Cassidy froze and held up her hands in a disarming manner. Gerald crept toward the back door, and Julian stalked him, but Cassidy didn’t move.
When Gerald’s grip on her eased again, Aida gasped in air as she blinked to clear her eyes of the tears forming every time he choked her. When she could see again, she studied Cassidy as Gerald maneuvered her around some crates and toward the door. Cassidy wasn’t shocked to see Julian here, and she didn’t seem surprised to discover Gerald with her either.
Cassidy knew someone had messed with Aida’s mind and allowed it to happen. She would never agree to that unless Aida did too, or unless it was the only option, would she? Cassidy was Julian’s sister, and if Aida tried to kill him, wouldn’t she want Aida punished?
Maybe she had agreed to let Julian mess with her mind, but why would she do such a thing when she barely knew Julian anymore? Was she sleeping with him? How could she have sex with someone and not remember it?
She felt like Alice spiraling down the rabbit hole, except she was bashing against the sides, spinning around, and flipping upside down until everything in her felt battered and broken.
Something in the gloomy recesses of her mind told her she could trust him and they would get through this together. She didn’t know where the certainty came from, but she trusted her instincts.
Julian followed Gerald around the crates as the niggling in the back of his mind increased. If the man had longer hair and a beard…
CHAPTER 44
The niggling grew into a memory of three vampires attacking a woman. “Greece,” Julian said. “That’s how I know you.”
Gerald’s smile revealed all his white teeth and two fangs. “That’s how you know me. You killed my brothers.”
“You and your brothers were trying to kill a woman.”
“We’re vampires; they’re humans. Killing is what we do.”
“That’s not what we do,” Julian said.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Cassidy edging toward the right, probably in the hopes of cutting Gerald off before he could flee with Aida. Gerald hadn’t spotted her yet, but Julian didn’t want to know what would happen if he did. He couldn’t draw attention to his sister by telling her to back off.
“That’s what I do, and it was what we did for centuries. You had no right to interfere,” Gerald said.
“You had no right to try to take that woman’s life,” Julian replied. “Three vampires on one human wasn’t fair odds.”
“Yes, these are much better odds,” Gerald said.
“Have you been following me since that night?” Julian demanded.
“It took me a couple of days to find you, but I’ve been following and plotting what would be the best way to make you pay for what you did. And I found her.” Gerald bent to run his tongue up the side of Aida’s cheek.
“Don’t!” Julian shouted.
Aida twisted to avoid his touch, but she couldn’t get away from him. Julian stepped toward them and froze when Gerald made a move to choke her again. Gerald chuckled as he hugged her close and kissed her cheek.
Aida’s eyes shone with rage and a calmness that hadn’t been there since she learned vampires took control of her mind. The tentative smile she gave him eased some of the tension in his chest. She may not know what happened or why this was going on, but she had decided to trust him.
“I’m going to get you out of this,” he promised her.
“You have as much chance of getting her out of here as my brothers did of surviving your ambush.”
“I didn’t ambush you. And maybe one of them would have survived if you hadn’t run off like a coward and left them behind.”
The red of Gerald’s eyes deepened as he bared his fangs. Aida croaked when he jerked her off her feet. She kicked as she tried to find the floor again, but her feet were a few inches off the ground. As her face reddened, Julian’s hands fisted, and he ran toward Gerald but skidded to a halt when he rested his fangs against her throat.
Aida’s eyes bulged, and a vein throbbed to life in her forehead as her legs kicked wildly. She tore into Gerald’s skin until his blood spilled down his arm and dripped on the floor as she tried to pull herself up to breathe. Cassidy was closing in on Gerald’s other side, but she wouldn’t be able to get to them before Gerald killed Aida.
Gerald lifted his fangs away from Aida’s throat as he cleared the last of the crates. Now, it was only five feet of open space before he was out the door. “You get to watch me drag her out of here and live with the knowledge that I am going to fuck her to death,” Gerald said as he fumbled behind him for the door handle.
There was no way she was going to let this bastard take her out of here alive. Dying now was far preferable to what Gerald planned for her. Her lungs burned for air, and her neck felt like it was stretching toward a breaking point, but she had to do something.
Releasing Gerald’s arm, she bashed her elbow into his gut. The wall of his abs caused her arm to bounce off him, and though he gave a little oomph of air, she had little effect on him. Desperate for some way to hurt him, she dropped her hand and swung it back to grab his junk. She squeezed and twisted to the side. It was a risky move considering his hold on her, and it might just piss him off, but she’d tear his dick and balls off before he killed her.
“Bitch!” Gerald exploded.
He punched the side of her head. Stars burst before her eyes, and blood filled her mouth when she bit her tongue. A bellow filled the room. At first, she thought his blow was causing her ears to ring, but then she realized it was coming from Julian as a blur raced toward them, and the back door opened.
Gerald pulled his hand back to hit her again but froze and swung her toward Julian as Kyle came through the door. He spun her toward Kyle before realizing his mistake and twisting back toward Julian. A hand encircled Aida’s arm as Julian’s fist plowed into Gerald’s face with the force of Thor’s hammer.
Bone gave way with a sickening crunch, and hot blood splashed over her and spilled down her side, but Gerald refused to release her. Caught between two vampires, Aida worried they might tear her in half as Julian tugged while Gerald choked. Her neck was going to break; it couldn’t take much more of this, but she continued to crush his nuts until they were on the verge of popping.
Then Julian released a series of punches that staggered Gerald backward and loosened his grip on her. She inhaled a ragged breath as Julian tore her from Gerald’s grasp and pulled her against his chest. She lost her ball-crushing grip, but she didn’t care; she was free of his hold.
She didn’t have a chance to get air into her lungs before Gerald recovered and dove forward. His weight knocked Julian back as Gerald wrapped his arms around his waist and dragged him down. Julian released her as he fell, but Gerald caught her wrist and dragged her down with him.
Aida’s knees and hands screamed in protest when she crashed onto the floor. She jerked at her arm, but Gerald’s fingers tore into her flesh and bruised her bone. Sure he was going to break her arm, Aida swung out with her other hand, but he barely noticed her punches when she caught him on his shoulder and ear.
Then, Kyle and Cassidy were at her side. Cassidy grabbed her arm as Kyle seized Gerald’s hand and squeezed until Gerald released her. When Kyle went to hit him, Julian snarled, “Don’t! He’s mine.”
Kyle’s arm remained in the air for a second before he lowered it. Grasping Gerald’s shirt, Julian rolled to pin the vamp beneath him. Gerald pummeled Julian’s chest and face, but he was so gone to the bloodlust consuming him that he didn’t feel the blows.
Lifting him partially off the ground, Julian grinned as he pulled Gerald toward him before smashing him into the floor again. The more blood he drew, the more he craved, until he felt like a rabid animal tearing into its victim, rending its flesh, and leaving nothing but a weeping, broken pile.
Cassidy tried to turn Aida from the brutal display of Julian’s strength and power, but Aida couldn’t tear her eyes away. Julian didn’t just kill him; h
e ravaged Gerald.
Gone was the sweet boy who had held her for so many nights after the island. Gone was the smiling boy who plucked her wildflowers and gave them to her while they walked to the woods. Gone was the boy whose kiss awakened her to the possibility there could be more between them before he left.
And in his place was a vampire who made the ones on the island look tame. The fear and revulsion coiling in her belly warred with her inexplicable yearning to go to him, rest her hand on his shoulder, and tell him it was okay. She was out of her mind to consider it; he’d probably turn on her, but for some reason, she felt confident she could calm the beast instead of unleashing it further.
When Julian finally tore Gerald’s head from his shoulders, it was a welcome relief. The drops of something hitting the ground and her harsh breaths were the only sounds piercing the ensuing silence. It took her a minute to realize the drops were coming from the head Julian held above the ground.
Aida gulped back the bile in her throat as Julian lowered the head to the ground. When he turned toward her, his eyes still glowed with fire, and that astonishing red and black color swirled over his skin. Blood coated his face and clothes while the veins in his arms stood starkly out against his mottled flesh.
Julian couldn’t look at her after what he’d done. The disgust in her eyes was more than he could stand. For years, he kept the most brutal part of himself restrained. When he killed before, he always maintained some control. There was no control tonight.
Gerald hit her, tried to kill her, and planned to rape her. Julian shouldn’t have torn him apart like he had in front of her, but he hungered to see the terror and finality in Gerald’s eyes when he realized his life was coming to an end again.
Julian had always known this darkest part of him existed, but he’d never realized how much he would enjoy becoming a monster. He almost opened his arms to Aida but stopped himself. She could take away some of the beast, but even if blood didn’t cover him, she didn’t remember what they shared. After witnessing what he’d done, she was scared of him in a way she never was before.
He pushed himself away from the savaged remains of Gerald’s body and rose to wipe his bloody hands on his jeans. Bits of Gerald’s flesh and bone stuck to his knuckles along with other pieces he refused to identify.
Julian took a deep breath as he struggled to regain his composure. He couldn’t spiral out again now; Aida needed him too much. She was distressed and confused, and he refused to let her down.
Kyle broke the silence. “We have to clean this up.”
“What… what is going on?” Aida asked.
She winced when her question came out sounding like an eighty-year-old, three-pack-a-day smoker. Her hand went to her throat. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, the pain was setting in. When she swallowed, it felt like shards of glass were digging into her throat.
“We’ll explain it later,” Cassidy said. “But we have to get this taken care of before anyone comes back here.”
“Oh!” Aida exclaimed and winced. “Where is Nicolette?”
She was ashamed to realize she’d forgotten about her boss until now. But, to be fair, she did have a vampire threatening to kill her and an ex-friend she was apparently having sex with. Those were some pretty distracting things.
“She’s in the back hallway,” Kyle said. “I have control of her mind, and she is admiring the paintings. I locked the front door and turned off all the lights so no one will bother us.”
“Is she okay?” Aida whispered.
“She’s fine,” Kyle assured her. “She won’t remember a thing.”
“What do we do about this?” Cassidy asked and waved a hand at Gerald.
“There are some leftover drop cloths back here from the last time they painted the gallery. We can wrap the body in that and, um…” Aida glanced toward the body before looking away again. “The cleaning crew keeps their supplies on a shelf next to the utility sink on the other side of the room.”
“Good,” Kyle said. “We have to get this place spotless.”
Aida wasn’t sure that was possible, and her stomach churned at the idea of going anywhere near the blood, but she wouldn’t leave them hanging with this when they’d saved her life.
“Was he a Savage?” she choked out.
“Yes,” Julian confirmed.
When Aida looked at him again, her heart lurched as an unexpected wave of love poured through her. As a teenager, she cared for Julian, and his kiss made her realize she was missing something with all the other boys she dated, but that didn’t explain the amount of love flooding her.
She took a step toward him before stopping herself. Even if she was experiencing love for him, with the way he left, he wouldn’t welcome her embrace.
The hope that surged through Julian when she stepped toward him crashed and burned when she froze. If he succeeded in returning her memories to her, would she still want him after what she witnessed?
“Let’s get this taken care of,” he said brusquely. “Kyle, why don’t you send Nicolette home. Cassidy, can you take Aida out of here and find her some ice for her face? I’ll get the body onto a drop cloth and start cleaning.”
“I will,” Cassidy said and rested her hand on Aida’s arm.
“I can help you clean,” Aida offered. She’d rather wrestle with a polar bear, but she couldn’t abandon him and Kyle to this. “You saved my life.”
“You’ve had too much involvement in this already. I don’t want you near this asshole anymore,” Julian said. “Go on and let Cassidy take care of you.”
Aida hesitated, but the pleading in his eyes caused her head to bow.
“I’ll take care of Nicolette and get the cleaning supplies,” Kyle said. “We’re going to have to find a safe place to stash the body until the sun comes up.”
“We will,” Julian said.
“Come on,” Cassidy said gently. “Let’s clean you up.”
Aida reluctantly allowed Cassidy to lead her back into the gallery.
CHAPTER 45
Julian stayed in the shower until the water ran clear of blood. And then he stayed longer to let the hot water ease some of his remaining hostility. What remained of the red and black color covering his body was fading, but his skin felt too tight as he turned his hands before him.
For a disorienting second, he thought Gerald’s blood had seeped into his skin, marking him for life as a vicious murderer. Gerald deserved to die, and he would gladly kill him all over again, but he never should have lost control like he did. The feel of his fists tearing apart flesh and breaking bones would always haunt him.
But when Gerald hit her…
Julian’s breath hissed out of him as his shoulders tensed, and his hands flexed. The veins in his arms stood out; his muscles vibrated as he tried to regain control. He couldn’t think about the sound of that punch; if he did, he would pummel this shower into pieces. Losing his temper wouldn’t help him regain Aida’s trust or put her at ease.
Think of her. Think of her.
Closing his eyes, he flexed his hands as he conjured an image of Aida smiling at him while she draped her arms around his neck and kissed him. His heartbeat slowed when he recalled the scent of her engulfing him and the loving memory of her enveloped him.
It will be more than a memory, he vowed.
Finally feeling stable enough to face Aida again, he turned off the water and left the shower. It was time to set her memories free… hopefully.
When he erased himself from her memories for these past two weeks, he implanted in her mind she was to remember him when he commanded her to do so, but he didn’t know if it would work. Because he was so ingrained in her memories, and because of her love for him, he dug deeper into her mind than he ever had with anyone else. He’d used more power than he was required to use before too.
If he’d been a turned vamp instead of a purebred looking to protect his mate, he never could have done it. It had taken a lot of work, but eventually, he eradicated hims
elf from the past two weeks of her life. If Gerald killed him, Aida never would have remembered their relationship. He loathed the idea of her forgetting everything they shared, but her heart wouldn’t have broken.
The only problem was, he didn’t know if he’d done too good of a job.
If he couldn’t fix this, he would earn her love again. He would not lose her. It might be a whole lot more challenging to get her to love him again after learning he’d played with her mind, but he would never give up.
He dried off, dressed quickly, and left the room. Steam followed him into the hall as he strode into the living room. Cassidy and Kyle sat on the couch, but Aida stood in the kitchen with her hands clasped behind her back as she stared out the window.
The kitchen light shone on her black hair and porcelain skin. She’d showered before him, and her hair was still damp as it tumbled down her back in thick curls. He recalled the scent of those curls while he ran them through his fingers.
He couldn’t lose her.
When her head turned toward him, the black bruise marring her face sent a fresh jolt of fury through him. His nostrils flared, and the clawing need to maim tore at his chest like a caged wolverine. He considered retreating until he got himself under control again, but the more time he spent away from her, the worse it would get.
Aida smiled and stepped toward him before catching herself and looking confused. He suspected some of her feelings for him were starting to break through the barrier he built in her mind, but she didn’t understand them, which only added to her dread.
“Can I know what is going on now?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said.
He ran a hand through his damp hair and tugged on it until it stood on end. He made himself stop by fisting his hands and pushing them into his thighs. Kyle and Cassidy rose from the couch.
“We think it’s best if it’s only the two of you. Are you okay with that?” Cassidy asked Aida.
Aida hesitated, and Julian held his breath while he waited for her reply. “Yes,” she whispered.
Forsaken (Vampire Awakenings, Book 10) Page 24
