Darkness Bound (8 page)

“I believe they want to control us, all of us, including the humans,” Niles answered. “They want to have this island all to themselves.”

Without warning a tiny silver-gray cat streaked toward Rose’s body and prepared to attack Niles. It rose to its hind legs and spread long claws like curved needles. Niles looked into violet eyes that radiated a warning. He wasn’t
fool enough to dismiss this cat because it was little bigger than a guinea pig.

“Skillywidden! Stop!” Sally called from where she stood near the bushes.

This was only the second time Sally, who worked with Cliff at Gabriel’s, had acknowledged her fae identity to Niles. The first was when she told him about Leigh’s existence.

Leaning against Niles’s immovable shoulder, Sally knelt beside Rose and lifted matted hair out of the woman’s discolored face. Bending over the dead body, Sally sniffed Rose’s mouth. “It’s a poison,” she said. “A poison of the blood.”

The cat’s eyes narrowed to slits and it backed off, looking from one to the other of the hounds. She sidled up to Sean and rubbed against his legs. “She’s looking for a sympathetic friend,” he said, laughing, and the cat instantly slunk away to hide herself in the folds of Sally’s purple robes.

“What kind of poison?” Niles asked. He could communicate with the fae while he was a hound, something impossible with humans other than those with paranormal gifts.

“A poison of incompatibility,” the woman said. “Rose was given blood she couldn’t tolerate. This will happen again—the wolves are using humans to experiment.”

“We’ve got to warn everyone,” Ethan said.

“We’ve got to be smarter than Brande,” Sally said. “Panic would play into his hands. Those who have returned without harm must be watched but not yet alerted to what we know. Am I right, Niles?”

He nodded. “Yes, absolutely right. But Rose’s body should be found, to make people more cautious.”

“That depends,” Sally said, and there was no mistaking the sadness in her eyes. She stood and produced a sheet of sparkling gossamer, which she spread over Rose’s body. Sally bowed her head. “Go away now, all of you. You’re finished here. Don’t say anything unless someone else tells you Rose is dead. Now go, and protect the vulnerable. There could be more like Rose before this is over.”

Niles wanted to ask about the vampire but Sally and Rose had disappeared.

Y
ESTERDAY HAD BEEN ROUGH.
Leigh had hoped Niles would come by last night, or call to ask her how she had made out the rest of the day at Gabriel’s maybe. He had done neither and there had been no sign of him this morning.

It shouldn’t matter whether he came by or called.

One of the twins, she thought it was Cuss, knocked and put himself halfway into the office. “Molly says you’re wanted out front,” he said, looking edgy.

“Did she say why?”

He swallowed. “Nope. But she’s in one of her… moods.”

Leigh didn’t like being ordered to do anything but she disliked confrontation more. “I’ll be right there,” she said.

When Molly saw Leigh coming she pointed to a table in the bar as if she were giving an order to a dog.

Leigh muttered, “Down, boy… Over there, boy—” under her breath as she followed the other women.

Molly and Gabriel were close. They couldn’t get any
closer. Leigh knew this because Molly had told her—several times.

And now it looked as if Molly, who implied by her behavior that she was the joint owner and boss at Gabriel’s Place, had decided it was time to put Leigh in her place.

“It’s best not to let Gabe know we’ve talked,” Molly said. “He gets upset easily and he doesn’t need it.” Her dark hair, pulled into a tail that cascaded from the top of her head, also fell in ringlets around her pretty face and neck.

“You’re right,” Leigh said, walking behind Molly to a table in a far corner of the bar. By this time, early afternoon on a Sunday, the place was supposed to hit a quiet time but not today. Things were hopping.

Molly sat, wriggled herself into a comfy position, and locked her hands behind her head. She took a very deep, flexing breath.
My, oh, my
was Leigh’s immediate thought.

She was tall, even taller in very high-heeled, Christian Laboutin shoes, maneuvered to showcase their red undersides. If there had been anything but Molly under her stretchy white blouse and pants, Leigh would have seen it. Molly was, as someone had written somewhere: broad where a broad should be broad. But with a tiny waist and long, shapely legs.

Molly snapped her fingers and Twin Cuss hurried to her side. “Yes, Molly.”

The boy didn’t seem to know which bit of Molly to concentrate on and Leigh smiled.

“Coffee,” Molly said. “A shot of Bookers in mine.”

Waste of a good bourbon.
“I’ll take my coffee straight,” Leigh said, but the boy was too diverted to acknowledge her.

“Now,” Molly said when Cuss had left. “I was off when
you started or we’d have had this talk earlier. You need to understand I make all the decisions when Gabriel’s not around. And he defers to me if he is.”

“Mmm.” Leigh nodded and managed her best, wide-eyed look of respect. Gabriel needed protection from this one, not that it was Leigh’s responsibility.

“Sunday’s fairly quiet so I thought this would be a good time for us to talk.”

“Mmm.” Leigh looked pointedly around the rowdy room but Molly didn’t seem to notice.

“I’ve been getting complaints,” she said.

Leigh managed to brighten up a few more watts in her eyes. “Really? Gabriel’s not happy with my work? I’ve straightened a lot out already. You’ve only got to look at the office—”

Music suddenly blared from the multiple speakers hidden in the rafters and within minutes people leaped to the small floor in the bar to dance.

“I’m not talking about the office,” Molly said loudly, her full lips tight with annoyance. “It’s when you take over out here for a few minutes or deal with the vendors that’s the problem.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,
really
. We’re building a tight community here with Gabe and Molly at the center. That means we’re all friends. Friends don’t make friends feel like shit.”

Leigh was really starting to enjoy her job. Offbeat situations suited her. But she wouldn’t be taking any crap from Ms. Molly.

“Would you amplify that?” Leigh said.

Molly screwed up her eyes. “Friends treat friends like friends,” she yelled.

Wincing, Leigh shook a hand in front of her face. “Sorry, I should have said,
clarify
. I meant I need you to explain this in simpler terms.” She made an arc in the air. “Be more obvious. You won’t hurt my feelings.”

“You’ve been demanding payment from some of our oldest customers. If they’re used to running a tab, that’s the way it’s going to be. Got it?”

Leigh managed her best “I’m stupid” face.

“You are not to make people feel bad if they don’t have the money to pay,” Molly said slowly, dragging out each word.

“Oh! Oh, I never would. It’s only the ones
with
the money and who don’t want to pay,” she said. “Have you noticed some folks never want to pay and we’re a bit tight on funds around here?”

Molly played with a ringlet. “I don’t have to worry myself with things like that. You know we do a good business. But we’ll lose it if you make people stay away.”

“I’m rarely in the restaurant or bar,” Leigh said carefully. She was at war. On one hand she wanted to say she didn’t need this job, then walk out. On the other hand she struggled with a sense of loyalty to Gabriel, who had been so nice to her.

Then there was Niles, who was pinning his hopes on Leigh changing things for Gabriel. Leigh liked the idea of Niles being happy—and of her being part of the reason.

And she was making friends. After keeping to herself for so long, she was starting to live again.

Leigh thought about Niles, not that he was being anything other than a good neighbor to her. But he had made her feel different, as if a little spark she never expected to know again had been struck.

Her breath caught. There was more than a neighborly feeling. Maybe for him as well—she had seen it in the way he looked at her.

“Then there’s the vendors,” Molly snapped. “Simon’s been providing wine and incidentals since we opened. He gives us good deals already—”

“Simon seems like a very accommodating vendor, but as part of my job I checked the comps with other dealers and—”

“You told him you want a better deal. We won’t get our supplies cheaper from anyone else. They’ll promise anything to get the business but when the bills come in there’ll be this and that added afterward.”

“How do you know?”

“Simon told me and I trust him.”

Leigh nodded. She couldn’t figure out if Molly was an airhead or being deliberately obtuse because it made her life easier. This conversation would go nowhere. Twin Cuss had delivered the coffee and Leigh could smell the spirits in Molly’s mug.

The music got suddenly ear-splitting and even more people poured onto the minuscule floor to squish into the crush. Whoops went up and Leigh smiled. It sounded as if they were holding an indoor rodeo.

“You see what I mean?” Molly shouted. “We’ve got ways of doing things around here and people like to know what to expect.”

“Oh, yes, they do. That works the best for everyone.” Leigh started to look around, somewhat desperately, for Gabriel.

Molly took several long gulps from her mug.

Leigh’s prayer was answered. Gabriel walked through
the front doors with Niles—Niles and the gigantic blue-black dog.

“Ugh,” Molly said. “Gabriel shouldn’t let that thing in here.”

“Niles is a nice man,” Leigh said.

“He’s a hunk. But I meant the dog. Nasty piece of work if you ask me. Just sits there and stares. Shouldn’t be allowed.”

“Dogs always come into the bar,” Leigh pointed out. “My Jazzy’s in the back.”

Molly looked as if she would like to say something unpleasant about poor little Jazzy. Instead she plastered on a prim smile. “Jazzy’s different. That’s the size a dog should be and he doesn’t come out here.”

Leigh made no comment.

Niles saw Leigh and came to her side with Blue at his heel. “Hi, lady,” he said. His Adam’s apple jerked when he spoke and Leigh had the extraordinary impression that he might be nervous around her. Or just very aware? He didn’t even glance at Molly, who gave off waves of petulance.

“Hey,” Leigh said. “How’s everything going?”

“Good,” he said. “Good. I thought it was time I introduced my dog properly since he likes to hang out around your place.” He went down on one knee with the dog between them.

Niles had talked about looking out for Blue but not about the dog belonging to him, but she was glad. Any dog-friend of Niles could be a dog-friend of hers.

“He’s a love,” Leigh said diplomatically and managed to scratch Blue between the ears without flinching. With her sitting down, the dog was as tall as she was.

Blue turned his big head to look into her face. Then, without warning, he licked her from chin to forehead and rested his head on her arm.

“That’s enough,” Niles snapped, glaring into the dog’s face.

“Leave him,” Leigh said. Dogs always had an inside track with her. “He’s a sweetheart.” She felt as if Niles was physically very close to her—which he was. “You’d better watch out or I’ll steal Blue from you.” Even kneeling the man was so much taller than she.

That appealed to her.

“He’d probably eat Jazzy,” Molly said, scowling at Niles, who still had not spoken to her.

“Blue likes Jazzy,” Leigh said, goaded on by Molly’s obvious dislike of animals. “They hang out together.” She tightened the muscles in her jaw and draped an arm as far across Blue’s neck as it would go.

That’s when she glanced up at Niles, who was giving his dog an interesting stare. He seemed annoyed, but she must be wrong.

He caught Leigh’s eyes briefly and rested an arm on hers to tweak one of Blue’s ears.

Awkwardness made her want to withdraw her arm. Niles’s weight and warmth kept her right where she was.

Molly got up and plastered herself against Gabriel, who kissed her forehead and gave her an appreciative once over.

“I made arrangements for you to go up into Langley about the sign, Leigh,” Gabriel said, pecking Molly on the lips but avoiding what promised to be a long, passionate smooch. “Do you think you could do that this afternoon? Niles said he’ll drive you.”

“I’ll be able to find it myself,” she said at once and without thinking. “I mean, I don’t want to put Niles out like that.”

“I’m going up that way on business,” Niles said, looking at her again. “We’re pretty green around here. We save resources where we can.”

Short of telling him she was into gas guzzling and waste, there wasn’t much she could say. “When are you going?” she asked. “Jazzy’s due for an outing first.”