Into the Wild Dark

CHAPTER 18 - MAL

"Everything okay?" Jack walked up and laid a protective hand at the base of my spine. An involuntary shiver rippled through me, but I flashed a reassuring smile and nodded.

"The boss simply wants to gauge our progress. You're gonna do fantastic."

"Oh, I'm not worried. I've got you by my side." He grinned.

"Yes. Of course."

Sunny looked forlorn at his response. Jack didn't notice. I swallowed thickly at the familiar role I was playing: Keeper of Misplaced Trust.

I opened French doors onto a balmy courtyard, and the alluring scent of flowers met us at the threshold. We stepped into the night garden. Velvety magnolias pushed through dark foliage. Tall stalks of gauzy hollyhock swayed in a wayward breeze. There were zinnias, and dahlias, and bishop's flower climbing green stems toward the pregnant moon. Each blossomed pale and vivid against the night.

I slowed my gait to steady myself. Since when do you walk into situations in a panic, Mal? Convincing my limbs to relax, my fingers trailed fluffy white hydrangeas as I followed the path to where milky candlelight illuminated a cast iron table and chairs. Darcy was nowhere in sight, but we were around the bend. I knew he was lurking. We crossed under a pergola draped with plumes of wisteria that dropped wispy petals into my hair. Jack's knuckles grazed mine.

I wondered if he noticed the djinn-enchanted duduk making music sans a musician. The instrument rested on the table surrounded by copper and glass lanterns. And there was the man of the hour. Darcy stepped from behind a cluster of shrubs. He had a cigar in hand and a politician's smile in place.

"Jack, oh boy! Let me get a good look at you."

"Not the same bum you met last month, huh?" Smiling, Jack did a leisurely pirouette.

Darcy inclined his head in my direction but froze when he saw Sunny. "Not bad. I'm impressed, but who is this you have with you?"

"He's my–" Jack started to explain.

"Bodyguard." Smoothly slipping forward, I laid a hand on his shoulder to shut him up. "We don't want anything to happen to our star player. I hope you don't mind, Darcy. I hired Sunny to be our eyes and ears whenever I'm indisposed, especially with OASIS on your case. He's vetted and secure."

Sunny didn't buck the subterfuge. Without a word, he repositioned at a corner of the pergola where he could monitor access points. If Darcy's cold perusal ruffled him, he didn't show it. Standing with arms clasped behind his back, Sunny fixed he gaze on nothing in particular. I was glad when Jack took his cue and saved his questions for later.

Satisfied that the bodyguard wasn't a threat, the vampire took a seat. "That was smart of you. I was afraid he was another uninvited guest. Speaking of, you remember Delilah, don't you?"

"I know of only one. Why?"

There was the tiniest flicker of Sunny's gaze, and I turned around to see what had caught his attention. The intrusion of candles stymied my night vision until I saw her and gasped. The portrait from the smoking room had come to life. Rather, the subject of the painting, Delilah Claibourne, floated toward us in a filmy blue dress, auburn waves framing her wan face. Delicate as the flowers surrounding her, she was, as ever, the picture of Southern refinement.

"Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in," she greeted me in her charming Alabama accent.

"Delilah, how surprising to see you. Alive."

"Bless your heart. You were just a sassy teenager the last time I saw you, Mal. Now I hear you're doing a swell job running the law firm, but I do hope you don't wind up like me. You'll work yourself into an early grave." Her canines glinted in the moonlight. She hadn't aged a bit.