Shadow & Smoke

Chapter 13

After the bookstore closed, I was finally able to get some work done. I was still uneasy in the store by myself at night ever since what happened with Malachi. Being on edge was an understatement with how easily he hid in the shadows and seemed to thrive off of my fear.

I did fear him.

But, I also wanted him.

No, I couldn't want him. That was completely out of the question. He was insane and not even completely human. Whatever his deal was, I needed to steer clear. Nothing to do with Malachi would end in anything but devastation.

Plus, he could be the vigilante.

My money was on him for roughing up the men from the bar last night. He'd made it clear that he wouldn't hesitate to hurt my friend if he didn't stay away so, I could only imagine what he'd do to an unwelcome suitor.

What about Eli's truck? I could see how Malachi would sabotage the window and the tires so that he Eli couldn't take me home.

There were so many reasons to keep my guard up and stay far the fuck away from Malachi. But the issue remained that it was easier said than done. Especially when I found myself waiting for the electricity to crack in the air and his strong body to emerge from the darkened shadows.

I shouldn't want him anywhere near me but for whatever odd, unexplainable reason, I did. It was a craving that I couldn't escape.

So, when the electricity did crack in the air and the hair on my arm rose with anticipation, I froze—but not with the usual fear and trepidation. Instead, it was more of a heavy anticipation in the pit of my gut.

Like violent butterflies.

"You continue to surprise me." Malachi's rich voice said from the shadows. I couldn't yet see him but I knew without doubt that he was there.

When he finally did emerge, I inhaled sharply. He was still almost too beautiful to look at as the shadows made way for him like a translucent curtain. He seemed far more amused than any time I'd encountered him before.

When I didn't answer—and barely breathed at all—he added, "The last time we were here you were not so eager to see me. In fact, you ran away from me."

And into Eli's arms.

The defiance inched back into my demeanor, I scoffed at him, "I'm not eager. I just knew that it was matter of time before your stalker ass would pop back up."

My words beguiled him and he smiled.

Stupid, charming smile.

No, not charming. Malachi's smile was venomous like he was: charming on the outside but poisonous on the inside.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were behaving."

I rolled my eyes partially and then paused, remembering the last time I rolled my eyes and the reaction it had gotten. The instigator in me wanted to press my luck but I pulled back and stayed on topic.

I didn't need his damn hands all over me. Then, I really wouldn't get any answers from him.

"And if I wasn't behaving?" I pressed as I closed the laptop at my desk and Malachi took a seat in the wooden chair on the other side. At first he raised a brow but then his eyes narrowed at my implication.

"Oh, I know everything, love." Malachi crooned as he leaned onto the desk. "If it happened, I know about it. If someone else touched you, I know about it."

The vigilante.

"Is that so?"

Malachi tilted his head in response.

"Was it you, then?" I asked bluntly and I could tell by the way the corner of his mouth turned up deviously that he knew exactly what I was referring to.

No answer.

Sitting back in my chair, I sighed with frustration, "Right, the questions only go one way."

Malachi laughed, "I just don't think you actually want to know the answers to the questions you ask, love. There's no going back once you do."

I rolled my eyes completely that time and although it definitely vexed Malachi, he simply clenched his jaw and leaned back in his chair.

"Fine." He said simply as if it were nothing. "What do you want to know, Eleanor."

Eleanor.

Fuck.

The way he emphasized my name made my heart skip multiple beats.

He'd never called me by my actual name before. It reminded me that he knew far more about me than I did about him. It also reminded me that his initial approach towards me was terror. He'd petrified me and haunted me for months. If that had continued, I would have definitely had a mental break of some sort.

He was dangerous.

Ellie, stay the fuck away from him.

My hesitation didn't go unnoticed and before I could speak, Malachi was up from his seat and across the desk, sitting on the edge nearest me. If I had no words before, they certainly escaped me then.

"Let me remind you that there's no going back once you have the answers you seek."

I nodded and took a deep breath because I could not speak.

He may be dangerous but I still wanted answers. No, I fucking deserved answers.

Okay, let's start simple, "Did you attack those guys at the Horseshoe?"

There was no hesitation on Malachi's part as he smiled, "Yes."

My heart sunk to the pit of my stomach and I fought back the roiling nausea.

I knew it.

"They were left for dead." I gasped.

"But, did they die?" He shrugged nonchalantly.

No, both of those creeps survived but that wasn't the point.

"You could have killed them." I argued.

Malachi was unfazed by my contention, "I could have but I didn't."

Fuck him and his logic.

"And Eli's truck?" I added since he was on such a roll.

That time, Malachi's smile was much more mischievous and I could tell that he was pleased with himself for it. "I warned you what would happen. I thought I was being pretty lenient just fucking up his car and not his face. You saw what happened to the others."

I did see the photos on social media about the attack and they weren't pretty. The fact that Eli might be in that sort of danger because he was interested in me made me sick with worry. I refused to let anyone I cared about get hurt because of something I did or didn't do.

That's why I ran so far after I graduated high school. I couldn't go fast enough or far enough without a passport and the funds. Clear across the country had to suffice. I kept from forming relationship for that very reason: so that I wasn't responsible for their wellbeing.

It was too much pressure to take care of anyone but myself. I was already shit at taking care of myself that it was only a matter of time before I fucked up spectacularly taking care of others.

This was a disaster waiting to happen.