by Dannika Dark
He tasted my lips and I immediately forgot what we had been arguing about as my hands began to explore the contours and hard muscle of his arms and shoulders.
“Sleep, my female. I’ll see you in your dreams.”
Chapter 12
The next morning, Adam woke up and wiped the sleep out of his eyes. He stretched his legs and threw the pillow away from his groggy head. The room seemed too quiet and he glanced at the bed on his left.
Sadie was gone.
So was her bag, guitar, and the entire box of pizza he had left on the table. It came as no surprise as she didn’t seem like the kind of woman who would stick around for long. Free spirits never did.
He spotted a piece of paper on the table and threw his legs over the bed, then rubbed his face wearily. It had been a long night. Adam had hardly slept because he’d been concerned about the negative effects of Sadie having been unconscious for such a long time, so he’d kept a close eye on her.
He pulled open the heavy drapes and squinted at the bright sunlight that pierced the room like an invasive glare. Adam took a seat at the table, put a stale cigarette in his mouth, and flicked his lighter a few times until the flame lit up the end. The yellow note snagged his attention and he noticed how neatly she had folded the paper in half. After finishing a second drag, he set the cigarette in a groove on the ashtray and slowly unfolded the letter.
Dear Scratch,
I almost skipped out when you went to pick up my guitar, but I like you. Sounds strange, as we hardly know each other, but I’m sitting here watching you sleep and wondering why a guy like you is living in a motel. I don’t know where you came from or who you are, but all that matters is you saved my life. That’s a big deal in my book. Maybe I don’t have much of a life to save, but someday I’m going to find my place in this world and I’ll remember your kindness. I hope I can repay you if our paths cross again. Stay handsome, and quit smoking.
Kitten
Adam set the note down and patted out his cigarette with a wide grin on his face. Sadie reminded him in many ways of the women in his family—strong women who spoke freely and possessed a carefree heart.
He stared at the pack of smokes and thought about what she’d said. She was right about it being a weakness. It’s not something he savored and enjoyed like Knox had, but rather used as a crutch when his mood altered. Life had hardened him as a man, but it had also withered his spirit. Smoking was only a symptom of his disease, so he dropped the pack into the wastebasket and decided he’d had enough. Not just enough of nicotine on his tongue, but all of it. The resentment, the anger, and especially the grief he felt for losing a good friend.
His twin sister’s death had profoundly affected the direction of his life, and the mean streak he’d carried during that turbulent time had channeled into a career that made him do regretful things. But that’s not who he was. Adam had been raised with character and integrity. He’d grown up in a Bohemian atmosphere and had worked hard to take care of his family as he entered his teens. His parents had died young and he’d dropped out of school to support his sister. Now he was putting his own needs first, and that didn’t feel so good.
He folded up the note and carefully tucked it in his wallet. This wasn’t the last time they’d see each other. Sadie performed at Northern Lights, and Adam had every intention of sitting in the back row to make sure no one messed with her. Just for a couple of weeks. He had a feeling those men in the alley would be back.
Adam scratched his stubbly jaw and wondered why he kept thinking about seeing Sadie again. He barely knew her, but as he stared out the window at a bird perched on the railing, he began to worry if she’d be safe on her own. What if she got hypothermia while sleeping in that piece of junk she called a van? Novis had taught him a Mage should stick to their own kind—it made things less complicated.
But damn, he couldn’t stop thinking about her clever smile. She had a sweetness in her eyes and a purity to her face—one that wasn’t marred by imperfections such as his own.
That made him shift in his chair as he wondered what she really thought about him. Humans had a tendency to say kind words for the sake of being polite, unlike Breed who would lay it out on the table without an introduction.
Not that it should have mattered how she really saw him, but suddenly… it kind of did.
He touched a groove in his jaw, wondering if things would have gone differently had he looked like his old self. Adam had never given his looks much thought in those days, but women had often said he had a charming smile. You could be the toughest man on earth who’s been through hell, but acclimating back into society with defects or disabilities will test any man.
Adam texted a quick apology to Silver about dinner, explaining he had a lot on his mind. He thought about taking a long shower and going to a diner for breakfast.
Tires screeched outside and Adam launched out of his chair. He stepped outside into the corridor and leaned over the railing to have a look.
A smile crept up his face. Sadie had illegally parked her VW at an angle between two parking spaces. Adam straightened up and stretched his arms behind his back, waiting for her to come up. He still had on his weathered jeans from the night before, although he’d stripped out of his shirt. The cold air felt good against his skin, like a snap of life waking him up.
His brows furrowed when Sadie didn’t get out of the van. Maybe she’d seen him and was having second thoughts about coming back up.
The concrete chilled the bottom of Adam’s feet as he walked to the end of the balcony and descended the stairs. As he approached the van, he came to a hard stop. Energy circulated in his body and sent light flooding to his fingertips.
Sadie was slumped over, her forehead pressed against the glass.
He crossed the parking lot in seconds flat. As soon as he tugged on the door handle, she wilted into his arms. Her baggy jeans had a rip in the knee and she’d stolen his black sweater—the sleeves so long her arms disappeared inside them.
“Sadie,” he said sharply, giving her a hard shake.
Adam reached over and pulled the keys out of the ignition. He gently lifted her out of the seat and charged toward the stairs, holding her tight in his grip.
“He found me,” she whispered in a broken voice.
“Who found you?” he asked without looking down. Adam struggled to keep his emotions in check so he wouldn’t inadvertently leak energy into her through his hands.
“Cedric.”
Adam froze mid-step and looked down at her eyes, open just a sliver. That’s the name Oliver had given him. “What did you say?”
“The Mage I lived with. I went to pick up my check at the club and he was there. He juiced me. I feel so weak; he’s never taken this much.”
“Motherfucker,” Adam ground out as he hurried up the stairs.
“Am I going to die?”
He could barely look in her in the eye. “No, Kitten, you’re going to be just fine.”
Once inside the room, he kicked the door shut and placed her on the bed. Sadie lay helpless as he raked his fingers through his hair and paced in a circle.
Adam couldn’t heal a human.
Without missing a beat, he called Silver and got the number of her Relic. If Silver trusted Page La Croix, that was good enough for him. Adam needed a specialist who would know how to treat a human juiced by a Mage. Because of the recent assassinations, asking Novis for help was out. He would never put his Creator’s life in jeopardy, and aside from that, Novis would have no interest in saving a human.
Adam made an urgent call to Page. At first, she rejected his request. When he told her it was life or death, she said she’d be there in fifteen minutes.
Adam dragged a chair beside the bed and tilted Sadie’s head back so nothing obstructed her breathing. She was fading in and out of consciousness, murmuring incoherently. He sent Silver a message and thanked her for the Relic’s information. When she asked where he was, he assured her everything was fine and tol
d her to stay put.
A knock sounded at the door and he rushed to answer it.
“I came as fast as I could,” Page said, out of breath, pulling an oversized winter hat off her head. “Where is she?”
Adam stepped aside and Page walked in, placing her black bag on the chair and unzipping her coat.
“How long has she been this way?”
“Twenty minutes, maybe. I don’t know how the hell she managed to drive here in that condition,” he murmured, pacing to the end of the bed.
“She’s got a strong spirit,” Page said. “Sometimes that’s enough to get us through the most difficult times. I don’t have any of my equipment, so I want you to hold up a drip bag for her IV. I’m going to give her what her body needs to restore some of that depleted energy. Are you listening?”
Adam gawked at her round belly, speechless.
“Take a good long look, Mage. I’m pregnant. Lo and behold, the Relic is knocked up. Now get over here and help me set up my instruments.”
After Page sterilized and prepped Sadie’s arm, Adam watched her slide in the needle until the catheter was in place. She held a plunger at the opposite end, secured a clamp, and then taped up the site of the needle as if she’d done this a million times before.
“There. We’ll give it thirty minutes and see how she’s doing. Can you hold it for that long?”
“No sweat. What’s in there?” He took the bag from her hand and held it up.
“All the nutrients a growing girl needs. I’ve treated patients in her condition before, but usually among Breed. I’ve administered this treatment to only three humans and one of them still died. Juicing is a serious problem on our streets, so that solution you’re holding is widely distributed in the Relic community. Let’s just hope she’s a fighter.”
After checking Sadie’s blood pressure and pulse, Page walked around the bed and set her medical bag on the table. She eased herself into the chair, glancing out the window and stroking the impressive curve of her belly. Her clothes didn’t look big enough, more like an oversized sweater stretched to the max.
“How long have you been pregnant?” he asked. “I don’t remember you being that far along when I last saw you.”
She reached in her purse and pulled out a pair of reading glasses, then wrote a few notes in a small book. Obviously, she wasn’t there to answer personal questions.
The sunlight picked up a few highlights in her short brown hair. She smiled surreptitiously, her face glowing. The few times Adam had been around Page, he’d never seen her with makeup on. A woman like her didn’t need it. Something about the richness in her brown eyes and hair made up for that. She was lovely, and he could see why men would take a shine to her.
Adam continually alternated the IV bag between hands as his upper arms became sore. Every so often, Page would put down her pen and look at Sadie with concern.
A burst of noise outside the door made Adam’s heart kick into gear as shouts were drawing nearer. His eyes immediately noticed the unlocked door and he stepped forward, about to drop the bag and secure the deadbolt.
“Adam!”
His brows knitted. That sounded like…
The door swung open and Justus filled the space like a tyrannical storm. A cold draft blew in from behind him but immediately became an inferno of heat.
Justus lowered his eyes to the bed, but Adam obscured his view. All he could see were Sadie’s legs and Adam holding a drip bag for the IV. Justus approached the bed and relief washed over him when he saw Sadie’s face, which pissed Adam off.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Adam scowled.
“Silver told me there was an emergency with the Relic. That’s all she said. I searched her phone and found this address.”
“Nice of you to drop by,” Adam said sarcastically.
“The Relic wasn’t injured?”
“No, the Relic is just fine,” Page said from her seat at the table. “Unlike the Mage who just stormed in here like a barbarian.”
Justus looked to his left, not having seen Page tucked in the chair beside the window.
His eyes flicked between them. “What is your need for a Relic?” he asked Adam.
Page frowned. “What business is that of yours? This is a private consultation and you have no right to—”
“Keep quiet,” Justus said, eyes still locked on Adam. “I asked you a question, Learner.”
“You can cut that Learner shit out, because you’re not my Creator. Mine treats me with a hell of a lot more respect than you do with—”
“Who are you telling to keep quiet?” Page interrupted in a dangerously sharp voice as she rose from her chair. “This is a medical emergency and my services were requested. How dare you barge in and breach their confidence. And then to have the nerve to stand there and tell me to shut up! Your presence is obtrusive and I have a patient to treat.”
Justus dropped his keys on the floor, eyes wide on her pregnant belly. His face turned a blotchy red and Mage light flickered in his eyes like fireflies.
Page walked over and checked Sadie’s pulse. “She’s doing better; we can stop the drip now.” After removing the tubes, Page taped a bandage over the entry site on Sadie’s arm. “I’ll stay here for a little while and keep you company. Once it looks like she’s in the clear, then I’ll leave you be. She needs to conserve her energy and rest,” Page said in soft words. “Sleep does wonders. Why don’t you close the drapes?”
***
Justus turned the corner in his new Mercedes and Page gripped his arm for balance. Maybe he was maneuvering around those corners sharper than he should have on purpose. She quickly placed her hands in her lap and gave him a cold stare.
“I don’t see why you wouldn’t let me call a cab,” she said.
“Where is your car?”
She pinched the bridge of her nose and yawned. “It conked out on me and wasn’t worth repairing. I get around just fine in the city. Trains are cheaper than cabs, although I never feel safe taking the train at night.”
“Nor should you.”
Page had never felt more uncomfortable sitting beside a man she had seen naked. Maybe that made it all the more worse. She periodically caught him looking at her belly from the corner of his eye.
“You could take a picture,” she suggested. “Maybe hang it over the fireplace and stare at it all day.”
His hand made a rough sound as it gripped the wheel tighter. The next ten minutes were met with silence and she felt sad about that. Remorseful. Breaking it off with Justus was so much harder than she’d thought it would be, but doing the right thing is never easy.
“Pull over here for a second,” she said, pressing her finger against the glass.
He eased into the parking lot of a donut shop and put the car in park. “What do you need?”
She unbuckled her seatbelt and pushed open the door. “Donuts, silly. I’ll be right back.”
Page had been craving strange things, as to be expected with any pregnancy. But something she couldn’t pass up was a donut shop. Without looking at the menu, she ordered a variety box.
It might have been freezing on the streets, but it felt toasty warm inside the bakery.
Or maybe it was just the Mage who had crept up behind her without saying a word. Page could sense Justus but, still angered by the way he had spoken to her, refused to acknowledge his presence.
“Here you are, miss,” the baker said with a toothy smile. He was a thin, wiry man with cloudy eyes. “Would you like a hot cup of coffee?”
“No, she will not be having caffeinated beverages,” Justus declared.
Her brows popped up and she turned around. Justus was holding her jacket, which she had refused to put on when she left the motel. The man infuriated her with his righteous attitude.
“Should you be eating those?” he asked.
Page lifted the box and took a bite of a jelly donut. “Mmmhmm. Definitely.” The sugar awakened all those happy little endorphins in her bod
y and she smiled, savoring another sweet bite. “Want one?”
He eyed her box of gluttony. “Rolls?”
“Oh my God. Please tell me you’re joking.”
But he wasn’t. Justus was serious. He was a man who kept his mind and body conditioned—probably eating a high-protein diet and rarely indulging in sweets. But to have never tasted a donut?
“Take one,” she insisted, holding the box between them. “My treat.”
“Page…”
“Mr. De Gradi,” she said in a clipped tone that appeared to irritate him.
His large hand hovered over the assortment, quickly avoiding the ones with pink and yellow sprinkles.
“Try that one,” she suggested. “It’s my absolute favorite.”
His blue eyes traced her features and he tilted his head. “Then why did you not eat it first?”
She shrugged. “I always like saving the best for last.”
A warm chuckle rocked his chest and he quickly suppressed it. “And you were going to eat all these before your favorite? That’s a hearty appetite, Page.”
She bit her lower lip and smiled. “Go on, fraidypants. Try one while they’re still warm.”
He pulled out the one she loved the most—the cinnamon apple-filled donut. He took a generous bite and made an appreciative moan.
“See? Yummy, isn’t it?”
A few bits of the gooey filling fell on his shiny combat boot and he glanced down. “Perhaps we should sit.”
It’s a good thing he didn’t get it on his nice button-up shirt, she thought.
“One large coffee,” Page said to the clerk.
“She will not be having coffee,” Justus insisted.
Well, Page was a little tickled by his behavior and leaned on the counter. “Coffee for my friend. I’ll have a small orange juice. How much will this total up to?”
Justus fished out his wallet and laid a large bill on the counter, which made the man’s eyes widen. “For your trouble.”