Strong arms encircle my waist from behind, accompanied by a sexy growl. “I’ve missed you.”
“Gabriel?” I crane my neck up to confirm that it’s him. There he is with a satisfied smile on his face.
“In the flesh.” He pushes his hips into me, tugging me closer, while blazing a trail of hot kisses up my neck.
As much as I would like to let myself go and enjoy this while I have it, this isn’t exactly the time. “Gabriel, not now.” I have to push the words out while I loosen his grip on me. His expression falls at the lack of enthusiasm in my voice and the distance I just created between us.
“What’s wrong?” he asks with not nearly enough concern.
“Everything.” When he asks, it hits me like a truck that I have no fucking idea what’s happening. I don’t know where I am; is this the dream, or was that place I was just in with Aiden? Is any of this real?
“Talk to me.” He bends his knees to meet my gaze and glides his finger under my chin, softly stroking my jaw.
“I think I’ve gone to Hell.” There’s no other way to describe it.
“You think it’s hell being here with me?” His brows peak at the prospect.
“No.” I’m quick to respond. “I know this is a dream, and trust me, this is a vast improvement over where I just came from.” The entire memory comes flooding back all at once like a scratch-and-sniff horror story. Wait, I can still smell it.
I study Gabriel with a new scrutiny, and then my eyes shift, looking for cracks in the scenery exposing the den of despair.
“Babe, listen, it’s me. You’re with me in our special place. As long as you are here, you are safe.” He tries unsuccessfully to comfort me.
His words are all too true, and I parrot them as a reminder. “Yeah. ‘As long as I’m here.’” I feel myself breaking. My lungs are greedy for air that is sweet instead of foul, and I suck in a sharp breath to affirm my safety.
He wraps himself around me as if his arms alone can keep me here. “I’ve got you.”
“Gabriel, I’m so confused. I don’t know where I am or what you are.” I pause to consider whether I want to ask my next question for fear that I already know the answer. “What is this?” I motion to our surroundings.
He pulls me in tighter in a comforting way, like he’s never done before. “I don’t know. I have no idea what’s happening either. I try not to question it, because I just can’t bring myself to accept the possibility that you aren’t really here and that I’m alone.” He dots the top of my head with a kiss. “Sometimes I wonder if this is just some sort of torment that I’ve created for myself. But I can’t stand the thought that I’m hurting you through my need to be near you.”
Part of me wants to break free from him, but the scared part wins over. The comfort and safety he offers this minute goes a long way toward keeping me close to him. “No, Gabriel, right now you are the only joy I can feel. I can’t let you go.”
“Things have been very quiet, and it feels like it’s been months since I saw you last. The Specter has also been very quiet. I’ve only had one encounter since that incident with your neighbors.” The memory flashes in a wave of pain that moves across his features.
“Gabriel…” Wait, that wasn’t the last encounter he and I had with the Specter. My vision blurs trying to replay all of our times together chronologically.
“What is it, babe?” The concern is growing in his face, but paranoia is seeping in and now I’m not sure what’s happening or how I can trust my own eyes.
Taking a step back, breaking free from his hold, I shoot him a sharp look. “That’s not the last encounter we had with the Specter.”
With his eyes darting side to side then up as though the answer is there, he looks bewildered. “Yes, yes it is. We were together in their garage. Then I saw you on the beach. That’s it.”
“No, you were there when Taffy was killed. You were with me.” My voice raises an octave to drive my point home.
“Who’s Taffy?” He’s either an amazing liar or he really doesn’t know. Problem is I don’t know which it is.
“Taffy, with the boobs?” I motion to my own deficient chest.
Gabriel shakes his head in disbelief. He could be thinking that I’m crazy. Which, by the way, I haven’t ruled out. He thinks for a long moment before finally speaking. “I think we need to come up with some way for us to let the other know it’s really us.”
“What are you saying?” I’m pretty sure I do know, but I need to hear it. It never previously crossed my mind that the Specter could be posing as Gabriel.
“I’m saying we need a signal, and I can see from the look in your eyes you understand why.” He puts his hands back on my shoulders.
“So we make up a secret handshake? This is ridiculous.” I blow out a big puff of air.
“No, it has to be something subtle that he won’t see. Something that changes every time in case he does catch on.” His eyes widen for a triumphant moment. “How about this? Next time we see each other, you wink at me and I’ll call you ‘Rosebud.’”
“Rosebud? Really?” That’s even a little too sickly sweet for me.
“Yes.” He’s resolved.
“So I’ll wink at you.” I give it a practice run.
“Perfect.” He smiles, and for a moment I stop going through all of my memories trying to figure out if I’ve held the Specter’s hand or not. He pulls me into him and holds me close. Now he finally smells like him again, and I can no longer smell the sulfur of the swamp.
“Let’s go back to my place where we can be alone.” His hand slides down my arm, and he tangles his fingers in mine. His haunting gray eyes trouble me. What I wouldn’t give to see behind them, to see what he’s thinking. Just know that I really was safe. But since my capacity for holding onto or even identifying reality is clearly wacked, I’ll have to fly blind on instinct.
There’s still a general feeling of safety here in this dream being close to him, but my uncertainty is growing with each step closer we get to his apartment.
By the time I reach the steps up to his building, exhaustion has made it nearly impossible for me to lift my legs up onto the stoop. Gabriel scoops me up into his arms. He carries me with capable hands, as though I were light as a feather. He fumbles to open the door and looks down at me with a hopeless expression in his eyes, a dark storm swirling in them. The sensation of his touch fades even though his hands are directly on me. His gaze is defeated. We both know what’s about to happen. He touches his forehead to mine with his eyes closed. “Next time, my love. Be careful.” There’s a heavy hesitation when his entire body tenses as he chokes out, “I love you.”
***
I open my eyes from my slumber to the nightmare I’m living in. The sound, the smell, the despair that’s so heavy in the air it’s hard to breathe, but Aiden is here. Still sleeping pressed against me. I decide it’s time to walk again and try to figure out how to get out of here. Aiden isn’t going to be of any help at all, he’s so weak of both body and mind. I have the distinct feeling, though, this is more of a mind thing.
“Shay.” My voice rings out loud around me. I’m perplexed since I didn’t speak. Looking around I see nothing but darkness and the backdrop of horror.
“Shay.” I hear it again and spin around toward the sound to find Elise standing before me. Wearing the clothes she was buried in. Her hair in dark ringlets that frame her face and accentuate her dark sunken eyes.
“Elise?” I question and stop myself from moving toward her.
“Yes, Shay, it’s me.” She hangs her head, letting her curls fall into her face.
“What are you doing here?”
Slowly she lifts her gaze to meet mine. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”
“I don’t know. Things were bad, and somehow I ended up here.” I’m spurred by a thought. “Do you know how to get out of here?”
She moves closer to me, causing me to take a step back. She looks at me with a hurt expression. “You
don’t.”
“No, I refuse to believe that. I’m not giving up.” I go to move past her to continue searching for the answer to the puzzle.
She grabs my arm as I’m walking by. “I told you, there’s no leaving.” She releases me and moves toward where Aiden is lying. As she walks past me, I see a gaping hole in the back of her head and there is moist blackness undulating inside the wound. I take in a sharp breath and try not to react.
“At least not with him.” Elise stands above him, gazing like he’s on display at a funeral.
“What do you mean? I can’t take Aiden with me?”
“If you do manage to get out of here, you can’t take him with you. He’s a permanent resident here.” She looks back at me over her shoulder with a glimmer of delight. “You can leave him for me.”
“I’m not leaving him anywhere, Elise.” The meaning of her words sinks in deeper, and I’m disgusted. “Even if I did leave him, he would never be yours. Aiden isn’t meant to be anybody’s, least of all yours.”
With lightning speed she appears in front of me, uncomfortably close. “He wasn’t meant to be yours, but he will be mine. He was always meant for me.”
My eyes squint in earnest as I hold my ground. “Elise, thanks for the ghastly visit, but I’m a little busy to discuss decades of sibling rivalry that were never an issue.”
My feet move me backward, turning me in the direction I was heading.
“Shay, what do I have to do to get your attention?” Her voice is still calm, yet full of malice. “How about now? Do I have your attention now?”
She’s standing above Aiden with a knife in hand. “He’ll be mine forever.”
“Elise, I’m not sure where this is coming from, but even if you had him chained to a bed and filled him with Viagra he still wouldn’t ever be able to feel for you. Not after what you did.”
Now there was a painful memory that I really didn’t want to explore right now. Anger builds in me that she’s here fucking with me instead of trying to help me.
She hangs her head. I’m not sure if it’s out of sadness or shame, but either way, I don’t care. I’m too pissed off to be worried about her fragile state of mind. Fuck this, she’s dead!
“That was uncalled for, Shay.” There‘s warning in her voice.
“Whatever.” I wave her off and leave again.
“You’re making a mistake, Shay. Leaving me with him. It was always a mistake leaving me with him.” She’s so desperate, but she sure does know how to press my buttons.
I go back out onto the dock and gently shake Aiden’s shoulder while staring Elise right in the eye. “Aiden, I need you to wake up.”
“That will be even more fun.” She smiles.
“Aiden.” I call out to him until he stirs.
“What is it?” He opens his groggy eyes wide when he sees Elise. “Oh shit.” He scoots away from her.
“Great, I was hoping she was just a figment of my sick imagination.” I look her hard in the eye. She returns the look.
“What the hell?” Aiden is stunned.
“Listen to me.” I take his face in my hands to be sure I have his undivided attention. “I need you to come with me.”
He’s still staring at Elise in shock. “What is she doing here?”
“It doesn’t matter, just come on.” I tug at him.
“But–” he starts.
“No buts, let’s go. She’s going to stab you if I leave you here.” I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s no time to mess around, I have to just get to the point.
“I would do no such thing. I love Aiden.” Elise pouts.
“Seriously? You’ve always hated Aiden.” I put Aiden’s arm over my shoulder to carry him along.
“Actually, Shay, I’ve always loved him. But you on the other hand…” Her words turn my blood to ice in my veins.
I stop for a moment and call over my shoulder. “But me what? You’ve always hated me? That’s a big fucking surprise.”
I so don’t have time for this shit. I continue walking toward where ever it was that I think I need to go. “Aiden, I’m going to need you to try a little harder. Having her here complicates things a little.”
“Yes, it does, doesn’t it?” The Specter’s oily voice sounds in my mind.
“Oh great, just in time to join in on the fun. I don’t have time for you either,” I say out loud.
“What?” Aiden asks.
“Try walking on your own, you’re too heavy for me.”
“I’m doing the best I can right now,” Aiden huffs.
“Leave him, I’ll look after him,” the Specter hisses.
“Uh, yeah, I don’t think so.”
“Shay, I need to stop.” Aiden collapses beyond my ability to hold him up.
The sound of water rushing gets louder and I notice that I’m on the dock again. Elise is standing statue-still on the bank, watching me.
The water below the dock starts to swirl and churn angrily. “Aiden, something’s happening.”
The thick murky water rises and laps at the dock, seeping through the cracks between the planks. I pull at him to prod him off the dock. As the water continues to rise, he’s moving slowly. “Aiden, please, we have to get out of here.”
He’s moving so painfully slow. His face is aging right in front of my eyes.
“Shay, I can’t.” His head falls down to the wood with a clunk.
“You have to,” tugging on his arms, trying to drag him off the dock. The water transforms into hands grabbing up at us. Tears cloud my eyes. I can’t let him go, but I can’t be pulled in there with him. I scramble toward the bank as fast as I can, dragging both of us along now, but he’s too heavy.
He gazes up at me with his bloodshot eyes swimming with a look of knowing, a look of wisdom that tells me he knows what he has to do. “Shay, go. I love you.” Aiden releases his grip. I tighten mine.
“No, I will not let you go.” I scream it out like it will summon the strength I need to save us both. The grabbing hands spray mud and water on us, and the wind whips my hair in my eyes. If I had a knife, I’d cut it all off so I could see. My hands are slick with an oily residue, making it so hard to hold on to him. I’m soaking wet now and his arms are getting slippery. My muscles scream for me to release him, but I won’t. “Please! Aiden, help me,” I beg, hoping he hears the pain and love in my voice. Maybe if he knows that I love him he’ll at least try.
My fingers are slipping. After what feels like hours of holding onto him and trying to pull him out of the grasp of the violent waters, Aiden’s eyes betray his surrender, and it saps what little strength I have left. He’s slipping, and now I can barely see him for the tears. The feeling of each inch of his slick skin that slips through my hands cuts my insides like a fiery knife until he finally slides out of my grasp completely. “No!” The bodies and roaring water intensify with my own anguished howls of despair. I let him slip away.
My eyes lock onto Aiden’s form as it is pulled down the river. I run down the bank, following along in hopes that I can pull him out. It’s so hard to be careful traversing the tangled roots and muddy river bank. I never lose sight of him until I trip and everything goes black with the last sound I hear being Aiden’s voice calling my name.
Chapter 26
Delivery for Mr. Walker
Eli
The coffee maker finally finishes brewing a fresh pot, and I pour myself a hot steaming cup. I look at Carl and hold my cup up to indicate that the coffee is ready. Most communication in this house has deteriorated into a series of grunts and nods. Carl nods and heads for the cupboard.
It’s been one week. Seven whole days since Shay disappeared. There’s no sign of her anywhere except on McNab’s “spectrum-analysis-ometer,” or whatever the hell it is. I swear, him and his team start talking, and it’s like they’re speaking another language. I’ve been able to see the shape of her in that thing. Sometimes I’ll sit and watch her movements on the screen. There’s someone there with her. So
meone that she’s been staying very close to. Lying with them and talking with them tenderly. McNab swears it’s not Aiden, but who else could it be? I’m actually starting to believe that she’s in the fourth dimension, or whatever McNab is calling it. The question is will she ever get out?
Nigel walks into the kitchen, and I give him my best “fuck you” look. I don’t like this son of a bitch one bit. “How much longer is this shitbag going to be here?” I ask Carl.
Carl shrugs. “Ask McNab.”
It would seem that Carl and McNab have been dealing with some tensions of their own, and they are barely speaking right now. I have to hand it to both of them. They haven’t slept much, and they really seem dedicated to getting Shay back, which is what matters most.
As though McNab were summoned by the mere mention of his name, he comes in from the hallway, rubbing his eyes with his palms. “Ask McNab what?”
“How much longer this asshole is going to be here.” I motion toward Nigel.
“You can’t still be upset about that thing in Tampa,” Nigel whines.
“I think he can probably be on his way today.” McNab pours a cup of coffee.
“Hey, it’s not safe out there,” Nigel pleads, then he turns to me. “If your friend hadn’t tried to kill me—”
I move on him fast and get in his face. “First, he’s not my friend. Second, yes I am still angry about you lying to us so you could throw Shay under the bus.”
INK: Vanishing Point (Book 2) Page 17
