Chapter Thirty-three
As usual, I couldn’t sleep. I got out of bed and put on a light jacket, then snuck out onto the upstairs balcony. Dark clouds tumbled across the sky, forced along by a strong wind. Garrett seemed to have brought the storm with him. Even though the rain hadn’t actually started, I curled up on the couch where I’d sat with William, zipped up my jacket and thought about all that had happened.
William and I had been totally wiped out after Sasha’s ‘revenge of the pissed off vamp’ training session. I guess we’d deserved every pushup, sit up, lunge, etc., so after my shower I’d walked downstairs to the basement to commiserate with William. Of course, the other two were also there playing pool with Sinc, making it impossible to talk to him privately. I was relieved when Will had gotten up, taken my hand and led me into his room.
“No blood,” Sasha had called out.
We’d started out sitting up on his bed with his pillows propped up and the headboard behind us while we talked.
Will looked really upset. “I’m so sorry about what happened. I’m completely responsible for frightening you. I could have hurt you. I’ll never drink from a shifter again, I swear.”
“It wasn’t your fault. Anyway, you might be drinking from me, if it’s okay with Garrett. Just so you can get used to it.”
“I don’t really think you should…”
“I want you to.” I’d grabbed his hand. “You’ll just take a little bit.”
He’d started to lift my hand to his nose, but then brought it back down again. “I think maybe I should just hold your hand and not try to inhale it.” He’d laughed and his face had crinkled up the way I liked it, his dimple looking so adorable.
“Can I touch your face?” I’d asked. “I want to touch your dimple.”
“Uh...okay.”
“But you have to keep smiling, otherwise it disappears.”
“Sure.” He was really grinning now. My finger gently traced around the small, sweet imperfection near his mouth.
“It’s so cool.” Not wanting to break contact, I’d trailed my finger down to his chin and run it along the edge of his jaw then up to his mouth and across his lips. He’d reached up, taken my hand in his and kissed each one of my fingers.
“I really like your face, William.” I was starting to get that tingly feeling again. His lips had felt so soft pressed against my fingers and his skin was warm. When he’d finished, he’d tangled his fingers around mine and held my hand against his chest. So now I wasn’t sitting up anymore. I was kind of lying on my side facing him, our eyes only a few inches apart. He’d turned toward me and brushed some of my hair behind my ear.
“I can see you better now,” he said. “You’re so beautiful.”
I mean what girl doesn’t want to hear that? And the best part was I was starting to believe that to William, I really was beautiful. I could only answer him in one way. I’d pushed myself up and slowly moved forward, positioning myself to kiss him.
He hadn’t moved away. He’d just watched me, his eyes on my lips as they got closer to his. When I’d brushed them across his mouth, our eyes had met and I’d watched his lovely blue pools pop with tiny silver stars that sparkled just for me.
Rain began to pour down heavily, breaking the spell. Reluctantly, I forced myself to move inside, leaving behind my sweet memory. I thought about going back to bed, but I was still wired. Lowering my sore body into the armchair in the den, I intended to spend a lot more time thinking about William. I curled my legs up underneath me and closed my eyes, remembering that kiss and all the ones that came after. We hadn’t gone any further than deep yummy kisses and lots of sweet embraces. Both of us knew that we weren’t quite ready to rush into anything too intense and, to be honest; I needed this kind of gentle attention more than some hot crazy affair. I think William did too. He hadn’t had much tender care in his twenty-nine years.
When Garrett had come to the door, I’d jumped off the bed and sat in the desk chair, knowing full well he’d figured out exactly what we’d been doing. When he looked at the bed and laughed, I’d cringed. Now we were going to get some stupid lecture, like we were fourteen. Instead, he was cool with the relationship. You could have knocked me over with a feather. Garrett was number two on my Best Vampire List. I rubbed my shoulder, which ached like a bitch after the workout. Sasha was on the bottom of the same list. In fact, he didn’t make the list at all.
The stars that Will liked so much were hidden behind clouds tonight and it was getting chillier. I was standing up to go back to bed, when I felt a horrible jab of pain rip across my back. I cried out and fell to the floor, only to hear myself screaming full out as another slash cut across the first one.
Garrett got to me first, picking me up off of the floor and laying me gently on the couch. “What’s wrong, Bridgett?”
“My back, someone’s cutting it.” I cried out again when the burning blade sliced across my shoulder.
Garrett gently lifted my shirt so he could see my back. “Your back is fine, Bridgett.”
I screamed again. “My leg this time.” I was sobbing as I lifted my pajama pants to show him the back of my thigh.
“Bridgett there’s no mark. I believe that you’re in pain, but you’re not being cut.”
At this point, Sasha, Heinrich, Sinc and Will were all in the den and I would have died of embarrassment if I hadn’t been in such excruciating agony. I screamed again from a fifth slash.
“Bridgett, let me into your mind.” Garrett nudged my wall and I let it drop. He hissed as yet another laceration burned across my back. I was shocked when Garrett grabbed my hand and pulled me into a tight hug. “He’s—whipping Jackie, and Bridgett is somehow connected to her and feeling it.” He gestured for William to sit next to me. “Hold her until it passes. There’s nothing we can do for Bridgett until it’s over. She’s not being hurt physically. It’s a mental connection. I’m calling Liam and going back.” His eyes were lit up with a silver fury as he watched me writhe in pain in Will’s arms. His free hand clenched as he pulled out his cell phone.
“But the weather is still bad, Garrett.” Sinc’s obvious concern drew our gazes to the woods behind the house. The wind was howling steadily and the tree branches were almost blowing horizontally. William drew me close as another stabbing pain sliced across my legs, forcing another scream.
Liam appeared, stepping out of a shining blur in the corner of the room. He came to me and put his hand on my forehead. “She’s directly connected. She needs to come with us.”
William held me tighter. “She can’t go with you now. Look at her. Garrett, she won’t be any good to you like this.”
Liam wrenched me angrily out of William’s arms, glaring at him with golden specks in his violet eyes. “She will do this for her sister—the sister who sacrificed her own safety to save her. The sister who’s bleeding for her at this very moment.” He glowered, expecting me to beg not to go.
I met his gaze with my pain-blurred vision and nodded. I could do this. I looked at William. “I’ll help. We’ll get her back.”
I doubled over from a hard thump in the gut and Liam supported me, to keep me from collapsing. “Bathroom…fast,” I croaked out. Will grabbed my arm and raced me to the toilet where I threw up what little I had left in my stomach from dinner. I felt a hard smack against my ribs as if I’d been kicked and I collapsed onto the tiled floor. Will took a wet washcloth and wiped off my face and held me close to him, whispering soft words that I couldn’t make out over the pounding pain.
It went on for another minute and then it was over. William rubbed my back as I continued to cling to him. Liam returned, placing his hand once more on my forehead. “Sinc has packed some things for you. You’ll be traveling through the lines with Garrett and me. I can take you both. We’re going directly to the last site we searched. Go to your room and get ready. You need to dress in warm clothing, hiking boots and a warm jacket with a hood. We will be moving quickly and you can’t slow us down.”
“I won’t slow you down. If I do, I’ll shift and you guys can carry my shit.” I was mostly pissed at Kennet for hurting Jackie so badly, but Liam was getting to me too. He wasn’t amused by my comments.
William gently ushered me into my room where Sinc helped me change into sweatpants, a tee shirt, a hoodie, hiking boots and a jacket with another hood. I felt like an idiot because it was late July, but we’d be near the shore and the mountains weren’t far. It would be cold at night.
I came out of my room and looked around at everyone. Sinc hugged me and kissed my cheek. Heinrich gave me a little bow. Sasha smiled, tugged gently on my ponytail and said, “No whining.” I smiled back. William wrapped his arms around me and kissed me in front of everyone. I felt like some kind of superhero going off to battle the evil enemy. Well, I kinda was. At least I was going to help the others find the enemy so they could battle him.
Garrett took my hand, draped my backpack over his shoulder and said to Sasha, “Call the others to come home. Sinc, get Ethan and Kyle on a private jet from the nearest airport. Brina will want to go back to Faerie, but she can get them to the airport first. Keep security tight, Rick.”
“Good luck, Garrett.” Sasha squeezed his shoulder. Garrett smiled at all of us, then nodded at Liam, who accepted Garrett’s hand in his. Instantly, we were traveling through the burning power of the ley lines.