Caught in Darkness (22 page)

“Yes,” Veronica answered. She
looked away, becoming visibly uncomfortable, before muttering, “Apparently I’m
related to him.”

Both of
Jasen’s
brows lifted at this.

Veronica was speaking again before
Seth could jump in, saying, “He’s my uncle, on my father’s side.”

Jasen
turned his narrowed eyes back to Seth, voice dangerously near a growl as he
asked, “And you want me to trust this woman?”

“We have no right to hold her
relations against her,” Seth pointed out, doing his best to keep his voice
calm. “She never knew she had Slayer heritage before Monday, nor had she ever
met her uncle. I was the one who told her that vampires were real.”

“Or so she wants you to believe,”
Jasen
argued darkly.

Veronica cleared her throat and
said, “Listen, I get that you don’t know me and you don’t trust me. The
feeling’s mutual. But I trust Seth, who trusts you, so I’m telling you the
truth whether you like it or not. Just because I’m related to that murderer
doesn’t mean I have any connections to him. He tried to kill me, injured Seth,
and then turned around and tried to recruit me. And, for the record, I said
no.”

Jasen
studied her for a long minute, his expression unreadable.

Seth was tense, waiting for
Jasen
to pass judgment. He didn’t want to have to fight the
other man, but if it came to that he would. And he knew, in that fight, that
motivation would be his only edge.

Releasing an almost inaudible
breath,
Jasen
replied, “You’re lucky you’re so
transparent. But don’t expect me to be so merciful to this uncle of yours when
I come across him—or to you if you should suddenly decide that blood is thicker
than water.” He returned his attention to Seth and asked, “Anything else I need
to know?”

Swallowing the relief in his chest,
Seth shook his head. “The traitors disappeared during the fight with Claypool. Earlier
tonight I followed up on a lead saying one of them had been spotted around his
apartment, but it was empty when I got there.”

Jasen
nodded and turned, starting toward the door. “I’m going to get the lay of the
land. You’ve got my phone, so try not to die before I get back.” The door shut
behind him with an echoing
thunk
, seeming to
emphasize the tension that remained in the room.

Now, somehow, Seth was going to
have to explain who
Jasen
was and why he’d called him
in. And that, he suspected, would be the easy part.

“Who was that?”
Veronica
demanded, her voice hushed.

Seth turned to properly face her,
finding her standing again with her arms crossed over her chest and an expectant
look on her face. He wouldn’t be getting out of this without giving her a
proper answer.

“And don’t say ‘
Jasen
’,”
she added after a beat.

He wanted to smile at her comment,
but he knew she was agitated. Not that he was surprised:
Jasen
had that effect on most people. So he kept his expression calm and honest as he
replied, “
Jasen
and I both, technically, work for the
First Family.
Jasen
is what we call an Enforcer. Each
Family has its own personal laws, of course, but the First Family has a few
that they insist the others adhere to.
Jasen’s
job,
at its core, is to enforce those laws. He’s possibly the best—and most feared—Enforcer
alive today. I called him in because this job is proving to fall more under his
category than mine and the sooner we get Richards and the others off the
streets, the better.”

Veronica pulled her lower lip
between her teeth thoughtfully, turning over his words. “So, essentially…he’s
the guy who makes the problem go away, and he’s really good at it.” It was
clear from the way she emphasized her words that she understood the translation
of ‘go away.’

Seth nodded. “He’s a good man to
have on our side.”

“And a dangerous man to tick off?” The
bitter half-smile on her face made it obvious that that was a rhetorical
question. She released a breath, arms falling to her sides again, and asked,
“He’s not going to snap my neck in the middle of a fight and call it an
accident, is he?”

“No,” Seth replied with a shake of
his head. “He’s not so subtle about who he intends to kill.”

Scoffing, Veronica mumbled, “So if
he decides to kill me I’ll know it’s coming, then.”

Seth stepped up to her, planting
his hands on her hips and tugging her into his chest as he declared, “I highly
doubt
Jasen
will come after you. But, if he does, I
won’t let him touch you.”

Veronica swallowed, her fingers
curling into his shirt, and she said, “But you just said he’s really good at
killing other vampires.”

“He is,” Seth allowed. “But he
wouldn’t be fighting for the right thing.”

“Cheater,” Veronica scolded, a
teasing smile lifting her face. She tugged on the front of his shirt, then, and
pulled him down for a long, slow kiss. He surrendered without restraint,
sliding his arms around her slim waist and holding her close while she set the
pace.
Jasen
would be back in a couple of hours, and
Veronica still needed to sleep if she was actually going to go into work the
next day, but one or two long kisses wouldn’t hurt anything.

****

Veronica was dragging at work the
next morning, and she knew it was largely her own fault. She was working on not
enough sleep and only an average
breakfast,
and the
longer her shift went on the harder it became to stand straight. So she
naturally blamed her incredible lack of focus when she saw her mother walk into
the coffee shop shortly after eleven. Her mother didn’t even drink coffee, and had
most certainly never set foot in the shop. She was clearly hallucinating.

I am so glad I’m not working a
split today, she thought, shaking her head and returning her attention to the
drink she was supposed to be making. Her focus lasted long enough for her to
swirl the whipped cream into place and top it off with a sprinkling of shaved
coconut before her curiosity got the better of her. She wanted to know if the
woman at least looked somewhat like her mother. So, after setting down and
calling out the drink she’d just finished making, she allowed herself another
glance at the woman (now next in line) whom she had first mistaken as her
mother.

Her jaw nearly dropped open in raw
disbelief. That was her mother! But, not only was her mother actually standing
in line like an ordinary patron, she was standing beside Cliff! The only part
of this scene that seemed at all normal was the fact that they were engaged in
conversation. This cannot be happening. She had—by some fortunate stroke of
fate—not seen Cliff since the morning Seth had interrupted their awkward
conversation. Now not only had he returned, but he’d returned alongside her
mother. I need a break. No, better yet, I need a vacation.

The innocently oblivious customer
ahead of her mother finished placing his order and Nikki wasted no time in
setting the waiting cup before her. Veronica’s eyes followed the motion, but it
was several seconds before her brain was able to process it. Just make the
drink. Duck your head behind the cappuccino machine and let them be
disappointed when they don’t see you. It sounded like a plan, so she snatched
the cup and did precisely that.

Only she did it too slowly, and the
next words to assault her ears made her cringe.

“Say,” Carol began after placing
her order, still talking to Nikki, “can we borrow your drink-maker for a minute
as soon as she’s done with that man’s order?”

“Oh, um,” Nikki started, obviously
confused. Veronica was sure she was looking between them, hoping for answers,
but she had opted to remain ‘lost in thought.’ Or, rather, that was her
intention, until Nikki called, “Hey, V?”

Damn. Lifting her head from her
work, Veronica looked over, feigning obliviousness.
“Hmm?”
Her eyes drifted past Nikki, knowing it would be obvious if she didn’t glance
around at that point, and landed on her mother’s smiling face. Why did she have
to look so happy? “Oh, wow, hey, Mom. I wasn’t expecting to see you!”

Carol’s smile widened. “I thought
I’d pop in and see you at work. You know, I’ve never been in here before. It’s
sort of cute.”

“It is,” Veronica agreed.

Looking much more comfortable now,
Nikki said, “Your mom wants to steal you as soon as you’re done there.”

“Steal me?” Veronica repeated with
exaggerated curiosity.

Carol held up the digital camera
Veronica had given her for Christmas two years prior and declared, “I thought
we’d take pictures! That’s okay, isn’t it?
As long as you’re
not busy?”

What is going on with her today? It
seemed like a legitimate question, except that she knew the answer as soon as
she thought it. They hadn’t spoken since the night they’d had dinner with
Dennis, and she knew her mother was probably feeling guilty for making her
stay. This was also the first time she’d been back to work since that night because,
though it felt like so much longer, it had only been two days since then.

Making sure her smile was in place,
Veronica replied, “Sure. Just let me finish up here.” She returned her
attention to the drink, then, and fought to keep the frown from her face. As
much as she didn’t want to have to deal with Cliff again—ever—she couldn’t
disappoint her mother on this. Her mother was trying so hard to make an attempt
at improving their relationship, and she was genuinely glad for it. So she
would embrace the old adage and just grin and bear it this time.

It didn’t take long at all for her
to finish the drink, and then she was wiping her hands on a towel and walking
around the counter to the customer area with a smile. Carol greeted her with a
hug before tugging her toward the pickup counter, saying,
“
Let’s
take the picture here. Cliff already volunteered to take it for us, wasn’t that
sweet of him?”

Swallowing the remark that wanted
so badly to fall off her tongue, Veronica said, “It was.” She turned a fake smile
toward Cliff before adding, “Thanks.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure,” Cliff
assured her. He was smiling broadly and she couldn’t help but wonder if he even
remembered what had happened the last time. He certainly wasn’t acting like it.

Veronica posed beside her mother,
the drink making station behind them to one side, and they waited patiently
with their broad smiles until the camera flashed. Carol released her a second
later, starting toward Cliff and saying, “Let me see.” Cliff obediently handed
over the camera and they watched as she examined the picture before finally
smiling and declaring, “Perfect. You’re an amazing photographer, Cliff. Okay,
your turn now. Veronica, sweetheart, stay right there.”

You’ve got to be kidding. Why
hadn’t she expected this? She knew her mother. It only made sense that her
mother would insist on taking a picture of the two of them—she had probably
already named their grandchildren. But, like before, she pushed back the foul
taste rising in her mouth and did as she was told.

Cliff eagerly moved into Carol’s
vacant spot at Veronica’s side, standing directly beside her so that their arms
were touching. “Should we say ‘cheese’?” he asked with a laugh.

Veronica was spared having to reply
when Carol said, “Hold those poses. We’ll take two pictures for posterity. Ready?”

Two pictures?
One was bad enough!

The camera flashed and Veronica
could only hope her smile hadn’t faltered at the wrong moment. She knew better
than to move, so she settled for shifting her weight and wondering why on earth
there weren’t any customers coming in when she really needed them. She barely
heard Carol’s exclamation that the picture was ‘excellent,’ and then her mother
added that they should do something ‘cute’ for the second picture.

But before she could even wonder
what that was supposed to mean Cliff was saying, “You got it, Mrs. Wyndham.” She
was willing to bet he’d even winked when he said it.

Carol raised the camera again and
said, “All right, on three!”

She started counting down and
Veronica was seriously considering putting bunny ears on his head—or at least
making an immature face—when Cliff grabbed her around the waist and spun her
toward him. She had just enough warning to know what he was about to do, and by
then it was too late. His lips landed heavily on hers and held there as the
camera clicked.

Veronica froze just long enough for
the picture to take before her instincts kicked in and she reached up,
intending to shove him the hell off of her, but he was stepping back at the
same time and all she succeeded in doing was making the whole situation look
worse.

“Oh, what a
perfect picture!
I’ll have to be sure to get this one developed,” Carol
exclaimed, entirely oblivious to Veronica’s building rage. She lowered the
camera and added, “I didn’t know you two were a couple.”

“Well, technically we’re not,”
Cliff admitted before Veronica could get a word in. He grinned, glancing at
Veronica before adding, “But I’m working on it.”

She wanted to scream. She wanted to
smack Cliff so hard that his face would hurt every time he even thought about
kissing a woman, and definitely hard enough to chase him out of her life for
good. She wanted to tell her mother never to make her associate with him again
and to delete those pictures before she did it herself. But she couldn’t do any
of those things—not in the middle of the coffee shop, with customers and her coworkers
watching every moment. She was just grateful that another customer had—finally—shown
up.

“I have to get back to work,” she
declared bluntly, knowing her voice was harsh. She felt a twinge of guilt for
the flash of confusion and hurt in her mother’s eyes but she was too upset to
let it linger. She was wide-awake now, but she still couldn’t wait to get out
of there. Fortunately, Nikki had had the foresight to make her mother’s and
Cliff’s drinks, so she didn’t actually have to talk to him again that day.