Page 105 of Dark Lover

“You come across as arrogant, indifferent and tough as nails. But it’s all a facade—one that began when Mother was murdered.”

“Are you crazy? Are you trying to piss me off?”

“Why would my pointing out that you shut down your heart the day she died infuriate you?” Tabby wasn’t perturbed. “I always wondered if you’d ever come to grips with her murder.”

“I have come to grips with it. I learned that being soft is for suckers and for victims. Mom was a helluva witch, but in the end, she was just another victim.” Sam breathed hard. “Life sucks, doesn’t it? I sure as hell learned how to be strong that day and I have no regrets.”

“I think you can be strong and compassionate without being a sucker or a victim.” Tabby put her arm around her. “I love you. I’m glad you care about Ian. He needs you—and you need him.”

Sam pulled away and stood. Was she crazy? “You don’t get it, Tabby. Let’s back up. No, let’s start over! We’re only having sex. This isn’t love. It isn’t even friendship.” An odd pang went through her, as if she wanted what she was denying, which was absurd. “We’re not even on the same side! And we are not the flip side of one another! Right now, we’re partners, but only because the die landed that way. He’s out for number one and I’m an HCU team player. This is a moment in time for us. A brief moment, one that will pass.” She paused to take a breath. “I love you guys. And that is the extent of my romantic nature.”

Tabby stood, too. “Okay, Sam, if you say so.”

Sam hated it when Tabby became that know-it-all-schoolteacher, speaking to her as if she were an ignorant child.

“I think she doth protest too much,” Brie murmured.

Sam realized she’d forgotten how annoying her sister and cousin could be. She sighed, but it was great to have them around to annoy her! “Let’s make a bet. Five years from now, no, one year from now—no, six months from now, not only won’t Ian and I be together, I won’t even recall his name.”

“I’ll take it,” Brie said quickly. “Loser buys dinner at the best restaurant in L.A. Better yet, at the Beverly Hills Hotel.”

Tabby and Brie weren’t getting what she was trying to tell them, that she and Maclean were no big deal, not now and not ever.

“So what’s next?” Brie asked seriously now. “In order to steal the page and hand it over to Nick, we need to get to 2009. But if we’ve figured out where Ian stashed the page, Hemmer probably has, too. And then there’s Carlisle.”

Before Sam could speak, Tabby said, “I don’t want you doing this alone, Sam. Brie is right. My powers are very strong now, and we can help. It sounds like Hemmer is dangerous, the monk even more so.”

Sam began to smile. She was thrilled.

“We are going to come with you,” Tabby said firmly.

“Sounds like a plan,” Sam said happily.

“Can I point out something logistical?” Brie asked. “Before we bop over to the future, the monk happens to be right here, right now, just a few hundred miles to the south.”

“I’m almost certain that Ian kept us in this time so he could hunt Carlisle. For him, it’s personal. As much as I think the page should be handed over to Nick immediately, Brie has a good point. Let’s get rid of the monk before we do anything else. It will be one less bad guy to worry about.” Maybe Ian’s vengeance would pave the way for his healing, Sam thought.

“Since when do you worry about the bad guys?” Tabby teased.

Sam was thinking about Ian’s need for revenge against the monk now. She didn’t answer, because her answer would be, “Since Ian.”

Tabby said seriously, “If we intend to go back to Carlisle and confront and destroy the monk, we need to bring the men into this.”

Ian liked going it alone. He’d hate working alongside his father, but he would have to deal, Sam thought. “A little extra white power never hurts.” She thought about the savage Macleod. “I’d sure love to sic Macleod on Carlisle.”

“The more, the safer,” Brie said. She was sober now. “Masters have died facing off against the monk. We need to know what we’re going up against. I’d like to know which powers he has, exactly.”

“No one is going to die,” Sam said firmly, looking at Tabby. She didn’t seem worried about Guy. “We can do this. A bit of vision, a bit of slaying and lots of magic…it’s a shoo-in.” Just then, it felt like it would be that easy, with them all together again.

Suddenly they all clasped hands. “Like old times,” Brie whispered.

“Yeah,” Sam said, smiling. “Like old times.”

A MAID WHO DID NOT speak English showed Sam to Ian’s chamber, but when she got there, the room was vacant. A small fire burned in the stone hearth. The bed hadn’t been slept in. But a bottle of wine and two cups had been left on the table, which was beneath a window with glass panes. Outside, the night was blue-black and brilliant with stars.

Sam went back downstairs. As she approached the great room where she’d spent the past hours with her sister and Brie, she heard a man speaking. For one moment, she thought it Ian, but quickly realized it was his father.

She was about to walk in when she saw that Ian was there. Sensing the tension between them, she faltered on the threshold.