Whispers of Darkness (The Deadwood Hunter Series) (33 page)

“What I need to.”

Lexia walked over to the phone in the corner and dialled a number she never thought she’d use again.

“Hello... Hello?”  She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak.
Oh god.

“Hello? Who is it? Lexi?” He whispered her name, heart ache and pain within each syllable.

“Hello Caden.”

“Oh god Lexi...  Where are you Lexi? Tell me.”

“Put Linc on Cade.”

“I can’t, he’s, well he’s... Lexia? Lincoln’s not really able to talk.” His quiet voice whispered from the phone.

“What do you mean? Is he alright? I he hurt?” Lexia tried to take a breath, tried to think past the blinding emotions bombarding her, “Pretty Panther.” She managed to gasp out.

“No wait Lexi listen, he’s not hurt, well not physically anyway, I just, well he can’t sleep and I might have slipped him some sedative when I made food.”

“What have I done?” She whispered fighting hard to not break down under the avalanche of guilt flooding her soul.

“Where are you Lexia, where are you? Tell me please, let me help you.”

The cubs shuffled in the corner reminding Lexia this phone call had a purpose, this was one mistake she could fix.

“Caden listen I’m at a little house off Wagon Canyon Road, a family of leopards live here.”
Lived here.

“I think I know it, Lex don’t move, I’ll ring Caleb he will be there soon. Lincoln and I can be there within the day.

For a second she thought about staying, about seeing Lincoln’s face again, she thought of how it would feel to kiss him, to feel his strong arms wrapped around her and then she thought of her mother.  The unstoppable force that she had to stop. She thought of all the people she’d killed and the guilt that was like a wild storm tearing at her insides.

“I’m so sorry but I won’t be here.”

“No Lexia please, please, it’s killing him Lex” As his voice broke she felt her heart fracture and tears fall down her cheeks.

             
“Listen to me! This is important, I’ve done so many things Cade, I can never come back from that.”

             
“No Lex, that wasn’t you, I know what you’ve done, we don’t care, it wasn’t you!”

             
“Maybe not but I need you to do something for me, I’m asking you to forget I called you but you must come to this house...  There are four cubs that need your help.”

             
“What do you mean?”

             
“I’m going now Caden, take care of Linc...  Take care of these children, hide them, hide them so Lucy never finds out.”

             
“Okay.”

             
“And Doc?” She said already feeling Maura’s darkness lick around her.

             
“Yes” he whispered.

             
Lexia wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up straight, she forced her emotions away and welcomed Maura as she took control.

             
“Forget Lexia, she died the day she left you, her name is Maura and she can never come back.”

             
Maura walked from the house leaving the phone swinging off the hook, listening to the desperate cries that called Lexia.

             
You are weak Lexia
she thought,
you gave in so easily and let me win.

             
“Derrick you’re driving.” Maura snapped as she got into the jeep.

             
Derrick stood for a second in confusion; he looked from the house back to Maura in the Jeep and rushed to the car as Maura glared at him.

             
“Lex?” Derrick murmured confused.

             
“She is gone Derrick.”

             
“I don’t understand your eyes?”

             
“Listen to me, Lexia is weak. She chooses to hide from her problems, she let me win.  As I told I’ve said before, Lexia died the day she joined the hunters.”

             
“I don’t believe that.”

             
“Of course you don’t, you are weak, just as Lincoln and Lexia are.  One day Derrick that little thread of humanity you cling to will get you killed”.

Rachel was born and raised in N.E, England and then moved to New Zealand in 2008.  She now lives in Queensland, Australia with her husband, two children and the family dog and horse.  LEXIA was her debut novel, Whispers of Darkness is the second in the series and she is currently working on the final instalment to Lexia and Lincoln’s story.

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