Night's Promise

Night’s Promise

Sandy Lynn

Dedication

I would like to dedicate this book to my friends. Jess, without you, I don’t think
Duncan would have come to life like he did. Ferra, thank you for giving me a kick in the butt when it was needed. And to the wonderful Joyous, I thank you for being honest with me and giving me your opinions.

I’d also like to thank my wonderful editor for helping me make this book all that it could be.

Prologue

Melissa smiled as she watched Gareth follow La and Bram to the back room. Over half the club heard La say she loved him.

He deserves it,
she thought, enjoying the fact that her brother would be happy. For almost a week her brother and La had bounced back and forth between being lovers and fighting. They couldn’t seem to decide between the two states. No matter which “mode” they were in, though, it was clear they still wanted each other.

No other woman had ever captured her brother’s attention or heart like Lalita did. She would be his heaven and his hell, but it was obvious she felt the same fire for him. Melissa was no sorceress, but she could practically see the sparks—the flames—jump between them whenever they touched.

Turning toward the table, her smile dimmed as she saw the bleached blonde still sitting there.

The least she could do for her brother would be to make sure Diane knew she didn’t stand a chance with Gareth. She didn’t want anyone to get hurt, but more importantly she didn’t want her brother’s good mood ruined by this wench’s attempt to cling to him.

Melissa headed for the table, her smile becoming forced as she sat down, her hands smoothing her jeans. “You know those two are together, don’t you?” she asked, deciding to go for the direct approach.

“Perhaps. But that doesn’t mean I have to stop speaking to him.”

“Do you want to get beaten up?” Diane’s head jerked, turning toward her as though she had just been threatened.
Which, I sort of just did…
Staring at the other woman, Melissa shook her head. “Lalita doesn’t play those games. And neither does Gareth. They’re together now, so you really should leave him alone.”

“Well, my business with him isn’t done yet.”

“Your business? What business?” she asked icily.

“You’re his sister. Maybe you can tell me what he’s like and then I can leave him alone all the quicker.” Diane seemed to be talking to herself when she added, “I don’t think Mr. Long would actually care if we weren’t dating…”

Melissa’s full attention was focused on the blonde as soon as she heard that name.
It’s a coincidence. There could be a hundred people in this city with that name,
she tried to convince herself. Trying to fight off the cold shiver and biting back a retort of where the woman could go when she left, Melissa forced herself to respond politely. “What do you want to know?”

During her silence, Diane seemed to have reconsidered. “Never mind. I don’t think my…friend would appreciate me having any help. I guess you’re just stuck with me for a while longer.”

Trying to ignore the icy fingers that continued to crawl up her spine, Melissa asked, “Can I at least know his name?”

Diane sat there, her back straighter and a smug smile on her face. She knew she had the upper hand now that Melissa was curious.

Catching Mona’s eye, Melissa waved her over. A wave of relief swept through her when her friend nodded and approached the table.

“I believe you were just going to tell me what your friend’s name was,” Melissa said to Diane, her voice commanding as Mona sat on the other side of the blonde.

“No, I wasn’t. Trust me, you don’t want to make an enemy of me. Or my friend.” Diane’s voice was self-important, a challenge in her eyes taunting Melissa to make her tell her secret.

Melissa turned her attention on Mona, using her eyes to plead for help.

“I assume there is a good reason you’re asking me to do this?” Mona tilted her head to the side slightly, her eyes never leaving Melissa’s.

“Gods, I hope not.” Even she could hear the desperation in her voice.

Diane looked between the women and opened her mouth to say something, but Mona had made her decision. Placing her hand on Diane’s arm, she closed her eyes. When they opened again, Mona’s pupils were much larger than normal and Diane had a slightly dazed look on her face. Mona gave an obviously fake laugh and began to speak as though they had been deep in conversation.

“Oh, Goddess, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything funnier. By the Lady, if I laugh any harder, I’m afraid I’m going to embarrass myself.”

Diane looked confused, but an easy smile tilted on her lips. She seemed not to notice the hand still grasping her arm. “I’m telling you, I couldn’t believe he said that to me.”

“What about the other guy…what was his name…the one you mentioned earlier?” Melissa added, joining the contrived conversation.

“Which one?” Diane asked Mona, taking a sip from her glass with her free hand.

“The one that told you about Gareth.”

“Oh, you mean Travis? You don’t want to know about him, he’s no fun and somewhat creepy, to be honest.”

“Travis?” Mona asked.

“Yeah, Travis Long. But trust me, you do not want to look him up unless you have to. He might actually be handsome if he hadn’t let himself go so badly…”

At the mention of that name, the blood drained from Melissa’s face. She’d always suspected he’d try to find her, no matter how many times Gareth swore she would never have to see him again.

“Why did…Travis,” her voice caught on the name, “send you to find Gareth?”

“I’m not sure. He just asked me to gather some info on him. To tell the truth, he gave off the vibe that your brother was some kind of monster. I so was not expecting such a hottie.”

“What were you supposed to find out?” Melissa steered the conversation back to what she wanted—no, what she needed to know.

“He told me to find out any weaknesses.” Diane shrugged. “He says he has some unfinished business with him. He told me to do whatever it takes to get information on Gareth. That he was a criminal, that he stole something very valuable. Whatever your brother did to him, he got Travis seriously pissed.”

Shaking her head to clear away the unwanted thoughts, pushing horrible memories back to where they could do her no harm, Melissa forced herself to look at Diane again. Mona had released her and Diane seemed to have no memory of the conversation they’d just been having. Mona was watching Melissa carefully, but she could not contain her emotions.

Rage flooding her body, she snarled, “Stay away from my brother, you bitch.”

“And just who’s going to make me? You?” Diane laughed.

Years of pent up frustration erupted and before she even knew what she was doing, Melissa’s hands grabbed both sides of Diane’s head and with her fingers gripping hair, she slammed the other woman down on the hard surface of the table over and over again.

“Whoa.” A man’s voice came from behind her.

Strong hands forced her to release her grip on Diane’s head before quickly dragging her backward, away from her prey. For a moment Melissa wondered if Gareth had come back, if he was the one pulling her away from this woman who threatened to tear her family apart.

“Calm down, beautiful, just calm down,” the man crooned in her ear.

“
Duncan, I don’t know what happened.” Mona stared at Melissa as though she’d never seen her before.

Melissa struggled against the arms, intent on hurting the monster who was so intent on destroying any shred of happiness she could have. The monster she’d thought she left in the past where he could no longer hurt her.

But when she looked at the once smug bitch sitting beside her friend, she didn’t see a bleached blonde holding her head with delicate hands and perfectly manicured nails. Instead, she saw a tall man, his face rough from three days without shaving, limp, dull, dirty blond hair hanging into his face and a sneer that promised she would pay dearly for denying him what he wanted.

Shaking her head, Melissa’s vision cleared and she saw the annoying blonde woman once again.

Chapter One

“Mom, I don’t want to be a cheerleader. All the other girls in my class are trying out. I prefer to march to my own beat.”

“I know sweetie, but a girl your age shouldn’t be here trying to care for her mother. You should be out having fun, walking through the mall. I just want you to be happy.”

Melissa looked at her mother’s pale skin. She seemed to grow weaker every day, despite Melissa’s best efforts to nurse her mother back to health. “I am happy. I love spending time with you. I know, why don’t we read? I got
Dracula
from the school library.”

Her mother gave a weak laugh. “You and your fascination with vampires. I would love to listen to you read for a little while.” She patted the bed beside her.

She obeyed, sitting close to her mother. Of course she was fascinated. They were never sick, never caught diseases…vampires didn’t waste away in front of their daughter. With a smile, she snuggled closer to her mother and began to read the story.

Time flew as she read, until she was jerked from her story by the door slamming shut. Her mother had fallen asleep more than a chapter ago, but she had continued to read aloud, the process soothing Melissa as much as it had seemed to help ease her mother’s pain.

Her stepfather stormed into the house, he always did, and she had only just put the book away when he slinked into the room.

“How’s she doing?” Travis asked, giving her mother the barest glance.

“She’s doing better, I think. She seemed to be in less pain.”

“Don’t fool yourself, girl. She’s not going to get better. I don’t understand why you waste your time on foolish dreams. Now, what’s for supper?”

Melissa wanted to scream at him. To tell him that wishing for her mother to get better wasn’t a foolish dream. She wanted to hit him and tell him he could fix his own supper.

Instead, she placed a gentle kiss on her mother’s cheek and stood. She knew that if she said anything, the only outcome would be an argument, their raised voices forcing her mother from her peaceful sleep. Unable to bear the thought of disturbing her, Melissa simply bowed her head and proceeded to do as he’d told her and fix her stepfather’s food, biting the inside of her cheek to keep back any retorts she wanted to make.

“You really should wear more dresses,” Travis said as he sat down at the small table. “It’s not right that a girl your age wear jeans all the time.”

“I like jeans.” She began to heat some spaghetti sauce and put water on to boil. “They’re comfortable.”

“What about that dress I bought you? You should wear that,” he continued ignoring her response. “I’m sure your mother would love to see you in it. You look so pretty in it.”