Free Shadowed Magic (The Enlightened Species Novella) by Wendy S. Hales Page B

began preparing her a meal. His eyes returned to the roses again and again and his apprehension grew. Exclusivity and future. The phrase echoed through his mind. Aymee's human mortality dictated her future. A future with Eros negated children. Aymee would bear beautiful young. What right did Eros have to deny her the chance to be a mother?
    ****
     
    Zack made another pass of the four isolated homes visible from the highway. He'd followed the SUV when it left the police station but he'd been unable to stop and check it out. The Mercedes that followed him had been hovering around ever since. He pulled off the highway behind a bluff not far from the homes, parked the bike and pulled out a smoke. The bitch couldn't stay holed up forever. He needed to come up with a plan, especially since she surrounded herself with large guys who'd probably kill him if they got the chance.
    A call to his dad informed him the cops had been to his house trying to find him, so the bitch had obviously identified him too. Now it wasn't just about getting even for Kade's death and his injured friends … he needed to kill her to keep them all out of prison. They had a better chance to beat the rap without a victims bawl-baby poor-me testimony.
    Originally, he'd thought a drive-by shooting might work, but it had too much room for error, and with her luck, she'd fucking survive and he'd be facing more charges. All he needed to do was lay low and wait for an opportunity. With her separated from others, then he could slip in and shoot her up close and personal. He often wondered what it would be like to kill someone. This would be a perfect test. And, his friends would worship him as a god for saving their asses.
    Zack started up the incline of the bluff wishing he had a sharpshooting rifle... or binoculars. The burn in his shoulder reminded him he needed to clean it. Fucking nasty, and painful. Later. His shoulder could wait.

Chapter Seven
     
    Seven days of Eros feeding her, drugging her, reading to her, sleeping and they’d had the most amazing conversation. They spent an entire day only speaking Japanese. Aymee had become rusty in the language of her father since his death. Aymee had never been happier … except Eros seemed to keep his distance from her. He'd even had Umbrae and Jess take turns coming by to help her shower and get cleaned up every morning, until yesterday when she'd told him she felt able to do it herself. She woke every day tucked into his bed alone. Her second night, when she'd asked him to hold her while she slept, he'd declined using a lame 'I'm a rough sleeper' excuse. Maybe what she'd thought was blossoming between them had been a figment of her drug induced imagination. The few times she'd tried to touch him, even taking his arm when her legs stiffened up from resting, had felt awkward though he never pulled away. He'd said he wanted to seriously date her … didn't he know what that meant? Or maybe he regretted asking at all. That she'd wanted an exclusive relationship with anyone shocked the hell out of her. She'd gone out of her way to avoid entanglements since Mitch. Was Mitch's sudden persistent attention causing Eros to back off? Mitch had brought or had delivered roses, books and magazines everyday. Of course Aymee refused to see him or accept anything from him, which left Eros or one of his sons dealing with Mitch. Maybe Eros though her avoidance of Mitch a weakness and resented being her unwitting representative. Had Mitch said something to Eros that caused Eros to re-think his desire to know her better?
    Aymee leaned into the mirror. The stitches didn't hurt much anymore and her bruises had faded to an icky yellow. Mostly she just felt stiff, and a week of inactivity didn't help. Eros must have realized she felt better too, he'd only halfheartedly argued with her when she'd refused pain pills this morning. A little foundation to the remnant of her black eye, and she brushed her hair into a high ponytail. The clothes