5 Darkness Falls (15 page)

“Don’t bullshit me, Jackson.” He stood, crossing his arms as he puffed out his chest. He
let out
an exaggerated sigh.

I snatched the rag from Kellan’s grip and got on my feet. I went toe
-
to
-
toe with him. “I
. Said. I’m. Fine.”

“Let’s take a day off. We’ve all been pushing this hard and you need to rest.” His tone had softened, but the pushy conviction was still there in his voice.

My heartbeat kicked up as I
balled
my hands in
to
fists. The baby
trembled
in my stomach, as if it knew I was upset. Each breath became an erratic huff as my anger worked towards
the
surface, as fury seeped into my veins. Within seconds I saw the blue luminance out of the corner of my eye.

“Damn it, Aug!” Kellan snapped.

“You’re not the boss of me. I’m not on a vamp army mission. I’m running the vampeen army. I’ll decide what’s best for me and my team, especially when it comes to
private matters.”

He took a deep breath,
forcefully
exhaling
.
“Just calm down, okay?” At least he was willing to reason with me now rather than act
ing
like my personal drill sergeant.

“I just wish everyone would stop coddling me. I’m a responsible vamp. I don’t cause problems; I try to solve them. And I sure as heck don’t step all over
your
territory.” I walked out before my emotions escalated and my electricity
ignited.

“Lexi,” Jarrod called after me.

I stopped, turning back to face him.

He closed the gap between us. He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m just gonna follow up with the team. We’ll work remotely for now.”

“That works. Call me if you find anything. I’ll pull what I can tonight and we can compare
notes
tomorrow.”

He looked around before
making eye contact.
“Listen, I don’t usually butt into other people’s business, but you’re a good leader. I like you as a boss. You should take a step back for a minute. There’s nothing you can do that we can’t
do for you
. You pay us. You might as well make us earn it.”

I sighed. Jarrod was the worst of them because he approached me calmly from a place of pure
and
innocent concern. “I’ll consider it.”

He shook his head. “I’ll check in later.”

“’kay.”

The last of my light show disappeared as exhaustion nestled deep in my bones. I turned
, smacking
into Drexel.

“Why didn’t they page me?” He looked me over.

“Dang
,
news travels fast.” I frowned.

“Will you take her home to rest?” I sensed Kellan behind me.

Drexel
chewed on his lip,
studying Kellan
first
and then me again. Finally
,
he nodded. “Yeah.”

“I’ll be home later, okay?” He placed a hand on my back
, leaning in beside me and kissing
my head.

Hot tears stung my eyes. I moved my head away from him. My frustration was reaching a boiling point. I’d wasted time
and
resources
while
risk
ing
my team chasing after a
n apparent
apparition
.
I worked non-stop. Between the bakery business, the vampeen army, the vamp army, meetings, orders and so much more I didn’t even want to think about, I barely had a social life. Mel
would even sit
in on meeting
s
just
to spend time with me
.
As much as I hated to admit it, I guess a part of me was somewhat resentful that Kellan didn’t have nearly as much on his plate… at least i
t
felt that way.

He worked for the vamp army and the Bladangs, but lately
,
he’d popped into the office here or lounged at home with his laptop doing God only kn
ows
what.

I fidgeted, uneasy as Kellan pulled back. Without looking, I could sense his expression
…attitude filled with dismay.

“I guess that’s how it’s gonna be today,” he scoffed. “I’ll see you later.” He walked away.

God, what was wrong with me? Kellan didn’t choose his workload, but I did. He had to take what they assigned him
,
where
as
I took whatever I wanted to do. I was an utter mess.

A single tear slipped down my cheek. I immediately wiped it away, steeling my expression as I looked up at Drex. “You ready?”

He didn’t say anything. He merely threw an arm
around me and escorted me out.

Chapter 13

Kellan

Damn. I knew this pregnancy thing wasn’t going to be all sunshine and roses, but…
Fuck!
I punched the air, frustration tightening my muscles,
really
amping me up.

I strolled back into the conference room. Kalel and Auggy immediately focused on me.

“She can’t keep going at th
is
pace,” Kalel said.

“Tell me about it. But you know her. She’s hard-headed.” I threw my hands up.

“You need to do better.” He didn’t beat around the bush.

“I’m doing what I can.” I
started grinding
my teeth. It seemed like everything funneled back to me lately.

“Check yourself, Bancroft,” Auggy sneered.

“Let’s just focus on business. What’s our next step?”

Auggy and Kalel exchanged glances.
Damn it.
They were speaking mentally, having another private conversation.

“This’ll be here tomorrow. You need to go take care of her.” Auggy nodded his head towards the door.

“Buy her flowers. Buy whatever she’s been craving. Do something to take her mind off everything for a bit,” Kalel suggested.

Instantly,
the fight left me. God, I was so fucking selfish. I could only imagine what she was going through with how high her plate was fil
l
ed. Toss in an incompatible pregnancy and I was surprised she was still going.

I smiled to myself. I knew why she was still going: for everyone else. She was so selfless; too selfless at times. She gave all she had and then some
,
day in and day out. She never asked for anything aside from the occasional milkshake or pint of ice cream, which had been her
only
food obsession thus far.

My heart warmed as I thought of her
growing
belly. It was just starting to round out. The doctor said within the next month I should be able to feel the baby move
.
I was looking
so
forward to that.

I frowned, rubbing my forehead. I didn’t know how she did it. I was drowning, unable to balance anything well. I barely spent time with her anymore. When she wasn’t working, she was sleeping. Our relationship wasn’t what it used to be. Reality had set in. We weren’t carefree teenagers living at home with mom and dad anymore. We were working adults with responsibilities and impossible to coordinate schedules.

They were right. I needed to do something to show that I still cared. If my mom was right, then pregnant women wanted reassurance. Even if she was wrong, I never wanted Lexi to doubt me again.

I extended a hand towards Kalel. He promptly took it. “Thanks. I’ll put something together for her.”

He smiled. I knew his respect for me
had grown.
“Good choice. We’ll catch up with you later.”

I turned to Auggy, extending the same hand. He shook it. “For Christ’s sake, bite your tongue. Don’t piss her off anymore.”

I harrumphed, but knew his advice was solid. I hadn’t been as sensitive in my approach lately. “I’ll try.”

Damn. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I had been a bit of an ass lately in retrospect. Hopefully
,
I could make it up to her. Hopefully
,
she was in a forgiving mood.

***

Lexi

I flipped through the channels, strumming my fingers on the arm of the sofa. My feet were kicked up on the coffee table, my body was cushioned by the
overstuffed
couch, yet I couldn’t relax.

I frowned, looking around the apartment. I was too anxious. An itch
traveled
through my veins, an unidentifiable need clamped down on my sore muscles, a nervous twitch had my legs bouncing. I tossed the remote aside,
clenching and unclenching
my hands. I couldn’t stop fidgeting. The nagging feeling that I ought to be doing something
haunted
me.

I jumped off the couch as if it’d
been
lit on fire and began pacing.

Drexel leapt up right behind me. “You’re working yourself up even more.”

I shook out my hands before
intertwining my fingers.
“I know. I…”I sighed.

Tears welled as my emotions choked me. “I know I have a lot more than most. I know I should be grateful for all the opportunities I’ve been afforded. I can’t help but somewhat resent my lot right now. It just feels like it’s never enough. I try and try, but it’s never enough
…
it’s never good enough.”

I turned my head up towards the ceiling, fighting back the tears, hoping gravity would help contain them.

“No one has a perfect life, human or paranormal.”

I
eyed
him. “I know. I…I don’t know anymore. It just seems like everything is spiraling out of control. I have no leverage in my life right now. There is very little I do have control over, on
e
of
the
m
being my relationships. But I can’t even handle that apparently.” I ran my palm across my forehead. I closed my eyes, focusing on aligning my thoughts, moving away from the overwhelming cluster of crap crammed into a tight spot:
in
the forefront of my mind.

Slowly
,
my body began to relax as I let go. Tears chased each other down my face, but at least I could form a complete thought again. “Sorry, Drex.” I
brushed the tears aside.
“Told you I was a mess.” I laughed humorlessly.

He
tenderly pulled
me into his arms, tucking me within the protection
they offered…comforting me.

As a teen, you think you understand all there is to life. You think by seeing it, watching others fall apart from it, that you could do a better job handling it. You can’t. Reality is so much harsher than you can imagine. I wished I could go back to my freshman year, back when life was
so much more
uncomplicated compared to now, back to when waking up for school in the morning was the worst part of my day and demanding teachers were the closest thing to assassins I knew.

One year. That’s all it took for everything to completely flip upside down. One week
. That’s
the time
in which I lost
both of my parents. One time
. That’s all
it took for me to conceive the baby I was carrying.
One
always seemed to lead to
so much
more.

I hugged Drex. The ache inside me flared. I wished I was hugging Kellan instead. I wanted things to go back to the way they were before. I needed him. I felt so weak admitting that, but I missed him. I missed the good times.

The front door opened and closed. I loosened my grip on Drex enough to look towards the door. A moment later
,
Kellan
was standing beside the dining room table
holding
a
n impressive
bouquet of colorful flowers and a large milkshake.

He
smiled, communicating
everything I needed. It was an
‘
I’m sorry, forgive me, let’s make up
’
and a promise for more wrapped into a single expression.

“I’ll leave you two alone for a while.” Drex moved away, grabbing his keys and heading out.

Kellan’s
eyes
never left mine. “Come here, babe.”

Without thinking, I found myself moving towards him. He set the flowers and
milkshake
down on the table just in time to scoop me up into his arms.

Unexp
ectedly,
the floodgates opened
,
and
I began to
bawl
uncontrollably.
I threw my arms around his neck
and
secured my legs around his waist. I burrowed my head into his neck, breathing in his cologne
.