Reggie was sniffing the archway leading into the living room area. He turned to Claire and whined through his muzzle.
"What is it?"
"Ahh heeensh rumhing."
He turned and padded into the living room.
"I should have kept him on the leash," she said under her breath. "We'll check it out. You guys stay here and keep a lookout."
She walked after him.
"George," Thierry said. "Perhaps you should wait out front. Conceal yourself and keep an eye open for the witch's return."
"Sure thing, boss." He nodded and slipped back outside.
Thierry turned to me. "Are you feeling well?"
"Other than the fact that the answer to all of my problems is currently AWOL, I'm doing okay." I swallowed. "Listen, Thierry, about what Butch said earlier."
His expression didn't change. "What part do you refer to?"
I licked my dry lips. "About… about eliminating me. If Stacy doesn't come back or if she's changed her mind… if I don't fix this mess I've gotten myself into…"
"I wish you hadn't heard that."
"I don't blame him for suggesting it. This is all really bizarre. This whole situation."
He shook his head. "I won't let anything happen to you."
"You say that now, but…" My voice caught on the words. "What if I go all dark and dangerous again? I mean, I know what happened to the other… the other nightwalkers.
That you knew they were evil and a threat and what you did was the right thing, but… if
Stacy bails and this really is a debilitating curse that sends me permanently on a one-way trip to Monsterville—"
"It isn't."
"How can you be so sure?"
His determined expression didn't waver and he brought a warm hand to my cool face.
"Because you are not a monster, Sarah. There is nothing about you that is remotely evil, if that is what you're concerned about. Of this I am utterly convinced. Being evil is a choice one makes."
"So what happens if I am stuck like this?"
He turned so that he was completely facing me, and he reached down to take my hand in his. The one that wasn't currently clutching my emergency Thermos.
"I know that there are parts of Alaska that are dark for weeks at a time," he said.
My bottom lip quivered. "Like that scary movie with Josh Hartnett and the bad vampires who ate everybody?"
His mouth moved into a small smile. "That was just a movie. But there are places that would suit one unable to bear sunlight. There are steps one can take to make such a life very tolerable."
"So you're suggesting I pack my bags and head to a place like that?"
"No," he said. "I'm suggesting that we will both head to a place like that."
I blinked up at him. "Both of us?"
"I, too, have a darkness inside me that I must deal with. I truly believe that we will be better off together than apart as we both learn how to control our inner demons. I know, now that I have the proper motivation I can find that control, as will you." His grip on my hand increased. "We'll make this work. Whatever it takes."
My heart beat at that announcement. One little, barely audible thump.
A tear splashed down to my cheek. "That sounds like a very reasonable option."
His smile remained. "I thought so."
"But Alaska? You know I'm room temperature now. I'll be like an ice cube up there."
"I'll make sure we have many electric heaters available to us."
I sucked up the emotion I thought might overwhelm me. Butch suggested Thierry kill me because I was a nightwalker. Instead, if the curse wasn't broken, Thierry was going to take me to Alaska so we could be together in a place that didn't have sunshine all the time.
He was going to buy electric heaters to raise my body temperature.
It was the most romantic thing I'd ever heard.
"This is, of course, worst-case scenario," he said. "But I have given it a great deal of thought over the last forty-eight hours."
I bit my bottom lip. "If you're not careful, I'm so totally going to kiss you."
He gave me a small smile. "You say that as if it's a threat."
"More like a promise."
He met my gaze. "Only a kiss?"
"That's just the appetizer."
He circled my waist with his hands and I felt the comparative warmth of his body against mine as he pulled me against him. I rested my head on his chest. "It will be fine, Sarah," he said softly. "Trust me."
"I do." I said it quicker than I would have expected. But I did trust him. More than anyone
I could remember.
I felt safe with Thierry, even knowing that he had serious issues of his own to deal with.