Kylen's Secret Read online

  I braced myself. This could only end one way, but I already knew that. I knew it before I left the bar. That was why I stayed behind all these hours, just waiting for this moment.

  Hannah mumbled something about getting home. It was late and she was tired. She tried to zip around him, but he cut her off. The others closed in. They laughed at her pathetic efforts.

  She held it together better than I expected. She kept her voice down. Any sane person would have been freaking out facing the Lynches in a deserted street at three o’clock in the morning.

  She walked away from Everett. She made a play for the other corner of the building, but one of their party that stayed out of sight appeared there to block her way. She still didn’t panic. Her hand drifted to her pocket where she stashed the keys.

  I had seen enough. I skirted the building and slithered up the alley between the Watering Hole and the Fire Safety Office next door. The shadows concealed me. Whatever else happened, I had to play by the rules. We all did or none of us would be allowed in Norton again. Even the Lynches knew that.

  Hannah whipped around to head back the way she came and ran straight into Everett. She bounced off his chest and he laughed in her face. “You’re not going anywhere, little girl. I’ve been waiting out here for four hours to talk to you.”

  I’ve been waiting out here for four hours to talk to you, too, Everett. Go on. Make your move and find out what she’s made of.

  She stopped in her tracks. Her eyes skipped around the ring of men closing off her only avenue of escape. One of them came up behind her, but they didn’t see Hannah. They saw a willowy young woman with no one to protect her. They saw easy prey. They didn’t see her arm tense or her wrist lock inside her pocket.

  I glided up the alley to the very limit of the darkness. I had to stay in the dark if I hoped to accomplish my objective. I stopped at the base of the stairs leading to Hannah’s room.

  Everett’s growly voice drifted to my ear. “Come on, baby. You know you just want to have some fun. Blow off a little steam after your shift. What do you say? We’ll be nice to you. I promise we won’t hurt you. Come on. Right over there where it’s dark.”

  He put out his hand to grab her arm, and she exploded into a tornado of energy. She yanked out her keys. They bristled between her fingers, and she punched them straight into his face. She jabbed him in the eyes and he went down like a ton of bricks. In a fraction of a second, she slammed the guy next to him in the throat and bolted.

  She hurdled over Everett and made a dash for the alley. She skidded around the corner and headed straight for me, but she couldn’t see me in the dark. At all costs, I had to stay hidden.

  The Lynches took a moment to recover. Everett launched himself to his feet bellowing in rage. His brothers collided with him, and for a second, they all floundered together to give chase.

  By the time they got themselves disentangled, Hannah motored around the corner and put on speed for the stairs. I held my breath, but they would never let her get away, not after that stunt.

  Everett barreled around the corner baring his teeth. For an instant, the streetlights illuminated him. His eyes flashed and he let out a feral snarl. Hannah looked back once, and he charged.

  He bent his bull head to tackle her, and I rocketed off the ground. I let all my rage tear me apart, and I kept growing taller and taller until my head came to the level of the building roof.

  Hannah cast one terrified glance up at me, but she couldn’t see more than a black outline. I couldn’t hide my eyes, though. They gleamed down on her, and their reddish glow revealed her petrified face.

  The Lynches braked to a halt. They glared up at me, but they didn’t advance. That brief moment gave Hannah the time she needed. She hit the bricks in a perfect slide. Her momentum carried her under my belly, between my legs, to the base of the stairs. In seconds, she thundered up them, blasted into her room, and locked the door.

  The Lynches eyed me for a second. I watched the interplay of emotions and ideas cross Everett’s face. He couldn’t get to Hannah anymore. He had to deal with me and no one else.

  All at once, his features hardened. He held all the advantage here. He had five guys with him and I was on my own. He narrowed his eyes at me and clenched his jaws. He balled his hands into fists and advanced into the alley.

  I didn’t wait around to see anymore. I took off into the air and flexed my wings over the sleeping houses of Norton. I veered east and soared towards the Ridge.

  3

  Hannah

  I sat in my room all day. My stomach churned in knots from not having anything to eat, but I didn’t even dare go out to the grocery store. I couldn’t face going outside.

  I had to go pretty soon, though. I had to face another shift down in the bar, and I dreaded seeing Everett Lynch again and his motley band of midnight marauders. I still shuddered at the thought of getting ambushed by them when I shut the bar down that night.

  That was a week ago, and every night since then, I went through this same agony of indecision. I didn’t want to go down there. I didn’t want to show my face outside this room, but I had to. I was trapped in this one-horse town with no way out.

  Everett never came back, though. That was the weirdest part. No, the weirdest part was that strange thing that startled him into letting me get away.

  I still couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. It looked like an enormous…. I hesitated to put it into words. I saw a pointed head with two gleaming red eyes. I saw two massive wings blacking out the whole alley. I saw a body as big as the building, and that was all.

  I didn’t take the time to see anything else. My curiosity made me wonder what it was. On the other hand, I didn’t want to know. Whatever it was helped me get away from the Lynches. I didn’t need to know any more.

  And the Lynches never came back. That thing must have scared them as much as it scared me, as much as the Lynches scared me. They never came back to the bar. The Kelly’s never came back, either. The usual parade of construction workers, highway sign holders, and unemployed high school dropouts came in. They ordered their usual swill.

  Every time someone walked through that door, my heart gave a little leap of exhilaration thinking it might be Kylen. Then I crashed into the depths of despair when it wasn’t him.

  Every passing day reinforced the impression that every one of these men was another version of my Daddy. I envisioned them going home and pounding their wives and children to pulp, only to repeat the process again the following day.

  Only Kylen remained above all that. He could drink a beer at the end of the day. He could never be my Daddy. He could never fall so low. He drank two bottles of Jailhouse that night, and he never showed the slightest sign of intoxication. He stopped after two bottles, and he carried on socializing with his brothers, his cousins, and a lot of other people without drinking any more.

  That impressed me a lot more than him choosing a microbrew over one of the big, cheap brands. He knew when to stop, and he didn’t stop enjoying himself when he stopped drinking.

  If he was here right now, I wouldn’t hesitate to go down to the bar. I didn’t care so much if the Lynches came back as long as he was around. He knew how to handle them. He didn’t threaten them. He didn’t raise his voice. He never so much as made a fist that night. He didn’t have to. He and his brothers knew exactly what to say to Everett to make him back down.

  I blew out a long, shaky breath. My shift started in five minutes. I couldn’t wait around any longer. I got to my feet when a firm knock rattled my door. I peeked through the window first to see who it was, and I nearly had a heart attack when I saw Kylen.

  He wore clean jeans and a cream-colored shirt, along with the same boots. He cracked a grin when I opened the door. “How are you doing?”

  “Kylen!” I gasped. “What are you doing up here?”

  “I came to ask you out. You’ve been sitting in that room for the last week. I told you that you would need to get out and meet peopl
e. I can see you’re not doing it on your own, so I came to ask you out myself.”

  “Ask me out!” I stammered. “I can’t go out. I have to work.”

  “Not now, silly.” He laughed. “You get a day off from the bar, don’t you? The Watering Hole is closed on Monday and Tuesday, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, but….” I fumbled over my words.

  “Then you can go out with me. What’s your poison—dinner and a movie? What about mini-golf?”

  I made a face. “No.”

  “Okay, then. Something more casual, maybe? What about a hike up the Ridge next Monday? There’s a stunning view from the lookout up there.”

  I brightened up. “That would be great.”

  He pointed at me. “I should have known you would be an outdoors type. All right. Monday morning, say eleven o’clock?”

  I nodded and beamed. “Thanks.”

  “Good. I’ll see you here.” He swiveled, but he didn’t leave. He glanced over his shoulder. “Are you coming down or what?”

  “Coming down?” I repeated.

  “To the bar. Don’t you have to work?”

  I turned bright red again. “Oh, yeah.”

  He leaned close to me and lowered his voice. “The Lynches are down there. I thought you might want a friend to go with you.”

  I closed my eyes and sighed. “Thank you. That’s exactly what I need right now.”

  He waited on the stairs while I locked the room. My heart soared that I didn’t have to face the Lynches alone. He was here. He made everything okay, but I couldn’t hope that he would stay for the whole shift. I only prayed he would wait until the Lynches left.

  Then I faced the other problem of walking home again afterward. If last time gave any indication, the Lynches might waylay me again and Kylen wouldn’t be around to make them behave.

  I didn’t have time to think about that, though. We started down the stairs, and in half a second, I entered the bar. I spotted Everett Lynch and his brothers in the corner. After a week in Norton, I knew now that all those guys with him were his younger brothers, and the Lynch Clan—or what the locals called Clan Lynch—had a bad reputation in these mountains.

  Everett scowled at me over the poker table. His wicked eyes shot to Kylen, who completely ignored him. I bowed my head and slipped behind the bar. Kylen settled himself on a stool. I expected trouble right off the bat, especially with Kylen being alone, but the Lynches didn’t move.

  Kylen drank two bottles of Jailhouse while I got to work. When I came back around to give him a third, he held up his hand. “Give me a cup of coffee, will you?”

  I raised my eyebrows. So it wasn’t just a fluke. He really did know how to control himself. I eyed him on the side while I cleaned out the beer taps. Did men like him really exist in the world? Maybe they weren’t all like my Daddy after all.

  He drank a cup of coffee. One of the construction guys came over and slapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, buddy, come on over and shoot a game of pool with me and Carlo.”

  Kylen smiled back at him. “I can’t, man. Maybe next time.”

  “Aw, come on,” the other guy drawled. “What’s the big deal?”

  “Sorry. I can’t.”

  The drunk staggered back to the pool table. I studied Kylen more closely than ever. “What are you doing?”

  “Me?” He looked right and left. “I’m not doing anything. I’m drinking a cup of coffee.”

  I propped my hand on my hip. “You’re guarding me, aren’t you? You’re protecting me from the Lynches.”

  “What’s wrong with that?” he asked. “They would be all over you if I wasn’t here.”

  “Well, what’s going to happen when you’re not here?” I fired back. “You can’t sit there drinking coffee every time I have a shift. You would be here every night.”

  He shrugged and sipped his coffee. “Hey, give me the paper, will you?”

  I handed the newspaper to him. He unfolded it and started reading like he was sitting in his living room. I could only shake my head and carry on.

  He sat there through the whole shift. The Lynches left long before he finished reading the paper. He drank coffee and ordered a sandwich. Other than that, he didn’t move. He didn’t talk to me much, either, but I couldn’t stop staring at him. Who the hell was this guy? I’d never met anyone like him.

  He was still sitting there minding his own business when I closed up. I finished washing all the glasses, draining the keg lines, and sweeping the floor around the poker tables. I scooted all the chairs into their places and got ready to leave.

  Kylen accompanied me to the door, and I switched off the neon sign. I turned off the lights, and he opened the door to step outside. A blast of cold wind swept down the street, and I shivered.

  Kylen turned his face into the breeze, and his nostrils flared when he took a deep sniff. He straightened up and arched his eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything. Something in his manner made my blood run cold. “What is it?” I whispered. “What’s out there?”

  “Never mind. Come on.”

  He waved me out of the bar. I didn’t think twice turning my back to the street to lock the door, now that I had him protecting me. I didn’t drop the keys. I turned the lock, and he fell in step with me walking toward the alley.

  I sent up a silent prayer of gratitude that he was here. Nothing bad could happen to me with him at my side. Don’t ask me what made me so certain of that, because he was just a young guy and it was just the two of us against the world. I was never more sure of anything, though. He made me feel absolutely safe, no matter what happened.

  We got to the corner when my worst nightmare came true. Everett Lynch appeared out of the shadows. The disgusting black patterns on his face melded with the shadows to give him a reptilian appearance. His green eyes sparkled out of his face, and the orange streetlight winked in the red hairs on his arm.

  He strutted over to us. He scanned Kylen up and down, and he curled his lip at me in a threatening snarl. “How many times do I have to say it? You’re not welcome in this town. You better beat it, boy, before you wind up in trouble you can’t handle.”

  Kylen kept his voice steady—a lot steadier than I could have if I had to answer that vicious face. “You don’t say who is welcome in this town. How many times do I have to say it? Norton is neutral territory. If you don’t like it, you can go back to your uncles and see what they say about it. As long as the agreement stands, I’m free to walk the streets where I please.”

  He put out his arm to push past Everett, but the big man stepped into his path. “You’re asking for it, pipsqueak. You know you don’t have the strength to stand up to us. You’re liable to get your neck broken if you don’t pull your head in.”

  Kylen put his arm out again. He rotated his shoulders and pushed me behind him. Then he backed up a few steps and herded me toward the alley. I saw what he wanted me to do. In a few brief movements, he positioned himself between me and Everett. He blocked off the alley so no one could interfere with my path back to my room.

  I hesitated to leave him there alone. While I watched, the other Lynch brothers sidled out of the dark. They ambled over to Everett and formed a semi-circle around Kylen. Those were no idle threats Everett issued. If it came to a fight, Kylen didn’t stand a chance.

  He kept his face presented to Everett. He spoke in a natural, conversational tone. “Get inside, Hannah. Close all the curtains, and don’t open them for anything. I don’t care what you hear or what you think. Just keep them closed and stay inside.”

  I spun toward the stairs. “I’m calling the Police.”

  “No!” His sharp retort startled me out of my skin, but he immediately modulated it to the same casual murmur. “Don’t call anybody. Just get inside and close the curtains. Understand?”

  I stared at the back of his head. He didn’t take his eyes off Everett. All the Lynches glared at him. They didn’t look sideways at me, not even when I ran for my room.

  I dove inside a
nd bolted the door. I raced around the room shooting all the curtains closed. I dithered for a moment whether to call the Police anyway, but Kylen’s words commanded me to obey.

  Whatever was going on outside between him and the Lynches, he knew what he was doing. I was never more certain of anything. I trusted him. I had to.

  4

  Kylen

  I listened to Hannah’s footsteps running up the stairs. I heard the distinct thunk of the bolt shooting home, followed by the hiss of curtain rings sliding into place. She just might peek out, but I had to trust her to do what I said. If she was half the woman I thought she was, she would understand.

  As soon as silence descended over the alley, Everett cracked a grin. “Little old Kylen Kelly’s got a girlfriend. Isn’t that sweet, boys? What’s next? A baby in a baby carriage?”

  They all heehawed with crude laughter. I didn’t smile. If I was lucky enough to get Hannah for a girlfriend, I would be ten times more protective of her than I was now.

  I shoved into Everett and barged into the street. “Leave me alone. You know the rules.”

  “There are no rules.” He rushed up behind me and whipped me around to face him. “Don’t tell me you give a rip for these puny creatures. What difference does it make if they find out?”

  “I don’t give a rip for these puny creatures,” I replied. “I have to face my Pop and my uncle and my whole Clan when I get home. They’ll tear me a new back end if I break the agreement, and the same goes for you. If I was you, I’d take my boys and get out of here before things get sticky for both of us.”

  “My Clan doesn’t care if I break the agreement,” he barked. “We own this town. We own these mountains. There’s no one that can stop us, so come on. You know you want to.”

  I hesitated. He was right. I did want to. I would have liked nothing more than to get into an unholy Clan war with him on the streets of Norton, but the Kelly’s didn’t roll that way.