5 Darkness Falls (19 page)

I checked my watch. It was two minutes until eleven. The sky outside was dark, yet the city was still alive and bustling with activity.

“Excuse me, sir?” I turned towards the voice, heavy with a French accent. A male, dressed in
a
full
dress
service uniform, extended an envelope towards me. “This is for you.”

My eyes scanned
the area again. I inhaled deep, but came up empty. There were no vamps, at least not in the restaurant.

I took the envelope.

The man immediately turned and walked away.

I glanced around nervously before I
studying
the object in my hands.

The envelope was a thick, white envelope. It was blank,
no inscription.
The envelope had been sealed with a heavy imprint,
holding
the flap down
securely
.
Focusing
on the image
that had been
imprinted
, it
took me a moment to recognize
…it was
the vamp army’s crest.

I tore open the envelope. A small piece of lined paper
fell
into my hand.

Outside. Right side of the hotel. Alley. Five minutes.

I glanced around once more. Not finding anything or anyone suspicious, I tucked the
message
inside my bomber jacket. I stood, threw down a couple bills, and headed for the door, for the alley on the right side of the hotel
.
It was time
to meet my informant.

***

Lexi

Kai held the front door
open
to condo. I ambled past him to where Drexel was waiting.

The burly bodyguard studied me, a smirk
teasing
his lips. “I see you got a few things,” he
ribbed, gaping
at all the bags Kai set on the table.

“Not much.” I replied casually.

The rest of
our
day
went
much
smoother.
Kai insisted on buying me sweats in every color and style as well as shirts to match. Then, we somehow went from casual attire to business wear for the office.
I also grabbed a couple more maxi dresses that were on clearance. It was the end of September and still unbearably warm, but I knew the temperature would continue to drop.
In the end, I caved and got a pair of maternity jeans. Everything else, from tanks to fancy tops, was
from
the regular section of the stores,
just one
size larger.

“I’m going to shower and change,” I announced.

I padded towards the kitchen table. Reaching into a bag, I grabbed a new pair of VS
Capri
sweats and a tank. I began gathering up the bags to take to my closet.

Kai
swooped
in
, taking
them from me. “Where do you want them?”

I frowned. “I was just going to put them in my closet to put away later.”

“Stop pouting and go shower.” He kissed my cheek as a send off.

I looked to Drexel.

He pointed at Kai. “What he said.” Mischief danced in his eyes. He was in a playful mood. I’d only seen fleeting gl
impses
of his fun side lately.

I
darted
my eyes at him.

He lifted a single brow. “Is that another mood swing I detect?”

I gasped
,
indignantly. I threw my clothes at him.

He laughed. “Yup. Look out, Kai. We’re losing her to the hormone monster.”

To Kai’s credit, he remained silent.

At vamp speed, I moved to
Drex
and slapped his chest. “Take that back!”

His laugh grew heartier. “You can’t fault me for
speaking
the truth.”

I lunged at him.

He caught me
mid
air and pulled me to him
, wrapping
his arms securely around me to keep me from hitting him.

I fought to free myself from his gr
ip,
but he was too strong.

“Promise you’ll be nice if I let you go?”

“I promise to bite the hell out you if you let me go,” I snapped haughtily.

Kai cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t suggest you continue to antagonize the pregnant woman.”

“Yeah. What he said.” I stuck my nose up in the air.

Drex
poked at
the tip of my nose. “Where’s the fun in that?”

I decided standing my own ground wasn’t going to work. Drex was too much like the older brother I never had, and you could never reason with older brothers. You had to bribe them. “I’ll bake you whatever you want if you let me go.”

He
suspiciously
narrowed his eyes. “Cherry pie with homemade whipped cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream?”

“Sure.” I attempted to shrug my shoulders, but couldn’t move my arms
.

“You’re forgiven.” He promptly set me down and handed my clothes
back to me
. “It’s good to see you laughing ag
ain, Baby C
akes.”

“Sucker.” I snickered. He yanked me back into him. I laughed. “I was kidding. I’ll make it
,
after
I finish showering.”

“You better. Sanders is coming up in a bit
,
and he’ll want some too.”

“Well, for
him
, I guess I will.”

Drexel smiled wide, his face lighting up
;
the tension from the past week had left him.
In moments like these, he
seemed so free
d
from his past, from the weight
ne carried on
his shoulders
.
It was one of the reasons I liked to rile him, why I indulged his teasing. He deserved to be able to let go sometimes. I felt blessed to be one of the people he felt
comfortable doing
that with; Sanders
being the only other one.

Drex was more than a bodyguard to me
-
more than a friend
– he
truly was
like
the older brother I never had. I didn’t doubt that he would take a bullet for me. He was brave, loyal and determined. He was
resolute
that nothing would happen to me under his watch. He was
also
a constant companion, a steady friend. I loved having him here with me. As much as it helped him to let go with me, it equally helped me to let go with him. We
could be
free
with
each other.

Gabi and Mel were amazing friends, but they didn’t indulge in immature play; they didn’t cater to the childlike release I needed from time to time
, especially
in the midst of stress
.
Drexel gave me something no one else did,
something
no one else could.

He set my feet on the floor again and turned me in the direction of my bedroom. He smacked my ass before giving me a tiny shove in the right direction.

“Hey!” I
covered
my rear, glaring at him over my shoulder.

“Go!” He pointed towards my room.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m going.” I rolled my eyes.

“See what I have to put up with?” Drex
chided
me by asking Kai.

I turned towards Kai. “He’s suffering. Homemade cherry pie, whipped cream and ice cream regularly,
oh
but he’s suffering.”

“You can torture
me
any time then.” Kai winked.

I rolled my eyes
again
, skipping off to
the room to shower and change.

Chapter 17

It felt great to finally be wearing clothes that fit me. I had no annoying gaps, no flesh on display.

The moment I opened the bathroom door, Kai was there. He sat on my bed; his head immediately lifted, his eyes seeking mine. He smiled softly. “Feel better?”

“Much.” I pointed to my stomach. “No more peep shows.”

He chuckled. “I don’t know if that’s what I would call it.”

I shrugged, moving to the closet. I opened the door and stopped short at the sight before me. I walked back out and looked at Kai. He gave me a mischievous grin. I pursed my lips, walking back into my closet.

Kai had pushed all my old clothes to the back and hung everything that we’d just purchased in the front. He’d also moved the few dresses that still fit to the front with the good clothes. He saved me the heartbreaking trouble of segregating everything I couldn’t wear anymore. He probably saved me a few tears too.

I tossed my dirty clothes in the hamper
, closing
the door behind me. I immediately went to him, throwing my arms around him. He didn’t hesitate hugging me back. I kissed his cheek. “Thanks. I really
, really
appreciate it.”

“You can repay me with dessert.” The sparkle in his eyes and
curve
of his lips told me his words were left up to my interpretation, that he wouldn’t mind either dessert.

I smacked his arm, jerking back. “Way to ruin the moment.”

He laughed. “Mood swings
and
abuse.
Maybe
I’m not so envious of Kellan anymore.”

“I’m not moody!” I stomped off towards the kitchen.

Sanders yanked me into his arms, planting a kiss on my
fore
head. “Stop picking on my girl,” he barked at the other guys.

“Yeah!” I said.

“How are you, sweetie?” he asked,
releasing
me in front of him.

“Good.”

He sobered. “You had another note on your door. It said
something like
the same thing: a
nother
riddled warning.”

My stomach
tensed.
My brows dipped together as I
looked
up at him. “Should we be taking them more seriously?”

“We’re doing all we can. I was just letting you know, that’s all.”  He brushed back my wet hair. “Call me when my plate is ready?”

“Okay.” I nodded, giving him a
less than enthusiastic
smile.

He slinked towards Drexel. Both men walked towards Drex’s bedroom with their hands stuffed in their pockets. The way they snuck sideways glances at each other, you could tell they wouldn’t be able to keep their hands to themselves otherwise. There was a
n obvious
connection between the two of them. While they’d relaxed about showing their affection for each other in front of Kellan and me, they were careful to conceal it in front of
the
others, even the ones who knew the truth
about
their relationship.

The moment I stepped into the kitchen, there was a knock on the door. I immediately looked at the security monitor on the wall.
From the looks of it,
Auggy and Aunt Claire were going back and forth about something
.

“I’ll get it.” Kai started for the door.

“Thanks.”

I began pulling out my baking
supplies
while Kai answered the door.

“I’m damn near family. I should have the code to get in any time I
want!”
Auggy grumbled.

“I don’t even have the code,” Aunt Claire countered.

“Well we should,” Auggy
responded.
“With what’s been going on lately plus her condition, an emergency could happen at any time.”

“Don’t even start with that. My head can’t handle any more nightmare scenarios.” I heard Aunt Claire’s heels clacking against the floor,
as they drew
closer.

The front door closed and suddenly they were all there, watching me.

“Hi.” I gave them a
n
inviting
smile as I set down the final necessary ingredient on the island.

“How are you, honey? How are you feeling?” Aunt Claire closed the distance between us
, swiftly,
feeling my face with the back of her hand.

“I’m fine.” I tried to assure her, but she didn’t listen.

“You look like you’re not gaining enough. Have you been eating? Kai, has she been eating good?” She looked at the counter and back at me. “Don’t tell me you’re still doing all this cooking. Why haven’t you hired anyone yet? Oh, no, no, no. You’re doing too much.” She started pushing me towards the living room. “I told you Augustine! That damn army of yours has her running all over the place. Meanwhile she’s managing her own army of vamps, struggling to keep up with orders for her business, and who knows what else. Throw in a social life and a
needy
man
-
because Lord knows you
’re
all needy in some way
-
and I’m surprised she can still stand. It’s not good, Lex.” She
pushed
me down onto the sofa
, shoving
aside several items on the coffee table before
pulling
it towards me. “Feet up, now,” she ordered.