Forever Black (Nightwalkers 2) (6 page)

A few seconds later, the man in uniform returned.
"She'll meet you in the front hall."

"Thanks." Caleb tapped on the top of his car
before waving at the guard and driving through the gates. He glanced over at
Ashleigh and patted her leg. "You okay?"

"No." Her bottom lip pouted as she drew in a deep,
quivering breath. She was on the verge of tears. "Caleb?" Ashleigh
quickly grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Yeah?"

Her voice was low, and a childlike fear lined her tone,
"Never let go."

"What's got you so upset, babe?" Caleb's eyes
narrowed on Ashleigh.

"My stepfather."

"No one will bother you with me around."

"Okay." Ashleigh forced a smile, but when she did,
a few tears escaped that she had been holding back.

"Ready?" He playfully shook her hand that held
tightly to his.

"I guess so." She nodded her head and studied
Caleb. He had kind eyes, and though she knew her innocent-looking lover was a
killer, they still comforted her.

"Right." He let go of her and got out of the car.
He quickly hopped over the hood and opened her door. "A rock star escort,
gorgeous?" Grinning, he looped her arm in his. "What a lucky lady you
are."

She laughed as they advanced toward the house. "What a
lucky
guy
you are."

"Yeah." He paused as he studied her. She looked
beautiful—her hair full and thick, her expression tender and sweet. "Lucky
is not the word."

"What is?" She waited as he opened the door.

"Blessed."

"You're so romantic." She couldn't help but laugh
at his cheesy grin as they went inside.

"Master Mason." Lady Harper was standing at the
foot of the stairs, a slightly angry look on her face as she eyed him
suspiciously.

Ashleigh took hold of Caleb's hand again with an iron grip.
She turned to the side to avoid making eye contact with Lady Harper.

"What brings you to my home?" She then studied
Ashleigh, a curious look on her face as she walked over. "And who's the
young lady?"

Then, Ashleigh saw Cadence emerge from the kitchen and
quickly made her way over, leaving Caleb to speak with Lady Harper. Cadence was
dressed in a black maid's uniform drying her hands on a towel.

"What are you doing here?" Cadence sat on a small
couch near them, a giant smile on her face as she watched Ashleigh sit down
next to her. Even though she seemed happy, she kept looking nervously over at
Lady Harper.

"Grandpa…" Ashleigh paused as she gazed down at
her hands. "Is dead."

"Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry." Cadence went to touch
her, but Ashleigh quickly pulled away.

"I promised him I'd give this…" Before she could
hand over the letter, Ashleigh started to cry. "He…"

"Oh, sweetie…" Cadence took Ashleigh into her arms
and held her tight. "It's all right. Don't cry." Cadence laughed as
she stroked Ashleigh's long hair. "Look at you, so big, yet you're still
Candy's little girl."

"Mom…" Ashleigh looked up at Cadence. She then
wiped her tears and glanced down at the letter. "Forgot about me, didn't
she?"

"Ask her." Cadence motioned toward Caleb.
"She misses you, sweetie." Cadence stood and shooed her. "Go on,
now."

Ashleigh nodded then gradually made her way back over to
Caleb. Cadence didn't follow, but watched them from the sidelines. Caleb
glanced over at Ashleigh when he felt her fingers slip into his.

"Hi." Ashleigh wore an angered expression as she
glared at Lady Harper. She held out a stiff hand to her, the letter held firmly
between her fingers. "I promised Gramps I'd give this to you."

"Oh, my goodness." Covering her lips, Lady Harper
gasped. "You—"

Ashleigh turned away, her soft voice seething with anger.
"I am leaving after I hand this to you."

"Ashleigh." Lady Harper went up to Ashleigh,
placing her hands on the young woman’s shoulders. "Please…why can't you
forgive me? I—"

"I'll never forgive you."

Narrowing her eyes on Caleb, Lady Harper motioned toward
him. "You know my daughter?"

"Ashleigh's your daughter?"

"Caleb's my fiancé."

"Fiancé? What? I warned you about coming here, and then
with…" Lady Harper's brow lowered as she motioned toward Caleb.
"Another vampire? You don't understand what you've done."

"You're the one who needs to understand." Ashleigh
let go of Caleb's hand and pointed an angry finger. "It's your fault Dad
left me. It was all because of you and your lies! I hate you!"

"Why did you come here? To bring up the past? Please,
let's talk in private, and—"

"No. I'm tired of this." Ashleigh threw the letter
at her mother, the paper hitting her in the chest then falling to the ground.
"And I have nothing more to say to you but goodbye."

"Now, Ashleigh…stop this. Your father is—"

"My father
is
dead. I don't believe you. I'm not a bastard. I'm a Brown!"

"Please, Ashleigh… You don't understand what you
are…what could happen to—"

"Hey!" A voice came from behind them, Ashleigh and
Caleb turning around. "Look who it is! Mr. Rock Star himself."

"Ben, darling." Marion had her fists balled nervously as she
faked a smile. "What are you doing home already?"

"Early?" Ben regarded her with a slight confusion
then turned back to Caleb. "So, what are you doing here?" He glanced
at Ashleigh. She purposely wasn't looking at him.

"Just delivering something." Caleb wrapped his arm
around Ashleigh's shoulders, pulling her closer. "How's the new stock of
hunters? Any good newbies?"

"Nothing spectacular." Ben sighed, but he kept his
eyes on Ashleigh.

"We need more like Robert. I need another one of those
to protect my girl." He squeezed Ashleigh's shoulders, his playful action
making her smile.

"I'll keep my eye out." He nodded then turned to
his wife briefly. "You staying for supper, Caleb?"

"Just ate." Caleb laughed as he glanced at
Ashleigh then back at Ben. "Maybe some other time."

"Please, excuse us." Lady Harper's voice was shaky
as she took Ashleigh's hand. She laughed nervously then whispered into
Ashleigh's ear, "Please, Ashleigh, leave. Before Ben—"

"You look very familiar." Ben was studying
Ashleigh suspiciously, a finger pausing at his lip. "Have we met? You're a
Vessling
, right? You look just like—" Ben’s gaze
quickly snapped to his wife. "Marion? Do
you
know this girl? Who is she?"

"Ashleigh," Caleb answered for her. Ashleigh
quickly broke away from her mother and wrapped her arm around his waist.
"Soon to be Mason."

"Ashleigh?" Ben's eyes narrowed on her, the words
breathlessly slipping off his lips. "Ashleigh Brown?" He turned to Lady
Harper. "Your daughter?"

"Yes." Ashleigh's voice was low, but her anger
seethed through her words. "So, you remember me." Her next words came
out louder as she glared at her mother. "I'm Anthony's bastard
daughter."

"What?" Ben glanced between them. "Marion? Is that
true?"

"Take me home, Caleb." Ashleigh yanked on Caleb's
hand.

"I can't let you leave." Ben was now standing near
the door, a very cross look on his face. "If what you say is true, then I
have to hand you over to the Council."

"Please, Ben." Lady Harper quickly found a place
at Ashleigh's side. "Don't do this. Look…" Marion gestured toward
Caleb. Caleb was holding onto Ashleigh tightly, a challenging look in his eyes.
"She's happy. Let her be. I beg you."

"You lied to me, Marion. You told me she was your
ex-husband’s daughter. You never told me she was Anthony's. You promised me she
wasn't. How could you lie to me like that?" Ben pointed to Ashleigh
angrily. "Keeping a secret like this is treasonous. We have to turn her
in."

Ashleigh spun and glared at her mother. "What the hell
is he talking about, Mom? What's going on?"

"I'm so sorry, Ashleigh." Tears streamed down Lady
Harper's face. "Please…you don't understand. I—"

"Give her to me, Caleb." Ben stalked slowly toward
them. They took a few steps back. "I don't want to fight you. You need to
understand—this isn't anything against you. This is a matter for the
Council."

"No." Caleb's angry eyes burned into Ben's.
"She doesn't want to go with you."

"Give her to me, Caleb." Ben motioned with his hands
again, a sinister grin on his face that showed he wasn't letting Caleb leave
peacefully, either.

"Caleb." Ashleigh clung to Caleb's arm.
"What's going on?"

"Never." Caleb held tightly to Ashleigh as he
continued to argue with Ben. His quick eyes went from Ben to one of the
Harpers’ bodyguards creeping in on him. "I won't let you lay a finger on
her."

Caleb jumped back a step when Ben lunged at him. He pushed
Ashleigh away and focused on the fight Ben had initiated.

When Ben came for him again, Caleb grabbed the leg of a
coffee table near him. In a quick action, he nailed Ben in the face with table
as hard as he could. When Ben was down, he planted a swift kick to Ben's jaw.

Ben let out a few groans, but Caleb wasn't going to stay and
wait for him to get up. He needed to get out of there. So, he tossed Ashleigh,
who let out a small
yipe
, over his shoulder. Like a
flash of lightning, Caleb took off. Ben cursed as he stood and wiped the blood
trickling down his lips.

"Upstairs!" Ben pointed angrily toward the
staircase. "Catch him before he leaves with her!"

Caleb managed to get to his car, both he and Ashleigh
jumping in quickly. He turned the key and took off down the front drive. His
foot slammed on the gas, the tires squealing as the car sped forward. He drove
away from the mansion and sped toward home.

"What the hell's going on?" Caleb glanced at
Ashleigh. He was breathing heavily, and his heart was racing.

Glaring at the dash, Ashleigh's voice came out low and
angry, "I don't know."

"Well, then, tell me what you
do
know."

"What do you want to know?" Releasing a deep,
quick breath, Ashleigh glanced toward the window.

"About your parents. Your mother. I don't know…"
Caleb's words quickened as he tried to keep his voice steady, "Let's start
with Master
Vessling
being your father."

Ashleigh crossed her arms angrily over her chest. "He's
not my father." The words seethed from her lips as she intensified her
glare.

"Well, Marion and Ben think so. Are you sure he's
not?"

"No." Her voice softened, as if admitting it to
herself took away some the anger. What lied under it was sadness, deep and
painful.

"Hey." Caleb reached over and took hold of her
thigh. He squeezed it a few times until she turned to him. "It's okay. You
can tell me, cause if you don't, how can I help you? You want my help,
right?"

"I want it all to go away, Caleb." She wiped
forcefully at her cheek and halted the descent of falling tears. "I just
want it to go away."

"About your mom lying to you?" Caleb licked his
lips nervously as he glanced in the rearview mirror.

"Mark Brown is my father." Her voice quivered.
"He's the one who took care of me. He's the one who tucked me in every
night when I was a kid. He—" Ashleigh looked sharply to her side, her sobs
halting her words momentarily. "I loved him so much, and then he had to
die. He left me—"

Giant tears rolled down her reddened cheeks, and she quickly
brushed them away. She spoke through gritted teeth. "Just like she did. He
left me…" She held her head in her hands as she leaned forward.

"
Heeeyy
…" Caleb glanced
over at her and rubbed her leg. "It's okay to cry. I'm sure he was a great
father."

"It was her fault. She took him from me."

"What?"

"Do you know what it…feels like…to…" She wiped at
her eyes several times as she gazed upward in an attempt to stop more tears
from flowing.

"To what?" Caleb pulled over, the action catching
her off guard. He now gave her his full attention. Wrapping one of his arms
around her shoulders, he rubbed it briskly.

"I don't
wanna
talk about
him." Ashleigh leaned over and laid her head on Caleb's shoulder.

"Babe…" Caleb's voice was soft and filled with
kindness. "I want to know. If you keep this kind of stuff from me, how can
I help? I want to help. Just tell me what happened to him."

Ashleigh took a deep breath. "My mom… She lived in
Kingston, and me and my dad lived in Grand Lake. She was going to be a lawyer,
just like my dad." She sniffled, her voice growing stronger. "That's
where they met—at Kingsford. My dad was a professor there. But then, she got
pregnant and couldn't take care of me because she was a full-time student, so
my dad…he went home and got a nice job at a local firm."