Caught in Darkness (2 page)

Lips drawing into a thin line, Seth
inclined his head again and turned without a word. He’d taken this case because
he’d thought he liked Robert—however, at that moment Robert was his own worst
enemy. But there was nothing to be done about it. In the meantime, he still had
an undetermined number of traitors to flush out of hiding before they hurt
somebody.

****

Despite herself, Veronica couldn’t
stop reflecting on the ridiculous situation her mother had put her in. Even as
she went through her nightly routine, brushing her easily-tangled and
still-damp hair, she found herself mentally arguing her point all over again. It
was entirely unfair of her mother to demand that she participate in someone
else’s potluck, especially on the night of her best friend’s birthday. But she
also knew that her mother wouldn’t see it that way.

“Just bring Allison with you,” her
mother would say, as if it were the most obvious solution in the world. “She
knows how much I adore her.” That was the positive, attempt–at-being-reasonable
response. There was always a possibility that her mother would come back with,
“Allison will understand. And it’s not like you never see her.”

Yeah, well, it’s not like I never
see you, either, Veronica found herself grumbling as she set her brush back
onto the nightstand. She groaned aloud, squeezed her eyes shut, and shook her
head. Great, now I’m arguing with my mother inside my head!

The worst part was that if the
issue were to be brought to Allison’s attention, Veronica knew without a doubt
that Allison would tell her to go anyway. That was how Allison was, and,
conversely, that was a large part of the reason why Veronica was so reluctant
to give in to her mother’s demand. Allison was looking forward to having all of
her friends around for her party—she hadn’t even celebrated the year before—and
Veronica knew she’d be disappointed if someone had to cancel. The last thing
Veronica wanted to do was be that person.

Fleetingly, Veronica wondered if
her mother would make her go up to the new neighbor’s door and apologize in
person for missing the potluck like she had during her sophomore year of
college.

Releasing a heavy sigh, Veronica
flopped down onto her mattress and stared, unseeingly, up at the ceiling. That
had been so humiliating—not to mention unnecessary—and that had, in fact, been
the action that led to her ultimately deciding to move out of the house. She
had never been so furious at her mother, nor her mother at her. They hadn’t
spoken to each other for nearly a month.

Guilt swirled up in Veronica’s
chest, making her stomach clench. She was going to have to do it. Allison would
understand,
whether or not she should have to, and
Carol would not. The only thing she wanted less than to disappoint her best
friend was to find herself in the middle of another ultimately-senseless
argument with her mother. In the morning, before she got into work, she was
going to have to call Allison and explain the situation and pray that her best
friend would be willing to schedule a small celebration in the near future.

The world was such an incredibly
unjust place sometimes.

****

“Let me know if you need a heavier
hand,”
Jasen
Hawthorne reminded on the other end of
the line.

Seth cut the engine after easing
his Corvette into his usual parking space in front of the coffee house,
releasing a silent breath before replying, “Don’t worry; if it comes to that, I
will.”
Jasen
was significantly older than Seth, and
their jobs were similar enough that the pair often worked together, despite
that their titles were different. Seth was, officially, a Private Investigator
of the First Family—a title which granted him jurisdiction to travel between
Families without causing problems. In contrast,
Jasen
was the First Family’s most efficient Enforcer. While Seth was largely an
anonymous figure among the vampires, there were few who hadn’t at least heard
of
Jasen
. But working with
Jasen
had at least as many disadvantages as advantages, so Seth generally tried to
work alone.

“All right,”
Jasen
said,
his voice as even and deliberate as ever. “Good
luck.”

“Thanks,” Seth replied before
pulling the phone from his ear and disconnecting. The screen was already
blinking, and he wondered if
Jasen
had even heard his
last response—not that it mattered. With a shake of his head, Seth dropped his
phone back into his pocket and climbed from his car. That phone call had nearly
made him late for his morning coffee.

The soft jingle of the bells over
the door signaled his arrival as he stepped through a moment later and, like he
always did, he kept his covered gaze focused on the counter. It was hard not to
notice the way the atmosphere shifted as he stepped into line, or the way the
young brunette at the register let her gaze flick to him for a lingering
moment. But it wasn’t too hard to ignore. And then the probably-late-for-work,
early-twenties boy ahead of him stepped aside, having placed his order, and it
was Seth’s turn. Like he always did, as her eyes searched his sunglasses curiously,
he casually requested, “Coffee, black, no sugar.”

It wasn’t until he was turning away
from the register counter, headed to wait for his
drink, that
he realized he had been hoping to see the same blonde woman from the day
before. And he had barely registered the feeling before his eyes landed on her,
and some part of him stirred as he studied her. She had her hair pulled back in
a high ponytail, her head bowed ever-so-slightly as she prepared the drink
ahead of his, and her outfit was covered by the company’s standard dark blue
apron. But even from what he could see it was easy to tell that she had a
shapely figure to go with her naturally pale complexion.

He watched silently, yet again
grateful that he was wearing dark sunglasses, as she set the drink on the
counter and called the name of the boy ahead of him. As she pulled back to fill
his coffee her bright blue eyes flicked in his direction, the corner of her
lips twitching in a subtle smile, and Seth found himself actually struggling to
keep from returning the gesture. Fortunately, she looked away just as quickly,
and he followed her lead, shifting his gaze to the local advertisements on the
board beside him.

“Coffee, no sugar,” she called as
she set his cup on the shelf. Her eyes again shifted to him, holding this time
for a long second before she smiled and turned her attention back to the drinks
still waiting to be made.

Seth released an inaudible breath,
wrapped his hand around his coffee, and turned to make his exit. His morning
coffee run was turning into a literal bright spot during his stay, but he was
beginning to think it was a good thing he only saw her once a day. He suspected
she had the potential to hold his attention even in a more important situation,
and he still had a job to do.

Even so, as he unlocked his car, he
couldn’t help but wonder what her name was.

****

Veronica had been right. It hadn’t
been any fun at all having to tell Allison that she wouldn’t be able to make
the party. But at least we were able to reschedule, she reminded herself. Instead
of joining their friends for a couple of movies, dinner, and some games, she
would be meeting Ali on Tuesday for a girl’s day. It was the best she could do.

And, in the meantime, it was
Saturday afternoon, at least a hundred degrees, and she needed to find a decent
place to eat her lunch. Despite the raging heat of the summer, Veronica had
decided to grab a sandwich from a local deli and spend some time at the park. Provided,
of
course, that
she could find a little shade. The
heat was weighing down the paper bag in her hand, probably melting the cheese
on her cold roast beef sandwich, and making her immensely glad that she had
opted to go with a lightweight faded blue dress and sandals.

Finally spotting a full, sturdy
tree that seemed to have a nice amount of shade beneath it, Veronica quickly
moved over and sat down. The faintest of breezes was dancing across her heated
skin, toying with her neck-length ponytail but stopping short of actually
offering relief. Still, she smiled and tugged her lunch out of the bag. It was
likely to be her only enjoyable meal of the day, and she wanted to make it last
as long as possible.

She was still nursing the bottle of
juice that she’d purchased alongside her sandwich when she heard movement
somewhere behind her. She tried ignoring it, assuming that it was just someone
taking their dog on a walk, but her interest was piqued when the first voice
drifted to her ears.

“You better have a good reason for
dragging me out here in broad daylight,” the first voice—
male
—snapped
agitatedly. His voice was gruff and didn’t inspire confidence.

Despite
herself
,
Veronica tightened the cap on her bottle and leaned slightly around the tree,
curious now. She easily spotted the three men standing not too far from her. Two
stood side-by-side, both a little shy of six foot, and the third stood opposite
them, just slightly shorter than his comrades. But it was the way they were
dressed that really intrigued her. Two wore ankle-length trench coats over
jeans and heavy shirts with baseball caps on their heads, and the third wore
jeans and sneakers beneath a hooded sweatshirt. The third man’s hood was pulled
up, and all of their hands were tucked into pockets. She couldn’t imagine how
they hadn’t already passed out from heat stroke.

The one in the hoodie spoke up
next, his voice lower and startlingly darker as he said, “Quit whining, Wilson.
You know why we’re meeting out here.”

The man standing next to the one in
the hoodie spoke next, projecting his voice just a bit higher as he said,
“Unless you want to back out.”

The one standing by himself—the
first who’d spoken—scoffed and said, “I’m not a damn idiot; I kind of like my
head where it is.”

“Good,” the louder one replied. He
shifted his weight, glancing at the man beside him, before adding, “I heard
Tiffany on the phone this morning; they’re going out tonight. She thinks
they’ll be gone for hours. It’s the best chance we’re
gonna
get.”

“Tonight?” the first man—Wilson—repeated,
a tone of incredulity in his voice. “But we haven’t worked it all out yet. Did
you even get the code?”

“I did,” Hoodie said shortly.

Wilson flicked a glance toward him
before looking back at the louder man and asking, “So…what’s the plan?”

“The plan’s pretty simple,” the
louder man replied. “We wait until Robert’s out, and then we sneak inside and
take the money. It’s not like he ever leaves guards; we’ll be in and out before
anyone’s the wiser.”

Silence stretched, and Veronica’s
eyes widened. Oh my god, she whispered silently. Never had it occurred to her
that she’d be overhearing someone talking about a robbery. But that was exactly
what it sounded like.

Wilson spoke up again, drawing her
out of her thoughts as he asked, “And if someone catches us?”

The one in the hoodie calmly
replied, “We kill ‘
em
.”

Chapter Two

Veronica was short of breath now,
blue eyes impossibly wide, as she watched Wilson nod silently. Okay, a robbery
was one thing, but…killing people? It was official. She should have taken her
sandwich back home. The trio of potential murderers exchanged silent looks, and
it became apparent that their meeting was done, so Veronica swung herself back
around until she was hidden by the trunk of the tree. Her heart was slamming
against her ribcage now and she was sweating for reasons that had nothing to do
with the blistering heat. But she didn’t realize that she had begun breathing
heavier until she heard the soft crunch of a footstep behind her as the hairs
on the nape of her neck suddenly stood up.

Her stomach falling to the ground,
Veronica held her breath and slowly turned around once more. In an instant every
single horror movie she’d ever watched flashed through her mind, and she had to
fight to keep from bolting to her feet and running away. She was about to throw
up, or pass out, if not both. Her mouth had gone dry and spots were starting to
appear in her vision. But she did her best to hide her body’s reaction as she
forced her head to turn around anyway.

She wasn’t at all surprised to find
herself looking directly into the eyes of the one in the hoodie, but that
didn’t make her feel any better. In fact, it quickly made her feel worse. His
dark eyes were narrowed, his lips drawn into a thin line, and his nostrils
flared as he took a deep breath.

Immediately deciding that playing
dumb was her best bet, Veronica pitched her voice a little higher than normal
and deliberately tilted her head to the side as she asked,
“
Can
I help you?” For once in her life, the blonde stereotype seemed like it just
might come in handy.

If it was at all possible, his eyes
darkened and his lips dipped into a definite frown. “It’s rude to eavesdrop on
other people’s conversations.”

His voice was even more frightening
up close, she decided. She swallowed, hoping her own voice would stay steady,
and said, “I…don’t know what you’re talking about.” She held up her lunch bag
and added, “I was just finishing my sandwich.”

“Don’t—” Hoodie cut himself off,
his eyes widening marginally and lifting to look past her. He clamped his lips
shut for a beat before grunting, “Hunter.”

Now thoroughly confused, Veronica
turned her attention forward to see what—or who—had caught him off-guard. And
she felt her heart leap at the same time as what little moisture had returned
to her throat was sucked away, and she could only settle on feeling more
confused as she found herself looking up at Tall, Dark, and Handsome.