The man cried out as she got in a good kick. “No, no miss. I don’t mean you any harm.”
His words calmed her a bit but didn’t slow her beating heart from slamming against her ribs. “Let go of me.”
He jumped back, his hands in the air. “I am trying to protect you. Don’t go in that building. A monster lives there.”
She pointed at him as though her finger was a weapon. “I don’t know anything about monsters, but you grabbed me. Don’t you ever put your hands on me. Am I clear?”
The stranger who grabbed her nodded vigorously. The darkness made it hard for her to see much about him, but he seemed to be an older man. “I was trying to protect you.”
“Get away before I call the police.” What Essence really wanted to do was throw up. She turned on her heel and ran her wet self straight for the overdone mess ahead. Whatever monster resided inside there was better than the grabber where she was.
Essence took the steps two at a time before she rang the doorbell hard. It actually gonged, which she might have found odd if she hadn’t kept turning around to see if crazy on the street was rushing toward her. So far, he hadn’t moved.
The door swung open, and she pushed her way inside, not glancing at the man who stood in front of it. She was rude, for sure. But she needed to get away from the old man on the street. He’d grabbed her, and she could still feel where her arm had been rubbed in the process.
“Yes?” The man who answered the door was tall, with black hair pulled into a bun on the top of his head. His were the darkest eyes she’d ever seen. As if to complete the look, he dressed in an all-black suit, down to his tie.
“Oh,” her hand went to her throat. “I’m so sorry for just rushing inside. There was a man on the street, and he grabbed me, so I just sort of pushed my way in. Totally rude, but I was scared. I’m Essence Welch, from your lawyers’ office.” She held up her briefcase. “I need you to sign some papers.”
Tall, dark, and handsome took a deep breath in through his nose. “I forgot it was the twenty-ninth of the year. Yes. Yes.” His accented voice hid none of the annoyance this particular date seemed to cause him. “You’re afraid.” His eyes travelled up and down her body. “And you’re wet, dripping on my floor.”
She sucked in her breath. He was right. She had made a huge mess of a puddle in his front hall. Goodness, the partners would not be happy that she burst through the door and upset the client.
“Please accept my apologies.” She really should wait on the porch while he signed, only it had to be notarized and, since she was also a notary, she had to be present to sign off on what he did.
“Well, this really will not do.” He sighed loudly. “And the timing couldn’t be worse.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. He extended his hand. “You can’t stand there and drip. Follow me.”
“Are you Mr. Amanar?” she asked, even as she obeyed his command, following him down the hall. “I’m terribly sorry.” That had to be the third time she’d apologized, at least. He had yet to respond.
The inside of his home was lit, but not from bright white or even yellow light. Instead, the bulbs around them gave off an amber hue, making everything look slightly orange. The furniture was old, antique, and probably very expensive. She didn’t see a place she could sit easily and wouldn’t want to get any of it wet anyway.
When they rounded the corner and took the stairs, she stopped, finally coming to her senses. “Why are we going upstairs?”
He turned slowly to face her and still didn’t speak, so she took a step back. He hadn’t answered her and it seemed he didn’t mean to. Power. She didn’t know that she’d ever really felt it radiate from someone before. Her family had kicked her out when she was sixteen, and she was still alive. Trusting her gut got her through a lot of bad times. Right then, she wanted to run.
And then she saw his eyes.
Haunted, my love? A voice moved through her mind, and she shook her head to clear the sensation. A woman had spoken the words that didn’t seem to have been uttered at all. What in the heck was going on?
Maybe the rain had washed away her brain cells. As she stared at the man she’d come to see standing two steps ahead of her on the stairs, he did look haunted. Sad, even.
“Ms. Welch, are you okay? Other than the obvious wetness, which is now assaulting my carpet, I mean. I understand you were scared. Please be assured that Newton will be dealt with. He is harmless, if slightly disturbing. I have…that is to say, my family has known his for a long time. I mean you no harm. Follow me. Now.”