And it was hard to explain. "I met your ma not long after she moved to Reno. She was a waitress in a restaurant where I used to go and eat sometimes." He hadn't been paying a bit of attention to the occupants as he took his usual seat in the small diner. He'd been staring out the window, skimming the crowd as people outside walked by, when a cup of coffee appeared on his table.
"Much obliged," he'd muttered, expecting it to be his usual waitress, Carla, who always brought him coffee the minute he sat down.
"You're welcome." The soft lilt of that unfamiliar voice had dragged his attention to her face. Even now, he could feel the shock of looking up and being sucked back in time.
"Are you all right?" she'd asked.
He'd sputtered and mumbled something back at her that was probably as stupid to her as he'd felt when he said it. Over the next hour, he'd coerced enough information out of her that he was able to get Ed to run a thorough background check on her.
That report had stunned him as much as seeing her in the diner. Laura was the great-great-granddaughter of the child Bart had fathered the day he raped Matilda.
A child Matilda had given up for adoption.
By the time the Squires told him about the infant a few years after it'd been born, he'd been unable to locate it. Records weren't kept the same way then as they were today. Until the night he'd stumbled across Laura and Ed had run his own check, he didn't even know that child had been a boy.
At first, he'd been livid with the discovery and angry at fate for dropping that living reminder slap-dab in the middle of his territory. Since he knew he'd never dishonored Matilda by taking her before their wedding, there was no doubt about the paternal sperm donor for Laura's line.
But by the next night, he'd chosen to focus on two things. One, it wasn't the baby's fault that he'd been conceived by violence, and there was no reason for Jess to hold that against the boy's descendants. Two, they were every bit as much a part of the woman he'd loved as the children she'd kept and raised, and the descendants he had the Squires watch over. It was only fair he take care of Laura, too.
In Laura, he'd only seen Matilda's genteel face.
In Abigail, he saw both. The woman he'd loved more than his life and the man he'd hated with every part of his being.
It was one hell of a combination.
"And?" Abigail prompted. "She was a waitress..."
"We became friends," he said simply. And it was the absolute truth. "I'd go in a few times a week, and we'd chat for a bit." He smiled at his bittersweet memories. Like Matilda, she'd been sweet and unassuming. "She was highly intelligent and quick-witted. Funny as all get out. I used to love listening to her banter with her friends and the other customers."
"Did you ever go out with her?"
"Never. Dark-Hunters aren't allowed to date, and I knew I had nothing to offer her. I just liked being in her company. She was good people, and there's not a lot of those around. I left big tips, and she threatened the life of anyone who dared try and wait on me anytime she was working."
"Then why was my father angry at you?"
He was a psychotic idiot.
But Jess didn't say that. "I made the mistake of giving your mother a butterfly necklace that I'd seen in a local shop on her birthday. I thought it was pretty, and the blue diamonds in it reminded me of her eyes. I meant nothing by it, but your pa didn't see it that way. Even though I'd known her long before she met and married him, he accused her of cheating on him with me, and I left before I physically hurt him."
Abigail searched her mind for some memory to either refute or sustain his words. All she could remember was the loud sounds of shouting voices. Her parents didn't fight a lot, but it'd been enough that she knew to hide whenever they did.
Her hiding over it was the very thing that had saved her life.
Sundown sighed. "I went out on my patrol, but I couldn't shake the bad feeling I had. I didn't want to leave her with him so mad. But I knew if I'd stayed, I'd have rearranged a few of his organs, and that would have only upset her more. I figured if I left, he'd calm down and everything would be all right.... At ten, I tried to call and got no answer. That worried me even more. So I headed back and..." He hesitated before he spoke again. "The police were already there and they wouldn't let me in. I looked around for you and asked about you, but there was no trace. They assumed that whoever killed your parents took you as well. We searched for you for a long time, but no one ever saw you again." He scowled at her. "So what happened to you, anyway? Where did you go?"
Abigail tried to recall when her adoptive father had shown up. But all she saw was Sundown walking out of her room. And then it'd seemed like forever before she heard a familiar voice call her name. "My adoptive father took me home with him. I don't remember seeing the police or really anything much about that night except you."
"What made you think I killed them?"
"I saw you in my room."
"I wasn't there, Abigail. I swear to you." There was so much conviction in his tone that he was either the best liar in the world ...
Or he was telling the truth.
"He looked just like you. He even had on cowboy boots."
"A pair of shit-kickers in Reno is normal footwear. That don't mean nothing."
That much was true. Still ...
"My adoptive father confirmed it. He said you slaughtered my parents because they were allies to the Apollites."
"I had no idea they even knew what an Apollite was. It's not something I normally talk about to anyone outside of the Dark-Hunter network, you know?"
That made a little too much sense. Abigail rubbed her forehead as she tried to discern the truth. Her feelings were so conflicted.
"So what do you believe now?" he asked.
Overwhelmed by everything, she lay back against the headboard. "I don't know, Sundown. I don't." Oh, how she hated being this tired. It made her an emotional wreck, and everything was so much worse right now. Tears started streaming quietly down her cheeks as everything crashed in on her. Her life had never been simple or easy.
But all of the past was like a ride on a merry-go-round compared to what it was right now. It was confusing and terrifying.
And if Choo Co La Tah was right, she only had an extremely short amount of time left to live.
Or the world would end.
What have I done?
What was she going to do?
Suddenly, Sundown was there, sitting on the bed. "Don't cry, Abby. It's all right."
It wasn't and they both knew it.
He gathered her into his arms and held her close. Something no one had done in a very long time. God, it felt so good....
Abigail buried her face into his chest. His heartbeat was strong and sure, and in this moment, she needed that reassurance that she wasn't completely alone-even if it meant cuddling against her enemy. "I'm so sorry. I don't normally do this."
"Don't apologize. My ma used to say that crying is good for you. Tears are the path that free your mind of sorrowful thoughts."
"You sound like Choo Co La Tah now."
He nuzzled his face against her head while a gentle laugh rumbled deep in his chest. "He is kind of like Yoda.... 'There is only do or do not. There is no try.'"
That actually succeeded in making her laugh through her tears. "You're a Star Wars fan?"
"Oh yeah. May the Force be with you."
She sobered. "If what Choo Co La Tah said is true, I think we're going to need something a lot stronger than the Force to win this."
"Don't worry, we'll find a solution. There's always a way."
His positive attitude amazed her. "How can you be so sure?"
He shrugged. "You're talking to a man who came back from the dead just to even a score. You think I'm going to let something like Coyote win this? Hardly. One thing about Bradys ... We don't run and we don't lose. Come hell or high water, no one gets the best of me. And I'll be damned if I let them take you. We'll find a way to keep you safe and save the world. You have my personal guarantee on that, and that's not something I give lightly."
His conviction stunned her. "Why do you even care? A few hours ago, I was trying to kill you."
"And not that long ago, you saved me from stepping into daylight. I haven't forgotten that either. Besides, I understand wanting retribution. Spent my whole human life in search of it. I won't hold that against you or anyone else."
That was so different from the things she'd read about him. Was it possible he wasn't as soulless as they claimed?
"But," he continued. "I would ask that if we do manage to save your butt and the world's that you find another hobby besides killing us."
How easy he made that sound. "Do you really think they'll let me live after what I've done?"
Jess paused as he considered it. She was right. The final decision wasn't his to make. The Powers were even more vengeful than his brethren were. Blood for blood. Tit for tat.
Still, things happened all the time that didn't make sense. And the Powers ...
They were downright unpredictable.
"Have faith, Abigail. Sometimes the world surprises you."
Abigail swallowed at his words, wishing she could put her faith in them. "Yeah, but it's never done so in a pleasant way. At least not for me."
And deep in her heart, she knew the truth. This wouldn't end until she'd paid for her actions.
She was going to die, and not even the infamous Jess Brady could stop it.