Redemption (25 page)

“Wait,” Cassidy began, shaking her head, “he came to talk to you about a dream his girlfriend had? What am I missing here?”

Bryan smiled. It always managed to throw her off for a few seconds, that smile. Cassidy caught her breath and focused on what he was saying.

“Miranda, well, she has this ability,” he explained. “A lot of the time, when she dreams something, it predicts what will happen. I’m guessing she’s gotten better at it now, because she can tell with certainty that it’s about me.”

Putting Miranda and Bryan together in any way remotely intimate was unpleasant. Cassidy didn’t like the idea of Miranda dreaming about Bryan. And she found it weird that Derek was talking to him about it! She tried to mask the jealousy she felt rising inside. Too often, she’d been told that it was easy to read whatever she was feeling simply by looking at her facial expressions.

“What exactly is she dreaming about you?” She sounded cool, detached. Beside, it was possible that Derek came to talk to Bryan because
he
was unhappy about it, too.

“Something terrible is out to get me, or crap like that,” Bryan said dismissively. “She’s always so dramatic about it.”

Cassidy hadn’t expected that response. She drank a bit of her martini before replying to him. Several times, Luscid had told her that some big, bad evil thing was attached to Bryan. Was Miranda picking up on this in her dreams? If so, what exactly was she seeing?

Note to self: ask tomorrow at the bookstore.

“Maybe you
should
listen,” Cassidy suggested. “She might be onto something.” She quickly followed her statement with a drink from her glass.

“I suppose you could be right.” Bryan shook his head. “Let’s not talk about her or her dreams anymore.” He downed the remainder of his drink and leaned back, searching for the waiter. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate Derek’s
concern
, but what I do, where I go, and who I’m with...no one’s business.” Having made eye contact, he nodded to call the waiter over.

“Hmmm.” Cassidy looked around. “I like it here; thanks for bringing me.”

“Not feeling out of place anymore?” Bryan teased.

She shook her head. “Nope.”

“I bet it’s the martini talking.”

Cassidy laughed and pinched her fingers together. “A bit.”

“Yes, sir,” the waiter began. “Another round?”

Bryan nodded. “Thanks.”

“I’m not quite done,” Cassidy protested, but Bryan ignored her.

Instead he shook his head and sent the waiter away. “You need to step it up, kid.”

Cassidy scowled at him and leaned forward on both arms. “You know,” she began, “sometimes you’re insufferable.”

“So I’ve been told,” Bryan said, laughing. “Finish that thing, will you?”

Slowly, Cassidy picked up her glass, tipped it to her lips, and took the tiniest of sips. She lowered it to the table, folded her hands, and smiled.

“Now who’s insufferable?” Bryan asked.

 

Mara stood in the shadows again, watching Bryan interact with the mortal. This girl was good. Hidden beneath that goody-two-shoes exterior prowled a vixen just waiting for the right time to make her move. She gave the clothes a once-over. Not bad. The girl showed enough skin to make Bryan’s pulse race and keep him interested. A few more of those martinis, and she might give in to whatever he wanted.

That wouldn’t be a good thing. He was growing more interested in the mortal. Mara clenched her teeth and made a fist. She studied him, taking note of the way his eyes watched every move of Cassidy’s. Nothing escaped his attention. If the girl looked uncomfortable, he looked concerned. If she flipped her hair, he smiled. If she touched her glass, his eyes lingered on her hands. What power did this mortal wield over him? There had to be something. No one ever broke free of Mara’s charms, yet somehow this woman had found a way to sever the hold that Mara had on Bryan.

A surge of energy signaled that someone had approached her. Mara turned to glance over her shoulder. The conflicting feelings inside her were confusing. There was only one thing she should feel in his presence.

“Hello, Bastion,” she said, returning her attention to Bryan.

He walked forward to stand beside her. “Whatever you’re planning to do, it will fail,” Bastion said confidently as he folded his arms across his chest.

The movement caused his coat to swing open, revealing the dagger he wore on his hip. Mara recognized it, and she knew exactly how good he was at using it. Once, they’d fought side by side. She pushed the memory from her mind.

“I don’t fail,” she stated, trying to sound more sure of herself than she truly was.

“You can’t beat her,” Bastion began. “She’s too strong for you.”

Mara stiffened. “No mortal is stronger than I am,” she said indignantly.

“This one is stronger than even she realizes.”

The temperature cooled around them as Mara’s anger grew. “It won’t make a difference, Bastion. I want him.”

He turned to face her, pity in his eyes. “This will end badly for you, and when it does, remember that it’s what you chose. Everything could have been different, Mara, but it’s too late for any of that now.”

“Bryan is mine. Not you, Luscid, or that little blonde can do anything to take him from me. Stay out of my way, Bastion. This is the last time I’m going to warn you.” Mara’s eyes blazed red.

“No, Mara,” he asserted, voice calm and even. “This is the last time
I’m
going to warn
you.
Return to Lucifer and tell him that he’s lost Bryan, too. If you don’t, you will be destroyed. If not by us, definitely by her.” Bastion nodded in Cassidy’s direction. He’d been watching her. She was different from the others in the Circle. Bastion found Luscid across the room and shot him a look of ‘we-need-to-talk’. A curt nod was the only reply.

Mara shrieked in frustration before vanishing. Its sound would have made every mortal in the room run for their very lives, if they’d been able to hear it. Only one of them heard. And as the echo of Mara’s cry faded, Cassidy turned and looked directly at Bastion. He wasn’t sure what made her different, he only knew that he needed to find out.

C
assidy saw Bastion standing in the room. In fact, he’d been there the whole time, talking to someone or something she wasn’t able to see clearly. Though she tried, whatever it was had cloaked itself well. Its silhouette was curvy and shapely and distinctly female. Who was Bastion talking to?

The unearthly shriek she’d heard just minutes ago still chilled her blood. Whoever had made that sound was filled with more rage and anguish than she’d ever imagined a being could withstand. Luscid was also nearby, and the look on his face was one that she’d grown accustomed to seeing whenever he felt she was dancing too close to the line of safety for his liking.

Which she did. Often.

It wasn’t that she enjoyed tormenting him or that she was reckless or that she took him for granted. There was just something in her nature that pulled her toward that line. It attracted her to men who were dangerous, completely wrong for her, and in need of fixing. Not that Bryan necessarily fit that description in its entirety. Well, not on his own, anyway. Seeing Luscid watching her, scanning the room, his hand ready to draw his weapon at a moment’s notice, made her wonder what was so different this time around.

“What’s wrong?” Bryan asked, head tilted. He noticed the change in her expression, the way her entire body had gone rigid. It was almost as though something scared her. She turned to face him but didn’t answer. “Cass? What is it?”

“It’s nothing,” she said, putting a hand to her forehead. “I think I’m just a little lightheaded from these martinis.”

“You didn’t look lightheaded. It was something else,” Bryan said, searching her face for answers.

Luscid shook his head indicating that she should keep quiet about what she’d heard. She hated being less-than-honest with him, but Bryan’s earlier reaction in the church reminded her that he wasn’t ready for the whole truth yet.

“Really, Bryan. It’s just the drinks,” Cassidy paused. “Maybe you should just take me home.”

“If that’s what you want.” He was skeptical. She was keeping something from him. Bryan waved over the waiter, asked for the check, and in a short while they were in the Jeep, driving in the direction of home.

Cassidy was quiet as she stared out the window. The shriek from the bar haunted her thoughts. Put that together with the smoky form she encountered in the library, and the day was ending on a very eerie note.

She looked over at Bryan who seemed a bit too focused on the road and on avoiding her. She knew that he’d figured out her martini excuse was a fake and that it hurt him. The night wasn’t turning out to be what she’d expected. He had one hand on the steering wheel, and the other laying open, palm up, on the center console. On impulse, Cassidy reached over and placed her hand in his. She wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do, but she wanted him to believe that everything was okay, even if she wasn’t sure if that was true. She wanted him to know that whatever was wrong had nothing to do with anything he’d done to her. When his fingers closed and intertwined with hers, she smiled. Whatever it meant to him, she knew she felt better with his hand wrapped around her own.

Bryan parked in the driveway and shifted in his seat. “Well,” he said, “here we are.”

“It appears so,” Cassidy agreed. “Thanks, I had fun.”

“Good,” he said with a quick nod.

Bryan met her eyes and felt the stone around his neck grow warmer. He wasn’t sure why, but the sensation made him feel lighter, even better. His heart beat a little faster, and his palms were suddenly sweating. How old was he? Fifteen? Being near a woman hadn’t made him nervous in decades. He faintly heard a noise and recognized it as her voice. She was talking to him, and he had to find a way to focus on the words quickly.

“I’m going in to the store tomorrow morning. The M-word wants to do some sort of training with me, but if you’re bored later on, call me. Carrie and Nick have to meet with the pastor, so they’ll be busy. I have my final fitting for the bridesmaid’s dress, but other than that,” she leaned closer, “completely available.” The martinis had gone to her head. Now she was flirting outright. This couldn’t end well.

Bryan smirked at Cassidy’s refusal to say Miranda’s name. “All right. I want to check out the church again,” he began. “Feel it out for the big day. I’ll go with you to the fitting if you come to the church with me.” He raised his eyebrows. “Safety in numbers?”

“Okay.” Cassidy smiled. “Tomorrow it is.”

Bryan saw her move toward him. He knew that she intended to give him a friendly kiss on the cheek, knew but wanted more. At the last moment, he turned his head and their lips met. A small gasp of surprise escaped her, but before she could pull away, Bryan reached for her, threading his fingers through her hair. Their eyes locked, and leaning toward her, he kissed her again.

This time, she didn’t move away.

Kissing her was sweeter than than anything he’d experienced. Cassidy wrapped her arms around him and returned the passion he felt. Whether he imagined it, or it was because of the martinis, or it was real, Bryan didn’t care and didn’t want to know. He could keep this moment with her in his heart; and when the inevitable happened and he returned to the loneliness of his life, he’d recall this kiss. This most perfect kiss with the one woman he was certain he could never have for his own but wanted more desperately than anyone he’d ever known.

He pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers, his eyes closed. What if he opened them to find it had only been a dream? Something fabricated by his mind? His heart couldn’t take a hit like that.

“Hey.” Her voice was soft, gentle. “You okay?”

Bryan nodded. He was far from okay, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Well, then,” Cassidy began, “I suppose I’ll hear from you tomorrow. I really did have a great time, thanks.”

She reached for the door handle, and he put his hand on her arm to stop her.

Cassidy waited. He looked like he wanted to say something, only the words wouldn’t come. Clearly, he was struggling and in need of a way out, and she wasn’t sure what would help him. She knew that Bryan still hadn’t dealt with his own personal demons, and whatever he was struggling with right now was clearly twisting him up inside. They sat staring at one another for what seemed much longer than the few minutes it was in reality.

“Bryan?” she asked.

“I can’t do this,” he finally said.

“Do what?” Cassidy settled into the seat and studied him. “What is this about?”

“Cass,” he began, “I’m not being completely honest with you.”

Her heart thumped a beat in her chest and then felt like it stopped. “Explain.”

Bryan closed his eyes again, as if in pain. “I shouldn’t be saying this. I’d probably be the worst thing you ever let into your life.” He wouldn’t look at her. “But the thing is, Cass, in your life is where I want to be.”

Cassidy gasped, she couldn’t help herself.