Midnight Unseen Read online

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  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  www.samhainpublishing.com

  Copyright (c)2010 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  First published in 2010, 2010

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  NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.

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  CONTENTS

  Midnight Unseen

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Look for these titles by D. McEntire

  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

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  The heart sees what the eyes cannot.

  The Watchers, Book 5

  A first impression is all it took to fill Tank's nights with dreams of a beautiful woman caressing piano keys with long, graceful fingers. And to throw his level head completely off-bubble. Then the music vanishes, replaced by the woman's frantic pleas for help.

  Dreams clash with reality when a Watcher mission leads Tank into a musty, rat-infested basement where he finds his piano lady broken and bleeding from a Rogue attack--and suffering the beginnings of the change.

  Music is Sonya Brown's salvation, and her job teaching students to overcome their blindness--just like her--is a perfect fit. At least it was, until a new co-worker's unwelcome advances cross over into an obsession that rips away everything she holds dear.

  She awakens frightened. Confused. Somehow...different. But not alone. Gentle hands tend her wounds, feed a strange, new hunger. And build an inner fire she's never before known.

  Keeping Sonya safe from the Rogue who would fully claim her is only half of Tank's battle. Sonya must accept her new life, or his dream will become only a memory.

  Warning: Contains vampire violence, children tugging at your heart strings, an erotic lap dance and kitty litter.

  eBooks are not transferable.

  They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  577 Mulberry Street, Suite 1520

  Macon GA 31201

  Midnight Unseen

  Copyright (C) 2010 by D. McEntire

  ISBN: 978-1-60928-119-9

  Edited by Bethany Morgan

  Cover by Natalie Winters

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: July 2010

  www.samhainpublishing.com

  Midnight Unseen

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  D. McEntire

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Prologue

  The door to the bedroom shut with a bang. Tank grimaced. In his foul mood he'd closed it with a little more force than necessary. The sound echoed in his empty room.

  It took only a moment to relieve himself of weapons, letting each fall to the floor with a thud. They were dirty, covered with the blood of rogue vampires. He'd clean them later he decided while on the way to the bathroom. A shower was what he needed right now, then it was off to bed, though the idea of sleeping put a knot in his stomach.

  His men were most likely already asleep, nestled against their mates. The mental picture that formed in his head had him shaking it to clear the image of mated bliss he didn't possess. He had no such luxury. That wasn't why crawling beneath the covers bothered him. Dreams of a woman would be there as soon as he closed his eyes. For days he'd not had a restful daytime sleep, and it was beginning to wear on him.

  At first, the dreams had started out as pleasant. He'd first seen her in real life eight months ago playing the piano in a hotel lobby by Louisville's Waterfront Park. She'd immediately caught his attention then, and had been in his head ever since.

  Deep within his slumber, he dreamt she played for him a soothing melody. One which made his heart swell with emotions he never knew he had.

  The dreams had changed. No longer did she play the piano. No soothing melody graced his ears. Instead, a thick mist shrouded her from sight. She called to him. She was afraid and suffering. Where and why, Tank had no idea.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter One

  "Miss Brown, do I have to play this again?"

  Sonya smiled as she made her way to the piano, which she knew sat exactly ten steps to the left of her desk. She could also hear the ticking of the metronome on top of the piano keeping time.

  "Yes, Melissa. You need to play it one more time. I heard a few missteps. The concert is tomorrow night. You and the rest of the class have had several days of down time during winter break. Now, it's time to practice. You want to do a good job at the performance, don't you?"

  "Yes," the girl muttered.

  Sonya couldn't see Melissa's face, but she could tell by the tone of her voice the child pouted.

  Sonya couldn't see any of her students' faces. She was blind.

  The girl's reaction wasn't surprising. Sonya remembered her own time as a student here at the school. Blind since birth, she'd strived to overcome her disability with a skill all her own. Music had been that skill.

  After she'd graduated from then completed college where she'd majored in music, she'd accepted the position as music teacher. That had been twelve years ago, and she had loved every minute of it.

  Sonya skimmed the sheet music with her fingertips then played a few chords, ones she felt Melissa needed to practice.

  "Start here. You're doing a wonderful job. Your family's going to be so proud to hear you play." Sonya beamed, making sure Melissa heard the praise in her tone. Sonya understood the need for encouragement, something she'd never received from her own parents.

  Melissa giggled when Sonya reached out, found and tugged one of her braids. "Now begin," she said softly as she patted Melissa's shoulder.

  Sonya listened intently as the girl played. Melissa was one of her most gifted students. It wasn't easy teaching blind students to play an instrument. It involved ear training, chord theory and accompaniment patterns and not to mention how to read Braille music code. The preparations for the performance were coming along fine, and she couldn't be prouder of her students.

  The clock chimed, indicating the time to be eight o'clock in the evening. Melissa's mother had arrived two hours earlier to pick up the child. Sonya still had a lot of work to do, so she stayed, telling herself she'd only remain another hour. She hadn't thought time would get away from her so quickly. That hour she had promised herself had turned into two.

  A knock at the door gave Sonya a start.

  "Yes? May I help you?"

  Before the visitor spoke, she knew who it was by catching a whiff of familiar cologne
. Something else seemed to be in the air, but the cologne made it hard to discern what that something was.

  Sonya offered a smile. "David? What on Earth are you doing here? I didn't think any students needed math tutoring during the break."

  "I had something to retrieve from my office and figured you'd be helping the kids prepare for tomorrow's performance, so I decided to stop by and see how you're doing. We haven't had a chance to talk in quite a while. You aren't avoiding me, are you?"

  Sonya heard his chuckle, but could sense sarcasm and possibly annoyance underlining his tone. Shaking her head, she held her smile in place. "No, David. Come in. I was just finishing up."

  Footsteps sounded from the doorway and moved toward her desk. She soon felt the heat of his body where he stood too close. An act he did often that unnerved her, and she found herself constantly striving to place a little more distance between them. Unfortunately, he never seemed to get the hint.

  It occurred to Sonya she was alone in the room and quite possibly the entire floor, if not the entire school with David. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. Attempting to calm herself, she focused on the positive.

  Though he'd asked her out several times, and she'd politely refused with the excuse of not having any interest in dating right now, he'd continued to be unfailingly cordial. They'd talked in the hallway and the cafeteria during school hours. Many times he had popped out of nowhere to help with her lunch tray, set up music equipment, or whatever else she had needed.

  As with everything David did, she appreciated his help, but found she just couldn't shake the feeling he watched her.

  Many times Sonya found herself pondering how strange the situation with David had become here at the school. At the beginning of the school year, the principal had introduced him as the new math teacher. Though she had no idea why, that had recently changed and it had been announced his schedule had been adjusted to evening hours only. Students having difficulty with their math courses were assigned studies with him after school.

  Remembering David was in the room, she pushed aside her unease before her imagination threw her into a panic. "You didn't have plans to head out of town for the holidays like most folks? No visits to family or friends?"

  After the question about his family left her lips, thoughts of her own family came to mind and their passing a little over ten years ago. Her parents had been on a flight to Hawaii for a vacation, but had never made it. The plane had gone down during a severe storm.

  It had been an emotional time. Recently graduated from college, she didn't yet have a steady job. She'd moved in with her grandmother and took care of the elderly woman until she passed away three months ago.

  Now, at thirty-four, she lived alone except for her cat, Brat.

  "Sonya?"

  Sonya jumped at hearing her name. "Oh, sorry, David. I guess my mind's preoccupied with this concert. The children have been working so hard. I hope all goes well."

  She could've sworn she heard David grunt, but shrugged it off. He'd changed since the beginning of the school year. The David she'd met in August was certainly not the David who stood beside her now. Much too closely.

  "How are you feeling? I know you've been off a couple weeks. At first I thought you were out of town, until I heard you were ill. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to check on you. Are you doing okay?"

  David chuckled. "I'm doing fine. A little something had gotten me down, but I'm much better. In fact, I feel great."

  After a few moments of awkward silence, Sonya spoke again. "Well," she said on a sigh, hoping to show how tired she was. "I'd better wrap it up here for the night." With that, she stood and closed her journal where she had been making notes during these last few practice sessions on areas she felt her students needed to focus on once winter break was over. She'd also come up with a few ideas for future assignments.

  When she stepped to the other side of her desk to gather her things, she heard David breathing a little more rapidly than normal. In fact, his breaths seemed to be somewhat louder, more exaggerated, and she could feel his gaze boring into her. Sonya acted as though she hadn't picked up on the odd change in his demeanor.

  Pulling her coat from the hook on the door, Sonya suddenly sensed David standing behind her moments before he took the coat from her hands.

  "Let me help you with that," he crooned.

  Sonya smiled and thanked him.

  "How about I give you a ride home? It's late and cold outside. In fact, I think it's snowing again."

  Something inside Sonya screamed to refuse his offer, but her head chided her for being silly. David had never hurt her, nor done anything to make her worry about being around him. Also, the weather had been rather chilly when she'd arrived earlier today. The sun had set hours ago, and she knew it would be downright frigid while waiting for the bus.

  "Yes, thank you. I'd appreciate that."

  After hearing the click of the light switch, she felt his hand grasp her upper arm. When he moved forward, she had no choice except to move along with him down the long hallway.

  "Stay here while I get the car and pull it around so it'll be nice and toasty when you get inside."

  Sonya nodded and listened as David opened the large, double doors. The cold air hit her, sending a chilly breeze over her stocking-clad legs as it ruffled her coat. She pulled the fabric tightly around her and waited.

  Tired, but still a ball of nerves, she felt her chest tighten in anticipation for tomorrow's concert. Not only for its success, but the knowledge that it meant the start of a week for her at home, alone and trying to keep herself busy until school resumed after the winter break.

  Sonya remembered one of her fellow teachers gushing about having this time off. She knew the children loved this time of year as well. Sonya wished she felt the same.

  Though the break had officially started at the end of the school day last Thursday--two days before Christmas--she'd spent this week holding individual and group practices.

  Sonya thought of the parents and how thankful she was to have their support. Without them, this fundraiser would not be possible, she told herself. Since school was not officially in session now, her students' attendance for practices this week and for the concert tomorrow relied on those parents' willingness to help the school.

  A car engine hummed outside, and she heard the slamming of a car door. After a few moments, the school's door opened again, greeting her with yet another gust of cold air.

  "Ready?"

  She nodded and allowed David to escort her outside and to his car.

  The drive from the school to her home was quiet, not to mention uncomfortable. Sonya spoke, attempting to make light conversation to ease the awkwardness.

  "I hope we have a nice turnout for the program. The school really needs these fundraiser concerts. It's sad we have to worry about funding each year. Education seems to be one of the first to get hit when talks of budget cutting begin."

  Sonya realized she was once again on her soap box. The school was not only important for the children, it was just as important to her. She took a deep breath, pushed her thoughts aside and focused on David. "Are you planning on attending the concert?"

  When David didn't answer, Sonya didn't know if he was milling over what she'd said in her little rant session or perhaps he also had other things on his mind tonight. Finally, he answered. "I'm not sure. I have things previously planned, so I guess it all depends on how they work out."

  Sonya nodded in understanding. "I know how that goes. Just when you think you have everything ironed out, something pops up, throwing a wrench in your plans."

  David laughed. "No, I'm not going to let anything screw up my plans. I've worked on them way too long."

  His tone sounded odd, Sonya thought. Almost ominous. It made her curious. "What plans?"

  "Let's just say I'm about to give up the bachelor life."

  His reply not only surprised her, Sonya found herself shocked. "Really? You've been seeing someone? I t
ake it that it's serious?"

  Sonya somehow knew David was staring at her. She could almost feel his gaze.

  "Yes, it is. I decided it's about time to settle down. I've always wanted a family, you know."

  "You'd like to have a boy and a girl, right?"

  "You remembered," he said softly, almost reverently.

  Sonya tried to hold back a frown at his odd tone. "What's her name?"

  "Here we are. Your place."

  David hadn't answered her question, but she shrugged it off, glad to be home. All she wanted to do right now was get inside and relax.

  When the car stopped, Sonya unbuckled her seatbelt as David got out of the car. The door on her side opened, letting in a whoosh of cold, snowy air before a hand grasped her arm, helped her out of the car and up the walk to her door.

  "Thanks again, David, for the ride. You were right. It is quite chilly. I probably would've frozen to death waiting for the bus," Sonya chuckled. "Well, goodnight."

  "Wait," David barked rather impatiently, then seemed to catch himself, and his tone changed. "Would you like some company?"

  Sonya tried hard not to let her sigh show. "No, David. It's late, and I'm really tired."

  "Do you have any plans for tomorrow evening after the concert?"

  Sonya knew she couldn't keep using excuses to put David off. She'd hoped time and time again he'd get the hint she wasn't interested in anything other than a friendly relationship. When he'd mentioned being serious about someone, not only had she been surprised, she'd been elated. The fact he'd finally stop pursuing her had popped into her mind, but now, he still seemed to be at it.

  "David, I thought you said you're seeing someone and are ready to settle down with her?" She heard David's feet shuffle before he answered.

  "I am. I just thought maybe you'd like to celebrate after the performance. I know you've worked hard with the children and will be glad when it's over. I could give you a ride home."

  Sonya gave him a polite smile and shook her head. "No, but thanks. Actually, I'm looking forward to some quiet time. I have things to do here at home and much to plan for when we return to school after the winter break." Sonya allowed her voice to trail off, not wanting to come up with more excuses.