Don’t worry, I’ll get over this. And if she hadn’t wanted anything more from him than the few days of friendship they’d shared, then he would’ve handled that.

  Who was he kidding? He wanted a lot more than a few days. He wanted a lifetime.

  “Hello. Laif, you’re not even listening to me,” Paulina whined. “You can’t kiss me and then just ignore me.”

  “Kiss you?” Laif barked, needing to blame someone for the disaster of a night. “You attacked me…wearing that… that…thing you have on. And why are you wearing that anyway? What? You think after all these years, I’m just going to give up all the morals I have and jump you?”

  “Excuse me?” She stared at him with all the venom of the viper she was. “You were starting to kiss me back. So, don’t act all innocent. Who was that anyway?”

  The most important person in the world. And now she probably hated him. “She’s everything.” He swallowed down his frustration, looked at Paulina, and said, “The woman I want to marry. So, in light of that, I’m going to have to say goodbye.”

  Paulina gasped. “You’re saying goodbye to me? For that leather-clad, slutty, Laura Croft wannabe? Do you have any idea how much money Daddy’s worth? And you want to—”

  She cut off with a gasp and Laif realized his hand was at her throat, squeezing. He abruptly let go and said, “Don’t you dare say anything about her!”

  He stopped, took a deep breath. It was his fault. No one else’s. He could have sent Paulina away but didn’t. Plain and simple.

  “I didn’t plan to fall in love with her, and it wasn’t right to not tell you at the start that we were over. But we both know that you and I don’t love each other, we never did, and truthfully, we don’t even like each other. We were a habit. Someone to go back to when there was no one else around. What kind of relationship does that really offer?”

  “I’m a habit? That’s what I’ve been to you?” she asked just before she slapped him, in the exact location Bryson had just sucker-punched him.

  Laif noticed the
anger in her eyes, but not one ounce of hurt. Proof that Paulina didn’t love him any more than he loved her. She was simply mad.

  “Well, go play house with your slut. Do you think you’re the only man in my life? Hah.” She sounded bitter, spiteful. “Do you have any idea how many men I’ve had behind your back? You were just someone I wanted in bed.”

  Laif laughed with no mirth. He could care less how many men she’d had in her bed. And said as much, then added, “Get changed and get out. Give back the key you stole from me and don’t ever come back. If I ever see you again…well, let’s just say it’s in your best interest to never let that happen.”

  He pushed past Bryson and went to his room, slamming the door behind him.

  Memphis.

  Why did she have to be there then? He took out his cell and called her. It went straight to voicemail. “Please don’t delete this. It’s not what you think. I’m coming over and we’re going to talk.” He disconnected, flipped his phone on the dresser, and pulled a t-shirt over his head.

  With the knock on the door, Laif grabbed a pair of socks and sank onto the bed, deflated. “Come in.”

  As soon as the door opened, Bryson stared at him like he was the biggest idiot on the planet. And of course, he was. “What’s wrong with you? Have you lost your mind? Why was she even here?”

  “Apparently.” Laif rested his elbows on his thighs and stared at the floor. “This spring I promised Paulina I’d take her to some stupid ball. I’d forgotten all about it. She’s called me several times during the week, and I ignored her. Didn’t want to talk to her. I knew I’d have to tell her about Memphis and break things off for good but didn’t want to deal with her on top of everything else.”

  Laif passed the socks back and forth from one hand to the other. “When I got home, she was here, reminding me about the stupid benefit and I figured since I’d promised, I’d just go and then end everything after. She had on a dress when I went to take a shower.”

  Laif shook his head and looked up at his brother. “I shoved her out of the hall and into the living room and then she jumped me, kissing me, and I guess I did kiss her back, but it only lasted for all of two seconds, but that probably won’t matter a whole lot to Memphis.” He swallowed. Hard. “Will it?”