In the Dark by Melody Taylor

“So
what are our options?” she asked.
    “We might
lay a trap, ambush them as they tried to ambush you. Or I can use
what knowledge I do have of them to attempt to track them. I prefer
that, but if it becomes necessary, a trap will do.”
    Ian shuddered,
radiating revulsion.
    “If this
bothers you Ian, tell me.”
    She shivered
again, and looked out the window, petting her cat absently. It
bothered her. But Sebastian knew that fear for one’s life and a
need for revenge could be powerful silencers.
    “Regardless
of our choice,” he went on, “we will need to wait a few
days so it seems we are in hiding. This will give us time to plan,
and to track, as well as make them less suspicious of a trap.”
    Ian pulled a
little closer around her cat.
    Sebastian sighed
out loud. “Is something on your mind, Ian?”
    “A lot of
things,” she murmured into her cat’s fur.
    That was only
natural. Her youth meant that her emotions still clung to the
surface, intense and harder to control.
    “Such as?”
he prompted.
    “Well, the
obvious,” she said, not looking up at him. “Of course.”
    “Of
course.”
    She missed Kent.
    “And . . .
I’m trying to decide how comfortable I am with your help.”
    “Ah.”
    Sebastian let
her think on that herself. Only she could decide in the end. He could
certainly persuade her of her right to revenge, of the need to stop
these women before greater harm was done. He had convinced many
others.
    But I am
trying to leave that behind. Perhaps I will return to it, but I must
leave it behind to make that decision.
    He turned onto
the highway that would take them back to his home, and she sighed. It
was a loaded sigh that meant she had more to say.
    “Why won’t
you help Josephine?” she murmured.
    Ah. That.
Something else he had expected to hear more about.
    “Why do
you wish me to help her so very much?” he asked.
    Ian gave an
exaggerated shrug. “She just seemed so unhappy. All she wanted
was to be included. I don’t know what that would hurt.”
    “I am not
interested in being responsible for more people. One is more than
enough, and with you I have two.”
    “I don’t
think she wants you to be responsible for her, I think she just wants
you to look into her friend that’s missing. She thinks it might
have some connection to Kent.”
    “It may.”
    A frustrated
burst of air escaped her lips. “Then why won’t you talk
to her? This could be important.”
    “If I need
any information from her, I will contact her.”
    “Why are
you so hung up on avoiding her?”
    The answer came
instantly to mind. Even thinking of Josephine brought up an
uncomfortable feeling he couldn’t quite identify, a fluttering
in his stomach that couldn’t be good. He had trusted his
instincts all his life, and had lived this long because of them. He
did not, however, feel inclined to say anything to Ian. She would not
understand how much he had relied on intuitions and gut feelings.
Because this one felt different from the others presaged danger no
less.
    “I do not
like dealing with people who fear me,” he evaded. Not a lie,
but not the real answer.
    “Does she
have any reason not to be afraid of you?” Ian countered.
    She had a point.
He had spent centuries building a reputation for himself based on
fear. Josephine would have every reason to fear him. It did not
change the fact that something about her made him uncomfortable.
    “That does
not mean I wish to work with her,” he said. “I am looking
into this matter. That is enough.”
    “Maybe if
you gave her a reason not to be afraid, she wouldn’t be. Ever
think of that?” Ian’s voice sounded weary, as well as a
little angry.
    “Yes.”
He had thought of attempting to ease Josephine’s discomfort
around him and dismissed it. Not only was such effort a waste of
time, it would not help the nameless suspicion he held of her.
    Ian made a small
noise. “Then why don’t you? What harm is it gonna do?”
    He sighed. If
she refused to