Ravaged (Vampire Awakenings, Book 7)

by Brenda K. Davies

  She gave him a wan smile; it was all she could muster in this place.

  “I have to contact Jane’s doctor to let her know Jane has visitors,” the woman said. “Jane may not be up for seeing anyone today.”

  Maggie knew this was the woman’s polite way of saying, Jane may be completely off her rocker today and might try to kill you again; we’d prefer not to deal with the paperwork.

  But none of that mattered because Aiden would stroll through all of them with a smile and a few words. Maggie swallowed to wet her suddenly parched throat.

  “Understandable,” Maggie said as the woman lifted the phone.

  • • •

  The petite woman, who was her mother’s doctor, gestured to where Jane sat in a chair in the corner of the large rec room. From her position, her mother could see out the bar-covered window to the parking lot below. If she’d been there when they arrived, then Jane might already be aware Maggie was in the building.

  The doctor hurried over to some of the nearby orderlies who doubled as security in this place. She spoke in hushed whispers with them. The staff would be extra careful while she was here.

  Maggie’s gaze traveled over the other patients in the room. Heavily medicated, most of them weren’t aware of their surroundings, but some were coloring, and one was reading. A handful had gathered on or near the TV to watch a rerun of the Family Feud, and a few of them were playing Scrabble.

  It was impossible to judge their ages as they all had a haunted, knowing look that should only come from a vast number of years, yet many of their faces were unlined. One of the patients, a young man of maybe twenty, clapped his hands and gave an excited whoop over something on the Scrabble board.

  The last time she’d been here, she’d met her mother in her bedroom. That small, concrete cubicle had been awful enough; this was so much worse. Like some of the foster and group homes she’d been through, the broken air here made it seem as if they’d all given up. Aiden stepped closer and settled his hand on her back.

  “Take your time,” he whispered before brushing a kiss over her temple.

  Maggie glanced up at him. She’d only known him for such a short time, yet the kiss felt natural, and his presence here strengthened her in ways she never would have believed possible. He hadn’t needed to use his abilities again after the front desk, but she knew he would have done everything he could to get her here. She gave him a brisk nod before striding through the chairs toward her mother with him at her side.

  Aiden studied Jane as they approached her. Her auburn hair hung to just below her ears. Some white hair streaked the dark tresses, but what he could see of her face remained remarkably untouched by age. Her hands were on her lap, and she had a blanket draped across her knees. Like the other patients in this room, she wore blue scrubs.

  The woman didn’t look at them when Maggie stopped before her. “Jane,” Maggie said. “Jane Doe.”

  Maggie’s voice had a small tremor in it, but he felt the strength forging the rigid length of her spine against his hand. He lost contact with her when Maggie knelt before the woman. She reached out to rest a hand on her mother’s knee but pulled it away before they touched.

  “Jane, I’m not sure if you remember me. I came to visit you six years ago.”

  The woman’s head turned slowly toward her. Aiden braced himself to intervene if Jane tried to attack Maggie. He may not be able to stop the emotional damage this woman might inflict on her, but he would not allow her to hurt Maggie physically.

  Able to see Jane’s face, Aiden took note of the strong resemblance between mother and daughter. Jane’s eyes were a paler shade of gray than Maggie’s, but they were the same shape, and their hair was the same shade. Both of their mouths were full and their cheekbones high. Maggie had a smaller nose and a more feminine chin than Jane’s square jaw, but there was no doubt Jane had once been almost as beautiful as her daughter.

  “Mom,” Maggie breathed, then winced at the word. Jane had given birth to her, reluctantly, but she’d never been a mom to her.

  Maggie’s fingers dug into her palms as she glanced nervously toward the doctor. The doctor had told them not to do or speak of anything that might upset Jane, but what she had to say to her mother was far from comforting.

  Aiden rested his hand on Maggie’s shoulder as he surveyed the other patients gathered within. A few of them turned to watch Maggie and Jane, but most seemed unaware of their interaction. He doubted the Savages had a spy in this place, but he wouldn’t take any chances.

  “Jane,” Maggie said, drawing his attention back to them. “Do you remember me?”

  Jane scanned Maggie’s face before her head tilted to the side. The vacancy in her eyes cleared a little, and a smile curved her mouth. “You look like me.”

  “I do,” Maggie agreed.

  Jane’s hand fluttered up to her hair. “They cut it all off,” she murmured sadly. “Took it all away.”

  Maggie had never seen her mother with long hair, but Jane said this to her during her last visit too. “It looks pretty.”

  Jane’s hand fell away; her eyes went back to the window. “Watched you coming.”

  Maggie glanced out the window and spotted Aiden’s car in the lot below. “Do you remember me?”

  Jane remained focused on the window. Maggie didn’t know why she’d come here. What had she hoped to accomplish? What did she expect from her mother? Answers?

  No, she wouldn’t get those. Jane knew less of what had happened to her than Maggie did now. Had she come to say she was sorry? Because she was so very sorry for what happened to this woman and for believing she was completely insane when she was unbearably traumatized. She wanted to apologize for being the reason this woman was so broken, but that wasn’t her fault.

  Then, she knew why she’d come. Jane had to know she understood. That one person, out of Jane’s entire wretched life, saw her for who and what she was: a young woman who’d been traumatized beyond the limits of what anyone should have to endure.

  Experiencing a rape was devastating enough, but to be raped by a monster and to have no one else believe you about it was something else entirely.

  “I used to be so beautiful,” Jane murmured and touched her cheek. “Too pretty. It’s why…”

  Jane’s mouth pursed, and Maggie couldn’t stop herself from resting her fingers on her mother’s knee to offer some comfort. “No matter how pretty you are, what happened to you wasn’t your fault.”

  She probably shouldn’t be talking about this. She was certain the doctor wouldn’t tolerate it, but Maggie couldn’t allow Jane to blame herself.

  Jane’s eyes were more aware when they returned to her. “You came to visit me before.”

  “Yes, years ago,” Maggie replied.

  “I remember. You are… You are—” Jane suddenly recoiled. “Magdalene.”

  “Jane—”

  “No! Monster! Vampire! Get away!”

  Maggie winced and leaned back as her mother used her fingers to make a cross. She thrust the cross into Maggie’s face. “Get back vampire spawn!”

  Aiden’s hand tightened on Maggie’s shoulder; he stepped closer when Jane leaned further away. From the corner of his eye, he saw the orderlies and doctor coming toward them, but Maggie was already rising.

  “I know you’re telling the truth about what happened to you,” Maggie stated in a flat tone of voice.

  Jane stopped shouting at her to get back when Maggie spoke these words.

  “I won’t come back here, I won’t bother you again, but I needed to tell you that. I’m sorry for what happened to you, and I believe you.”

  Jane’s hands fell into her lap; her mouth parted. “You believe me?”

  Aiden intervened with the doctor and orderlies before they could pull Maggie away. “It’s fine,” he said to them as he pushed his power out to ensnare their minds in a trap. “Give them a few more minutes.”

  The three of them stayed where they were, their faces slack as he kept hold of t
heir minds. Aware of the cameras in the room, Aiden commanded them to talk to each other like they normally would.

  “I believe you,” Maggie said again.

  Tears spilled from Jane’s eyes with such intensity Maggie swore someone did turn on a faucet behind them. Her shoulders heaved until Maggie worried she’d harm herself.

  “Oh, don’t cry,” she whispered and rested her hand on Jane’s shoulder. The bone protruding against Jane’s flesh dug into Maggie’s palm. “Please, don’t cry.”

  Jane jerked her shoulder away from her, and Maggie’s hand fell helplessly to her side.

  “You and your father destroyed me!” Jane wailed.

  A sword to the heart might have hurt less than those words. They’d never had a relationship where love could develop between them, but it was heart-wrenching to be blamed as the source of a ruined life. No, she was not the source, that had been her father, but she was a byproduct of the miserable bastard’s destruction.

  “I’m sorry,” Maggie said again.

  Aiden clasped her hand and pulled her back as her mother threw up another cross and started screaming as if she were on fire.

  “We should go,” Maggie whispered.

  “Calm down, Jane,” Aiden commanded, and her screams became shrill bird-like cries. “You don’t remember us being here,” Aiden said to the other people still within his control. He couldn’t do anything about the numerous cameras in this place, but at least no one would stop Maggie from returning here if she should decide to try again. “Now, help Jane.”

  When the doctor and orderlies rushed toward Jane, Aiden pulled a shaking Maggie against his side and hurried her toward the doorway. Once they were out of the room, Jane’s shrieks escalated until they followed them down the hall to the elevator.

  “I wish I’d killed you!” Jane screeched as the elevator doors slid open with a ding.

  Aiden released Maggie as she stepped into the elevator, threw back her shoulders, and lifted her chin. Images of tearing Jane’s head from her body flashed through Aiden’s mind when he saw the anguish in Maggie’s eyes. Jane had done nothing to deserve what was done to her, but no one should be allowed to hurt Maggie in such a way and live.

  “I want to go,” Maggie stated.

  Reluctantly, he entered the elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor. The doors closed on Jane’s continued screams for Maggie to die.

  CHAPTER 30

  Sitting beside Aiden, Maggie sipped her whiskey as she gazed across the bar. The only words she’d spoken to him since leaving the institute were to tell him she was taking a shower before going to the bar. Aiden didn’t try to comfort her, didn’t tell her that her mother was crazy and therefore hadn’t meant what she said. None of it would do any good.

  They both knew her mother wasn’t completely crazy and she had meant it.

  Maggie had to work through what was going on in her head on her own, and he knew there had to be plenty going on up there after everything she’d been through recently.

  While Maggie had been in the shower, he’d decided to call home. Over the past couple of years, he’d avoided going home with increasing frequency. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his family and miss his home, he did, but he couldn’t sit there and laugh and smile with them while feeling like a ticking time bomb. It became harder to pretend he was normal while knowing the things he did to resist his appetite for blood, death, and pain.

  And more recently, he didn’t trust himself to be around his family. He loved them, he would die for them, but he didn’t know if he could keep himself from unraveling and slipping into the darkness while at home. He didn’t have access to the outlets he needed there.

  He’d chanced going home for Christmas because it had been a couple of months since he’d returned. He’d played the role, but the whole time he’d been terrified this would be the time he snapped. Never had he been so happy to get out of a place as he was to leave his home. That was the moment when he realized he was slipping beyond the point of salvation.

  He hadn’t been home since Christmas, and his phone conversations with his family had become increasingly brief and rare.

  Running a hand through his short hair, he tugged at the end of it. He considered shaving it off again; he hadn’t felt bothered to do it in a couple of months, but then he realized he was only debating it to stall making the call.

  He didn’t know what he would say to his mom. After what he’d witnessed with Maggie’s mother, there were so many things he wanted to say, mostly thank you. Inwardly, he was a chaotic mess, but he’d been blessed to have his family, and he’d been nothing but loved by them.

  Finally, he’d dialed the house phone, and when his mom answered, he settled on small talk. He couldn’t bring himself to tell her about Maggie, not yet, not when he didn’t know how things would work out between them. His mother would only worry about him more than she already did if she learned he’d found his mate but hadn’t completed the bond.

  After a few minutes, his mom handed the phone over to his dad, then Mike, and finally his older brother Ethan. He could have told Ethan everything, he’d always confided in his older brothers, but Ethan and Ian had families now. Ethan didn’t need Aiden dumping more on him, and neither did Ian. So, he’d laughed and chatted and pretended everything was fine while he listened to the shower turning off in the room next to his.

  He’d hung up afterward and waited for Maggie to come to him before going to the bar. Now, she drank her fifth whiskey before chasing it with a beer. A man with a guitar walked into the bar and settled in the corner of the restaurant. Apparently, they also offered live entertainment in here as well as the club.

  Maggie watched the man setting up his music stand. She felt numb. No, more than numb, she was hollow in a way she’d never been before. Aiden’s quiet presence was the only thing keeping her from breaking down. She appreciated he didn’t think he had to fill the silence with idle chatter. If she started talking, she knew he would listen, but she didn’t know what to say to him.

  The man with the guitar finished setting up, asked for some water from one of the bartenders, and opened with a Lynyrd Skynyrd song. Maggie smiled, finished her whiskey, and pushed it across the bar. One of the bartenders refilled it.

  Another hour passed, and Maggie found herself swaying to the music as a pleasant warmth spread through her body. When the singer switched to “Unchained Melody,” a few people got up to dance.

  “I love this song,” she murmured. They were the first words she’d spoken all night.

  “Would you like to dance with me?” Aiden asked.

  Most guys she knew wouldn’t be caught dead on a dance floor. She couldn’t picture Aiden, a vampire who tore the throats out of his enemies, willingly doing so. “You dance?”

  “Yes, and I do it well. Come.”

  His hand slid into hers, and he rose from his stool with effortless grace. He helped her off her stool and led her past the other couples and onto the small, makeshift floor. He spun her around before drawing her effortlessly into his arms and clasping her against his chest. Their bodies melding together caused her breath to catch.

  She lifted her head to look at him as he draped his arms around her waist. Maggie rested her hands on his hips and moved awkwardly through the first steps with him. Then, as the heat of his body warmed her and her muscles relaxed, she fell into a comfortable rhythm with him. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the events of this day, but his arms felt right.

  She slipped her hands over his hips and pressed them into his back as she settled her head on his chest. His head dropped down. His mouth moved over her forehead, and he nuzzled her hair. She desperately wanted to get closer, but she was petrified of what would happen if she did.

  Maggie shuddered, but she didn’t pull away when his hands slid up her back and he held her closer. His heartbeat sounded beneath her ear, and her pulse increased to match the rapid pace of his.

  The evidence of his desire swelled against her st
omach as he continued to sway with her around the dance floor in a slow, sensual pace. At any other time, a man’s arousal during a dance would have caused her to pull away. Now, her fingers curled into his back, and she inhaled his enticing scent. She could dance with him forever, she decided.

  Aiden’s head came up when a shout sounded from the club. The distant beat of the dance music barely penetrated this room, but the yelling grew louder, and then someone screamed. His hands tightened on Maggie when she lifted her head from his chest.

  More shouts followed another scream that was punctuated by the smashing of furniture. Aiden’s lips skimmed back when the scent of fresh blood drifted from the other room. Hunger tore through him, and he realized it had been a while since he’d fed. So focused on protecting Maggie, he hadn’t thought of it.

  Now, he started to unravel as the scent of more blood filled the air and someone shrieked. He’d been feeding every day for the past two years to keep the demon within him at bay. It had been almost three days since he’d last had blood.

  The realization that whatever was going on in the club could put Maggie at risk heightened his growing bloodlust.

  Maggie tried to step out of his arms, but he wouldn’t release her. “I have to go look,” she protested and tried to pull away again. “Someone could need medical attention.”

  More screams filled the air and furniture splintered apart. A man staggered through the doorway separating the restaurant from the club. The couple seated in the booth closest to the man leaned forward as another man barreled through and tackled the first.

  A dozen more fighters spilled through the doorway. A man lifted a stool over his head and brought it down on the back of another. One of the bartenders spoke into the phone as Maggie lunged against Aiden’s hold. Before the fight could get much further into the room, shouts of the police resonated through the club and restaurant.

  “Assholes,” the guitar player muttered from behind them and started putting his things away.