Edward let his head drop to one side. His heart tore at the look on her face. He took a step toward her and the scent of cherries and spice hit him in the gut. It stole the breath from him. He tried to swallow past it. That only made it worse. The door slid open and the blast of cold air was his salvation.
Reese came in leading Anna. He stopped when he saw Ellie. “Hey, Sunshine, what's wrong.”
“I was just-” Ellie sniffed, trying to get her emotions back under control. “I was just telling Edward that we’re leaving.”
“Wait! No, you can't, Ellie,” Anna's voice was almost panicked.
“Anna, I have to. We need to hunt these things down. We need to make it so they don't hurt anyone else.”
“But you promised! You told me that you would protect me from her. I can't.” Anna turned swallowing hard. “I won't have this baby with that thing after me, and no one to keep us safe!”
Edward's eyes went wide. He looked at Ellie imploringly. It drew a breath from her. More hot tears fell onto her cheeks. Reese took in a breath. Her misery and fear slammed into him. Ellie's emotions drowned him. He slammed those shields into place, hiding behind his rage. It was the only thing strong enough against Ellie.
“Ellie, you can't leave. Please, please, say you will stay.” Anna sobbed. “I need you here.”
Ellie was glad Anna couldn't see the look on her face. Ellie could see the look on her brother's. His eyes shining with tears made her relent. “Alright. Alright. We will make sure you are safe here. Vincent and Reese will teach Edward how to handle the hunger. But once you’re safe, I have to go. I have to stop them.”
“Okay, okay,” Anna said, nodding a little too quickly. “I can handle that.”
Ellie's eyes slid over her brother's face before she closed them again trying to halt her tears. Vetler looked at her with sympathy. He couldn’t ignore those cracks today. He was sure they were getting deeper as this conversation went on. Anna had no idea. She had her own fears to contend with. Vetler sighed. They were all such victims.
Chapter 32
“Ellie!” Reese cried. “Ellie, wake up.”
She lashed out, slapping and punching, fighting blindly against whatever it was that was chasing her in the nightmare. The table next to the bed went over on its side, spilling the lamp, her gun to the floor. The lamp shattered, sending pieces of glass careening across the wooden surface. Reese climbed onto the bed with her. Grabbing her arms, he pinned them to her sides. Reese folded himself around her, wrapping her inside the circle of his strong embrace. “Come on, sweetheart, wake up. It's me. It's Reese!” he cried, holding her against him.
“No! Elijah,” Ellie mumbled and then a scream tore free of her throat.
Reese’s eyes narrowed. He looked down at her. “Ellie, wake up.”
Her eyes fluttered open. Ellie took in a ragged breath. “Reese!” Her muscles were locked in the state of blind panic, her eyes wide. A fine film of cold sweat covered her entire body. It soaked into the thin t-shirt she wore over just a pair of panties. Ellie couldn't get enough air. Her chest heaved wildly. Just the sound of Reese’s voice calmed her.
“Hey,” he breathed. His right hand caressed her hair. Reese pet her lovingly. “I got ya. You're all right, Blondie, you're safe,” he cooed. Reese touched his hand to her back. His blue eyes roved her face. “Ya were dreaming.” Reese loosened his grip, just held her, instead of holding her down. Held her like a lover, gentle, well, as gentle as Reese got. He ran a hand through her hair. A sensation he knew she loved. One he was fond of himself.
He couldn’t ignore the fear in her eyes. Something Reese was not at all used to. Ellie approached the world with a ballsy, come-at-me sort of attitude. Ellie took in a deep breath. Her face broke. A sob tore itself from her throat. Ellie threw her arms around him and cried into his shoulder. Reese smiled, just a slight turn of his full, sensual lips. He laid his cheek against her hair, rocking her back and forth. She wept against him for several minutes. Ellie couldn't remember much of the dream. A woman with blond hair covered in blood. She cried the name Elijah before she died. It was horrifying. More horrifying than her other dreams, any of her other dreams. Ellie’s heart beat out a cadence that vibrated through her body.
Reese's embrace was warm. She felt safe wrapped in his arms. A feeling she was grateful for. Safe was not a sensation she’d felt in a long time. In this place, this house, she lived in constant dread. Not so much for herself, she felt it for the others. Fear that when it came down to it, she would never be able to protect them. On her own, she could take anything. Ellie just didn't care whether she lived or died. When you lay it all on the line, you have to be prepared you just might lose. She had come to grips with that a long time ago.
Them, on the other hand, Charlie, and Vetler, Edward, and Anna, they needed her. They needed her to be strong. They needed her to be ready. Because of that, she could not relax. She could not let her guard down, for even a moment. She had Vincent. She had Reese to help her. Still, it wasn't enough. Ellie breathed him in deeply. The scent of Reese was lovely. Soap, and sweat, and grass. Reese reminded her of summertime, the warm sun shining overhead, bees buzzing in the colorful flowers. He even smelled a little like her. Reese rubbed the side of his face against her head, humming a tune she didn't recognize. In his arms, those heavy emotions began to draw back. Pulling back like the tide rolling out to sea. Ellie heaved a heavy sigh. She drew her head back far enough to look into those vibrant, summer-sky blue eyes of his.
She sniffed. “I'm sorry,” Ellie said, wiping at her nose.
“For what, sweetheart?” Reese asked, genuinely perplexed.
“For going all weepy on you,” Ellie said, wiping at her eyes. “I'm not usually such a puss.” She chuckled at herself. “Promise.”
Reese gave her one of those sexy grins. “No problem. Matter a’ fact, anytime ya need to be held, ya just call my name, and I’ll come a running,” he told her with a twinkle in his eye. “As I understand it, that's what a best friend is supposed to do, right?” Ellie smiled at him.
“What happened?” she asked. A blush burned her cheeks. The room was a mess. When she opened her eyes, he was holding her lovingly, cooing to her gently.
“I heard ya screaming,” he said. “I came in, and ya was thrashing about. Ya knocked over the table, broke the lamp. What were ya dreaming about, Goldie?”
Ellie tried hard to remember, but it was gone, lost to the fog of her memory. She shook her head, biting her bottom lip. “I don't know. It was bad, though. She screamed the name Elijah, that’s all I can remember. I can still feel the adrenaline.” Ellie held up her shaking hand.
“Who screamed Elijah?” Reese asked. His curiosity peaked.
Ellie shrugged. “I don’t know. She had blond hair. But I can’t remember anything else.”
Reese cocked a brow at her. “You're safe, sweetheart. I'm right here,” he said. Reese pressed one hand to the back of her hair, leaning in to lay a kiss on her forehead. He had an urge so strong to lay his lips against hers. Reese blinked at her from inches away, staring into her eyes. Her hand moved against his arm. Ellie pulled away from him, climbing out of the bed. Reese stayed where he was, swallowing hard.
Ellie stepped over a large piece of lamp, and pulled a pair of jeans out of the top drawer. She slipped into them. “Where is Vincent?” she asked weaving the buttons into their perspective loops.
“Probably out with Edward,” Reese answered. Shifting his weight, he lay back against her mountain of pillows.
“Again?” Ellie asked, making a face.
He gave her a shrug of his shoulders. “What can I say, darlin’. My brother's only fear is losing control, and ripping ya to sweet, little pieces,” Reese said with a smile.
“And you're not?” she asked half joking. Ellie turned away from him, pulling her white tank top off. He watched her pull a bra out of the drawer. Watching her slip it up over her arms, her hair tumbling down over her naked back, Reese took in a deep breath. Ellie
looked over her shoulders at him.
“Afraid of it? No. If that was going to happen, I’d a’ already done it,” he said, a smile pulling at his lips. He was more afraid of not being able to fight the urge to stride across the room and pull her into a kiss. Ellie had a way of making him feel so lonely, and so loved at the same time. Every time she stole a glance at him, every time she sighed gently when he was close to her nearly destroyed him. She wanted him. That made him feel glorious, glorious and horribly guilty at the same time.
Ellie pulled a silk shirt down over her breasts. The silk was thin, almost pink, with painted flowers sprawled across it. No sleeves, it had a deep V-neck that showed the lace of the bra she wore beneath it. It had a golden lace trim that looked stiff. It shimmered in the light. It was by far the most feminine shirt she owned. Reese loved the way it cupped her breasts. The way it hugged her hips, with its scalloped edging. Reese thoroughly approved of that shirt. She wore it over a pair of light blue jeans that looked like they had been painted on.
“How come I ain’t ever seen ya wear that before?” Reese asked, watching her run a brush through her hair.
“Charlie got it for me a few weeks back. She has been riding me to wear it ever since,” she told him.
“I can see why,” he said with a lascivious smile.
“It's a little girly for my tastes,” Ellie grumbled.
“You're a girl,” he said. “Ain't ya?” Reese laced his fingers behind his head.
“I try not to let anyone know.” Ellie laughed as she pulled her hair up, out of her face. Twisting a hair tie around a looped over ponytail. “Otherwise I get Vetler calling me things like, princess,” she complained.
Crossing the floor, Ellie bent over next to him, giving him prime view of the triangle of flesh between her breasts. She couldn't quite reach the gun from there. So she went to her knees. He watched her bend low her arm resting on his chest. Ellie pulled the Heckler up off of the floor. Reese licked his lips when she came back up, a swath of her bangs falling down over one eye. Pulling the Heckler out from under the bed where it had fallen. She checked the safety, popped the clip, looking in on the firing pin. He watched her slip the clip back in, slap the bottom and chamber a round. Ellie slid it into the inner-pants holster at the small of her back.
“I gotta tell ya, gorgeous, that is very sexy,” Reese said with a smile.
“Which part,” she asked one eyebrow raised. “The gun, or me on my knees?” Ellie gave him a wicked smile that promised so many things and laughed at him.
He gave her wide eyes. “A little bit of both,” he told her in all honesty. Reese took in a deep whiff of her, luxuriating in the scent of cherries and spice. Reese made a little sound in his throat that made her smile widen even further.
Vincent peeked inside the door, resting his head against his arm on the jamb. He gave his older brother a look of suspicion that disappeared when his eyes fell on Ellie. “Well, don't you look scrumptious,” he said with that sexy, devilish grin. Ellie had to admit both her boys gave damn good smile.
“Thought ya was out with Edward?” Reese asked.
“Vetler, actually,” Vincent told him coming into the room. He looked around at the mess with curiosity. Vincent cocked a brow. Ellie plastered her lips together, looking slightly embarrassed.
“Bad dream,” she said, climbing to her feet. Vincent’s eyes softened. He gave her a look of compassion. Sorry, he wasn't there for her when she needed him.
“That's new,” Reese said, pouting just a touch.
Vincent came up behind Ellie, closing his arms around her. She turned in his embrace, and he slid his hands up to touch each side of her face. “I just can't take my eyes off you,” Vincent said, leaning in for a kiss. Ellie returned it eagerly.
Reese swallowed hard against the tightness in his throat. Reaching up to smooth away the hair that had fallen into his eyes. His jaw clenched tight. Reese forced his eyes to slide over the paintings and sketches of Ellie, rather than watching them. The last time Vince ran out of paper he started painting her likeness on the very walls themselves. He worked hard to banish the sullen look on his face. Reese shifted his weight slightly, folding his arms over his broad, bare chest.
“What were you doing with Vetler?” Ellie asked when Vincent finally drew back a few inches.
Vincent gave her a shy smile. “Actually, he wanted to talk about you.”
Ellie frowned at him. “What about?” Her curiosity spiked. Ellie touched her hands to his warm forearms.
“He wants me to talk Charlie into leaving. And he wanted me to talk you into talking to him. He's worried about you,” Vincent told her. He touched her hair. His tongue danced over his lips, making them shimmer in the early morning light. “It's not a bad idea, El.”
“Which part? Charlie leaving or me talking to him?”
Vincent’s lips came together. In all honestly, both, Charlie didn't belong here. He would talk to her about it, but one herculean task at a time. “I think you should talk to him.”
Ellie’s frown deepened into a scowl. “How is me talking to him a good thing?” she asked, prepared to be angry with him.
“Baby, you're nightmares are getting worse. Take it from someone who has gone through a psychotic break. It's not fun,” he said, resting his hands on her hips.
“Yeah, and talking helped soooo well for you,” she grumbled.
Vincent looked down at her, blinking those storm-gray eyes. “I think our situations are a little different,” he said. “I was being driven crazy and you are driving yourself crazy.”
“Fine, I'll talk to him, if you let me read what they did to you,” she argued.
Vincent brushed the hair out her eyes, an ocean of never ending patience when it came to her. “I don't want to have this fight,” he told her, leaning in to lay a gentle kiss on her mouth. “He's worried about you, El, that's all. I'm worried about you.” Vincent leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers. “If you won't do it for you then do it for me. Believe me, our relationship can't handle two crazy people,” he said with a smirk that pulled up on the corner of his lovely mouth.
Ellie blew out an annoyed breath. “I do not have PTSD.”
Reese's eyebrows knit together at that jumble of letters. “Shell shock,” Vincent translated over the top of her head. Reese nodded, plastering his lips together. She definitely had some of the signs, that was sure.
“Then don't talk to the G-man. Talk to me,” Reese offered.
Ellie turned to look at him. She licked her lips. “Why should I talk to you?” she asked. All of the annoyance drained from her tone, she was simply curious.
“I'm your best friend, remember. Vince and I spent three years slogging through Italy, and France, Germany. We spent eight weeks behind enemy lines because our Sargent couldn't read a goddamned map,” he told her with a smirk that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Ellie took one of Vincent's hands in hers and towed him over to the bed. She clambered onto the mattress, pulling her legs up underneath her. Vincent sat down behind her, his hand on her neck. Vincent hated talking about his time in the war. Reese seemed perfectly happy to divulge. She stared at him with voracious eyes. Ellie had always been so curious as to what happened to them.
“Where were you guys attacked?” Ellie asked. “By that thing?”
“We were in Germany,” Reese told her. “We were supposed to be following the border between France and Germany, to intercept an ammunition shipment. Sammy got us lost. We slipped over the border after a firefight. The only reason we made it as long as we did, was because Vince could speak German,” he said with a smile. A real one Ellie noted.
Ellie turned to Vincent with a smile. “Do I know anything at all about you?” she asked sarcastically. “You can speak German?”
“My mom taught me,” Vincent said, licking his lips.
“Vince speaks four languages,” Reese divulged.
“Six,” Vincent corrected him. “I picked up a few others at Verens.” Vinc
ent smiled, running a lazy hand through his hair. “Bien su`r, ma fleur d'Or je le parle assez bien.” His accent was flawless.
Ellie was taken aback. She laughed at him. “That was awesome.”
“Show off,” Reese grumbled.
“Why didn't you ever tell me you spoke French?” Ellie asked making a face.
Vincent shrugged. “You never really asked,” was his answer.
“Apparently, I need to start asking you guys a hell of a lot more,” Ellie said with wide eyes. “What languages do you speak?”
“French, German, Italian, Swedish, Dutch, and Russian,” Vincent said with just the hint of a smile. His hand slid over the silk of her shirt. He loved the sensation of it beneath his fingertips.
Ellie didn't even try to hide the surprise on her face. “Wow.” She laughed at him. “And here I thought you were just a big bruiser.” Ellie elbowed him in the ribs. “I can't believe you kept that from me. How did you learn that?”
“Like I said, my mother taught me German, and some French. I learned the rest when I decided to go to art school.” A sad look passed over his face as he said the last. “I learned Italian from my Aunt. She came to stay one summer when we were kids, till dad ran her off. I learned Russian in the army. I was the interpreter for our squad. Jenkins helped teach me how to be a medic. I took up the post after he took a bullet to the side of the head.”
Ellie laid her mouth on the side of his smooth cheek. “I swear I learn something new about you every day, you know that.” Ellie leaned back against him, resting her head in the concave space of his head and shoulder. He wrapped one arm around her waist. He kept tracing his fingertips over the side of her bare arm. She looked at Reese. “What about you?” Ellie asked.
“I was a soldier, miss,” Reese said with a smile. “I know how to shoot a gun, and drop enemy soldiers.” Reese’s smile widened. “And to drink. I was rather good at drinking.” He chuckled. That statement drew a smile across Vincent's lips as well.
Shed some Light Page 28
