by Rose Pressey
Chapter Forty-Four
Annabelle and I had just turned on the movie, poured the wine, and plopped down on the oversized white sofa when a loud crash rang out from the front of the house. We both jumped from the sofa.
“What the hell was that?” Annabelle asked.
“I don’t know.” I ran toward the front door.
I prayed it wasn’t Isabeau or Mara. Heck, it could have been the ghosts too. They seemed to grow angrier by the minute.
Nicolas burst through the front door with a wild look in his eyes. His wet hair and soaked clothing clung to his body. I had to admit it wasn’t a bad look on him. His breathing was heavy.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked.
“Hallie, you have to give me the book.” He motioned for me to hand it to him.
“I don’t have it,” I lied.
This was getting way more bizarre than I was comfortable with. And I’d put up with a lot of weird things in my life. This was too much though.
The worried lines on his face deepened. “Where are the books?” he asked with authority.
“I hid them at my mother’s shop,” I said with satisfaction.
It wasn’t the truth, but I couldn’t let him think the books were still at the manor.
“We have to go get them now.” Nicolas motioned for me to follow him.
I shook my head. “No way. And you’re not telling me what to do.”
“But it’s for your own good,” he said in a strained voice.
“Hallie, what’s going on?” Annabelle asked in a panicked tone.
“It’s okay. Nicolas was just leaving.” I studied his face.
I didn’t want him to go, but I wanted him to know that I was serious. Why did he seem so frantic?
“You have to let me destroy it,” he pleaded.
“This is getting too weird, Hallie,” Annabelle said.
She was telling me.
“I told you before that isn’t happening, Nicolas. You have to stop asking me. Now I think it’s best if you leave.” I folded my arms in front of my chest.
He frowned. “You don’t want me to leave.”
“I don’t?” I asked with a frown.
He stared.
“I’ll just leave you two alone,” Annabelle said. “I need to get home and feed my pets anyway. Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Annabelle asked as she looked from me to Nicolas.
I nodded. “Everything will be fine.”
Once I hugged her goodbye, I continued my showdown with Nicolas. I wasn’t going to give in about the books.
“You tell me why you’re here and maybe I’ll consider giving you the books.”
I knew that would get him to stop asking. For some reason he refused to tell me the true reason he was there. More and more I was beginning to think he was there for nefarious reasons. I wanted to trust him, but he’d left me no choice.
“I was sent here to protect you. If that meant not getting rid of the book, fine. But things changed and now I need to get rid of it,” he explained.
As suspicious as I was, he looked like he was telling the truth. Maybe I just wanted to believe that though.
“Please, Hallie.” He stepped closer. “If we destroy it, the book will be gone forever. Your problems will stop and Mara will not come here to harm you.”
Maybe he really was here to protect me. Why would he be so concerned about stopping Mara if he was working with her?
“How would you get rid of the books forever?” I asked with a shaky voice.
“We would burn them.” His voice remained calm.
I guessed that would certainly get rid of them for good.
I sighed. “I’ll think about it, okay?”
“We don’t have much time,” he pushed.
I didn’t respond to his statement. Instead, I said, “Who sent you here to protect me?”
He paused, then said, “Someone who wants to protect the Underworld.”
“But you can’t tell me who this person is, right?”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry. It’s part of my job.”
“Well, I don’t think I like your job very much.”
Until he could tell me who this person was, I doubted very seriously that I would ever turn the books over for him to destroy. I was just surprised that the books hadn’t been destroyed before now. All these years and the first time I got near them everyone wanted to get rid of them. That sounded about right. What would Liam say?
“What is Liam’s role in all of this?” I asked. “Who sent him?”
“Liam’s job is different from mine and I have nothing to do with that,” he said matter-of-factly.
“But is he here to protect me as well?” I pushed.
“He is here to get the book and that is all. He’s here to protect his ass and he doesn’t care about anyone else. The only reason he is protecting you is to ensure that he keeps his job.” Nicolas’ whole body tensed.
“But that’s not why you’re here?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
He stared at me. “No, it’s not. I must admit I didn’t know what I was getting into when I first came, but now that I know you, I want what’s best for you. The Underworld be damned.”
His proclamation made my stomach dance. It was one of the most romantic things anyone had ever said to me.
“Do you still want me to leave?” he asked with puppy-dog eyes.
I shook my head. “No. I don’t.” After a couple seconds, I asked, “Would you like pizza and wine?”
A smile slipped across his face. “I’d love that. I’ll go change and be right down.”
When Nicolas came downstairs, he was dressed more casually than usual. And it looked good on him. He wore torn jeans and a tight blue T-shirt. His muscles looked delicious under the fabric. I handed him a wine glass after he sat on the sofa, then I slipped beside him. My heart rate increased. Nicolas grabbed a slice of the now cold pizza.
“Sorry it’s cold,” I said.
“That’s okay,” he said, taking the plate.
“Would you like to watch a movie?” I waved the DVD case.
He looked over his shoulder out the window as if he’d heard something. He didn’t exactly seem relaxed, but I wasn’t surprised.
“I’d like that. What are we watching?”
“Pride and Prejudice. Annabelle and I have seen it a million times, but it’s fun to re-watch it.”
It didn’t take long after the movie started until the wine kicked in and I found myself yawning. And I thought Nicolas would be the one falling asleep while watching the movie. My head rested on Nicolas’ hard chest and the next thing I knew, I’d fallen asleep on the sofa in Nicolas’ arms. It felt so right.
