Exhaustion clung to her as she trudged up the steps to her apartment. Due to an accident on the highway, it had taken her almost four hours to get home. It was only nine, but it felt like she’d been up for three days straight, and her back felt like she’d lifted over fifty patients today.
Stepping off the final stair, she turned the corner and froze. Her heart lurched in excitement when she spotted the man leaning against the wall beside her door. She forgot all about the unhappiness of these past two weeks as she prepared to race forward and throw herself into his arms.
Then, the man lifted his head and a set of emerald instead of leaf-green eyes met hers. With a sinking heart, she absorbed more of the differences between him and Aiden. This man’s nose was different than Aiden’s, his hair longer and straight instead of curly. His sweater stretched over his broad chest and clung to his thick biceps and forearms, but Aiden was more thickly muscled.
No matter the differences between them, she couldn’t deny she was staring at a member of Aiden’s family. After what Aiden had told her about his siblings, she suspected she knew which one it was too.
The question was, why was he here?
She hadn’t told anyone about what had happened with her foray into the vampire world, and she never planned to. He couldn’t be here because he’d heard rumors along the vampire grapevine that she’d talked and he’d come to silence her. Whatever had brought this vamp to her door, she suspected it wasn’t good.
She touched the stake tucked into the inner pocket of her coat. Looking at him, she highly doubted she’d get the chance to use it against him, but she’d make him regret attacking her if he tried to do so.
Pulling her keys from her pocket, she threw her shoulders back. She stood in the presence of another powerful vampire, but she refused to be intimidated by him.
His emotionless gaze raked her from head to toe. “Maggie?” he inquired.
“Ethan, I assume,” she said as she strode forward.
“Aiden told you about me?”
“He did.” She slid the key into the deadbolt, half expecting him to grab her, but he didn’t try to stop her. “What are you doing here?”
“Can we talk?”
“We are talking,” she replied as she unlocked the deadbolt and pushed her door open.
“Privately.”
She stepped into her apartment and stood in the doorway, keeping it partially closed to block his view inside. She didn’t care if he saw her things, she needed a minute to calm her acute disappointment that Aiden hadn’t been waiting for her. No matter how often she told herself she was done with him, a burst of excitement had slammed into her when she first saw Ethan, before she realized he wasn’t the vamp she loved.
Shit!
She’d been trying to deny it, but she couldn’t anymore. Maybe they hadn’t known each other for long, but she loved Aiden, and he’d crushed her heart.
Aiden had walked out of her life, so why did she have to be reminded of him by being forced to deal with his brother? Was Ethan here because she’d been wrong and something had happened to Aiden? But why wouldn’t Ethan come to tell her that sooner? Surely Abby or Vicky would have informed him she existed and Aiden believed her to be his mate. Wouldn’t they?
Her skin itched all over, her blood felt like sludge pumping through her veins as she took a deep breath and focused on Ethan again.
“I won’t take much of your time,” he said, “and I won’t hurt you.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” she retorted.
She threw the door open to prove her point and walked into her kitchen to put some space between them. Shrugging out of her coat, she placed it on the counter. “You might as well come in,” she called as she started removing things from her pockets. She wasn’t much for purses as she had a habit of forgetting them, so her pockets were always stuffed.
Stepping inside, Ethan closed the door behind him. The click of it settling into place held an oddly final note. She didn’t think he’d attack her, but she was terrified to find out why he’d come.
His gaze ran over the boxes stacked neatly in her living room before coming back to her. “You’re moving?”
“Nope, I like keeping my things in boxes. Cuts back on dusting, and it’s more feng shui that way.”
He lifted a black eyebrow at her sarcasm. She removed her stake, placed it on the counter, and rested her hand on top of it. “Is that for me?” he inquired.
“Not unless you want it to be, but you don’t go through what I’ve gone through without becoming more prepared for the things that go bump in the night. I have some pepper spray too. Though, I’m not sure how well it will work on you supernatural folk.”
“I imagine it would burn like a bitch. I’d prefer not to find out. Are you moving because of what happened to you with the Savages? Do you feel unsafe here?”
“No.”
“Then why are you going?”
“I’m sorry, but what business is that of yours?”
Annoyance flashed through his eyes. “Where do you plan to go? Are you moving in with someone else?”
“Not your concern. I must say, as delightful as this impromptu visit is, could you tell me what you’re doing here so it can end?”
Ethan sighed and stepped toward her. “I’m here about Aiden.”
There went her heart getting all bent out of shape again as his name brought forth memories of their brief time together and the way he’d held her. Unwilling to let Ethan see the sadness in her eyes, she looked away. No matter what, she wouldn’t let him go back to Aiden and tell him she missed him.
“What about Aiden?” she demanded and hoped Ethan wouldn’t realize her voice had changed.
“I know, you made your choice to move on from him and lead your life—”
Maggie’s gaze shot back to him. “What are you talking about?”
“When you didn’t go to the hotel, Aiden realized you’d made your choice.”
“First of all, I did go to the hotel. I arrived later than planned, but I went. Second, I tried calling Aiden to explain why I was late, and I left him messages. I never heard back from him. I tried calling him again after, but he never responded.”
Something in Ethan’s demeanor changed, he went from looking at her like she was about to kick his nuts into his throat, to almost hopeful. He took a quick step toward her before stopping. “He tried to call you.”
“He had the number for a burner phone I was using at the time. The day we were supposed to meet, I had an accident with it, and it broke. I called from a friend’s phone and left him a message explaining that. I’ve texted him from my new phone and nada. Since I’m not one for stalking, I got the hint real quick.”
“I don’t have his number for that phone. I can’t check the messages.”
“What does it matter if you could check his messages or not? Aiden is perfectly capable of doing that himself. I’ve seen him do it.”
“Aiden also broke his phone that day, and he… well, he hasn’t exactly been himself lately.”
“What does that mean?”
“Why were you late? Why didn’t you meet him on time?”
Maggie slapped her hand on the counter. “What is this, the Spanish Inquisition? What does it matter? Something happened that day…” Her voice trailed off as she recalled the horrible phone call from Pablo. Fresh grief for Roger washed through her. She refused to cry in front of Ethan. Unable to continue speaking, she clamped her mouth shut and suppressed her tears until she felt more composed.
“I was late because I was late,” she said more calmly. “It’s none of your concern why. If Aiden couldn’t wait for me or contact me to ask why I was late, then he can fuck off, and so can you! Now, I’ve had a long day, and until I saw you, it was a pleasant one, so if you don’t mind—”
“Who was the man you were with?”
“Excuse me?” she blurted. “What man?”
“The man who drove you here the day you were supposed to meet Aiden. The man you embraced when he brought you here.”
Maggie froze as fury burned away her sorrow. “Have you been spying on me?”
“Aiden came here that day; he saw you with a man.”
“Did he now?” she murmured, her voice deceptively calm considering she wanted to stab something. “Let me guess; he jumped to conclusions instead of talking to me about it.”
“He hasn’t exactly been in the mood to talk.”
“What a coincidence, neither am I. It’s time for you to leave.”
“If he’d approached you that day, he would have killed the man.”
“I’m allowed to have friends,” Maggie hissed from between her teeth.
“So the man was only a friend?”
“It’s none of your goddamn business who he is!”
“But it is.”
“And why is that?”
“Because my brother’s life is on the line.”
Her antagonism deflated faster than a popped balloon. “Aiden’s life?” she breathed.
“Yes.”
“Why? What are you talking about?”
“When you didn’t make it to the hotel on time, and Aiden saw you with that man, he assumed you made your choice. He believes that man is who you want to be with and he… well, he snapped. If Brian, Declan, and Killean hadn’t been there to take him down, there’s no telling what he might have done.”
Hundreds of imaginary spiders crept over her skin as a hollow pit opened in her belly. “Pablo is my boss, and he’s my friend. Aiden should have come to me himself. I would have explained what happened.”
“He couldn’t come to you, not then, and not now.”
Those spiders were now tap dancing along her spine. “What’s happened to him?”
“Vicky revealed to me that Aiden never told you a vampire can’t live without their mate, that they either kill themselves or go insane.”
“They what?” she breathed, suddenly needing to sit but unable to find the strength to cross over to the table and pull out a chair.
Ethan walked forward to rest his hands on the counter as he studied her with a look that bordered on pleading. “A vampire without their mate is a broken shell. They can’t survive without the other.”
“I see,” she murmured.
“Aiden wanted you to make your decision about joining him without the additional pressure of that knowledge. However, I am telling you because I’m trying to save my brother, if it isn’t too late, and if you’re willing to help him.”
“Tell me what is going on.”
“When a vampire encounters their mate, they feel instantly drawn to them. They can maintain control better if the relationship doesn’t progress too far into the bonding, but from what I understand, your relationship progressed pretty far.”
Maggie held his gaze as he revealed his knowledge of intimate details about her life. “He said I had to become a vampire to complete the bond.”
“True, but the sharing of blood and sex escalates a vampire’s need to forge the bond.”
“Another thing he didn’t tell me.”
“He kept it from you because he had your best interests at heart. He was putting your needs ahead of his.”
“So what do you want from me? Why are you here?”
“Aiden would kill me if he knew I was here, and I’m not just saying that, but I refuse to let him go without a fight.”
“Go where?” she croaked.
“It’s either death or insanity, he might even become a Savage without you. Right now, he’s too far gone to care what happens to him, but I know that before this happened, he would have chosen death over becoming a Savage.”
“Too far gone?” she croaked.
“Yes, but I’m hoping you can save him.”
Ethan’s gaze fell on her arm when she absently scratched at it. Her itching pulled the sleeve of her baggy sweater back to reveal the bandages beneath. They were still mostly white, but some of the wrappings were stained pink with her blood. At least, she’d stopped tearing at her hands as badly, but only because she couldn’t keep them hidden like she could her arms.
Ethan gripped her wrist tenderly. “May I?” he asked and gestured at her arm.
“Yeah, whatever.”
He pulled her sleeve up to inspect her arm before turning his attention to her other arm. More, pink-stained bandages covered that arm. She saw a flicker of concern cross his face before he pulled her sleeve gently into place and squeezed her hand.
“I don’t know why, but I can’t stop,” she admitted.
“Did this start when you separated from Aiden?”
“The night he left to kill Carha I felt itchy, but it’s becoming worse with every passing day.”
“Humans can love us,” he said kindly. “Many of them feel an instantaneous attraction too. My mother did to my father, my wife did to me, but it’s not the same as what a vampire feels for their mate. Vicky and Abby informed me you have some vampire DNA in you.”
She wasn’t surprised they’d talked about her. She’d seen how close the siblings were with each other. “I do.”
“You feel the bond to Aiden too. Not as intensely as a full vampire would, but it’s there, and not having Aiden near has distressed you.”
“My skin feels like I’m a twenty-four-year-old shoved into my ten-year-old sized body.”
Ethan squeezed her wrist before releasing her. “It’s worse for Aiden.”
“Is he one of those things?” The idea of Aiden being anything like those monsters who had attacked them and killed Walt and Glenn made her skin itch far more than it ever had before. “Is that why you’re here?”
“I’m not sure what he is now, but he’s more like one of them now than he is one of us.”
Maggie gulped. She’d seen Aiden lose control, seen him pulverize other vampires, but this sounded so much worse. No, not my Aiden. I won’t allow it.
“Where is he? Will you take me to him?”
Ethan smiled and rested his hand on hers. “Yes.”