I had seen him a million times in the paper, the Eastside Rapist. Brian Connor was walking toward me looking like your regular, everyday guy. One that you might see on the streets on any given day. He wasn’t any other man on the streets though, he was a criminal, and deserved to go to prison. I couldn’t help but stare at him, while going through all the names of his victims listed in the papers. All the women he had assaulted – it was disgusting.
Ashley whispered something under her breath, but I couldn’t make out what it was. We tried to get back to our work, but all the hairs on my body were standing on end with the closeness of this man. The four of them were talking to each other, apparently preparing for a court appearance.
I peeked up again, despite my best effort, and found his gaze returning mine. A chill went up my spine.
Suddenly Caleb was there, standing between his stare and myself. Relief washed over me, until I saw Dermot look over at us with a weird expression on his face.
Ignoring it, I looked up at Caleb who was looking down at me with a softer expression than his usual stoic one. There was something in his eyes though, as if he were on edge. A guarded look that made me wonder if Brian’s presence was putting him off just as much as it was for me.
“Hey, you free for dinner?” he asked in a low voice.
I could feel Lily and Ashley’s eyes on me from their seats. Daggers were also being thrown at me from where the other girls sat across the room. Caleb leaned against my desk waiting patiently for a reply.
“Yeah, sure,” I said. “What about my car though?”
“We can come pick it up later,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “Let’s go then.”
“It’s not five yet, Caleb. I’m not off.”
“Close enough,” he said, spinning my chair around and pulling me up. He had my sweater on me, and my purse in my hands before I knew what had happened.
“I want to get out of here now.” He led me out of the office before I had a chance to say goodbye to the girls. I could only imagine the looks on their faces as we took off.
“What’s the hurry?” I asked, stumbling along behind him. The grip he had on my hand was practically cutting off my circulation. Something was definitely bothering him.
Caleb opened my door, waiting as I folded myself into the seat, before quickly going around to his side. When we were both in the car, he turned to me, leaning across the space separating us.
His lips were on mine before I could take my next breath. The same sense of need and intensity surrounded us, filling the car as though it were some tangible source. My mind went to mush again with the complete absurdity of the situation. How in the world had this happened to me, of all people?
Pulling away, he held my face gently, his eyes absorbing every inch of it, before he straightened himself in his seat again and turned the car on. The engine roared to life as I sat on my side of the car, desperately trying to catch my breath. He seemed to have that effect on me.
We sped off without saying a word to each other. The silence between us wasn’t awkward, as one might have expected between two people who barely knew each other. It was comfortable, and for some reason put me at ease as his sleek car zoomed around the city with no effort.
“Are you going to tell me what’s up?” I asked after my heart had finally slowed to its normal pace. I watched him from the corner of my eye, not missing how his jaw ticked and his hands gripped the wheel tightened.
“I just wanted to take you out for dinner, is that a crime?” he asked in a voice that made my heart skip a beat momentarily. Not going to work. I would not be side-tracked by this man and his beautiful ways.
“Caleb, I’m not stupid,” I said, twisting in my seat. “You practically ripped my arm off dragging me out of there – no one is that hungry.”
He looked over at me with an expression I couldn’t decipher. It was the type of look that one would give someone they were afraid to lose. I didn’t understand what he looked so worried about. He turned back to the road without answering, and continued driving.
“You can give me the silent treatment all night you know, but I’m not going to drop the subject. You might as well just tell me.” No dice. He was extremely good at keeping his mouth shut – it was very frustrating.
I turned forward in my seat with a huff. He glanced at me from the corner of his eye, his lips twitching as though he were fighting back one of those rare smiles. My frustration seemed to amuse him. Not cool.
We pulled up to the fanciest restaurant in our town, momentarily distracting me from my ire. It was a large, older house that the owners had renovated into an upper scale Italian eatery. The outside was painted a crisp white that accentuated the large dark wooden doors in the entrance beautifully. There were two huge columns that stood on either side of the wide stairs leading up to the large porch that ran the whole length of the front of the house.
It was right in the middle of downtown. My parents and I had driven by it thousands of times, but had never actually eaten here. Caleb parked the car, getting out as I continued to take in all the gorgeously manicured gardens surrounding the place.
He opened my door and held his hand out for me to take. I almost wanted to ignore it, but my stomach was growling now that the scent of food from inside had hit my nostrils, and I didn’t really want to waste time fighting out in the parking lot. He smiled as I took it, although he tried to hide it behind his hand and a ridiculously fake cough.
Damn it, he thought he was winning this battle. I had to curve it back in my favour.
As we walked toward the doors, he let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around my waist instead, pulling me closer. The heat of our bodies was dizzying, but this was just one of his tactics, and I was committed to not being so easily distracted.
The hostess knew him immediately and had his ‘usual’ table made up quickly while we waited in the lovely front entrance. We were seated near the back of the restaurant, at a small, private u-shaped booth. It was very cozy.
I wondered how many girls he’d brought here before. My curiosity, naturally, overcame me.
“You must bring all your dates here,” I said, trying to sound casual. Not casual enough though. His eyebrows went up in surprise, and a slight smile played on his lips.
“Actually I don’t think I’ve brought anyone here before,” he replied, still clearly amused by my obvious fishing.
I felt stupid after that and dropped the subject, shrugging my shoulders in what I hoped appeared as indifference. He was still studying me, as I tried my best to ignore him and read the menu. I looked up over the top of it, raising my eyebrows at him.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
His eyes took on a glimmer of amusement, and something else, as he tilted his head to the side, watching me closely. “I don’t know, can you?”
A strange feeling spread across my chest as our gazes held. “Do you need help?” I lowered the menu.
He didn’t answer me. I watched as a range of emotions filtered through those crystal blue eyes, each one more confusing than its former. Caleb Banks was a man with many facets, so many I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to figure him out.
“Are you going to tell me why we left in a hurry?” I asked in a quiet voice.
“I didn’t like Brian being around you,” he said simply, shocking me that he’d actually answered.
My stomach turned to think about Brian again. I didn’t like being around him either. It was like being in the same room as a dangerous animal.
The waitress came then, interrupting our private moment to take our order. We both ordered, although I wasn’t sure I could even eat anymore. My stomach was full of knots.
I desperately wanted to delve into this boy’s mind and discover all his secrets. I also wanted to move my body closer to his, but I thought it would look weird if we both sat at the back of the booth rather than opposite ends. The waitress left and our little bubble returned, the intensity swelling around us. I had never felt an
ything like it before.
“It’s not like he can do anything to me,” I said.
Caleb laughed bitterly. “Don’t be too sure of that,” he said.
“Why, do you think he’ll actually get off?” My voice had a slight panic in it. I remembered the look he had given me back at the office and shuddered slightly. No one who looked at another human being that way should ever be set free
Caleb was looking at me as though he could read every thought filtering through my mind.
“He probably looks at all women like that,” I whispered. I didn’t know why, but I couldn’t help but feel as though he knew. I was an open book to this strange boy with a face made of stone. Caleb’s eyes widened slightly when I spoke.
“I don’t care about other women the way I do about you,” he replied.
My heart skipped a beat as butterflies took off in the pit of my stomach.
He actually cares about me. When had that happened?
I felt as though I were behind on events in my own life. He moved around to the back of the booth and motioned for me to sit closer to him. My heart started to race as I slid down the seat.
“I’m almost positive we’ll get him off,” he said taking my hand. We both watched as he threaded his fingers through mine. The heat of his skin sent electric sparks up my arm.
“Why? You know everything they’ve said about him is true, he deserves to go to prison,” I managed to say.
“Probably, but that’s not our job. We’re supposed to keep him out of prison, and we’re very good at our job. There are a lot of bad people out there, Vivian.”
“Yes, and you’re helping to keep them out there,” I said.
He didn’t look at me, just gave my hand a slight squeeze before dropping it. The waitress had come with our food. I looked down at the plate in front of me, and felt ill.
“How will you feel when he does this again once he’s out?” I asked when the waitress was gone again.
“I can’t control what people do, Vivian. Bad things happen, that’s just how life is.” He didn’t seem disturbed by the thought at all.
I turned towards him. “What if that girl was me?”
He stopped, the fork in midair to his mouth, and looked back at me. I could see the slow burn of anger in his eyes as we stared at one another.
“Then I’d kill him,” he said in a matter of fact voice and took the bite.
That was that, apparently.
We finished our dinner quickly and headed out. The conversation didn’t really pick up after that, both of us lost in our own thoughts. He drove back to the office so I could grab my car. I wanted to say something to lighten the mood, but I couldn’t get over the fact that the Eastside Rapist was probably going to be a free man sooner rather than later.
Caleb reached over and grabbed my hand. I squeezed it as though he were a lifeline for me right now in a world that was scary and confusing.
“Let’s not think about bad things anymore,” he said as we pulled up beside my car. He parked, turning in his seat to face me. “There is a charity ball on the weekend for the Children’s Abuse Foundation. We’re all supposed to go, and I was hoping you would join me as my date.”
A ball? I thought. What does one wear to a ball? All I could think of in my head was Cinderella and all those girls in big, puffy dresses.
“What am I supposed to wear?” I asked, scrunching up my nose.
He chuckled. “You’re such a girl. You just have to wear a nice dress, it doesn’t have to be anything too extravagant.”
Like I would even have anything extravagant, I thought.
“Okay, I’ll go.”
He smiled that slight smile that one could almost miss if you weren’t paying close enough attention. Slight or not, it was still swoon-worthy.
“I’ll pick you up at nine then. See you tomorrow.”
I got out of the car and quickly got into mine while he waited for me to drive away. This had been a weird evening, and now I had all week to think about this damn ball. I was going to have to go shopping again for a dress. I moaned to myself. There was nothing in my closet that would be nice enough for a big event like this. Hopefully Blake would be available sometime this week.
I pulled into the driveway just as my mom came outside. “Hey, Mom,” I called out.
“Where have you been?” she asked, her expression pinched with worry. Crap, I had totally forgotten to call.
“Sorry, I had gone out for dinner after work and didn’t think to call,” I said. She didn’t look happy. “I’m sorry, Mom,” I said again. “It slipped my mind.”
“Who did you go out with?” Her eyes squinted at me with curiosity. I rolled mine. This was not going to be good. She would make a big deal out of it, I knew it. I could always lie, I thought, but if I went to the ball with Caleb then it would get around town immediately, and she would be extremely bitter that I hadn’t told her first. I took a deep breath.
“Caleb Banks,” I mumbled.
Her eyes widened. “Was this a date?”
I shrugged. “I guess so.”
“Are you two ‘dating’?” she continued.
Were we? I wasn’t sure. I guess we were, even though it had happened out of the blue. I told her yes and hurried inside before she could drill me with more questions. I said hi to my dad and flew upstairs. It would be killing her not to follow me, but she had never been the type to pry. I wasn’t trying to be evasive, I just didn’t know how to explain the situation. For now, ignoring it was the best course of action.
Alan paced the Arrivals area, glancing at his watch every minute or so. He hated waiting around, especially in the airport. Something about the smell made him sweat in panic. Just the thought of having to fly caused this reaction in him. If there was one thing he hated most, it was flying.
Thankfully he was only here to pick someone up, and not to fly somewhere himself. He checked his watch again in irritation and walked over to the main board to check the flights for the third time. It still said it was on schedule. He decided to try to sit down and calm his nerves. The last thing he wanted to do was welcome his visitor looking as though he’d just run the perimeter of the entire building.
He sat down and laid his head on the back of the chair, closing his eyes. He knew a lot of his anxiety wasn’t just coming from being in this building, although that did add to it. Most of the stress was coming from his phone call with Murray a few nights ago.
Immediately after that conversation, Alan had called in reinforcements when he realized the severity of the situation. He had known Murray for a long time, and trusted his instincts on the current matter. Hopefully his visitor would be able to help, and the other Brothers wouldn’t have to get involved. They would have sent the best over to deal with this.
He heard the lady announce the arrival of the flight he had been waiting for over the intercom, so he got up and fixed his suit, readying himself. His anxiety immediately relaxed when he saw who exited the plane. They had sent the best. Already he felt a million times better, and smiled as he welcomed the visitor to his home.
Caleb entered the apartment and could already tell his father was angry. There was always a certain atmosphere about the place when Dermot Banks got cross. He didn’t really want to deal with it, but he could sense his father was waiting for him, so he walked down the hall to the living room, prepared for the worse.
Dermot was pacing the room in front of the windows muttering to himself when he entered.
“Hello, Father,” he said, taking a seat. “Is there something wrong?” Might as well play along, he thought.
Dermot looked up and Caleb could see the fury burning in his eyes. The shade was almost an unnatural shade of burgundy, which meant that he had very little self-control right now. This was out of character for his father.
After a moment of silence, Dermot smoothed down the front of his suit, his eyes clearing as he regained some of his control.
“Caleb,” he said, moving to sit in one of
the chairs across from Caleb. “I was just beginning to wonder where you were.”
This was a lie. His absence was obviously the issue. Caleb wasn’t one to deviate from his normal schedule.
“I’m sorry to have left you wondering,” he replied. “I stopped to get a bite to eat after work. I wasn’t aware you needed me right away this evening.”
“No worries, no worries,” Dermot said leaning back. “Where did you go, and with whom?”
This was the issue, Caleb realized. He could taste his father’s hate for the girl in the air when he thought about her.
“You know who I was with. What is the problem?” he asked coldly. He wasn’t going to sit here and play these games with him right now. He also wasn’t going to push him further than he had to.
“What is the problem he asks,” Dermot said with a humourless chuckle. He stood abruptly, picking up his pacing again as waves of anger rose off him. “Caleb, she is just a girl. A human. The species put here on earth that is below our kind. Why have you decided to find an interest in someone now after all these years? It’s not right. You are to work for me, you are to do my bidding. You are not to run around fraternizing with some stupid, plain girl!” He was yelling now, a glimpse of his real face flashing across his human façade. The sunken cheeks and pale skeletal image there for only a blink of an eye before it disappeared again.
“Kellan and Collin find girls all the time, why doesn’t this bother you?” he asked, keeping his cool. He hadn’t realized his father was so opposed to Vivian. It begged the question, why? Dermot Banks wasn’t threatened by anything or anyone, but Vivian French gets such a reaction? It didn’t sit well with Caleb.
“Because Kellan and Collin do not look at these girls the way you look at her,” he spat out in disgust. “You feel protective of her, I could feel it today in the office with Brian. That is not natural for you, Caleb. You must not favour one over the others, we are not meant for that.” He sucked in a deep breath. “Not unless…”
Unease filled Caleb as their gazes remained locked. His body had stiffened at some point, a defensive stance that hadn’t gone unnoticed by his father. He understood where his father’s thoughts had gone, and immediately shook his head.
Balance (The Balance Series Book 1) Page 8
