Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (103 page)

Her phone rang. Butterflies took
flight in delight at the number on her phone display. He'd slid
into her consciousness like he'd always belonged there. When had he
gone from a cop to a friend, and now to mean something so much
more? "Hi Brandt. What's up?"

"I need to see you today. There's
something I need to go over with you and it's better to do this in
person. Are you going to be home this afternoon or
evening?"

Sam's stomach dropped. In person
would be great, except nothing about this sounded good. Now what?
"I'm here all day and night. I'm going to work on Stefan's
exercises this afternoon, then head to the lake for a swim." She
hesitated for a moment. "What's this about?"

"Deputy Brooker came into the office
today. His story is a little different than yours."

She snorted. "What? He's in town?"
Sam gripped the cell phone in her hand, her knuckles turning white.
"When did he get here and what is he driving? I think I saw that
same black truck yesterday."

"What? Why didn't you say
something?"

"I didn't know if it was the same
vehicle or not. I was still in town, so took off around the corner.
I never saw him again."

"He is driving a black Dodge truck,
but that doesn't mean it was him. We're running a check on him now.
You stay there and just be careful. If anyone shows up, but me,
hide unless you know them. I'll get there in a couple of hours –
earlier if I can."

She shook her head. Not good enough.
Not even close, only what were her options at this point? None.
"Then you damn well better show up soon, or I'll be coming in after
you."

The phone closed with a snap. Sam let
out a shaky breath. Okay. Another problem. She was good at those.
She snorted. Like hell. In the past, she'd run. So what did she do
now?

Stick around and fight.

Chapter 19

5:45 pm

Th
e late afternoon sun danced on top
of the glassy lake. Sam studied the inviting landscape. Yeah.
That's exactly what she needed.

"Hello, Soldier." She smiled at the
dog lying so peacefully in the sun. Healthier now, his coat was
thick and although still grimy, it was no longer covered in blood.
Most of it had dried and fallen off. She'd love to get him into the
lake, except he still had stitches. The last thing she wanted was
to have to manhandle the dog into the truck and back to the vet's
office. Soldier accepted her presence as a necessity, but only as
long as his independence and freedom never came into
question.

Soldier surged to his feet and
started growling.

Sam frowned. "Soldier?"

The dog turned to face the wooded
area behind the house and growled again.

Sam peered into the trees, but
couldn't see what bothered the dog. He growled again at the bushes
behind her. The woods appeared calm, and should have been teeming
with life. None of it showed.

The energy had a peacefulness to it.
Then maybe it was the energy she was projecting. Stefan's exercises
had a phenomenal effect. It was what she was imagined meditation
could do for a person. A sense of ease, comfort, had slipped under
her guard. It's not that she felt she could do anything, because
she knew she couldn't, however she did have a better understanding
of just what she was capable of doing. The exercises were basic.
She had to start at the beginning, according to Stefan. Working on
seeing energy, understanding the colors around people, animals,
even plants. Then to understand what the markings and colors
meant.

Sure she was tired, but a good tired.
Her energy muscles, something she never knew existed, had been well
and truly flexed.

It felt great.

So many things in her life felt great
– especially Brandt. She had no idea where the relationship was
going, or when. All she could think about was where it would end up
– in bed. At least she hoped she was reading the signals
right.

Delight wiggled in her belly. She
hoped he felt the same way.

With Soldier on guard in the late
afternoon sun, Sam headed for a swim. It was the perfect
temperature for a cool, relaxing dip. Feeling physically stronger
than she had in years, Sam stretched her abilities to the limit,
swimming strong for thirty minutes before rolling over onto her
back and floating. Calm and filled with peace, she waited for her
breathing to return to a calm gentle rhythm. It took longer than
she expected.

With a groan, she realized she may
have overdone it.

In the aftermath of exertion, her
body chilled quickly. Turning over, she fluttered her hands enough
to propel herself gently in the right direction.

The silkiness of the water slipped
over her skin, making her sensitized skin come alive. The chill
quickly morphed into heat as she moved through the water under the
setting sun. Now, if only Brandt were here with her. His hands
sliding across her skin instead of the gentle waves. She stretched,
reveling in the freedom of the night.

"Sam. Goddamn it, what the hell are
you doing?" The yell stormed across the water.

What was that? She raised her
head.

"Get over here."

Well, that was hard to miss. She
rolled over in the water and searched around the house and the
dock. Brandt strode toward the water. Even from that distance, she
could see his grim face. Her pulse sped up at the sight of him.
Even if he was mad at her.

"Sam, you're too far out."

Too far. Sam twisted around her and
realized she'd unintentionally floated out even further. Still, she
wasn't in trouble. At least, not yet.

Striking out strong, Sam headed in.
Her energy petered out before she managed a dozen strokes. She
shifted to breaststroke and continued shoreward. When she made it
to roughly fifteen feet from the dock, Sam slowed and treaded
water.

She watched Brandt's loose-limbed
stride carry him to the end of the dock, heard him yell, "God damn
it, woman. Get your sorry ass in here."

Tall and lean, he looked incredibly
good with a gentle wind ruffling his hair. Moses whined beside him.
Now, if only she hadn't spent the last hour imagining him in the
water with her.

"Sorry buddy. It's not you I'm mad at
– it's her."

Moses sat down.

Sourly, Sam watched their
interplay. Moses may not have anything to worry about. Obviously
Sam couldn't say the same thing. She felt like hissing. Damn it.
She was swimming in the nude.

***

6:55 pm

Brandt couldn't believe it. The last
time he'd seen her, she'd been caught in a heavy vision and
experiencing huge blood loss. Now she was out there swimming in the
middle of the damn lake. She'd have been better off relaxing and
regaining her strength. He watched as she struggled the last few
yards. She was worn out, but if he jumped in to help her, she'd be
royally pissed. Go figure.

He scowled at the dog at his feet.
Even Moses knew better than to swim right now.

Jesus. She needed a babysitter. She
was as bad as his mother.

Watching Sam swim closer, he realized
he'd probably overreacted here. Swimming would help rebuild Sam's
strength and endurance. Exercise had many benefits and as long as
she didn't overdo it, then swimming was a good way to
go.

Somehow, that logic didn't matter
because he was still pissed. Scary. He stopped suddenly, hands
fisted on his hips. And all because he was worried – about her. He
blew his breath out in a gust. Oh, God, this was getting
bad.

The balmy evening breeze wrinkled the
water before smoothing it flat again.

He frowned. The cabin was a long way
from everything. Not only that, if she were to run into trouble, no
one would know for days. Not until she didn't show at work. Damn
it. His frown deepened.

The bushes rustled behind him.
Instinctively, he dropped and spun around.

Deep yellow eyes glowed in the
darkness.

That damn watchdog.

"Hello there, Soldier. How are you
feeling? I see you're moving better." Keeping his voice even and
calm, he kept a wary eye on the dog's reactions. He wasn't exactly
growling. On the other hand, neither was he wagging his tail with
joy.

The two males glowered at each other.
Both silent and watchful. Both waiting for the other to move.
Brandt knew better than to break his gaze first. The alpha male was
the one who held the gaze the longest. If he were ever going to get
close to Sam, then the watchdog had to accept his
presence.

Splashes alerted him to Sam's
approach. Keeping his eyes trained on the dog, he called out, "Are
you okay, Sam?

She coughed gently, then again a bit
stronger. "I'm fine." Her voice was reedy and thin. "I'm just
getting out now."

Brandt stared at the dog, relieved.
"You sound exhausted. You should never have gone for a swim. Or at
least not for so long," he admonished.

"Like I'm going to listen to you,"
she scoffed. "You're arguing with a dog."

Brandt started. Indignantly, he said,
"I am not."

Sam brushed past him, a towel wrapped
around her body, droplets of water flying off with every step. She
deliberately walked between the two males. Both sets of eyes
immediately switched to the distraction.

Brandt swallowed. Her towel snuggled
around her curves, shifting to accommodate the gentle movements as
she walked. Water had soaked into the thin material, making it
almost transparent. Brandt's imagination fired up. The towel hung
loosely down the center of her spine. There were no straps on her
shoulders.

He swallowed.

The towel cuddled her bottom, just
barely covering the gentle curves. He couldn't see any sign of a
bathing suit. The tantalizing thought both enraged and delighted
him. Didn't she realize that anyone could have come down
here?

This lady was just asking for
trouble.

Yet, the thought of all that female
flesh floating sensuously free in the cool water was a huge turn
on. And gave him an intimate insight into her true character.
Watching her walk ahead of him and not knowing whether or not she
was nude, was an even bigger aphrodisiac.

The bushes rattled again. Soldier,
now in front of Sam, turned. His lip curled, his spine humped up
and the hair on the back of his neck stood straight up.

Samantha stopped.

Brandt instinctively freed his gun,
staying close to her as he peered into the woods. "What is it?" he
whispered.

Sam shrugged, her eyes searching the
woods. "I can't tell." Her voice was low, balanced. "Soldier
doesn't like it …and neither do I. Something doesn't
feel...right."

Brandt scanned the area for anything
abnormal. He didn't know what she meant, but he couldn't help
agreeing that all wasn't as it should be.

Sam hurried to the cabin, running up
the porch steps. Brandt followed at a slower pace, a wary eye
searching around him. Soldier growled and lunged into the
woods.

"Soldier, no!" Sam watched and
listened as the noises trailed off to the left. She turned to
Brandt. "I'm going to get dressed then go after him."

Brandt couldn't stop his eyes from
following that perfectly formed backside, highlighted by damp
circles in the towel as she climbed the stairs.

With a shaky breath, he turned to
search the twilight. The evening sun was setting, throwing long
shadows across the yard. There was no sign of Soldier. Moses sat on
the top stair staring off in the same direction. He wasn't
growling, but his tail wasn't wagging either.

Sam came running down the stairs
still tucking her shirt inside the waistband of her old blue jeans.
Over her arm was the inevitable oversized sweater. Her skin sported
a blue tinge. She held a leash in her hand.

"Damn it, you're cold. Stay inside
and get warm. I'll go after him."

Sam shook her head. "I'm going. He
doesn't know you, and he won't come if you call." Turning around,
she spied Moses at the edge of the bushes. "Moses, come here."
Moses trotted forward obediently. Sam snapped the lead on. "Only
one dog missing at a time, please. Let's go find
Soldier."

Brandt scoffed. "Moses won't find
him, and Soldier won't come if you call either."

She shot him a dirty look before
walking past him into early the night.

"Soldier," Sam called from the
doorway, looking around. But the wooded darkness had swallowed him
completely. They left the porch and headed across the
lawn.

Howls and screams split the air,
followed by a couple of quiet spits. Sam ran forward and stopped. A
heavy crashing through the woods could be heard for a moment before
dying off in the distance.

"Jesus," she whispered, her hand at
her throat. Her heart smashed in her chest. "Brandt, were those
human screams and gunshots?"

"Maybe. You stay here with Moses. I'm
going to check it out." Brandt pulled out his gun and raced into
the woods. The trees stood thick together. He headed in the
direction of the shots. The silence blanketed everything, except
his own passage. Leaves and twigs crushed beneath his feet. The
wind started. Branches swished sending whispers through the night.
Brandt moved quickly through the area. Nothing. He circled around
to Sam.