Boxed Set

by Brenda K. Davies

  "Ethan, what happened?" Isabelle asked again.

  His shoulders heaved as he tried to steady himself, but it was impossible. "She knows."

  Isabelle inhaled sharply. "I'm assuming she didn't take it well."

  Ethan shook his head and tugged at his hair as he ran his fingers through it. Taking a steadying breath, he told them everything that transpired over the night. He drank two more bags of blood while he spoke, but he barely tasted them, and they did nothing to ease the growing pressure inside him. Emma was the only thing that would make him feel better, and she wanted nothing to do with him right now.

  "Are you okay?" she asked when he finished.

  "No."

  He'd meant to tell her, yes, but she knew he wasn't okay, that he may never be okay again. She’d gone through something like this with Stefan, maybe not quite this bad, but they were separated, and it had nearly destroyed Isabelle. If the clawing sensation in his chest was any indication, it might destroy him too.

  "Does she know what she is to you? Does she know she's your mate?"

  "No," he told her flatly. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the massive dent he'd left in the fridge as he strained to retain his composure.

  "You have to tell her."

  "Isabelle—"

  "No!" Isabelle grabbed his arm and pulled him toward her. "No, you have to tell her. She can't be allowed to shut you out Ethan, and if she knows the truth, you can work through this together. She won't shut you out if you tell her the truth."

  "What will we be working out? Her ex-boyfriend tried to kill her last night, she's seen the evilest side of us, of me, and I'm going to condemn her to this life? Destroy her?"

  "You won't be destroying her, but if you don't tell her she could destroy you! Ethan, she has to know, please tell her."

  "Isabelle," Stefan said. He took her arm and tried to pull her away from Ethan, but she refused to release him. "Isabelle, step away."

  She finally released his arm, but Stefan only succeeded in moving her a few feet back. "Tell her, Ethan, please," she pleaded.

  Ethan turned away from the tears brimming in his sister's eyes. "I haven't had any of her blood, and we've only known each other for a couple of weeks. I'll take care of her ex, I'll make sure she's safe, but I can walk away from this, and I will walk away from her after. She deserves that much."

  "But you won't be able to," Isabelle whispered. "No matter how strong you are, and no matter what you think, you won't be able to walk away. We couldn't."

  "You were both vampires—"

  "Dad couldn't and neither could mom!" she cried and stepped toward him. "She cares for you, Ethan, I've seen that. If you talk to her, I think she'll understand, but you have to give her a chance to make a choice."

  "This is my choice," he growled.

  "What about her friends?" Stefan inquired. "What are we going to do about them?"

  Ethan shook his head and stepped away from the fridge, his teeth clenched as his eyes turned toward the growing day. "I don't know."

  Stefan nudged Isabelle behind him as he stepped forward. "We can't leave them with this knowledge and not know what they will do with it. We can strip their memories, change them."

  "I don't know if Emma will allow that," Ethan said.

  "She may not have a choice on this one. If you insist on taking this path of leaving her behind then you have to realize she cannot be left behind with the knowledge she has."

  He knew Stefan was right, but he couldn't bring himself to do something that might upset her more. "They won't say anything, who would they even tell?"

  "There are people out there who would believe whatever they say and would prefer to see us dead. You may not have come across any hunters, but they are out there, and they are lethal. This is as dangerous for all of them as it is for us," Stefan said.

  "You're not going to touch her," Ethan warned.

  "I won't touch her, but you have to think about this reasonably, Ethan, this has to be taken care of, for all of our good. From what you've told us about this group of vampires, we may require more help to take care of them."

  "Ian and Aiden will be here tomorrow," Isabelle reminded him.

  "We may need even more help than them. Neither of them has reached maturity yet. They're strong, but if this group is feeding on humans then they're also strong, and there may be even more of them than what Ethan saw tonight. We're going to have to figure out how to take them down. The humans can't be left alone though."

  "Those vampires also have human help," Ethan said.

  Isabelle did a double take. "What makes you think that?"

  "Judging by the smell of those vamps, they're not moving around in the daytime, yet things were left behind for Emma during the day. There's a human helping them, most likely under their control, or they have a vampire with them who hasn't killed as many people as the others have," Ethan explained. "If it's a human then they can go in that house. I'm going to go back, she probably won't let me in, but I can keep an eye on the place and make sure she stays safe."

  "You should go with him," Isabelle said to Stefan.

  "I'm not leaving you alone," Stefan told her.

  "I can take care of a human or another vampire," she retorted. "You should go with him."

  "I'll be just fine on my own," Ethan informed her.

  Isabelle's expression was resolute as she folded her arms across her chest. "No, you're not going to be out there all alone."

  "They can't move about in the daytime, Isabelle."

  "Then we're all going." He knew there was no arguing with her when she spun on her heel and disappeared down the hall.

  "This could get ugly," Stefan muttered.

  Ethan tore his attention away from where his sister had vanished to meet Stefan's gaze. "It already has."

  Chapter Eighteen

  "I still don't know how to wrap my head around any of this," Jill muttered as Emma put a cup of coffee before her. "I mean, what the hell just happened?"

  "I don't know," Emma said. "Nothing good."

  "I feel like we just walked into a bad sci-fi movie or a hidden camera show. I keep waiting for someone to jump out and shout, 'Gotcha!' at us," Mandy said as she sipped at her coffee. "And Tristan, wow Tristan. I bet this is why he disappeared all of a sudden."

  "I suppose dying would put a damper on his stalking habits," Emma muttered.

  "Do you think they're dead? Do you think Tristan died?" Jill asked.

  "Isn't that how it's supposed to happen? Or at least that's the way it's always worked in the books and movies, right?"

  "Who knew books and movies were right about this. There was no way we ever would expect this to be true, ever. What are you going to do, Emma?"

  "I don't know," she admitted as she sat on a stool across from them. Her eyes drifted to the broken door. They’d propped it closed. "What do I do?"

  "I can't begin to answer that question. This is complete insanity," Mandy said. "I would say you should run and catch the first flight off this island, we all should, but Ethan saved our lives last night, and the way he looks at you with so much caring; you can't fake that look."

  Emma sipped at her coffee as she continued to study the ruined door. "You saw what happened between Tristan and me in the end. Ethan lied to me; he started all this knowing it was built on a lie. What kind of a relationship could we even have? What would become of me, of him? His freaking eyes were red, Mandy."

  "Yeah, that's an image I won't be forgetting, ever."

  "You're going to need Ethan's help to get through this Emma; we don't know how to handle Tristan, not like he does. I understand you feel betrayed, more than a little frightened by this whole thing, but he may be the only one who can protect you right now—protect all of us," Jill said.

  "That's just it though," Emma said as she placed her cup of coffee down. "I don't want anyone to protect me. I was finally free of Tristan; I thought I was finally free, and yet I'm once again trapped by circumstances completely beyond
my control. I don't want to rely on anyone; I want to have control over my life and not be trapped again."

  Mandy took her hand and squeezed it tenderly. "It's not fair, but you're not trapped. You have choices here. Just let us know what you want to do, and we'll stand beside you. Would you like to leave?"

  "And if Tristan follows?" she murmured.

  "I don't know," Mandy said with a sigh. "I don't know anything anymore. We'll have to get more answers from Ethan when you're ready, but for now we'll stay inside, and we'll try to get this straightened out the best we can."

  Emma lifted her cup again and blew on the steaming coffee before taking another sip. "Yeah, I guess."

  A shadow fell over the window, alerting her to the presence of someone outside before a knock sounded on the door. "Hopefully, that's the guy who’s going to fix the door," Jill said as she rose to her feet.

  Mandy and Emma moved with her, but when Emma spotted Ethan and Stefan on the other side of the door, she stepped back. Jill cast her an apologetic look before lifting the door a little and pushing it out of the way. Ethan's eyes found her instantly; her traitorous heart did a strange little flip-flop that almost made her melt, but she straightened her shoulders and met his gaze head-on.

  "How are you doing?" he asked.

  "Fine," she lied.

  He glanced at Stefan and then behind him to Isabelle. "I wanted to let you know we'll be outside if you need us for anything."

  She opened her mouth to tell him to come inside, to hold her and make the horrible events of the night better but her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. "You could come to our place, stay with us. It would be safer there, especially with our younger brothers coming," Isabelle offered eagerly.

  Emma's gaze traveled over them. "You're all like them, like him?" she asked though she already knew the answer.

  Isabelle glanced at Stefan before nodding. "There is a lot to explain," Ethan said. "When you're ready to talk."

  Jill nudged her, but Emma was having trouble finding her voice again. "We have a lot of questions," Jill told him.

  "You can never tell anyone about this, ever," Stefan said gruffly as Emma studied them with a fresh set of eyes. The aura of power they exuded was always there; she'd picked up on it before, but now she finally understood the reason why. Isabelle's face was filled with anxiety as she watched Emma. She was ringing her hands before her, a gesture Emma never thought she'd see the usually confident woman make.

  "Who would believe us even if we did tell someone?" Mandy asked.

  "Some people would," Stefan told her. "People who would like nothing more than to see all of us dead."

  Emma's eyes flew to Ethan. No matter how upset and frightened she was right now, the last thing in the world she wanted was to see him hurt, in any way, and she especially didn't want to be the cause of it. But then, she'd already caused him to be hurt last night when Tristan and his friends attacked them. She stepped toward him before catching herself and stopping near the stairs.

  "No one will know anything," Emma promised.

  She forced herself to look away from Ethan before she started to cry and forgot all about him keeping such a huge thing from her. But she supposed it wasn't a first date conversation to have. She didn't see how anyone could work the whole, 'hey, by the way, I'm a vampire,' talk in between the, 'what was your major,' and 'what's your favorite color,' conversation topics?

  Ethan exchanged a look with Isabelle and Stefan before turning his attention back to the others. He didn't know if it was enough, but for now, it would have to do. He could change Jill and Mandy's memories on his own; he knew he would only alienate Emma even further if he did though. It would also have to be done relatively soon; if it went past a week, he wasn't certain he, or Stefan, could still do it.

  He studied Jill and Mandy, two women he barely knew, but they now had his and his family's future, in their hands. That thought didn't sit well with him, but to be fair, his family was the only protection Jill and Mandy had against Tristan and his friends. They were all going to have to count on each other to get through this.

  "Can we come in?" Ethan inquired.

  "I don't think we could stop any of you, not after what we witnessed last night," Emma replied.

  "Isabelle and Stefan haven't been invited in yet," he reminded her. "You may not own the home, but you're residing here right now, and that's what matters."

  Emma's mind flashed back to the first morning Ethan arrived here, and Jill had so cheerfully invited him inside. Jill had no way of knowing then that she was inviting in someone with the ability to kill them. She could feel Jill and Mandy's eyes on her as she studied Ethan, Isabelle, and Stefan. They hadn't known before, but they knew now, and she couldn't allow them into this house until she had a better idea of what was going on.

  "No, I'm sorry, but no," she said. "We don't know any of you, not really. Jill and Mandy..." She hated the tears burning her eyes, but she refused to shed them as she unwaveringly met Ethan's troubled gaze. "I just can't."

  A pang stabbed through Ethan's chest, but he bowed his head in agreement. "That's fine."

  "Wait!" Isabelle cried.

  She stepped forward, but Ethan grasped her arm and held her back. They stared defiantly at each other for a minute before Ethan shook his head. Isabelle's shoulders slumped, and she gave Emma a longing look. Stefan pulled her away from her brother; Isabelle glanced back at Emma as she reluctantly allowed herself to be removed from the doorway.

  "If you need anything, anything at all, we'll be outside." Ethan turned around and left the doorway before Emma could respond.

  "It's almost like having two stalkers," she muttered.

  Jill rested her hand on her shoulder. "At least one of them wants to keep you alive."

  Emma released a harsh laugh. "I guess that's the silver lining in all this."

  "There should always be one," Jill said.

  "I think I'm going to try and get some sleep. Unless you want me to wait for the new door? It's my fault, after all."

  "It's not your fault, and I'll handle the door," Mandy offered. "I'm still pretty wired anyway."

  Emma turned away from her friends. All she could think about was lying down and getting some sleep, though she had a feeling sleep would be elusive.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The room was enshrouded in darkness when she woke sometime later. Memories filtered back over her, and it took all she had not to groan and bury her head under her pillow. "Shit."

  She stared at the lengthening shadows moving across her walls and tried to decide if she wanted to get out of bed right now. The shock, anger, and horror over what happened last night had faded while she was sleeping, and now all she felt was a deep ache in her chest.

  She was falling in love with him. She'd found a freedom with him she'd never known could exist, and now she was left only with the hollow shell of those feelings. In his arms, she didn’t feel inadequate and trapped, she felt secure and cherished, but it was all a lie.

  Or was it? Everyone had their secrets, she had revealed all of hers to him, but some secrets were harder than others to reveal, and this was a big ass secret.

  Emma shook her head and threw back the sheet she’d become entangled in. She was hoping a shower would clear her head and ease the growing anguish in her chest, but she doubted it. Stepping beneath the stinging spray of the shower, she stayed under the warm water for a good half an hour before finally turning it off.

  Emerging from the shower, she wrapped a towel around her hair and another around herself. She returned to the room and was grasping for the lamp on the bureau when a small noise caught her attention. Her hand froze, her gaze darted around the room, but she couldn't see much through the dark. Even still, her breath was trapped in her lungs as she continued to search the room.

  Then she heard it again. Grabbing the lamp, she spun to her right as something came at her from the shadows. Whatever it was, it crouched low and moved with far more speed than she’d thought
possible for something so small. And then it was rising, growing taller as it continued to come at her.

  A strangled cry escaped her; the plug ripped from the wall as she swung the lamp up with all of her might. The force of it wrenched her wrist in its joint as the lamp cracked in half and part of it toppled to the floor. Her attacker was knocked off balance by the force of the blow, but even still their hands entangled with the towel and nearly ripped it away from her. She lifted what remained of the lamp and crashed it down onto the person's back. The second blow sent the light tumbling from her numbed fingers as the air rushed out of her attacker.

  The person had fallen in the direction of the other door to her room; there was no way she could reach it without being caught. She grabbed the top of the towel as she turned toward the French doors opening onto the balcony.

  The towel in her hair tumbled away as she dashed around the rocking chair in the corner. She picked the chair up and heaved it blindly behind her to dissuade her pursuer. Her hands fumbled over the latches on the French doors, but she realized too late the locks she’d set earlier weren't in place. She just managed to fling the door open when a hand tangled in her hair, and her head was jerked cruelly back.

  Involuntary tears filled her eyes as her neck twisted to the side and agony lanced through her brutalized muscles.

  "Tristan wants to talk," a man hissed in her ear.

  Panic tore through her to push away the pain. Fighting like a wildcat, she kicked backward at the person holding her, and her fingers tore at the hand in her hair. An arm wrapped around her waist; she was lifted off her feet and pressed against a burly chest. The man holding her wasn't tall; his head was right behind hers now, but he was strong. Without thinking, she swung her head back and smashed her skull off the man's face.

  A sickening crack accompanied his startled yelp. That cry and the hot wash of liquid dripping down her back was her reward for breaking his nose. With the man thrown off by her attack, she pulled her arm forward and drove her elbow roughly into his ribs. A grunt escaped him, and his grip on her eased.