A Hunters Promise by Gwendolyn Cease Page A

came as soon as I could. What happened?”
    “Nothing really,” she said, through tears.
    “Then why are you crying?” he whispered in her ear.
    “I was telling them about what happened to me when I was twelve, that’s all. It’s been so long since I talked about it, and finally, someone believes me.”
    He relaxed a bit when he knew she was safe. The tears were a good thing, he thought. She apparently needed the release the telling of her tale could give her, but he still didn’t want her hurting. The need for her to be safe and happy filled him. He eyed Kenshin and Joelle. The two sat passively watching him and Aislinn. He waited for them to say something, anything, but they chose to be quiet. He thought perhaps it was the smartest thing they could do. The urge to do damage to someone for Aislinn’s hurt still lurked deep inside.
    He held her and breathed her in. As her scent surrounded him, he relaxed further. He still didn’t understand what was going on between he and Aislinn, but chose not to chew on it or pick it apart. All the emotion of the last few days wore on him. All he wanted to do was go back to his room and sleep. He couldn’t remember the last time he actually slept. He’d dozed off and on, but true sleep had eluded him. Maybe with Aislinn by his side, he could rest. He was willing to try.
    “Let’s go,” he murmured to her. “We’ll go back to the room and just relax.”
    “I can’t go now, I’m being interviewed for a job…I think.”
    “Aislinn, you have a place with the PIA if you want one,” Kenshin said. “Why don’t you go with Charon? We can talk more later.”
    “Okay.”
    Charon helped her up and put his arm around her to lead her out of the room.
     
    Joelle held her hand out to Kenshin. “Told you she was his Liaison. Now, pay up. You owe me twenty bucks.”
    Kenshin huffed out a breath. “None of that was absolute proof and I certainly don’t remember betting you twenty.”
    “Oh my gosh, you’re welshing on a bet?” Joelle demanded.
    “I’m not welshing. Nothing we’ve seen says she’d his Lia—”
    “Whatever,” Joelle cut him off. “I don’t know where you were when he came in. But I distinctly heard him say that he felt her pain and came to her. That’s exactly what happened with me and Talon. Aislinn is Charon’s Liaison, for sure. So, pay up.”
    Kenshin dug in his pocket for his wallet. “Fine, but if it turns out she’s not, you’ll owe me forty.”
    She laughed. “Fine, but she is, so don’t plan on how you’ll spend it.”
     
    Charon ushered Aislinn into the bedroom. She was still teary, but the major weeping had subsided. It hurt him to see her upset, but what made it worse was he had no idea why she cried. He knew something tragic had happened to her as a child. He also knew it was the reason she lived at the hospital. But he’d never pried, never tried to find out anything about her. Now, he realized, he should have. Because not knowing put him at a distinct disadvantage when it came to helping her now.
    He guided her over to the large sofa where he spent most of his nights. He often had difficulty sleeping, so he usually turned on the large screen television and pretended to watch until he could force himself to sleep. He sat and pulled her down next to him. She curled up into him, and he wrapped an arm around her. The two of them didn’t speak, but instead just sat in the silence. Charon tilted his head back against the cushions and closed his eyes. Damn, but he was exhausted.
    They sat together in the comfortable silence. Charon knew she was awake, but apparently, like him, she preferred to just sit. That was good by him. He never understood the people who had to fill up silence with inane chatter. It was as if they couldn’t stand to be with their own thoughts. Charon found the silence welcome. It allowed his brain a chance to unplug and get away from all the stimulation. Ancients had more finely tuned senses, and the constant