Ashes (Dark in You 3)

“Talia apologized. She begged for forgiveness. But you killed her anyway. Why?”

McCauley blinked, still exhibiting no emotion. “I don’t know who you mean, sir.”

“You’re quite the little liar, aren’t you, McCauley? And you’re not as good at it as you think you are.”

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

Linda shouldered her way into the room and crossed to McCauley. Standing behind him, she placed her hands on his shoulders. “You heard him, he didn’t do anything.”

Leaning into her, McCauley rubbed at his eyes. “I’m tired.”

It was an act, and Linda fell for it hook, line, and sinker – smiling down at him like he was her own, personal angel.

“We’ll be back,” Knox told her.

Linda’s head snapped up. She didn’t glare at him, but he knew that she wanted to. Instead, she stiffly inclined her head, as if not trusting herself to speak. She remained with McCauley while the others all made their way downstairs.

In the hallway, Knox spoke to Wyatt. “I think it would be best for all concerned if I remove him from your home.”

Wyatt’s shoulders sagged a little. “It would devastate Linda.”

“I’m pretty certain he killed Talia.”

“I wish I could disagree. I look in his eyes, and I see nothing. He’s never happy, he’s never sad, he’s never angry, he’s never anything. It’s not natural. But Linda wants him here.”

“He manipulated her up there,” Harper pointed out.

Wyatt nodded. “It’s not the first time he’s done it. You have to understand… Linda had several miscarriages. Only one pregnancy went full-term.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Our son was stillborn. We called him Sam.”

The agony in his voice made Harper swallow hard. She couldn’t even imagine how painful that must have been for the couple.

“It’s something that’s been eating at Linda for a long time,” Wyatt continued. “It’s like she feels that she’s failed as a woman and a mate – it’s ludicrous, of course, but that just seems to be how she feels. She sees McCauley as a chance for us to be a ‘real’ family. She doesn’t care that he doesn’t behave like normal kids. As far as she’s concerned, we shouldn’t expect any element of normality from a traumatized child. And she’s probably right about that. It could be that I’m being as insensitive and paranoid as she’s accusing me of being.”

“You’re not,” Harper stated. “As sad as it is, your mate seems intent on being willfully blind to the fact that McCauley isn’t just a little out of the ordinary. There’s something truly wrong with him.”

“I know, but it will devastate Linda if you take him. We can’t know for sure that he did kill Talia. Innocent until proven guilty, right?”

“I’m not comfortable leaving him here,” said Knox.

“Where else does he have to go? Look, you need someone to keep an eye on him. I can do that. Maybe I can even help him. Maybe with time he’ll come to trust us and he’ll change.”

Knox strongly doubted it, but Wyatt was right – he did need someone to watch over McCauley. Wyatt was as good a person as any for that role. “All right, but don’t drop your guard with him. You’re a strong demon. He might be a child, but he could also be a very dangerous child. Don’t hesitate to act in your defense.”

“I won’t.”

Though Knox still wasn’t comfortable leaving the Sanders to take on McCauley, he left the house with Harper and the sentinels. Nobody spoke until they were inside the car.

Levi turned on the ignition. “Damn, you weren’t kidding when you said that kid is creepy. I’m ninety-nine percent sure he killed Talia.”

“And he’s not sorry for it,” said Tanner.

Levi pulled away from the curb. “He behaves like our inner demons do – it’s as if he’s taking behavioral cues from it, imitating and obeying it.”

“Like the demon is the parent,” Harper mused.

Knox looked at her, eyes narrowed. “Exactly.”

“His human mother was neglectful, right?” said Tanner. “It could be that his demon sort of… stepped in.”

Levi whistled. “That would be bad. Our demons don’t particularly give a shit when it comes to right and wrong. They’re vengeful, they don’t feel guilt. If that’s the kind of ‘parent’ that’s shaped him, he needs to be watched very closely. Maybe Linda and Wyatt really can help him – they’ll be role models. They’ll give him the attention and care that, until now, only his demon ever gave him. Do you think McCauley will hurt them?”

“If our theory is right, no,” replied Knox. “His demon will be smart enough to know that it needs the Sanders to tend to McCauley’s basic needs. It will be happy to use them until it feels that McCauley can take care of himself. It will have urged him to stay with his human mother for the very same reason. She could feed and clothe McCauley – things the demon can’t do for him.”

“You don’t think it will get jealous if McCauley begins to care for the Sanders?” asked Harper.

Knox took her hand. “I don’t think there’s any risk of McCauley emotionally connecting with them any time soon. If it does happen, it would be in the distant future. Hopefully the demon will be used to the Sanders by then. It may even eventually like them if it feels they’re good to McCauley. We can only speculate.”

As Tanner and Levi started discussing sentinel business, Harper turned to Knox and asked softly, “Did you really kill someone when you were a kid?”

“They deserved it.”

“I’m not saying they didn’t. I just hate that you were put in a position where you had to kill or be killed when you were so young.” Harper gave his hand a comforting squeeze. He looked at her, and what she saw in his eyes gave her the chills.

“By the time I was done with them, so were they.”

CHAPTER NINE

Ending his brief phone call, Knox slung his cell on the small bar in his living room and poured himself a gin and tonic. “Want a drink, baby?” Receiving no answer, he glanced over his shoulder. Harper was sitting on the sofa, her gaze inward as she twisted her rings and twirled her ankle absentmindedly.

A sense of unease prickled at him. Taking a swig of his drink, he crossed the room to her. Harper didn’t fidget unless something was playing on her mind. And that was when he remembered… “Sorry, baby, you wanted to talk to me about something earlier. What was it?”

She looked up at him and blinked. For a moment, she didn’t say anything. Then a determination gathered behind her eyes and she licked her lips. “Maybe you should sit down. Yeah, you should definitely sit down.”

He’d prefer to stand, but he humored her and perched himself on the edge of the coffee table. “What is it? Tell me. If something’s wrong, I’ll fix it.”

Sitting up straighter, Harper cleared her throat. Her mouth bopped open like a landed fish, and she seemed to struggle for words. “Okay, so I’m just going to say it.”

“All right,” he said. But she didn’t say it. Her mouth opened again, but still nothing came out. “Why are you so nervous?” Dozens of possibilities raced through his mind, and he didn’t like any of them. That sense of unease began to swell.

“I’m not nervous… per se.”

Yes, she was. He placed his tumbler on the table and took her hands. “Harper, tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong. Or, at least, I don’t think there’s anything wrong. You might feel differently.”

“Harper, you’re not making any sense. Whatever it is, just tell me.”

“Okay, so, here it is. I’m… Well, it’s…” Cursing, Harper delved into her purse and pulled out something that she’d stuffed in a sandwich bag. “I have something to show you.”

Knox frowned, unable to make out what was in her grip. He held out his hand. “Why is it in a sandwich bag?”