Caught in Darkness

Evernight
Publishing

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright©
2014 Rose
Wulf

 
ISBN: 978-1-77130-802-1

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry
Designs

Editor:
JS
Cook

ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized
reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.
 
No part of this book may be used or
reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction.
All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual
events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to
one of my best friends, Teresa Rowen.

I could never thank you
enough for all the years of support, entertainment, and all-around awesomeness
you’ve provided.

So thank
you,
and here’s to many more years of good times to come!

CAUGHT IN DARKNESS

Night
Shadows, 1

Rose
Wulf

Copyright © 2014

Chapter One

“Coffee, black,
no sugar.”

The order rang in Veronica
Wyndham’s ears as she snuck a glance over at the mystery man that she and her coworkers
had dubbed Tall, Dark, and Handsome. He’d started coming in only a week before,
and since then he came in every morning at precisely ten-fifteen, and he always
ordered exactly the same thing. Not that she knew how he could stomach it,
since it was the middle of July and it was already pushing ninety degrees
outside by ten o’clock.

Still, it sort of suits him,
Veronica decided as she pretended to focus on filling a cup with freshly-brewed
coffee. She snuck another glance at him as she reached for a fitted lid, noting
appreciatively that he was dressed like he always was—in black. Black
long-sleeved shirt that was just tight enough to showcase his sculpted arms,
black slacks that somehow made him look even taller, and black shoes. He was
even wearing a pair of black Ray Bans straight out of Men in Black. All of
which, of course, complemented his thick, dark hair. And, as clichéd as it was,
the look definitely worked for him.

Setting the beverage on the small pickup
shelf, she called, “Coffee, no sugar,” and offered him a hopefully-casual smile
as he reached for the drink. “Have a good day,” she added, smile still firmly
in place despite the traitorous strand of blonde hair that had fallen into her
eyes as she shifted.

Tall, Dark, and Handsome merely
inclined his head before turning and sweeping out of the small building. He
seemed oblivious to the multiple pairs of eyes that watched him leave.

Veronica sucked in a breath, gave
herself a mental headshake, and returned to her job. You can ogle him again
tomorrow, she reminded herself, tucking her hair out of the way. If nothing
else, at least she could say that about her recent switch to the morning shift—she’d
certainly never had eye-candy like him when she closed.

“Veronica Ann Wyndham,” Carol
Wyndham began, her tone clipped, when she answered the phone several hours
later, “where on Earth have you been?”

Trying not to roll her eyes,
Veronica replied, “I’ve been at work, Mom. I just got home, so I’m calling you
back.” Her mother had left her a short, vague voicemail earlier that afternoon,
insisting that she call back ‘right away.’ But her mother also had a tendency
to dramatize even the most mundane of things, so Veronica had decided not to
panic without cause.

Releasing a frustrated breath,
Carol declared, “That job of yours gets in the way of your life, you know. You’re
twenty-five years old, you’re not getting any younger; you should be out
meeting good men so that you can get married and settle down. You don’t want to
wait much longer before you start having children.”

Her right eye was beginning to
twitch and Veronica sighed as she stepped out of her shoes and sank into her couch.
They had this argument at least twice a month. Keeping her voice calm and
casual, Veronica said, “I’m sure you didn’t call just to lecture me about how
much I’m messing up my life.”

“I never said you were messing it
up,” Carol defended. She paused, though, before finally changing the topic and
saying, “I called because we’re having a potluck for the new neighbors on
Saturday night.”

Warning bells immediately went off
in Veronica’s head, but she tried to keep the hesitation out of her voice as
she asked, “And you’re telling me this…why?”

“What do you mean ‘why’?” her
mother asked incredulously. “You need to know so that you can plan accordingly.
It starts at six, so I expect to see you by five-thirty.”

Releasing a heavy breath, Veronica
replied firmly, “I can’t go.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I can’t go,” Veronica repeated
deliberately. “I already have plans.”

Without missing a beat, Carol said,
“Then
change
them. Darling, we need to welcome them to
the neighborhood properly.”

Attempting to remain calm, Veronica
said, “I can’t just ‘change’ these plans, Mom. And, in case you’ve forgotten, I
don’t live in that neighborhood anymore. I haven’t for years.”

“And how do you suppose it will
look if you don’t come?”

“Like your daughter has enough of a
life that she’s not available at the last minute on a Saturday night.”

Voice firm, Carol insisted,
“Five-thirty, Veronica. This is not up for discussion.” The line clicked a beat
later.

Veronica pulled her phone from her
ear and stared, dumbfounded, at the blinking display. And then her disbelief
melted quickly into anger and her grip tightened on the slim device as she
sucked in a sharp breath. It’s like she’s convinced herself I’m still fifteen! Fuming
now, she dropped the phone onto the cushion beside her, pushed to her feet, and
made her way into her kitchen. I’m not going.

She was constantly amazed at how
selfish and thoughtless her mother could be at times. Saturday was her best
friend Allison’s birthday—and her mother knew that. She and Allison had been
friends since high school. I can’t just bail on Ali’s birthday! It was times
like this that she really wanted to yell at her mother, despite the fact that
she knew she never would.

Mom’s just going to have to be
disappointed, Veronica decided silently as she dug through her refrigerator. Ordinarily,
Veronica would let her mother win an argument like this. Whenever she put her
foot down on an issue she never heard the end of it—her mother was still giving
her grief for working part-time in a coffee shop! And she
tried,
she really did, not to upset her mother. But this was different. This was
something important to someone else, someone who also mattered to her, and her
mother was just going to have to accept that.

I am absolutely not going.

****

Seth Hunter strode purposefully
into the comfortable Baltimore penthouse, offering a courtesy nod to the lone
man sprawled lazily out on the sofa in the large living room. Even though he
had been in town for over a week now, Seth was still surprised that Robert—the
man he was currently heading to see—actually lived in such a flashy space. As
the local Family’s head vampire, Robert certainly had the finances and status
for penthouse-living, but Robert himself was so unassuming and down-to-earth
that it just seemed to clash. Not that it was any of Seth’s business; he wasn’t
in town to judge anything other than the loyalty of Robert’s Family.

He came to a stop on the outside of
a sturdy, unassuming door and gathered his thoughts. With deliberate casualty
(in case anyone was watching), Seth lifted one loosely-curled fist and tapped
on the door. He remained entirely still until he heard a faintly muffled voice
call to him from the other side, and then he eased the door open and slipped
inside.

Robert’s office—originally intended
to be used as an additional bedroom—was a good size and lavishly decorated. What
was once a closet had now been transformed into a recessed
bookcase,
and thick, black drapes hung over the single window. Pictures and multiple
framed diplomas adorned the walls, and a large, mahogany desk was stationed
before the covered window. A corded phone, two more framed pictures, a laptop,
and a new printer were scattered across the desk, behind which sat Robert
himself.

Robert took a deep breath, letting
his well-wrung hands land back on his desk, and lifted his weary, dark eyes up
to meet Seth’s gaze. “Thank you so much for coming right over,” he began. “Please,
sit.”

Seth inclined his head and settled
into one of the leather chairs facing the desk as he said, “It wasn’t a problem.
What’s going on?” He had been called into town to help smoke out some suspected
traitors, but so far his investigation had been slow-going at best. He could
only assume that Robert had called for him because he’d learned something more.

“Ah,” Robert hedged, looking away
again. It was obvious that he knew his next words wouldn’t make Seth a very
happy vampire. “I’m afraid it seems that my friend, our informant, has
disappeared. I haven’t been able to get ahold of him since early last night,
and he’s not at home.”

Seth’s lips dipped in a
disapproving frown. Robert’s informant was something of a sore subject for him,
as Robert had insisted on keeping his friend’s identity secret. Robert’s friend
was also the best lead they had. “Has anyone else seen or talked to him more
recently?” Seth asked.

“Not that I’m aware of,” Robert
replied dejectedly. “I’m worried, Seth. I’m afraid someone might have realized
that he knew about their plans.”

“That’s a possibility,” Seth
agreed, wishing he could in good conscience point out that he could have been
keeping an eye on their informant if he’d known who the man was. But he wasn’t
angry enough to point the blame at a man so obviously concerned for another’s
safety so, instead, he added, “It’s also possible that his disappearance means
our targets will be making their move sooner than later. Did you learn anything
new last time you spoke with him?”

Robert slowly shook his head,
saying, “No, I haven’t. I was hoping you had.”

It’s hard to get information
without knowing who to talk to, Seth grumbled silently. Aloud, he replied, “I
haven’t had much luck. Whoever’s involved is at least smart enough not to talk
around the new guy, and I haven’t had enough time to dig into everyone’s daily
routines.”

“Tiffany’s not going to like any of
this,” Robert said on a sigh as he sank back into his chair.

Seth studied his current employer
quietly for a moment before forcing himself to bring up an old subject. “Robert,”
he began, “I know you don’t like this idea, but maybe it’s time you considered
that your friend’s been lying. He could have been feeding you information in
order to throw the both of us off of his trail.”

Robert dragged his eyes back from
the ceiling, his expression hardening visibly and finally showing an echo of
the powerful vampire he truly was. “Absolutely not,” he insisted. “He would
never betray me; I would trust him with anything. And I’m not paying you to
waste precious time suspecting the wrong man.”

Managing to keep his voice even,
Seth replied, “At this point I’m suspecting everyone, including your friend,
since I don’t know who he is.” He pushed to his feet, aware that Robert didn’t
have anything more for him, and added, “But it shouldn’t take a lot of effort
to figure out who’s missing. If I find a lead for him, I’ll let you know.”

“I’m not asking you to investigate
his disappearance,” Robert declared calmly. “You told me at the beginning to
act normal, and under ordinary circumstances I would be handling his
disappearance myself. I was only telling you so that you would know that we
won’t have any new information coming our way for a while.”