Promise Me
Page 31
I lay there in the snow, his head on my chest, trying to breath. God, he was heavy. “Are you okay?”
“I will be,” he said weakly. He rolled off me with a groan, reaching for his jacket pocket. He tried feebly to get inside it, but the flap was buttoned.
I opened it and took out a vial of liquid. “Here.”
He took it from me with grateful eyes and swallowed it. A moment later, he let out a sigh and visibly relaxed. “I can feel it working. Thank God, he used common poison.”
Common poison? “Want me to help you up?”
“In a minute.” He wiped his face with his hands, smearing snow over it. “The cold helps the pain.”
I picked up his gun and handed it to him. “What did he mean about being ranked?”
He looked up and rolled his eyes. “There’s a hierarchy for vampires and there’s one for people like me who guard them.”
“He said killer, not guard,” I murmured.
“It’s part of the job to kill,” he said coldly, getting to his feet. “I’d think you’d be grateful for that by now. Or maybe you’d rather be killed than kill anyone.”
“I’m not afraid to kill.” I glared up at him. “That doesn’t mean I enjoy it.”
“That assassin of Max’s? You defended yourself, that’s all. And these would have done more than ransom you.” He turned bitter. “Garrett didn’t fuck up Neoline all by himself. He had his men help.” He turned arrogant. “You should be thanking me for saving you.”
I looked down at Jake’s corpse, remembering how quick he’d been. What might have happened to me if Theo hadn’t shown up when he had?
“You’re trembling,” he said. He put his arm around me, patting me awkwardly. “Don’t be afraid; they’re dead.”
I hadn’t had a gun. If Jake had finished Theo, I’d have been helpless. My shaking intensified. I hugged Theo hard with both arms, trying not to cry.
His arms tightened around me. “Hey, I’m sorry for saying what I did—”
“I’m okay,” I said shakily into his throat. “It’s just adrenaline.”
“Shh,” he said gently. “I’m right here. No one’s going to hurt you. Just breathe.”
I held him until my breathing went back to normal. The solidness of him was comforting. Safe. I felt safe.
“We should go back,” he whispered. “You must be cold.”
I smiled, ready to say that he was holding me way too close for me to be cold. But when I looked up and met his concerned storm-cloud blue eyes, my throat was so dry I couldn’t talk. I moved back, feeling awkward. “Yes, we should get back. Danial will be home soon.”
He nodded. “Please don’t mention this to him.”
I gave him an incredulous look. “You want me to lie?”
He cleared his throat, embarrassed. “I meant don’t say anything tonight. I’ll tell him later. But I don’t want to ruin the first night of your honeymoon. He’s waited a long time to love someone.”
“He told you.”
“Of course, he told me. He’s my friend and he’s ecstatic.”
“Won’t Ivan say something?”
“And risk being fired for watching porn when he was supposed to be standing guard? Not likely.” He reholstered his gun. “And as fights go, this was just a scuffle.”
I looked at him, then away. “Okay.”
“If you’d have stayed indoors, I’d have taken care of them with no problem.”
“Sure you would have.”
He snorted. “Come on, let’s get you back inside. I’ve got a lot of work to do.”
I nodded. We walked away through the trees.
* * * *
After I’d washed away the blood on my hands and thrown my clothes into the washer, I crawled into bed. Danial was still not back.
I went over the events of the night, how scared I’d been and how safe I’d felt with Theo. How I’d felt when he’d held me and said he wouldn’t let anything hurt me…
I brushed my thoughts of Theo aside, feeling guilty to be thinking of him on what was the first night of my honeymoon with Danial. I was still rattled by Garrett’s men attacking, that’s what it was…
“Sar,” Cia called from outside the door. “Are you all set? I understand from Ivan there was some excitement earlier.”
“I’m fine,” I said diffidently. “Theo’s out there, right?”
“He’s patrolling outside with a group, checking that all of Garrett’s men were killed. He’ll be out there watching personally the rest of the night, until every inch of the forest is searched.”
I stretched out, all the tension leaving my body. “I’m fine. But please tell him thanks for me.”
“For what?” she said curiously.
“For being himself,” I said with a smile.
“Okay,” she said more curiously. “Goodnight.”
I lay there silently, considering Danial’s offer. It would be challenging work to join Theo and him. Despite his confidence in me, there would be a lot I’d need to learn. But I already knew I was going to tell Danial to count me in.
I’d found the promise of a new life. Now it was time to start living it.