There was silence, Olivia unsure how to take it. Was he mad that she called?
“I need you to keep calm and get back to your apartment as soon as possible. Head right there. Understand? Keep your phone on you and call me if anything happens. I will meet you there.”
“I don’t understand… I mean, I’m happy to see you but why come out here? Won’t the nest be mad?”
“That doesn’t matter. I’ll explain when I get there. Please, just get there as fast as you can. Don’t take any empty streets or alleys. Stay around people. I love you, Liv.”
“I love you too. See you soon.”
Olivia hung up the phone, trying to keep her cool like Gabriel had told her to. She was filled with confusion and fear. Why was Gabriel panicking? Did he know something that she didn’t? Not knowing what to think, she was just going to stick to his instructions and hurry back to meet him.
Quickly making her way to the crosswalk, she crossed the street and headed back down the block. Olivia weaved through the crowds of people, fighting her way to make it back to her apartment building. She had been walking for at least ten minutes, so it was a little ways away. Never did the sensation of someone watching her leave her. A heat was constant on her neck. Why in the hell were they watching her so intently? For whatever reason they were, she definitely knew it wasn’t a noble intention.
Olivia began speeding up to a jog as she started getting closer to her apartment. A car alarm went off in the distance, adding to her panic. Seriously? Olivia thought to herself. She couldn’t remember the last time she heard one go off during the day time. Never would she have imagined that a trip to buy groceries would end up being so dramatic and intense. She tried to filter out the noise by focussing on Gabriel. Just knowing that he was on his way made her feel protected.
The heat on the back of her neck grew stronger and stronger, almost as though the person was so close that they could have touched her. Olivia was never a big believer of superstitions, but since she had been a child, she always had a ‘sixth sense’ when someone was either watching her or thinking about her. She could just feel it.
As she rounded the final corner, she started sprinting towards her apartment entrance. She didn’t dare to look back. In horror movies it was usually within the final few metres to safety where the victims would meet their untimely demise. Olivia had seen enough of them to know that time was of the essence and there was no place for indecision or curiosity in these sorts of scenarios.
Soon enough, she had reached her apartment building. Breathing a sigh of relief, she hurried into the building and quickly walked over to the elevators. Taking a final look outside, she could just make out a blurry, dark figure in the distance. Without further hesitation, Olivia jumped inside the elevator.
CHAPTER SIX
Much to Olivia’s surprise, Gabriel was already standing outside the front door of her apartment. Clearly, he had been out with the nest, wearing his black leather jacket and biker boots along with his standard T-shirt and jeans. He had gotten there impossibly fast, hadn’t he? When she approached him, he pulled her into a tight hug and pressed a couple of kisses on the top of her head.
Olivia leaned up and gave him a peck on the lips before reaching into her pocket for the key and unlocked the door.
“So what exactly is going on?” she asked him as she closed the door behind them.
“I didn’t want you to rush all the way here when I don’t know if it’s just me being dramatic and paranoid…”
“You probably aren’t though,” he mumbled as he immediately began looking around the apartment.
Gabriel searched through the living room, even looking behind the curtains and onto the balcony. He then took to looking in closets and behind bulky furniture.
Olivia followed behind him, “What exactly are you looking for?” she asked him.
“Nothing.”
“Gabe…” she groaned, not wanting to rehash their disagreement about how open he was about his emotions and opinions.
Once he moved to look in her room, Olivia closed the distance between them and grabbed his wrist.
“Please just tell me what’s going on. I’m kind of freaking out and don’t know exactly what it is I should be scared about…”
Gabriel grimaced, “I don’t want you stressing, Liv. Not when you don’t need to.”
“I deserve to know if whatever it is involves me and my apartment,” Olivia spoke firmly.
He ran a hand over his face in frustration.
“Okay, you really want to know?” he asked her.
Olivia gave a nod.
Gabriel looked to the ground, letting out a big sigh before grabbing her waist and pulling her into him.
“I’m worried that some of the members of my nest who don’t like me being involved with you are the ones following you. A few of them rebelled about a week ago and left. None of us have seen them since.”
Olivia’s eyes widened, searching his face. He looked worried and stressed, even more so than the other day.
“Do you really think they would be so upset that they would try and hurt me?” she frowned.
Gabriel gazed into her eyes, his hand brushing some of the hair from her face, “I don’t know, love. But I’m going to do everything in my power to assure that doesn’t happen.”
He leaned in a bit and kissed her forehead before pulling out his cellphone and dialing a number. Olivia raised a brow at him, curious as to who he was calling. When they had met, Gabriel had never owned a phone. After they officially started dating, though, he purchased one so that Olivia could always get ahold of him. So with that in mind, she had no idea who he could have been calling.
“Hey Tilda,” he greeted when he answered the phone.
“I need you to come to me. I’m at Olivia’s.”
He looked into the distance as she spoke. He then gave her Olivia’s address before hanging up.
“Why is Matilda coming here?” she asked.
He tucked his phone into his pocket and let out another sigh, “Because I don’t want you to be alone. I want to be the one to stay with you, but the nest is fragile right now. I can’t risk it…”
Olivia frowned but nodded. She understood, but she still wished it could be him that stayed with her. If he was worried enough to send Matilda to stay with her, it must have been a serious threat. She tried not to panic, but she could feel her body reacting to the stress of it all no matter what she tried to tell herself. A few rogue vampire were after her; they could kill her with minimal effort. Tears began to build in her seafoam hues, starting to get overwhelmed by the whole situation. It had been hard enough to wrap her head around the thought that vampires were real, and that her boyfriend was one—but now she had to accept the fact that she was being hunted by some of them.
“I don’t understand why they would want to hurt me just because I’m with you…” she squeaked as tears began to roll from her eyes.
Gabriel looked to her, heartache visible in his eyes. His strong arms pulled her into a hug, tucking her head into the crook of his neck. One hand combed through her hair in a rhythmic, soothing manner while the other stayed firm on the small of her back. They stood in an embrace, not a word being uttered between them as he calmed her. Olivia’s soft sobs eased soon, even though she was still overwhelmed. His grip on her was firm, holding her as though she were sand about to slip through his fingers.
“I’m so sorry I got you wrapped into all this. I never thought that this would happen… If I would have known…” he breathed to her in a husky whisper.
Olivia shook her head, “Don’t say that. I love you, Gabriel. I wouldn’t want to not be with you…” she explained through the sniffles.
“It’s just a little overwhelming…”
“I know, baby, I’m sorry…” he breathed to her.
“I’m going to fix all this. I swear to you.”
They stood in embrace for a while longer, until there was a light knock on the door. Gabriel pulled
back from her, holding Olivia at arm’s length and examining her.
“It’s all going to be okay. I promise.”
She gave a nod and wiped the tears from her eyes. Gabriel drew her back in for a loving kiss before pulling away. Taking her hand in his, he led her from her room to the door. He opened the door to find Matilda there, a bright smile on her face.
“Hey guys, what’s going on?” she asked, sounding rather chipper.
Gabriel nodded for her to walk in before shutting the door behind her.
Matilda looked between the two with nervous eyes, “What happened? There’s a weird vibe in here…”
Gabriel ran a nervous hand through his beard, “I think the rogues are targeting her. Someone’s followed her twice now.”
Matilda’s eyes were wild for a split second, “Are you serious?” she gasped.
“I can’t believe that they would do that… I mean, I know they are mad but to target her… That’s just low.”
“Yeah, I know,” Gabriel huffed.
“Would you be okay staying with Liv while I go handle the nest and try and get to the bottom of this rogue shit? I just don’t want to risk anything since they apparently know where she fuckin’ lives.”
His tone grew bitter towards the end, a flare of anger showing. Olivia had a feeling he was blaming himself for all of it, but he shouldn’t be. It wasn’t his fault, it wasn’t like he was making them do it. Gabriel was just trying to follow his heart, and they were acting just like jealous children.
The woman gave a nod, “Of course I don’t mind.”
“Thank you, Til,” Gabriel said, touching her arm briefly before turning back to Olivia.
He kissed her deeply, his hand going to her cheek.
Drawing back from the kiss, he gazed into her eyes, “One of you call me if anything suspicious happens. I’ll be back to see you as soon as I can. Please be careful. I love you.”
Olivia nodded, “I love you too.”
Reluctantly, Gabriel pulled away. Thanking Matilda one more time, Gabriel exited.
Matilda looked at Olivia with a big smile. “Well, sounds like it’s just us tonight,” she said, her eyes looking around the room.
“Wow, I haven’t been in a human home in so long,” Matilda gasped.
“Everything is so different.”
She walked into the kitchen and gazed about in amazement. Matilda then proceeded to rummage through everything. She oohed and aahed at things like their electric can opener and brightly colored cutlery. Moving into the living room, Matilda picked apart their movie collection and inspected the gaming systems. Occasionally she would go into fits of laughter and ramble about how humans have changed so much; that the need for entertainment was ever prevalent.
“I just don’t see why humans need to be entertained so much when their lives are so short. Something like this would be amazing for the nest, though,” she called over to her as she messed with a controller to a gaming console.
“Well, do you want to play a game?” Olivia asked.
Although she was rattled and nervous, Matilda’s bubbly presence was a welcomed distraction. And Olivia had to admit, Matilda’s childlike wonder was adorable. It was so refreshing to be around someone who took enjoyment in the small things in life, rather than take them for granted. Nearly every human Olivia knew didn’t appreciate what they had, always looking for something else to want.
She turned to Olivia with a huge grin on her face, “Yes! Can we?” she asked.
Olivia gave a small laugh, “Yeah, sure. Let me order some food first.”
She was still starving and still didn’t feel too well, but had been distracted by everything happening around her. Going into the kitchen, she grabbed a takeout menu from the fridge and pulled out her cellphone. She called and placed her order. Hanging up the phone, she walked back into the living room to find Matilda sprawled out on the floor with at least a dozen video game cases laying about her. Olivia smiled and moved to sit next to her, indulging in the normalcy in the strange situation.
CHAPTER SEVEN
After a late night of pizza, race car games, and talking, Olivia retired to her room and passed out in her bed. Matilda was very likeable and easy-going. She enlightened Olivia on certain aspects of nest life, and how Gabriel behaved when she wasn’t around. Apparently, he was rather terrifying when Olivia wasn’t present. It didn’t really surprise Olivia though, she kind of got the vibe that he was that way with how he acted around the nest even when she was present. It didn’t bother her though or make her think any different of him. She knew leading the nest was very stressful and took a lot out of him.
Her time with Matilda had been surprisingly fun, but definitely exhausting. She was curled up in her blankets, sleeping soundly when she rolled over and into something cool to touch. Her eyes fluttered open from the shock of it. They opened to the sight of Gabriel laying in bed next to her. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her into him. She buried her face in his chest, her eyes closing again.
“How did it go?” Olivia mumbled, voice nothing but a croak.
Gabriel gave a shrug, his hands running up and down her spine. “Not well,” he mumbled.
Her neck craned back to look at him in the face, his steel gray eyes searching for hers.
“What happened?” she asked softly, laying a hand on his bare chest.
There was a pause before he let out a small sigh, “I couldn’t find them,” he muttered.
“I sent out nearly half of my guys to search, and all of them turned up empty. I guess tomorrow night I’ll have to go and look for them myself. I’m stuck here for the day, though,” he smirked softly to Olivia, his hand gliding to her hip.
She peeked up and saw her alarm clock indicated it was seven in the morning. A sleepy grin pulled on Olivia’s lips. He was going to spend the day with her. Her eyes looked to the door,
“Do you think Matilda left?” she asked.
Matilda had been up, indulging in late night television when Olivia finally went to sleep.
“I sent her home before the sun came up,” Gabriel told her.
“It was fun hanging out with her. She talked about you,” Olivia grinned.
“I hope not too much,” he grumbled.
“I’m glad you had a good time, though… You’ll be seeing a lot of her.”
“Oh really?” Olivia asked, rolling onto her stomach and propping up on her elbows.
Gabriel nodded, “Yeah… Until all of this is sorted, either Matilda and I will be with you at night. They can’t do anything during the day because of the sunlight. But regarding that, I need you to keep a sharp eye out anyways, okay? They could be watching from anywhere and I don’t want them getting an advantage over us. So if you see anything at all, I need you to tell me. Even if you are unsure if it is something. Okay?”
Olivia nodded in response. It was still hard for her to accept that she was in danger. In her life, she had never really been in immediate danger. One time, when she was a teenager, her family home was broken into, but she hadn’t even been home. There was nothing preparing her for the situation she was in except for Gabriel’s advice; which she trusted fully.
“This is all just so crazy to me…” she muttered, looking down at him as he laid with an arm behind his head and the other on the small of her back.
A grimace briefly flashed over his face before returning to a neutral expression, “I know…” he breathed.
“But nothing is going to come of it. I won’t let it, I promise you.”
A promise from Gabriel actually calmed her a bit. He had never let her down in any way, at least not at this stage of their relationship. And she knew how much he cared for her, knowing he would do anything in his power to protect her. Seeing him beat Kent within an inch of death despite only knowing her for a short amount of time was proof enough for her. He had never done anything but take care of her and protect her.
Olivia was lovesick with him. Never had she thought it possible to love someon
e so much and unconditionally, thinking that the love she felt for Gabriel only existed in movies. There was just an undeniable bond between them that just felt so surreal to her, and she wanted it to last forever. Even with all the craziness that being with him brought into her life, she wouldn’t trade it for the world.
“I love you,” she smiled to him softly.
A slow grin came to his lips, going ear to ear, “I love you too.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
A week went by without anything major really happening. Each night either Gabriel or Matilda would be there with her watching over her. No progress had been made in finding the rogues. Occasionally, on her walks home from work, she would get a ghostly feeling of someone watching her—but nothing as intense as it had been before.
Gabriel still worried, but Matilda told her she felt as though perhaps they had left town on their own after they realized Gabriel and her were closely guarding Olivia. Olivia just didn’t know what to think. If she was honest, though, she didn’t mind the situation that much since she was safe, and she had made a new friend from it. Matilda was so sweet and honest, and very caring. They bonded over movies, enjoying comedies and romance alike. Matilda also enjoyed getting time away from the nest, saying it was needed after seven hundred years.
Olivia found comfort in the routine, feeling less lonely at home with someone always with her. It was Matilda’s night to come over, the two of them were meant to make margaritas and watch a cheesy Hispanic romantic-comedy. She stopped by the market right after work to get the supplies for it, then headed straight home. Once in the apartment, she checked the time and figured Matilda would be over in about thirty minutes.
A Forbidden Temptation: A Vampire's Obsession: Book 2 Page 4