Ravaged (Vampire Awakenings, Book 7)

by Brenda K. Davies

  “I’m sorry,” he said again.

  Maggie tried to tell him not to apologize for who and what he was. She hadn’t wanted to witness what she had, but he was a vampire, and as extreme as this had been, he’d done it for her. However, the words froze in her throat when her gaze went behind him to the hostile eyes of the crowd. Some were retreating to their booths, but others remained. The ones who stayed glared from her to Aiden to Nigel and back again.

  “Time to go,” Saxon said and waved his hands at the crowd. “What? Like you’ve never seen a man beat another man before? Shoo. Go back to your business. Shoo now.”

  More of the crowd dispersed, but a few slipped free to kneel at Nigel’s side. Nigel groaned when they lifted him to his feet.

  “Get out!” Carha spat at them.

  Aiden helped Maggie off the stool and clamped his arm around her waist.

  “Get out!” Carha nearly shrieked.

  “What do you think we’re doing?” Saxon demanded of her.

  Carha’s eyes shot to Maggie when Aiden drew her closer against him. Her lips peeled back to reveal her fangs as her red eyes raked Maggie from head to toe.

  “If you touch her,” Aiden snarled, “I will kill you.”

  Carha recoiled as if he’d slapped her; hatred simmered in her gaze when it met his. “Don’t ever come back here,” she grated through her teeth.

  “I didn’t plan on it,” he assured her and kept Maggie well away from Carha as he hurried her forward.

  Saxon led the way, waving his hands to gesture the straggling onlookers out of the way as he strode forward. His demeanor remained casual, a smile curving his mouth, but Aiden sensed the tension in him. Carha trailed behind them as the crowd continued to part.

  “I mean it. Don’t ever step foot in here again,” Carha said.

  Aiden didn’t acknowledge her as he continued forward.

  “Do you hear me, Aiden?” Carha demanded and grabbed his arm.

  “Don’t touch me.” He yanked his arm away from her. “I have no intention of ever seeing you again, Carha. Ever.”

  Lifting Maggie off the ground, he switched her in front of him and set her down away from Carha. He slid his hand up to Maggie’s nape and cradled her head protectively against his chest. Saxon glanced back at him before slipping into the hallway, and Aiden followed. The door slammed behind them, throwing them into the inky blackness once more.

  No one spoke as they walked to the end of the hall where Brutus undid the locks, and they exited into the alley. Aiden glanced around, but he didn’t detect any foul aromas. At the end of the alley, a black Ford sat idling. Saxon led them to the car and opened the back door.

  “Where are we going?” Maggie asked as she dug her heels in and refused to move forward.

  “I’m taking you home,” Aiden said.

  Her shoulders slumped in relief. She was so exhausted her lumpy bed was a welcome slice of Heaven.

  “Go on,” Aiden encouraged, and she slid into the back seat.

  A man with red hair a few shades darker than hers turned to face her. She had no doubt the man was a vampire as one fang became visible when he smiled before speaking. “What’s up, Red?”

  Maggie’s heart leapt into her throat when she saw his hair color and gray eyes, but the more she studied him, the more she relaxed. His hair was similar in shade to hers, but it leaned more to the brown of auburn whereas hers leaned more to the red. They both had gray eyes, but hers were so dark they sometimes appeared black, and his were so pure a gray they were nearly silver.

  Besides, she’d inherited her coloring from her mother, not the father she’d never known.

  “She doesn’t like being called that,” Aiden said as he sat beside her and closed the door.

  He’d been through hell tonight, killed and beaten vampires, yet he still smelled entirely too enticing for her liking. She was acutely aware she didn’t smell anywhere near as good. It was completely unfair, yet Aiden seemed not to notice the sweat and alcohol scents clinging to her as he settled close beside her.

  Maggie shifted when Aiden’s thigh pressed against hers. After everything she’d witnessed from him, after everything she’d learned, she couldn’t stop the thrill of excitement that ran through her when they touched. She had to put some distance between them.

  “Completely understandable. I’m not all that fond of it either, but it’s better than ginger, am I right?” the auburn-haired vamp asked her.

  “It is,” Maggie agreed.

  “It’s annoying.”

  “Not as annoying as when someone tries to pick you up by asking if the carpet matches the drapes.”

  “I think it’s different if a woman asks a man that question. I find myself more than willing to prove it.”

  Maggie couldn’t stop the burst of laughter that escaped her. “It’s entirely different then,” she agreed.

  “Declan,” he said before holding his hand out to her.

  “Maggie,” she said and clasped his hand.

  “Pleasure to meet you, Maggie. Where to?” he asked as Saxon opened the passenger door and climbed inside.

  Aiden looked expectantly at her, and she gave Declan her address. She held her breath as they drove through the streets of Boston. She was half afraid they would go in the complete opposite direction, but Declan headed toward her apartment on the far outskirts of the city. She lived in a quiet section filled with brick apartment buildings, row houses, and family-owned businesses. Cars lined the streets, but she directed Declan around the back of her building to the small parking lot there.

  CHAPTER 20

  Before Declan had the car in park, she grasped the door handle and flung it open. Leaping into the night, she inhaled the crisp air before jogging around the building to the front door. She could enter through the back if she had her keys, but she didn’t. She punched a code into the keypad beside the outer glass door.

  A buzzer sounded, and she pulled the door open as Aiden climbed the stairs toward her. He stepped off the last stair and into the vestibule with her. The door was closing when Declan grabbed it, and he and Saxon stepped inside too. She knew it had been too much to hope they would drop her off and leave her alone.

  The three large, male bodies crammed into the vestibule made her feel claustrophobic. She glowered at all of them. “I don’t need an escort to my door. I’m perfectly capable of getting there on my own.”

  All of them conveniently chose to ignore her as she punched numbers into the second keypad. The solid wood, inner door buzzed, and she pushed it open. The familiar aroma of cats, cigarette smoke, and pizza greeted her. Her landlady chain-smoked and had half a dozen cats. The pizza scent came from the Italian restaurant next door.

  Maggie was halfway up the gray, carpet-lined stairs, and more than halfway asleep, before she recalled she didn’t have her keys. She turned and trudged back down. Saxon and Declan leaned against the outer railing to let her pass, but Aiden followed her.

  “Where are you going?” he asked.

  “My landlady has my spare key.” She stopped outside the first door and knocked on it. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?” she asked when he leaned against the wall next to the door.

  She didn’t like the idea of him leaving, or the realization she would most likely never see him again when he did leave, but she needed time alone right now. She wished she had a landline so she could call to find out where Roger was and made a mental note to get one as soon as possible. Never again would she rely solely on a cell phone.

  “No,” Aiden said.

  She didn’t have time to argue with him before Mrs. Mackey opened her door. Maggie forced herself not to recoil from the cigarette and cat aromas bursting out the door. Mrs. Mackey materialized through a haze of smoke. A shower cap covered her gray curls, the pink bathrobe she wore was threadbare, and a cigarette dangled from the corner of her wrinkled mouth. Mrs. Mackey’s watery blue eyes surveyed her before going to Aiden. She smiled and pulled the cigarette from between her l
ips.

  “Magdalene,” Mrs. Mackey greeted though she didn’t take her eyes from Aiden.

  “I’m sorry, but I left my keys at work, Mrs. Mackey,” Maggie said. “Could I please have the spare?”

  “I hope no one else can find them.”

  “They’re locked safely away,” Maggie lied.

  “Hmm,” Mrs. Mackey grunted and nudged one of her cats back with her foot when it tried to escape the smoke. “Just in case, I’m calling a locksmith to replace your locks and the building’s locks, on your dime.”

  Maggie didn’t argue with her. She didn’t have much extra money, but she’d prefer her locks and the ones to the building changed anyway as she had no idea where her keys were right now. However, she highly doubted locks and keypads would stop any vampire trying to get into this place. They were good security against humans, not so much against the supernatural.

  “Of course,” Maggie replied and kept her smile in place. Mrs. Mackey could be difficult, but she also baked a mean chocolate chip cookie, which she handed out to the tenants she favored. Maggie refused to be kicked off the cookie recipient list.

  The door closed, and Maggie listened to the drone of the TV in the background as she waited for her landlord to return. “She’s interesting,” Aiden said.

  “Hmm,” Maggie replied and rubbed at her neck.

  Aiden’s hand covered hers. She should knock his hand away, but when he started kneading her aching muscles, she relaxed into him. Distance was what she needed from this vampire, yet one touch from him had her melting like butter in a hot frying pan.

  It’s been a rough night, cut yourself some slack, she told herself.

  Yes, please cut yourself some slack for lusting after the vampire who might prefer prostitutes and who bit you!

  Maggie knocked his hand away as Mrs. Mackey returned with her key. A gleam lit Mrs. Mackey’s eyes when she looked at Aiden, and Maggie realized not only had she removed her cap, but she’d also applied a layer of lipstick. Apparently, even senior citizens couldn’t help themselves around Aiden.

  That didn’t make her feel any better about her lack of self-restraint.

  Maggie took the key from Mrs. Mackey’s outstretched hand as the woman batted her lashes at Aiden. “Have a good night, Mrs. Mackey,” Maggie said. “And thank you for the key.”

  “Of course, dear,” she replied.

  Mrs. Mackey rested her hand on Maggie’s arm and tugged her back when she started to turn away. When the older woman hooked a finger and gestured Maggie toward her, Maggie bent closer. “If I were you, dear, I’d take that man for a ride. Perhaps you’ll smile more.”

  Unprepared for the words, a blush crept up her cheeks as she stepped away. Aiden’s smirk didn’t help as she turned and shuffled toward the stairs. Feeling more like ninety than twenty-four, Maggie trudged tiredly up the stairs and back past Saxon and Declan.

  “I’ll help you gather your things,” Aiden said as she turned onto the stairwell for the second floor before continuing to the third.

  “My things?” she asked, too caught up in her fantasies of food, a hot shower, and pillows to process what he was saying. She’d eaten at Carha’s but her stomach was already rumbling again. Apparently, she’d worked up quite the appetite while running for her life.

  “Yes. I’ll help you pack so we can get out of here sooner.”

  “Out of here?” she asked stupidly, hating that she parroted him, but she had no idea what he was talking about.

  “And somewhere safer.”

  “I’m not leaving my apartment,” she told him. She glanced over her shoulder to find Aiden’s eyes narrowed on her. Behind him, Saxon and Declan exchanged a look.

  “You can’t stay here,” Aiden replied.

  “I have nowhere else to go.”

  “You’ll come with me.”

  “No. I won’t.”

  Declan and Saxon slowed their pace; their heads tipped back as if they suddenly found the water stains on the ceiling of the stairwell fascinating.

  Aiden didn’t break her stare while he spoke. “It’s possible the Savages know where you live. They’ll come looking for you if they do.”

  “It’s also possible aliens could arrive tomorrow. I’m willing to take my chances.”

  “I’m not.”

  “No one asked you!” she snapped and pulled open the door to the third-floor hallway.

  She stepped out of the stairwell and stalked toward the door at the end. The same gray carpet lined this floor as all the others. Stopping outside her door, she slid her key into the deadbolt, unlocked it, and swung the door open. She flipped the switch and stepped inside. The glow from a lamp next to her fifth-hand couch illuminated the small living room with its old, hardwood floors and blue throw rug.

  The floor had seen better days in the seventies, but she loved the character of every dent and scratch on its golden surface. Sometimes, she would sit and wonder about the families who had lived here before her, the lives they’d led and the love they’d shared. In all her imaginings, no one had lived here alone, as she did.

  She may have no one else to share this place with, but it was her home, and she took pride in her ability to keep it. She’d spent the past two years turning it into a place she looked forward to returning to every night.

  “I will not leave it,” she muttered. “Damn pushy vamps thinking they—no, he…”—over her shoulder, she shot a look at Aiden—“knows what’s best for me. You don’t.”

  He didn’t speak as he remained standing in her doorway. Maggie bent and unlaced her boots. She tugged them off and set them in the box next to the door before stalking toward her small galley kitchen. She didn’t bother with shutting the door behind her; she knew it wouldn’t stop Aiden from following her inside.

  Opening the fridge, she removed a bottle of Gatorade and the leftover Chinese noodles from the night before. She took a fork out of the drawer as she stared at the open door, but none of the three massive men entered her apartment. Keeping the box of noodles in hand, she slurped some into her mouth as she walked over to the doorway.

  Aiden had his hand resting on the doorframe as he leaned against it. He gave her a small smile. “You going to invite me in?”

  Maggie froze with a forkful of noodles halfway to her mouth. “That’s a real thing!” she blurted as she dropped the fork into the box.

  “Yes, we have to be invited into homes.”

  “Does it apply to the Savages too?”

  “Yes.”

  She stood for a minute, torn on what to do. Then she glanced around her home before strolling back toward the door. “In that case….” She shut the door in his face and locked it.

  Silence followed. Then she heard Declan and Saxon laughing loudly in the hall. A knock sounded, but Maggie grabbed her remote, turned on the TV, and upped the volume on the news. When she heard another knock, she turned the volume higher.

  CHAPTER 21

  Maggie laced up her sneakers and rubbed her hands together as she bounced on her toes for a minute. Her gaze went to the window across from her and the dawn starting to brighten the sky. Dawn had become her favorite time of the day to run, and right now she needed to run as far and fast as she possibly could.

  She’d been exhausted when she crawled into bed last night, but her dreams were haunted by a pair of leaf-green eyes and kisses that heated her blood. She’d awoke feeling edgy and aching for more than Aiden’s kiss.

  She doubted there would be any more of those kisses though, as she’d probably never see him again. He’d knocked twice more before giving up the ghost. She hoped he never came back.

  The sad thing was, she didn’t buy her own lie.

  She wanted her life back, but how could she return to her simple life with everything she’d experienced last night? What would happen when she went to work today? What had become of Harding and the other officers? What did they know? What didn’t they know?

  Even if they couldn’t remember going to the alley, there wo
uld be a record of the call, and she hadn’t been with Roger when they found him. She had no idea what to tell anyone that wouldn’t possibly land her in jail or the nuthouse.

  And what of Roger? Where was he? How was he? Then there was Glenn and Walt. How would that be explained? Had it already been explained somehow? Had they even been found yet? They had to have been discovered by now, but with everything that happened last night, she’d completely forgot to call someone about them. She took a deep breath to try to calm the guilt and anxiety building within her.

  A good run would clear her mind of vampires and help her sort out the pieces of her life. She also needed a phone. Savages didn’t go out in the sun, so she would be safe now if they did discover where she lived, but would she be safe from them if she reported to work later?

  They might not know where she lived; they definitely knew where she worked.

  The memory of that thing tearing her blood from her sent a shudder down her spine. Her limbs locked again, and it became difficult to breathe. How could Aiden’s bite have been almost orgasmic while that thing’s bite was excruciating?

  Deep breaths. One obstacle at a time, Mags. And you can’t conquer any of the obstacles while standing here.

  Right. She undid her deadbolt and cracked the door. She heard nothing in the hallway, and when she opened it further to poke her head out, no one stood there. The intensity of the disappointment crashing through her almost caused her legs to give out.

  She’d shut the door in Aiden’s face, so of course, he would go, but she hadn’t expected this loneliness to creep through her at the confirmation of it. Stepping into the hall, Maggie was about to close the door when a step on the stairwell halted her. If one of those crazed vamps came at her, she’d duck back inside.

  Instead, Aiden stepped off the last stair and turned toward her. The smile that lit his face caused her pulse to skyrocket. At some point, he’d showered and changed. Bare-chested and wild, he’d been magnificent last night, but now he robbed her of her breath.

  The jeans he wore hugged his thighs and legs in all the right ways. She tore her gaze away from the obvious bulge in the front of his pants before running it over the black sweater cleaving to his broad shoulders and chest. The black shirt made the green of his eyes stand out and caused a twinge of yearning in her heart. Free of blood, she saw the hint of a curl at the end of his short black hair. The trench coat he wore was similar to the one she’d cut off him last night, and she suspected there were weapons stashed in these pockets too.