Even In Darkness (Between) by Cyndi Tefft Read Free Book Online Page B

his family was probably dead, and his only ally was some strange woman who’d just threatened to kick his ass. I wanted to pull him into my arms and comfort him, to tell him everything was going be all right. But everything was clearly not all right and with Aiden half-dead at my feet, I couldn’t spare the time to pretend like it was.
    “ Put that away,” I ordered, waving a hand in dismissal. “I’m his wife.”
    Willie’s face scrunched up in angry disbelief. “You lie! My brother is not married.”
    “Yes, he is! Twice over as a matter of fact and I’m getting pretty damn sick of having to justify that.” A growl of frustration ripped out of my throat. I was really starting to lose it. “Look, I’ll explain everything later, I promise, but right now we have to think.” I stood up and rubbed my eyes to try and reset my brain. “Bandages. We need bandages. We have to stop the bleeding.” Willie helplessly shook his head, but he did at least tuck the dagger into his kilt. “Maybe I can make a tourniquet with the hem of my skirt. That’s what they always do in books.” Ignoring Willie’s perplexed expression, I bent down to examine the fabric of my underskirt, but Aiden’s voice stopped me.
    “Water,” he whispered, smacking his dry lips together. His breathing had become labored and his pupils were dilated. Moving him may have been too much for his body to endure. He’d been shot in the shoulder and pierced through the thigh with a bayonet. Blood covered his body like a crimson cloak. After all this, was I going to lose him anyway? And what would that even mean?
    “There’s plenty of water where you’re going, traitor,” a deep voice called from the shadows. A red-coated soldier emerged from a door to the side of the pulpit, his gun trained on us. His steps were calm and measured as he walked toward us. “In fact, I’d venture to say you’ll be fairly sick of it by the time we get to England for your hanging. Perhaps I should just take care of you now.”
    Hanging? Oh, God.
    But it wasn’t the threat in his words that caused my chest to seize in fear. When he came near enough for me to see his face, my entire world stopped. He was the spitting image of Aiden, only with dark hair and dark eyes.
    The anti-Aiden.
    All of a sudden, everything clicked into place. I’d always known that time was not the same in Between as on Earth and Aiden had even guessed that the child he’d unwittingly fathered could be fully grown by now. Staring into his dark eyes, I knew without a doubt that I was looking at Aiden’s son.
    It was too much. All of it was too much. Straining against the corset constricting my ribs, I struggled unsuccessfully to pull air into my lungs. Stars swam in my vision. My legs buckled beneath me.
    “You’re the spawn,” I choked out before everything went black.

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
     
    A downy pillow cradled my head. I twisted and sunk my face into it, trying to block out the vivid dream I’d had. No, it wasn’t a dream; it was a nightmare. Just to reassure myself, I reached for Aiden, needing to feel his warmth next to me. My hand fell on a scratchy blanket. Where had he gone? Had I slept too long? My mother would be furious with me. She hated when we were guests at someone’s house and I was the last to get up. “It’s rude, Lindsey Marie!” she would say, making me that much more eager to go back to bed and bury my head under the covers.
    Blinking the sleep from my eyes, I waited for the outline of the MacKinnons’ guest room to come into focus. But instead of tall windows lined with drapes, I saw an antique oil lamp secured to the wall. An oil lamp? Who even uses those anymore? My eyes flickered around the rest of the dimly lit room: dark wood-paneled walls, a chair bolted to the floor, and a heavy glass decanter sunk into the top of a cabinet. A broad-shouldered man sat at a writing desk, scribbling away with a feather pen. Snug beige pants