She hefted the last chair up and turned off the lamp behind the bar, then made her way down the hall past the bathrooms to the back exit. She couldn’t wait to get into her truck and go give Alexei his reward for not wrecking the place again.
As always, she turned around once she was outside to jiggle the old brass doorknob and make sure it was really locked, a habit her father had instilled in her when she was still in her teens. But this time, when she turned back to go to her truck, she saw a silhouette standing under the lone light in the parking lot next to the bar. Before her brain could even process what she was seeing, someone came up behind her and grabbed her, sticking a nasty-smelling cloth over her nose and mouth.
Bethany struggled briefly, her heart stuttering with panic, pulse racing as she struggled not to breathe in. But despite her best attempts, her vision blurred and her knees buckled, and then the world went away.
*
Alexei sat at the kitchen table and tried not to worry. After all, Bethany was a grown woman who had been managing for years before he ever came along, and who would undoubtedly manage just fine when he was gone. Still, it was unusual for her not to be back by now. The hands on the old crooked clock pointed at two; she should have been back at least a half an hour ago. He’d been looking forward to collecting his reward when she got home…now he just wanted to know that she was all right. He could almost hear his brothers teasing him about becoming a mother hen, but he couldn’t help it. Something was wrong. He could feel it in his bones.
He could hear the faint sounds of Calum’s snoring echoing through the house, and thought about taking a quick run to the bar to check and make sure everything was okay. But he’d promised Bethany not to leave her father alone - she worried about things like fire, or medical emergencies, or anything else where Calum wouldn’t be able to manage without help.
Alexei figured the old man would probably be fine for ten minutes on his own, but he’d made a promise, and if he broke it, Bethany would kick his ass. Assuming she was okay.
She had to be okay. He was just being paranoid. But if she hadn’t shown up by two thirty, he was going to wake the neighbor and go to the bar and check, even if he got yelled at for his efforts.
He’d even gone so far as to try calling her cell phone, much as he hated the things, but there had been no answer. No doubt there was a perfectly reasonable explanation, and she’d walk in any minute and laugh at him for worrying. That would be okay with him.
A knock at the back door made him jolt up in relief. Finally. But then he realized that Bethany wouldn’t be knocking at her own door, and the relief morphed into a sharp stab of concern. So it was with a mix of pleasure and anxiety that he opened the door to find Beka standing there instead.
“Hey,” he said. “You’re back.” He motioned her into the kitchen and she sank into a chair with a sigh.
“Yeah. Finally. This search took a lot longer than I anticipated. I kept chasing down rumors and finding people who had bits and pieces of ‘Gee, that sounds like something I might have heard a hundred years ago,’ or ‘Have you asked Symon the blacksmith who lives under the enchanted mountain?’” She took the cup of tea he handed her and smiled at him gratefully.
“I know it’s late, but I parked the school bus in the street out front so I could talk to you first thing in the morning, and when I saw the light on, I figured you might still be up.” Beka glanced around the kitchen. “Is Bethany here? I thought you two were probably sitting here gabbing.” She winked at Alexei. “Mind you, I was hoping I wouldn’t be interrupting something else. Like something that involved whipped cream and nakedness on top of the table.”
She thought a second. “Or maybe I hoped I would be. How are you two doing, anyway?”
Alexei ignored her second question to answer the first, more pressing one. “No, Bethany isn’t here. And she should be. I’m starting to get worried.”
Beka raised one blonde eyebrow. “Really? It isn’t like you to worry about other people. Gregori once vanished for six months and you just said, ‘He’s probably staring at his damned navel.’”
“And I was right, wasn’t I?” Alexei mocked, although his heart wasn’t in it. “When he finally turned up, he’d been at a Buddhist monastery in Tibet, helping the Abbot there solve some kind of weird Paranormal mystery.”
“Oh, right. I’d forgotten that,” Beka said. “But still, my point is, you weren’t at all worried. And he’s your brother.”
“He was also a Rider, and better equipped to take care of himself than some small armies,” Alexei reminded her. “Bethany, well, Bethany is tough, but she is still a Human, and therefore fragile. What if she has been in an accident or something?”
Beka stood up and gave him a hug. “You’re really concerned, aren’t you?” She gazed into his eyes. “I can’t believe it. You’ve finally fallen for someone.” Her grin could have lit up half of Broadway. “It’s about damned time. I like her, too. She may be tiny and Human, but I think you’ve met your match.”
Alexei shook his head, not even bothering to deny it. “It’s impossible, Beka, and you know it. We’re too different. And I don’t stay in one place. It could never work out between us.”
“Seems to me like you’ve been in one place for a while now,” Beka said softly. “I don’t see any signs that you’re suffering, either. As for differences, I don’t think anyone could be more different than a powerful witch who is also a California surfer chick and a former Marine turned fisherman, and Marcus and I have made it work. I’ve never been happier. Maybe you should give yourself a chance at that same happiness, Alexei.”
He stared at the clock again. “I’d be happy if she would just walk in the door. I have a bad feeling, Beka.” Fear clenched at his belly, making it feel as though his entrails were on fire.
“She probably just has a flat tire or something,” Beka said, laying a gentle hand on his arm. “You went through some pretty terrible things, and I know it was awful not to be able to help your brothers when you were all suffering at Brenna’s hands.”
Lines formed around the sides of her mouth and she suddenly looked much older than her usual carefree appearance. Brenna had been her mentor, the one who had raised and trained her, all the while subtly undermining Beka’s confidence so that Brenna wouldn’t have to give up her position as Baba Yaga.
“I hate what that bitch did to you all. But I especially hate that she left you all so broken that you felt as though you couldn’t be a part of each other’s lives anymore, or of ours. I can’t tell you how wonderful it has been to be able to reconnect with you, and I know the others will feel the same when you’re ready to reach out again.” She blinked back tears that tugged at his heart.
Then she sniffed and punched him on the arm. “But don’t wait too long, okay? Your brothers have finally come back to us, and you need to too, you big jerk.”