Garden of Snakes

  There’s something reverent about Lexington’s demeanor. He holds himself so light above me. His emotions roll off of him, so intense.

  Gently, he presses his lips to the crest of my rounded stomach.

  Emotion suddenly jumps into the back of my eyes. I bite down on my lower lip as my fingers lace through his hair. He turns his head, resting his cheek against my stomach, looking up at me.

  “I love you,” I whisper through the quiver in my voice.

  “Thank you for letting me love you,” he says, and his sincerity overwhelms me. It’s just so raw and honest. “Every part of you.”

  His phone dings, making the both of us jump. I want to throw it out the window and curse all technology for breaking the magical spell. But there are too many important events going on right now, and we can’t ignore the real world.

  “Reality calls,” Lexington says regretfully. He rolls to the side and reaches for the phone. He groans. “I’m on Charles hunting duty. I’m going to hop in the shower and then I need to head out.” He climbs out of bed but leans down, pressing his lips to mine for a brief moment. “We’ll talk wedding details later though, okay?”

  “Okay,” I say happily as I watch him head into the bathroom.

  He only shuts the door part way, and I get quite the spectacular view as he takes his shirt off and starts the water.

  I lie back, letting my eyes slide closed, accepting this happy feeling. It’s something I rarely do: allow myself to just feel happy.

  My phone starts ringing and when I reach for it, a number I don’t recognize displays on the screen. I debate answering it for a moment, but considering everything going on, it’s probably best I do.

  “Hello?”

  “There she is,” a dramatic voice declares from the other end. “Been too long, little bird.”

  “Michael,” I say happily. “It’s so good to hear your voice.”

  “So you didn’t get sick of me after four months of being locked up with this ugly mug?” he teases.

  “Maybe some days, but not today,” I say with a smile. “How are you? Are you safe?”

  “I’m good. Don’t you worry about me.”

  “Are you with Kai?” I ask.

  “Yeah. I keep telling that hard-headed brother of yours that I should be out looking for Charles, but he seems to think you’ll mind if that Hunter catches me.”

  “That’s ‘cause I will mind,” I say, resisting an eye roll.

  Michael chuckles. “Yeah, well, for some reason I’ve started caring what you think. But I guess Kai’s not so bad. He’s doing good work, getting the word out, curing lots of people. He’s a good guy. A little serious and intense. But I can see why he was your friend.”

  “Is my friend,” I say, suddenly yearning for our quiet walks to and from my shop. “I really miss both of you. Hopefully Killian leaves soon and you can both come home.”

  “Yeah, seems I’m missing all the action,” Michael says. “Got an interesting phone call two days ago. For some reason that fiancé of yours seems to think my approval matters.”

  I laugh. “That’s because it does. Does this mean you gave him your approval?”

  “He’s the only topic that put even a trace of a smile back on your face when we were locked up,” Michael says. “I’m not going to say no to someone who makes you that happy, little bird.”

  I smile, even though there’s an ache in my chest. I miss this. Even though we were locked up during our time together, prisoners, he always fiercely had my back. “Thank you,” I tell him.

  “You bet,” he says, and his own tone grows more serious. “I just wanted to tell you congrats. I gotta go now, Elle. You take care of yourself.”

  “I will,” I promise. “Oh, Michael?”

  “Yeah?”

  I bite my lower lip for a moment. “When the time comes, will you walk me down the aisle?”

  He’s quiet for a moment, and even though I can’t see him, can’t hear anything from him, I can imagine the emotions rushing through him. “I’d be honored.”

  “’K,” I breathe with a smile. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  He tells me goodbye and hangs up. I rest my phone on my chest, peace rolling through my veins.

  Looking over at the clock, I see it’s already eight-thirty. I need to be at the shop to open in thirty minutes.

  I climb out of bed and head to the closet. I’m halfway dressed when Lexington gets out of the shower. I peek out, catching his eye just as he walks out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist.

  “I can’t decide if I ever want you to stop blushing or not when you see me half naked,” he teases as he steps into the closet, placing his hands on my hips.

  I’m wearing a new pair of slacks, but just a bra on top. And his eyes eat me up.

  “You do seem to have quite an effect on me,” I breathe as he buries his face in my neck. His hands slide around, cupping my butt, pulling my hips closer to his.

  “I think I like the effects you have on me.”

  And I can certainly feel those effects.

  “I don’t want to wait very long,” I breathe, lacing my fingers through his hair. “Let’s have the wedding next month.”

  “August it is,” he says as he kisses his way up the front of my throat. My eyes roll back in my head a little as I tip my chin up, giving him all the access he could want.

  But suddenly his phone starts going crazy from in my bedroom, reminding us that we both have somewhere else to be right at this moment.

  Lexington growls into my neck, and the next instant he’s gone. And as my eyes search for him, I suddenly blush harder, turning beet red and hot.

  He nabs his phone from the bed, and starts walking out the door to get his clothes from his bedroom. But he drops his towel, and if he doesn’t have the most spectacular ass…

  He looks over his shoulder and winks. “Thought you could use a little preview of what’s to come, soon-to-be Mrs. Dawes.”

  I give a little squealing laugh, covering my face as I feel it grow all the hotter.

  “This stuff really will give you the best night’s sleep you’ve ever had. Promise.” I tell the woman as I pick up the bottle of Knock Me Out. My phone dings as yet another text message comes through. “And everything in it is natural.”

  The woman in the fancy pantsuit looks at the bottle doubtfully. She’s very staunch and serious, and she certainly isn’t the type that normally wanders into my shop.

  “What’s in it?” she asks, looking scornfully at my glass bottle with the cork.

  I turn the bottle over where it shows a list of ingredients. “Poppy herb and flowers, hawthorn berries, hops flowers, passionflower, and agrimony herb.”

  “I’ve never even heard of most of those things,” she says, shaking her head. There are dark bags under her eyes. She’s well dressed and put together, but really, I can see that she’s a mess. She looks like she hasn’t slept in days. “How do I know it won’t poison me?”

  “I graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in botany and chemistry,” I say, holding back most of the exasperation in my voice. “I’ve studied all of my creations for years. Tested them thoroughly. I promise, you’ll get some sleep tonight, and you’ll wake up feeling much better.”

  The woman sighs and finally nods. “I guess it’s worth a try. Nothing else has worked.”

  I give her a little smile and we head to the counter, even as my phone dings again. “That will be thirteen-seventy-six. There are instructions on the label, but take two droppers-full in a glass of water thirty minutes before bed. And two more right at bedtime.”

  “If this works, I know three other people in my office who will be in here tomorrow evening.”

  “I’ll be seeing them tomorrow then,” I say with a smile as I hand over the bag containing the sleep solution. The woman turns and leaves without even a smile.

  Business has been slower since I opened back up after my time in Vermont, but it’s slowly picking up.
Rebuilding takes time. But this is my passion, and I’m dedicated to doing whatever it takes.

  I pull my phone out and find three new text messages, all congratulating me on my engagement to Lexington. One from Leigh, one from Cameron, and the last from Sheriff Luke McCoy.

  Guess more than a few people back in Silent Bend still care about me after all these years.

  Not two seconds after I walked through the doors to the shop, Alivia called, practically screaming and crying through her excitement.

  I’ve just stepped back into the lab when the bell above the front door dings. I step back out and my brain is instantly wracking itself, trying to place the familiar face that just walked in.

  “Afternoon,” he greets with a friendly tone. He wears a sweater, despite the mid-July temperatures, pushed up to his forearms. A well-worn, but freshly pressed pair of slacks hug his hips. Thin lips give him a serious look, and a deep crease between his brows give him a constant expression of anger or concern. “The look on your face tells me you must recognize me but can’t remember exactly who I am.”

  “I’m sorry,” I say, stepping behind the counter. With very slow movements, I reach under the counter and wrap my fingers around a stake. Charles himself might not be able to come after me, but he’s paid others to do his bidding before. “Your name is escaping me at the moment.”

  He gives a tight, thin little smile. “You never did ask my name, though I know that was on purpose. And it’s been…” he squints one eye, looking off to the side as he wracks his brain, “about ten months since you last saw me.”

  “You were one of my…patients,” I say, because it’s too dangerous to say the truth out loud.

  He smiles and stops just a few feet in front of the counter. “You got it. Name’s Jonathan Harper.”

  I smile, nodding, but really my brain is racing through the possibilities of why one of my Bitten has come back. “I’d say it’s nice to see you again, but you were instructed to never return here.”

  “I know,” he says as he slides his hands into his pockets. The sun reflects off his light brown hair, brightening his hazel eyes. The last time I saw them, they were glowing brilliant yellow. “But I really needed to ask you for some help.”

  I swallow hard. And beneath the counter, I reach for the gun instead of the stake.

  He’s human again, and if push comes to shove, I stand a chance of fighting him off if he has ill intentions, but in my current state, it isn’t going to be easy.

  Everyone is out in full force right now, hunting Charles. It’s just me today.

  “You seem a little tense,” Jonathan says, his eyes narrowing. “Let me put your mind at ease. I’m not here to cause you any harm. Quite the opposite.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask. My fingers tighten around the handgun, flipping the safety off.

  “You were doing some pretty incredibly selfless work, for years, from what I’ve heard,” he says. He turns, looking around the shop, walking slowly as he studies the different labels. “But all that stopped about six months ago. Seeing you now, I guess I know why.”

  His eyes drop to my stomach. Flick to the ring on my finger.

  “I will admit, I was a little annoyed and frustrated when I learned you were no longer helping them. But I get it now.” The expression in his eyes does, indeed, lighten. “You have a family to take care of. The work you were doing was dangerous.”

  I nod, going along with him, pretending that is the reason why I stopped, when it isn’t.

  “There’s still a need for what you were doing. I’m proposing to take up the mantle and continue it myself,” he says as he completes his loop around the shop, standing before the counter again.

  I believe he doesn’t mean me harm, but there’s something about his demeanor that is setting me on edge.

  “You can give me the rest of the doses you have and I’ll go, taking the danger away from you.”

  “I don’t have any of it anymore,” I say, shaking my head. The familiar longing in me rises up again, desperate to help those who had no choice in this life. “There’s…there’s a Hunter in town. It isn’t safe. If he finds out…”

  Jonathan’s expression hardens, his shoulders growing tense, gathering toward his ears. “They just ruin everything, don’t they?”

  “Who?”

  “The Born. Even the Bitten. All of them, completely unnatural, ending and ruining so many lives when they shouldn’t even exist.” He walks up to the counter, resting his forearms on it, leaning in, the pure hatred burning in his eyes. “You must hate them, too. I don’t know why else you would have put yourself in danger, over and over again.”

  I keep looking at him, trying to figure this very strange situation out.

  He might think he knows some things about me, about Penny Jones, but he obviously doesn’t know anything.

  At least he hasn’t been spying on me.

  “They take and take, getting away with so much, and for so much time.” He pushes away from the counter, turning away from me. Staring off into nothing. “The work you have done has helped so many, but there can never be an end to it.”

  Dread rises from the pit of my stomach, creeping up my throat, making it difficult to breathe.

  “Not until the source of the problem is exterminated.” He says the words so quietly I almost don’t hear him.

  But the words pierce me to the core.

  “Not all of them are bad,” I say. “Not all of them cross that line, taking or changing lives.”

  He looks over his shoulder back at me. “You’re a selfless person, Penny. Looking for the good when really all there is, is gray.”

  He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small piece of paper. He crosses back to the counter and sets it down. “The change begins tonight. Come if you want to see history being made.”

  He turns and walks straight out, not another word spoken.

  A huge breath escapes my chest, but my anxiety threatens to take me over. I know something big is on the horizon.

  I grab the card from the counter and see an address and a time written on it.

  Individuals who try to start revolutions in this world cause problems. Big ones.

  The system of the monarchy and the Houses is not perfect. There are certainly flaws and innocents who get hurt from the manipulation and politics that are ever flowing.

  But for the most part, innocent lives are spared. There have been no open wars. No spilling of secrets.

  Revolutionaries in the world of vampires threaten everyone.

  I’m reaching for my phone when the bell above the door dings and a huge group of tourists walks in. They wander the shop, touching everything, bombarding me with a million questions. I absentmindedly answer them, but I keep looking at my phone, itching to report what has just happened. Watching the time tick away, one agonizing minute at a time.

  The tourists pick through the selection of ointments and headache treatments. Finally they end up at the shelf with the love spray, and as usual, they go crazy over that.

  In the end, the lot of them end up spending over three hundred dollars on love spray and another hundred on other assorted things.

  The clock hits five almost exactly when they finally leave and I flip the sign to CLOSED and lock the door.

  I grab my phone, about to call Duncan, when a text comes through.

  You at the shop?

  And the name attached is one I haven’t seen in so long.

  Kai.

  Yes, I instantly reply.

  Don’t go anywhere, he immediately responds. Be there in two minutes.

  Instantly my heart is hammering. Killian has to still be in town, still hunting down any trace of Bitten or Born who haven’t been following the new law. Kai is in great danger just being here.

  I’m anxiously watching the street window, when a noise from behind me pulls a little squeak from my throat in surprise. I turn to see Kai stepping through the hidden door that leads down into the undergroun
d rooms.

  “Kai,” I breathe in happiness and relief. I dash across the shop, throwing my arms around his wide shoulders and resting my cheek against his chest. “You really shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe with a Hunter in town.”

  “I have a feeling it’s about to get a whole lot worse,” he says as he hugs me back. “There’s been a problem growing right under my nose and I didn’t see it until a day or two ago.”

  “What are you talking about?” I ask in confusion as I look up at him.

  In most ways he looks exactly the same as I last saw him. Same beautiful brown skin. Same curly, flowing hair.

  But there’s a darkness to his eyes he didn’t have before.

  Some life experience he hadn’t gone through yet.

  “I think this is something everyone at the House of Martials needs to hear,” he says, releasing me. And instantly his eyes slide down to my stomach.

  “I assume you’ve heard,” I say, that familiar feeling of guilt and being tainted creeping into my chest.

  Kai nods. “Duncan and Lexington have been keeping me updated. And you’re engaged now?”

  His eyes are fixed on the ring on my hand. And the dread rears its head in my chest once more.

  “Hey,” Kai says, cupping his fingers beneath my chin and forcing my eyes back up to his. “It’s fine, really, Elle. It’s been a while. What you said about us, about something missing? I see it now. I’m happy for you.”

  “Really?” I ask. I want that so bad, it makes my chest hurt.

  “Really,” he says with a little laugh and a smile. “Now, I think you better make some phone calls so I can explain what’s been happening.”

  “Wait,” I say, reaching into my pocket. “I…I think I know at least part of what you’re talking about. One of the Bitten I cured, he was here.”

  “Jonathan Harper?” Kai asks with a dread in his voice.

  “That’s him,” I say with a nod. I pull the card out and hold it up between us. “He was going off about how none of us can be at peace until all the Born and Bitten are gone. He said things would change tonight.”

  Kai takes the card and reads it over. “Six o’clock.” He looks up at the clock on the wall. It’s already 5:15. “We’ve got less than an hour. Start making phone calls. Tell them to meet us at this address.”