A hand fell on her shoulder. "Jenny?" Michael said softly. She opened her eyes. Damian stood staring at Michael's hand on her shoulder. An expression of some kind of feeling flashed across his face, gone almost as soon as it appeared. It had looked almost like . . . jealousy? But Damian was looking at her like she repulsed him again.
She tore her eyes from Damian and turned to Michael. His dark eyes gazed at her questioningly.
"I . . . no, I don't know him. He must be mistaken," she said awkwardly, willing Michael to believe her. He nodded, not looking quite convinced, and stepped back.
Ashton had crossed the room and stood in front of Damian. "Damian, what are you doing here? I thought you were going back to Las Vegas for a while." Jenny realized Ashton hadn't known Damian was here.
Damian watched Jenny for a second over Ashton's shoulder then turned to his sister, grabbing her arm. "I came back to protect you, of course. This place isn't the safest place to hide. Anybody could find us here." He looked pointedly at the Executioners as he said this. "Who are they and why are they here?"
Ashton turned around and looked at the humans. "They know what we are, Damian."
"Oh really?" he said sarcastically. "I thought wooden weapons were all the rage for naive vermin now. Ashton, did you even notice that they are armed for a fight? You have got to be more careful or you're going to get yourself killed!"
Ashton frowned. "I know, but they came asking for my help. A few of their friends have been kidnapped . . . by the Night World."
Damian narrowed his eyes at them. "Like what father was talking about?"
"Yes."
"How do you know you can trust them?"
Michael stepped in front of Jenny. "Um excuse me, but I'd like to know who you are. If we were here to hurt Ashton, we would have done it by now. How do we know we can trust you?"
Damian grinned and walked up to Michael, stopping mere inches from him. Although Michael was a few inches taller than him, Damian stared up at him without flinching. "You first," he said levelly.
The two stared at each other for a full minute, then Michael backed down, frowning. "Fine. I'm Michael Scherer."
"Damian Silverwind. I'm Ashton's brother."
Michael froze. "Her brother . . ."
Damian narrowed his eyes. "That's what I said."
Michael looked sideways at Jenny. She wished the ground would open up and swallow her.
"I thought . . ." Michael started. Jenny stared at him, trying not to let him see in her eyes the sinking feeling she had in her stomach.
"Thought what?" Damian said, scowling. "Do you have a problem with me being Ashton's brother?"
Michael shook his head. "Nothing. It was just a thought." Then he looked at Jenny again. We'll talk later; his look seemed to say to her. Great.
Damian stood purposely close to Michael, letting him know that he was no match for him. "Because if you have a problem, we can fix that right here."
Jenny could practically feel the tension shooting between the two as they stared at each other menacingly. Almost imperceptibly, Michael's hand started sliding toward his back, where his lignum vitae knife was sheathed.
"Michael," she warned softly and looked at Ashton. Ashton too seemed to perceive the potential danger and grabbed Damian's arm.
"Damian, cut it out!" She pulled him backwards. This seemed to break the spell. Michael turned away from Damian, mumbling "Sorry" to Jenny. Damian gave Michael one more look, then turned and stalked to the door. At the door, he spun around and stared directly at Jenny. He caught her by surprise and she couldn't tear her eyes away from his bottomless icy blue ones. Her heart was pounding so hard on her rib cage, she was afraid everybody would be able to hear it. After about 15 seconds, Damian narrowed his eyes slightly at her, then turned and disappeared from the doorway. Jenny's breath escaped in a rush and she could feel the blood rushing to her face.
"I'm sorry," Ashton was saying, brushing her dark hair from her face and touching Michael's shoulder. "He's not as bad as he seems, I promise. He likes to act tough."
Gunther spoke from behind them. Jenny had almost forgotten he was there; he'd been so quiet. Then again, Gunther never had been one to talk much. "Well, if he causes any trouble, I'll take care of him." He pounded a fist into his left hand.
Jenny snorted. "Gee, thanks, Gunther."
Ashton let go of Michael's shoulder and sat down in the chair. "I'd like to help you guys, but I don't know what I can do. I've told you everything I know."
"We'll think of something, Ashton, as long as you're willing to do whatever we ask you to," Jenny told her. "We need to know we can depend on you 100 percent."
Ashton nodded and rubbed her forehead. "Yes, I'll do anything. It's not right, whatever it is they're doing. And they killed my parents!" Then she looked up at Jenny, her eyes wide. "Maybe Damian knows more."
Michael shook his head adamantly. "Uh uh. No way. I don't trust him. I'm not going to get him involved in this."
Jenny started to say something, then shut her mouth. Maybe Damian did know something. But she didn't want him involved in this any more than Michael did, although for different reasons. If he had any information, though, they needed to know. And who would he be most likely to tell - verbally or not? She sighed inwardly. Well, that only meant one thing. If she was going to protect the rest of the Executioners, she'd have to go to Damian herself. Damn.
"Jenny," Michael said. "What are you thinking?" He looked at her, waiting.
"I," she began, looking around at the small group. "I was just thinking that I don't really trust him either, and I'd rather keep this among us if at all possible."
Michael smiled. "Good idea."
Ashton shrugged. "Well, I don't think you guys need to worry about Damian. I mean, he's done some bad things in his life, but he's not truly bad. He's my brother. I trust him."
"It's still better to keep this quiet, though, Ashton," Michael said to her.
She gave a small smile. "Alright. I'll leave him out of it." She stared at the group as they stood up to leave. "What do you want me to do first?"
Gunther and Michael both looked to Jenny for the answer. She thought for a moment, then told Ashton, "For now, just keep an eye out for any kind of information. We'll get back to you soon." The other two nodded their approval, and The Executioners turned to leave.
They left Ashton sitting in her chair, shaking her head and staring at the ground.
***********
Gunther dropped Jenny off at home a half-hour later. As she stepped out of the car, she realized the shadows were growing long and the light fading. It was already getting dark. How long had they been talking to Ashton? It was hard to believe it was only a few hours ago that Mari was kidnapped. It felt like days. Jenny groaned as she walked up the driveway. Who were they, and what were they doing with the other Executioners? She needed to find out, and fast.
Deep in thought, Jenny didn't notice the person sitting on her front porch until she was halfway up the stairs. Her instincts kicked in at the last second and she froze on the third step, ready to either attack or run if needed.
"Jenny?" a female voice asked, and the person stepped out of the shadows of the swing. A tall, thin girl wearing a purple jacket walked to the steps. Jenny recognized her from school, but couldn't recall her name.
"Yes?" Jenny climbed the last few steps until she stood level with the girl. Or rather, their feet were level; the girl towered above Jenny by at least six inches.
The girl smiled slightly. "Hi. I'm Tiffany Adams. From school." They shook hands and Jenny nodded.
"Yes, I've seen you around." Jenny stared at Tiffany, wondering why she was here.
Tiffany must have read the expression on Jenny's face, because she said, "I heard you were friends with Carl King. I thought maybe you might have . . . I don't know, heard some news about him."
Jenny paused from answering, surprised. Carl almost never hung out with the rest of The Executioners at school, only speaking with them occasionally in the hallways. Otherwise, it was only at meetings and outings that he was with them. How did Tiffany know about Jenny, then? "Well, I don't know," Jenny began awkwardly. "We're really not that close. I mean, I see him every once in a while, but not that often. Why don't you talk to his parents?"
Another small smile from Tiffany. She gazed at Jenny with her dark eyes. "I did. I thought maybe you might know something they don't." Her voice was conversational and normal, but Jenny caught a current of something else beneath it. This girl thought Jenny actually had something to do with Carl's disappearance.
Without realizing it, Jenny had stepped backwards, away from the taller girl. She bumped into the wall of the house, turning her head in surprise. When she looked forward again, Tiffany was standing right in front of her. Jenny hadn't even heard her move. A tingle of unease ran up her spine.
"What do you mean?" she asked, trying to sound casual. "I don't know anything more than anybody else."
"Are you sure about that?" Tiffany's voice still sounded pleasant, but Jenny could see the threat in her eyes. Something wasn't right here, and Jenny didn't like it one bit.
"I'm sure," she said firmly, suddenly feeling insulted that this strange girl had the nerve to come to her home and try to bully her around. She stood up straight and faced Tiffany. "What does any of this have to do with you?"
Tiffany didn't back down. "Carl is my friend. I'm just trying to find the truth."
Jenny snorted. "Join the club!"
Tiffany's hand suddenly darted out and grabbed Jenny's left arm, squeezing it firmly. "I don't think you've told me what you know."
Jenny's jaw dropped slightly in indignation. "Are you threatening me? Who are you?"
Tiffany ignored her. "Why don't you tell me what you were doing with the Silverwinds tonight?"
Warning signs went off in Jenny's mind. Without thinking, she popped the spring on her knife and held it in front of her, pointed at Tiffany. "Who are you?" she asked in a low, dangerous voice. How had she known about Ashton? And why would she care, unless she were something other than human?
Tiffany grinned. "You really think that puny little knife would protect you against me?" As Jenny watched, Tiffany's face seemed to blur and reshape. Jenny backed up slightly, watching with wide eyes. In a matter of a minute, Tiffany was gone. In her place stood a pitch black panther, ears folded back and dark eyes watching Jenny hungrily.
Jenny's mouth dropped open. "Oh shit!" she exclaimed involuntarily. "You're a 'shifter!" She hadn't had a clue that Tiffany was a shapeshifter – no signs or anything. And the girl had gone to Jenny's school for a few years, at the very least. Tiffany was damn good at hiding it. But then, Jenny hadn't ever actually interacted with Tiffany before, and vampires were more her forté anyway. She had never seen a shapeshifter actually shift right in front of her before. And now, Jenny didn't know what to do. At that moment, her body failed her and she froze, unable to move in any direction. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she vaguely wondered about Tiffany's part in the occurrences of the past few days.
Tiffany let out a cat-like yowl – revealing sharp, strong teeth – and stretched back, preparing to pounce.