Boxed Set

by Brenda K. Davies

  "That was a long time ago, Brian," he said. "Things are different now."

  "Not that long ago, I can still feel it in you. You may fool them, but I know what you are, Stefan. We were together for a long time."

  "Things are different!" he spat.

  "Why, because of the girl?" Brian inquired.

  Stefan's hands clenched. "You shouldn't have come here.”

  "Well I did, now you have to decide what you're going to do."

  He already knew what he was going to do, what he would have to do. "If I help you, you'll leave here and never come back."

  Brian nodded briskly. "Fair enough."

  "If any of them are injured, I will kill you."

  "Fine."

  "How long do you think it will be before they find you?"

  He shrugged again, and Stefan took a threatening step toward him. "A day, maybe two," Brian answered quickly.

  "Do you care to tell me what you did?"

  "I killed one of them."

  Stefan snorted as he shook his head and his gaze darted back to the house. Shit, what was he going to do? He didn't want Brian anywhere near any of them, but he was right, even if they both left the others would track Brian here, and they would destroy everyone who lived here. His time here was done; no one would forgive him for bringing this down on them. For the first time, he regretted stepping foot on this land and meeting Isabelle. He wished he’d never come here.

  He didn't know what he’d been thinking. There was no way for him to escape his past, and it was about to come barreling down on all of them. He would be lucky if none of them were killed. He would gladly sacrifice his life, but he knew Isabelle would waste away and die without him. He couldn't allow that to happen. For better or worse, she was stuck with him, and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure she remained safe. He wished he could take it all back, wished there was some way to set her free, but there was nothing he could do.

  "How many are coming?" he asked quietly.

  "Four, maybe five."

  Stefan whirled back to him. "How strong are they?"

  "They have me on the run," Brian replied.

  "You son of a bitch! I should kill you now!"

  "You need me, and you know it. We can do this together. It will be just like old times."

  "The old times are over with."

  "So you say, but you're still a killer, Stefan."

  "I know what I am!" he grated through his teeth. "Let's go."

  He turned on his heel and headed toward the house. "Are you going to tell them?"

  "I'm going to have to."

  "The girl..."

  Fury suffused his entire body once more. "I swear I will rip your throat out if you go anywhere near her."

  Brian chuckled, and Stefan desperately fought the urge to hit him again. "I don't want her, but she reeks of you, Stefan. They'll go for her too."

  "I know that, Brian. That's why she's getting out of here, with everyone else."

  He pounded up the porch steps and hesitated at the doorway. "I can still destroy you, don't forget that."

  "I know."

  "Stay away from all of them, I mean it."

  Brian nodded. Stefan eyed him warily for a minute more before opening the door. Isabelle, Ethan, Jack, and David were sitting on the countertops in the kitchen. Their eyes locked on Brian as he followed Stefan into the house. Isabelle's gaze instantly shot back to him as she leapt off the counter.

  "You're bleeding!" she cried.

  She cast Brian a scathing glance as she hurried toward Stefan. Brian grinned at her as he closed the door behind him.

  "I'm fine," Stefan assured her as he grabbed her hands before she could touch the lacerations on his chest. Her gaze was worried and troubled; her delicate eyebrows drawn together as she studied him questioningly.

  "What's going on?" Jack demanded.

  Stefan lifted his head to look at them as Brian leaned casually against the door with his long legs crossed before him and his arms folded over his chest. "Brian seems to have gotten himself into a little bit of trouble," Stefan replied coldly.

  "What kind of trouble?" David asked.

  "Hey, I know you." Brian straightened away from the door as he stared questioningly at David.

  "Philadelphia," Stefan reminded him.

  Brian nodded; a sly smile curved his mouth as he studied David. "That's right; you were the one whose friends were in trouble. How did that work out?"

  "You're at one of their houses," David replied.

  "Well, that's good. Stefan and I never did believe in the soul mate crap, but I guess there must be some truth to it."

  Isabelle's mouth pursed as she glanced sharply at Brian. The uneasiness in her stomach was beginning to grow by the second. Her gaze returned to Stefan, but his face was cold and impassive as he studied David, Jack, and Ethan. His hands on her arms were just as impersonal as the rest of him. She scanned the jagged gashes on his chest. They were already healed; the only evidence of their existence was the dry blood on his shirt and the jagged rips in it. He still wouldn't look at her, and he had effectively shut her out of his mind. Something was going on with him; something she didn't understand but instinctively knew wasn't good.

  "What kind of trouble?" she asked tremulously, hoping to draw his attention back to her.

  "The kind that's going to follow me here, and soon." Brian drew her attention again as his gaze, curious and troubled, focused on her.

  David, Ethan, and Jack slid off the counter; their bodies were tense as their eyes narrowed. "Then you should probably leave," Ethan said coldly.

  "It's not that simple. They'll track me here no matter what. I either leave, and Stefan faces them by himself, or I stay, and Stefan helps me."

  "We're here, we can help," Jack said.

  "You're like pitting a lamb against a lion," Brian snorted disdainfully.

  "Brian!" Stefan barked in warning.

  "It's true," he retorted.

  "And you're that much stronger?" Ethan demanded.

  Brian met Ethan's hostile gaze. "I could break your neck before you blink."

  Ethan's eyes sparked red. "Enough," Stefan said coldly, as he stepped forward to ward off a fight.

  "And you? Are you that much stronger, Stefan?"

  He finally turned his gaze back to Isabelle; he couldn't keep putting it off. Her gaze was turbulent as she stared up at him questioningly. There was an aura of sadness surrounding her that would have shredded him if he hadn't already steeled himself for the fact she was going to be hurt, and he was going to be the one to do it.

  He remained silent as he stared at her, his jaw locked, and his eyes as cold as black ice. She didn't know the man standing before her, and she was beginning to realize she never had. The feeling turned her heart to a cold lump and caused her stomach to twist into knots. She refused to acknowledge it though. If she did, she knew she would break down.

  "Well, Stefan?" she prompted.

  "Yes."

  Isabelle refused to acknowledge the agonizing pain ripping through her as she lifted her chin. She knew where that kind of power came from, what it meant. She could smell it on Brian, feel it radiating off him. She had smelled it on the others, but she had never smelled it on Stefan. Not once had she sensed anything wrong with him. She didn't understand any of this, and her sense of betrayal was threatening to choke her.

  "Why don't you smell like him, or like the others at the club?" she asked.

  Stefan frowned as Brian straightened away from the door. Jack and David cast her questioning looks. "What are you talking about, what smell?" Jack demanded.

  She turned to stare at them in confusion. "Don't you smell it?" she asked.

  The confusion in their eyes was her answer. She turned back to Stefan and Brian, her forehead furrowed as she frowned at them.

  "Well, I do," she said forcefully. "Brian's nowhere near as bad as the ones at the club, but he still smells off. But you," she stared angrily at Stefan as loathing
burned through her. "You don't smell like that. Did you cover it up somehow?"

  Stefan shook his head as he stared at her in confusion. The fact she could tell something was off with Brian was amazing. Someone of her young age, who had never fed from a human, shouldn't be able to sense it at all. For a second, he thought it was his blood in her, but if she’d known about the ones at the club then that wasn't the cause.

  His gaze darted to Ethan. "Do you smell it?" he demanded.

  Ethan's jaw locked as his eyes, and nostrils flared. "Yes."

  "What are you talking about?" Jack exploded impatiently.

  "He's a killer, he smells of death," Isabelle said coldly. "And so is Stefan."

  "Was," Stefan replied, just as coldly.

  "Till when?" she demanded.

  Stefan's jaw locked, and a muscle in his jaw jumped. His hands clenched on her arms as she stared defiantly up at him. "That doesn't matter,” he said.

  "Till when?" she demanded.

  "About two years ago Stefan suddenly got a conscience." Brian's lip curled as if the words appalled him.

  Isabelle turned to stare at him in disbelief. "You weren't when I knew you," David blurted.

  Brian snorted as he straightened away from the door. "Of course we were."

  "Brian," Stefan growled in warning.

  "Were you ever going to tell me?" Isabelle inquired.

  "No."

  She forced herself not to wince at his harsh admission. The fact she truly didn't know the man she had given everything to nearly shattered her. It took every ounce of strength and pride she had to remain standing, to remain looking at him, and not to flee the room like a coward.

  "What made you change?" She was immensely proud her voice didn't shake.

  "I did."

  "Why?" Isabelle asked.

  Stefan shifted his stance, his hands on her arms tightened. "There are some of us who are like the men you met at the club," he told her. "Brian and I used to kill them to stop them."

  "Plus we got all of their power. When a vampire kills a human, they get stronger. When we kill one of our own, we get a lot stronger."

  Stefan ground his teeth as he forced himself not to lash out at Brian. He was deliberately trying to bait them, deliberately being a jackass, and he was pissing Stefan off. Now, however, was not the time to beat his old friend to a bloody pulp. There was much more to the story than Brian was letting on, but he seemed determined to try and paint everything in the worst possible light.

  "You ever kill a human?" Isabelle demanded.

  "One," he admitted.

  The color drained from her face, as for the first time she showed some emotion. "Why?" she whispered.

  "It was a hunter, Isabelle; it was him, or me."

  Isabelle's gaze settled on Brian, he smiled slyly at her. "That's when Stefan got a conscience."

  "Now is not the time to talk about this," Stefan bit out. "You need to start packing."

  "What?" she demanded angrily.

  "You're not staying here."

  "I'm not leaving!" She ripped her arms free of his grasp.

  "You're all leaving."

  "No, we're not!" Jack declared.

  Stefan was struggling to keep a hold on his temper. Isabelle was still staring at him as if he were a monstrosity, and Jack, David, and Ethan looked about ready to explode.

  "This is our home!" Isabelle declared.

  "I know that," he hissed. "But you are going to leave until this is over."

  She glowered at him. "I think you should leave, and take him with you!"

  He fought the urge to drag her from the house now. "They're coming here no matter what, and when they find everyone here, they won't leave until you're all destroyed. You cannot be here for that."

  Isabelle's jaw clenched as she folded her arms over her chest. David, Ethan, and Jack remained mute, but their bodies were tense and anxious. "I am not leaving my home!" Isabelle spat.

  "None of us are," Ethan confirmed.

  "If you want to stay, that's fine. Isabelle is leaving," Stefan said firmly.

  "The hell I am!" she snarled as her eyes blazed red.

  Stefan stepped closer to her. "I will drag you out of here kicking and screaming if that's what it takes.”

  Isabelle glowered at him. "If you drag me out of here, I will hate you for the rest of my life, Stefan."

  He refused to acknowledge the pain her words aroused. It didn't matter if she hated him or not, as long as she was safe. He could live with her hatred; he couldn't live with her death. "Then you will hate me."

  "How could you do this?" she whispered.

  "Go pack." Her jaw clenched as her hands fisted at her sides, but she made no move to leave. "Now!" he roared.

  Isabelle jumped as his command whipped over her. She looked at David, Jack, and Ethan for help but their gazes were wary as they met hers. "Go, Isabelle," Ethan said.

  "You're taking his side?" she nearly shrieked.

  "If it means keeping you safe, yes," Jack answered.

  Tears of frustration filled her eyes, but she refused to shed them. "And what about you?" she asked more calmly.

  "We're staying," Ethan said.

  "Tying the lambs up for the lions?" she taunted. "You're not much stronger than me, Ethan."

  Ethan met her defiant gaze. "Go pack, Isabelle."

  She fought the urge to scream with rage and frustration. It took all she had not to fly off the handle and turn into a raving lunatic. She couldn't believe they were taking his side and he was going to force her to leave. She couldn't believe Stefan had kept so much of his past from her. She pushed down the hurt that realization caused and held on desperately to her resentment. It was the only thing that would get her through this.

  "Go, Isabelle," Stefan ordered.

  "Go to hell!" she snapped. "You don't have a say in this, and neither do you guys! I am not leaving!"

  "I have a big say in this!" Stefan towered imposingly over her as she continued to glare at him, refusing to back down, refusing to concede defeat. "You'll go willingly, or you'll go forcefully, but you are going."

  "Let's get two things straight, Stefan, no matter what, I am not going willingly. I make my own decisions about my life, whether you like it or not!"

  He grasped her elbows; his fingers dug into her flesh as his face twisted into a brutal snarl. Isabelle stifled a cry in the face of his wrath as she continued to glare at him defiantly.

  "I do have a say when your life directly affects mine!" he barked. "Just as mine directly affects yours!"

  "Let go of me," she responded icily.

  His hands were firm on her elbows as his eyes blazed a furious shade of red. "You will go pack, and you will do it now!"

  Isabelle refused to resist, it would be useless anyway, and she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of overwhelming her. "I hate you."

  His eyes flickered, and sadness blazed through them before the fury quickly returned. Isabelle wanted to find satisfaction that she’d upset him as much as he had her, but she found none. Spitefulness wasn’t something she took joy in, nor was the anguish flickering through his eyes. Besides, she didn't hate him; she could never hate him. She wanted to take the words back, but she couldn't. It was too late now.

  "That's fine," he replied coldly. "You can hate me for the rest of our days, Isabelle, but you are leaving."

  He released her and stepped back. His face was as cold as granite, and just as hard. His eyes were shards of black ice revealing no emotion at all. She took a deep breath to fight back the tears threatening to overflow. They were no longer tears of frustration, but of hurt, and regret.

  "Go," he ordered hoarsely.

  She didn't even bother to look at Jack, David, and Ethan as she lifted her chin and left the room.

  "Now what?" David asked.

  Stefan fought back the turmoil of emotions clawing to break free as he turned back to them. Anger was evident in every inch of their taut bodies as they met his gaze. "Now, I'm going t
o talk to Liam and Sera. I would suggest you rethink staying here, and leave with Isabelle."

  "We're not going," Jack replied coldly.

  He nodded as he turned away from them. Brian moved quickly away from the door.

  "Stefan." He turned back to meet Ethan's steady stare. "When this is over, you're leaving."

  He showed no sign of the hurt those words caused as he kept his face completely impassive. "Isabelle will have to come with me."

  Ethan's eyes flashed as his jaw clenched. "You son of a bitch," he spat. "Why didn't you stay away from her?"

  Stefan flung the door open; it slammed so forcefully against the wall the glass shattered from the window, and the plaster cracked and broke. He didn't bother to close it as he strode down the steps and into the field.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The door swung open, but Isabelle didn't bother to look at him as she threw the last of her clothes into a backpack. He hadn't come back to the room last night, a fact she was incredibly grateful for. She didn't want to talk to or see him now. Most of her anger had faded, and all she had left was a sense of loss and betrayal. If he’d told her about his past maybe she could understand. All she knew now was he’d been a killer, and judging by the amount of power he possessed, he must have enjoyed it and done a lot of it.

  She couldn't forgive herself, or him. She had given everything to a man she didn't know. The worst part was there was nothing she could do about it. They were bound together now, without him she would die. She couldn't even leave, couldn't go anywhere without him. Her life was irrevocably tied to his.

  "Your mother rented hotel rooms for you and your younger siblings," he informed her bluntly.

  She didn't answer him as she moved into the bathroom to finish packing the rest of her things. She didn't know how to fight against the hopelessness she felt. Didn't know how to change what had become her future. She still loved him, she truly did, but she could never trust him again. She didn't want to live the rest of her life like that. It was far too long of a time to be with someone she didn't trust, and who hurt her this badly. It was so very unfair.