Twilight Siege

2

“Thank you, Cat! I need all the help I can get. I’ve got somewhere to be just after work, could you come by around eight or is that too late?” “I’m twenty, Becca, not twelve—I can be there at eight.” I scrunched up my nose and stuck out my tongue in response to her teasing. “You were the one who said your mom was strict, I was just being considerate.” “Yeah, well it’s not that bad … yet.” She paused and her face grew more somber. “I’m glad you’re all right, after the attack. Was it Fae?” “Yes, but it wasn’t exactly your standard attack.” “Will you tell me what happened? You don’t have to if it makes you uncomfortable,” she quickly added before chewing on her fingernails. “It’s complicated, but essentially I let Ronan in my house and it turns out he’s not a good guy. I need to know that no one is getting into my house that intends me any harm.” “Are you truly okay?” she whispered, her hand reaching for mine. “I am, I promise. It was nothing I can’t get over but I don’t want anything like that to happen again if I can help it.” She was polite enough not to press for more details, even though she had to be curious. I gave her my address before heading up to my office with the intent of burying myself in work to keep my mind occupied. I was willing to accept that I was becoming Fae and that I had a part to play in keeping dark Fae from ravaging Earth, but that didn’t mean I wanted to spend time dwelling on the catalytic event that spurred on my change of attitude. I was also actively avoiding thoughts of the visit that I would make to Lochlan after work. He and his merry band of men, which used to include Ronan, ran a nightclub called the Huntsman. They were all members of the Wild Hunt, the self-appointed Fae police. Our intense chemistry made my skin buzz with awareness whenever I was near Lochlan, but his brutish personality and my propensity to be short tempered usually had us arguing within minutes. Lochlan had no idea that I thought I had slept with him and there was no way in hell I was going to tell him. I knew what Ronan did hadn’t been my fault and that I shouldn’t feel shame or guilt over his actions, but sometimes what we should feel and reality don’t align. The conversation would be wrought with awkward tension. I only slept with Ronan because I thought it was you. You thought you slept with me? Um, yeah? I showed up at your house and you had s*x with me, but it wasn’t me? Oh God, there was no way I ever wanted him to know. What if Lochlan saw me as a joke once he knew what I had done? I needed his help and that wouldn’t happen if he thought I was pathetic. Fortunately, he shouldn’t know anything about what happened, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t be first and foremost in my mind when we talked. The conversation was going to be awkward for me and working myself up wasn’t going to help so I tried to calm my nerves. I had matters to discuss with him, and new and improved Rebecca wasn’t going to avoid a situation just because it was difficult. Avoidance only led to much more challenging and painful situations further down the road, lesson learned. OceanofPDF.com 2 Drawing out my inevitable talk with Lochlan, I threw on some sneakers and set out to walk to the Huntsman instead of taking a cab. Work had been slow all afternoon and my efforts to distract myself had been futile so my nerves were wound tighter than the lid of a pickle jar. The crisp evening air did wonders to clear my head and within a couple of blocks I was already feeling much more relaxed. The ‘Do Not Walk’ sign was displayed at the first of the two major intersections I had to cross so I stood at the corner along with several other commuting pedestrians, my eyes drifting from person to person. There was little that was more entertaining than people watching, which had been one of my favorite pastimes in New York City. I had heard that Las Vegas boasted the pinnacle of people watching, but the Big Apple had to be a close second. Granted, you had to make certain not to make eye contact with any of them, but once you mastered the peripheral scan, the entertainment value was priceless. My eyes dropped down to the car stopped next to me at the front of the line at the intersection. Inside the white base model Toyota Corolla sat an older Hispanic woman, both hands on the steering wheel, eyes diligently focused on the red light. What caught my attention was the gruesome Unseelie creature sitting in the passenger seat. He was the size of a small adult human and had brown skin with very large pointed ears—what I might would have thought Faery ears looked like before moving to Ireland. His bulging yellow eyes peered over at me as he grinned mischievously next to the woman. She glanced over at her companion’s gaze and smiled at the creature, no doubt seeing a much less frightening glamour the creature was projecting. Before I could make a move the light turned green and the car passed in front of me. The other walkers began to cross the street, but I stood rooted to the ground watching the white vehicle speed faster and faster down the busy city street. Without warning, the car side swiped the vehicle next to it causing a chain reaction accident that resulted in one car on its side and a dozen other wrecks.