She smiles and turns toward me. “Morning.” She puts her arms under the covers to hide them.
All I can do is stare at her and take in her beauty. I will be amazed every time I look at her.
“What are you doing?” A half smile blooms on her lips.
“Being amazed.” I can’t help the foolish grin on my face. Being near her is all I need.
“You are a dork.”
“Possibly, but really, I just love you.” I nuzzle into her.
Her features darken at my words and she pulls the covers up to her neck. I don’t want to be forceful, but she needs to know how beautiful she is. How powerful she is and that she doesn’t need to hide. She has the power to decide whether these scars define her or not.
While I look deep into her eyes, asking permission, searching for the slightest hint that I should stop, I pull the covers back down to her waist. Lightly I trace my fingers down her arm. Her skin reacts with goose bumps. Her eyes are begging me to go slow, and I do.
“Shay, I’ve never before in my life seen such beauty. I could see a million sunrises on the beach, drink the brilliant colors of the sunset, hear the coos of a thousand doves but never could I be in such awe of anything as I am of you.” Cautiously I lean down and press a soft kiss on her shoulder.
Her face fills with color, but it’s quickly replaced by her seriousness. “Thank you.” She’s silent for a moment and can’t look me in the eye for long.
My hand finds her shoulder to tell her she doesn’t need to say anything, but she still feels compelled to break the silence. “I—I—” She presses her lips together in frustration. “Just thank you. I don’t know what else to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything, just be here with me. Let me hold you, let me be amazed at how incredibly brave you are. That’s all I want. You don’t have to talk to me about what happened. You don’t owe me any explanations. Just be here with me. That’s all, nothing else.” I feel like I’m running off at the mouth. I need to be careful navigating these dangerous waters and try not to crash into her independence or force her hand.
She pulls the comforter back up to hide under. “I can’t stay forever.”
“I know you can’t, but stay while you can. I just need to be close to you,” I plead.
“Eli, I have to get back to my life, back to taking care of myself. I appreciate all you’ve done—” She pauses as though she’s looking for the perfect words. “I don’t need to be taken care of.” Her tone is certain and adamant.
A laugh rumbles through me. “I know you don’t need taken care of. One thing I’ve learned is that you don’t need me, and it scares the living shit out of me. I’m working through it. What I want you to know is that I need you. I need to be near you and I never want to be far from you ever again.” Emotionally or physically.
“How can you feel that way?” She looks away from me to avoid finding agreement in my eyes. “I’m so broken, damaged.”
I tug at her hip so she’s facing me completely and look into her pale blue eyes, full of uncertainty and fear. “Shay, this is part of you and will be part of you forever.” I lean in to gently kiss the raised skin on her arms where the knife carved her. “And I love every part of you—the broken parts, the damaged parts.” I pepper soft kisses down her arm, picking up her hand to kiss each finger. “The happy parts, the sad parts. I love all of you and I want to be with you however you will have me; as a friend, a lover, your lawyer, it doesn’t matter to me. I just need to be near you, be part of your life, because you are the strongest, most powerful person I know and I need you.”
Her eyes fill with tears and the worry melts away to be replaced by knowing. She reaches up and pulls me down closer, finding my lips, and presses a chaste kiss against them. “I love you, Eli.”
She holds me tight and I return the embrace. Something in her has changed in this moment. She nuzzles into my chest as though she could never get close enough. I hold her there until her breathing becomes regulated and I know she’s asleep.
I watch her rhythmic breathing for a good long while and silence my alarm as soon as it starts bleating that it’s time to get up. Quietly I slink out of the bed and put on my robe to head straight for the coffee maker. There’s a silence in the house that hasn’t been here in a long while. It feels wrong, unnerving.
There’s equipment set up in the great room; it’s churning away at something, but the only sound coming from it is from the cooling fans. No bells or whistles. No one sleeping on the couch. Curiosity draws me down the hallway to check the guest rooms. The first door on the right is open, but it’s empty. The bed is crumpled but not unmade.
The room where Harry has been staying is across the hall; no one’s in there. At the end of the hall is the final bedroom, I check to find nothing. No one else is in the house. While it’s nice to think I could take off my robe and go commando in my house again, there’s still something strange. It doesn’t feel right. I look in on Shay and see that she’s still sleeping soundly and Rex is on the bed warming her feet.
I go back to the kitchen, get a cup of coffee and head for my office, when the doorbell rings. “Who the fuck is that at this hour?”
No one’s there when I open the door. Did I imagine the bell? Maybe it’s so quiet that my brain is making up sounds. The sound of static draws my attention out the door. There’s a cell phone on the ground playing something on the screen. I pick it up and recognize the scene from Poltergeist immediately. There’s a sharp pain in my neck and someone grips me from behind. The last thing I hear is a menacing whisper in my ear, “Go to the light, Eli.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Bite Me
Shay
Just when the bed was starting to get really cold from Eli being gone, he comes back. I don’t bother rolling over, I love the way he spoons me. I wasn’t expecting him to come back in for a while. I heard his alarm go off but I’ve been just enjoying lying in bed in the comfort of his scent, the down comforter and just the general feeling of being at home. “Huh, home.”
Eli’s weight shifts the bed slightly and he climbs in, spooning me from behind. Something’s not right, something’s very wrong. This feels wrong. My mind starts racing. The smell of sulfur and cheap cologne fills my senses. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me into him tight. He feels wrong, too soft, not solid like my man. I try to turn around to face him but he won’t let me.
I struggle and squirm to get away. He leans into my ear. “Shay, now we can be together. I’ve taken care of all the possible interference and now it’s just us.”
Smelling him, feeling him pressing up against me and finally hearing his voice galvanizes me in fear, it’s not Eli. I kick backward, screaming out for Eli. There’s no way anyone’s taking me again. He puts his lips against my ear, soggy with saliva, and I feel sweat dripping off of him. I struggle harder to free myself from his grip. I kick at his legs and dig my fingernails deep into his arms. He’s not budging and I’m not strong enough to get away from him.
“I love you Shay, we can be together now. There’s no one that can come between us now, it’s just us.” His breath is unnatural on me.
There’s no time for me to try to calm myself or find a center, I need to find a way out of this. Even if I have to die to get away from him it’s what I’ll do. I play the mantra over and over again in my mind, “Keep fighting.”
Unconsciously I keep screaming an incoherent stream of expletives. Calling out for Eli, Carl, Dad, Aiden or anyone who might be listening, I feel my strength waning. I know that if I don’t do something big to get out of this I’m not going to get away.
Concentrating or focusing to draw on my inner power is impossible with his tongue running down my neck and onto my chest. His hot, labored breath on my skin draws bile into my throat and I feel the burn of it in my mouth. He pulls the top of my shirt to the side, exposing my breast. The bristle of his beard rubs along my wounds, making them feel like they are opening up again, and I can feel his pe
rspiration stinging as it seeps into the cuts.
“Be with me, Shay, we can be one, we can be together.” He grunts, trying to hold me still while I buck wildly under his weight.
“No,” is all I manage in a high pitched screech before I sink my teeth into his forearm. He howls out in agony, but that only encourages me to bite down harder and lock my jaw closed like a pit bull. His continued screaming does nothing to produce an ounce of sympathy. He digs his free hand into my neck to try to stop the flow of air but he can’t get a grip on me.
With my mouth still clamped onto his arm I let out a guttural roar and lock down as hard as I can, tearing away a piece of his flesh and spitting it out. He releases me and I launch myself out of the bed away from him. I wipe the blood from my chin with my arm.
When I finally get a good look at him I realize it’s that kid Bailey from the signing, the kid that’s been stalking me. He’s writhing in pain on the bed with blood dripping from his arm. “You stupid bitch, you fucking bit me.”
“Where the fuck is Eli? What did you do with Eli?” My voice quivers out of control with anger that’s nearly blinding and I’m having a hard time maintaining control. My peripheral vision threatens to close in at the corners of my eyes, but I won’t let it. I won’t let my anger get the better of me. An incredible power comes over me. I eye the bedside table where I know Eli keeps a gun.
Bailey doesn’t answer me, he just keeps screaming about his arm. I don’t give two shits about his fucking arm, it won’t matter much longer. “Bailey, what did you do with Eli?”
“Fuck you, bitch,” he yells out.
“No Bailey, fuck you.” I run to the drawer looking for the gun, but it isn’t there. Fuck. I jump on him with all my weight to grab his throat and bear down on the pressure points that stop the flow of air. His face turns several shades of red and purple. Darkness is overcoming me, moving me, giving me power. I lean in close to his ear and in an even tone tell him, “I’m going to enjoy watching the last bit of life seep from your eyes. If you had a soul I would gladly snuff that out too. Now tell me, what the fuck did you do with Eli?”
The feeling of control is making me feel light-headed; I lose my focus long enough for Bailey to sucker punch me in the kidney, dropping me to the floor. He scurries off the bed and out the door, holding his arm. I’m left catching my breath from having the wind knocked out of me.
The reality of what just happened sinks in like the bright red blood on the white comforter. The terror of what just happened, of what I did, hits me like a speeding train and I scoot back into the corner of the room next to the bed. My entire body is shaking and I rock back and forth just to try to calm myself.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Cleanup on Aisle One
Carl
The amount of media people has dwindled considerably outside the gate of Eli’s neighborhood. It might be okay for her to leave sometime soon. Well, that’s if nothing else happens. If we can keep her still and figure out how to get rid of the Specter, things will die down completely.
There’s someone on the ground outside Eli’s front steps. The door is wide open and there’s a trail of blood leading from the house down the driveway. Shit. I can’t feel anyone’s consciousness in the house.
Eli’s sprawled across the front steps. My first instinct is to check for a pulse. Yes! “Eli! Eli! Wake up.” He stirs, moving slow. “Eli, where’s Shay?”
Eli rubs his neck and pushes out her name in a groggy voice. “Oh God, what happened?” His eyes widen at the blood on the ground. I try to help him up, but I can’t take the time I have to find her. I can’t hear or feel her near me, but I have to find out if she’s here, if she’s alive or if she’s gone. I drop Eli back on the ground. “I need to find her.”
He shakes his head, “Find her,” and waves me off. “Go.”
“Shay, Pitch, Quag, Wes?” I run into the house hoping and praying that Shay’s safe. My first thought is that she’s been taken again, that Miranda may have gotten to her. The blood in the house isn’t doing much to calm me. No one is answering. I go straight to the bedroom.
I'm halted in the doorway by her shocking appearance. I’m filled with relief and terror at the scene. She’s balled up in the corner covered in blood. The dark red smears across her mouth and chin give her an animalistic look that is only enhanced by her wild eyes and tangled hair. My steps toward her are slow and deliberate. In a low calm tone with my hands out in front of me I call to her. “Darlin’? It’s me Carl.”
She looks at me with no recognition and her demeanor changes from frightened to on guard. “I’m not going to hurt you. Are you okay?”
I concentrate on creating a mental connection with her. I need to hear her thoughts so I can get through. Shay inhales a long steady breath through her nose and pushes it out her mouth. “I don’t need you in my head. I can tell you what happened.” Her eyes are cold and haunting when she speaks.
“Okay. You got it. I just want to be sure you’re alright.” I proceed cautiously.
“No, I’m not alright; I may never be alright ever again.” Her lip quivers as she speaks.
Shay’s eyes light up when she looks past me. Eli stumbles in the room and falls to his knees in front of her. With tired clumsy arms he tries to embrace her for comfort, but he’s unable to find the coordination. She pushes past his arms, putting them over her shoulder, and curls herself into him, wrapping herself as far around him as she can reach. She’s holding him.
“It’s okay babe, I’m here,” she whispers close to his ear.
“I was so afraid he took you,” Eli slurs.
“Shh, it’s okay. No one will ever be able to take me again.” A fire ignites from within her, reaching her eyes, punctuating each word that she speaks. “Never again.”
“Are you hurt?” I kneel beside them.
She shakes her head. “No.”
“You should really get cleaned up.” When she sees herself, she’ll be horrified at the gore of it.
“I will in a minute. I need to be sure he’s okay,” she says, stroking Eli’s hair tenderly. “He has to be okay.” Her tone is even and haunts me to the bone.
“We should probably get him to the doctor, don’t you think?” There’s no telling what he was injected with. If it’s dangerous there could be lasting effects.
“I’m okay.” Eli’s barely coherent.
“Possibly, but if Bailey wanted him dead then he would be.” her tone carries the same finesse as though she were ordering a soda.
“Bailey? Bailey did this?” I was so wrapped up in what had happened I didn’t consider the who. I’m really slipping. I’ve never detected Bailey as being a threat and I’m shocked that he had the balls to pull something like this off.
“Yes, it was Bailey.” She looks up at me and stops stroking Eli. Her tone becomes serious yet quiet. “The next time he comes after me,” her eyes hood with a hint of delight, “I’ll cut his fucking throat.”
“Shay, you can’t talk that way. He’s—” She cuts me off.
“Harmless?” She pulls her lips to the side, looking at me with consternation. “He’s not harmless, he’s a predator.”
“We need to call the police.” Eli points to his phone on the bedside table.
“No,” Shay says quietly.
“Shay, you aren’t thinking clearly. It’s important that we call the cops,” I tell her.
“No.” Her tone is elevated and it’s clear her word is final.
“If we don’t call the police we can’t stop him.” Eli tries to reason with her.
“The police aren’t going to do anything. With the way things have been going for me, they’ll arrest me for assault.”
She’s probably right; I know Eli and Harry aren’t going to like this. Wes stops short in the doorway, taking in the scene. Shay looks like she’s had a night on the town feeding with zombies and there is blood all over the white bed sheets. “Whoa.”
“Get Pitch and Quag in here. I want you guys
to clean this up.” This isn’t the first time they’ve had to clean up a crime scene, but they need to do a good job. We have to try to handle this before Harry gets here.
“I found this by the front door.” Wes holds up a syringe that he’s gripping in his hand with a latex glove.
“Hold on to that, I want to find out what was in it.”
“Sure thing, I’ll bag it,” He says while walking away.
I turn back to Shay and Eli, who seems to be recovering. I’m not as concerned with the syringe, but I want to be sure. “We’re going to handle this. We’ll also get some answers as to what he injected you with. I still urge you to go see a doctor, but I know you’re going to be Mr. Tough Guy, slam-your-dick-in-the-window, good to go.”
“I’m going to be fine, getting better by the minute.” He tries to sit up, but Shay’s not having it. She pulls his head back down on her lap and shushes him.
“You stay put. I want to be sure you’re okay.” She dots his head with a kiss.
He tries not to cringe at her bloody mouth on him. “What did you do?”
“I took a bite out of crime. No one will ever make me a victim again.” She continues to stroke his hair with a psychotic tone. This is not good; if she goes sociopath from the PTSD we could be creating a real menace with our training. Some real dark side kind of shit the world needs less of.
Eli pulls away from her. “Sweetybird, I’m so sorry. I should’ve been there.”
“What were you going to do? He obviously pulled one over on you. We all need to be more careful.” She bears into me with a cold stare.
“Okay, I’ll keep an eye on Eli. You go get cleaned up. Take a shower and the boys will bag your clothes and get rid of them.” I help Eli stand up.
Shay pulls her nightshirt down as she stands. “Take care of him. Get him some water and aspirin. He’s probably going to have a hell of a headache.”
“Yes ma’am.” Eli salutes her while she walks into the bathroom.
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