I glance over all of the tall men inside that are either crowded around a pool table or sitting at the bar until I spot Liam sitting at a corner table with a glass mug of beer in his hand. Jules hangs onto my forearm as he glances around at all of the large men that are looking at me hungrily. He grimaces at each of them before looking down at me.
“You sure you’re going to be alright here? I know how Liam can get,” he says, squeezing my arm lightly.
“I’ll be fine. And if anything goes wrong, you can feel me.” I smile.
He forces a smile back at me before gazing up at the men that are still swarming around with bottles of beer in hand or cigarettes pressed between their lips. One of the larger men with a pool stick in his hands eyes me deliciously. He crosses his arms, raises an eyebrow, and then winks at me. My face pinches while every part of me shudders.
“Just try to get Liam to go somewhere else. Somewhere safer,” he says as the song changes to a heavy metal rock one. “I have to run, but if you need me, I’ll be around.” He begins to loosen his grip but he hesitates. “Actually, give me your phone.” I hand it to him and he immediately jabs at the keyboard. He then hands it back to me and I glance at the screen. He’s put his number in. “If you need me, call me.” His jaw clenches as his eyes turn as hard as steel. He releases his hold from my arm, plants a kiss on my forehead, and then turns to make his way out of the bar.
I sigh as I glance down at his number once more before stuffing my phone into the pocket of my jacket. I push through the crowd, saying my “excuse me’s” and “sorry’s” until I have a clear shot of Liam at his corner table.
He spots me and immediately flags me down, as if I can’t see him already. “Here, Zandy!” he calls. I rush to the table quickly, feeling the glare of some of the men on me but I keep my eyes focused on Liam and somehow it makes me feel a lot better. I finally reach the table and let out a deep sigh of relief as I pull a chair out. “Glad you made it.” He smiles.
“Yeah,” I mutter. “Why did you choose this bar?” I turn my head to scan the crowd of men with their heavily tattooed arms and leather jackets on.
“I love this bar. Cheap beer and food,” he notes, raising his glass mug before taking a swig.
“I don’t like it, Liam. I’m not really comfortable with all of these men staring at me like dogs eyeing a piece of steak.” I meet Liam’s gaze again but his eyes are puzzled.
“Who’s staring?”
“All of them.” I turn slowly to look at the man by the pool table with his pool stick gripped in his hand again. He lets off a crooked smile but I jerk my gaze away from him quickly. “Can we just go home and talk over dinner. I’ll cook,” I offer.
“Sure, Alex,” he says, placing his mug down. His eyes grow serious and I can tell that for once, he’s not taking me lightly.
I scoot from my seat and stand, not even bothering to push my chair in. I just want to get the hell out of this damn bar and go home, where it is safe. I push through the crowd again but glance over my shoulder as Liam takes his last swig of beer and then plants some change on the table. The heavy puffs of smoke surround me again. A nauseous feeling takes over my body. I’m truly disgusted by the smell of this place. My heart rate begins to pick up as I spot the door that will lead me to my freedom and as I get closer, I know that I won’t be relieved until I push through it and tumble out into the fresh, cold air.
“Where you rushing off to, pretty lady?” a deep, gravelly voice asks from behind me. My heart sinks and my eyes broaden but I don’t stop walking. If I don’t look, he’ll think I didn’t hear him. I continue to push through but just as I am nearing the door, a hand grips me by the arm, squeezing me tightly and swinging me around to crush my body against theirs. I gasp, my heart now beating out of control. He smells like beer and a heap of stale cigarettes and tobacco. He has on a leather jacket, jeans, and his chest is hairy beneath his dingy white T-shirt.
“Let go of me!” I yell over the loud music. I find it extremely hard to believe that even if I do yell, no one can hear me. The music is too loud and this kind of behavior is probably normal to these men. I don’t want to look at his face and see who it is, but I know it’s him. The one that’s been sneering at me ever since I stepped foot into this stupid place.
“Shut up,” the man grunts, dragging me towards the door and pushing out into the cold.
“Liam!” I scream before the door can shut. I can see him. He’s standing in the middle of the crowd scanning the room—most likely looking for me.
“I said shut the fuck up!” the man growls. He drags me around the corner but I try my hardest to pull away from him. His grip is strong and his hand seems to weigh a ton. It’s impossible to remove his hand from my arm. He continues to walk until we reach an alley and as he makes the turn, my heart fails to beat. It’s dark down the alley and I know that if he takes me further down, no one will be able to hear me or see us.
Damn it! I should have just told Jules to stay. I don’t care if he and Liam are angry with one another. I would rather have him by my side than gone right now. The man pushes me against the brick wall and I wince as the same sore spot on the back of my head throbs from the blow.
He snarls and his breathing becomes heavy. I want to kick him in the balls but will he even feel it with those tight jeans on? “It’s nice running into you again. You’ll make a perfect mother for our Angel babies. I hope they look just like you.”
My chest tightens and as I glance up into his eyes, they spark into an eerie red. His hands grip onto me tighter and I begin to scream but he covers my mouth before I can. “Shut the hell up!” he growls, pressing himself into me. He’s hard—fully erect—and right now I’m terrified. He’s going to rape me. My fingers begin to tremble and I try my hardest to get Jules to feel me. I force myself to feel afraid, scared, lonely—anything negative that my body can possess. The man crashes his lips against mine, picking me up by the waist as I try to pull away. Tears prick at my eyes while I try to push his mouth away from mine but he remains glued. He tastes disgusting, like cigarettes and cheap beer. He tries to lodge his tongue into my mouth but I refuse. I keep my mouth sealed as tight as I can, fighting as much as my petite body will let me.
He begins to pant heavily, pressing into me even more. It isn’t as pleasant as Felix’s was in the men’s room. I hate it. I don’t want to feel this. The man finally pulls away to groan in the crook of my neck but, suddenly, he grunts heavily and my mouth is uncovered, my body is free from his rock hardness, and the weight of him is no longer pushing against me. I collapse on the ground but my gaze shoots to my right, spotting the glowing spark of gold that is pounding into the body of the man. I hop to my feet as Jules grunts, roars, and growls while punching him. He then picks his body up and slams him against the wall by his throat. His hands wrap around the man’s head and he twists his neck with a fierce snarl. Jules releases his hands from around his head and the man’s body drops to the ground lifelessly. My heart is still beating frantically. I’m in shock but I refuse to pass out again. I refuse to lose consciousness.
Jules steps back and the man’s body boils into a bright red before disintegrating into dark, grey ashes. Jules’ hands lose their spark but his eyes are still struck with a glowing honey. “I told you to call me, Alexandria!” he shouts, meeting up to me and cupping his hands around my face.
“I couldn’t! He grabbed me before I could do anything!”
“Are you alright?” he asks quickly.
“Yeah,” I nod, my heart still thumping.
“Where the hell is Liam?” he growls, releasing my face to grab my hand.
“He was following me. I think he’s still inside,” I mumble, still wide-eyed and dazed as he drags me out of the alley. He heads for his car rapidly. The driver’s door is wide open, his headlights are still on, and the song Kryptonite by the band 3 Doors Down is quaking from his speakers.
“Get inside,” he demands, swinging the passenger door open. I immediately jump
into the car. He rushes to the driver’s side but he doesn’t get in. Instead, he slams the door then rushes for the front door of the bar.
My foot taps on the floor of the car on its own as I wait for him to come back out. I’m still freaked out, still traumatized. Is this what I should expect every single day, for the rest of my life? I don’t know if I can deal with it. Here I am, thinking I’m normal but everything is unfolding. It’s way too much and this lifestyle is beyond bizarre. Jules finally crashes out of the bar but he doesn’t use his hands to come out. Instead he uses Liam’s back to push out. Jules tosses Liam on the pavement roughly and I gasp as I climb out of the car.
“Jules! Stop!” I shriek, rushing to Liam who is now lying on his side. I crouch down to help him up but Liam pushes me away as he scrambles to his feet. Jules growls as he helps me up instantly and then pushes Liam against his chest, all in one swift movement.
“Your sister was almost raped!” Jules roars, jerking Liam forward by the front of his white button-up shirt. “Where the hell were you?” he growls. He yanks Liam by the collar with a deep grimace.
“I thought she was still inside! I was looking for her!”
“Well you should have looked harder!” He throws Liam on the ground again and I rush for him but Jules stops me, clinging onto my arm before I can bend down to reach him.
“Get off of me!” I scowl, trying to push him away. “Don’t treat him like that. He didn’t know!”
“Of course he didn’t know because he was too busy trying to order another drink at the fucking bar!” Jules flares, his hand still tight around my wrist. His grasp isn’t hurting me but he’s angry and he’s got his hand clasped around me too tight to even want to try and pull away. “You’re spending the rest of your night with me Alexandria,” he grumbles, trying to calm himself down and by the look in his eyes, I know that I don’t really have much of a choice.
“Why?” I yank my arm again but he ignores it, still holding on tightly.
“Because your brother is a fucking idiot! You could have been killed!”
“Just go with him, Zandy,” Liam grunts as he tries to stand up again.
I tug away from Jules again and to my surprise, he releases me. “No. Why? We’re supposed to talk tonight, remember?” I ask, helping him stagger to his feet.
“Tonight . . . isn’t really a good night for me to talk.”
“Why?” I ask, clinging onto his forearm with worried eyes. “What happened?”
He sighs as he pushes his hand through his shaggy, mangled hair. “There was a random drug test at my job today. Everyone had to take one, including me,” he says and when he looks into my eyes, I already know what he is about to say. I drop his arm with wide eyes.
I shake my head. “You failed. Of course.”
“I’m sorry, Zandy. I didn’t know. If I had, I would have made someone pee in a cup for me—something!” He takes a step toward me.
“How are we going to pay the bills now? I don’t make enough money at the coffee shop to pay them all off, Liam.”
“I um—” He pauses abruptly, losing eye contact with me and pushing his hand through his hair again. “I ran into Felix today and told him about my situation. He said he would get me a job, but only if–” he pauses again to eye Jules briefly.
“I dare you to say it,” Jules says through his teeth. “There is no way of stopping me from seeing her.”
I turn around to face Jules whose jaw and fists are clenched tightly. “What do you have to do?” I ask, turning to face Liam again, this time confused.
“In order for me to get a job from him, you have to stop seeing Jules. For good.”
THE LAW
This is what it comes down to. I will either lose Jules so Liam can have a job and we won’t be put out on the streets, or I can stick with Jules while Liam and I remain broke. I am usually a money chaser but right now, money-chasing has nothing to do with the situation. I like Jules . . . a lot. And I can’t just stop seeing him. And when I think about it now, Felix hasn’t called me all day. I know he’s busy but I have something to say to him—in fact, I have many things to say to him.
How dare he try to bribe my brother? That was completely selfish of him.
After going home to grab a bundle of clothes, Jules and I are finally heading to his house. But I don’t bother to look at him. Instead, I stare out of the passenger window as the trees and lights blur by. Nothing seems clear to me anymore. It seems like my life is getting worse day by day. I guess the sooner I am out of New York, the better.
But I don’t want to leave. New York is my home. My city. I love waking up, surprised to see what the day is going to be like. I love walking the streets, passing hotdog and pizza stands. I love stepping into Think Coffee and enjoying a free cup of a warm, delicious cappuccino that keeps me going for the rest of my day. Even though I’ve been through hell here, this city is my home. I can’t just leave it behind. Every day is different for me here. I can’t just go somewhere where people will have accents like Jules, Braxton, or Stacy. It won’t be the same. It will be too different. There will be too much change . . . and I’m not too fond of change.
The song Iris by the band Goo Goo Dolls floods out of the speakers and drowns out my sorrows as Jules flicks his signal to turn down the familiar road that leads to his house. The song is old but it fits this atmosphere between Jules and I. They’re singing softly, and right now I just want to cry. I hate that he has soft music on at a time like this but this kind of music is his thing. There is so much going on—so much that I don’t think I can handle. I’m just a girl. A simple girl that knows nothing about her life, her childhood. Nothing. The only Alexandria I know is the one sitting in the passenger seat of this car right now. This other part of her is new to me, and her supernatural life is just plain ridiculous.
“You’re overwhelmed. I feel you, Alexandria,” Jules whispers, placing a hand on top of mine. I don’t bother to look his way. I continue to stare out of the window as the tall silhouettes of the trees zoom by.
We finally pull into his driveway and he hops out of the car quickly then reaches for my red duffle bag in the back. I push out of the car and cram my hands into the pockets of my trench coat. He shuts his door then makes his way to me, digging his hand in my pocket to cling onto my hand while guiding me up his stone steps.
I take a peek at him and his face is like granite—hard and unreadable. He’s still angry but he’s trying to bottle it up and hide it for me. He releases my hand to unlock the door and the heat of his home envelopes around me. It feels nice, comforting. Welcoming. He places my bag down, shrugs out of his coat, and then hangs it on his coat rack. He flips a switch and the room illuminates with soft gold lighting. “Would you like me to take your coat?” he asks.
I nod as I slip out of mine and hand it to him. He hangs it then reaches for my bag again before making his way around the corner. We pass the sitting room that I had sat in before—the room where he’d told me what I am and what we’d shared. Boy, that night was a long night and that night has changed my entire life. He continues to walk, leading the way through a long hall with bare white walls. He then makes a right and stops at the first room.
He flicks the light switch on and as I step in, I am completely stunned. The room is huge. The walls are painted a soft, sky-blue and there is a large bay window on the north wall that is covered with a thin white curtain. The floor is covered with carpet tile and on the center of the west wall is a large—most likely king-sized—bed covered with plush sky blue blankets, white sheets, and white pillows. Jules places the bag in the corner then turns to face me.
“This is where you will be sleeping for the night,” he says with a small smile.
I look from the bed to him, my eyes clouding with puzzlement. “This isn’t your room?”
He chuckles. “No. Mine is down the hall.”
“Oh.” I sigh as I press my lips together.
“What’s wrong?” He takes a step toward me to try a
nd get a glimpse of my eyes.
“Nothing—I just thought that maybe we were . . . sleeping together.”
His face lifts as he forces himself to bite back on a pleased smile. “Together? Is that what you want?”
I nod softly. “After all that’s happened tonight, I don’t think I can sleep alone.”
He smiles as he reaches for my hands. He lifts one of them up to his lips and kisses it softly. A heap of prancing butterflies tumble and dance around in the lower pit of my tummy as a smile stretches across my lips. He lowers my hand but rubs his thumb along my knuckles. “Anything you want, Alexandria. Come on.” He releases my hand to grab for my duffle bag again.
He turns the light off, steps out of the room, and I follow him, passing one door on the right before stopping with him in front of the door on our left. He swings his door open, turns the light on, and if I thought the guest room was beautiful, his is beyond it.
The walls are all white and two of them have matching black and white art—that was most likely painted by him—and the carpet is pretty close to the color white, too. A black recliner rests in the corner nearest to his large bay window that is draped with white curtains. The lights shine through the lamps on top of the night stands, making the room seem heavenly. His room is one of those rooms that you don’t want to go into because it’s so organized, neat, and clean that you’re too afraid to even dare because you may mess it up. But besides the minor interior of the room, what I pay attention to most is the dark-finished, king-size canopy bed covered in a plush black blanket along with black and white pillows and sheets.
“Wow,” I whisper, stepping in closer to take it all in.
“You like it?” he asks, smiling as he places my duffle bag down in the corner.
“Like it? I love it.”
“Well, get comfortable. I’ll run you a bath.”
OBTAINED (Book One) Page 15