by Gina Kincade
Erin swallowed. Laney was right. He was a good guy—a great one. The type of guy she could fall in love with. Oh crap. I’m so screwed.
She stirred her noodles, watching as the broth swirled around her spoon. “I’m an idiot.”
Laney got up from the couch went to the table and put her arm around her. “No, you’re not. We all want to find the guy.”
“I should end things with him,” Erin said.
“Or you could talk to him,” Laney said.
“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to be one of those clingers that is so desperate to make things work that they act insane.”
“Are you sure? Maybe he feels the same way you do?”
“He made things pretty clear when we first started this...relationship.” There was no mistaking how he would react and she wasn’t going to hang on to something that was only going to cause her more heartache. She’d get through this final date and then end things. Maybe she wouldn’t get her happily ever after with Adam, but Laney and Graham were perfect for each other. They just needed a little shove in the right direction. “I’ll end things after the party,” she said.
Laney took the chair next to her. “Yeah, it will be fun to see fireworks and hangout.” She lifted up her left hand and wiggled her ring finger. “I’m glad you’re making me go out. I do need to get out of the house and mingle with adults.”
Erin smiled and nudged her friend with her shoulder. “We all should have some fun.”
“Yeah.”
“And you’re letting me buy you a few drinks.”
Laney laughed and shook her head. “I haven’t drank in ages.”
“It will be fun.”
“I hope so.”
It was Erin’s turn to hug her friend now. Her friend wasn’t a single mom because her ex was a deadbeat. Pete Cafferty had been a good guy—a good Marine. His plane was shot down three years ago near Afghanistan, leaving Laney a widow and single mother to their young daughter. She couldn’t imagine what it’d be like to bury a man you loved and planned to spend your life with.
“You’re going to have to help me pick out something to wear,” Laney said, breaking the silence.
“Oh, we’re going to help each other,” Erin said with a laugh. “We can do each other’s hair and makeup too. We’ll make an afternoon of it.”
Laney smiled. “Avery will love that. She loves when I paint her nails.”
I bet Avery would love it even more if you hooked up with her favorite uncle. One more week with Adam. She could do this for Laney and Graham.
Chapter Seven
Erin linked arms with Laney as they made their way across the busy restaurant/club to the bar. They’d both dressed in jeans and tanks for the evening, wanting to be cute but comfortable. Adam and Graham already sat on stools and had bottles of beer in front of them. Erin marched up the steps toward them with Laney in tow.
“Happy Fourth,” she said to Adam, greeting him with a kiss.
“You too.” He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his lap. “What do you ladies want to drink?”
“It’s too early in the evening for anything heavy. A few beers.”
Laney nodded in agreement.
“So, what kind of things are they doing here?” Laney asked as the bartender slid two beers toward them.
Erin turned to Adam as she took a gulp of her beer.
Adam grasped her thigh and gave it a squeeze. “The festivities don’t start for another thirty minutes. In the meantime, what do you say we go dance?”
“Sounds fun.” She took her beer, winked at Laney, and let Adam lead her to the dance floor.
“I think it’s safe to leave them alone for a few songs.” Adam pulled her close to him, letting the hand not holding his beer rest on her ass.
“They’ll be fine.” Laney and Graham knew each other well. Her friend might give her a guilt trip, but Erin didn’t feel bad. Graham wasn’t a stranger by any means.
She let herself get lost in the music as they started a slow, steady rhythm of swaying back and forth in time to the beat. Adam ground against her and she sighed at the contact. Tonight was their last hurrah. In the morning she’d end things with him. She was already way too attached as it was.
“I was thinking we make sure they get to talking then we get out of here. Maybe grab a nice dinner before heading back to my place?” Adam whispered in her ear.
Tingles shot through her at his closeness and she gripped his arm tighter. It was a dangerous game she was playing. The more time together tonight the harder it’d be in the morning. Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded instead.
Adam smoothed his hand over her ass again, sending an odd vibration through it. She frowned and it took a second for her to realize that it wasn’t Adam’s hand causing the sensation, but her cell.
“I thought you weren’t on call tonight?” Adam asked as he licked her earlobe.
She moaned at the contact before pulling away from him. “I’m not.” There was really only one person who texted her aside from Adam. Her mom. “I do have to look at it. It might be important.”
Erin turned and made her way to the edge of the dance floor. As she pulled her phone out of her pocket it vibrated again. She pulled up her messages and inhaled as she skimmed over them.
On way to New Hazelton Hospital. In a car accident.
Erin call me.
We were in an accident.
Her stomach heaved. She reread the words then darted through the crowd, pushing people out of her way until she got to the exit. Erin squeezed past a couple, practically knocking them over, before the sticky night air enveloped her. She hit her mom’s number and put the phone to her ear.
It rang several times then went to voicemail. She hung up and tried again.
“Hey, everything okay?” Adam asked, touching her shoulder as he came up behind her.
She spun around wide-eyed and shook her head. “No. It’s my mom. She was in a car accident. I have to go.” She took a few steps toward the parking lot before Adam took her hand and whirled her around.
“Is she okay?”
“I don’t know. She texted and now she’s not answering.” Her mom might be okay. But what about Caden? Her heart skipped a beat. Oh God no. “I have to go.”
Adam gripped her fingers tighter. “I’ll take you. You’re in no condition to drive right now. You might get hurt yourself.”
Erin didn’t argue with him when he wrapped an arm around her middle and guided her to his car. He opened the door for her then jogged to the driver’s side. Her mind reeled and hands shook as she tried to call her mom again. Still nothing. Was it a good or bad thing that she wasn’t answering? Where was Caden? Was he okay?
“I’m sure everything is fine,” Adam said, drawing her from her thoughts.
She nodded numbly and cleared her throat, trying to relieve the thick lump forming.
“I’ll drop you off out front and meet you inside,” Adam said as they rounded a corner.
Erin gripped the door handle to keep from being thrown across the cabin. Her eyes crept over to the speedometer and widened. They were going well over eighty. Within another few minutes the car sped into the lot and Adam pulled to a stop in front of the emergency room entrance.
She jumped out of the car and sprinted into the hospital. Her pulse roared in her ears as she shoved through the reception area doors and stopped in front of the triage nurse.
“Erin?” the nurse asked, glancing up.
“My mom was just brought in. Marjorie Trout.” Erin held her breath as she waited for the nurse to pull everything up. The seconds ticked by at a snail’s pace and she tapped her foot impatiently.
The nurse rolled her shoulders back and continued to type something into the computer. “Trauma room two. She came in a few minutes ago, drifting in and out of consciousness but heart and BP steady. You know you can’t go back there, Erin. I’ll let you know as soon as something comes up.”
Family was
n’t allowed in trauma rooms. They were reserved for true emergency care and more times than not, family got in the way when things went south for the patient. She closed her eyes and let out a breath. Please don’t let anything bad happen to her. Her thoughts drifted to her son.
“Was Caden with her?”
“Yeah,” another nurse piped up from the other station. “He was with the paramedics. I think they took him to exam room five. He’s fine.”
Erin nodded and sprinted down the hall to the exam room. The curtain was partially open and she ducked in, letting out a breath as she saw Caden sitting on the bed. A paramedic sat next to him, looking at a magazine.
“Caden, thank goodness,” she said as she ran to him and swooped him against her.
“Mommy.” He wrapped his chubby arms around her neck and squeezed.
“Are you okay?” she asked, setting him down as she checked him from head to toe. There were no obvious injuries.
“He’s fine, ma'am,” the paramedic said, nodding at her.
“Thank you so much for sitting with him.”
“Anytime.” He stood up and left the room.
Erin closed her eyes and crushed Caden to her again. Tears streamed down her face as sobs got stuck in her throat.
“Mommy, where’s Grandma?” he asked as he pulled back and smooshed her cheeks with his hands.
“We’ll see her in a little bit,” she said, kissing his forehead. Her fingers massaged his arms, feeling for anything that might be broken or out of place. “You’re okay? Nothing hurts?”
He bobbed his head up and down. “I fine.”
“Erin?”
She whirled around at the sound of Adam’s voice. He gaped at her. His eyes darted from Caden to her then back to her son. There was no denying he was her boy. Kirk may be his father, but Caden had taken on most of her physical characteristics.
Erin motioned to Adam. “Sweetie, this is Mommy’s friend, Adam.”
“Hi.” Caden waved at Adam.
“Hi.” Adam cleared his throat. “Your...son... You’re a...mom? Jesus, Erin, you have a kid!” His voice rose higher with each word. He covered his face with his hand and let out a breath. “Why didn’t you tell me? We would have never...” He trailed off.
It was probably better he didn’t finish his sentence. She could imagine what he was going to say anyway and she didn’t want to hear it. Erin steeled herself, she knew this was coming. “I need to check on my mom. She’s unconscious in the trauma room. I don’t have time for this.” She brushed past him, carrying her son out into the noisy hallway.
“Erin, wait!”
She stopped and drew in a deep breath before turning around. “What?”
“Is your mom okay?”
“I don’t know.” Her voice waivered at the admission. What if her mom wasn’t okay? No. She’s strong. She’s going to be fine.
Adam nodded at Caden. “Is he...is he okay?”
Erin smoothed a hand through her son’s hair. “He seems to be.”
Adam shifted back and forth on his feet.
“You can go. I’ll take a cab home.”
He rubbed the back of his head. His mouth opened and then closed. For a moment, she thought he might offer to stay, but then he turned on his heel and walked down the hallway without another word. Tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked them away. She kissed Caden’s forehead and hummed quietly as she rocked back and forth on her feet.
It was going to hurt getting over Adam. In a short period of time, she’d let herself fall for him. Their break up broke her heart more than Kirk’s leaving had. She gripped Caden closer and silently expressed her gratitude that her boy was safe. Her heartache would have to wait. Caden needed attention and her mom’s condition was still up in the air.
Erin went back out to the waiting room, nodding at the triage nurse before taking a seat. It was going to be a long night.
***
Adam tapped his fingers on his cell phone as he contemplated what to do. It was midday Saturday and he hadn’t heard from Erin—not that he should expect to hear from her after the way he’d acted last night. I was a total jackass. He flopped back on his couch and stared up at the ceiling. The overhead fan whirled around above him.
Erin had a kid. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around that. Kids were okay, but they brought a whole new level of responsibility and involvement into a relationship. He paused as he mulled the word over in his head—relationship. When had his fling with Erin turned into something more?
The realization surprised him, but it didn’t scare him. What terrified him was losing Erin permanently. After the way he’d acted last night, he’d be lucky if she took him back. Dammit he wanted her back. He wasn’t ready for this thing with Erin to end. He was falling for her—hard. The idea of not seeing her, not being with her, worried him more than being in a relationship with her did.
He picked up his phone and started to dial her number but stopped. Would she even answer? He wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t. If only...wait...I know her address.
Adam racked his brain as he recalled the day he’d pulled her over. He’d known who she was the moment he’d run her plate. The computer had also given him her address, assuming that she still lived at the same apartment, he knew exactly where she was. Thank God for a photographic memory.
Hopping to his feet, he grabbed his keys and hurried to his car. Hopefully she was home. If she wasn’t, well, he’d deal with that if he had to.
The drive to her apartment was short, and he took the stairs two at a time to the second floor before he knew it. He could see her car in the lot and hoped that was a good sign. His eyes went to the numbers on the doors as he tried to remember if she was in 2381 or 2383. He decided on the latter and knocked on the door before he could second-guess himself.
A child squealed inside and footsteps padded across the floor to the door. There was a long pause before the lock clicked and the door opened far enough for Erin to peak her head out.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I wanted to check on you. Make sure everything was okay?”
Erin blinked. “We’re fine.”
“Your mom, too?” he asked not only because he wanted to keep the conversation going but also because he cared.
“She’ll be in the hospital a few days, but she’ll be fine. I was planning to go visit her soon so—”
“Don’t shut me out, Erin,” he interrupted. He reached out and took her hand. “I was a jerk last night. You took me by surprise. This whole thing with us has taken me by surprise.” He inhaled and let it out. “I’m falling for you, Erin.”
Erin gasped and her fingers curled around his. “What are you saying?”
He shook his head. “That I don’t want whatever this is to end. I enjoy spending our time together and I want to see what this is.”
“And Caden? You know he’s a part of the package, right?” she asked her voice barely above a whisper.
He nodded. “I know. I enjoy kids. I’ve never dated anyone who has had one...but then I’ve never dated anyone really before either. I’m a total newbie with all this. Just let us have a chance.”
She shifted on her feet.
“Erin...I care about you... I think I’m falling in love with you. I’m sorry about last night. Please...please give us a chance.”
She bit her lip as a small smile spread across her face. “You think you’re falling in love with me?”
“Yeah. The thought of being without you terrifies me. I don’t want to lose you.”
Erin took a step forward, placing her free hand on his cheek. “I think I’m falling in love with you too.” She stood up on her tiptoes and placed a tender kiss to his lips.
Adam’s heart swelled as he pulled her to him. He wasn’t sure what this was, but he couldn’t wait to find out.
“Do you want to come in and meet Caden officially?”
“I’d like that.”
Erin guided him inside and he grinned.
A new chapter of his life was beginning. For the first time in years he’d found a woman he wanted to settle down with and not push to the side. He couldn’t wait to see what the future brought.
Sanctuary by Xandra James
Prologue – Year: around 1758
The four princes of Hell stood over me as I sat chained in front of the great altar in the High Courts of Hell.
The air was thick with heat, smoke and something that smelled strangely like apples. I had been here awaiting trial for seven days. Now I finally had my chance to share my side of the story. Except, I didn't have a chance to talk at all during the five minute session in front of dozens and dozens of demons of all types.
"You have been found guilty of deceit, unlawful execution, and adultery, Alexei." A small but very skinny demon stood in front of my bowed head and read from a document. "For deceit and unlawful execution, you will be banished from the Kingdom of Hell for the period of two hundred years."
I sighed, that was going to be the worst of the punishments. And even that wasn't too bad. The fact that I was already one hundred and three in human years meant that I was still a youngster in the eyes of many. I could do this sentence standing on my head. I could live with that punishment.
"For the charge of adultery with a sister of a judiciary of zone three, you'll be put under the charge of Balan, third prince of Hell. You will work for him and him alone." Another bonus. "Whatever punishment he gives you shall be ruled lawful in the eyes of the High Court."
The crowd of onlookers ooed and ahhed, but I wasn't interested in them. All I needed to do was keep my head down, do what Balan told me, and I'd be home free.
Taking another document from a small pouch at his hip, the skinny talker carried on delivering the verdict.
"Finally, Alexei—son of Mecronesia—there will be a future punishment for discovering you are a half-blood."
My head shot up, the chain holding me down rattled. "Wait, what? I didn't know I wasn't a pure blood. There must be some mistake." The talker carried on with only a brief look toward me.
