“There are many things you can help me with,” he said.
He looped his arm through hers and clasped it against his side. She’d just been questioning why she turned him down, yet her skin crawled at his touch. She tugged at her arm, but he refused to release it, and she couldn’t cause too big of a stink without taking the risk of alienating him.
Still, she felt the inexplicable urge to kick him in the nuts and run for her life. This must be why she turned him down, but why couldn’t she remember it? And why did she feel like this about him when he’d done nothing to warrant it?
He kept her arm in his as he strolled toward the paintings hanging near the door leading into the storage room. “Where is Nicolette?”
“I’m not sure,” she replied. “She must be giving a tour.”
“I’ll have to catch up with her after we’ve finished with each other.”
His choice of words caused the hair on her nape to rise. If the island taught her anything, it was to trust her instincts, and those instincts were screaming at her to run. She couldn’t quite figure out what it was, but she shouldn’t be here with him.
“I’ll find her now,” she said. “There’s something I have to discuss with her. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
She tried to pull away from him, but he clamped her arm against his side. “Did you accomplish what we talked about yesterday?”
Aida gave her arm a couple of tugs, but when his hand encased hers and the bones ground together, she stopped. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
They’d discussed paintings and decorating his place, but nothing that would warrant this kind of a reaction. And she didn’t care if they had discussed something else, this fucker had no right to restrain her in such a way.
“Don’t play stupid,” he growled. “It’s unbecoming.”
Aida’s mouth went dry as she tried to think of a response that wouldn’t piss him off. The way he had her locked in, he could break her arm and crush her hand before she could put up much of a defense. She kicked herself in the ass for allowing him to hold her in such a way, but how was she supposed to know he was going to turn into a freak?
Taking a deep breath, Aida forced herself to calm down and assess the situation. She couldn’t break free of his hold without injury, and screaming probably wouldn’t go over too well. If she pepper-sprayed him, she would get a face full of it also, but it was an option. She could take out the back of his knee; he might break her arm on his way down, but if it became necessary, she would do whatever it took to survive.
“Did you take care of my little problem?” he asked her.
Aida struggled to understand what he meant. She remembered showing him around the gallery, and he’d purchased a couple of things, but she didn’t recall discussing any problem. She racked her brain in search of an answer, but the harder she tried, the more disoriented she felt.
Had she entered the matrix? Was someone about to offer her a red and blue pill?
Before she could come up with a response, he rested his hand against the door to the storage room and pushed it open.
“You’re not supposed to be back here,” she said, which might have been the dumbest thing she ever said. He didn’t care that he was crushing her hand, so she doubted he gave a shit about Nicolette’s rule of no customers in the storeroom.
“The rules don’t apply to me.”
She was starting to hate this arrogant prick. She wouldn’t mind taking some pepper spray to the face if it had him crying like a little bitch afterward.
Before she could reply, a blur coming from her right caught her attention a millisecond before a fist crashed into the side of Gerald’s face. His head jerked toward her, and she bit back a scream when the warm blood flying from his mouth splattered her face. She didn’t have a chance to wipe it away before Gerald jerked her forward and threw her to the floor.
Her hand smacked off the concrete, and her bruised hipbone protested movement as she dragged herself forward, but she was free of his grasp. The inhuman sounds coming from behind her propelled her faster.
Ignoring the agony flaring from her hip and up her side, she staggered to her feet and limped forward as fast as she could. She didn’t dare look back until she believed she had enough distance between herself and Gerald.
Ducking behind a crate, she poked her head out as someone hit Gerald. The blow lifted him off his feet and flung him backward. When he hit the brick wall, his arms and legs flew out before he crashed to the floor.
Aida stared at the bearded face, red eyes, and elongated fangs of her savior as she tried to figure out who it was. And then it hit her like a hammer between the eyes.
“Julian.”
His name was barely a whisper, but his head turned toward her, and for a second, the rage in his eyes lessened as something she didn’t quite understand surged forth. She hadn’t seen him in four and a half years; why was he looking at her with so much love?
His expression was as baffling to her as his sudden arrival and Gerald’s bizarre behavior. What was he doing here? And why did he look so hell-bent on killing Gerald as he turned away from her to stalk the man?
She’d always known Julian was a vampire, but he was so sweet to her that she never could have imagined this brutal side of him existed. Now, as he hunted Gerald, every inch of him exuded violence.
Her eyes widened when she spotted the strange black and red color swirling up the tips of his fingers and across his hands. His reddened eyes burned so bright they illuminated the shadows around him.
A shiver of unease raced up her spine; what had happened to Julian since she last saw him? What had made him this strange cross between a man and a monster? And why was he here after all this time?
Gerald staggered to his feet, and Aida’s jaw fell open when his red eyes swung toward her. He was a vampire too!
This day kept getting crazier, and if she didn’t hurt so bad, she might believe she was trapped in a bizarre and extremely vivid nightmare. She’d dreamed of Julian countless times over the years; none of them were as messed up as this, but there was a first time for everything.
Her brain felt like it was bouncing around her skull as she tried to understand what was happening. The more she tried to grasp the answers, the more they evaded her, but she believed that somehow, she did know them. However, she felt like an actor who’d walked into the middle of a play and was expected to recite all the lines.
Primed for the kill, Julian was more than ready to take this bastard out, but he couldn’t kill him without learning why he was here first. As he stalked toward Gerald, he couldn’t look at Aida again. He’d seen and heard her shock when she first saw him; he couldn’t stand the confusion and uncertainty in eyes so full of love yesterday. His blood had healed her wounds, so no outward sign of what happened remained.
It was torture to leave her this morning before she woke and to stay away from her all day, but he did what was necessary. He comforted himself by being so close he could smell her peach scent and occasionally hear her voice.
He hoped he hadn’t changed her memories so effectively she would never recall the time they spent together, but he did what was necessary. Not knowing about their relationship kept her calm as she wasn’t torn between Gerald’s command to kill and her love for him.
It seemed to have worked as she woke this morning and acted like nothing happened when she saw Cassidy and Kyle. Cassidy reported Aida was tired but in a good mood. From the stairwell leading to the fourth floor, Julian watched her leave her apartment and walk down the stairs. Once she was gone, he rejoined his siblings, and they enacted the plan they came up with last night.
Cassidy left soon after Aida and stayed a discreet distance away while trailing her to work. She spent the day stationed at a coffee shop diagonally across from the gallery where she sipped lattes, flirted with the waiter, and pretended to write a book. The whole time she kept him and Kyle on an open phone call where they heard everything she said.
After Cassidy left, Julian and Kyle remained in the apartment while he disabled the security system and cameras at the gallery before moving on to disable the cameras from the nearby buildings. He also shut down any cameras around Aida’s building in case Gerald was somehow using them to watch her here. He couldn’t take the chance Gerald would see him leave this building or go into the gallery.
Once he finished with that, Kyle left to take up a position in the alley next to the gallery where he would wait until Cassidy spotted Gerald. Julian called a taxi, put on some glasses, and a Celtics hat before meeting the car outside. He had the driver take the long way before pulling into the service alley behind the gallery. He handed the driver some cash and changed his memory of what happened.
They weren’t expecting Gerald to make a move until nightfall, but just in case, they would be close so they could keep an eye on everyone who entered the gallery. While Julian and Kyle remained hidden, Cassidy was their eyes. She would recognize another vamp in case Gerald decided to use someone else for his dirty work again.
When night fell, in anticipation of Gerald’s arrival, Kyle slipped inside the gallery and took Nicolette somewhere she would be out of the way. Julian knew his siblings were coming, but they wouldn’t be a part of this battle. This piece of shit was all his.
CHAPTER 43
Recovering from the surprise of Julian’s attack, Gerald lunged for Aida as Julian raced toward them. She squeaked and scrambled to get out of the way, but she wasn’t fast enough to avoid him grabbing her ankle.
Flipping over, she drew back her foot and kicked him in the face. Bone crunched, and blood poured from his broken nose. When the hand on her ankle clamped down, she couldn’t suppress a cry at the bone-crushing grip. Despite the pain, Aida tried to kick him again, but he caught her leg and pulled her toward him.
Julian released a sound that was half roar and half snarl and all murderous savagery, causing the hair on her nape to stand on end. She hoped that noise wasn’t directed at her. He hadn’t contacted her in over four years, but she’d done nothing to warrant such hatred.
He lurched toward Gerald as the vamp dragged her beneath him and spun to the side. Aida bit back a cry when her head bounced off the floor, and stars burst before her eyes. She had to get away from this monster, but he’d decided to use her as a human shield as he kept her on top of him.
Julian dodged to the side to get at Gerald, but when Gerald moved Aida, he made it impossible for Julian to reach the asshole. He went to grasp her arm to pull her away, but Gerald grabbed her hair and pulled it back.
“I’ll break her neck,” Gerald spat.
Julian yanked his hands back as he bared his fangs. The helplessness filling him at seeing his mate abused in such a way was pushing him toward a snapping point from which he wasn’t sure he could return.
Aida slid her hand into her pocket for her pepper spray, but as she was pulling it free, Gerald jerked her to the side. Her hand was knocked from her pocket, and she fumbled to keep hold of the can, but when his hand entangled in her hair and he yanked her head back, the can slipped from her fingers.
It clattered against the floor as frustration burned through her. But the loss of her pepper spray was the least of her problems as Gerald’s hot breath warmed her neck.
Vampire! Her mind screamed at her. And he was going to bite her. No! No! No!
She tried slapping him over her back as muffled noises issued from her. She recalled every bite she endured on the island, every indignity suffered, and most of all, the excruciating agony accompanying a vampire’s bite.
But instead of sinking his fangs into her throat, Gerald rose in a movement so swift she barely felt it before she was upright and pressed against his chest. She squirmed against his hold, but when he released her hair to snake his arm around her neck and jerked upward, she choked and went limp.
Her toes scraped against the ground as involuntary tears slid from her eyes. Her breaths wheezed in and out as her lungs strained for air. She drove an elbow into his stomach, but it was like hitting a wall, and her breath was cut off completely when he tightened his hold.
Her fingers dug into his flesh until he finally eased his hold, and she wheezed air into her burning lungs again. Her vision cleared, and she almost squeaked when she spotted Julian only a few feet away. At least she thought it was Julian; it was practically impossible to tell through the red and black color covering his hands and face.
What the fuck? She’d seen a lot of things when it came to vampires, but she’d never seen anything like that. What was he? Was he okay? What was happening, and why did she feel like she should understand all of this when she didn’t understand anything?
But it was Julian. She hadn’t seen him in four years, but he was once her best friend. She had to believe he wouldn’t leave her to this monster and that he wasn’t becoming some sort of monster himself.
“Come near me again, and I’ll kill her,” Gerald said as he pulled her back a few more feet.
Julian stopped stalking them and held his hands up as Gerald choked her until she couldn’t breathe again. “Stop hurting her.”
Gerald grinned at him as he eased his grip. Aida choked in a breath, and despite not remembering their relationship, her eyes were pleading when they met his. She was counting on him to get her out of this; he would not let her down.
Julian ignored the stench of rot wafting off Gerald as he circled him, looking for a weakness. He couldn’t find one yet, but he would. There was no way this asshole was getting out of here with her.
“Who are you?” he demanded.
Gerald laughed, but there was no humor in it as his gaze ran over the color staining Julian’s skin. “What are you?”
“Not your typical vampire.”
With his strength, supporting her weight wasn’t a big deal, but she still wasn’t going to make it easy for this guy. She gripped his forearm to help keep her chin up and her windpipe from being crushed as she went limp in Gerald’s hold. He didn’t hesitate while he continued to drag her toward the back door.
“I can see that,” Gerald said. “But what kind of vampire are you?”
“I’m the kind that’s going to tear you apart for touching her.”
Gerald’s smile remained in place, but he couldn’t hide the unease in his eyes as he glanced at the back door only ten feet away from him. Then, the vamp laughed. “You stopped her from killing you, but you won’t stop me from killing her.”
Julian’s throat went dry as his pulse thundered in his temples. Everything in him screamed to tear this man apart, but he couldn’t go after Gerald without putting Aida at risk. “You kill her, and you won’t make it out of here alive.”
“I didn’t say I planned to kill her now. I’m going to take her somewhere else so we can have a little fun first. There’s no way I’m not going to enjoy this tempting morsel before I finish with her.”
Aida remained unmoving as she tried to make sense of all this. She hadn’t seen Julian in years, yet somehow he’d succeeded in stopping her from killing him? That made no sense. She wasn’t exactly thrilled he’d decided to ignore her all these years, and his rejection of their friendship hurt like hell, but she would never try to kill him.
However, he didn't deny Gerald’s words, and she felt like she was missing something vital.
“Why didn’t she kill you?” Gerald demanded. “I ordered her to do it.”
He’d ordered her to do it! Nausea churned in her stomach as she realized this prick had messed with her head, and she had no recollection of it. The vampires on the island had violated her by imprisoning her and stealing her blood, but at least they left her mind alone.
Now, this asshole had come in and violated her in a whole new way and planned to do more to her! Every beat of her heart sent more fury through her until she could barely think beyond seeing this monster dead.
“She tried to kill me,” Julian said.
“I did?” Aida squeaked.
Ge
rald’s laughter sent a chill down her spine before he spoke. “It seems I’m not the only one who’s messed with your mind lately.”
It took a minute for his words to penetrate, and when they did, her sense of betrayal intensified. “What is he talking about?” she demanded of Julian.
“I’ll explain later,” he replied. “But you agreed to this.”
“I would never agree to let a vampire mess with my mind!”
“Not most vampires, but you would agree to let me do it.”
“I haven’t seen you in years!”
Gerald laughed as he hugged Aida closer to him. “You’re fucking a very tricky vampire.”
His words brought forth an outpouring of emotion that rolled through her. She didn’t know if she wanted to scream, cry, or vomit more. What had she forgotten? What had Julian made her forget? Bile rushed up her throat as the worst thought of all occurred to her. Had she been aware she was having sex with him?
“No,” she whimpered. “I’m, ah…”
Her voice trailed off as she held back the words. Neither of these d-bags needed to know she was still a virgin, but apparently, she wasn’t. “No,” she whispered.
Julian recognized the signs of the impending spiral she experienced last night. “Aida, it’s okay. I promise you when this is all over, it will all make sense again”—or at least he hoped it would—“but you have to trust me like you did when we were younger. Please, give me that.”
It was the plea in his voice and the anguish in his eyes that swayed her far more than his words. He’d left her, but before then, he was her best friend. Mollie was a member of their family, and Kyle and Cassidy were his siblings, but they would never allow him to rape her.
She didn’t know what was happening, but she had faith in the Byrnes. However, she would deal with Julian later; she had to survive this shitshow first.
The door from the main room silently opened, and Cassidy slipped inside.
“Stop!” Julian commanded his sister when Gerald jerked Aida’s head up until she stood on her tiptoes and those horrible choking sounds came from her again.
Forsaken (Vampire Awakenings, Book 10) Page 23