Awaken The Dark Paradise Chronicles 1 Read online

  The quip went over many of his students’ heads, but Andie got the reference. She decided that once she got home after her internship, she’d re-watch Say Anything for the thirty thousandth time.

  “How’re you doing, Andie?” Miranda asked as she walked into her office. Andie was already there, answering the phone and taking messages. Miranda placed a cup of coffee from Starbucks on Andie’s desk.

  “Great,” Andie replied. She noticed the coffee and gave her boss a look. “Miranda, you do not have to do this. I’m the one who’s supposed to be helping you, remember?”

  Miranda waved her off. “No biggie,” she said as she took her seat.

  Andie smiled, taking a sip of the hot liquid. She had no idea how Jack managed to luck out and score Miranda as his assistant. There were rumors that Jack hired assistants he ended up sleeping with, some of who would turn around and sue him for sexual harassment when he would indicate that he wasn’t interested in a long-term relationship. Apparently the Board of Directors got together and told Jack he had one last chance to hire an assistant he wasn’t allowed to sleep with unless he wanted to be personally fined for it. Miranda had been here ever since.

  At first, Andie had been slightly put off by Jack fobbing her off on Miranda for training when the description of the internship specifically stated that she’d be working side-by-side with Jack himself. However, fifteen minutes with Miranda and she had completely forgotten about Jack, especially since she didn’t work with him at all her first day. Miranda showed her the ropes and explained what Andie’s job would be: answering the phone, making and confirming appointments, filing papers, typing memos and reports, and any other little jobs that needed to be done. Throughout the busy work, if Miranda wasn’t doing anything important, the two would gossip about celebrities, reality television, and of course, the latest on Noir and Onyx’s own vigilante hero—a wannabe-Batman in Andie’s opinion—Black Wing. Rumor was he had real angel wings that were seven feet long and completely black. Andie didn’t believe it for a second.

  Jack Phillip had surprised her that first day when he offered to walk her to her car once work was over.

  “You’re not allowed to sleep with me,” Andie told him firmly.

  Miranda nearly choked on her coffee while Jack started to cough.

  “I’m sorry?” he asked as the two proceeded to head to the elevator.

  “I’m just letting you know that I know,” she said. “I like it here. I like Miranda and I need the money. In fact, I’m kind of starting to like you and I don’t want one night of sex to ruin that.”

  Jack and Andie stepped into the elevator. He tried to hide an amused smile as he pressed the button to the lobby. “So would you rather I didn’t walk you to your car?” he questioned, sliding his hands in his pockets.

  “No, I…” She paused, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes. “I don’t mind. But no funny business.”

  She noticed his smile as it broke across his face.

  Even now, as she sat at her desk, Andie wondered if he’d be here at five o’clock so he could do it again. Not that she needed him to do it by any means. Just because Onyx wasn’t the safest city and it got dark earlier didn’t mean she needed protecting. She could use her purse as a weapon.

  Although, if she said she wasn’t touched or he wasn’t being nice, she’d be lying. But she still wouldn’t sleep with him.

  Not that he’d ask or anything.

  “Andie?”

  Andie blinked, all thoughts of Jack Phillip disappearing. She craned her neck so she could look back at Miranda.

  “We get to go on a field trip tomorrow!” she said as she hung up the phone. “You know how Jack throws his annual Halloween party, right? Well, I’ve found a potential venue and you get to come with me to check it out.”

  Andie’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Where?” she asked.

  Miranda grinned. “The Spirit Museum.”

  11

  Keirah

  Keirah was glad she had her internship. She was learning to provide a safe outlet for criminals to discuss their feelings, crimes, and motives, and she felt that being in the same room as Noir, while frightening, was just as therapeutic for her as it might be for him. In an odd way, he made her feel special, beautiful even. He still refused to acknowledge Dr. Hawkins’ presence and wanted to know more about Keirah as a person. It was the most male interaction she’d received since sophomore year when she dated Dale Hemit. They had only gone out for a few months and it wasn’t serious, but he had been her first-and only-boyfriend. It was nice to be noticed as a woman, despite what her mother said about her shortcomings.

  Instead of heading home right away, she drove to the Quack Attack Diner and bought herself a bacon cheeseburger with a side of fries and a vanilla shake. Keirah would never admit it out loud, but her mother had gotten to her. After dinner and the subsequent stomachache, Keirah drove through the city with the windows rolled down and Taylor Swift blasting until she was ready for a shower and bed.

  When she returned home, Judith was in her room. Andie looked up from her booksto say hello but that was it. By the time Keirah had showered and changed into pajamas right out of the dryer, she was ready to slip between the covers of her bed and sleep the night away.

  It was just after midnight when her cell phone started ringing. As she answered the unfamiliar number, she forced herself to greet her caller with a sleep-laden, “Hello?”

  “Miss Shepherd?” a tired, strained voice asked on the other line. “This is Commissioner Jarrett. I’m sorry for the late hour, but I need to ask you a couple of questions. I understand you’ve been running sessions with Noir at his insistence. During them, did he say anything threatening to you? Anything that might cause you fear?”

  Keirah paused, her mind working overtime to try and remember everything they had talked about. “Well, he said he was becoming obsessed with me,” she replied, rubbing her left eye with the back of her hand, “but I wasn’t exactly frightened or anything. He was handcuffed when he said it, and he’s currently in police custody.” She paused, her brows pushed together in worry. “Right?” she added softly, hopefully.

  A sigh on the other line caused the young woman’s heart to drop. Immediately, she was awake enough to spring up from her bed and was about to check the locks on the front door when the commissioner finally responded. “Yes, he’s still here. However, he managed to escape from his isolated holding cell.” He paused and Keirah could tell something was amiss. Commissioner Jarrett wouldn’t call her if Noir was still in the building because there wasn’t anything she could do. “Currently, he has one of our officers as a hostage, a pen pressed to the officer’s neck.”

  “Why does that have anything to do with me?” Keirah asked, finally losing patience. She was tired and had to wake up early tomorrow morning.

  “Apparently, all he wants is to sleep,” Commissioner Jarrett said. “I asked if he wanted more pillows, blankets, anything, but all he kept saying was your name.” Keirah could make out the sorrow in his voice, but she was still confused. “Miss Shepherd, he wants you to help him sleep.”

  "How does he expect me to do that?" she asked. She rubbed her eyes with her free hand.

  "I don't know, Ms. Shepherd," the commissioner said. "We can discuss this further at the station. I think just seeing you might calm him."

  Keirah was numb when she hung up the phone. Had she just agreed to go down there, into the lion’s den? Even though she was a legal adult, she still felt afraid and wanted nothing more than to hide under her covers and pretend this was nothing more than a dream. Commissioner Jarrett had thrust a heavy burden of responsibility on her shoulders that she couldn’t ignore. A man’s life was on the line. She couldn’t say no. But she could tell Andie.

  After changing into the most comfortable yet professional attire she could find, with a pair of ballet flats on her feet and her long hair pulled into a messy ponytail, she crept into Andie’s room. She attempted to wake Andie up, t
rying to tell her sleep-ridden sister she had to leave without worrying her. If Andie was worried, she was nothing short of frazzled. However, it was difficult for her to find the proper words to do this without instilling any fear into her sister, so she only said, “Andie, there’s been an emergency and Dr. Hawkins needs me to help her with something.”

  “Key, it’s the middle of the night,” Andie mumbled, closing her eyes. “Is everything okay?”

  “Fine.” Keirah knew that if Andie had been fully awake, she would know Keirah had been lying. The inability to tell a convincing lie was the one thing the two sisters had in common, but there were times, like this one, where they still got away with one. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll see you in school tomorrow. Oh, and don’t tell Mom, okay?”

  Andie made a grunt of assent and turned, pulling the covers tighter against her frame. Keirah smiled and left. After locking the apartment, she sprinted to her car to get her blood flowing. Once she slid into her cold vehicle, she turned on the engine and pressed the heater button.

  Rubbing her hands together, she wondered what the hell she was doing. Noir wanted her to help him fall asleep? What did that mean? Maybe he was using that as some sort of excuse. Her head started to hurt as she tried to rationalize her current situation.. When her car was warm, she relaxed as best she could and drove to Abby Ward.

  When she walked in the building, chaos surrounded the premises. Commissioner Jarrett met her at the door and immediately led her through the throng of rigid officers, eyes focused on the creator of this mayhem. Keirah’s eyes widened at the sight; Noir was seething, and when his eyes weren’t twitching due to his lack of sleep, they were looking wildly around the room, suspicious. His right hand held a small ballpoint pen at his hostage’s jugular, his body carefully positioned so if any officers were stupid enough to fire at him, the bullets would hit their colleague. When his eyes finally found Keirah, he smirked.

  “Well-ah, hello princess,” he said, and then smacked his chapped lips with his tongue. “I’m, uh, not sure if the good commissionerrr informed you how tired I am.” Keirah remained silent, but she maintained eye contact with him. “Ya see, sometimes even the silence can be, hum … deafening, which is why I need you to help me sleep.”

  Wait, what?

  “Here I am,” she told him, hoping her voice was stronger than she felt. “What do you need me to do to help you?” She needed to sound sincere rather than scared. If she messed up, caused him to teeter toward anger, she knew that Noir would not hesitate to stab the officer.

  Noir’s tongue came out and slowly ran along his bottom lip as his eyes twitched. “I need-ah,” he said as though it were quite obvious, “you to sleep with me.”

  Keirah’s eyes immediately snapped up to Commissioner Jarrett, who sighed dejectedly as he ran his fingers through his light brown hair.

  “No no no no no, my pet,” Noir said, commandeering Keirah’s attention once again. “No. This is about you and me right no-ooo-ow.” His eyes narrowed on hers, indicating that he meant business. “I need sleep. I’m sure this officer would like to get home to his family. Now, to make sure that none of these Johnny Heroes don’t take a shot at me if I release him, I am going to use you as a, uh, human shield. I know what you’re thinking. You’re tiny and I’m, well, uh, not, but see, I’m strong and can easily pick you up so your small body will block all of my vital organs.”

  “So you and me,” Keirah said, raising a skeptical brow. “Sleeping, and that’s it. You won’t try anything?”

  At Keirah’s question, Noir started cackling, tossing his head while keeping a firm grip on the officer and the pen. “Try something?” he asked through chuckles. “Do you think I could try something with my lack of sleep? Don’t flatter yourself, sweetheart. You’re not even my type-ah.” His demeanor changed, his brows pushing together so they made a ‘v.’ “Now, do we have a deal? As you can see, the less sleep I get, the crankier I become. Tick … tick … tick.”

  There were those ticks again.

  Keirah swallowed. She didn’t want to do this. There was no way she would do this. But the look on the face of the police officer caused guilt to pool in her stomach and rest just below her navel. It was heavy, and seemed to drag her down. How could she not do it, when it would save someone’s life? She didn’t have a choice, she realized. She clenched her jaw, and felt a burst of frustration shoot out of her – frustration at the sociopath, at the commissioner, even at the officer. She was now forced to risk her life in order to save his. There was no choice but to accept.

  “Okay,” Keirah said. “I agree.” She started to walk over to the madman, but Commissioner Jarrett stopped her by wrapping his fingers around her wrist.

  “I don’t know about this, Ms. Shepherd,” he said, glancing at the increasingly impatient Noir.

  “Listen, he just wants to sleep,” Keirah said. “He’s not going to kill me. He doesn’t kill things that fascinate him until he gets bored. Why do you think he hasn’t killed the Black Wing?” She let her question sink in before continuing. “Put a couple of guards at the door so if he does try anything, they can hear me scream. But I highly doubt anything will happen to me.”

  “We can handcuff him,” Jarrett said, blue eyes filled with worry.

  “That won’t help him sleep,” she pointed out. “It’s just one night.” She wondered if she’d ever believe her words.

  “What if he asks for this again?” Jarrett asked, scratching the stubble on his chin. “What then?”

  “We’ll see how tonight goes.” What else could she say? She took a breath and released it, glancing at Noir before focusing once again on the commissioner. “I’m going to go over there so he can release that officer, and then we can start to put this behind us.” She perked her brow before turning toward her destination.

  “I hope you’re right,” Jarrett told her in a soft voice as he released her wrist. “I hope you’re right.”

  Keirah eased herself in front of the criminal. He grinned - a cross between triumph and delight - and after casting a dark look at the surrounding officers, released his hostage and grabbed Keirah’s wrist, spinning her around so her back crashed into his surprisingly sturdy chest. Before she could process what was happening, Keirah felt Noir’s hands securely grip her waist and lift her up with ease so, as promised, she was covering his vital organs. However, there didn’t seem to be a need for the precaution since the surrounding officers only watched as he carried her off, back to his cell. Commissioner Jarrett followed and once they were both tucked inside, shut the door, locked it, and immediately double-checked it to make sure it was locked.

  “I hope you’re right,” he murmured once again before leaving.

  When the two were alone, Keirah glanced around. She knew what isolation was, she’d seen these cells on television before, but when Jarrett said isolation, he meant it. There was only a bed and a toilet attached to the wall. Despite the darkness, Keirah could see the white of the bed. How, exactly, were they both going to fit on that thing?

  “Looks like we’re going to be clo-ooo-ose, princess,” he murmured in her ear, his hot breath taking over a portion of her skin. She gulped, but not because she was afraid.

  Keirah slipped her flats underneath the bed and glanced up at him.

  “I must apologize for the lack of blankets,” Noir said, resting his chin on her shoulder. If he had any personal space issues with her before, they had disappeared. He still hadn’t released his hold on her waist, even after putting her down. “Don’t be shy, my pet. Go on. I’m getting aw-fully sleepy.”

  Keirah nodded once before she stepped forward and crawled onto the bed. She positioned herself so her back faced him and tensed as she felt him slide in behind her, casually throwing his arm around her waist again, and tucked his chin in the crevice of her neck. She felt her body warm at his closeness, although she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Since she had no pillow, Noir slid his arm underneath her so she could rest her head on his forea
rm. It surprised her, and she felt her body relax and her eyes start to droop. It was odd, being at ease with a psychotic murderer to the point of being able to fall asleep with him, but it wasn’t her fault that he was so incredibly comfortable. Already she could feel his breathing even out; he had finally fallen asleep. Not long after, she joined him.

  A few hours later, Keirah was woken by a voice tickling her ear. He wasn’t saying anything in particular, just mumbling, but his grip on her had tightened to near desperation. He must be having a nightmare. She wondered how often he suffered through them. She wondered if that was why he chose to remain awake for as long as possible. She wondered if that was why he asked for her tonight—maybe she could save him.

  Pity swelled inside of her chest and she couldn’t push it away. This time, she didn’t want to.

  She had to do something soon because his bare hands were gripping her waist so tightly, she knew his fingerprints would be left on her skin. His mumblings grew louder and more hopeless, and Keirah searched her mind for some kind of solution.

  An idea sprang forth, and after hesitating, she placed her hand over his. It was funny how much bigger his hand was when compared to hers, but his skin was oddly warm and somewhat comforting. For whatever reason and beyond all logic, she felt safe.

  Her touch caused everything in Noir to tense. His body froze and his mumbles went silent. Keirah wasn’t sure if she should pull away or not. She could still hear him breathing behind her … maybe he was sleeping. Maybe she could chance a quick glance over her shoulder just to make sure he was all right. She swallowed, her heart beat accelerating substantially, although she was unsure as to why. He was sleeping, and if he wasn’t, he couldn’t harm her, not with two guards just outside the door. Breathing in deeply through her nose, she attempted to ease her heart back down to its normal pace, and then, without releasing her gentle grip on his hand, craned her neck so she could look over her shoulder at him.