In the Dark (50 page)

I got up again
and this time succeeded. Sebastian shot me a quick glance, then
turned to watch the elevator again. I stretched, hoping that if I had
to put myself between Amanda and the pack, my body would cooperate.

While I grit my
teeth against the ache in my leg, the elevator doors slid open. Only
three people stood there. Despite knowing that any of them could have
kicked my ass into next week, I felt a giddy relief at how few there
were. Only three. The only ones left. I straightened my back while
they stepped off the elevator, hoping I put up a strong front.

Three sets of
eyes swept the penthouse in under a second, then turned to focus on
Sebastian. They didn’t look happy.

“What the
shit is this?” the one standing in front of them all demanded.
The woman who’d missed Alec and me in the alley.

One of the men
behind her drew his sword. Sebastian moved faster and had his out of
its sheath before the pack vampire finished his move. He stood still,
watching Sebastian, his eyes glimmering faintly.

“Hold,”
Sebastian said. He sounded firm. Calm.

The command had
an effect on the two men. I watched both their shoulders drop
slightly, as if all they’d really wanted was some sort of order
to follow.

The woman didn’t
relax an inch. She leaned forward, her own hand on the hilt at her
waist. “On what authority do you give orders, Cain?” Her
eyes shone.

“I am
prepared to accept all challenges to my authority.” Sebastian
didn’t move a muscle despite the offensive words. Not
threatening, just threatening to threaten.

The woman’s
eyes narrowed, but she leaned back a notch. I watched her glare at
Sebastian, watched a tense battle of wills happen between them before
she finally glanced away. “So you killed him,” she said,
her voice still hard. She looked back up at Sebastian. “Well,
good for you.”

“No,”
Sebastian said. Alec’s face got even more desperate, if that
was at all possible. He looked like he wanted to run but didn’t
know where to go. He glanced my way. Since the only exits I knew of
were the elevator or flying off the balcony, I just shrugged.

Sebastian
stepped back, giving the pack a decent view of Alec. “That
honor belongs to him.”

Alec froze like
a rabbit trying not to be seen by a fox. A low snarl that consisted
of three voices rumbled through the penthouse. Before they could do
more than voice their anger, Sebastian stepped back between them and
Alec.

“However,
I
will be assuming leadership.”

Instant silence.
All three of them gawked at Sebastian, as if he had suggested they
all take yoga lessons and find their inner peace. He stood firm as
the surprised gawks turned to dark glares.

“You?”
one said.

“By what
right –!” the woman squawked. “By what right do you
think –”

“No,”
the other man said, as if it were that simple.

For one startled
moment, I found myself scared that reuniting with his pack had had
more of an effect on Sebastian than I’d thought. My shoulders
tensed and I waited.

“I ask
again,” Sebastian began as the pack members actually began to
advance on him. “Do any of you care to challenge me on this
point?"

They stopped
dead. The hatred on their faces didn’t fade, but they stopped
even thinking about jumping on Sebastian. The three glanced between
each other as if they all expected someone else to answer. None of
them did.

Sebastian
inclined his head. “Then this matter is at an end. Specter took
on an opponent he could not defeat and since no one is willing to
challenge me, I shall assume leadership from him.”

The woman of the
group looked at Sebastian like she wondered how he might taste. She
twisted her lips and saluted sarcastically. “What’re your
orders?”

Sebastian had it
planned. “Forget this matter. Leave.”

Relief deflated
me. The woman dropped the salute, frowning.

Sebastian didn’t
so much as twitch. “I am not interested in leading you. I am
not interested in any of you any longer.”

The group
shifted uneasily.

“Whaddya
mean, you don’t wanna be leader?”

The rest of them
looked at Sebastian. They wanted to know the same thing. So did I.

“Exactly
that,” he said. “I left the pack some time ago. I will
take it over now long enough to see you gone from my life, as well as
Kent’s childrens’ lives.”

From the puzzled
looks, I guessed this was not an answer they understood.

Sebastian opened
his mouth to speak, then shut it again, tilting his head to one side.
No one else caught it. I cocked my head and focused on him, looking
at his posture, his hands, the placement of his feet –

He knew
something. Something about the pack, from the way he looked at them.
Something he had thought about telling them, then decided not to. I
wondered what it was – if it was the same thing I had learned
earlier tonight.

I blinked and
suddenly wobbled on my feet, which got Alec to glance at me. I tried
a reassuring face and probably failed. He frowned, but didn’t
try to come over to me. Still calculating escape strategies.

“Do with
yourselves what you will.” Sebastian let his sword slowly
lower. “I will not lead you. Ian and Alec are no longer your
affair, and neither am I.”

All three of
them stiffened. Their faces were confused, angry and frightened.

Sebastian
remained icy. “Leave this city by nightfall tomorrow. Seattle
is not large enough to support so many without attracting attention.”

And he turned on
his heel and left them standing at his door, so off-balance I almost
thought I could blow on them and they would scatter. No one moved for
several tense seconds.

Finally, the
woman shrugged. “Well, you heard him. He doesn’t want it.
Let’s go.” She reached for the call button.

“But –”
one of the men faltered. “Since when do we worry if anyone
notices us?”

The woman looked
sharply at him. “Our leader’s final orders are to leave.
We leave.” Her eyes followed Sebastian back over to Josephine.
Then she looked back at Alec, her eyes hard and dangerous. “Unless
you’d rather try to take the old man.”

The younger one
made a shocked face, but kept quiet. The woman turned and hit the
call button. The other two fell in behind her. I glanced at Alec, who
shook his head. Telling me not to move or speak. My thoughts exactly.
The elevator arrived and the three of them boarded, giving both Alec
and I the coldest looks I’d ever seen. I shivered. The doors
closed them in, and they were gone.

Alec let out a
sigh, turning to face me. I met his eyes, thinking of Kent throwing
his arms around me after saving my life. Realizing it was just Alec.
Thinking of him telling Specter where to find us, that Sebastian
would not turn me in. Thinking of him shooting Sebastian.

I turned my back
on him and hobbled back to Amanda. She watched me, her thin frame
hunched in on itself, afraid, in need of protecting. Too scared to
open her mouth and ask for a hug. I sat down beside her and hugged
her, as much for me as for her. I could see Sebastian beside
Josephine, holding her hand, bringing it to his mouth for a kiss.

“Ian,”
Amanda said softly. I looked at her. “I’m hungry.”

“We’ll
fix that,” I said. “So,” I began, looking back up
at Alec –

But he was gone.

As I looked
around, I heard the elevator doors slide shut again. Apparently
taking my older brother away with it.

“Alec?”
I said, but the elevator had already started on its way down. I
thought about shouting – took a deep breath to do it –

If he doesn’t
want to be here, is my yelling for him really going to change his
mind? And if it did, do I really want him back?

I let the breath
out in a heavy sigh. Fuck him anyway. He’d saved me from
Specter, sure, but it was his fault I’d needed saving. We’d
all come out okay, but if Alec had kept his nose in his own business
tonight wouldn’t have happened at all.

He dropped in on
me announcing himself to be family. If he were really any sort of
brother, he would have tried to help from moment one, not hiding
until he thought he could grab me and run. Hell, if he were any sort
of brother, Kent wouldn’t have abandoned him and I would have
known him for a lot longer than this.

Amanda hunkered
down under my arm and shut her eyes, an uneasy relief on her face. I
leaned my head against hers and let myself rest. Specter was dead,
the pack was gone, and fuck Alec DuMond. My family was okay.

For the first
time in weeks I felt like I really could just rest. I closed my eyes,
held my sister, and rested.

“
W
ell,
there it is.” I waved a hand in the doorway of Kent’s
studio, Gypsy held in the other. Amanda stepped through the door,
eyes wide. She looked like someone had just thrown open an old
pirate’s chest of gold coins. I stayed in the doorway and
watched while she examined the sound board, the mics, the amps. Her
face lit up when she found Kent’s favorite guitar. I didn’t
know what was so valuable about the thing, but Kent had always been
very protective of it and never took it to gigs. Amanda lifted the
instrument out of its case reverently, gazing at it for a silent
minute. Then her face fell.

She set the
guitar back in its case and turned back to me, frowning. “Are
you sure?”

I shrugged.
“It’s just stuff.” Gypsy mewed, and I set her down
on the floor.

Amanda set a
hand on the guitar case. “This is not ‘just stuff.’
Do you know what this is?”

“No,”
I said. “And I don’t really want to. That’s why I’m
giving it to you. You’ll value it for the same reason Kent did
– because you both love making music, and it’s a rare and
wonderful instrument. I’d only love it because Kent loved it.
That seems like a stupid reason to hang on to something like that.”

Amanda frowned,
one hand still on the case. “I guess.”

“The whole
studio’s yours, and the room downstairs,” I said. “Better
get used to it.”

She shook her
head, but didn’t say anything else. In another minute she
started looking over more of the equipment, slowly forgetting to feel
unworthy of the gift. I let her, turning down the hallway to call Mom
and Dad. I wasn’t looking forward to talking to them, but
someone had to tell them Amanda wouldn’t be coming home. Since
that was my fault, I felt like I should be the one to explain it.

No one answered
the house phone. Surprised, I checked the time, then tried Mom’s
often-ignored cell phone. Dad picked up on the second ring. I said
hello, asked him how he was doing, lied to him about how I was doing,
then asked him where they were. Just out of curiosity.

“We’re
in Seattle,” Dad said.

I almost dropped
my phone.

“You’re
where? Why?”

“Jenny,
your best friend just died. Where else would we be?”

I felt my throat
close a little at that. I didn’t always get along with my
folks. Didn’t always feel like they understood me. I forgot –
too much – that that didn’t mean they didn’t care.

“Thanks,
Dad,” I said.

“Of
course, honey. Now that I have you, can we meet up somewhere? We’ll
buy you dinner if you haven’t eaten.”

“We’ve
eaten,” I said. “But we can meet somewhere. I’ve
got an errand I have to run, but how about after?”

“Sure,”
he said. “Any time.”

“Dad, I
think Amanda’s gonna stay here with me,” I blurted.

Silence. I
hadn’t thought they’d take it well, but I was sort of
glad I’d gotten Dad and not Mom. He wouldn’t throw a holy
hissy fit – probably.

“We can
talk about all that when we get together,” he said at last.
“We’re at the Inn at Queen Ann. Why don’t you come
over when you’re done?”

“Sure.
It’ll be a couple hours, so –”

“Here’s
your mom,” Dad yelped it suddenly, so I knew she’d
snatched the phone away from him.

“Jennifer,
I’ve been trying to call all week! Where have you been? What’s
Dad talking about, what are we going to discuss when you get here?”

I held the phone
away from my ear until I heard silence, then held it for a moment
longer to be sure the silence stayed. “Hi, Mom,” I said.
“Sorry we haven’t been around, the funeral’s been a
bear. Amanda’s been a huge help, though. I don’t know
what I would have done without her.”

“Why
didn’t you call and let us know when it was, Jen? We came up to
see you.”

I glanced at the
ceiling. “I’m sorry Mom. I’ve been avoiding my
phone. I really appreciate you guys coming in, though. We’ll be
over in a bit, okay?”

“Well, I
guess I can understand that. We’ll see you soon, right?”

“As soon
as we can,” I promised. I hadn’t wanted to explain the
new living arrangements in person, but I supposed I owed them that
much. They came all the way here for me, after all.

We exchanged “I
love yous” and got off the phone. I let out a deep sigh.

Amanda laughed
at me from the living room doorway. “That sounded like it went
well.”

I tossed my
phone on an end table and sighed. “Yeah. Great. Maybe we should
stop and pick Sebastian up before we go over to see them.”

“You’re
mean,” Amanda said, but she smiled along with me.

“I
suppose. I do consider Sebastian a friend.”

“Ouch.”

I chuckled, but
I’d started thinking again – about Sebastian, about
Specter, about Kent and Alec. How everything had gotten so screwed up
because of a few hurt feelings. Well, a few hurt feelings and a
century or two to dwell on them. And that was what I had to look
forward to. If I wasn’t careful and ended up upsetting someone,
they just might wait around a hundred years or so and then try to get
back at me. Ugh.