Losing Emma (A Divisa Novella) (Divisa Series)

by Weil, J. L.

  Ugh.

  She normally didn’t suck this bad at badminton but with thoughts of Travis and Craig’s creepy vibe running around in her head, it totally blew her game out of the galaxy. Scanning the room, her eyes briefly fastened with Travis’s cousin Chase. She’d forgotten they shared this class.

  His gunmetal eyes noticed everything, including Craig harassing her. She shivered. The murder she saw inside the depths of his glare was frightening. More so than the disgusting lust in Craig’s.

  Turning her attention back to the net in front of her she was stunned to find Craig so close they breathed the same air. Panic filled her. Grabbing a fistful of her hair, he took a long drag of her shampoo. “Hmm, you smell like spring flowers.”

  His grip locked so tight, it brought tears to her eyes. She jerked out of his painful grasp. “Get off me,” she gritted, pushing off his solid wall of chest. He didn’t budge. Not that she expected him to. He looked like he was built out of two-by-fours. “What is your deal?” she yelled, her voice quivering.

  He was still in her face and far too close. “I can see why Travis is so…enamored by you,” he muttered, lowering his voice to a danger zone.

  He made what she felt for Travis sound dirty and tainted when it was anything but. She lifted her chin. “If you don’t back the hell up, I’ll scream.”

  Her words only seemed to excite him. “Listen pipsqueak.” He shoved her up against the bleachers, trapping her with his gigantic frame. Sweat dripped down the sides of his face giving off a putrid scent.

  Pipsqueak? Who was he calling pipsqueak?

  “Travis might indulge you but you are nothing to him,” he spat the words spewing hatred. Hatred she found unjust. They had never even spoken until today. “If you knew what was best for you pipsqueak, you’d stay the hell away from him. From all of us.”

  She shuddered. How was she going to get out of this? And who did he mean by us? Her mind was running in a hamster wheel with no escape.

  Then suddenly he was lifted literally off her and tossed hard up against the bleachers. They shook under the impact. Chase had his hands fisted in Craig’s shirt, pinning him. “You touch her again Craig and I’ll break your goddamn hands. Is that clear?”

  Whoa. If she thought Craig had a mean streak, Chase made Craig look like an amateur. The hue of his unusual silver eyes darkened to a violent storm, with bolts of lightning shooting across them. It was the strangest thing.

  Almost as bizarre as him coming to her rescue, she kind of got the impression he wasn’t a big fan of hers.

  “I was just having some fun,” Craig replied, attempting to downplay what was really going on.

  Chase was having none of it. “I suggest you find fun somewhere else or I’ll give you all the fun you can handle,” Chase threatened dark and low.

  Emma was glad she wasn’t at the receiving end.

  “Whatever,” Craig said right as the whistle blew announcing the end of class.

  Chase gave her one last look of disgust and then sauntered off.

  Why even come to her rescue if he disliked her so?

  She left gym feeling more confused, depressed, and alone than she could ever remember being.

  ~*~

  Try as he might he couldn’t stay away from her. The hurt in those faerie green eyes was worse than having his heart carved out. He would rather die than see it there and know he was the cause. There had to be some way for him to protect her. There just had to be.

  Skipping his shop class, he wondered down toward the lunchroom. He had to see her. The need was just too great. His demon was screaming inside of him, and Travis felt like he was going to blow. It was simmering just at the surface. The tiniest nudge would push him over the edge.

  And that would suck some serious ass.

  With each step he took, his apprehension grew in tenfold. Lexi was damn lucky it was her who stopped him, anyway else would have gotten their head bashed in. As it was, he wasn’t entirely please she stood between him and the lunchroom.

  She put a hand to his chest, realizing he was fighting control. His normally turquoise eyes were bright topaz.

  Oh brother, she thought. He already knows. “You heard?” she asked, bringing those gleaming eyes to her.

  “Heard what?” he rumbled. There was a growl texture to his voice.

  “Nothing,” she quickly tried to cover-up her blunder. He was already apparently in a mood.

  “Don’t play with me Lex. Spill.”

  She sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to let up. He could be relentless when he wanted. “I saw Chase a few minutes ago and he told me that Craig had cornered Emma in gym today.”

  She watched as he processed her words. Then he turned around and stalked off. Not good. This was going to be a freaking blood bath.

  “He’s crazy!” Lexi yelled to her brother’s back, not that it was going to do a smidge of good.

  Oh yeah. He was going to show Craig seven different kinds of crazy.

  He planted his ass on the seat in front of her and watched those bright green eyes glance up then shoot him down. It hurt, and he missed her smile. “We’re you going to tell me?”

  “Oh, you’re talking to me now?” she responded, not bothering to raise her head. She feigned keen interest in her uneaten lunch. Who was she kidding, she wasn’t fooling anyone.

  Fine. He deserved that and much more. He had acted like a douche. God he had acted like Chase. “I totally had that coming, and I’m sorry,” Travis apologized.

  “I just don’t understand what I did,” she spoke softly.

  Her big eyes looked at him with all the hurt in the world swimming in those irises. He wanted to kick his own ass. “Em you didn’t do anything. I swear.” Grabbing her hand, he leaned in as close as the table would allow.

  She let him take her hand. When it came to Travis, she didn’t really have a choice. There was a link that sparked on contact, more powerful than anything she’d ever felt.

  Her hand was so tiny in his. “I don’t know what I can say to make it up to you. It might not seem like it but I’m trying to protect you.”

  She frowned. “Protect me from what?” He wasn’t making a lot of sense.

  “It’s complicated.”

  Of course it was.

  “Do you trust me?” he asked, searching her face.

  She didn’t even hesitate. “Yes, though right now I am not sure why.”

  “Then trust me when I tell you that the less you know the better.”

  She stared at his face trying to read what was going on behind those secretive turquoise eyes. “For now,” she finally conceded.

  He nodded. It was more than he had hoped for. With that out of the way he had something else consuming him. “Were you going to tell me about Craig?”

  She sighed. Chase.

  “He was just being a jerk and your cousin did a bang-up job of scaring him off,” she shrugged.

  “Did he hurt you?” His fist clenched painfully together under the table.

  She must have taken to long to answer.

  “I’m going to kill him,” Travis pledged with slaughter in his golden eyes.

  Golden eyes?

  That’s not right, she realized. Travis has turquoise eyes.

  “Your eyes–” she muttered.

  He closed them from her scrutiny and flexed his fist tight. Hard lines of concentration ceased on his forehead.

  When he opened them, they were crystal again like the sea.

  What the hell?

  This had to be part of the secret he wasn’t telling her. Maybe he was right, the less she knew the better.

  Chapter 8

  “Ditching classes again cuz?” Chase asked as Travis strolled through the front door looking moody as hell.

  Travis glared at his dark cousin. He might be a badass but Travis was definitely in the mood to take him. “What is your problem?” he barked back. Someone was going to give him a fight today, and it looked like it was Chase’s lucky day.

&n
bsp; “You. And whatever you think is going on with Miss Twinkle toes.” Chase wasn’t about to stand by as his cousin risked everything for a slip of a girl. Over his dead body.

  Travis growled low in his throat. “Watch what you say. Lex told me what you did today.” His eyes flashed.

  Chase propped up against the wall like he didn’t have a care in the world and smirked. “Lexi needs to learn to mind her freaking business. I took care of it. Just drop it.”

  “It wasn’t your problem to take care of,” Travis rumbled.

  “When it comes to you and Lexi, it is. You are just pissed I stole the glory from you beating the pulp out of Craig.”

  Damn right he was. He needed to punch something and release all this rage. “I guess you’ll have to do.”

  “Bring it on, but you know that things have to end with her.” A whoosh of air escaped Chase’s lungs as Travis rammed his shoulder into his gut. He should have seen that one coming. It wasn’t often he was taken by surprise. His cousin got lucky, and since he knew Travis needed a release, he willingly offered up himself. Better than some innocent bystander.

  Travis relished in the satisfaction of his fist sinking into Chase’s jaw as they wrestled to the ground. Drywall pieces sprayed down on them, but neither of them cared. He heard the crack of Chase’s retaliation on his left cheek before he registered the pain. His head snapped back and Chase reversed their position.

  Looking above him, his cousin had a split lip and was smirking like a fool. He must be nuts to go one-on-one with Chase. They might heal fast but that didn’t mean his cousin couldn’t do a hell of amount of damage in the meantime.

  Chase wasn’t just a half-demon he was like a half-demon on some really fantastic crack. He moved stealthier and faster, his strength was unparallel. And right now his silver eyes had turned a blazing amber.

  Taking a hit to the side, he knew a few ribs had shattered. Ignoring the pain, he ducked another blow coming at his face. Chase movements were rapid, nearly impossible to avoid. For a human, they wouldn’t even know what hit them.

  His cousin could be a relentless asshole.

  Travis was only semi-conscious of the front door slamming shut, and his sister screeching voice over the crunch of fists. He was winded and sore. Damn Chase. He was like goddamn machine.

  “Great. Just fabulous. You guys are demented. I love coming home to the two of you beating the pulp out of each other and breaking the furniture.” She threw her hands in the air. Stepping over them, she shook her head. “Pigs. I’ll never understand the two of you.” Her heels clicked on the stairs as she stomped to her bedroom.

  Grinning, the two of the busted out laughing, lying in the middle of the family room with broken debris and clutter surrounding them. If they didn’t want their asses fried by Travis’s dad, they had better hurry and pick-up the casualties of war.

  ~*~

  She couldn’t sleep. Her mind was running a mile in what felt like an escape from Travis’s secrets. They bounced around in her brain. After spending last night on the phone with him, she figured it wasn’t best to repeat it. Regardless that she would love to hear his voice for just a minute.

  Flipping back the covers on her bed, she gave up the pretense of sleep and decided maybe a cup of decaffeinated herbal tea might help. She was willing to try anything to chase away this chill that had settled inside of her since lunch.

  Damn Travis and his secrets.

  Ever so slowly she cracked open her door, looking down the hall. There was nothing but silence and blackness. She had to be careful not to wake up Abi. The monkey was a little pooper to get to sleep.

  Quietly tiptoeing down the stairs, she zigzagged in a pattern avoiding the creaks. It was like a puzzle she had memorized. Padding her bare feet on the hardwood floor, she made her way toward the kitchen when she heard a noise.

  Pausing in the doorway, she listened in silence, waiting to see if it would sound again or if her imagination was getting the best of her. Lord knew it wasn’t hard, she was jumpy as hell. Her heart pounded in her ears as the seconds ticked by with nothing but the heaviness of her own breathing.

  Slipping soundlessly into the kitchen she turned on the overhead light on the stove. It provided just enough of a glow to get around the kitchen without bumping into anything.

  Waiting for the water to boil, she lightly tapped her feet keeping time with the music in her head. She had one of those catchy country songs stuck in her mind.

  Lost in her thoughts she turned around to grab a mug only to find a man covered from head-to-toe in black wearing a ski mask. Her mouth dropped open to scream, but nothing came out. It was cut off by a gloved hand snaking up to clamp over her mouth, drowning her cry for help.

  The intruder wasted no time pulling her into his arms and keeping his hand securely over her jaw. She caught a glimpse of a large shinning blade fastened to his belt. Fear registered off the Richter scale.

  Her mom. Abi.

  Thoughts of them sleeping peacefully upstairs unharmed kept her from passing out. She had to keep this lunatic from finding them, keep his focus on her. It was all she could think of to ensure their safety. Cursing herself for leaving her phone in her bedroom, she searched wide-eyed for a way out of this.

  Just as she was going to bite his finger off, he whispered in her ear.

  “Emma, it’s me.”

  It was a voice she heard all her life. Disbelief clouded her eyes as she attempted to process just what in the God’s name was going on.

  Dad.

  It couldn’t be. Why was he creeping around this late wearing a camouflage disguise and scaring the living shit out of her?

  Spinning her around, he held a finger to his lips behind the mask indicating for her to be quiet. She nodded searching the masked man’s eyes. They were ones she knew well. Cautiously he backed away, flipping on the kitchen light switch.

  Once the kitchen was illuminated, he looked to be decked out in swat gear. It was freaking to see her dad looking like a burglar. Removing his mask, she finally saw what her eyes wanted to deny. It was in fact her dad.

  “What are you doing? You literally scare me to death,” she informed him in a loud pissed off whisper. Now that she wasn’t in grave danger, she threw all that adrenaline into anger.

  “Why aren’t you in bed?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

  Ugh. She got the feeling he was evading the bigger question here. “Couldn’t sleep.” She waited for him to explain what was going on…and waited. Her kettle started to whistle, and she ran to take it off the burner.

  Leaning against the counter she folded her arms over her chest. “Well, what is going on? Why are you sneaking around in the dark like a criminal?” She couldn’t believe the condescending tone that was coming out of her mouth. She never talked to her dad like this, or questioned his motives for anything.

  “Calm down. You know I work late.”

  She did, but that still didn’t explain the whole sniper vibe. “So you were working, dressed like that?”

  “You know my job sometimes calls for safeguard,” he replied in his no-nonsense voice like she even had the faintest idea what he did. She knew it could be dangerous, but this was taking it to an unexpected level.

  “Is everything okay? Are you in some kind of trouble?” She wondered if he was engaging in something illegal.

  “Trust me Emma. Everything is fine. There is nothing for you to worry about,” he pacified in a smooth tone.

  Why did she get the feeling that Travis wasn’t the only one hiding dark secrets? Scrutinizing her dad’s face, she didn’t really have a choice here. And this was the second time that someone she cared about asked them to trust her.

  Coincidence?

  She wasn’t so sure.

  Chapter 9

  Saturday Emma woke up giddy. Today she was spending the day with Travis. Her heart quickened in anticipation. Looking out her bedroom window, the sun was beating gloriously over the snow covered ground. Lately the nights were get
ting bitter cold, and to see a bit of sunshine was just what she needed to lift her spirits.

  Digging in her closet, she rummaged through her clothes looking for something to wear. She was tired of pussyfooting around with Travis and was ready for something more physically, like kissing. With that always in the forefront of her mind, she wanted to look irresistible, sexy.

  Or maybe she would just plant one on him. She always seemed to make the first move, and it wasn’t like he was shy.

  Twenty outfits later, a mess of clothes were streamed over her floor. Nothing she owned seemed appropriate. Sighing, she plucked a pair of tight jeans from the discard pile and wiggled into them. She added a sweater the color of her eyes and finished the look with a cute knitted hat. He told her to dress warm.

  Does he have any idea how ugly and unflattering warm could be? Surveying herself in the oval mirror, she thought she didn’t do to badly. The sweater made her eyes pop. A little dusting of eyeliner and mascara really gave her a smokin’ appeal.

  Satisfied, Emma grabbed her keys and headed to her car. He had texted her directions the night before, along with some steaming messages. The man was driving her berserk. She never felt like such a horny teenage before…it was great.

  Main street was pretty much the only road to and from in Spring Valley. So it was no surprise when she jumped on the road to get to Travis’s house. It was only a short driving distance from hers. A massive forest separated them. Most houses here were either broken up by woods, wheat fields, or corn stalks.

  Shuffling her feet on the white porch of Travis’s house, she tried to extinguish the butterflies zooming in her belly. On the other side of the door, the bell chimed in a musical melody. When the door opened, her heart sunk.

  Chase.

  He spared her nothing more than a fleeting glance, and she was sure he was going to slam the door in her face. And probably would have if Lexi hadn’t stepped in the way. Chase might be absolutely gorgeous but the chip on his shoulder combined with his frozen exterior, were total turnoffs. Truthfully he scared the living crap out of her, though she wouldn’t admit it.