Sanctuary

Chapter 4

Luke

As I walked back to my apartment, my mind returned to when I first entered the dining room and saw her talking with Rachel. The conversation animated her and the two women seemed to get on well. Something changed, I don't know if she could sense my presence behind her or if it was something that had been on her mind. I heard my name mentioned and my feet became glued to the spot. I couldn't have moved if I wanted to.

Jaynah talked to Rachel about her concerns. My first thoughts were that she wanted to take me off the team. But her tone of voice sounded more hesitant than usual. It seemed as if she was unsure of what to do. I caught Rachel's eye and gestured to her to keep her talking, to find out more. This was a new Jaynah. Arrogant, by the book, pain in the ass, stubborn, independent, I could handle. The woman I saw then? The one who wasn't sure of herself, who admitted that there was a possibility she had been wrong about something? She was a whole different person. One I didn't know what to do with.

From the way she sat, I could see when Rachel had asked Jaynah something that had her more confident about the ground she was standing on. I stepped forward and answered for her, earning the snappy comeback which often accompanied the green fire in her eyes. I hid the grin on my face until I was out of sight in the kitchen. From the brief glimpse of her eyes I had gotten as I passed the women, I was right. Her eyes were showing more green than brown.

Two minutes later, I stood at the door between the kitchen and the dining room. It took a lot to not say anything when she mentioned her fights with Kelly. Last time the three of us were in the same room, Jaynah accused Kelly of acting like a mate. I kept my mouth shut that time even though I had agreed with her. It wasn't worth the aggro.

Jaynah's eyes had darkened, the brown in them coming to the front as Rachel asked about the nickname I had given her. It wasn't a very nice thing to do. Her refusal to trust my instincts frustrated me and I called her that in anger. It stuck and became a way to tease her. The thing that surprised me the most in her whole conversation with Rachel had come towards the end. Jaynah looked at me, then dropped one of the biggest bombshells of my life. Make that two bombshells. She should have listened to me about something? She never admitted I was right about anything.

I was still reeling from that admission when Jaynah lobbed her second bombshell at me. One I didn't expect. She thought there was something that linked her case and Serena's death. Was she going on instinct, or was there something in her notes that led her to conclude that it was a possibility?

I headed towards my apartment and said goodnight to Tami. She gave me a hug before I tucked her in and sat on the edge of her bed to talk to her. "There's a meeting I have to go to, but I'll ask Hannah to stay with you until I get back. You'll have someone here to talk to if you have a nightmare and she gives good hugs."

"Okay Daddy. Goodnight."

"Sleep well Tami." I left the room and shut the door behind me. As soon as I reached the lounge area, I turned to Dad. "I need Hannah to stay here so Tami has someone close by. I know she's safe here, but I don't like leaving her alone at night while she's so young."

Dad grinned at me as he pulled out his phone and sent off a text to Hannah. "What?"

He shrugged and made me wait until he had received a response before he answered. "I took seventy-five years and a Master hunt in Africa to develop the same protective instincts you have shown in only a few days."

My shoulder lifted, and I gave him a grin as I opened the door. "Guess I learned from example when I was younger." I gave Hannah a kiss on the cheek and aside to let her in. "Thanks for doing this Han. You know where everything is. I shouldn't be long, two hours at the most. I've told Tami that you'll be here so with luck, she'll remember that when she has a night terror or a nightmare."