The Better Part of Darkness

the waistband of what should have been jeans or sensible slacks, but I was still wearing the damned skirt.

Will noticed and his smile amplified to a thousand watts. “Funeral?”

I gave up and threw my hands in the air. “Why does everyone think just because I’m in a skirt that I’ve been to a funeral? I wear skirts …”

He and Bryn exchanged looks over the counter as she locked the register.

“Mom. You never wear skirts.”

“You’re supposed to be on my side,” I said through gritted teeth as Emma leaned into Will and smiled. “You’ve been spending too much time with your Aunt Bryn. Go, get Spooky and we’ll take her upstairs.”

“I boarded your window,” Will said once Emma was out of range. “Cleaned up the glass, made sure all the locks were in good shape.” He didn’t mention the smell, but his gaze swept over the damaged outfit. “How are you holding up?”

My tension deflated a little. “Fine. Thanks for doing that. You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to.”

Accepting help from him, if it didn’t have to do with Emma, remained a hard pill to swallow. Even if he was just being nice. I’d made it a rule not to rely on him for things.

“All right, kids, let’s go,” I said, ushering them to the door. I’d feel much better when they were all safely inside the brick walls of Bryn’s apartment.

As Will followed Emma around to the apartment entrance, I waited for Bryn to lock the store as Gizmo flew to the second-story window and perched on the ledge where she’d let him in once we got inside.

She turned to me. “Ready?”

I fell in step beside her. “Thanks for closing the store.” She responded with a shrug. “I wanted to get your take on something I saw earlier in the Lion’s Den.”

She stopped, mouth open. “You went to the Lion’s Den?” I gave her the same simple shrug she’d just given me. “Oh, my God, Charlie.” Her hands went to her hips. “You made a bargain with him, didn’t you?”

“It’s not the end of the world,” I said defensively. “I have a plan … sort of …” Her eyes fluttered closed, and she mouthed a count of three, before I pulled her along to the door. “A flower,” I said, ignoring her lecture about making deals with devils, “as big as a man’s hand. White petals with, I swear to God, a white center that glowed.” She went quiet. “Like those plankton that glow in the ocean—”

“Bioluminescent,” she said softly.

“Exactly. The center was ringed with red and red streaks ran down the middle of each petal, but didn’t reach the end.” I held the apartment door open. “You’re the horticultural expert. What is it? And where is it from?”

We stepped inside, trailing Emma and Will. “Are you sure it was glowing and not just the light?”

“One hundred percent sure.”

“Seriously?”

We stopped on the third step. “Yeah, why, what is it?”

“And the red, it was bloodred, right?”

I frowned. “Bryn.”

Disbelief swam in her eyes and she let out a deep breath as though she didn’t quite believe what she was hearing. “Sangurne N’ashu. A Bleeding Soul. It’s not supposed to exist. It’s just a legend.”

“Well, not anymore.”

CHAPTER 11

“Come on, you guys!” Emma called from the landing.

“We’ll finish this inside,” I told Bryn. “I want to know more about this legend.”

As we climbed the stairs, I looked up at my waiting family and was immediately struck by flashes of old memories, the times when we’d all come over to Bryn’s for dinner. And sometimes she’d come to our house, so Will could cook on the grill. I loved helping him, loved being outside, eating good food, drinking an ice-cold beer, playing in the yard with Em … just being happy.

An ache spread across my chest as I trailed Bryn up the stairs.

At the landing, Will turned to Emma. “Go inside with Aunt Bryn. I want to talk to Mom for a minute.”

“Okay,” she responded with a careless shrug, toting Spooky, and followed Bryn inside.

With Will and me on the landing, the small space quickly became claustrophobic. All six foot three rugged inches of him sucked the air out of the space around us. His scent wrapped around me—this morning’s cologne mixed with the smell of his skin.

He scrubbed a calloused hand over his stubbly jaw, sighing heavily. Wary, I leaned against the wall. He caught my gaze and held it with his. My stomach flipped. So much history with him. All the goofy names we’d said, the plans for our future, the way we so innocently believed nothing would ever come between a love so strong.

Yeah, right.

“So, you’re a wanted woman,” he said, not sounding surprised that I was in serious trouble. “Let me take Emma until this blows over. I can take some time off. We’ll go down to Disney World. I’ve been promising her we’d go.”

Actually, that didn’t sound like a bad idea. “She’d love that.”

He managed a tight smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “If it wasn’t for her, I’d stay and help you nail the assholes setting you up.”

“I know. But you’d be doing the right thing. Em comes first.”

“Em comes first,” he echoed.

In the break of uncomfortable silence, we heard Spooky screech and Gizmo let out a cry that resembled a chicken squawk. Things fell. Something broke. Bryn and Emma yelled.

“Sounds like Spooky just met Gizmo,” Will said, staring the door and wincing as a thud hit the wood.

“I should go help them.”

“Charlie,” he began before I could make a move to the door. I paused at the brief flash of desolation in his eyes. Then, they clouded over to firm conviction. “I can’t stop thinking about the other day. Me and you. We’ve got to deal with this, work things out.” He stilled completely, as though bracing himself. “Do you still love me?”

My nostrils flared. Blooms of heat stung my cheeks. Damn him! A riotous mix of anger and heartache flowed through me. He’d always been direct. It was one of the things I liked about him. But why did he have to bring this up now? And why did my body go all haywire lately when he was around?

He kept his features blank, but the muscles in his jaw worked overtime. A storm brewed in his blue eyes, but behind the turmoil there was caution and vulnerability. I hated seeing him like this, like some wounded animal clinging to his last bit of dignity and strength. The last thing I wanted was to hurt him, but I didn’t want to be hurt either.

My voice croaked when I tried to speak. I cleared my throat and tried again. “Will …” After that, I didn’t know what to say.

A dark scowl twisted his mouth. It took two steps for him to reach me. I tried to move back, but the damn wall was already flat against my spine. He crowded me, conquering my space with the force of his body and will. The sexual tug of awareness that erupted between us was undeniable. I couldn’t tell if he wanted to slam his fist into the drywall or kiss me. Probably both.

“Do you?” he ground out, his voice trying to hide the raw hurt.

I swallowed and lifted my gaze to his. “Yes.” I drew in another breath and rushed out, “But it doesn’t change anything.” You don’t stop loving someone overnight, I wanted to say.

His face was level with mine as he braced his hand on the wall behind me and leaned closer. “It changes everything. Why give up on us if we both feel the same?”

“It’s not about love. Love isn’t the only thing that makes a relationship work.” My voice rose as I placed both palms on his chest to keep him back. “It’s about trust. Hell, I knew you loved me even when you did what you did.”