A Midsummer Night's Demon

chapter Five

Ky’s hands clamped down hard on the steering wheel, his knuckles bleaching of color. Concern for her safety weighed heavy upon his shoulders while he drove them to the park to face Lyn’s attacker. They rode in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Though Lyn seemed tense, she had refused to back out of the meeting.

To keep her from having to do this, he’d traced both the email and text from last night in a desperate final attempt to identify the vampire, but his efforts, like before, had been fruitless.

At least he would be there to protect her, and this time his opponent would not have the opportunity to dematerialize. He’d brought special handcuffs made from the one metal harmful to vampires. Once around his wrists the titanium cuffs would prevent the vampire from dematerializing. His plan included surprising the rogue, cuffing his wrists, and taking his head to ensure final death.

He pulled into the dirt parking lot, shut off the engine, then watched Lyn wind her long hair up on the back of her head and secure it with a clip. Her pink tongue darted out to lick her lips in a nervous flick.

She looked beautiful, dressed in a yellow sundress and matching sandals. He’d requested she wear her hair up, knowing that the exposure of her graceful neck would provide a distraction to the vampire. If she was going to have to lure the vampire, then her mate was determined to make sure they only had to do this once. She needed to distract the monster long enough for Ky to snap the cuffs around his wrists.

Ky exited the car, making his way around the hood to open the passenger door. Lyn took his proffered hand, allowing him to help her from the car. He noticed her legs trembled and heard the pace of her heartbeat increase, as she took in the thick night air. He tucked her under the safety of his arm, his lips brushing her temple with a kiss.

“It’s going to be all right, honey,” Ky breathed beside her ear. “I’ll be right here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

He needed to believe that. He had never been so sincere in all the centuries of his life. If he failed to take one thing into consideration, it could cost her life and that price for his failure would be far too high.

****

Lyn wrapped an arm around Ky’s waist and pressed against his side, trying to find comfort in his words. She could not doubt the genuineness of his tone and knew, without a doubt, he would keep her safe. If she didn’t believe it she wouldn’t be here, but things could go amiss. Best laid plans, as the saying went. She swallowed the lump in her throat, but it did nothing to help her twisting stomach.

“I know.” Her voice sounded shaky, even to her. She met his eyes. “I have faith in you…”

“But,” he prompted.

“But things can go wrong, Ky.”

Ky laced his fingers in hers, and led her along the wooden boardwalk that wove a trail through the trees. The boards, weathered from years of exposure to the elements, creaked under their feet. The pine and Banyan trees closed in around them creating a canopy of grayish-green. Spanish moss hung thickly from the foliage, swaying like ethereal limbs, reaching out, grabbing at them as they walked beneath the trees. The sight sent a shiver up Lyn’s spine to raise the tiny hairs on her neck.

“Let’s go over the plan one more time,” Ky offered. He pulled his fingers from hers to massage the tension from the nape of her neck. “You’ll wait by the statue in the clearing.”

“How will he find me? The email didn’t say where in the park I would be.”

“Don’t worry. Finding you will not be a problem for him.” Ky quickened their pace, their time growing short. “Before I hide, we’ll use your phone to call my cell. I’ll hear the moment he arrives, and I’ll come to get him.”

Lyn nodded, her free hand clasped her small purse to her side, protecting the phone within. “I forgot to charge my phone. What if it dies before he gets here?”

Ky drew tiny circles on her nape with the pad of his thumb. “I charged both of our phones before we left the island. They are fully charged.”

Daelyn breathed a sigh of relief. She should have known he could be trusted to take care of the finer details. Ky never missed a thing. From the way he knew she liked ketchup on her meatloaf, to the toothpaste she preferred to use, Ky noticed everything about her and did his best to make her feel comfortable while staying in his home.

He’d been a perfect gentleman, almost too perfect. It would be easy to lose her heart to him. She’d wanted him the minute she awakened in his home to find him looking down at her, but now she was falling hard for the man. He made her laugh, made life fun. Charming and brave, he was the kind of man a girl wanted to spend the rest of her life loving, and she was no exception. She’d begun to fall in love with him, and the way he looked at her confirmed he cared for her too. Once they put this mess behind them, she intended to keep Ky in her life.

“You’ve thought of everything.” Lyn gazed up at him with love in her eyes.

He gave her a weak smile that did not quite reach his light blue eyes.

“I hope so.” He tilted his chin toward the aged patina statue of a shirtless male worker holding a shovel. “We’re here.”

Lyn sat on the concrete base of the statue. “So we are. This is it.”

Ky caught her chin in a gentle grip, tipping her face to take a kiss. “Remember, the second you see me, run down that boardwalk, jump into the car, and leave.” He placed his keys in her hand. “Do not go to your townhouse and do not tell me where you are going. I’ll call you when it is safe, and we’ll meet.”

Lyn nodded and pulled the phone from her purse after she dropped his keys inside. She punched her speed dial, and Ky’s phone vibrated.

Taking his phone from his pocket, he hit the “talk” button but spoke directly to Lyn. “Put your phone back into your purse. Be careful not to accidentally turn it off by bumping it.”

She worried her lower lip between her teeth, and he bent to give her a reassuring kiss on her brow. “I’ll be only seconds away, Lyn. Make sure you greet him in a loud voice, so I’ll know he is here. The minute I hear your voice, I’ll be here.”

“I trust you.”

Lyn wrung her hands in her lap as fear gripped her stomach in a tight hold. She could do this, she could. She had to.

If only she didn’t have to wait alone. Someone next to you always made it easier to have courage. But Ky was a cop, and catching bad guys was what he did, so if he thought this the best way to proceed than she’d trust in the plan like she trusted in him.

She glanced at her watch and her heart leapt into her throat. Sometimes time passed too quickly. “You better go before he sees you.”

Ky shook his phone. “Don’t forget, greet him the minute you see him. Loudly.”

He turned to leave, heading for a copse of Banyan trees. Their thick trunks and roots twisted around each other forming a thick gray mass which would conceal him nicely.

“Good luck,” she called after him, watching him go. “Remember your promise to me. You’re taking me to the Litha Festival. No excuses.”

Ky gave her a smile over his shoulder then disappeared from her view in the thick foliage. She squinted in his direction. Damn, I can’t see him at all.

Fear settled over her and her heart seemed to drop to her toes. The three-quarter moon hung in the sky, casting its unnerving light upon the trees to create ghoulish shadows over the area. A cool breeze blew over the land, bringing with it the musky smell of moss and earth. Tree branches and Spanish moss swayed, changing the shadows below. They seemed to come alive, like spectrally thin forms moving in the night. Daelyn shivered, more from the nightmarish images around her than the draft.

I wish he would just get here, she thought to herself.