Avenge

by Sarah M. Ross

  James thought for a moment before answering. “What exactly do you know about the island, Lucy? Do you know any of the history?”

  “I know that it’s rumored to be where the Garden of Eden had been moved after the fall. Is that true?”

  “No one knows for sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised. If they were looking for somewhere with symbolism or meaning, it would be there.”

  Cassie scrunched her face up in confusion. “Adam and I explored the island on a hike one morning. It’s not like there was a sign somewhere that said ‘Eden this way.’ So where exactly would we even begin to look?”

  “No, you’re right. There isn’t anything that stands out. They’d need to know where to look. And the only way they could have known about any of this is if Amelia told them.” James balled his hands into fists, obviously thinking about her betrayal. I knew it hurt him most of all when she was revealed as the spy, but he kept his emotions in check.

  “About fifty years ago, she was among a group of us that came here for a leader’s retreat. She would know this island very well. We came with Marco, who gave us a group tour. C’mon. I know exactly where she would have told them to go.”

  We hiked through the dense brush for a few miles. Since both Cassie and I went running almost every day, it wasn’t much of a struggle for us. The only trouble we had was finding and clearing a path to walk. It was dark outside, and our conjured up flashlights didn’t help us see every obstacle. Vines swung all around smacking us in the face, thick tree roots popped out at our feet, and rocks were slippery with moss. Each made the terrain precarious and our travel very slow-going.

  Several times either Cassie or I would slip or need help cutting a path, but James was oblivious to the obstacles, like he was taking a walk in the park instead. Twice he back tracked to find us, having gotten so far ahead we couldn’t follow.

  Finally, we reached a large clearing. It was pretty bathed in the moonlight, with the fresh dew making the grass and honeysuckle plants sparkle. The smell was heady, and it reminded me of something, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I breathed in deeply, trying to remember, but it wouldn’t come to me.

  While Cassie wiped her knees of dirt, James walked forward. I started to follow, but stopped mid-stride. It was an odd sensation of Déjà vu, and I somehow sensed a familiarity with this place. I turned slowly in a full circle, trying to recognize my memories. Until it hit me. I knew exactly where we were.

  Standing alone, yet magnificent in the center of the clearing was a tall, lush tree ripe with fruit. It wasn’t like any fruit on earth that I had ever seen, but I could somehow remember how rich and sweet it tasted—like figs or plums.

  With each step I took toward the tree, my heart beat a little faster. As soon as I reached it and placed my hand on the base of the trunk, it was as if something burst from within my chest. I cried out, but not in pain, and sank to my knees.

  “He’s here. Here!” I couldn’t seem to hold my body upright, as if all my muscles turned limp. It was as if there were two heartbeats in my chest. Max was alive. He was here, somewhere, and I could finally feel his soul calling to mine again.

  “Lucy, are you okay?” Cassie rushed up to me, placing her hands on my flushed cheeks.

  “Yes, I think I’m okay.” She took my hand and helped me to my feet. “It was a little overwhelming.”

  “What was?”

  I shook my head slowly, not quite sure how to explain. “I have no idea.”

  “Girls!” James called from around the other side. “Over here!” We scurried over to where he stood and looked around, but saw nothing. “Look. The soil here is not as packed as the rest of the area. Like it’s been recently corrugated or something.”

  Cassie’s hands flew over her mouth with realization. “Oh my God, he’s buried under there. Quick, we have to get him out.”

  We each conjured up shovels and began furiously removing layers and layers of soil. About three feet deep, I got nervous. “Be careful! We don’t want to smack him with a shovel. Here,” I pulled out a small brush from my bracelet like archeologists used when they dug up bones. “This might help.”

  After we dug another foot or so, an object came into view. It was a foot. A bare, dirty, beautiful foot.

  It was Max.

  I tossed the shovel aside and began using my bare hands trying to free more of him. His foot, his knee, his fingers, his arm.

  Throughout the whole process, he didn’t move. Not a finger twitch or knee jerk. I yanked and pulled with all my might to get him out of the soil, but no matter what he didn’t move.

  “James! Take his other hand. Help me pull. Cassie, can you dig a perimeter and free his head? We have to get him out of here. He can’t breathe under there.”

  “He doesn’t need to breathe, Luc. It’ll be okay.”

  I already knew he didn’t need to breathe. But I was too afraid to voice my real fear. What if he was already gone? Maybe his soul lingered, but this body was gone?

  No, I couldn’t allow myself to think about that right now. I needed to focus on getting him out of there and back into my arms. I took his hand, caked with thick mud, in my own and pulled with every ounce of strength I possessed.

  Finally, he popped free from the ground and into my arms. I pulled him closer, holding his head in my hands.

  “Baby, wake up. It’s me. I’m here now. Everything’s going to be okay.” I wiped dirt from his eyes and mouth using my shirt, but he didn’t wake up.

  “Luce- you need to see this,” James whispered. I could tell by his tone something was wrong. He never spoke like that unless it was deadly serious.

  He took Max from my arms and laid him on the cool, fresh grass while Cassie and I climbed out of the hole.

  “What is it, James? What’s wrong?”

  James rolled Max onto his stomach, revealing the back of Max’s shirt. It was stained red with blood. We quickly dispensed with it to search for a wound. He had been stabbed—repeatedly. Blood was still slowly oozing out of him.

  “He’s lost a lot of blood. We need to get him back and get him transfused.”

  I couldn’t speak. The thought of coming so close to finding him again and having the possibility of him being taken was too much. My emotions had been toyed with so much, I didn’t know how much more I could handle.

  I took Max’s hand in my own again for a moment before James picked him up fireman style and carried him back toward the portal door. I followed behind, staring at Max’s blank eyes the entire way.

  I don’t know what I’ll do. How can I possibly go on without him?

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Dusk gave way to dawn, and day faded into night once more. And the cycle repeated. I refused to leave Max’s side. Not when the medical team transfused more blood than I’d ever seen go into a person, not when Cassie and Adam begged me to go home and get some rest, not when James and Elizabeth came in and ordered me to. I didn’t even go when Lola came in saying Jessica was asking for me. I didn’t leave. I couldn’t leave.

  I sat in a chair, pulled as close to the bed as possible, and held his hand. I didn’t sleep or eat. I sat silently, staring at the man I loved more than anything. I listened to his monitors, relishing the steady cadence that told me he was still alive and frightened that the cadence would break, and he would be gone again.

  The medical team told me how close he came to not being “recoverable,” and even after the transfusion it was touch and go. It was now only a matter of waiting and hoping that his body hadn’t been too far gone when we found him. Many of his internal organs had been damaged repeatedly and often so his body couldn’t heal fast enough before he took another hit. He’d been stabbed more than fifty times to his kidneys, liver, and spleen.

  I sat and talked to James for hours. We went over what happened—theorizing and analyzing every word that was said to make sure we didn’t miss anything. We needed to know for sure that Alastair was at the top of that pyramid, because neither of us wanted a rep
eat of this debacle anytime soon. James theorized that it was most likely the loss of blood—and essentially his life force—that caused me not to be able to feel him once the goons took him from St. Augustine.

  As I sat there holding Max’s hand, I came up with a theory about why Alastair targeted us. It bothered me for a while, but I’d never had the time to think of a reason. The Patroni had been around for centuries; why pick now to wage war?

  My best guess was that Alastair thought Max and I together were too powerful. With both halves of the original soul gone, the Patroni wouldn’t be as strong and the vampires could regain their strength. I think he thought that Max and I were the driving force behind the new efforts to eradicate them, and with us gone things would go back to status quo.

  Much of the time in that hospital room, I sat at Max’s bedside, stroking his cheek and brushing the hair off of his face. He was still so beautiful, even like this.

  “Max, love, I need you to wake up. I need you to—I just need you. Fight for me. Fight for us. We’ve waited so long to be together. Don’t let them take this away from us. Don’t let them win. I don’t know if you can hear me, but if you can I want you to know that I’m not going anywhere. I was stupid. So, so stupid and foolish to leave you in New Orleans. I was so blinded by my determination to get Jessica back that I never stopped to think. I should have known it was a trap.”

  I scooched forward and rested my head on his chest. “But that’s over now, and you’re home. We’re home. So come back to me. Frenchie has been waiting for you to take her on some long walks, and Adam doesn’t have anyone else to play on his fantasy football league. And wait ‘til I tell you what Elizabeth said. It was like she was my mom or something. It was totally weird.”

  I was quiet again for a while, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat in my ear. I wanted to reach my arms around him and pull myself closer, but I was too afraid of hurting him further. So I continued to talk to him while I stroked his soft hair, praying that he could hear me and maybe hearing me would help wake him up, or at least urge him to fight harder to stay with me.

  “Jessica’s back you know. It was a hellacious event, but we got her back. She says she doesn’t remember much, mostly being in a dark place for a long time, and then seeing me again. I am so glad she doesn’t remember. James convinced the Alpha and Omega to let her stay here for a little longer. After the ordeal she went through, she was really shaken up. They knew she’d be better off if she were with me for a bit longer so I could calm her down and show her that everything is okay. Not that I’ve seen much of her. She’s been staying in our Dwelling and Cassie’s been watching her. She loves Frenchie, been taking her on walks and bathing her and letting her chase her toys in the meadow. Cassie sent me a few videos. I saved them so you could see one day.

  “I’m so happy she’s okay, and adjusting so well. She doesn’t even ask about Mom and Dad anymore. I guess she knows that she can’t go back to her life. And my life? Well, if you were to wake up it would be just about perfect.”

  “Only just about?”

  My eyes flew up to Max’s face. Was I hearing things? Or was he awake? My gaze fell upon his, and I burst out crying seeing his sparkling blue eyes staring back at me.

  “Oh, my love, why are you crying? It’s okay.” Max moved his arms around me, which only made me cry harder.

  “Is it really you? I can’t believe you’re awake. Oh, I should get someone to make sure you’re okay.” I attempted to sit up, but he continued to hold me tight.

  “Shh, not yet. I want to enjoy this moment with you. I’ve been waiting a long time to hold you in my arms again.”

  “When did you wake up?”

  “A few minutes ago, but I wanted to hear your story. And I didn’t want you to move your head from my chest.”

  “Are you okay? Do you hurt anywhere?” I was concerned I might be hurting him and moved away a little, but he wouldn’t have any of that.

  “I’m a little sore, but nothing I can’t handle. Now c’mere.” He pulled me a little, and I didn’t hesitate any longer to join him in the small bed. My body went limp in his strong arms. He kissed my head, my neck and my fingers, whispering little soothing words to me. His touch ignited me like a struck match. I wrapped my arms around him and we stayed that way for a long time, simply being with each other again.

  “I missed you,” I whispered.

  “I need you,” he whispered back.

  “I love you.”

  “Always and forever.”

  I turned my head to stare at Max. I could never get enough of those glacier blue eyes or the way he looked at me with such devotion and love—like I’d hung the moon and the universe revolved around me. To be that loved was something I thought only existed in fairy tales. Well, I must have a fairy godmother somewhere ‘cause I certainly had my prince charming.

  I brought my lips toward him, craving the warm, soft connection they would bring. I was only going to take a small kiss, but Max had other plans. His body was only inches from mine, making my skin tingle in anticipation of our reunion. His lips met mine and I sighed against him. His hot mouth caused everything to melt inside me as he knotted his hands through my hair. I was gentle, still worried about his injuries, but once his tongue languorously traced my bottom lip, I was lost. The entire world narrowed, and it was only us, only now.

  Max took advantage of the slight parting of my lips and sucked my bottom lip into his mouth, making me groan. I hungrily plunged my tongue into his mouth to taste and explore—relishing in the spark our connection once again brought.

  I moved my hips more to the side so I could have better access to his hard, sexy body. He wore no shirt, and I allowed my hands to roam over the contoured muscles of his chest, dipping in to trace the six bumps his abdomen created. I moaned against him as his free hand slid up and down my sides, leaving a trail of goose bumps that made me shiver delightfully.

  “God, I missed you,” Max breathed, moving his mouth from mine to kiss my jaw, then neck, then ear where he nibbled the lobe. The beep of the monitors increased in pace, but with Max’s hot breath on my ear, the sound faded away into the distance. His hands never stopped moving, simply repeating the up and down pattern from under my arms, down to the inward curve of my waist, and over my hips, where he teased the waistband of my shorts.

  “I’ll never do something that stupid again,” I promised him as I arched up and moved my leg to lie on top of him. His strong hands found my hips, holding me against him in a way that made me wish we were back in our own house, alone for hours. Maybe days.

  “Me either.” He trailed kisses down my neck and softly over my collarbone. “I’m never letting you out of my sight.”

  “I never want to leave this bed,” I bit my lip to keep from moaning as his fingers teased my inner thighs.

  “Never? Not even to go to our own, king-sized bed where we can have all the room we want to do…whatever we want?” His tone taunted me with ideas, and I lifted my head to look out through the small window in the (thankfully) closed doorway to make sure no one was in the hallway watching us.

  “Think anyone would notice if we slipped out?” I asked.

  “Most likely.”

  “Damn.”

  Max chuckled, causing him to wince for a second but he quickly masked the obvious pain. If I hadn’t been looking in his eyes, I would have missed it. He was obviously still in pain. I rolled off him much to our mutual chagrin and resumed my spot in my chair.

  “No, don’t. You don’t have to—”

  He was cut off by a knock on the door. I exhaled. Apparently I moved not a moment too soon.

  “Knock, knock. Luce, you sleeping, sweetie?” Cassie cracked the door and whispered.

  “No, come on in. I have great news.”

  Cassie, Adam, and James appeared in the doorway, their faces lighting up when they recognized that Max was awake. They flooded into the room, nearly pushing me aside to see him.

  “Max! You’re alive!” Adam e
xclaimed, earning him an elbow in the ribs from Cassie. “I mean, you’re awake! That’s awesome, man. How are you feeling?”

  “Yes, have any of the medical team been in to give you an update? What are they saying? You look sorta flushed. Are you feeling okay?” James asked, leaning over to scan the readouts on his monitors.

  “Um, well, I haven’t told them yet,” Max said sheepishly, winking at me. Heat streaked my cheeks and I turned away before anyone noticed. “I was sort of…preoccupied.”

  Cassie turned and glanced at me, her eyes wide but her face smiling mischievously. “Is that right? Well, why don’t Lucy and I go tell them now, shall we?”

  Oh boy, I’m in for it now. I thought as Cassie grabbed my arms and linked hers in mine. No way she’s going to let this drop anytime soon.

  We filed out of the room to let the boys talk and walked to the central desk where the medical team was centrally located. At least, that’s what I tried to do. Cassie instead pulled me into the nearest bathroom, checking under the stalls to make sure we were alone.

  “Okay, spill,” she demanded, hopping up to sit on the counter.

  “Spill what? Max woke up, he seems to be fine. Thank goodness.”

  “Does he have any memory of what happened to him?”

  I bit my lip nervously. “I don’t think so, but we really didn’t…get that far in our conversation.”

  “Well why not? What could have been more—” She cut herself off as her eyes widened. “Oh! I’m so sorry we interrupted.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure he’s glad you’re all here.”

  “But he seems okay? No side effects or aftermath?” She crossed her legs and leaned in toward me more.