by C. L. Quinn
“I’ll get it,” she called and tried to make it to the door first, but Tamesine had already shut her down. She was locked in place in the small kitchen.
“Alvin, see who’s there,” Tamesine commanded, barely pausing her fork.
Alvin shot her a look.
“So I’m your errand boy, now?”
Tamesine shot him a look back that said, without words, you bet you are.
He slammed his feet down as he got off the couch and went to the door, yanking it open.
There was a pause, Eillia blinked. Oh, god, no. She already knew. It was Daniel. She could feel him.
“Well, look who the fuck it is!” Alvin yelled.
Eillia was working through the freeze, could move her arms, her neck and upper body, but not her feet yet.
Tamesine yelled, “Come in!” as if she were inviting in a well-known neighbor.
As the person came past the door and into the cabin hesitantly, Eillia saw him.
He entered, with his eyes locked on Alvin. “Do I know you?” he asked.
Alvin slammed the door. “Do you know me? No. But I sure the fuck know you. Daniel Gitzinger, mercenary that couldn’t fucking do my fucking job right! Oh, this is sweet. I wondered what happened to you.”
Daniel’s eyes shot around the room. He saw Tamesine, who was getting up from the table, licking her fingers. Then they landed on Eillia in shock.
“What’s going on here?” He asked. He looked at Alvin. “You have to be the psycho asshole who hired me for that Vancouver job.” Then his eyes shot back to Eillia. “And you. My god. I held you in my arms. You were dead. You are dead. I buried you. What the hell is this?”
Tamesine giggled.
“Oh, I love it when the shit hits the fan!”
Eillia was frozen. Not by Tamesine. Not anymore. But because of Daniel. The realization he had been there. He had been the man who buried her. The one who was there when Hamid was killed. Oh, god. Of all the things in her world that had gone wrong this past year, this knowledge that Daniel had been the one who’d orchestrated Hamid’s death might be the one to truly break her. She’d crawled back through hell and then some to a point where she was ready to live again. And now this. How much could a woman take? Even one as strong as she had always been?
With a flourish of her hand again, Tamesine froze Daniel and Alvin. Then she turned to Eillia.
“Did I see you move when he came in? So I underestimated your power. Well, this is going to be much more interesting than I thought. Alvie, I don’t think you’re going to be able to drink from Eillia here. If we’re going to kill her, we should get to it. There’s a chance she might be
adequate competition for me. It isn’t worth the risk.”
“Then why the fuck did you incapacitate me?” Alvin said, tight lipped. “I’m your partner, not a human dog! And yet you treat me like one.”
“You are such a sensitive little shit, Alvie. I don’t need you getting in the way. And you seem to have a problem with this guy here. I want to know what it is, but I’m afraid you’re going to kill him now. Am I right?”
“I’m going to tear his throat out as soon as you release me.”
“Thought so. But I’m not finished with him yet. First off, he looks delicious. Secondly, he’s here for some reason. And I bet it’s because she’s been playing with him. Shame on you, Eillia, telling me they’re not toys. But this one is.”
Tamesine went to him and pulled back his jacket to run her tongue along his throat. Daniel looked angry and worried at the same time.
“Um-hmm. I can taste you on him. He’s yours alright.”
Daniel’s eyes shot to Eillia’s. “What the hell does she mean?”
Eillia shook her head gently. She was trying to decide the best time to make a break for it. Her plan was to vampire-speed Daniel out of there and get him to safety before she came back to deal with them. But with his weight and hers, if she wasn’t careful with timing, Tamesine would easily overtake them. She watched him trying to stand there unaffected while Tamesine pawed at him. Regardless of the truth, she still cared about him and wanted to protect him. And there was nothing she could do about the fact that she was really pissed off to see Tamesine touch him intimately as she was right now.
His parka was gone, his shirt pulled apart, his chest exposed to the crazy blonde woman. Daniel couldn’t begin to understand why he couldn’t move his legs. He tried desperately to move his arms so he could push her away and get free to figure out what was happening here.
And he couldn’t take his eyes off the woman who couldn’t possibly be the one he buried, because if she were, she couldn’t be standing there, stunningly gorgeous and alive. This was probably one jacked-up, hyper-freaky dream. Had to be. Like dreams, physics were altered. No one could move as quickly as the crazy blonde woman.
He just had to find a way to wake up. Shooting a look at the beautiful Asian woman who’d moved closer over the past few minutes, he hesitated. Maybe he’d see this dream through and see if he could stop the blonde woman who had her hands on his package, feeling him up, and move his dead angel there. He admitted he’d never had this dream before, and it could turn erotic fast.
With her fingers moving against Daniel’s crotch, Tamesine looked up at Eillia with a grin.
“You don’t like that, do you? I can tell, he’s yours and it pisses you off that I’m touching him. Alvin, if you really want vengeance on a first blood, come over here and drink him with me. But don’t you harm a hair on his head. When we’re done, I plan to ride him till daylight. See, your type doesn’t do it for me. He does. You have wonderful taste, Eillia. This human is almost as hot as a vampire. Hey, I might just bring him over. I would love a personal companion.”
It was escalating quickly. Eillia moved closer and captured Daniel’s gaze.
“Remember it all,” she said quietly.
He fell on his knees, the compulsion overriding Tamesine’s command. Grabbing his head, he slammed his eyelids shut as images and thoughts assaulted him. The dead woman, the times they were together, their intense lovemaking, what she’d revealed to him, what he’d discovered the last time they were together. All of it, memories that were buried, pooling in mind-splitting pain. Eillia was sorry she couldn’t be there to soften the release with her touch, but she knew Tamesine would stop her. It was harder for him this way, but he’d be alright. And at least he wouldn’t be lost anymore as to what was going on. At least he’d understand what they all were. It gave him a fighting chance.
“Oh now, Eillia. For him to have such a strong reaction, you must have wiped his memories more than once. You naughty girl. There’s really only one reason you might need to do that. You kept going back for more, didn’t you?”
Watching Daniel recovering on the floor, Eillia ignored Tamesine’s taunting. He knelt on the floor, becoming fully aware of everything that had happened since he’d met Eillia after his accident. He looked up directly into Eillia’s eyes. She almost faltered. There was total unconditional love there. Eillia could feel it coming from him. He accepted her completely and he was in love with her. She couldn’t let Tamesine hurt him.
Standing there gloating, Tamesine was distracted. Alvin was heading to Daniel. God knew what that little rat bastard would do.
Eillia took the opening, and in hyper-speed, grabbed Daniel and flew across the landscape. She didn’t stop until they reached the Wooly Bully.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Only a few customers were still present in the bar, trying to wait out the bartender who had already told them to go home.
Eillia dropped a winded Daniel at a table near the bar, and called to everyone, who looked at the barely dressed woman.
“Please go now. Go safely home and remember nothing about me and Daniel here tonight. All of you, immediately.”
They did as she compelled them to do, and within minutes, she stood there alone watching Daniel trying to catch his breath. He looked at her, shook his head, and reached for an aba
ndoned bottle of Jack Daniels on the next table and upended it. When he lowered it a few moments later, Eillia hadn’t moved.
Their eyes met, and they watched each other carefully. A lot had happened since the last time they were together. A lot would have to happen if they were to ever be together again.
Daniel winced. He could see the pain in those glowing eyes and feel the waves of confusion and betrayal emanating from her spirit, her aura, whatever it was, it was there. And he could feel it. He remembered cursing Karma for doing this to her. After he’d promised himself he wouldn’t hurt her again for anything in this world, here she was, shattered.
“Please, would you sit down?” He finally said.
She didn’t respond. She began to pace, slowly. Eventually, she stopped directly in front of him. Her eyes were electric, a brilliant glowing amber that was brighter than before.
“Did you kill him? The man that was decapitated. Did you do it?”
“No. But it doesn’t make me innocent. I was commander of that mission. I take responsibility for letting it get that far. I stopped it when I saw him, when they wanted to do it to you. You lay there so beautiful, so pure. I knew then how awful the order was and stopped it.”
Eillia turned away. Tears welled and then poured. She wouldn’t let him see. With quicker than normal movement, she went into the storage room. It didn’t escape her notice that this was one of the places they had made love. The tears came harder. How could this happen? That she would be inexplicably drawn to this man who had destroyed her world? She wanted to beat the shit out of him. She wanted to hurt him in the worst way. She wanted to throw herself at him and beg for comfort.
Dropping against the concrete, she lowered her head and let the wet pain flow from her. It couldn’t be right. Daniel’s aura was beautiful, he wasn’t a bad man. Her body and her soul wanted him. Needed him.
She felt him. Looked up and saw his big frame filling the doorway. He came forward and squatted in front of her. There were tears in his eyes, too.
“I can’t justify myself to you. I’ve made awful decisions in my life. I’ve been a horrible man, and I’ve hurt a lot of people. At the time I believed they deserved to be hurt. But I didn’t know that. If there was ever anyone who needed to change his past, it’s me. I want to be someone you could love. I want to hold you and take care of you for the rest of your life. I want to be your hero, Eillia. But I’m none of those things. I’m just a man who loves you so deeply, I’d do anything in this life to change this. I wish…”
His voice broke. And he looked away. “I wish I had never been born. Then you would never have been hurt.”
Eillia shook her head, her watery eyes on him. This broken man, this human, who squatted before her, in as much pain as she was, was still inside her. With the deepest sigh of her life, she moved forward and wrapped her arms around him. He held her so tightly she knew she’d have broken a rib if she were human.
Daniel buried his face in her hair.
“Take me. Use me. Drink your fill, and have your justice. I am yours to do with whatever you want. I deserve nothing, and certainly not your mercy. Give me to the vampire that wants to tear me apart. There is nothing too extreme. Just know that I am truly sorry. More than you could ever know. Sorry that I hurt you. I’m sorry for all of them.”
Eillia pulled back and looked at Daniel. Closing her eyes again, she let her ability take her spirit into him. His heart was deep and full of love. His soul was splintered between who he had been and who he should have been. But his spirit was pure and he loved her deeper than anything in his life.
She pulled out and pushed him back to hold his face in her hands. Were they destined to be together? Her spirit amulet told her so. She didn’t know. Life didn’t come wrapped up nicely with a bow. It was beautiful. And it was messy.
The choices he’d made in his life had been hard and ugly. But she’d just been inside him. He’d taken lives and now felt their losses. Soul-deep scars that would never heal. Did it mean he couldn’t be forgiven?
Well, there would, hopefully, be time to deal with this later. Now, she had to save his life. And her own.
“We’ll work this out. Daniel, I don’t know where we can go from here, but right now, we need to get out of town. They’ll find us, and believe me, they’ll come.”
“Who are they? What do they want with you?”
Eillia smiled painfully. “My death. Again. Deja-vu all over again.”
“I won’t let them touch you.”
“Sweet. You realize you have no choice here. You are in no position to help me this time, sorry. I appreciate the intention. We are in very serious…”
She cut off and lifted her head. Closed her eyes and let her spirit amulet guide her into the air. Ahhh.
When she opened her eyes, she smiled and pulled him upright.
“Well, good news. The cavalry has arrived. My family is here. I knew they would come. I just didn’t know if they would arrive in time. Now, we have a chance.”
Koen slowed the huge four wheel drive SUV as they slid into the slick parking lot, and did a full 360 before coming to a stop. He turned to face the back seat.
“Everyone’s head still attached?”
His frazzled passengers nodded.
“Been a while since I had to drive on ice. Forgot how tricky it was. I’m glad I don’t have to do that normally.”
They all looked around the snowbound parking lot and old building with ice covered aged wood shingles and siding. A spotlighted sign said “The Wooly Bully.” Local bar. Koen knew she was inside. Even though her life force had been blocked by Tamesine, he and Park were powerful enough to feel her when they were this close. Even that psychotic first blood bitch couldn’t interfere.
“Let’s go see our girl,” he said, and they all hurried out of the car.
Daniel was behind the bar pouring two shot glasses full of whiskey. Eillia sat across from him on a tall barstool, and reached for one of them. The door, which had been locked, violently blew open.
Daniel jumped. Eillia killed the whiskey and turned toward the group that crashed through the door.
She stood and stared for just a moment as Koen came forward and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her feet off the floor.
From his encaged position behind the bar, Daniel watched as the intimate hug set his head on fire. He knew he had no right to feel jealousy but it flared and nearly forced him to surge forward to confront the huge man that looked like he was about to make love to Eillia. But he held his position and let his eyes shift to the rest of the group. Two more enormous men and a stunning woman with a huge smile were moving forward to intercept the hugging couple. Vampires, all of them, he assumed. If his past year hadn’t driven him to drink, this discovery certainly would have. He upended the shot glass and poured another.
Tears flowed. Eillia couldn’t stop them. Her arms held Koen tightly as his held her.
“Baby…my darling little exotic. I really thought I’d lost you.” Koen’s voice held a deep timbered catch that told her he was as emotional as she was.
“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry I didn’t let you feel me. I should have, I know that now. I just couldn’t face you, any of you, or my life, after Hamid’s death.” She turned to Park.
“My god, young woman, is it even possible that you are lovelier than before?”
Koen was pushed aside by his daughter, then Eillia was hugged just as tightly by the beautiful redhead who was crying as freely as Eillia.
“Don’t you ever, ever do that to me again. I’d just barely found you and thought you were gone from my life forever. This past year, every event that happened, I needed to turn to you and share it.”
As they hugged, Eillia felt a strong hand on her head, caressing her hair, and then lips kissing her forehead. She reached a hand back to take Bas’s hand and hold it, fingers entwined.
Daniel killed another whiskey and watched the family embrace. Here was love like he had never known. His own chil
dhood had been quick and brutal. No parents, just an uninterested uncle who let him run. Who had no interest in him. That’s why he’d joined the military at eighteen. They were all the family he’d ever known. But never anything like this.
Koen watched his family with moist eyes. Then they wandered up to the tall man behind the bar.
“What’s your deal?” He didn’t give Daniel a chance to respond. His eyes shot back to Eillia.
“Eillia, who’s the human?”
Eillia’s eyes moved to Daniel, who hadn’t moved since the group hugs began, and then back to Koen.
“Long story. Relevant. We need to protect him. Koen, don’t start. Don’t make me hug the life out of you and kick the shit out of you at the same time.”
David stood back watching all the emotions in the room. He walked over and closed the still gaping doorway. As he turned back, Eillia was there with a gentle hug.
“I know we haven’t ever really known each other well, but I know you were missing for a lot of years. And I know Tamesine was responsible. Welcome home, David.”
He hugged her back. And was beginning to see why everyone was so emotional. She was quite a lady.
“It was a difficult time. I barely made it back at all. That’s why I’m here. We have to stop her.”
“With all of us, I don’t see how we can miss. Thank you for coming. I really think there was a chance that, alone, she might have succeeded in ending my life permanently.”
“We’ll get her this time. I’ve given this a lot of thought over the past year. She’s crazy, but I think she’s missing family.”
Koen nodded. “Yes, that’s true. She wants to be accepted back with the first blood kin. That can’t happen. A council of first bloods has agreed she’s too unstable. If we can’t contain her, completely and safely, then we have to consider other options. Well, you know what I mean. Anyway. We need to find her. But first, my sweet Eillia, what’s with the human?” He rolled his eyes. “Please tell me you haven’t been shacking up with him.”
