by Fall, Carly
She was also set on revenge for her mother’s death. That bastard had taken her mother away from her.
She had faith that everyone would come out the other end of this with only some bumps and bruises.
A long sigh escaped her lips.
“Abby?” Noah had whispered into the blackness. The dark was penetrated with an orange glow. She turned toward him and marveled again at the warmth that illuminated from his eyes.
“What?” she had said softly.
“Come here.” He had reached through the sheets and pulled her to him so they were chest-to-chest, belly-to-belly, leg-to-leg.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded, not sure if she was lying, or if she just had some jangled nerves.
He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled. “I love you,” he said quietly.
“Me, too.”
His smile vanished, and he looked very confused. “Does that mean that you love you, or does that mean that you love me?”
Abby laughed. The tension within her broke with the laughter, and it felt good. “I love you, Noah. I think I’ve loved you since the day I laid eyes on you and your hangover in that coffee shop so many weeks ago.”
Noah looked confused again. “How did you know I was hungover?”
Abby rolled her eyes and her grin grew wider. “Noah, I could smell it. You reeked of scotch!”
Noah shut his eyes and smiled. He looked like a sweet boy who had just been chastised for not cleaning his room. However, when his eyes opened, they were raw heat and desire. Abby’s temperature spiked.
“Let me make you explode,” he had whispered. She wasn’t sure if he meant in orgasm, or in the blinding light that illuminated from her when she did.
It didn’t really matter. Noah was an excellent detonator.
“Abby,” Noah said, bringing her back to the car ride to Reno. She turned to him. “Ready? We’ve got about fifteen minutes until we hit your place. Got a text from Talin, and James is hanging out in the neighborhood pretending to walk a dog watching your apartment. We have to make this look good. We have to make sure he thinks you and I are done.”
She nodded. “Just promise me that you won’t take anything I say as real.”
He winced and looked out the window.
Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in front of Abby’s apartment building. As she looked around, everything seemed the same, yet it was all different. Maybe because she knew of the evil that literally lurked around the corner. She looked at the big picture window that she had fallen in love with, that had sold her on renting the apartment. It now looked like a big, open invitation for danger. She cringed.
“Showtime, Abby,” Noah said quietly.
She took a deep breath, nodded, and threw open the door.
“I don’t want to see you again. Do you understand me, you fucking freak? I don’t want to see you, or your weird glowing eyes again! I don’t want anything to do with you, or any of your stupid friends. Just stay away from me! Do you understand? Don’t ever come near me again!”
With that, she slammed the door, tears shimmering in her eyes. She stomped up the sidewalk, a sick feeling welling in her stomach at the words she had said.
She put her key in the vestibule door, her hand shaking. When she got to her apartment door, she dropped her keys. Twice.
Finally, she got the door open and went in, leaning against the door. She didn’t flip the lock, as they had agreed on. Her apartment smelled slightly stale from being unoccupied for a few days, and she felt vulnerable and alone.
“Abby,” a low voice said, coming from her bedroom.
She jumped and went still. “It’s me, doha. I can’t come out there because of the window. As planned, I’m in your bedroom. You okay, love?”
She remembered she had to act natural. Running to her bedroom and throwing herself into Hudson’s arms, as much as she wanted to, would not look natural. She sighed and went to the refrigerator. It was three in the afternoon, but she grabbed a bottle of wine, then a glass. Happy hour somewhere in the world, and all that. She plopped herself down on the couch and turned on the TV, pumping up the volume.
“I’m okay, Hudson, thanks. That was really, really hard,” she said as he came into the doorway. Anyone looking into the picture window would see her sitting on her couch with the bottle of wine, tears streaming down her face while she watched TV. They wouldn’t be able to see Hudson.
He nodded. “He knows you didn’t mean it.”
She took a gulp of wine and reminded herself that she was supposed to be in her apartment alone. She threw her feet up on the battered table in front of her and began surfing through the channels.
She finally landed on the mindless Judge Judy. And goody, it was a marathon. Mindless TV led to a numb brain.
The bottle of wine was empty, the four hours of Judge Judy over. She had gone into her bedroom after the first episode and given Hudson a quick hug. She was glad he was there. She probably shouldn’t have drunk the wine. It would probably be best to have her wits about her, but at that point, maybe having her nerves bathed in Chardonnay wasn’t so bad.
She was a mess.
Besides, Hudson was there, and he made her feel safe.
But now night had fallen, and it was time to change bodyguards.
At Hudson’s directive, she went and turned off the kitchen lights, as well as the TV and the lights in her small living room. Even though it was eight at night, she went into her bedroom as if she were going to bed and sank into the mattress. She tried to hear Hudson moving through her living room and listened for any sign of him—a creak in the floorboards, a rustle against the couch. She heard nothing, but she felt it when his presence left the space. She never heard a sound.
She didn’t hear the door to her apartment open, nor did she hear anyone else enter. All of a sudden, Neptune jumped up on the bed letting out a very loud greeting, making her heart skip a few beats.
“Neptune!” she said, feeling comfort at the cat’s weight and loud purring noise. A minute later she detected another presence in the apartment, but just like with Hudson, she never heard a sound.
Before she knew what happened, the weight of Neptune was lifted from her and replaced with the much heavier, not to mention the much better smelling, Noah.
She wrapped her arms around him and cried silently into his chest. “I’m so sorry,” she managed to get out.
“Don’t be,” he whispered. “You were fantastic. It was a perfect performance.”
She nodded, her tears finally stopping a few minutes later.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered.
“Me, too.”
Desire bloomed within her, and she wanted to feel his flesh against hers. She wanted him to take her to that place of pure, simple pleasure, where nothing mattered but their bodies and their love for each other.
But she also knew that they couldn’t do that here. If they did, she would be throwing off light brighter than a shooting star, and that would ruin the whole plan.
“I want to be with you. Naked,” she whispered.
Noah chuckled and kissed her deeply. She felt both of their bodies respond. “We can’t, Abby.”
Abby thought of where they could, and lo and behold, her little bathroom didn’t have window. She pointed that out to Noah.
“I would love nothing more than to take you into that tiny bathroom, make you hold on to that sink, drop to my knees, and help myself to my favorite delicacy,” he said as he nibbled her neck. He rolled off her quickly. “But I have to keep my head in the game, love. I have to be using all my senses to protect you, not make love to you.”
Wow. Talk about putting a damper on things. An open slap by the hand of reality. But she knew he was right. She got up and went back to the kitchen for a glass of water.
When she returned to the bedroom, she said, “Okay, Noah. I promise to keep my hands off you.” She took a deep drink. “But after this is over, that promise is null and v
oid.”
She heard him chuckle from the far wall. “Honey, if you kept that promise, I think I may lose my will to live.”
Chapter 51
They had arranged with Abby’s boss that she would go to work as she normally would in return for a story on her almost-murder. Of course, they would leave out all the paranormal stuff. It would come down to an article about Abby being chased by some guy who broke into her apartment.
Abby sat at her desk the next morning, nursing a wine-induced headache. Noah had woken her with a kiss and a pinch to her butt before he left, and Hudson came in as the sun was coming up. She had struggled into the shower, had some coffee, and made her way out the door to a job she didn’t want anymore.
Surprisingly, her car started.
She did nothing but sit at her desk, staring at a blank computer screen while she marveled at how time could move so slowly.
Lunchtime finally rolled around, and she knew she had to get her game on. She had to be alert. She had to be aware.
She shouldn’t have had so much wine.
She went to her car and drove to her apartment, dreading what might take place.
As she pulled up to the apartment building, it looked terrifying instead of inviting. She knew that the big picture windows of the other three apartments in the building housed the Six Saviors. Noah had Talin call each tenant and tell them that the building needed to go through some heavy duty extermination, and management would pay for a hotel room for the tenants, and they would also receive some cash for the inconvenience. They had all been happy to check into the Atlanta Hotel and Casino for the week with their wad of money.
The Six Saviors figured James was already familiar with the tenants comings and goings, and if they made it look like there wasn’t anyone home during the day and kept a “lived-in” look in the apartments at night, he wouldn’t be the wiser.
She took a deep breath and got out of the car. She made her way up the walkway, her heels clicking on the cement. She had an out-of-nowhere thought that her steps sounded like a clock counting down the minutes to her demise.
She reached the vestibule, put her key in the door, and went in. The door to her apartment was as she had left it—closed up tight. She tried the knob before putting in the key, and it was locked solid. She exhaled as she entered her apartment, scanning the floor, the walls, and the furniture for black ash.
She saw none.
She made her way through the apartment, carefully looking over everything. When she reached her bedroom, Neptune was sprawled out on the bed where he had arranged himself among four pillows. She thought Neptune was a perfect name for him, as he looked like the god of his own little world.
He looked at her through squinted eyes and gave a howl of disapproval at his nap being interrupted.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Neptune.”
She went back to the kitchen and slapped some peanut butter on a slice of bread, downed three glasses of water, and called it good.
She jumped when her cell phone rang, and she didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?” she said tentatively.
“Abby, it’s Jovan. He’s outside. You need to pace in front of that window. Keep the phone to your ear. Act like you’re talking to a girlfriend. Talk about what a fucker Noah was.”
She paralyzed with fear. She literally couldn’t get her feet to move, and she had the brief thought that her sandwich was going to make a second appearance on her kitchen floor.
“Abby!” he said harshly. “Move! Now! He needs to see you in that apartment!”
She took a deep breath and said quietly, “I really don’t have any girlfriends, Jovan. If he’s been watching me, he knows that. I’m going to hang up now and sit on the couch and read a book.”
“No!” he almost yelled. “I need to be in touch with you! I don’t give a fuck who you pretend you’re talking to, just act like you’re talking on the cock-sucking phone!”
“You listen to me, Jovan,” she said, “I’m getting really tired of this charade, and I’ve only been at it about twenty-four hours. I want this over with. I will keep this line open, but I’m staying with my normal patterns. And talking on this cock-sucking phone, as you so eloquently put it, isn’t one of the patterns.”
She took the phone from her ear as he cursed more and yelled, and put it in the pocket of her slacks. She went into the living room, her nerves buzzing with fear and anticipation. She found a book she had started about three months ago, but never got around to finishing. She sat down on the couch, opened it up, and didn’t see one word.
She idly thought that this was how a deer must feel. Always in the gun’s sight, but never sure when the bullet was going to come.
Chapter 52
Two days passed. Abby lay in bed in the dark, watching Noah pace the small space. He was going stir crazy. He had always been a man of movement, a man who needed room to roam.
He barely had room to get out of first gear before he had to put on the brakes. He had to stay in the bedroom because of the big picture window in the living room, with its gauzy curtains. If he started pacing in there, someone outside would see him. They were taking risks when he and Hudson rotated out.
He had been focused and determined, his adrenaline on overdrive, and ready to pounce on the Colonist.
Except James wasn’t around. Or if he was, he was really good at being invisible.
They thought for sure they had him that afternoon that Jovan saw him walking the neighborhood. James had walked right in front the apartment building, looked at it for a moment, then got into an old black Toyota. They had held off trying to grab him. If they failed, he would know that Abby was being protected, and they would be back at square one.
They had run the license plates on the car, and they came back as belonging to a white Mercedes.
Another dead end.
Noah was exhausted. He had been in high gear for so long, his energy was depleting.
He hadn’t been sleeping well. During the day, he was staying in the apartment above Abby’s. He found himself not sleeping when he should be, but instead sitting for hours on end, listening to every creak and moan of the building, not wanting to miss a sound in case James decided to make an appearance.
And then there was the fact that he hadn’t been with Abby for days. He wanted nothing more than to jump into that bed and do all sorts of lovely things to her body, sleep for a while, and then do them all over again, but he couldn’t be caught off guard by James, or it could mean death for both him and Abby. All of them doubted James would strike at night, but better to be safe than sorry.
To top it off, they had three days until the other three tenants in the building were coming home, and they would all have to move out.
So, yeah, he was stressed.
“Noah, come sit down,” Abby said into the darkness. “Let me at least rub your shoulders. You’re so tense, I’m afraid you’re going to snap.”
He stopped pacing, sighed, and sat down on the bed. Abby kneaded the tense muscles in his shoulders, and the feeling was a gift from the heavens themselves.
After a few minutes, she stopped.
“Thanks,” he said, and stood back up again. She had almost kneaded him to sleep. “Get some sleep, Abby.” He went and sat in the chair in the corner. He rubbed his two-day’s worth of stubble, massaged his temples, and concentrated on keeping his marbles lined up neatly in a row.
Jesus, he really wanted it all to be over.
Like yesterday.
Chapter 53
Abby sat at her desk staring at the computer screen again. She stared at the blinking cursor on the empty white space, transfixed. It was Friday, and her nerves weren’t just frayed, but totally shot. The stress of the week and waiting for something to happen had been too much.
She watched as the newsroom cleared out, some people heading to lunch, others on their way to meetings. She supposed she should get her feet moving, stay to the schedule, but at that moment, she just di
dn’t have it in her.
So she sat, staring at the cursor, trying to come up with the energy to move.
A few minutes later, she felt cold steel against the side of her throat at the same time she heard, “Hello, Abby.”
She stiffened, fear coiling in her stomach.
“It’s probably a good idea not to move too quickly. Or this could happen.” Tears welled in her eyes as the knife flicked against her skin. Then a trickle of blood made its way down the side of her neck.
“Why don’t you stand up nice and slowly, Abby.”
She did as she was told.
“I would love to kill you right now, but watching you with the Warrior has gotten me curious. He seems to love touching you, kissing you. I’m going to see why he likes it so much, because I wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole. You’re an ugly whore. Definitely not my type.”
Abby closed her eyes, thankful she hadn’t eaten. She was certain that if she had, it would have ended up on her shoes.
They had been wrong. James had broken his pattern, something the Warriors had never seen in a Colonist. They had been certain he would try to kill her in the afternoon, at her apartment, while none of her neighbors were home.
“Let’s go out the back,” James said, sniffing her hair before he grabbed a handful and yanked her head back. “You know, you do smell good. Maybe I’m beginning to understanding what the Warrior sees in you.” He was silent for a moment. “But probably not.”
As she walked in front of him, the knife still pressed to her neck, her hair still being fisted, the tears finally spilled from her eyes. When she pushed open the stairwell door and looked at the gray concrete and the old yellowing walls illuminated by a bare bulb above, she knew one thing: she really didn’t want be raped and die there. Well, she didn’t want to be raped and die anywhere, but this old, forgotten stairwell was beyond depressing.
She moved down the stairs, her heels clicking with each step. When they reached the first landing, he pushed her face up against the wall, and her breath left her lungs. He stepped in close, pressing his body to hers, his face an inch away from her cheek. She could smell his rancid breath, which reminded her of forgotten chicken in a garbage can. His hand traveled over her hip and around to her butt. She cringed as she tried to block it all out, tears streaming down her face. Looking at the floor, she saw black ash. What had the Warriors said? The Colonists shed the black ash when they were in a “heightened state.” She dry heaved.