Shadow's Turning- Part 5

I don’t know what I’d expected the inside to look like- maybe an office like the signs on the other buildings suggested.

Instead, it was a comfortable living room and bar area, running heavily toward leather and dark wood.  The only light was from some dim sconces placed around the room.  After the bright light of the sun outside, the dim interior was a welcome relief to my smarting eyes.

I turned toward Birch, rubbing my hands nervously on my jeans.

“Have a seat,” he said, gesturing toward the plush couch.

I perched on the end of it, not wanting to sink in too far.  He opted to lean against the bar, his arms folded across his chest as he considered me.

When I didn’t start talking right away, he cocked his head, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Why did Mindy send you here?” he asked finally.

I eyed the distance to the front door.  I would have to pass directly in front of him to reach it if things went south.

I jerked my gaze back to him as he moved to sit down on the armchair across from me.  Leaning back, he clasped his hands behind his head.

“Better?” he asked without a hint of humor.

I had a clear shot to the door now.

I nodded.  But when I opened my mouth to tell him why I was here, nothing came out.

“If Mindy sent you here, I know it’s something bad,” he said quietly.

I searched his eyes and found only a mild curiosity in them.  For some reason, that relaxed me enough to talk.

“I didn’t make it inside in time last night,” I said carefully.

He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, but didn’t say anything.

“And now…something is definitely wrong,” I squeezed out.

A long minute passed before he heaved a sigh and sat up, leaning forward to rest his forearms on his thighs.  His hair shadowed his eyes as he stared down.

He looked up as if something had caught his attention and his eyes focused somewhere above my left shoulder.

Alarm sent a shot of adrenaline racing through me.

I twisted in my seat to look behind me.

And stared up at another man’s strong, chiseled face, his eyes so blue I couldn’t mistake their color even in this light.  His blond hair was cut close on the sides, almost shaved, the top left a little longer, the hint of curl probably explaining why he kept it so short.

“Who are you?” I asked warily, shooting to my feet and taking a step toward the bar so I could keep them both in sight.

Birch slowly got to his feet.  Once he was standing, I realized the blond guy was a couple of inches taller, with the same muscular build, though his was a little sleeker.  He was also dressed less casually, in a nicely fitted pair of gray slacks and a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

“James, this is…”

Birch trailed off as he realized I hadn’t given him my name.

“Sara Evans,” I filled in automatically.  Then I cursed myself for not coming up with a fake name.

“And this is James Lieson.  My business partner.”

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Evans,” Lieson said after a slight pause, his gaze going to Birch, a question in his eyes.

“She got caught out last night,” Birch said.

“Ah,” James said, his eyes sharpening on me.  “Well, then.  Ms. Evans, we must insist that you stay here with us, at least for the night.”

I took another step back and he took one smoothly to the side, blocking the way to the door.

“It’s for your own protection,” Birch said soothingly, taking a step toward me.  “Calm down.  We can explain.”

“Then do it.  Quickly,” I said, moving until my back touched the cool counter.

“Alright.  Let me ask you this.  Do you honestly think you’re the only one who has ever been caught outside after sunset and returned?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but then shut it.

“The vast majority of people who don’t make curfew never come back.  That part is true.  But there’s a small percentage that does.  Most of them are fine.  Well, physically at least.  PTSD isn’t uncommon.”

“Wait,” I interrupted.  “I think I would have heard of this.”

If it hadn’t happened to me, I would never have believed it.  As it was, I was struggling.

“Do you think those people want to advertise it?  Mostly, they want to forget it ever happened.  And it’s better if everyone else doesn’t know who they are,” Lieson replied.

I had a flashback to Mindy’s reaction.

“Then there’s that sliver of people who come back different.  Altered.  There have only been a couple of confirmed cases, and a few more suspected ones.  One thing we know for sure- it’s not a good idea to have you staying in a building with other people.  Not until after we can…assess the situation,” Birch said, his face serious.

Knowing I wouldn’t like the answer, I asked anyway.

“Why?”

Lieson and Birch exchanged a glance.

“They might not survive.”