Bump in the night.

Chapter Nine: A New Secret

Grayson and Ben dropped by later that night, Ben stopping in to say hi to Cindy who was still in the attic with Wayne.
She'd decided since we were updating the training room, the attic itself could use an update.
I gave them the revised budget and left alone to help Juliette settle in. Grayson was in the kitchen cooking food.
Cindy had cleared out everything in her room already, I grabbed an old blanket and a set of pillows to put on the bed for her.
She watched out the window with her arms crossed.
"Are you sure you're fine with me staying here?" She finally asked, I sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her and shrugging.
"It's better than the hotels in town, plus the only heat restriction is beating Cindy to the shower."
"That's not what I meant." She said flatly.
I sighed at picked at the corner of the blanket.
"I know." I admitted. She was asking if I was really fine about her and Grayson having a history. "I can't control the fact Grayson has a past, I have one too. I can't hold that against him, or you, I wasn't apart of it then."
She watched me while I spoke, her face relaxing from its tight seriousness.
"I can't guarantee we're going to be best friends, but Grayson trusts you and you're his friend, so I trust you, too." I finally said, giving her a small smile.
She gave me a brief smile back before she straightened and grabbed the fresh towel I'd left for her on the vanity.
"I'm going to beat Cindy to the shower, is it cool if I use the shampoo and conditioner?" She asked stepping to the door.
I nodded, showing her to the bathroom and where we kept extra toiletries for guests.
I bounced downstairs with Molly in tow, finding Grayson setting up the dining table with a salad and pan roasted chicken.
"Wow, this looks great." I smiled, stepping into his waiting arms.
They squeezed me gently as he kissed my hair.
"We need to go shopping again, foods running low." He commented, pulling out a chair for me and calling for Ben and Cindy, making me giggle.
He eyed me with a small smile while he served them, and Wayne who'd come down with them.
We sat around the table and chatted about the upgrades Cindy wanted to do inside the attic while we waited for Juliette.
"You are not putting in a shooting range." I said as I came out of the kitchen with a bottle of wine and five glasses.
Ben wasn't staying the night, having an early morning doing a pick up in Callaway the next day.
I set them down and filled them when Juliette finally joined us, she glanced at the food and the table setting open between Wayne and I for her, giving a shy smile as she sat down.
"I hope you like wine and weird." I muttered, finishing topping her glass before putting the bottle down to look at Cindy.
She had a sip of wine and a strong opinion.
"We need a shooting range." She said sternly. "I may be a county champ, but I'm out of practise and you're a shit shot." She looked at Ben and Grayson, they both ignored her like they hadn't heard her, focused on eating and examining the chicken.
She groaned and then looked to Juliette who was halfway through a sip of wine.
"You're a Slayer, right? What do you think?" Cindy asked, popping a leaf if lettuce into her mouth and pinning Juliette in her seat.
"Uh," Juliette looked at me for a second but I gave her a sympathetic look.
"Best just tell the trust, she will break you." I patted her on the shoulder, making her eyes wide.
"Um," Juliette started turning to Cindy who continued to eat casually. "I mean, a shooting range isn't terrible, but you have enough land I don't think you'd need it inside." She said finally, shrugging one shoulder at Cindy.
Cindy considered it, chewing a piece of chicken slowly before she looked at me.
"Fine, just because it means I finally get my underground bunker." She smiled, I rolled my eyes and caught the confused looks around the table.
I sighed.
"We have an old bomb cellar out the back of the property. Cindy has wanted to turn it into a..what was it?" I sighed, always zoning out when she talked about the idea.
"An armoured panic room." She turned to anyone that gave her enough attention while I focused on eating. "We have a closed network, full security system and a firing range in the back with some of the Slayer weapons down there incase." She spoke animatedly but I choked a little at her ending words.
Incase we were attacked again.
I didn't want to think about it. I never wanted such creatures to come to my house again.
"Fine, but we have a collapsible tunnel we can get into from the house." I said, grabbing my plate and wine while I stood. Cindy looked at me surprised, all Slayer-associated were impressed.
I scraped my empty plate and rinsed it, not remembering eating it all and stood in the corner of the kitchen by the sink.
I sipped my wine slowly, hearing the cheerful chatter from the dinning room.
My mind shook a little from the thought of attending the ball.
Vikrom, a man who'd already tried to kill me, would be there. He knew about me and had said nothing, I doubt even now he'd revealed his knowledge of me to the Council.
If he had, I don't think they'd have invited me, I feel like they would have just taken me.
The thought sent a deadly shiver down my spine, making me look out the window above the skin.
The soft white curtains were pulled back so I could see across the yard into the treeline.
I saw a shadow move within the darkness, my heart pounding, eyes flashed to the right then the left a moment later.
I stepped away from the window, bumping into a solid body, I went to scream but the familiar hand fell over my mouth, silencing me and his other hand wound around my waist to pull me against him.
"They're Slayers," Grayson whispered in my ear, dropping his hand from my mouth. "The Council put them on guard around the property after the message."
My eyes stayed pinned out of the window as one of the shadows stepped out into the moonlight enough I could see their hand raised in a wave.
I gave a weak wave back, making Grayson chuckle in my ear.
"You're always so kind," he spun me in his arms, his hand now cupping my cheek and pushing a strand of my hair back. He watched me, smiling until I couldn't bring myself to return the look, making him frown and tilt my head to look at him properly.
"What's wrong?" He asked, his voice thick with concern.
I gave a shakey breath, unsure what to tell him.
"I'm scared." I whispered back, my brows pulling together as tears threatened to spill.
Grayson pulled me into a tight hug, wrapping his arms around my head and shoulders, kissing my forehead.
"You have two Slayers in the house, a cousin with a gun and Molly. No one is getting to you." He promised against my skin. I'd wrapped my arms around his solid waist, gripping his shirt and squeezing him tightly.
"It didn't stop the vampires." I cried softly against him.
I felt his hesitation as he went stiff for a moment.
I clutched his shirt tighter, leaning my head back to look up at his golden hair and eyes.
He was so beautiful.
Even when his face was as hard as stone.
I leaned up on my toes then, pressing my lips to his.
They stayed frozen for a moment, before he finally responded and kissed me back, tightening his hold on me.
I pulled back for a moment, admiring him.
His lips spread into a lazy smile that warmed my heart.
"Guess, I'll just have to get a new cousin." I finally said, making him laugh loudly and shake his head at me.
I gave him a gentle smile, grabbing his hand and leading him back to the dinning room.