by Alisha Rai
12
They sat quietly for another couple of hours, holding one another. Not a single gunshot broke the silence, and Genevieve drifted off to sleep.
She awoke to his hand idly stroking her hair. For a split-second, she forgot about the danger beyond the cabin walls, stretching languidly against him. When she looked up to find him gazing outside, reality crashed down on her. Glancing at her wristwatch, she saw it was already four in the morning. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep. With the focus in his expression, Genevieve knew Alex hadn’t slept so much as a wink.
“Why don’t you sleep? I’ll take watch,” she said quietly.
He opened his mouth to argue, but then seemed to think again, which told her how tired he was. This was the first day since he’d been injured he’d gone more than five hours without catching a nap. She figured that he would fall into a deep sleep, and he didn’t disappoint.
Genevieve took his place against the window and kept her attention on the darkness, the shotgun balanced in her lap. The shooter had been conspicuously silent for the past few hours. It was too much to hope he was gone.
Dying had never really bothered her before. When a person had no one left around to care, dying was really just a full stop at the end of a life.
She had Alex now, though. Despite her best efforts to keep her distance, she cared for him. She cared for him so much, if it was a matter of one of them surviving the night, she hoped it was him. The world would be a worse place without souls like his moving around on it. She couldn’t see her own aura, but she was sure it couldn’t possibly look anything like his. After what she’d done in her life, she must have badly tarnished it. No, there was no comparison. Plus, he had a mother and brother who cared for him.
She’d hatched a plan as soon as she’d realized her full powers had returned. Their conversation had cemented it. She had to protect Alex.
With his aura, she was a bit surprised by how long he’d managed to stay in law enforcement in such a dangerous area. It was like his soul was too pure for day-to-day violence. Her on the other hand…well, she didn’t love violence. But she was a pragmatic person with a good plan on how to fix this. Her lover would never agree to it if she gave him a choice. So it was time for some sneaking.
She rested her gun against the wall as she crept to the coatrack to pull on her big coat. Her boots came on next. No need to be uncomfortable in the cold.
She looked out the window again and allowed her vision to blur and flip. Seeing an aura wasn’t quite like thermal goggles, but it was all energy in the end. She couldn’t see it through trees, alas, so if he was camped out deeper in the forest, she was shit out of luck.
Really, her best bet was to try this right after the jerk launched a volley of gunshots. She’d just about given up when she caught a flicker of red to her right. She zoomed in and almost crowed when the red shifted and moved. Too big and complex to be an animal.
Genevieve crawled out to the back room in the dark, trying her best not to make a single sound that would alert Alex, avoiding each of the creaky boards. He stirred once, when she opened the back door to allow the cooler air in, but he subsided back to sleep.
Alex’s conclusion that the guy was playing with them was dead on. If she’d been in the shooter’s place and wanted to get to someone who was inside this cabin? It would have been a simple matter to shoot out the sunroom. The whole wall and the back door were made of glass. Before she walked out the door, she did a quick survey of the forest from here. Once again, not foolproof, but it was all she had. If there was more than one aggressor, it made sense to have one of them parked out in the back.
She opened the door and crept out, flattening into the shadows of the house as soon as she was able. She held her breath, but no bullets came tearing out of the darkness toward her. When she was safe for a solid two minutes, she exhaled and started to inch toward the side she’d glimpsed the color from.
The snow crunched beneath her boots. Probably not that loud, but to her, it seemed like it was in stereo. Her gun was sweaty in her palms. She kept her vision off the physical plane in an effort to see any stray energy.
A plan that had seemed so simple inside now appeared fraught with danger. Had she really thought she could just shoot someone? Sure, she’d done a few things she wasn’t proud of, but shooting someone with a gun was a hell of a lot more personal than cursing a person to a long and painful death.
By the time she reached the front corner of her cabin, she was tempted to march herself right back inside to the safety of her home and Alex’s side. That was when she glimpsed the energy moving amongst the trees, closer now.
Trying not to let her stomach heave in fright, she bent down, picked up a large, snow-encrusted rock and threw it as far away as she could. Since she could hear the sound it made when it landed, presumably the shooter could too.
Sure enough, the energy became more visible as the person moved closer to the edge of the trees. She lifted her gun and sighted down the barrel.
His aura was disgusting, a combination of black and red. She felt like she was staring at putrid flesh and rotting maggots. Genevieve shook her head until her vision cleared, fighting the urge to gag. This man was…horrible. She’d never realized anyone could look like that. There was no redeeming quality in him.
You could just play around with those colors a little. Really punish him for everything he’s done. Come on, he deserves it. Genevieve tried to focus past the seductive voice. No. She wasn’t going down that road again. If at all possible, she wanted to come out of this alive, which meant she was going to rely on good, old-fashioned bullets.
Hands suddenly steady, she took aim. Her finger tightened on the trigger.
It wasn’t much different from shooting at targets on a post, she thought dispassionately, as the energy flinched and flickered. She watched him tumble out of the forest. She made the decision in an instant, changing her aim. She shot again. The gunshots were muted, but everything after them, the thud of the man, Alex’s yell from inside the cabin, sounded unnaturally loud.
Her vision flipped so everything appeared normal, including the dark form on the ground. Not really sure what she was doing, she started walking to where the man had fallen. When she was within a foot or two of his body, she heard her name called out. She didn’t bother to turn around.
She knelt beside the stranger and touched his face. His eyelids flickered open. Both of her shots had hit her target, and she didn’t need to examine him to ascertain he didn’t have long to live. His gun had fallen out of his outstretched hand, and she kicked it aside. Blood was pouring from both wounds, turning the snow beneath him to a sickly pink. Ignoring his wounds, she patted him down, removed another small gun and a knife, and sent them the same way.
“Genevieve!”
She jumped when Alex grabbed her arm from behind. “What the hell have you done?”
She blinked at him over her shoulder. “I took care of things.”
He looked down at the man and froze. She wasn’t so far gone that she didn’t see the recognition in his face. “You know him?”
“Paul Leonie.” He spat the name out. “His brother killed my partner. I testified against him.”
The man glared and coughed. “Told you…gonna kill you. Saw you fucking this chick, knew I could really make you suffer.”
Genevieve shuddered. If she was a little less frozen, she might feel horror that this man had caught their most intimate moments. “So that’s why he shot at you and then followed you up here? Vengeance?” Silly rabbit. She could have told him vengeance didn’t work.
“Must be. Genevieve, come on, inside. Leave him. We don’t know who’s with him.”
With the way Alex was scanning the darkness, his handgun cocked and ready to fire, she realized he was expecting trouble. The layer of calm surrounding her allowed her to look down at the dying man. His eyes were open lasers of hate directed straight toward Alex. “You know, I can help you.” The man’s black eyes turned
to her.
“Angel, inside…”
She grabbed the man’s hair and tipped his head back to make sure he was listening to her. “I can help you, but I want you tell me if you have any other friends or accomplices out there.”
“Genevieve—”
She didn’t pay any attention, but watched the man’s aura.
“No,” he whispered.
Satisfied, she let him fall back on the ground. “He’s by himself. I’ve already taken all of his weapons off him. Help me get him to the shed over there.” Like hell she was letting him in the house or the barn. The shed was old, but it was solid and she had a padlock she could put on it.
“I’m not taking the man’s word for it.”
She looked up at Alex. “I can tell when a person’s lying. He’s not. Besides, if someone else was out here, we’d be dead by now.”
Genevieve loved that he didn’t ask her any further questions. He simply took her claim at face value, handed her his gun and bent down to haul the slighter man into a fireman’s carry. At the movement, Leonie slumped forward, unconscious. “Show me where.”
She pointed to the shed and then followed after she had gathered up the guy’s weapons and tucked them into her coat. Soon Alex was lowering Leonie to the dirty floor. “I don’t know how long he’s going to last. He seems to be bleeding an awful lot.”
Alex didn’t sound as if he particularly cared, and Genevieve supposed she couldn’t really blame him. The guy had shot Alex and left him for dead, but for the grace of God. Plus, after the terror of the last day and night, she wasn’t too thrilled with Leonie either. He was an evil little man who had probably never done a lick of good in his life. Telling them no one else was in the woods was probably the first words of truth he’d uttered in a long time.
But you can’t let him die.
She shut her eyes, trying to block out the insistent whisper that was attempting to penetrate her frozen calm.
He deserved it. Given half a chance, he would have had no compunction about killing both her and Alex.
You’re not a killer.
She inhaled so hard, tears sprang to her eyes. No. Oh, God, no, she wasn’t a killer.
Ignoring Alex’s start of surprise, she rushed over to the man and knelt next to him.
“Genevieve, what are you doing?”
“I have to heal him.”
“What are you talking about?”
She looked at him, so tall and strong. A burst of relief coursed through her. She wasn’t a killer. She still didn’t deserve him, but no matter what she’d done, no matter how much she regretted it…she had a choice here. She didn’t have to take this one on herself. “I can’t have a third death on my conscience. Let me do this.”
To his credit, Alex didn’t even blink at her words. Though he looked none too pleased at the idea of her touching the other man, he nodded and subsided.
She didn’t bother to fix the man on the aural plane, since she feared it would be far too tempting to lose her head and wreak a little bit of havoc. Instead, she did what she’d done for Alex. Of course, this man wouldn’t have the warmth, shelter and proper cleanliness she’d afforded Alex, but what the hell. He deserved to suffer.
By the time the wounds had sufficiently repaired, Genevieve and Leonie were both whimpering. Distantly, she heard Alex say something, his tone worried. The next thing she knew, he picked her up and was carrying her. “Padlock,” she managed to croak. Though Leonie would be out for a while as he healed, there was no need to take any chances.
He hesitated, but sat her down outside the shed on the cold ground. Ice and snow froze her butt, but since the chill took her mind off the pain, she didn’t mind. She heard the rattle of chains, and then he was carrying her again.
She felt the warmth as they entered the cabin, and he lowered her to the kitchen chair.
Something touched her lips, and she instinctively opened her mouth. The bitter liquid made her cough a little. Her emergency whiskey wasn’t for the faint of heart. His worried face appeared in her line of sight. She wanted to ease the furrow between his brows. “Don’t worry. Normal. Always a balance.”
“Is this what happened after you fixed me?”
She inhaled, the pain already starting to recede. “Worse. You were in much worse shape.”
“If I’d known…”
He didn’t have to finish the thought. Genevieve knew he was wishing he’d tackled her before she healed the man. “Had to do it. You didn’t freeze.”
“Huh?”
“You must have come running when you heard the first shot. You didn’t freeze.”
Alex blinked. “I guess I didn’t.”
She could move now. She shifted her legs, conscious of the water pooling on the floor.
She noticed wetness dripping on her as well. Oh God, he was still shirtless and shoeless. Blood and water had left streaks across his chest. His skin had turned from brown to blue. “You’re going to get frostbite.”
He looked down, as if just realizing he had been exposed to the elements for far too long. “We’re both shaking. Come on, let’s warm us up.”
Alex gathered her in his arms and lifted her from the chair. She tried to make a token protest. “Your shoulder—”
“Is fine. Hush.”
She must still be woozy from shock and pain because she didn’t even care. He set her on her feet. She blinked at the harsh fluorescent lights of the bathroom. He stripped off his pants and boxers, and she allowed him to remove her clothes as well, standing there like a doll.
He cranked the shower to the hottest level. His lips were as blue as his skin, and she felt a spurt of real alarm and an impetus to move out of her daze. “Hurry, get in there.”
He hauled her in with him, his body flinching at the first touch of warmth on his skin. Though he needed the heat more than her, he made sure the water fell over both of them. He picked up the bar of soap. “Stand still.”
She obeyed as he washed her clean. He spent an inordinate amount of time scrubbing her hands and arms. To offer comfort, she figured, more than actually cleaning her. Since it kept him firmly under the hot spray as well, she didn’t object.
Finally, Alex must have judged her to be clean or warm enough, since he shut the water off and reached out of the stall to grab the towel. He rubbed her down thoroughly before swiping at his own wet chest and tucking the towel around his waist. He used a dry towel to wrap her up, and then herded her from the bathroom. “Alex…”
“Hush.”
She followed him into the main room and stood awkwardly, a stranger in her own home, while he locked the back door, checked the locks on the front and started a fire. The sudden light, after they’d spent a whole evening in darkness, seemed wrong in the room, and she cast a nervous glance at the window.
He noticed. “You’re sure he was alone?”
“If there is someone else out there, he doesn’t know about it. Did you check the phone?”
“When I got you the whiskey. Still dead.” Finished with the fire, he stood and pulled the blanket off the bed before he walked toward her with a determined glint. “Drop the towel. I want to get you warm.”
Uncaring of her modesty, she tossed the towel aside. The chill touched her for an instant before he wrapped the extra blanket around her. As if she weighed nothing, he picked her up in his arms again and sat down with her in the armchair. She didn’t protest, only snuggled closer. “I can’t seem to stop shaking. It’s not because I’m cold, I think.”
“Have you ever fired a gun at another person?”
“No.”
“First time I had to fire a gun, you’d have thought I had palsy. It’s a natural reaction. I’d be amazed if you could just laugh it off.”
“I can’t believe I shot a man.” How could she have thought she could just kill a man and walk away?
“We’re in perfect agreement, then. I can’t believe it either. In fact, I can’t believe you left me sleeping here and waltzed out there all
by yourself with one measly shotgun against God knew how many bad guys.”
His arms had grown tighter around her with every word he spoke. He hadn’t raised his voice, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out he wasn’t too happy. She kept her tone mild. “I know it wasn’t the smartest move. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I figured I could track the person by their energy and take them out that way. Otherwise, we were just sitting targets, Alex. We had to do something.”
“And you couldn’t include me in your plan, why?”
“Be honest. Would you have let me go out there, even if you were with me?” He didn’t speak. “See? I had to do something. I couldn’t stand the thought that someone was playing with us like that.” She couldn’t stand the thought of him getting hurt.
“I thought it was because of what I told you. I thought you figured I was useless.”
Her heart caught at the naked shame in his voice. “Because of your PTSD? No! That wasn’t the reason at all.” She hesitated. “I admit, I did have some half-baked idea that I’d be able to better handle violence than you, but…” She wrinkled her nose. “Since you were the one who was willing to leave the guy to bleed out, and I had to go and get all girlie on you and help the villain, I guess that isn’t the case.”
“You do realize I worked narcotics in New York, don’t you?” he asked, his tone dry. “Drug dealers don’t settle their differences with a handshake and a cup of tea. I burned out because I lost someone I loved, not because I faint at the sight of blood.”
She grinned, sheepish. “Yeah. I didn’t really think of that. I think I went a little crazy when I saw your aura for the first time. That’s all I can claim. It’s so pure, and I figured since I was already…tarnished, I should be the one to do the deed.”
“I don’t understand this aura business very well, but I can tell you that I’m not a particularly pure or blameless person.” When he turned his head to face her, Genevieve recoiled from the stranger facing her. Alex’s expression was unemotional and flat. “I really don’t care if Leonie dies. The only reason I let you heal him was because you seemed to need it. I wanted him to die when he was out there terrorizing us. The fact that he watched us making love…” Alex’s jaw clenched. “I want him to burn in hell for that.”
