by Kristie Cook
“Russell,” I say breathlessly as relief floods through my entire body. Sinking to my knees on the floor, I want to ask him if he is okay, but that would make me sound like a psycho, so instead, I say in a tight voice, “Uh, hi, Russell. I was wondering, did you lose your necklace?”
“Wow, yeah, I just noticed a few minutes ago that it was missin’, did ya find it?” he asks me excitedly.
I close my eyes as I think, you could say I found it, or you could say something gave it to me.
“Yeah, I found it,” I murmur in a strained tone
Russell sounds puzzled as he asks, “Was it at the lake?”
“Uh huh, I’ve got to go, Russell. I’ll bring it with me to breakfast tomorrow,” I answer him quickly. I don’t know what to tell him, or what not to tell him, but it is clear now that Russell is in this, no matter how much I wish it otherwise.
I need to protect him, but I don’t know how to do that, I think, feeling utterly helpless. The only thing I am sure of is that I’ve been completely naÏve, thinking that I am going to be able to save Russell from this.
“Sure, Red. Are ya okay? I mean, ‘bout the lake and the … kiss?” he asks with concern in his voice. “I didn’t mean to push ya, it’s just that ya looked so happy in that moment and …”
“I’m okay, Russell,” I reply in a gentle tone. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.”
“Uh, okay. I’ll see ya tomorrow. Goodnight, Red,” he says, and there is something in his tone that is like a caress. It makes my breath catch.
I end the call and sit on the floor, clutching Russell’s necklace in my fist. Finally, I rise, gather my toiletries, and I walk down the hall to shower. Standing under the raining water, I let it beat on me as I cry silently. He’s okay, he’s okay, he’s okay, I think like a mantra, trying to get the blackness of dread to leave my soul. I clean all of the blood off the necklace so that I won’t have to explain it when I give it back.
Returning to my room, I towel dry my hair and brush it out. I slip into a white t-shirt and some underwear. I am so keyed up that I need to find something to distract me from the horrible thoughts going on in my mind. I sit down at my computer and type an email to Uncle Jim.
Nearly finished with my correspondence, filled with disgustingly happy lies, I pause, feeling the first stirrings of butterflies in my stomach. My heart skips a beat, like it always does when I feel Reed nearby. Then my heart sinks again, because I know from the last weeks it won’t matter if he is near, he won’t unbend at all with me. So, when the fluttering grows in intensity with each passing moment, it becomes harder to concentrate on what I am doing.
I click the mouse to send my email just seconds before my windows open behind me. Not turning around, I try to remain calm as anxiety gnaws at me. Why is he here? I wonder to myself. Don’t get your hopes up; he’s not here because he wants to be, I tell myself as my stomach twists painfully.
“Genevieve! We have to talk. Now!” Reed barks from the fire escape. I jump in my seat. “Meet me in the parking lot,” he growls. “I will be in my Range Rover.”
“No,” I say, getting up from my chair and walking to the windows. “Goodnight, Reed,” I say, closing them firmly.
I see the look on his face; he is stunned. I glance down at myself, realizing I am only wearing my t-shirt and underwear. I don’t care. This is my room, I think, turning away from the window.
The windows open again, and before I can turn around, Reed is in my room. “We will talk about this,” he says in a low tone from just inside my window.
With his arms crossed over his bare chest and his arching, charcoal-colored wings exposed, he is every inch an avenging angel; he is also the most undeniably striking creature I’ve ever seen. My hands ball into fists, and I grit my teeth so that I won’t just cave in to his every whim. If he can be stupid and unreasonable, then so can I.
“There is nothing to talk about, Reed,” I reply, feeling raw and trapped. I’m going to lose everything. I lost Reed and now I’m poised to lose Russell, too, because I don’t know how to save him.
Reed’s eyes narrow in a predatory way. “We could discuss your trip to the Seven-Eleven tonight,” he shoots back.
“We could, but there is really nothing to tell,” I lie, raising my chin a notch, but since I am a lousy liar, he must’ve read it on my face. His wings twitch, and his eyes scan me like he is reassuring himself that I haven’t been physically hurt. “I’m fine, Reed,” I sigh.
Reed’s jaw is taut as he says, “Tell me what happened, now, before I lose it.”
My eyes widen. “Are you okay?” I ask him, because I’ve never seen him this upset.
His wings twitch again. “No, I’m not okay.
Deciding that I have to tell him before he explodes, I outline the whole story. When I show him Russell’s pendant, his I-need-to-smash-something face appears.
His lips harden in a grim line. “You are not to go there again,” he says in a stern tone with a note of finality.
My eyes soften as I ask, “Do you honestly believe that will be an option for me? I’m smart enough to know that I have an appointment there, whether I’m willing or not. I’m also smart enough to know that whatever is warning me about what is coming wants me to be prepared for it … like there is an opportunity to change the outcome.”
“Evie, you cannot go to the Seven-Eleven ever again,” Reed says, but this time he uses his persuasive voice, and it slithers and echoes in my ears like an annoying itch that I can’t scratch.
I take a step back from Reed, frowning at him because he knows his voice doesn’t work on me. “Reed …” I say, holding my ears, trying to get the ringing to stop.
“We will go away, Evie. Just you and me … we can go anywhere you want to,” Reed says, but he doesn’t use his annoying voice this time, he uses his sexy voice, which is way more compelling. “I have a few houses in Europe and some in Asia … or, we could go to South America. We can leave tonight,” he says urgently.
“Reed …” I stutter as he moves around like someone on time-lapse film, packing my clothes into a bag he must’ve gotten from my closet. Picking up the necklace that is lying on the table next to my bed, I sit down, looking at it. If I leave, Russell doesn’t have a chance. My shoulders round as I murmur, “I can’t go with you.”
Reed scans my room, saying distractedly, “Yes, you can. Do you have a passport? It doesn’t matter, we can stay in my home in Vermont until we can get you one, if we need to.”
“Reed,” I say, willing him to look at me.
“Evie,” he says, and then he is right in front of me, kneeling so that he can see into my eyes. “I cannot let you go … I thought I could, but I cannot. I thought I could just wait it out. Russell cannot live forever, and when he is gone, you would be mine. I mean, how long can he possibly survive, another eighty years? I could wait … it would be excruciating, but I will wait for you, if I have to. But now, I could lose you.”
Smoothing his hair back from his brow, I look into his eyes and say, “It will be all right. We’ll have all the time we want after …”
I don’t get a chance to finish, because he is up rushing around again. “No, we go tonight,” he says as he continues to pack my things.
“This decision will haunt me for the rest of my life, and since that will be an eternity …” I say, trying to reason with him. I go to his side, seeing him put my toothbrush in the bag.
“I can make you go, then it won’t be your decision, but mine,” he says, scanning the room for anything he might’ve missed.
“I can’t … I can’t, please, Reed … please.” I get in front of him and put one arm around his neck and one on his face, trying to get him to look at me again.
“We are leaving,” he says again, but when his eyes meet mine, I shake my head sadly. All of a sudden, I am in his arms. “You don’t know what you are asking me to do,” he says, speaking into the small space between my hair and my neck.
“
I’m asking you to help me save Russell,” I reply, resting my head on his shoulder as I dreamed of doing for weeks, but it is bittersweet. I can’t help feeling happy to have him in my arms again, but the circumstances of his surrender taint it.
“No, that is not what you are asking me. You are asking me to risk your life in order to save his. That is much different,” he explains.
“It’s what I’m being asked to do,” I say quietly. “I think that this is undoubtedly about Russell … about saving Russell. He’s my soul mate. I owe him this.”
“Evie, if something happens to you because of him, I’m not sure I will be able to stop myself from killing him,” he says fiercely.
“Shh, Reed, it’s going to be okay,” I say, smoothing his hair back gently with my hand. “Can I tell him? You know, about what I saw before and his necklace?”
Reed is quiet for a while, and I am aware that he is struggling with what to tell me. Finally, he lets out a long breath and speaks slowly. “I think that, if you tell him what will happen, it would be like making it preordained, with a fixed outcome. There may be no way to change it if he were to know prior to the event.”
“So, you’re saying that, if I tell him anything, I could be sealing his fate?” I ask him, shuddering as I think that I could’ve easily told Russell this evening.
“Yes,” he says reluctantly as if he much prefers that outcome.
I hug him tighter when I catch a glimpse of Reed’s side of this. If Russell doesn’t survive, then there would be no question of who I am supposed to be with, since Reed would be the only one left to claim me. By helping me, he is risking losing me to Russell.
“Why are you helping me save Russell?” I ask him.
“I don’t know what losing him will do to your soul. It seemed pretty happy when he kissed you tonight,” he replies casually, but he presses his body closer to mine possessively.
I flush with embarrassment and regret as I close my eyes and bury my face in his chest. “I’m very sorry,” I choke. “I didn’t intend for that to happen, please believe me when I say that it’s you that I want.”
Reed’s voice is tender when he breathes, “I know. I watched you push him away and deny what your soul wanted. Why did you do that?” he asks.
“Because he can’t kill the pain of not having you,” I say bluntly, bringing my hands down to his chest. “Why aren’t you shouting at me,” I ask shamefacedly.
Reed’s cheek softly brushes against mine as his shoulders round toward me protectively. “Because I realized how much you must want me if you could resist that kind of pull from your soul … it is humbling, the way you are determined not to give me up. You are so obstinate, Genevieve, what am I going to do with you?” he asks, resting his forehead against mine.
“Not obstinate, but you’re right, I’m determined,” I reply. “And, what is it that you would like to do with me?” I ask him, smiling devilishly into his green eyes, hoping that he would forgive me for the kiss on the beach.
Reed’s eyes darken. “I want to get you out of here, go, and never look back,” he states plainly, and I can tell he hasn’t quite given up on that plan.
“We can go wherever you want as soon as Russell’s out of danger. I promise. It will be just you and me,” I reply anxiously.
Reed’s arms tighten around me, and his tone is just as firm as he says, “No matter what, you cannot go into the Seven-Eleven without me again. Ever. Do you understand?” he asks me in no uncertain terms.
“I understand,” I agree immediately.
“I don’t know what to do anymore. You have me so wrapped around your finger I can hardly trust any of my decisions,” he says while he brushes my hair back from my face.
“You could stay the night. I don’t want you to go,” I reply, searching his eyes. I want to make sure that he isn’t going to go away again and have time to think about giving me up.
As if reading my thoughts, he smiles and shakes his head, saying, “Don’t worry, I plan to be so close from now on, you may have to reevaluate what it is you want.”
A sanguine smile plays upon my lips. “Reed, there is nothing that I want more than to always have you with me,” I reply.
But I soon find out that it takes strength and control in order to do nothing more than sleep next to Reed in my bed. I understand now what Russell had said about getting a tour of “the nicest parts of hell.” I think that Reed is affected as well by our close proximity, judging by the heavy sighs coming from him as I lay my head on his chest, listening to the powerful drumming of his heart.
At one point, I ask Reed, “Do you even need to sleep?”
“Yes, I sleep,” he replies, stroking my hair and I hear the smile in his voice. “But, I don’t require as much as a human does. I only sleep a couple of hours a night.”
“Oh, that must come in handy at tax time, when you have to account for all of your wealth,” I say, and I am gratified to hear him laugh. “I wonder if I’ll sleep less later.”
“I don’t know—I hope not,” he says seriously, which takes me aback.
“Why?” I ask.
“Because, this is nice,” he says, and his voice is so sexy, it makes me feel languid as I snuggle against him.
“Why did God bother with humans, when he already had such perfect creatures, like you?” I ask him offhandedly, because I’m struggling with what he can possibly see in me.
“Angels are not perfect, Evie. I have been among humans for a long time and I am only now beginning to understand what it is about them that is so compelling. Humans are so frail, and yet, they cling to life and to each other as if there is nothing else left for them. I used to be baffled by it, since I have lived in Paradise, and I know what awaits them. But, now, I am beginning to see what it is to need someone else so much, you would do anything just to be near her, to touch her, to love her,” he says, stroking my hair in a hypnotic way.
“What about half-breeds?” I whisper.
And I smile as he says, “Oh, especially half-breeds. I am extremely partial to half-breeds.”
CHAPTER 18 - BIRTHDAY WISHES
“Hi,” I whisper, smiling sleepily at Reed as I lift my head from his chest. Gazing at him, it’s amazing to me that he doesn’t look like he has been in my bed all night. He looks perfect.
Reed’s smiles, “Good morning.”
“This is way too perfect to be my life,” I murmur, putting my head back down and snuggling tighter to Reed’s side.
He laughs a little while he strokes my hair. “This is better. I like holding you while you are sleeping much more than …”
My brow wrinkles. “What?” I ask in confusion. Rising on my elbow, I catch his guilty expression. “Much more than what?”
Reed sighs. “Much more than sitting out on your fire escape,” Reed replies with reluctance.
My eyes widen, “You sit outside my window?” I ask. He nods slowly. “Why?”
“When you have nightmares, I sit on the escape, and your heart doesn’t race as fast,” he says, watching me for my reaction.
“Reed, I have nightmares every night,” I murmur.
Reed frowns. “I know,” he replies. “You sleep better the nearer I am to you. Maybe it’s because of our attraction, the pull we have for one another. But, I would probably do it anyway because … I cannot seem to stay away from you for long.”
My eyebrows rise. “You can’t stay away from me?” I ask him, not fully understanding what he’s saying, because for the past several weeks, he has done a pretty good job of staying away from me.
Reed’s lips flatten in a grim line. “During the day I stay far enough away from you so that you don’t know I’m there, but, at night when you are asleep … I can get closer,” he admits.
I frown. “Oh …” I breathe, trailing off.
Reed’s eyebrow arches. “Oh?” he asks.
“You have been protecting me without my knowing it?” I ask with my heart thumping harder.
“You have become my mos
t important mission, Evie. Protecting you is all I want to do; everything else is minor in comparison,” he murmurs, like a confession.
“Um … okay,” I breathe.
“Okay?” he asks, hopefully. “You are okay with me protecting you?”
“I have let you protect me, Reed,” I reply in confusion.
Reed tries to suppress a frown. “No, you said I couldn’t be your bodyguard anymore.”
“What about formal?” I ask.
“You only asked me to ‘chaperone’ you,” he counters.
“I’d call what you did to Sebastian a little more than chaperoning,” I reply with a shiver. “So you’ve been watching me without me knowing you were there?” I ask, not sure how I feel about that.
“Yes … I’ve been waiting far too long for someone like you to just let something harm you,” he replies.
“Someone like me?” I ask him as my heart beats furiously.
“A light that moves me … a hand I long to hold …”
“Oh,” I reply, feeling completely happy.
“Oh?” he asks.
“So … you want your old job back?” I ask him shyly.
“I never allowed you to fire me,” he replies in a sexy smile. “What are you doing today?”
“Ugh, I have class. I can’t blow it off either, since I’ve done enough of that,” I say. “What about you?”
His eyes soften and become almost shiny. “I have a surprise for you, but it’s not ready yet, so you will have to wait until tonight,” he says. “You are planning to go to the costume party, right?” he asks, already knowing my plans.
My eyes narrow a little as I sigh, “Yeah, I’m supposed to go with Brownie and Buns. We have to show the Delts their last clue to finding their composite.”
“I will meet you at the party tonight,” Reed states definitively.
“I won’t see you until tonight?” I ask him in disappointment.
Reed’s hand comes up to cup my cheek, and then he slowly brushes his lips against mine. When he pulls away to gaze into my eyes, he says, “It will be worth it, I promise. You will like your surprise,” he smiles.