Daughter, I’ve given you a dark gift, turned you into something inhuman without your consent. And for that I am gravely sorry. I understand if you hate me for all eternity, but just know that the love I hold for you in my heart is unconditional. Know that I’ve only ever wanted the best for you and couldn’t bear the thought of losing you at such a young age. Please forgive me, Ruby. For everything. I pray you forgive me for leaving you in the most important years of your life, when a father should be there. Please forgive me for making the decision to turn you. And please forgive me for leaving you, yet again, to fend for yourself.
I am now in custody, and this is why I write in such haste, for I know my time is coming to an end. I will not answer their questions and will not submit to their demands. And more than likely, by the time you receive this letter, if you ever do, I will probably be dead. I’m sorry, my daughter. I am so very sorry. My heart aches for what I’ve done.
I love you to the ends of the earth. Please forgive me.
Frank Cavalon (Dad)
Warmth, and something like heartache, spread through my chest. A tear fell from my cheek spreading a moist blossom on the page next to my real father’s name. And like a grenade, flashes of memories and bright colors exploded through my brain and the truck in which I sat faded, each color bleeding into a vision, a sequence of events from my life.
Remembrance struck me so hard I thought I might be a firework suspended in the sky, exploding to pieces. It started from the time I was a newborn babe wrapped in swaddling, giggling at the mysterious brown eyes watching from the shadows. Next, I saw my home, my family. Saw myself as if watching a slideshow. The pictures flashed by quickly, eliciting every emotion possible from me, my chest constricting beneath their heavy weight.
Moments flipped by, time lapsed, and I grew older. My face changed, round cheeks turning defined. My freckles faded, legs elongated. The body of a young woman replaced that of a child and my heart grew stronger as I did. My parent’s faces shadowed with age, their hair greying at the sides. But all the while, I saw those timeless brown eyes just like mine watching me as I grew, guarding me as I slept. My heart wrenched.
I remembered. I remembered everything and nothing and the smell of life and death. I remembered the love I had for my father, regardless of his blood connection to me. I remembered my dreams and aspirations as if I’d stuffed them in a bottle, sending them out to sea. But amongst the slices of life whirring by in my brain, one specific moment froze, fading into focus.
I lay pinned within the wrecked car. Rain. Cold rain. Brown eyes that now took on a purple glow carried me from the crash, strong arms holding me as I bled, as I died. My father, my real father, was there. Frank. He was a vampire, but kind and compassionate. He couldn’t watch me die. He couldn’t see his daughter be taken by the arms of death while he held the gift of immortality, one which he could give to me.
Sharp pain stung my neck as fangs pierced my skin. I had little blood left in my body from the crash anyway, so it only took moments for me to be fully drained. As the last drop of blood left my body, blackness descended. I was vaguely aware of being carried away, as though flying, rain spraying over me and Frank. I vaguely remembered voices and greetings of concern. Hands on me. And then gunshots. Fire blazing. Pain. The voices turned to screams. The screams disappeared, leaving me alone. An explosion ripped through me, tearing my clothes from my body, scalding my skin.
But I felt the blood of life course through my veins, the blood Frank, my father, had given me. It mended my wounds, healing my body as I writhed. And just when I was certain I was dying all over again, I saw another face. The face of an angel in combat gear. He held a gun to my head, his expression twisting. But then he dropped his weapon and knelt down.
“Shit, I’m gonna regret this.”
My brain jolted, trying to process the memories. But as soon as they’d come, the blips of recollection shattered to pieces, flying away like ash on a breeze. My body battled between past and present, dream and reality.
“Ruby? Ruby are you all right?” The realness of Guy’s voice broke through the haze, slicing me like a beam of hot light.
My heart pounded and my eyes blinked rapidly. The truck came back into focus, as well as Guy’s concerned face. He looked from me to the road and back again.
“Ruby, what is it? What happened?”
I panted, barely breathing, holding the letter to my chest like a life raft. The words fell dry from my mouth.
“My… my father.”
THIRTY-EIGHT: RUBY
“I remember…”
Something like joy and sorrow fought inside of me and I couldn’t believe it— my biological father had been guarding me all these years. And he, of all people, was my maker. But he was captured now by FUSE and I would probably never have the chance to meet him. Grief constricted my heart.
I shook my head, trying to let the realization sink in. Guy turned his face from the road to look at me.
“Your father?” he asked, his hands tight at the wheel. “What… What do you mean, ‘your father’?”
My eyes dropped to the letter in my lap, wet with tears. Relief over finally finding answers flushed through me.
“It was my father.” I struggled for one breath and then another. “Well, my biological father— the one who I thought abandoned us years ago. He’s the one. He’s my maker.” I caressed the paper gingerly, as if doing so I might get a better understanding of my real father and the kind of man he’d been. “His name is Frank.”
“Frank? Your father?’ Guy eyed me dubiously. “How can you be so sure? How do you know he’s telling the truth?”
“I just know.”
Guy nodded at my certainty, his eyes scanning the highway. It was well past midnight, closing in on dawn. Yet, the sky was as black as a raven’s wing.
“I’m glad you finally know.” Guy’s voice was raw and husky.
“Me too.” I felt my lips curling into a smile, but faltered. “But, Guy?”
Guy shifted in his seat. “Yeah.”
“I can’t go to Tombstone now, not when I know my father is being held prisoner. You have to take me to him. I have to help save him.”
Guy shook his head, a stern expression washing over his face. “No way, Faith. I can’t do it. You would be killed, we both would be killed. We cannot chance it.”
“But—”
“Absolutely not,” Guy interrupted me. “We’ve come all this way to see you safely to Tombstone and I’m not about to screw that up now. Plus I made a promise.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, knowing all about Guy and his promises. I sighed heavily, letting go of my frustration. This was a fight I’d never win. I turned to Guy, still having questions.
“Your soldier Kemp said he’s in custody. What will happen to him? Are they going to kill him?”
Silence fell between us for one long moment, before Guy released a heavy sigh. He cast me a serious glance.
“Normally, yes, he would be killed if he doesn’t answer our questions and agree to work with us as an associate. But…” Guy absentmindedly swiveled the watch on his arm before placing both hands on the wheel again. He stared straight ahead. “But I will do whatever I can to make sure he remains unharmed.”
“You’d do that for me?” I asked in disbelief. Guy had changed so much since we’d first met, I hardly saw the cold Captain in him anymore. Hell, I’d changed too, hardly recognizing myself anymore. I gazed longingly at his chiseled profile, thinking that in our time together, we’d both grown into better people— well, one person and one vampire. But regardless, I finally felt like we’d found our true selves and could both make something better of the world in which we lived. Guy slid me a boyish smile, the kind that melted my heart.
“Of course I’ll do it, for you.”
Relief flooded me like a warm river and something else… was it love? Love for the illustrious Captain Guy Stone? I dropped my gaze, fiddling my fingers together nervously. My face flus
hed hot.
“This is it,” Guy announced, shooting a bullet of fear through my heart. I sat up straight, my eyes searching the outside. I hadn’t even noticed how close we were to Tombstone, being too wrapped up in the letter from Frank and my feelings for Guy. He pulled off the side of Freemont Street and parked beneath a large mesquite tree.
From there, in the distance, I could see the entrance to Tombstone. It looked like the pictures I’d seen from the cave-ins years ago, except now there was a tall wall closing off the city and two large wooden gates at the front. Crumbling buildings with boarded-up windows peeked over the top of the enclosure and a large sign painted in red letters warned us to “Stay out: Condemned.”
I gazed upon the scene, my lips trembling as I tucked the envelope into the band of my pants along with the picture I’d taken from my home. I’d always assumed once I arrived at Tombstone I’d be nervous, but nothing could prepare me for the fear that seized my heart in that moment.
This was it, the moment we’d been waiting for, and now that we were finally here, I didn’t like it at all. But I sucked in a deep breath and readied myself as much as I possibly could. Guy exited the truck and came around to my side, opening my door just like a proper gentleman to help me out. I moved toward the corner of the street but Guy stopped behind me.
“I can’t go any further. There will be surveillance.”
A lump formed in my throat and my heart plummeted to the soles of my feet. I turned back to him and forced a half-hearted smile. Guy returned the sad smile and looked down at his watch. “It’s time to go.”
I bit my bottom lip softly but stayed stuck in place.
“It’s all right,” he coaxed. “I’ll stay until they let you in.”
I sucked in a huge mouthful of air, my eyes threatening to spill unwanted tears. I shuffled toward Guy and stood in front of him. He looked down at me with his storm-cloud gaze, a storm I wanted to be swept away in but knew it was never possible.
Without warning, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close, my head resting against his chest. He rocked me slowly back and forth, my body going limp in his warm embrace. I breathed him in, that irresistible smell of man, musk and leather and steel. My shoulders shook and my lips quavered, but I forced myself to stay strong and do what must be done. After a while, I pulled away, knowing if I stayed in his arms any longer I’d never let him go.
“Thank you.” I smiled, but it was a sad one. “For all you’ve done.”
“It was nothing.” Guy grinned and shoved his hands in his pockets. He no longer looked like the hard-as-nails Captain Stone, but a boy in love with a girl. A girl he was letting go.
I reluctantly turned and took a few steps, my heart beating a mile a minute. My body told me to be strong and go on with my journey, but my heart… my heart told me to stay, to never leave the side of my true love, a man I could never be with.
I took another step, the ground crunching beneath my white tennis shoe. I wondered if I’d ever be capable of truly loving someone, finding it hard to believe with what I’d become— being a cold-blooded vampire and all. I clutched the rosary around my neck and answered my own adverse question. Yes, I was capable of love. Though I hadn’t admitted it yet, I loved Guy Stone with all of my heart, more than words could describe.
Guy was it, my heart and my soulmate. Guy was my person.
A choir of cricket chirps fetid the air as if it were just any other normal night. But it wasn’t normal, strangely being the furthest thing from normal you could get. Instantly, the tears I’d been holding back spilled free and I spun back around. As if in a dream, I ran and flung my arms around him, sobbing into his chest. I let out everything, all of my emotions and feelings, all the hurt and pain, all the love and adoration I had for him. I didn’t care anymore and I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I wanted him to know the truth and my words came out between ragged breaths.
“Please, don’t leave me. I can’t be without you. I… love you.”
Guy pulled back, holding me at arm’s length. His eyes connected with mine, blazing. “Ruby…”
My breath hitched.
It was the first time he’d used my real name, instead of calling me Faith. He’d actually said it. He’d called me Ruby. I looked up into his face, etched with deep emotion. He ran his fingers through my hair affectionately.
“No.” His voice broke, a conflicted sound. “We can’t be together. You know it as well as I do.”
“Why not?” I ran my palm down the side of his jaw, tears spilling from my eyes. “Who is to say who we can or cannot love? Tell me, why?”
I could see Guy struggling to hold back his feelings. “It’s just the way it is.”
I pulled back and thudded a clenched fist against his chest. “No! It’s not the way it is. We can make our own way, Guy Stone. We have something and I know you feel it too. How can what we have be so wrong?”
His strong hands tried to still me, to calm me. But his voice cracked in response. “You are a vampire. I am a human.”
I gazed into his eyes, looking deep into his soul. “I don’t care. I want you. I want nothing else. No one else.” I gestured to the gates of the old town. “None of this matters. None of it. You matter. You’re the only thing I want. Please Guy. Please…”
Guy ran his fingers through his own hair in frustration. I could hear his heart beating in his chest and I knew it beat for me. Then suddenly, and without warning, Guy’s emotions smashed through me like a blast of hot air. I gasped at the concussion, realizing what it was.
It was the sixth sense Wilson had tried to teach me, but this time it came without any effort. I sensed Guy’s feelings and emotions; they poured from him and into me like water from a broken dam making me shiver and shake.
His torment. His conflict. His pain.
He held a pain deeper than I could’ve ever imagined, knowing he needed to let me go. He knew it was the right thing to do, the only thing to do. But behind the pain of the arduous decision he had to make, was love. A love for me so deep it ached, pulsing through both of us, connecting us beyond imagination. But Guy looked away as though his next words would be too painful to say while gazing into my eyes.
“I cannot do that to you. I cannot put you through that. You would be a target and we would be on the run, if we even got that far. We would be torn apart, Ruby. You could be hurt, possibly killed.” Guy stepped away from me, leaving my arms hanging in the air. “I… I can’t.”
I wanted to say something, anything to convince him otherwise. I wanted to tell him that I knew he was bonded to me now. I wanted to tell him that it didn’t matter and we could make it work. But I knew in the back of my mind, it would be in vain. Nothing would come of fighting with him.
I dropped to my knees, my chest heaving with sobs as I brought my arms around my middle. My mouth hung open to say something, but there was nothing more to say and nothing I could do to change my fate. I was a vampire and he was a human and we weren’t meant to be together. End of story. I’d always known it; I just hadn’t wanted to believe it until now.
“I’m sorry, Ruby.” Guy inhaled as if it would be the last breath he ever took. “I made a promise to Wilson. We just… can’t.”
I bolted to my feet, anger surging through me like lines of fire. Was I angry with Guy or Wilson? The situation? My family? Death, even? I wasn’t sure. But either way, I exploded all the same.
“I know!” I screamed in spite of myself. “I freaking know!”
The force of my words brought Guy’s gaze to mine. He rushed forward, stopping only inches from my face, his eyes smoldering with heated fury.
“Damn it, Ruby Carter! I love you too…”
And like a fierce beast, he grabbed me and crushed his lips against mine, forcing his tongue into my mouth. I reciprocated, searching his mouth with my own. Our tears were wet against each other’s cheeks, the heat of our love coursing through us like waves crashing in the ocean. I melted into him and him into me, nothing e
lse existing in the world but us. The crickets’ chirping faded, the night went still, and the moonlight dimmed. The world blurred out of focus.
He moved his mouth against mine, hard and furious, hungry and demanding. I took what he gave me and returned it with eager abandon. Our hands searched each other’s bodies, sensual heat following in the wake of our touch.
Our connection lasted for hours and minutes and centuries all in one, our bodies mingling, our souls touching, our hearts breaking together. This was the beginning of the end, the last page of a book, the final sunset before an eternal night.
When our lips parted, my breath caught in my chest. I would die of heartache if I stayed any longer. My heart was already crushing inside of my chest.
I tried to pull away, but this time it was Guy who wouldn’t let go. Our eyes met, but I wrenched myself out of his arms knowing that nothing would ever change. We could never be together. My body left his, my fingertips the last to touch his chest before I stumbled away.
“Ruby…” he whispered, reaching out for me.
I shook my head. No, we mustn’t draw this out. I looked deep into his eyes and, before walking away, spoke the truest words of my heart.
“Even though I must live amongst them, I will never be one of them.”
Guy opened his mouth but no words came out, his fists clenched at his sides, his face tense with loss.
I moved backward toward the large gates, our gazes staying connected all the while. I took a mental photograph of the man I loved, hoping to keep him in my mind forever. The way he stood, the way he smiled, the way he held me close. The way his eyes would penetrate my soul, the way he would run his hand through his hair in thought, and the way his jaw clenched when he was mad.
Unfortunate Souls (Book 1): Unfortunate Souls Series (The Unfortunate Souls Series) Page 24