The Company of Darkness by Lisa Olsen Page A

first place.”  Back to the window frame, he swung his legs over to the fire escape, but she caught him before he could run away. 
    “I’m glad you did.  I missed you something awful.”
    “Me too.”  He couldn’t deny that, despite the confusion the night had brought.  “I’ll call you later.”
    “Not if I call you first.”  Cady leaned in and stole a kiss.  “Love you,” she smiled on the way back. 
    Ethan felt a surge of elation at the easy admission of love and he reached up to touch her face.  “I love you too, Cady.  Come what may.”  He only hoped that whatever he felt was fleeting and he’d be more in control the next time he saw her.  “Hey, don’t forget to cover your mirror tonight,” he added as an afterthought, his eyes lighting upon her dressing table.
    “Why?”
    He could see the touch of fear behind her eyes and hated himself for putting it there, but better to be safe than sorry.  “Just in case.  Will you do that for me?”
    “Of course.  I’d do anything for you.”
    That’s what scared him the most.  What if he wasn’t himself anymore?
     

Chapter Ten
     
    “Guess what?”
    Cady glanced up from her position on the couch where she had a library book propped up on her knees.  Ian was clearly busting a nut to tell her something, but too dorky to come right out and say so.  “You’re finally ready to admit your addiction to porn?  Masturbation is a healthy expression of sexual energy, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy finding your copy of Indiana Bone in the DVD player, you know.”
    “What?  No, I…” Clearly flustered by her response, he snatched the book out of her hands to force her to pay attention.  “Ask me how my day went.”
    “How did your day go, brother dearest?” she responded with a saccharine smile. 
    “Well, I’ll tell you, because you asked so nicely,” he smirked back.  “An interesting thing happened to me on the way back from the store.”
    “What’s that?” 
    “I got a job.”
    “You already have a job, genius.”
    “No, a real job, just like you.”
    “You’re going to be a receptionist?”
    “No, smartass, I’m not going to be a sucky receptionist.”  He fixed her with a withering stare and she sat up higher. 
    “And this job just landed in your lap?  Were they giving them out in the parking lot out of the back of a van?”
    His annoyance grew more pronounced.  “I’ve been applying around for a while now, if you must know.  I couldn’t let my baby sister show me up, could I?”
    “ I wouldn’t want to, but I didn’t want rub your face in it or anything,” she smiled sweetly.  The details were still fuzzy, but it sounded like Ian was really stoked about the opportunity, whatever it was.  She rolled over the back of the couch, going for her cell phone on the breakfast bar.  “Well then, we should order real pizza to celebrate and you can tell me all about it.”
    “Screw that, we can afford to go to the Olive Garden if we want to.”
    The job was that good, was it?  “Can I get mozzarella sticks?”
    “Whatever my Cady-bear wants,” he grinned, picking her up and swinging her around in a big hug until she giggled like a little girl.
    “Maybe we’d better wait until that first paycheck,” she suggested once he put her down again, reality intruding on the giddy celebration.  “When do you start?”
    “Monday.  I already called and gave my notice at the Sugar Shack, but I’m gonna pull double duty and work both places for a week or two so we won’t have to starve from the gap in pay.”
    Monday, they sure weren’t wasting any time.  “That’s awesome.  What are you going to be doing?”  She didn’t think he’d said yet, only that it wasn’t as a receptionist.
    “Corporate security.  Mostly grunt stuff, but I get to wear a suit and it’s a full time gig with benefits and paid sick days and everything.”
    Cady’s eyes widened in surprise.  Corporate security?  Ian was about as