Acheron Highway: A Jonathan Shade Novel (4 page)

CHAPTER FIVE

When I got home, I did a bit of research on the Net.
 
I couldn’t find anything about dead people rising in Denver.
 
Of course, Sharon could always find things with ease, so maybe she knew of sites that wouldn’t show up on Google.

I considered other search methods, wondering if I should even bother, when someone knocked on my door.

I closed the MacBook, walked over, and looked through the peephole: Brand.

Great.
 
Just what I needed.
 
The guy was a Sekutar warrior, an assassin like Kelly.
 
Six months ago, the bastard had tried to kill me and now he was sleeping with Kelly.
 
It was still Tuesday, so I hadn’t missed a training session.
 
He and Kelly were both working with me to get my martial arts skills elevated.
 
For the first month, Brand had pulled his punches, but after that, while he claimed to be taking it easy on me, the bruises told a different story.
 
He took me aside and explained to me that it would be disrespectful if he pulled his punches too much.

Open the door or pretend I’m not home?
 
That was the question.

“I know you’re home, Jonathan,” Brand said.
 
“Your car’s in the lot.”

“Shit,” I whispered.

I opened the door, and Brand proved he wasn’t a vampire because he just walked right in like he owned the place.
 
The son of a bitch made a beeline for the refrigerator and pulled out a six-pack of Corona.

“Help yourself,” I said.

“Don’t mind if I do.”
 
He gripped the bottle cap.

“I don’t think those are twist tops.”

“Whatever.”
 
He twisted it off with no problem then chugged the beer, set the empty bottle on the counter, and grabbed the next.
 
Since he’s almost as big a smart-ass as I am, he took hold of the second cap with his thumb and pinkie and pulled it off as if it were simply a piece of aluminum foil folded over the top.
 
He flicked the cap at me.

I caught it and grinned.
 
“It’s all in the reflexes.”
 
It was my best Kurt Russell impression, but he didn’t pay attention.
 
He was too busy slamming the beer.

He set the second dead soldier by the first and grabbed a third.
 
“This is canoe beer,” he said.
 
It was one of his favorite expressions.
 
For the uninitiated, canoe beer was like having sex in a canoe—fucking close to water.

“Don’t drink them all.”

“Why not?”

“Because they’re mine.”

“I’ll save the bottles and piss in them.
 
Then it will be your turn to drink.
 
That’s what you call being green.
 
Recycling.
 
All that crap.”

“No, that’s what I call disgusting.
 
Don’t even think about drinking a fourth.”

“Too late.”

He pounded down a fourth and popped open a fifth.

“Dude,” I said.
 
“At least save me one.”

“Come take it from me.”
 
He held up the sixth bottle by the neck and ticked it back and forth.

“Forget it.
 
I’ll buy more.”
 
I sat down on the sofa.

“Fine.
 
You can have the last one,” he said, “if you answer a few questions for me.”

He walked over, plopped on the couch beside me, and put an arm around my shoulder.
 
He kept the beer in his fist but held it so I could reach for it.
 
I didn’t bother because I knew he wouldn’t let go unless he got his answers first.

“I’ve already told you I can’t get you a grenade launcher.”

“My questions are about Kelly.
 
Here, take the beer.”

I didn’t.

“Come on, Jonathan.
 
I’m trying to do what she told me.
 
Take the
brewski
.”

I hesitated then reached up and took hold of the beer.
 
He held on for a second, then grinned and let go.

“Questions about Kelly,” I said.
 
“This should be fun.”

“Want me to open that for you?”

“Could you give me some space?”

“I make you uncomfortable?”

“You having your arm around me seems a bit—”

“Gay?”

“Dangerous.”

“Still afraid I’ll rip your head off?”

“The thought has crossed my mind.”

“Mine too, truth to tell.”
 
He laughed then turned serious.
 
“But if I did, Kelly would kill me.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Let me get that for you.”
 
He popped the cap off the Corona for me.
 
“Let’s have a toast.”
 
He held out his beer bottle.
 
“To women, even though every damn one of them is bat-shit crazy.”

“To women.”
 
I tapped my bottle to his and took a drink.
 
“They only seem crazy.”

“Says the guy who hasn’t been laid in months.”

“You and Kelly hit a rough patch?”

Brand took his arm away and stood up.
 
He slammed the rest of his beer and took the bottle to the kitchen counter.
 
When he came back, he didn’t say anything for a time.

I waited.

I could tell it bothered him to come to me for advice.
 
He knew I didn’t like that he and Kelly were dating.
 
Sleeping with the enemy just didn’t make sense to me.
 
Kelly insisted he wasn’t the enemy anymore.
 
In my opinion, his allegiance had shifted so fast, I knew it could happen again.
 
He might be friendly today, but tomorrow he might try to kill me.
 
I didn’t like him.
 
Esther despised him.
 
I have no clue how Kelly felt about him.
 
She never talked about that.

“I think,” he said then stopped.
 
His eyes darted back and forth as if searching for the right words hanging in the air.
 
He sighed and looked over at me.
 
“I think she’s getting tired of me.”

Good,
I thought.
 
But I said, “What makes you think that?”

“Last night in bed—”

“Stop,” I said.
 
“I don’t want to hear about your sexual exploits.”

“You don’t seem like a prude.”

“I’m not but Kelly’s my friend.”

He nodded.
 
“I respect that.
 
This isn’t about sex, though.”

“OK, go on.”

“We were getting ready to go to sleep.
 
Anyway, I told her I love her.
 
It’s the first time I ever said that.”

“What did she say?”

“She said, ‘hmm.’
 
That’s it.
 
Just ‘hmm.’
 
Then she went to sleep.
 
This morning she didn’t say anything, but I could tell she looked at me different.
 
We’ve been together for six months.
 
Did I say it too soon?
 
Too late?
 
What?”

“Did you expect her to go all mushy on you?”

“No.”

“Good because that’s not Kelly.”

“I did expect her to say
some
thing, though.”

“Maybe she’s processing it.”

“I wish I could take it back.
 
I feel like maybe this was a test and I failed.”

“A test?”

“More of a challenge.
 
I don’t know.
 
I get the impression she thinks less of me now.
 
It’s like I gave her power over me, made myself weak in front of her, and now she doesn’t respect me.”

“Being in love means you do give away some power and you open yourself up to your partner in ways you never thought you would or could.”

“I don’t like feeling weak.”

“Then you’re with the wrong woman.”

“What?”

“Come on, Brand.
 
You know how easily you could kill me?
 
That’s how easily Kelly can kill you.”

“I sense that but I don’t understand it.
 
We’re both Sekutar.”

“True,” I said but Kelly was first generation and Brand was second generation, which was an inferior race.
 
The wizards who created them had a great deal of trouble killing the first batch, so when they created another round, they built in a few weaknesses.
 
They weren’t obvious but they were there.
 
Kelly figured it out from sparring with Brand.

“She’s older,” he said.
 
“More experienced.
 
That must be it.”

“Probably.”

“So what do I do?”

“You’re asking me?”

He shrugged.
 
“You know her better than I do.”

“Maybe that’s part of the problem.
 
Maybe you need to get to know her.”

“I thought I did.”

“Go deeper.”

“I’m thinking she might be done with me.”

“Not yet,” I said.

“How do you know?”

I gave him a grin.
 
“Because you’re still breathing.”

“So how do I get closer to her?”

“Take an interest in what she does.”

“Teaching weak women to fight back?
 
They should have learned that before their men beat them up or they should have left sooner or something.”

“Not really understanding the whole ‘take an interest’ thing, are you?”

“Why bother teaching them?
 
They’re just going to go back and get beat up again or killed.
 
It’s a waste of time.”

“Or maybe by teaching them, Kelly is helping to build their confidence so they can build a better life without abusers.”

“Huh,” Brand said and furrowed his brow as he rolled that concept around in his excuse for a mind.

“You’ve been with Kelly for half a year, so you had to have seen changes in the women she teaches.”

“I don’t pay attention to them.”

“You don’t help with the classes?”