Walking in the Dark Read online

  And I might have to give him everything. I’d thought protecting and getting him on his feet after he’d landed out of the Shadowlands was going to be a few weeks, not a few months, and looking closer to a few years, if ever. Leaving him would be like abandoning a puppy at the side of the road.

  I heard him grumbling again, and even though I couldn’t make out the words, he’d been stuck on repeat for a while, so I already had a good idea.

  “Asher, I had to do it. I had to try something.” I’d lost count of how many times I’d said that today. It was like we both had a bad case of a stomach flu where we regurgitated the same argument over and over again.

  If he knew what I had planned for later on today, he’d still probably be locked up in his room. I was wishing I told him I’d gone for a pedicure earlier.

  He stopped right in front of me, and I kept my eyes on my screen, not wanting to deal with this anymore.

  “You didn’t have to. You wanted to. And look what happened. You looked near to tears when you walked in.”

  “I stubbed my toe on the way in.” I hadn’t, but I wasn’t telling him that. And if I had been upset, it certainly wasn’t because Kane had rejected me. It was because of our current circumstances, no matter what ideas Asher might get in his head.

  “You wanted to see him.”

  I grabbed a pile of the bills that were spread out on the coffee table and held them up. “These things, they’re bills. People want money for the things they give us, and I have no money left.” He wasn’t human, but I still thought he’d understand what the pile of bills on the table meant. It wasn’t that hard of a learning curve, and I’d been explaining it repeatedly.

  Three months ago I’d had a suitcase full of cash. Now it was all gone.

  His shoulders rose and his head was shaking back and forth. “Can’t you just talk to these people, the ones that give us things, and tell them we’ll give them stuff later?”

  I put my computer off to the side so I could run both hands through my hair, reminding myself that I didn’t want to go buy a wig when I was ready to start pulling it out. No, I had to remain calm. Losing myself would get me nowhere. “Asher, remember how I told you about that? It works differently here. People don’t just give you things on an IOU.” I watched, hoping this was the time it was going to sink in.

  It looked like he was on the verge of believing me when all of a sudden the aha light shone in his eyes. That light never boded well.

  He was off and moving again. “We get free things all the time. What about the pretty pictures they give us as we walk?” He walked over to where he kept his flyers in a stack.

  “Those are advertisements meant to tell us what we should buy. They’re trying to sell us stuff so that we give them more money.” Money I no longer had. I hadn’t been completely irresponsible. I’d kept that separate account with the emergency money, enough to pay the taxes on this building and pay the bills for a long while. And when I needed it, it was all gone. That hadn’t been the worst moment, though. That had come when the bank officer informed me that because it hadn’t been reported within sixty days, they wouldn’t reimburse me a dime of it.

  If there were a bright side, Asher had fallen quiet, as if reality was finally seeping in.

  He took a few paces to the left and then back, and I wondered if he’d picked up the pacing thing from me.

  I’d gotten all my pacing out of the way earlier today before I’d gone over to see Kane.

  “I’ll work. I’ll get one of those human jobs that pay lots of doppers.” His pacing picked up until I was feeling dizzy.

  “It’s not doppers, it’s dollars, and it’s not that easy, Asher.” Times like this, I wondered if I’d made the right choice. Maybe I should’ve taken my chances when Asher showed up and talked to Kane. Except they weren’t my chances, they had been Asher’s.

  His pace seemed to slow as he walked the length of the living room a couple more times until stopping completely in front of the love seat. “Are you going to go back?”

  “No. I told you. He wouldn’t work with me.” I was going to do something worse than that.

  “I can’t believe he’d refuse to work with you.” His voice was soft, as if the insult of today was finally sinking in to his mind.

  It had hit me like a hammer.

  Asher came and sat down beside me, head bent as mine now was. “I’m sorry, Olivia, but it’s for the best. I don’t trust him. He’s dangerous. You don’t know what you’re getting involved with.”

  There was no strength left for another conversation replay. I’d just made it to the other side of one argument when he wanted to rehash another. I didn’t have it in me today. Definitely not today.

  “As I said, he won’t work with me, so it doesn’t matter.” He’s dangerous, Asher would say. I’d heard it over and over again from Asher, but he never said why. He’d never even been face to face with Kane. He wasn’t giving me anything to go on, and he hadn’t shown great judgment to inspire confidence, and it was a moot point anyway.

  “Are you hungry? I’ve got a fantastic meal planned for tonight.” He jumped off the couch and walked toward the kitchen. This was what Asher did when he was trying to make peace or cheer me up. Feed me. As if that were key to the world’s woes.

  Asher had taken to the Food Network like a cat to tuna. As to how well he actually cooked, that was closer to a cat in the ocean. As far as shopping for the stuff, he was somewhere in between, but had been gaining speed.

  “Lobster Fra Diavolo tonight, with a caviar appetizer. Got all the ingredients this afternoon.”

  “You bought that with the silver card?” It was a stupid question. There was only one card he had, and it was already overdrawn. The fees would add up to what he’d just spent on groceries, maybe more. The idea of food right now, or this week, wasn’t even a little appealing. “Asher, I told you, emergency only.”

  “Eating food is critical for life.”

  “We’re going to have to do cheap food. No more lobster.”

  His eyes dropped to the ground. Shit.

  “It’s all right. Just don’t do it again, okay?”

  His head shifted up, but not all the way. “You’re sure it was okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m sure.” I patted him on the back as I stepped toward the door. “It sounds so good I’m going to go get bread, okay? I’ll be back by dinner, okay?”

  He perked up and nodded.

  I paused, looked at the charred wall over the range, and pointed to the corner where the fire extinguisher hung. “Don’t forget, that gets rid of fire.”

  “I know.”

  Chapter 3

  If Kane wasn’t going to help me, I only had one choice left…that I knew of, anyway, and that was all that mattered at the moment. I climbed into my red Mini Cooper that still had the new-car smell clinging to it, amazed that I could drive all by myself, and plugged in the address.

  I hadn’t meant to commit this place to memory, but from the moment I’d overheard its location at the Underground, it had sort of burned itself in, as if I’d always known I might end up there.

  The place wasn’t that far away, but the price of the real estate here would’ve made you think it was a state away, but I guess that was to be expected when you were right on the Boston Harbor.

  There was a valet as I pulled up to the curb, and I handed my keys over reluctantly as I toyed with the idea of finding a spot. I’d probably have to park so far away it wouldn’t help me if I did have to make a quick getaway.

  A man in a uniform pulled open a grand wood and glass door for me and I stepped inside a marble foyer. I walked over to the receptionist seated at yet more marble. This couldn’t really be the place, could it?

  I stopped in front of the desk where the young man was sitting and took another glance around.

  He raised his eyebrows. “May I help you?”

  “I’d like to speak to Collin?” I didn’t know the alpha werewolf’s last name. That might’ve been a g
ood thing to have remembered along with the address. I reasoned that if I was in the right place, it wouldn’t matter—he should know who I meant.

  He nodded, and I nodded in return. Okay, I was in the right place.

  “Your name?” He said it as if he’d been waiting for me to offer it already.

  “Tell him Olivia Wit is here to speak with him. He’ll know who I am.” And that was all I was willing to tell him.

  The phone on his desk started to buzz before he’d picked it up.

  “Yes,” he said, looking at me. “Yes, sir.” He placed the phone back on the cradle. “Proceed up to the twentieth floor. Mr. Bard is waiting for you.”

  “Thank you,” I said, in my politest tone, as if nothing untoward had happened.

  I walked past him to the interior hallway lined with elevators while I tried to figure out what the hell I was going to say. This meeting needed to work out better than my last negotiations.

  The elevator doors opened. And what a surprise. More marble. What was it with him and marble?

  A brunette with a waterfall of thick, dark brown hair and a doll face rose from a desk situated to the right of double doors. “Ms. Wit?” she asked, smiling.

  “Yes.” I walked toward the double doors where she stood, motioning me to follow her.

  She left the door open and waited beside it, asking, “Can I get you anything?” when I passed her.

  “No, thank you.”

  She closed the door behind me as I stepped into the massive office, windows overlooking the best view of the harbor you could buy. I didn’t want to be impressed, but sometimes it’s not optional.

  Collin wasn’t too bad himself. There was a bit of an unrefined look to him, even dressed in a suit as he was. I wasn’t sure if it was his protruding brow or jaw that seemed a bit too large for his face.

  Thinking about suits, the one he was wearing could probably feed me for a month, and Asher for a weekend. The only issue with the suit was he didn’t appear like he belonged in it. When Kane wore an expensive suit, he was still the main attraction.

  Why was I even comparing him to Kane? Kane and I were over. I needed to evict him from my thoughts.

  “Nice place you’ve got.” Had to prime the pump here, as Collin was my last chance. I walked closer to where he was standing beside two couches facing each other.

  He smiled like a man who liked getting complimented a little too much. “Thank you.”

  If all I had to do was fluff his ego, this was a done deal. Just with that small interaction, it had already surpassed my meeting with Kane.

  Damn it, I was comparing again.

  He waved a hand at one of the sofas. “Please, sit.”

  “Thank you.” I situated myself square in the middle, hoping he’d take the hint and sit on the opposite couch. There was only so much fluffing I’d do, and I wasn’t crazy about the way his eyes were flickering over my neckline.

  He settled across from me. “So, what can I do for you?”

  “You’ve shown interest in working with me in the past.” I left out the other things I’d thought he might want from me at the time. I knew that interest might still be there, but that offer wasn’t on the table. “Are you still interested?”

  His eyes narrowed, but I saw the uptick of his lips as he leaned back into the sofa. “You really did break ties. I knew you’d left, but Kane doesn’t normally let go of his favorite toys.”

  Too many things about that last sentence burned to want to think on it more. I wasn’t dwelling on Kane. I wasn’t even going to think about him anymore.

  “I’ve got no other obligations.” There. Hadn’t even said his name.

  He nodded, way too happy with himself right now. I didn’t think Collin was a really bad guy deep down, but he had some pretty annoying superficial qualities for sure. I didn’t plan on sitting here all day while he smiled over stepping in shit.

  “Unless you’re scared to work with me?” That should speed up his massive ego a little.

  He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and losing the smirk. “What terms are you offering?”

  Terms? I hadn’t thought of terms. I hadn’t thought past desperation. I went with the first thing that came to mind. “We alternate. I get the first spell, you get the second, and so on.” That sounded pretty reasonable, and he must’ve agreed, because he nodded. Maybe too agreeable?

  “But no wild goose chases. If I can’t get a spell you want on the first try, it’s done and over unless you want to keep using your turns.” I wasn’t wasting weeks for a spell like I had for…that person. I didn’t have time for that. I had bills that had to get paid, and a quasi-human who had very expensive tastes to feed.

  “I can live with that.” He was rubbing the thick stubble on his chin as he sat there nodding again.

  This was almost too easy. Maybe he was the desperate one? “Not to insult you, but are you sure you can do this?” Note for future self: if I had to warn someone that what I was about to say wasn’t meant to be insulting, then odds were the person I was saying it to would get insulted. Prime example sitting in front of me, with red spreading over his cheeks. “I only say that because this is life or death for me.”

  Collin stood. “Kane likes to think he’s the only one capable of anchoring, but he’s not.”

  I wanted to laugh as I heard him lay blame for the insult at Kane’s doorstep. “It’s not that I don’t trust you.” Well, actually, I didn’t, but if he wanted to heap blame on Kane, I wasn’t fighting him.

  His body was facing the door but he turned his head my way. “When did you want to start?”

  “I’ll call you tomorrow.” I had one piece left to this puzzle.

  I was stopped beside the oldest building I’d been able to find a few blocks away from the Underground. It was as close as I was willing to get to the place.

  I got out and walked into the alley beside it so I could avoid looking crazier than necessary to anyone who might happen upon me. Plus, I didn’t need anyone from the Underground spotting me here.

  “Is there a gargoyle here?” I called as loud as I dared as I walked a circle in the alley. “Gargoyle?”

  I spent another ten minutes calling for a gargoyle before one showed up. It was an especially ugly one with a cement pot belly.

  “What? Who are you?” It leaned toward me in a way that a person might feel was slightly menacing.

  I stood my ground. “I need to speak to Zee.”

  “So? Why are you here?”

  “Don’t you have a way of communicating?”

  It was stone still for a moment before it said, “I’ll call Zee, but don’t come back here.”

  “Sure.”

  I crossed my arms as I moved a little further into the shadows and heard a few people passing by close to the alley. There wasn’t anyone that walked these streets that I’d want to bump into.

  And then Zee was standing in front of me, with her side pony, red stretchy pants, and white halter top.

  “What? I’m busy and you aren’t on the rolls anymore. You’ve been removed from service. You shouldn’t be calling for me.” Her words were much harsher than her expression.

  I smiled in spite of them, and she rolled her eyes, even though I thought she might’ve been happy to see me.

  “I’ve got a business offer for you.”

  She tilted her head, definitely interested. “What?”

  She was in. That was all I needed. I just needed to negotiate a deal where she didn’t take ninety percent of what we’d make. “I’m going shadow walking again, but I need someone who’s good at sales to broker deals for me. I know you could move the spells.”

  And then we hit a brick wall, or a cement one in this case.

  “Who are you shadow walking with?”

  Did everyone feel like they should be running my life? “It doesn’t matter. I’m going to be getting spells soon. Lots of them.” I swept my hands wide. “Lots and lots. Can you move them or not?”

 
She looked down at her red claw nails and buffed them on her shirt before she finally said, “I probably can. I’ll need a fifty-fifty split.”

  “No way. You’re not getting fifty. I’ll give you ten percent.”

  “Thirty.”

  “Fifteen.”

  “Twenty.”

  I took a moment to respond, as if I had other people in the wings willing to move all these spells I didn’t have yet. “Deal.”

  She held out her hand and then pulled it back. “But I get spells for personal use on the house.” She held her hand back out.

  I pulled mine back in. “Within reason.”

  “Five a month.”

  “No, two.” I held my hand out again.

  “Fine.” Zee took it. “I’ll get you a list.”

  Chapter 4

  The website was down. The commercial had been a huge miss and now the site was down. This was the worst host ever. How was I going to save other Shadow Walkers if they couldn’t find me?

  I flopped my head forward into my hand when it hit me.

  Maybe it wasn’t the host? That bill had been connected to the last account I’d had open, the one that Asher had ordered his lobsters with and was now as frozen as the tundra in the middle of a Russian winter. I reached forward to the basket that sat on the edge of my desk, the place where debt notices went to die a slow, unpaid death. I pulled it over and shuffled through it for the hosting company bill while I did a mental inventory of what pennies I could scrape together.

  The door jingled.

  “Hi, Sam.” Sam, my mailman, was the only person besides me and Asher that ever stepped into this building. I waited for the new notices to hit the desk, and the friendly hello that accompanied the pile of dread. Once upon a time, I’d liked getting mail. It was hard to believe at the moment.

  Wait, I’d already gotten the new stack of bills. That was when I caught his scent.