Page 87

Story: The Gloaming

It was time to tell them my big, kind of stupid idea – and I already knew they weren’t going to like it.

“We have to try something different,” I said finally, my voice barely above a whisper. My hands trembled slightly as I reached for my coffee mug, dreading what I was about to suggest. Every instinct screamed against deliberately creating vulnerability, against putting anyone else at risk. But sitting back, doing more pointless research while these bastards stayed one step ahead, manipulating us, torturing Nicholas… “What if… what if we gave them what they want?”

Nicholas froze beside me, the slight pressure of his leg against my arm vanishing. The loss of contact was like a physicalache, but I pressed on.

“A rift between us. Something big enough to make them think they’re in the clear.” The words tasted bitter in my mouth. “They want us divided because it’s easier to torture us that way. But if we can trick them into thinking we hate each other while actually workingtogether, we might be able to buy ourselves time to make a real move.”

“You would have us feign a quarrel?” Isabel’s liquid brown eyes watched me intently.

I nodded. Nicholas was staring down at me, but I couldn’t meet his gaze. “If they think they’ve succeeded in turning us against each other, they won’t go for the big finale.” I swallowed hard. “I know it’s a massive risk – they’ve killed to drive wedges between us before. But they’re going to keep killing anyway, and at least this way we’ll still be around to fight back. We’ll just have to work fast. Like, faster than they do.”

“You can’t be fucking serious,” Tom burst out. “After what happened to Maggie? To Jon? You want to give them more targets? Maybe they’ll go after Brad, or your parents. Maybe they’ll come forme.”

“No!” The word came out sharper than I intended. I forced myself to take a deep breath. “Hell, no. Of course I don’t want that. But that’s why we need to coordinate. If we can set up extra protection for anyone they might target – my parents,you, Bradley. Maybe even people Nicholas has met at the jazz club recently…” I swallowed loudly, pushing myself to keep going. “We’ve got some idea how they’re picking and choosing victims now. We have to dosomething.”

The room fell silent. I could feel Nicholas’s eyes still burning into me, but I kept my own fixed on my hands. They were still shaking, and I clenched them into fists.

“It could work, at least for a little while,” Isabel said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “But the cost…”

“I know.” My voice cracked. “Believe me, I know. But what’s the alternative? Wait for them to kill someone else and hope they leave a clue? Keep reacting instead of acting?” The thought of more innocent deaths made my stomach turn. I hated myself for suggesting something so…cavalierwith other people’s lives. But the darker part of me – the hunter part – had been itching for a real fight for weeks. “This way we set the battlefield. Buy a little time.”

“Erin’s right.” Nicholas’s voice was soft, but there was steel beneath it. “We cannae keep playin’ their game, now we ken what the rules are.”

I finally looked up at him and saw the same painful understanding in his eyes that I was feeling. Neither of us wanted this. But sometimes protecting others meant making impossible choices.

I glanced at Adam and Isabel – his face carefully controlled, hers thoughtful. At Tom across the room, dismay in his eyes but determination around his mouth. It didn’t exactly feel like a triumphant moment. Or like a plan that had a snowball’s chance. But it was what we had.

Nicholas stood abruptly, the sudden absence of his cool presence leaving me oddly bereft.

“I need some air. Adam?” I caught a slight tremor beneathhis usual accent. The smile he gave me as he passed held a hint of his usual warmth, though something darker lurked beneath it.

My skin prickled with awareness as he moved past my chair, and I gripped the armrest tightly, resisting the urge to follow him out. Instead, I forced myself to meet Tom’s troubled gaze.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Erin.”

So did I.

26: Solace in Pieces

“Okay,” Tom said, his voice cutting through the tension. “If we’re going to do this, we need to act fast. Get a plan in place to keep potential targets safe.”

“My parents,” I said immediately. “They need to be out of here.”

The words hung in the air, heavy with implication. Tom nodded, tugging at a tuft of black hair. “Yeah, I can handle that. They were away and came back for… well, I already told them one story about your crash. What’s another lie at this point?”

I nodded. That was one less worry. Sort of.

“We should examine the applications for the manageress position,” Isabel suggested. “If Lauren Truelove applied, there may be others we need to watch for.”

“Agreed. We don’t know if Lauren was a target because she applied or because she—” Tom stopped short, not meeting my eye. If only he knew I hated the thought of Nicholas feeding as much as he did.

“And Bradley, from the morgue,” I added. “After what hesaw with Maggie’s case…”

The door creaked open and Adam and Nicholas slipped back inside. Though his face remained carefully neutral, tension radiated from his broad shoulders as he settled onto the arm of my chair. His hand found the small of my back, and even through my shirt, his touch sent sparks of electricity dancing across my skin. I really needed to get a grip on that.

“It might be beneficial to understand how they have been observing us so closely,” Isabel continued. “The applications, the club, knowing when Nicholas feeds…”,

“Jolt has cameras inside and out,” I offered. “And there’s CCTV on the street outside.”