Page 95 of Edge of Darkness (Night Prowler 4)
And he was going to do it tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
A hot whirlwind of panic descended on her. Shaking uncontrollably in shock, she sagged against the desk, unable to support her own weight.
Leander exploded. “Jesus, Christian! You’re involved with a human woman? Of all the stupid things to do! How much does she know—”
“She’s trustworthy!” Christian shouted back. “She’d never do anything to put me in danger—”
“It’s not just you—it’s the rest of us, too! How do you know she isn’t some kind of spy, trying to get information about the rest of the colonies—”
“For fuck’s sake, Leander! Give me some credit!”
“There’s a huge bounty on all our heads, Christian! You think some human is going to pass up the opportunity to cash in—”
“You’re talking about the woman I love!”
It was a primal thing, those seven screamed words, and Ember’s body reacted to them on a purely primal level. She went cold then hot. Sweat broke out over her entire body. Her heart hammered against her breastbone and her chest constricted so tight she had to fight to breathe. It was only when she felt hot wetness dripping onto her bare leg that she realized she was crying.
Leander and Christian were both breathing hard, silent, the tension between them thick and sharp as knives. Finally Leander’s voice, deadly soft, cut the silence.
“And this woman who you love—does she know why you’re there? Does she know there’s a ticking bomb over your head?”
Christian didn’t answer.
“Right. So what’s going to happen to her once you’re gone?” His voice turned caustic. “Let’s assume for an idiotic moment that you’re right; she’s trustworthy. She won’t tell anyone anything, all our secrets are safe with her. Have you given any thought to what your death might do to her?”
His voice cracking, Christian said, “She’ll be taken care of. I’ve made all the arrangements. This house is going to be hers—my inheritance will go to her—”
“So she’s a gold digger, then? All she cares about is your money?”
Leander was being an ass, but Ember knew the point he was trying to make. And so did Christian, evidenced by his anguished, hollered answer.
“I KNOW IT’S WRONG, ALL RIGHT? I know it’s fucked up and she’ll get hurt and I’m the biggest, most selfish asshole in the world, but I didn’t mean for it to happen! What the hell do you want me to say, Leander? I didn’t mean for it to happen, but I fell in love with her! She makes me feel alive! She makes me feel like my life wasn’t a complete waste! She makes me happy—you can understand that, can’t you? She makes me happy the way Jenna makes you happy—was there ever any choice for you that you wouldn’t fall in love with her? Did you have any control over that? Did you tell your heart, ‘No, not going to go there, it’s stupid and dangerous?’ Because believe me, I tried! And it didn’t fucking work!”
After Christian’s outburst, Leander’s silence felt deadly. He quietly asked, “And she feels the same way about you?”
There was a pause filled by the sound of Christian’s labored breathing. He whispered, “Yes.”
“Then I feel sorry for her.”
Leander’s tone had entirely changed. Vanished was the sarcasm, the anger and outrage, and in its place: weariness, and a bitter kind of disappointment. “Because I’d rather cut off my own arm than do anything to hurt my woman. But you were willing to let her fall in love with you, knowing there was no future for the two of you, knowing being with you would put her in danger, knowing full well there was nothing in it for her but pain. You, brother, are a prick.”
“I know.” Christian’s voice broke. He sounded on the verge of tears. “And I hate myself, believe me. But I just couldn’t stay away. I can’t…I can’t breathe without her, Leander. I tried, I tried so hard to let her go. But I couldn’t. My heart didn’t give me a choice.”
There was a low, muttered curse, a long, aggravated sigh, then more silence. Finally, sounding resigned, Leander asked, “How can I help?”
Christian drew a few ragged breaths and Ember imagined him standing there with his jaw tight and his beautiful face flushed, running his hand through his thick dark hair. He said hoarsely, “Afterwards—when it’s done—she’ll need support. She doesn’t have family…she’ll need—”
“We’ll be there,” was his brother’s instant reply.
“God…thank you Leander.” The relief in Christian’s voice was palpable, but Ember barely heard it over the howling ice storm inside her skull.
Christian was going to die.
Tomorrow.
Impossible! her mind screamed, reeling and recoiling from the horror of it. And then, as Christian and Leander continued to talk, their conversation fading from her hearing as if a dial had been turned down, Ember was gripped but the sudden, fierce conviction Christian was not going to die.
