Caught in Darkness (25 page)

Veronica frowned thoughtfully
before saying, “Don’t get me wrong, but…why would that matter so much to anyone
other than me?”

Seth sighed, letting his hand fall
from the handle without opening the door, and said, “I wish I could say that
it’s against our laws to kill a human because murder is wrong, but that would
be a lie. The truth is that the vampires who put our laws into effect saw
humans as food, not living beings. But they also understood humans outnumber
us, and it would be bad to draw that kind of attention to our existence, so
we’re supposed to leave you alone as much as possible.”

Hearing it said aloud like that
didn’t do much for her confidence, but she had to acknowledge that she
understood his point. So maybe the reasons for their outlawing the murder of
humans are wrong; at least they outlawed it. It was a small consolation.

“Come on,” Seth added after a
moment before popping his door open.

She took his hint and climbed from
the car, nerves beginning to twist her gut. There was a chance that someone
might finally be able to make a little progress toward identifying her father’s
killer tonight, and that was nothing short of a miracle. But before she could
get to that point she was going to have to sit across from the guy in charge of
the local Family and accuse one of his people of murder. Even with Seth—and,
technically,
Jasen
—by her side the thought of it
still made her a little queasy. And what if he’d authorized it? What if he’d
figured out that her father had once been a Slayer and that was why he’d had
him killed?

“What if they
know,
and it’s been swept under the rug because Dad used to be a Slayer?” Veronica
had asked that morning, after Seth had declared that he was going to talk to
Robert about her father’s murder.

“That doesn’t make a difference,” Seth
had assured her calmly. “He wasn’t active and he wasn’t threatening the Family.
He was behaving like an ordinary human, which means he should have been treated
like one.”

She had to hold onto that now. She
needed to remember that Seth knew a whole hell of a lot more about how to
handle this situation than she did and if he thought it was a good idea to talk
to Robert about it then she should just follow his lead. But none of that logic
did a thing for the nerves sloshing around in her stomach.

If
Jasen
-the-Enforcer
is six-five with the biker boots, then how tall is Robert-the-Head-vamp
gonna
be? It was a stupid thought, really. Size didn’t
exactly denote status. But then again, maybe in their world it did. She certainly
wasn’t a vampire authority. More importantly than height, however, was the
overall ‘imposing’ factor. Seth was impressive (though he’d never actually
scared her), and
Jasen
scared the daylights out of
her. She couldn’t help but worry that Robert would put them both to shame.

By the time the elevator reached
the top floor of the apartment building Veronica was conjuring up images of
broad-shouldered, cape-wearing, cold-eyed vampires pushing seven feet tall and
trying to figure out how on earth she was going to stand her ground in front of
that. She was barely resisting the physical need to bury her hand in Seth’s for
a little extra strength, but she didn’t want to make it too obvious (in case
Robert didn’t already know) exactly what their relationship was. She wasn’t
entirely sure that Seth wouldn’t get in trouble if they were found out.

Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe
she should have let Seth and
Jasen
talk to Robert
alone.
Maybe—no.
She was a grown woman and it was her
father’s murder they were dealing with. She had a right to be there no matter
who—or what—they were talking to. She just needed to remember that.

And maybe she also needed some
Aspirin. All the vampires in this building were starting to give her a
headache.

“Hunter,” an unfamiliar male
vampire called as the trio stepped into a large, expensively decorated sitting
area. The vampire who’d spoken was already striding toward them, flicking
deliberate glances over at her with a disapproving scowl. “You know you can’t
bring company without notice.”

Seth stopped, keeping himself slightly
forward and between Veronica and the vampire, and replied, “Robert’s expecting
us.” He lied so smoothly she almost fell for it, despite having been right
beside him when he’d made the call. Robert was only expecting him.

The vampire’s narrowed eyes shifted
back to her and lingered as he said, “I somehow doubt that.” He shifted his
focus back to Seth before adding, “She waits outside or she waits with us, but
she doesn’t go in.”

“She stays with me,” Seth returned
firmly, his own eyes narrowing in a silent challenge.

The vampire opened his mouth to
argue, but it was
Jasen
who spoke. “I didn’t realize
the guards around here were afraid of a small human woman whose best threat is
the half-empty bottle of pepper-spray buried in her purse.”

Veronica couldn’t decide if she
wanted to smack
Jasen
for his snide commentary or
give him a bright, cheerful smile for intimidating the other vampire into
letting them pass. Either way, they started forward again as the vampire backed
off, fuming in
Jasen’s
direction. It was almost
funny. But before she could really acknowledge the humor they were standing in
front of another door and her nerves were kicking into high-gear. Robert was on
the other side of this door.

Seth lifted his loosely curled fist
and tapped on the door twice in rapid succession.

Veronica pulled in a shaky breath
and held it, willing her heart rate to settle into something healthier.

“Come in,” a muffled male voice
called.

Veronica slowly exhaled and
followed Seth as he stepped into the room. For the first time she was actually
grateful for
Jasen’s
presence behind her: intimidating
or not, at least she felt she could trust him. And then the door clicked,
quietly, behind them and she realized she should probably not start out this
conversation by staring at the floor.

“Oh,” the voice said as she dragged
her eyes away from the plush white carpet. “You brought a friend….” The
surprise in his voice was obvious.

Seth’s hand landed on her shoulder
and the weight of it was steady and reassuring as he said, “This is Veronica
Wyndham. She’s the one who identified the traitors.”

Swallowing, Veronica managed a
smile and slightly inclined her head. She wasn’t sure whether or not she should
say anything just yet, so she opted to see how he would react to her presence.

Robert’s gaze landed on Veronica
and held for a long second before he smiled and pushed to his feet. And the
reality of his appearance was in such sharp contrast to her imaginings that she
immediately felt like an idiot. He appeared to be a middle-aged man with short,
light brown hair and a natural, easy-going expression. He was dressed in a
warm, forest green sweater and perfectly-pressed khaki slacks. But the biggest
difference of all was his height. Instead of the almost seven-foot figure she’d
pictured, Robert looked to be a couple of inches shorter than her own five-six.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms.
Wyndham,” he declared smoothly as he held out a hand. “I’m Robert Costas. Thank
you for telling Seth about what you heard that day.”

“I’m glad I could help,” Veronica
assured him as she shook his hand briefly.

His arm falling back to his side,
Robert cast a quick, apprehensive glance toward
Jasen
before returning his focus to Seth and asking, “Now what is it, exactly, that
this visit is all about?”

Seth released Veronica’s shoulder
in order to gesture toward the desk and said, “Perhaps we should sit down for
this. Some things have come to light recently that you need to be made aware
of.”

Robert released an almost silent
sigh. “This is going to take a little while, isn’t it?” Without waiting for
Seth’s response he turned back toward his desk and added, “Just let me call
Tiffany real quick so that she knows not to wait for me.”

As Robert reached for the phone
Seth placed one hand lightly at Veronica’s back and nudged her toward one of
the two chairs that faced the desk.

Feeling much calmer now than she
had been only minutes before, Veronica moved easily and let herself settle into
the right chair. Seth claimed the one on the left silently, stretching out and
lacing his fingers in his lap. She flicked a glance back, toward
Jasen
, and found he was leaning faux-casually against the
office door, arms and ankles crossed. That’s one way to keep someone from
interrupting.

Robert insisted that he knew
nothing about there even having been a Slayer—reformed or otherwise—in town two
decades ago, let alone that the Slayer had possibly been murdered by a vampire.
He was very convincing in his argument and assured them that he would help to
uncover the truth however he could. He even offered Veronica his condolences. And,
despite the logic of it, she believed every word.

But that meant they were back at
square one. They didn’t have a single lead and there were no guarantees that
they would ever find one, given how many years had passed. And, as Seth pulled
into his driveway, Veronica realized she was starting to feel guilty. She knew
that if she said nothing Seth would continue to investigate her father’s murder—and
she wasn’t so sure
Jasen
wouldn’t be helping,
considering that, apparently, it was in his job description. But she also knew
that they needed to be focusing on finding and stopping Richards and the
Wilsons before anyone else got hurt. That was their responsibility, just like
solving her father’s murder was hers.

Seth was reaching for his seatbelt
when Veronica said, “Wait.” She sighed, turning away from the passenger window
and holding his gaze as she added, “Thank you for all the effort you’ve been
putting into this, but we both know you have more pressing concerns. You need
to be looking for Richards.”

He frowned at her, clearly sensing
what she was really saying, and said, “If your father really was killed by a
vampire,
which
looks highly likely, then that’s
equally important.”

“No,” Veronica argued quietly, “it’s
not. He was killed sixteen years ago; Richards is running around killing people
today.” She offered him a sad smile and added, “Of course, you can always help
me track down Dad’s killer once you’re done looking for Richards and the Wilson
brothers if you want.”

Seth was silent a moment, studying
her, before he released his seatbelt and reached forward, wrapping his arm
around her shoulders, and hauling her halfway across the middle console. He
sealed his lips over hers, one hand tangling in her hair and the other landing
possessively over her hip. The kiss was hot and powerful and said a thousand
things that neither of them had found the words to put voice to.

She returned the kiss eagerly,
pouring everything she had into that moment. And then his tongue slid across
hers one more time and he pulled away, loosening his grip slowly as they leaned
back, into their respective seats. She watched him watch her for a long minute
before he popped his door open and tilted his head toward the waiting condo. Without
a word she followed his lead and stepped from the car, falling into place
behind him as he strode toward the door. She remained quiet as he unlocked the
door and led the way inside, flicking on a light as he moved.

Their eyes met again as they stood
at the edge of the entry, the doorknob loosely trapped beneath Seth’s fingers.

“I’ll help you with your father’s
case,” he promised quietly, “just as soon as I’m done with this job. You have
my word.”

She smiled slowly and nodded. “You
don’t have to,” she began, “but I certainly won’t stop you.” She stepped closer
and leaned up, pressing her lips over his briefly before adding, “Thank you.”

With a short nod and a tense jaw,
Seth replied, “I’ll see you in the morning.”

There were so many things she
wanted to call out to him as he turned and stepped out of the building, pulling
the door shut behind him. She wanted to tell him to be careful, or wish him
luck, or not to worry about her. But, mostly, she wanted to say three little
words that she’d never said—in a romantic sense—to anyone. It just wasn’t the
right time. Will it ever be?

****

“Why don’t you just tell him?”
Allison asked as they nursed their lunch the next day.

Veronica sighed and rested one
elbow on the table, propping her chin up with the heel of her hand as she
pushed her fries around on her plate. “I can’t,” she mumbled. “He’d push me
away.”

“You don’t know that,” Allison
challenged, reaching for her large iced tea. “You know he cares about you, so
why are you so sure that he’d
go
running if you told
him how you feel?”

“Nothing’s going to come of it,
Ali,” Veronica pointed out. “He’s…you know, and he won’t be in town forever. He’ll
leave once everything’s settled and forget about me.” She punctuated the
statement by grabbing three thick-cut fries and biting them in half.

Allison paused long enough to take
a slow sip of her tea before replying, “Let’s think about that for a second. Obviously
he’s working on finding the people he was originally called in to find, but you
already know he’s not leaving after that’s done. He’s staying in town, by your
own admission, for your sake. You can’t tell me you honestly believe that
doesn’t mean anything.”

Veronica swallowed another bite of
her fries before saying, “First, I explained that it’s important to him for the
same reason it would be important to a policeman. And, like you said a minute
ago, we know he cares. Caring is just…different.”