Page 15 of Immortal by Morning (Argeneau #37)

usually walked Lilith and dark enough that she was now regretting not having done the chore directly after feeding her as

she usually did. The lack of streetlights, combined with the houses being so far back from the road that their lights didn’t

reach it, meant it was nearly pitch-black on the road. Fortunately, her eyes adjusted somewhat as she walked up the driveway

and she was able to see enough not to stumble over Lilith or her own feet for the walk. She couldn’t see much more than that

though. Everything more than a couple feet away was just dark black with only lights shining in the distant windows of the

houses on either side of the street.

Hoping Lilith had better night vision, she wound the end of the leash around her wrist to ensure she didn’t lose it and followed along behind her as they started up the road on the creepiest walk she’d ever taken.

Abril had been raised in the country where streetlights were not a thing, but she hadn’t been allowed out after dark as a child.

She’d pretty much been a city dweller since then, and no street was dark in the city.

So this was a new experience. One Abril didn’t think she’d like to repeat as she glanced nervously around at every rustle of sound and there was a lot of rustling going on.

Just rabbits and such, she told herself squinting hard to try to penetrate the darkness.

Damn, she would be sure she gave Lilith her nightly walk immediately after she ate from now on, Abril thought and then jerked

to a halt with a squeak of alarm as a misshapen form appeared out of the darkness. Two forms, she corrected as they moved

closer and she was able to see they weren’t misshapen at all, but two people. It wasn’t until the first person spoke that

Abril realized that it was Gina’s neighbor, Kim.

“Sorry. We didn’t mean to startle you,” the woman said as she came to a halt before Lilith and bent to pet her head briefly.

Straightening, she added, “You’re Abril right? Gina’s assistant?”

“Yes.” Managing a smile that she doubted the woman could see anyway, she glanced from Kim to the figure several steps behind

her. Abril couldn’t see the person that well, but suspected from what she could make out that it was a woman. Probably the

dark-haired woman that had been with Kim earlier when she’d spotted them outside talking to the construction crew.

“I’m Kim Stone,” Kim introduced herself. “I live in the blue house almost across the street from Gina’s.”

“Nice to meet you,” Abril murmured, taking the hand the other woman offered and shaking it briefly. Then she smiled faintly and added, “I guess I don’t have to tell you who I am, you already know.”

“Yes. Gina told me all about you at the neighborhood Christmas party.”

Gina had told her about that but from what she’d said it hadn’t really been a party in the traditional sense. The couple across

the street from Gina had organized it. Everyone on the crescent had been invited. Appetizers and drinks had been on offer

and everyone had stood around chatting. There had been no music or dancing. Really, it had been a gathering rather than a

party, but Gina had enjoyed it and had most especially appreciated the chance to meet her neighbors.

“Gina also told me about the addition she planned to have built and the renovations she was going to have done,” Kim said,

moving a little closer, and her friend doing the same a couple feet behind Kim. “I gather they’re going to pull out the indoor

garden, fill it in and make it part of the living room?”

“Yes,” Abril murmured and glanced down at Lilith when the Lab began tugging on the leash. She was surprised to see that the

pup had moved behind her and was trying to pull her back the way they’d come.

“When do they plan to start on removing the indoor garden?”

Abril tore her eyes from Lilith to return her gaze to Kim’s shadowy figure with a little confusion. There was no reason that

she could think of for Kim to care about that.

“I just thought if Gina is going to get rid of the plants in the indoor garden, I’d love to take them off her hands,” she explained, her voice an odd combination of friendly and wooden at the same time.

“Oh. Well—” Abril glanced down to Lilith with a scowl when the dog continued to pull, tightening the leash painfully around

her wrist where she’d wrapped it. “Settle down, Lilith. We’ll head home in a minute. You were the one who insisted on coming

out here,” she pointed out with a little exasperation.

When Lilith whined but sat down behind her and stopped pulling, Abril released a little breath of relief and shifted her attention

to Kim again, blinking in surprise when she noted that the woman had stepped closer still. A lot closer. The invading-her-space

kind of close.

The hair on the nape of her neck standing up, Abril started to take a step backward, but froze when Kim’s hand shot out to

clutch at her arm. Abril’s gaze immediately moved to meet Kim’s, but even as it did the other woman’s eyes shifted a bit to

the side and past her. In the next moment Kim had retracted her hand and started to back away.

“I should go. It’s late. We’ll talk again soon.” In the next moment, the darkness almost seemed to swallow up Kim and her

friend and Abril was alone again with Lilith.

“Well, that was weird, huh?” Abril muttered, and then was debating whether to continue this walk or return to the house when

a scuff of sound behind her had her whirling around with alarm.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Abril couldn’t at first see the speaker in the darkness in front of her, but she did recognize the voice as belonging to Gina’s client and neighbor, Jackson.

She also recognized from his tone that he wasn’t sorry at all for scaring her.

In fact, there was a smugness to his tone that made her think he had set out deliberately to do just that and was glad he’d succeeded.

Suspecting the man would pester her about being included for the casting of his commercial, which was business which should

be dealt with during business hours, she opened her mouth to excuse herself, and then gasped in pain as bright light suddenly

shone into her eyes. Abril raised her hand to try to block it, but still had to shut her eyes against the blazing beam. The

damned thing was so bright it seemed to burn through her eyes and right into her brain after the darkness that had preceded

it.

“Oh, sorry about that,” he said now on a laugh. “Just wanted to make sure I knew who I was talking to. You can open your eyes

now.”

Abril risked squinting her eyes open the barest bit, relieved to find the light was now directed down at the tarmac. Lowering

her hand, she let her eyes open fully and then started around the man’s dark form, determined to return to the house. She’d

had enough of Gina’s neighbors and would be damned if she was going to get stuck out here talking shop to this one.

“Whoa, where are you going?” Jackson caught her arm as she tried to move past him, forcing her to a halt. “No need to rush

off. It’s actually lucky that I ran into you. I was going to stop by tomorrow to ask when Gina plans to start casting for

the commercial. But why wait when we’re here right now?”

Abril’s mouth tightened. The man hadn’t just stopped her, he’d yanked her so close she could smell his disgusting breath. What the hell had he eaten? The only time she’d smelled anything so vile was when a mouse had died in the heating vent and the stench had permeated her office.

“My God, girl, you smell absolutely delicious,” he complimented, dragging her closer so that he was practically grinding on

her as he leaned down to press his face to her neck.

Abril immediately tried to pull away, but Jackson wasn’t letting go. She actually thought she felt his lips and teeth scrape

against her neck as he inhaled deeply and murmured, “Mmmm. Nice.”

She was about to knee the man in the groin when Lilith suddenly jumped on him with a bark that was uncharacteristically vicious

coming from the usually sweet Lab. Much to her relief, Jackson was startled enough that his hold on her slackened and she

was able to pull herself free. Taking several steps backward until the darkness was all she could see again, and hopefully

all he could see too, she said firmly, “Do not come by the house tomorrow. If you have a business question, call the office

during business hours.”

She didn’t wait for him to respond but turned abruptly and hurried away tugging Lilith with her.

Her heart was racing, adrenaline pouring through her body, and she was suddenly aware of the sounds in the night, including her own footsteps.

Afraid that Jackson might follow the sound and harass her again, she moved onto the grass and then cut across Gina’s huge yard, heading for the front doors, instead of walking back to the driveway and taking that up to the house.

Lilith ran along beside her, staying close rather than running ahead and tugging at the leash.

“Good girl,” Abril murmured breathlessly as she drew her to a halt on the landing and reached for the door. “You deserve a

reward for defending me from that pervert. How about a swim?”