Hunter of the Dark by J A Graham Page B

was the dull throb, a semi-reminder of the cruel pain she once felt. Her feeling seemed to communicate itself to the dogs, for they both followed a distance behind her with heads down, and Sorsa had his tail between his legs. She heard a car and she looked up, the dust from the roadside clinging to where the tears once ran. She was a mess and she knew it. All of a sudden, the pain felt ready to burst into a waterfall of tears again but she held it back and looked down, her hair veiling her face from view.
    The car slowed, and then purred to a halt. She recognised the four-wheel drive from the noise of the engine alone. She didn’t look up but kept her pacing, hoping that the driver would just pass her by. But, no, her wishes weren’t answered as the driver’s door opened.
    “Hey, Tanitha!”
    She didn’t answer. She kept walking, past the BMW and past Cameron. She suddenly felt Cameron’s steady hand on her shoulder and she jumped, before spinning around to face him. She hadn’t been expecting that. Her sadness turned into a frown but when Cameron saw her face, he instinctively reached a hand up and wiped the dust away.
    “What happened?”
    The whirlwind of sadness residing inside her exploded and Cameron pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back comfortingly, as she cried onto his Gucci sweatshirt.
    “Ssh. Come on. We’ll go for a drive and you can get everything off your mind, hmm?”
    Tanitha pulled away as Cameron held her at arm’s length, surveying the damage. Finally she nodded and he helped her into the black BMW, before letting the dogs in the back.
    The first thing she noticed was Cheyne and, of course, his shoes. He took one look at her face and wrapped her into a hug from the back seat. It took all Tanitha had to stop her from crying again.
    “ What’s wrong?”
    Tanitha found herself pouring out all that happened to the brothers. She started from the first day at school, including the photo on Christian’s wall and finished right up to what Christian had said. Once finished, both story and tears, Cameron sat there silently, his hands lightly gripping the steering wheel. Finally Cheyne, obviously the more impetuous of the two, burst out in impatience.
    “We can’t let him get away with this, Cam. It’s just wrong! Does Chris know how much he hurt you?”
    Tanitha shook her head numbly. She didn’t think he did.
    “We have to go round there, Cam!”
    “ No,” Cameron said, quietly but powerfully. “I think it will just make things worse.”
    Tanitha looked at him in shock. His voice was so cold. What had made the change in him? Obviously Cheyne knew because he toned down and looked at Cameron knowingly.
    “Come on, Cam. Let’s go home.”
    Cameron looked at Tanitha.
    “Would you like to come over? The dogs are more than welcome too.”
    Tanitha looked at the sun that was slowly rolling behind on of the hills and felt sadness washing over her again.
    “Sure.” She whispered quietly.
     

Chapter Thirteen
     
    Awakening in a strange house felt weird to Tanitha. It felt unnatural, eerie. And, try as she might, she just couldn’t stop thinking about Christian. He plagued every precipice in her mind unrelentingly. She finally dragged herself out of bed. Two pairs of eyes greeted her, and Sorsa immediately rushed up to her, to be entwined in a hug. Sadie held back a bit, before she too was embraced. Tanitha pulled back, and Sadie put a paw on her shoulder, as if to tell her things would be fine. It was all Tanitha could do to keep from bursting out into tears again. She finally picked herself up and made her way down a rather windy set of stairs.
    Two pairs of eyes greeted her as she entered the kitchen. She loved the kitchen here. It was all new and modern, no expenses left unpaid. She sat down on a chair next to Cheyne, who was reading a car magazine, and Cameron, who was eating a huge breakfast of sausages and eggs.
    “Morning, gorgeous.” Cameron quipped, drawing an inquisitive glance from