A Glimpse of the Dark Side: Adult Paranormal Erotic Romance Collection Read online

  "You'll have to try," he said. "January, I saw how you looked when you came out of that room. Your eyes... you looked like you were about to collapse. I can't have you putting yourself in danger. Someone needs to be there with you."

  She was irritated, then touched. She also felt a secret thrill when he said her name. "Alright, Ashton," she said. "Just try not to make any noise, or look... distracting."

  "Finally, all that 'how not to look distracting' training I had at the Academy is paying off," he deadpanned.

  She stared at him, not sure if he really was joking. He wasn't even smiling. And didn't Agent Talbot say...

  "And if you call me Ashton again, you're fired. It's Ash."

  She blinked when he said this. His face had softened. Definitely being friendly.

  She supposed she could accept that, she thought as she finally managed to go on up the stairs.

  JANUARY STAYED IN Lianna's bedroom for three hours. True to his word, Ash barely moved the entire time, unless she asked him to get her something to drink. She found it strangely easy to concentrate around him. At times she almost felt like he was boosting her powers, because he made her feel so safe and at ease. She started to feel like they were partners.

  Unfortunately, she wasn't getting any more information out of Lianna than she had gotten before. The girl was terrified, and much of the time she was unconscious. She was also still unsure of why she was hearing another woman's voice in her head.

  Clearly her own powers were not very well-formed and she had not learned how to control them. Lianna obviously didn't even know she had them.

  January was exhausted. After one particularly grueling effort, she fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes. Ash appeared at her side immediately. She couldn't believe how quickly and silently he moved.

  "Alright, that's enough. You need to stop."

  "No, I can't, Ash. I am so close. If I could just get her to look around. I just need her to see something, anything, that could help us. Any time I spend away from her is more time that she could be hurt, or worse. You know that."

  He stared at her. "Fine. One more time, and then we're going back to the hotel. It's late and you need to get some rest."

  She smiled at him. "Your concern is touching, Agent."

  He sat down across the room again and shrugged. "You're not going to be able to help find her if you're in the hospital. I'm just protecting our assets."

  "Of course. How sweet," she said.

  He didn't answer, but his gray eyes sparkled.

  She sat up and got ready to reach out to Lianna again.

  Once he will miss, twice he will miss...

  This time she felt the girl there immediately.

  Lianna was getting used to her.

  "Lianna," she told her, "I need you to help me. I need you to look around and tell me what you see."

  She could feel the girl's mind stirring.

  I can't see anything, was the reply. It's dark here. When he opens the door, he shines a light in my face, and I can't see.

  "Door? What kind of door?" January pressed. "What does it look like"

  Silence.

  Dammit, January swore silently. Lianna was gone again. January started to get up off the bed, when...

  There's a little crack in the door where some light comes through, Lianna said.

  "Can you see anything?" January asked. She didn't want to scare the girl away.

  I think I can see... some letters. E...G...

  Silence again, for many long seconds. It was clearly hard for the girl to concentrate enough to project her thoughts, especially through the pain she was feeling. January tried even harder to reach her, to strengthen Lianna's nascent ability with her own.

  "Come on, Lianna, talk to me..."

  The girl came back again. L... A...

  From the chair, Ash watched January's body go stiff, and her eyes roll back in her head, showing the whites. He sprang to her side, and shook her gently. "January!"

  When she finally came to, and could speak again, she said a single word: "Eglantine."

  Chapter Nine

  "NO, I'M AFRAID it doesn't mean anything to us. Is it a person?" Mr. Morgan said.

  "It's a flower," January said, from her corner of the living room sofa.

  Everyone looked at her. It was the first sentence she had spoken since Ash had helped her come downstairs. She was wrapped up in a blanket and it was still a little hard for her to talk. Ash kept stealing glances at her.

  "A sweet briar. It's a kind of rose."

  Agent Talbot gave a frustrated sigh. "That could mean anything. It could be an actual flower, or a name, or a brand of tomato sauce, for all we know. We don't even know where she is. He could have taken her anywhere in the country by now."

  "No, she's close by," January spoke up again. "I wouldn't be able to reach her otherwise."

  "It's a place to start." Ash said. "Let's get a list of people and businesses in town that match the word 'eglantine'."

  Agent Talbot took her cell phone out of her pocket and started making a call.

  Ash stood up. "Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, thank you so much for letting us take over your house like this. We're done for the night. We'll contact you again tomorrow if we need to come back. I just need to make a few phone calls and we will be leaving."

  January folded up the blanket and set it in a corner of the sofa. She could hear Ash talking on his cell phone, in short terse sentences full of terms she didn't understand. He looked tight, energized, alive.

  This is what he was born for, she thought.

  She wandered over to the den. Everywhere she looked, there were ships: models of piratical-looking brigs, aerial stills of huge aircraft carriers, black and white photographs of ocean liners with people in turn-of-the-century clothing waving from the decks.

  She walked around the room, taking it all in. She stopped at a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Morgan and Lianna aboard a large navy cruiser. They were all wearing old-fashioned sailor caps and saluting the camera.

  "Naval history is a hobby of mine," Mr. Morgan said, coming up behind her. "My wife won't let me have these things anywhere else in the house, so it all goes in here."

  "They're beautiful," January said. "The ships. They're all so different from each other."

  Mr. Morgan's face lit up. "That's exactly why I love them so much. Each one has a life, a history," he said, "a name." He smiled, a little sadly. "Just like people."

  THEY GRABBED A quick dinner on the way back to the hotel. January was still smarting from the day's exertions. She couldn't wait to get into her ugly room with the runny water lily, take a shower and go to bed.

  When she had showered, she realized she was wide awake. She sighed, put on some fresh clothes and went out to the hotel lobby. It was empty, except for a young couple pushing the limits of socially acceptable public affection. As January passed them, they stood up, holding hands, and departed toward the rooms.

  Have fun, January thought.

  She stepped out onto the deserted pool deck and crossed to the opposite railing. Below was a spectacular view of the garbage dumpsters, and beyond it, the dark highway, red and white lights humming past into the orange horizon.

  "Lovely, isn't it?" someone said behind her.

  She turned to see Ash sitting on one of the darkened pool chairs. He was still in his suit, but his tie was undone and his shirt cuffs were unbuttoned. He stood and walked over to January, still looking at the highway. She was never completely sure when he was joking.

  "Don't you ever sleep?" she asked him.

  "I have trouble sleeping," he said. "It's worse when I'm on a case." He looked at her. "What about you? I thought you would be exhausted."

  "So did I," she said. "I just can't stop thinking about Lianna and her parents. This is uncharted territory for me."

  He looked at her with a look that said tell me more. She was not used to seeing that look. In her experience, most people were just waiting for their turn to talk.
/>   She shrugged. "I guess I'm used to telling people they have to let go of someone they love; to move on with their lives. I've gotten pretty good at that." She looked up at him. "But now I'm telling the Morgans they have to hang on..." She trailed off.

  "And this scares you?"

  She sighed. "I just know that no matter how hard they hang on, how much they hope, they might still lose her. And the harder they hang on, the worse it's going to be for them in the end."

  She turned toward the highway, afraid she was going to start blubbering again. She had done enough of that today already.

  He didn't say anything.

  Then, gently, she felt his hand stroking her hair. When she turned back to him, the look on his face was so kind and understanding, she felt her heart leap in her chest.

  He brought his hand under her chin and lifted her face to his. "Sometimes the risk is worth the reward."

  "Are we still talking about Lianna?" she managed to whisper.

  He smiled that rare, beautiful smile, and kissed her... a sweet, passionate kiss that flushed her to the core with a dazzling mix of fear and joy.

  When they finally parted in what felt like an eternity later, he held her hands and looked in her eyes. "January, I am not in the habit of doing this," he said, "but you are a very special woman. I feel very drawn to you."

  She smiled, still tingling. "I feel the same way."

  "Good," he said. "But let's hold that thought. For now, I think we should both get some sleep." He put his arm around her and they walked back toward the hotel together.

  "What's going to happen tomorrow?" she asked.

  "I'd like to see the Morgans again. If you have it in you, I'd like you to try to contact Lianna again, to see if we can expand on what she told you."

  "That's fine," she said. "I'm starting to feel like they're a part of my family. Mr. Morgan, especially. There is something so sweet about him. Did you see his ship collection?"

  "No, I didn't."

  "In his study. He has all these pictures and models of different ships." She smiled. "He thinks of them as people."

  Ash stopped walking.

  "What?" she asked him.

  He thought for a second. "I don't know. Maybe nothing," he said. "But you just gave me an idea." He kissed her quickly on the lips. "Good night, January. Get some rest."

  She went back to her room and got in bed. Soon, she was floating off into a restful sleep.

  "EGLANTINE RAE SMITH," Agent Talbot read off her cell phone screen. "93 years old, currently residing at the Sunrise Assisted Living Community. Advanced Alzheimer's." She pursed her lips. "Not our likeliest candidate for 'homicidal maniac.'"

  Ash took another drink of burnt hotel coffee. "What else?"

  "Mark Eglantine, 31 years old, no known family. Two prior arrests for assault and battery, one conviction." She looked up. "A little more promising."

  She continued to scroll and tap on her screen. "A few more names, nothing too noteworthy: one Eglantine Travel Agency; not one, but two florists and an elementary school." She put down her phone.

  Ash nodded. "Let's split them up. I'll take the individuals, you take the businesses. I'd also like to go back to the Morgans to see if January can get something more solid from Lianna."

  He looked at January.

  She nodded quickly, trying not to keep his gaze too long. She was jittery and stiff. What is this, high school? she scolded herself.

  Ash, on the other hand, was as polite and unreadable as ever. He showed no sign of even remembering the night before. January got flustered and knocked a spoon off the table. The agents looked at her. Ash bent down and retrieved the spoon.

  "Thank you," she told him, feeling like an idiot. Calm down!

  When she looked back up at him she could have sworn she saw his eyes flash with amusement, but she couldn't be sure.

  She looked at Agent Talbot, but the other woman was busy adjusting her lipstick in a pocket mirror. She almost smiled. Well, TV didn't picture female agents like that. But the image fit Agent Talbot well.

  "You seemed a little nervous at breakfast," Ash finally said in the car on the way to the Morgans' house. She looked at him to see if he was teasing her, but he seemed genuine.

  "Well, engaging in tawdry scenes on rooftops is not something I do every night. Forgive me if I don't know exactly what to make of it." She glanced at him. "You sure don't seem to be having any problem with it."

  He turned to her with the same pleasant expression as always. "This is my nervous face," he said. "Also my excited, angry, delighted, and hungry face."

  She blinked, then burst into laughter.

  His phone rang. "Sterling," he said. He listened for a few seconds. "Yeah, go ahead." There was a long silence. "Where's that...? I don't know, could be something. Send it to my phone. Thanks." He hung up.

  When they rang the doorbell at the Morgans' house, Mrs. Morgan let them in. "We've just finished our breakfast, but may I offer you some coffee?" she said.

  "No, thank you," Ash said. "We had coffee at the hotel. I think. If you don't mind, we would like to try to contact Lianna again to see if we can get anything else."

  "Of course," she said. "You're welcome to go back up to her room. Have you gotten a chance to look into any of the leads from yesterday?"

  "Agent Talbot is following up on them now. I also just got another one." Ash said. "Mr. Morgan, January was admiring your ship collection yesterday and she gave me an idea. I had our staff at the field office check the naval and private registries for any vessel named 'Eglantine'."

  "And?"

  "Well, they didn't find a ship, but they did find a naval aircraft..." he checked his phone, "a B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed Eglantine. Decommissioned in 1948 and used as a show plane, stationed at the Atlantic Naval Air Station in Elizabeth City, North Carolina."

  "Oh sure, the old naval air base," Mr. Morgan said. "But it's not there anymore. They tore it down and built a mall and some condos."

  January felt something pulling her away from the conversation. Their voices became soft, distant, and echo-ey, as if the conversation was taking place in a long tunnel and someone had plugged her ears with cotton balls. There was a searing pain in her head and the room swam in front of her.

  Circles of light popped in her eyes like flashbulbs in an old-fashioned camera. Images began to flash through her vision, crowding out everything else-a long strip of light, a silhouette of a man leaning down, a blazing light, a long silver surface, a bright pink flower, and then... darkness.

  She swayed on her feet and covered her eyes. The images faded, leaving a hollow ringing in her ears.

  "January," Ash was saying. "Are you alright?"

  She looked at him and tried to speak, but no words came out.

  Mrs. Morgan put her hand on her arm. "What's the matter, dear? You're pale as a ghost." She led her over to the sofa and sat her down.

  January found her voice. "I don't know what just happened, but I think it had something to do with Lianna. She was trying to tell me something." She looked at Ash. "Whatever you just said, some part of it is important. I don't know how I know this, I just do. It's like she's still in my head from yesterday... and she heard something she recognized."

  Ash turned to Mr. Morgan. "The air base. How far away is it?"

  "Well, it's only about fifteen minutes away, but there's really no place to keep a plane anymore. All the hangars are gone."

  "Is there anything left at all?"

  "Yes, the control tower. You can go inside-it's a little aviation museum."

  Ash looked at January. "Are you sure about this?"

  "I'm sure," she said. "I don't know what it means, but I know it's important."

  "I'm going there," Ash said. "January, you stay here and see if you can keep in touch with Lianna. I'll leave you my cell phone number. If you get anything else, call me."

  "No," she told him. "I'm going with you."

  Ash already had the door open, and stopped. "You are
not going with me. If Lianna is there, then so is whoever is keeping her." The Morgans exchanged frightened looks. "You don't have any business in a situation like that."

  "Don't you get it?" January said, "The closer we get to her, the better our connection is going to be. I can help you find her." She was already putting her jacket back on.

  Ash shook his head. "I knew you were going to argue with me. Alright, let's go. Sorry to disturb you again, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan. We'll be in touch."

  Ash was already on the phone on the way to the car.

  "Talbot," he said. "I need you to meet us. We may have found Lianna."

  Chapter Ten

  IT WAS SUNDAY, and the aviation museum was closed. Ash made a series of phone calls in the car, the last one to an irate property manager.

  It was raining a little as they got close to where they were going. The blank highway landscape turned into pastel-colored shopping strips and condominium complexes with exciting maritime names.

  They passed a gleaming shopping mall complex and turned off onto a bumpy side road. The control tower was an older yellow brick building in an empty cul-de-sac with a small parking lot. It wasn't as tall as January figured it would be-only a few stories.

  They got out of the car and walked toward the tower. January searched with her mind for a trace of Lianna. She felt nothing. Doubt blossomed in her mind, but she ignored it.

  The property manager, a barrel-chested man sweating through his suit, was already waiting for them. "Hank Armitage," he said, offering his hand to Ash and January. "Now, what in God's name is so important that I had to leave my family in church to high-tail it over here?"

  "Thank you for accommodating us on such short notice, Mr. Armitage. We suspect there may be something in the museum that might lead to a kidnapping victim," Ash said.

  Armitage looked at Ash suspiciously. "Hm. Well, if you're right, I guess the good Lord will give me a freebie for today." He took out a large key ring with a confusing array of keys on it, and let them into the building.

  Inside was a dingy entryway with a hallway and a staircase painted an institutional green. The walls were covered with photographs of the naval station in its operational years.