by J. L. McCoy
Two and a half hours later, I was on top of Hagan, straddling his hips, as I delivered elbow strike after elbow strike to his head. We were fighting for real this time. Hagan assured me that he could take it, and I fought him as hard and as fiercely as I would have fought Archer yesterday if my head had been in the right place.
Hagan managed to get his arm up and pop me hard in the nose with his palm. I saw stars but didn’t pay them any mind. I screamed out with frustrated rage as I reared back and began punching him in the face, imagining that Hagan was actually Hunter helped me channel it better.
Hagan groaned as blood started to fly. I hammered his face a few times mercilessly before he tried to restrain me. I had just decided to go in for a choke hold when I heard someone speak behind me.
“Am I interrupting something?”
I knew that voice well and lifted my head up to see Archer standing at the bottom of the basement stairs. That one second mistake gave Hagan the opening he needed and I caught a wicked right hook to the jaw which sent me sprawling off of him and onto my back on the mat.
“Fuck!” I yelled out in aggravation as I cradled my jaw and tried to catch my breath. “Nice timing.”
Hagan stood over me and offered me his hand. I took it gladly and allowed him to pull me upright. His nose was bloody and his bruised right eye was healing right before my eyes.
“Never take your eyes off the enemy, Morrison. How many times do I have to tell you?” He sighed deeply before he continued. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were getting stronger; a whole hell of a lot stronger, actually.”
“I just channeled my rage, like you said to,” I breathed hard. “Mission accomplished?”
“Mission accomplished,” Hagan chuckled, wiping the blood from his nose. “I’m going to go get some blood. We’ll pick this up again tomorrow.”
I nodded my head as I worked my jaw with my hand; It really hurt at the moment. I turned to Archer and raised my eyebrows. “You needed something?” I asked, none too happy about his inconvenient interruption. I had caught one of Hagan’s infamous wicked right hooks because of him.
“Jameson tells me you have plans with Miss St. James to go to your Krav Maga class this afternoon?” he asked as he politely handed me a towel off one of the shelves.
I wiped my face and was surprised to see blood on the towel. “Is it mine?” I asked, looking up at Archer and turning my face each way to give him a good look.
“Yes,” he nodded. “Your nose is bleeding.”
“Dammit,” I sighed as I held the towel to it again. “Yes, I do plan on going to my class today. I assume you won’t have an issue with it if I take one of The Faithful with me, am I correct?”
Archer’s muscle worked in his jaw as I saw him thinking it over. “You are correct,” he said after a few moments.
“Good,” I smiled. “Just to clarify, I wasn’t really asking your permission and your answer wouldn’t have mattered. I planned on going anyway.”
“Were you now?” he smiled wickedly and my breath hitched. It was the same sexy smile he wore in my X-rated dream I had of him last night.
Oh dear, I thought as my lower abdomen clenched tight. I remembered the feel of him sliding into me and the delicious pain his girth brought.
“I’ve got to go,” I said hurriedly as I walked past him.
“So soon?” he whined playfully. “But those memories were just getting good.”
“Stop reading my mind!” I huffed as I ascended the steps to the first floor.
“Stop projecting your dirty fantasies so loudly!” he countered and I couldn’t help the grin I felt spread across my face.
Nearly everyone was in the kitchen or the family room and I said a quick hello as I went to the refrigerator. I got out a big bottle of water and the breakfast that Gunnar bought me every morning. Today’s meal was a vegetarian egg white omelet with a croissant and a half a grapefruit. I popped the omelet into the microwave and hit start as I nibbled on the buttery croissant.
“Someone toss me a bag of blood,” Archer called out from the doorway. “Miss Morrison is positively begging for a bite this morning with all that bleeding she’s doing.”
I heard a few chuckles from the poker table as Hunter, Lochlan, and Seamus nodded in agreement.
I gave Archer an unamused look and watched as he prowled into the kitchen.
“My blood is indefinitely off-limits,” I said loud enough for everyone to hear. “Don’t even think about it.”
Aoife got up from the kitchen table and politely fetched Archer a bag from the refrigerator. “That’s a crying shame, Skye. You are pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.” She licked her lips as she winked at me. I know the action was supposed to be playful, but it just freaked me out. I looked around at all the vampires in the room and realized that I was a walking food source for them.
I shuddered as I moved to the microwave to take my food out, allowing Aoife to heat the bag up for Archer. The quicker he has that in his stomach, the faster I can relax, I thought nervously.
“Where’s Styvi and Jameson,” I asked, noticing they were absent from the gathering.
“Outside,” Trey spoke up as I took a seat across from him at the table. “Styvi Nix guilted him into a game of fetch over an hour ago. They’re still going at it,” he said, nodding to the backyard.
I looked out the window to my right and saw a Frisbee fly across the far part of the yard. Soon after, Styvi Nix frolicked out and fetched it up, bringing it back to Jameson. “I wonder who’ll get tired first.”
“Definitely the dog,” Aoife said as she sat back down beside me. “Jameson is having too much fun.”
Archer took a seat beside Trey and across from Aoife. He smiled at me as he bit into his bag of blood. I swallowed thickly as I turned my attention back to my breakfast.
After I cleaned up the kitchen, I made my way to my room and took a hot shower. As I wrapped up in my towel, I took a good look at my face in the bathroom mirror and blanched. I had two small black eyes developing and a big bruise on my chin from Hagan’s right hook. This’ll be fun to explain to everyone, I thought unhappily.
I sighed as I grabbed my brush and began detangling my hair. After the tedious task, I parted it and braided it into two low pigtails. I quickly made my way to my closet and threw on a short pair of black spandex shorts, a white sports bra and a tight white spaghetti-strap tank top. My black Reeboks were still in my closet at home, so I made a note to pick them up when we picked up Nikki. For the time being, I slipped on my black flip-flops and grabbed tonight’s work outfit, my phone, and messenger bag as I turned to go back into the living room.
Jameson was back inside and he had a happy Styvi Nix sitting beside him on the couch.
“Hey girl,” I greeted her as I walked in. She jumped down and trotted over to me. I sat down on the floor with her and loved on her for a few seconds as Jameson watched.
“Your bruises look bad,” he said quietly. “Would you like me to heal you?”
“These are badges of honor,” I smiled proudly as I hugged Styvi. “You should have seen the bruises on Hagan.”
“I’ll take that as a no then,” he said as he abruptly got up and left the room.
I looked over at Trey, my brow furrowed in confusion. “What’s wrong with him?” I asked.
Trey gave me a meaningful look and pursed his lips, obviously unhappy with me.
“What?” I asked, growing irritated. “What did I do?”
“You broke his heart,” Trey huffed as he got up and followed after Jameson.
I let go of Styvi and she immediately followed after Jameson, too. I sighed as I shook my head. “I’m sorry,” I quietly whispered to myself.
I stood up and noticed everyone staring at me. Aoife and Archer were still at the kitchen table and the rest of the guys were a few feet away playing poker. Everyone but Archer and Aoife had a look of disappointment and blame on their faces.
“Don’t look at me like that,�
�� I huffed as I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder. “I don’t judge your lives or your choices, so don’t you dare try and judge mine.”
I quickly made my way over to Archer and told him I’d be back at the club tonight a little after we opened. He nodded sympathetically and told me to be careful. I smiled tightly at him and made my way out the front door.
When I got outside, Pádraig was the first guard I saw and I asked him if he would mind accompanying me to class. He politely obliged with a nod and told me to wait where I was. I saw him flash around the house and disappear. About a minute later, the garage door opened and the Escalade pulled out.
“Sorry it took so long,” he said quietly as I climbed in the front seat. “I had to notify the others and get the keys.”
I smiled and thanked him for escorting me as he accelerated down the drive. I took out my phone and quickly texted Nikki to let her know I was on the way and that I was bringing company. She quickly texted me back and I put my phone away after reading it.
“Your boyfriend is mad at me,” I said eventually when the silence became too awkward to bear.
“I know,” Pádraig said, never taking his eyes off the road. He sighed and relaxed his shoulders somewhat. “Trey has a real soft spot for Jameson. Jameson was the one who found Trey when he was near death and saved his life. It hurts Trey to see someone he loves and thinks so highly of in pain. He loves you Skye, don’t get me wrong, but he also loves Jameson.”
I sighed and massaged my right temple. “Do you think I did the wrong thing by breaking up with him?” I asked him.
“That’s not for me to say,” Pádraig shook his head. “I know you had your reasons, however rushed and devoid of thought they were.”
“Ouch, Pádraig,” I mumbled, before sarcastically adding, “Tell me how you really feel.”
“I’m sorry,” he said immediately. “It’s not my place.”
“No,” I sighed. “You’re right. I did rush into it. I was just really hurt and angry at the time. But, can you imagine what that was like for me yesterday? I was hurt again by vampires and I just couldn’t take it anymore.”
Pádraig nodded. “I know how you felt, Skye. I could hear your anger, confusion and pain as it was happening.”
I shuddered involuntarily and stared out the window as I replayed what happened to me in that east Austin basement and what Archer and Hunter did to me yesterday.
“Stop thinking about it,” Pádraig said suddenly and I sighed as I remembered that he could hear my thoughts too. “It’s not going to help.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, looking over at him.
“Don’t apologize, Skye; just try not to do it. You won’t get over it if you keep dwelling on the past. There is nothing you can do to change the events as they happened.”
“You sound like you know from experience.”
“I do,” he said simply as he reached over to turn on the radio.
The rest of the drive was silent as we listened to Pearl Jam. As Pádraig pulled the Escalade into my driveway, Nikki walked out of her half of the townhouse.
“Hey, cupcake!” she smiled brightly as I got out of the car. She ran up to me and pulled me in for a tight hug. “We’re going to have so much fun. Everyone has missed you at class. Instructor Cohen called me today and asked if he should expect you. I happily told him you’d be there.”
“Thanks, Nik,” I said, squeezing her back.
When she let go, she looked back at my face and frowned. “What the hell happened to your face, girl?”
“A friend of Archer’s was teaching me some new hand-to-hand combat techniques today. It got real…interesting,” I smiled widely. “No big deal, honey.”
Nikki immediately looked over to Pádraig and narrowed her eyes. “Was this the friend?” she asked unhappily. I knew by the gleam in her eyes that she’d try to kick his ass if he had been.
I chuckled and shook my head. “No, no. That’s Pádraig. He works with Archer and wanted to tag along to check out Israeli Krav Maga. He’s never seen it,” I lied quickly and prayed my best friend and the person who knew me the best wouldn’t notice.
“Hi, Pádraig,” Nikki said as she went to shake his hand and I sighed in relief. “I’m Nikki. Nice to meet you.”
“And you,” Pádraig said, taking her hand.
“Let me go grab my bag and lock up the house and we can get on the road.”
“Okay,” I said as I watched her walk back to her half of the building. “I’m going to run inside and get my Reeboks.”
Pádraig followed me to my front door and I dug around in my bag for my keys. Finally finding them, I unlocked the door and moved to step inside.
“I should check out the house before you go in,” Pádraig said and I nodded my head in agreement.
“Pádraig, please come in,” I said quickly, inviting him into my house. He wouldn’t have been able to enter without my invitation. I briefly wondered why that was and reminded myself to ask someone later.
Pádraig flashed into my house and suddenly stopped by my couch. He took a deep breath in and immediately turned back to me.
“Get back in the car. Do not ask questions. Go!” he said hurriedly as he pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and flashed into the kitchen.
I dropped by messenger bag in panic and ran as fast as I could back to the black Escalade. I hurriedly got in and hit the automatic door lock button. My heart was pounding furiously as I waited for Pádraig to emerge. What did he find in my house? I briefly pondered as I stared anxiously at my door.
A few minutes later, Pádraig emerged from the house with a serious frown on his face. He had my black Reeboks in hand as he shut the door, locked it, and picked up my messenger bag from the ground.
“What’s going on?” I asked hurriedly as he slid into the seat.
He shut the door and sighed. He looked over at me with sympathetic eyes and swallowed hard before answering. “I don’t want to alarm you, but you’ve had a visitor in the last few days.”
“Tell me,” I said, alarmed as hell.
“Amun has been in your house,” he said quietly.
“What?!”
“Take a deep breath and attempt to stay calm,” Pádraig said, turning to me. “I’ve alerted Ruarc and the rest of An Dílis. They will be here in a few hours. I’ve also contacted Archer and he has requested that you return to his house immediately.”
“No,” I shook my head, still in shock. “I promised Nikki we would go to class. I’m not backing out on her. I need to spend time with my best friend.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Morrison,” Pádraig said with a frown, “but this is not open for debate. I promised Archer that I would bring you back and I am sworn to protect and obey him.”
I looked dejectedly at Nikki’s door, but nodded my head in agreement knowing an argument with Pádraig was pointless. Trey would kill him, if Archer didn’t first, if he disobeyed and let me go to class.
“I have to tell Nikki,” I said as I moved to get out of the car.
“Stay!” Pádraig commanded sternly. “We will wait for her to come out. You are not to get out of this car, for any reason, until we are back at Mr. Rhys’ place.”
I nodded my head and only had to wait a few seconds before Nikki emerged. Pádraig rolled down my window as Nikki called out.
“Sorry, cupcake,” she apologized. “Lyric called me on the house phone.”
“Nikki,” I said and her brow immediately furrowed with worry.
“Honey, what’s wrong? What is it?”
I swallowed hard and apologized. “Something has come up and I need to go back to Archer’s. I’m so sorry I can’t make class today.”
“What?” Nikki asked, confused. “What do you mean something came up?”
“There is a work emergency which requires her immediate attention,” Pádraig said smoothly. “I apologize, but we must go.” With that he put the Escalade in reverse and backed out of the driveway.
“Pádraig!” I
yelled as he put the car in drive. I watched Nikki wave confusedly to me as she watched us go. “What the hell? That was so rude!”
“We don’t have time for this,” he said quickly. “You are in an active area of danger and it is my job to remove you from it as quickly as possible. I am familiar with Amun’s fighting strategies and I fear I will not be able to adequately protect you on my own. Be angry with me if you must, but at least you will be alive to feel those emotions.”
I took a deep breath as the gravity of the situation hit me. Amun was back and he had been in my house!
“How did he get in my house?” I asked suddenly. “He did not have my permission to enter. I thought all vampires required permission to enter a human’s home.”
“They do,” Trey said, looking straight at the road. “And I do not know how he gained entry into your home. It goes against everything we know.”
“Shit,” I breathed as we sped toward Archer’s.
Chapter Ten
When we pulled up, we were met outside by the whole house. Hagan, Killian and Emrick immediately flanked the Escalade and watched the driveway to see if we were followed.
“The route here was secure, as far as I could tell,” Pádraig said to Hagan as he came around the car.
Archer opened my door and took my hand. “Are you okay?” he asked as he pulled me into his arms.
I nodded my head and looked up at him. “How did he get into my house, Archer? He didn’t have my permission.”
“I don’t know, baby,” he said worriedly as he placed a soft, lingering kiss on my forehead and took a deep breath. His cell phone started vibrating in his pocket and he stepped back from me to answer it.
I walked toward the gathering of vampires and accepted the rare pats of comfort on my back from the guys. I watched as Trey went over to talk to Pádraig and turned back just in time to greet Aoife as she was walking toward me.
“We can’t let you out of our sight for a second, can we?” she asked, her tone light and playful but her face conveying the fear she felt.
“I guess not,” I sighed.
She stepped up next to me and comfortingly rubbed my back for a second before she went to talk to Pádraig as well.