The Company of Darkness (19 page)

“Which I want to spend with you.”  She left the chair to stand before him, fingers brushing against the hair falling across the top of his ear.  He needed a trim.  “Don’t make decisions for me, ask me about them and we’ll figure this thing out together.”

Ethan crumpled under her touch, shoulders slumping, spine bowed in defeat.  “Don’t you get it?  I’m not me anymore, and I don’t think I could take it if I hurt you.  If I let him hurt you.”

“You won’t.  He’s bound, remember?  You’re in control.”  Mostly, anyway.  And she could deal with a few creepy moments until he got Ash removed. 

He turned an anguished face up to her.  “But I can almost hear him sometimes.  You know when those times are?  When I’m next to you.  Even now, I can feel how excited he is.”  He picked up her hand.  “How much he craves your touch.”

Cady resisted the urge to snatch her hand away, resting it against his cheek.  “I know you can control this, Ethan.  You’ve spent years fighting demons, don’t let him win.”

“The only way he doesn’t win is if I deprive him of what he wants the most.  And that’s you.”

“Okay then, stay here for what, another week at most?  Then go get him removed and come back home where you belong.  I don’t understand why this has to be the end.”

“I know you don’t, and I’m sorry.”  He sounded so resolved, but what scared her the most was that he wouldn’t meet her gaze. 

“Don’t do this, Ethan, I love you.”

“And I love you.  That’s why it has to be this way.”  He looked up then, and she wished he hadn’t.  His eyes were cold and detached, and that’s when she felt the prick of the needle at her neck.  Cady barely had time to squeak before the drug took effect and the room dipped and swayed crazily.  Ethan’s strong arms caught her before she hit the floor and gently eased her down. 

“Wha…” It came out as more of a sound than a word as she fought for consciousness, but Ethan understood the question well enough.

“I told you, Cady.  I’m ending this, one way or another.”   

The last thing she saw was the remote stare of his cornflower blue eyes, utterly devoid of emotion. 

Cady awoke to the sound of
S&M
by Rihanna, but it stopped before she could figure out where it came from.  Her foggy brain had trouble puzzling through
anything
at first, except for the fact that the sunlight streaming through the open blinds hurt like a motherfucker.  Pulling the comforter over her head, she turned over, away from the offensive light only to roll face first into something hard and plastic. 

No biggie, she nudged it aside with her nose and settled into downy comfort again.  Until the devil machine rang again, this time not two inches from her face, Rihanna slicing into her eardrums at full volume.  A string of curses ripped through her head, but all that made it to her lips was a long, guttural groan as she struggled to shut it off, hitting button after button before she got it right and silenced the damn thing. 

Peering at the display under the cocoon of blankets, she noted at first that it was after nine a.m. and second, that she had three other missed calls.  Three missed calls?  Why would anyone try so hard to… all at once it came to her with a surge of adrenalin – she was over an hour late to work already.  Why hadn’t Ian woken her? 

The idea to call in sick didn’t hit until she was halfway up and on the way to her closet, the throbbing headache would’ve even made it the truth.  But Cady doggedly pulled on her clothes, determined not to let her personal drama screw up her job any more than it already was.  Without time to shower, a quick wash of the face managed to chase away some of the cobwebs, but Cady could tell she wasn’t running on all four cylinders yet. 

The physical activity of running for the bus and adrenaline of having to listen through a lecture on punctuality chased away the rest of the zombie-like trance she’d woken up to.  But as soon as things settled down, the throb of headache returned with a vengeance.  Whatever drugs Ethan had pumped her up with had left her with one hell of a hangover without getting to enjoy the party. 

She drifted through the rest of the morning on autopilot, and it wasn’t until she ate something at lunch that Cady started to really feel like herself again.  Of course with that self awareness came the inevitable questions.  Why had Ethan resorted to drugging her?  Why hadn’t he just run away if he was so set on leaving her behind?  Why was he being so stubborn about leaving in the first place?  And the big one – now that she’d demonstrated how easy it was to find him, where would he take off to now? 

These thoughts plagued her all afternoon, and on the way home.  In fact, she was so wrapped up in her own thoughts, that she didn’t notice the man following her until he turned into the apartment building, hot on her heels and she caught a flash of a badge out of the corner of her eye. 

Detective Lucas. 
Awesomesauce
, just what she needed now. 

She stepped up to the elevator without even bothering to turn around, not wanting to deal with his stupid questions.  “Really not in the mood for this today, Lucas,” she muttered as the doors slid open.  All of a sudden her arm twisted painfully behind her back as she was shoved forward, into the elevator car. 

“I’m not either, but here we are,” Rikard said near her ear, pushing the button for the fifth floor while he held her easily in place with the other hand. 

“Let me go…” Cady wriggled as best she could, but all it did was send pain shooting up her arm and brought his other elbow to rest on the back of her neck, shoving her face against the dirty wall. 

“Not until we have a nice chat,” he said easily, not even out of breath as she struggled against him. 

“I’ll scream.”

“Go ahead, yell your fucking head off.  And when your brother comes running, I’ll give him a special greeting, shall I?”

Cady didn’t have to see the gun pressed to her temple to recognize the feel of the cold barrel against her skin, and she bit her lip against the whimper that escaped.  “Okay, okay,” she said hurriedly.  “But what are you going to do with my brother when we get into the apartment anyway?”  

“If you cooperate, then he just takes a little nap, that’s all.  He’ll wake up no worse for wear.” 

“And what about me?  Will I get through this no worse for wear?”

“That all depends on how well you cooperate.”  The elevator dinged, and he urged her forward, knocking away her hand when she reached for her key with her free hand.  “Ah, ah, ah, none of that.  Put your hand on top of your head, that’s a good girl.  I’ll get this myself.”

Cady winced as he pressed her up against the door, reaching into her purse blindly until he came up with her keys and unlocked the deadbolt and the regular lock. 

“Now nice and easy, we’re going inside.  Don’t make a sound.”

Darting one last look to the disappearing freedom of the hallway as he shut the door behind them, Cady suppressed a shudder as she found herself behind closed doors with a dangerous killer.  “What do you want?” she demanded, hating the way her voice wavered.

“I said don’t make a sound,” he growled and she stifled a whimper as he spun her around in his grasp, his face looming large before her.  “First things first.” 

Before she could so much as nod, he swept her feet out from under her, surprisingly gentle as he cradled her body so that it didn’t hit upon impact, easing her to the floor.  Quick as lightning, a black tie wrap flashed, securing her wrists in front of her with a snick and then another around her ankles.  Cady didn’t have to test them to know there was absolutely no slack. 

Trying not to worry about why he wanted her on the ground trussed up like a Christmas goose, she strained her ears, trying to tell if Ian was home.  The gun reappeared in his hand, and she bit her bottom lip until she saw stars to keep from crying out as his hand stroked the hair away from her brow. 

“Shh,” he whispered, leaning close.  “I’m going to go clear the apartment and you’re going to want to stay put.” 

Not freaking likely.
  Cady was pretty sure she could get up and hop her way out of there from the way he had her legs hobbled, and she knew she could get the door opened with her hands tied in front of her.  Almost as if he read her mind, Rikard picked up one of the bar stools and set it across her neck and chest. 

“If I so much as hear the stool scrape once, I’ll shoot first and ask questions later, we clear?”

Her lips pressed into a mutinous line, but she gave him a curt nod. 

“Good girl,” he said with a lopsided grin.  The bastard looked like he was enjoying this.  He disappeared into her bedroom first and Cady experimented with wriggling out from under the stool, but she didn’t have much play before she risked it moving.  She was also pretty sure he’d easily catch her if she knocked it aside to make a break for it.  In a couple of minutes he appeared again, giving her an approving nod before heading into the bathroom and then finally Ian’s room, where he took more time. 

When he emerged, Rikard wore an easy smile – and Cady couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.  “Now then, we can get down to business,” he reported, tucking the gun away and lifting the stool from her throat.  Lifting her by the wrist with one hand, he settled her onto the stool instead of under it. 

It was hard to keep her balance with her ankles bound, and he seemed to realize that quickly enough and produced a knife, cutting her free with a quick swipe.  Cady lifted her hands to be freed as well, but he already had the knife halfway to his pocket.  Her eyes narrowed to murderous slits as she tried to gauge how far she could get with a well placed kick to the stones.  Not far enough, she decided. 

To her surprise, Rikard walked away, heading for the kitchen where he opened random cupboards until he came up with a small stoneware bowl, setting it on the breakfast bar.  “You didn’t have to tie me up to raid my pantry.  You can have all the Tasty O’s you want.  I’ve even got some Cap’n Crunch hidden behind the instant mashed potatoes.”

“I’m not interested in your food,” he snorted. 

“What do you want then?”

“The same thing I’ve always wanted, answers.”

“Have you tried Google?” she quipped, but he didn’t especially appreciate the joke.

“Don’t sass me,” he frowned, drawing out the stub of a pencil from his pocket.  “Now be quiet for a minute or I’ll have to gag you.” 

“I won’t be able to give you any answers if I’m gagged.”  He fixed her with a piercing stare and she flinched at the menace she found there.  “Okay, okay, I’ll be quiet.”  Mashing her lips together for effect, she fell silent.  Whatever he was up to, it wasn’t the torture she’d been expecting.  Or what had Ethan said about that?  They wouldn’t need to torture her, they had other resources at their disposal to make her talk.  The unease ratcheted up a notch as she watched him scribble on a piece of paper, his lips moving, though he didn’t make a sound. 

The flick of a lighter drew her attention as he brought the flame to the corner of the paper, holding it over the bowl as it was consumed, still speaking the hidden words.  Cady felt the change in the air when the spell was complete, though she had no idea what it did.  She didn’t feel any different. 

Rikard brought the bowl over.  Standing right in front of her, he dipped a thumb into the ashy mixture in the bottom of the bowl and reached for her forehead.  “Hold still now.” 

“What is that?”

“A little something to loosen the tongue.  Don’t worry, it won’t hurt.”

“Like you care,” she snorted, and his hand hovered in the air between them as he frowned down at her. 

“Believe it or not, I’m not the enemy you’ve painted me out to be.” 

“Oh, come on.”  Cady only barely suppressed an eye-roll.  “I’m not falling for good cop at this point, not after you’ve been dogging my tail this whole time.”

“And what did I do with that then, eh?”  A touch of an accent bled through, though she couldn’t quite place it.  British maybe?  Strange, since he’d never spoken with an accent before.  But in the next sentence it was gone.  “Have you had the Company on your doorstep until now?  No.  I bought you all the time I could, but it’s not up to me anymore.”

“What’s not?  Why are you doing this?”

“Shhh, hold still now, there’s a good girl.”  He smeared the ash across her forehead in a pattern she couldn’t figure out, but she did recognize one of the words from his lips –
veritas
, which meant truth.  Brushing the ash off on the leg of his jeans, he produced a small digital recorder, setting it on the counter next to the bowl and clicking it on. 

Shit
.  What was she going to do now? 

“Now, let’s start at the beginning.  What is your relationship with Ethan Shaw?”

Despite his utter conviction, Cady felt no compulsion to tell him the truth, or even to answer him at all.  Still, it was worth trying out and she licked her lips, venturing a simple dodge.  “Who?”

Rikard’s brows drew together into a single dark line, as that was clearly not what he expected to hear at all.  “You have to answer me.”

Confidence soaring, it was hard to keep the triumphant look from her face.  “I did, I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“No… you can’t lie to me, you’re compelled to answer truthfully.”

“I seriously don’t know who you’re talking about.  Maybe you have the wrong person?”

“We both know that’s not true,” he glowered, but Cady only gave him a serene smile, enjoying his loss of composure.  “Fine, then we’ll try this again.  I’ve got all the time in the world.”

Twice more he tenaciously went through the steps of the spell, burning the paper, smearing the ash on her forehead, the last time clearly enunciating each word out loud.  Cady still felt no compulsion to answer him honestly, not one bit. 

Finally, he perched on the back of the couch, staring at her, completely dumbstruck.  “What are you?”

“I don’t know what you mean.  I’m a girl,” she replied honestly enough.

“Did he do something to you?  Is that why you’re able to resist the spell, or is it something else about you?”

“Spell?  Are you mixing medications?  Do you want to maybe rest for a few minutes?  You look upset.”  Her unexpected triumph made her glib and somewhat reckless, and Rikard, she could tell, wasn’t used to defeat.  With a snarl he turned off the recorder, the knife flicking open like an extension of his hand and Cady flinched away as he came toward her.  “I-I’m sorry…” she stammered, but all he did was cut her wrists free. 

Rubbing the deep furrow the plastic cut into her delicate flesh, she wasn’t quite sure what to think.  “So, you’re dropping this?  You’re letting me go?” 

Rikard slipped his hand under her hair to cradle her face, his expression one of regret.  “I’m sorry, Cady.  You leave me with no choice.” 

His thumb brushed over the top of her cheek as she stared back at him, the unease creeping back at the intimate touch.  Where had that tenderness come from?  And then his hold shifted to the soft spots on her throat, cutting off the air supply and blood flow with steady, unshakable pressure. 

“Wait!” was all she could choke out, in more of a hiss than a word, her eyes bulging with panic as she fought to shake him off.   

“I’m sorry, Cady.  I really am.” 

She struggled for all she was worth, nails digging into his skin until they slipped, slick with blood, but all that got her was a grunt of pain from him.  His arms were like bands of iron, unmovable, slowly choking the life from her body until everything went black.