by Lucinda Dark
“No hospital,” I repeated.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” He stared down at me, his jaw working as he ground his teeth. I reached up and clenched my fingers in the fabric of his shirt.
“Please,” I rasped. “No hospital.”
He glared at me. “If you fucking die, I’m going to spank your fucking ass.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. It came out frail and weak and I hated every bit of it, especially when laughing made my chest burn hotter in agony. I shook my head. “Just … no hospital,” I repeated once more as I closed my eyes.
The warmth and gentleness of his fingers smoothed over my cheeks and down to my neck. Darkness closed over me behind my eyelids and soft hair whispered against my skin as Maverick’s lips found the corner of my mouth. “You’re going to be the death of me,” he whispered.
I hated that I couldn’t reply. I was already falling into oblivion. If I had been able to speak, though, I would’ve told him that he wasn’t going to die. Not if I could help it.
Twenty-Five
Maverick
Vampires … I glanced over to the passenger seat, worry tightening my grip on the steering wheel. What the fuck was happening? Fucking vampires? Still reeling, I took the back roads to the only place I could think to take Barbie.
The vision of her covered in blood stabbed me deep. Her head rested against the glass window, but not at all due to her willingness. She was unconscious and after she’d closed her eyes back at the house, I hadn’t been able to wake her up again. If it weren’t for the ever so slight rise and fall of her chest, I’d think she was dead. But no, she was still breathing. For now.
I turned back to the front, pressing the gas pedal to the floor as I sped into the night. No fucking hospital. She'd extracted that fucking promise from me right as she'd passed out. I wasn't even sure if she'd heard it, but already I was regretting making it. If she died because she didn't want to go to a hospital...
I ground my jaw as I turned my truck down a familiar road. I hoped I wasn’t making a horrible mistake. The façade of Torin’s estate came into view, my headlights washing over the tan stone steps as I ground the truck to a halt.
Shutting off the engine, I got out of the vehicle and dashed around to the side. Behind me, the front doors opened. I popped the passenger door open gently and reached inside, stopping her from starting to lean out as she sagged to the side. I unbuckled Barbie and lifted her into my arms before I turned.
“Maverick?” Torin stopped when he saw the girl in my arms. His eyes went first to her blood covered face and then to me before back to Barbie. I watched as his expression hardened. He turned back to the house.
I snapped. “Torin!”
“Not here,” he said. “Meet me at the farthest guest house. You know the way.”
“She needs medical attention,” I said.
Torin stopped in the doorway and looked over his shoulder. “I can see that. I’ll be there soon with what we might need. Get her into the guest house. Clean her up. I won’t be long.”
I wanted to fucking punch him in his emotionless face. There wasn’t even a hint of concern past his initial confusion. One moment he’d been completely human and the next, a cold block of ice. Perhaps this had been a bad fucking decision, but where else could I have gone? Nowhere, I decided a split second later as I put Barbie back in the truck and buckled her in once more.
Jumping back into the driver’s seat, I sped out of the driveway and swung down the long narrow road, leading towards the back portion of the Priest property, glancing over every so often. But Barbie didn’t even stir.
I pulled up outside of the last guest house—the very one where Torin and I had ended our friendship. As I got out of the truck and moved around to get Barbie a second time, my mind whirled with memories from that night two years ago.
Two years prior…
I’m sorry, Maverick, but I just don’t think things will work out between us anymore… Maryanne’s last words cut through me as I whipped the truck into Torin’s driveway and drove right past the front of his house. Maybe I shouldn’t have been driving this angry. I’d just gotten my fucking truck along with my license the week before, but fuck if I was going to wait for composure before I had it out with the bastard.
Fucking betrayed by my own girlfriend, but even worse was the feeling of being betrayed by my best friend. The man I fucking treated like a goddamn brother. I stopped the truck and was out of the vehicle before I’d even shut it off, taking the stairs up to the front door of the guest house two at a time. The door opened. I didn’t wait for an explanation or for any sort of apology. I threw the first punch and suddenly, I couldn’t stop throwing them.
Torin went down under my fist, but then just as quickly he blocked the next one and the next one. Until it felt like I was trying to hit a dodging monkey. "Maverick!"
"No!" I yelled, punching out again and this time, I caught him by surprise on his jaw. Fuck! It felt like my knuckles hit pure rock. They split apart, blood oozing from the wounds. I paused, panting, my shoulders shaking with the effort as I tried to hold myself back. "You don't get to call my name. You don't have that fucking privilege. You destroyed it."
"The fuck are you talking about?" Torin stepped back and stared at me, his mouth twisted. He reached up and rubbed lightly at his chin where I'd landed the last blow. Good, I thought, I hoped I'd hurt him. "Maverick, talk to me, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Maryanne." Her name changed the atmosphere. Torin's back went ramrod straight. He swallowed reflexively.
"Maverick—"
"Stop saying my fucking name." My fists clenched again, my knuckles stinging. I didn't give a shit. I'd break off my fingers if it meant hurting him. After everything, I wanted him to know just how badly he had fucked up. "First the silent treatment, and then Maryanne," I said. "If you wanted to fuck up our friendship, you've done a spectacular job." I spread my arms wide. "But the thing I don't fucking get is why? Is it your dad?"
Torin just stood there, his eyes cold. He released his fists and crossed his arms over his chest, looking away. I waited. Still, he didn't talk. I groaned and shoved my knuckles—blood and all—into my eye sockets, pressing back until I felt the pounding in my skull recede just a bit.
"This is so fucked up," I said. "What the fuck happened to us?"
"Maryanne's leaving because her dad was offered a better position in Germany," Torin said.
I dropped my arms and took a deep breath. "Did you sleep with her?" There it was, an opening. A chance for him to tell me no. For Torin to tell me he'd never pull this kind of shit. But he just remained silent. Those cold green eyes staring at me. What the fuck was wrong with him?
My feet ate up the small distance between us and my hands went out and grabbed him by the front of his shirt as I lifted him up. "Fucking say something," I demanded.
"What do you want me to say?" he asked quietly.
"That you didn't fucking do it," I said. "What else do you think I want you to say?"
"I can't say it."
I released him just as abruptly as if he had sucker punched me in the gut.
"No." I shook my head. Please, fucking no. It might have hurt less had he stabbed me in the face. "You—"
"I think you should go, Mav."
I stumbled back and just stopped and stared at him. This was the man I'd grown up with. The man who'd gone through all of the ups and downs I'd had with Maryanne with me. The one who'd let me wreck his sister's Impala and took all of the blame when we were thirteen.
"Why?" That's all I needed. A good excuse. I was sure he had one. He had to. "Give me a fucking reason why you would do this?" I demanded. "You have to have one. You can't just throw this away. Maryanne's not fucking worth it. I've known you longer. You're my fucking brother, Tor." My breath rasped in and out of my chest. "Please, for fuck's sake, give me something."
Torin just shook his head, turned around and headed back into the guest hou
se without saying another damn word. The door closed behind him with a resounding click. The end of an era, of a friendship, of a brotherhood. I whirled away, my mind reeling as I staggered down the steps and back to my truck.
My anger had transcended my body until I wasn't angry anymore. What I felt wasn't rage or the fucking hot burn of betrayal. Instead, as I got into the driver's seat and cranked the engine, my chest ached with something else. Grief. Loss. He hadn't offered a single excuse. He hadn't given me any indication that he cared. I'd poured my fucking soul out and practically begged him and still, he'd just walked away.
That told me all I needed to know even if I wasn't ready to fucking hear it.
So, I drove. I drove back to my house, raided my dad's liquor cabinet and hours later, when the blaze of alcohol had incinerated all of my inhibitions, I finally allowed myself to grieve. Blind fucking drunk and still I missed him. But at least he'd taught me a valuable lesson. No one outside family could be fucking trusted. I took another gulp of Hennessy, hating the taste but loving the feeling of sinking deeper into oblivion. Somewhere far away. Where no one could ever fucking get inside and damage me. Where I could lock myself away and throw away the key.
"Yeah..." I slurred aloud. That's exactly what I needed. To be alone. To not give a fuck.
So, I drank until I reached that place and it didn't hurt quite so much anymore.
Twenty-Six
Torin
Present Day...
She hadn't left. The little fool.
I hurried to collect what I thought I'd need. Bandages, a suture kit that had never been opened, antiseptic. All things Katalin had purchased when I'd been brought to live here as a child. She had never had a hand in raising any children, much less a half human, half vampire child. She didn't know if I'd be more vampire than human or if I'd need the first aid supplies. I never had until now.
I hurried through the main house and as soon as I hit the back patio, I put on a burst of speed and made it to the last guest house within a few minutes. It would have taken a regular human closer to half an hour to get there, but I didn't have time for that or to grab a car. I took the stairs at a leap and slammed through the front door just as Maverick was putting Barbie down on a long, elegant table.
"I didn't know if I should put her on the couch," he said. "She's bleeding pretty badly."
"This is fine." I dumped my supplies on the table alongside her. I handed him a pair of scissors. “Start cutting off her clothes,” I ordered.
“What the fuck?” He took the scissors and just held them. “Why the hell would I—”
“We have to get her clothes off so I can assess the damage,” I snapped. “Do you want to sit there and keep asking me questions or are you going to help?”
Maverick scowled at me, his eyes burning a hole into me as I set to work on her shirt, ripping it down the front until I revealed her abdomen and bra covered breasts. I stood back and swallowed as a wave of thirst rose up. All that blood … I swallowed against the moisture in my mouth and focused downward.
I prodded against her side around what looked like a particularly deep wound. Grabbing tweezers, I used the sharp tips to open the cut and winced. Glass. I began the process of removing the small slivers that were still embedded in her skin. Moving from one wound to the next. So many cuts were still bleeding. I didn’t know if there were internal injuries. I stood back and debated my options as Maverick found the suture kit and tore it open.
“You’re not going to ask me any fucking questions?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No.”
He frowned. “Why?”
“Because I know what happened.”
Maverick froze before he turned on me just as quickly. He jerked me away from the table and slammed me against a wall, the tweezers fell from my grip. I’d had enough of this. I grabbed him by his shoulders, spun and had his spine against the wall and my forearm at his throat before he could blink. He stared down at me, the scent of shock and fear permeating my nostrils. Not that he’d ever let it show. No, not Maverick.
“How the fuck did you know something like this would happen?” he demanded. “Do you know who that bitch was?”
“Her name was Delia,” I said. Of course, Maverick wouldn’t know her. Delia hadn’t shown up until after we’d cut our ties. “And I knew something like this would happen because I warned her if she didn’t leave town after what she did that it would,” I said. “She chose to stay, so yes, I expected this to happen.”
He struggled against my hold. “Did you have anything to do with it?”
I shook my head. “Do you really think that?” I asked harshly. I knew Maverick hated me, but I hadn’t expected a small comment like that to hurt so badly. Before I knew what I was doing, I shoved him up until his feet left the floor and his eyes widened. We’d been best friends once, he and I, but that was in the past. This was the present. I shoved down my pain and leveled him with a dark look. I needed to show him that I wasn’t to be messed with. “The answer is no. I didn’t. Anything else you’d like to ask?” Maverick simply glared at me, unspeaking. “Great,” I deadpanned, “then here’s how this is going to go. We have work to do if we want to save her life. You’re going to put your grudge against me away for the time being and we’ll fix her up. Then you and I are going to have a talk. There’s a lot that needs to be explained. It won’t make up for anything I’ve done, but it might make some things clear. I have a feeling there’s no avoiding that now.” I waited a beat. “Nod if you understand.”
He didn’t nod. Instead, choosing to choke out the words. “I understand.”
I sighed and released him. Maverick’s feet hit the floor and in the next instant, his knuckles hit my temple. Stars danced in front of my vision, but I couldn’t say that I hadn’t expected some sort of retaliation. Thankfully, however, that was the end of his reprisal. Maverick shoved past me and returned to Barbie’s side to finish cutting away her work out pants.
I picked up the tweezers and went to work. A human might have needed a magnifying glass to see all of the little bits that had made their way into her flesh, but not me. I managed to get every single one out. Plopping them into a bowl I’d retrieved from the guest house kitchen. They’d have to be burned later to get rid of the scent of her blood. Even if we burned everything she touched in this state, the scent would still linger at least for a few days. My nose twitched, my inner beast coming to the forefront as I felt my canines shifting in my mouth. I bit down on my tongue, tasting the coppery tinge of my own blood.
“What next?” Maverick asked, looking over Barbie with a haggard expression. He sagged against the table, his palms holding him up.
“We could sew her up,” I said, gesturing to the suture kit he’d opened just for that purpose. “But she’s lost a lot of blood. It won’t stop while we’re doing it.”
“Then what do you suggest?” he bit out.
“Why did you bring her here?” I asked by way of answer.
He sighed. “She said not to take her to a hospital. I didn’t know where else to go.”
I nodded. That didn’t surprise me. Though she was just a girl, Barbie was smarter than the average teenager. Wiser beyond her years probably, due in large part to what had happened to her six months ago.
“We have two options,” I said with a resigned sigh. Only one would give us the results we needed, though. “We can try to stitch up every cut and hope she doesn’t have any internal injuries…”
“Or?” Maverick prompted after a moment of silence.
I gritted my teeth. “I can give her some of my blood and let that heal her.” She wouldn’t agree. But the great thing about her being unconscious is that she wouldn’t have a choice in the matter. It’d heal her. She’d come out just fine. Even if she would hate me for it.
“Your blood?” Maverick stared at me. “What…” He grew pale as he took a step back. I detested the look he gave me, like he was going to be sick. “You’re one of them?”
“If you’re asking if I’m a vampire, the answer is a bit more complicated than that.”
“Is that why you … with Maryanne? With me? You—”
I shook my head and cut him off. “I’ll tell you everything after we help Barbie, but we have to make a decision soon. I can’t make it for her and she’s not exactly conscious right now. What’s it going to be, Mav?”
“Will it turn her into one of you?” He swallowed and clenched his fists as he returned to the table.
I hid my smirk. “No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Maverick looked down to Barbie’s pale face. His fingers trembled as he lifted them and smoothed two down her cheek. The blood had already grown dark, brown against her flesh as it crusted in the dry air. That didn’t make this any easier. We hadn’t done much to clean her—only cut away her clothes to assess the damage. And it was bad. Delia had obviously not gone down easily. I paused, a thought occurring to me.
“The woman who did this,” I said, “is she still alive?”
Maverick shook his head. “No, Barbie killed the bitch.”
As relieved as that left me, it also raised a few other problems. It was lucky that Eloise had left earlier that week. Katalin didn’t notice Delia enough to care if she was missing.
“Okay,” I said, nodding. “That’s good. Now, what’s your answer, Mav? What are we doing?”
He grimaced. “Can’t we wait until she wakes up and ask her?”
I shook my head. “If she stays this way, she might not wake up at all.”
“Fuck.” He looked down again, his hand smoothing her matted hair from her face and I had to admit, I got it. She was a beautiful girl, but more than that, there was something about her that was special. Her blood called to me, made me thirst when all others had been dull scents by comparison. I’d never had human blood fresh from the vein before, but she made me want to take a bite. She made me willing to do all I could to protect her—lie, cheat, steal. Betray the very people who’d raised me. All for her. If she wasn’t my vampire’s mate, then she was certainly something above ordinary. “Fine,” Maverick said, his tone heavy with regret and irritation as he stepped back. “Do it.”
