“I…uh, your clothes are in the bedroom.” She gestured toward the hall. “Let me stop all the water, change, and then we can talk.”
His gray eyes gave her a calculating look, and after a slight pause, he turned and headed for her room. Fallon stood, stretching out the leftover kinks in her body, but, strangely, along with healing all the fractures, his touch seemed to have chased away the fatigue as well, at least for now.
After shutting off all the faucets, she padded to her bedroom where she found Zane sitting on the edge of her bed, dressed in his jeans and T-shirt, and holding a picture of the Engine House. “I feel like I’ve been there before.”
“You have. That was my restaurant.” She sighed, the fresh pain of memory stabbing her heart. “It, um, went up in flames two days ago. We lost a couple of good friends.”
He set the picture back on her dresser. “You finally going to tell me what the hell is going on? Because I’ve got to tell you, what happened out there, well, it’s just fucking impossible. Yet here you are with only a few bruises left.”
Fallon grabbed a shirt and a pair of shorts and shed her wet, blood-soaked clothes, dropping them on the floor where she stood. She noticed Zane’s shock and his attempt to avert his eyes.
“You’ve seen me naked more than once,” she blurted while she tugged on her shorts. “We’re lovers. No. More than that.” She slipped her shirt over her head. “Just last night, we planned out our life together, picket fence and all. I’m not going to hide from you now.”
Zane rubbed his temples and twisted to stare out the window. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember any of that. I don’t remember you.” He turned back to her, confusion swirling in his eyes. “None of this makes sense to me. I can heal your broken body, but I can’t get rid of this mind-bending headache. You say we’re lovers. Funny, because the last thing I feel right now is lovable.”
Easing onto the edge of the bed, Fallon sat next to him, extending her hand. He didn’t take it, but he didn’t shy away from her, either.
“I’m not sure where to begin,” she confessed. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
His brows furrowed. “I was in the ER, just getting off the evening shift.” He paused, lifting his hand to his head again. “There was a woman who’d been abused. I brought her home. She had nowhere else to go, so I gave her my bed and slept on the couch.”
Fallon frowned. “That’s the last thing you remember?”
“Not exactly. I remember her waking me on the couch. We, uh….” He glanced toward the floor. “Well, you know. We had sex. The last thing I remember is having mind-blowing sex with a woman whose name I can’t even remember.”
Fallon’s heart squeezed, and she fought the tears this time. “Excuse me just a minute.”
Storming from the room, she shut herself in the bathroom. She clenched her fists, anger and frustration blazing through her. That bastard demon had taken everything from her. Not only did Zane not remember her, but his last memory was of sex with Mia, the bitch who’d stolen his soul!
A derisive laugh bubbled up her throat. How damn cruel could fate be to give him back to her like this? Splashing water on her face, she gripped the edges of the counter and stared at herself in the mirror.
“He’s alive, Fallon,” she whispered. “That’s what’s most important. Zane is alive. Haileon is gone for good. Everything else can be dealt with.”
Gathering her strength, she strode into the room to find him studying one of her trophies.
“You used to calf rope.” He placed the award back on her dresser.
“Yes, I did.”
He faced her. “You gave it up for a guy who hurt you.”
It wasn’t a question. Excitement grew in her. “Yes. You remember?”
He blinked, his gaze becoming solemn. “I don’t know. It seems like something I just knew.”
Fallon sank to the bed, and he sat beside her. “Oh, God, Zane. I don’t know what to do. We fought so hard to set you free. To be together.” She twisted toward him, stared at the face of the man she’d given her heart to, and wondered at the gray gaze that met hers. “But I was so stubborn at first. Stupid even. Do you know, I think I fell in love with you the first night we met? It was at a fire, and you went out of your way to make sure I was tended to.”
She took his hand and twined their fingers together. Electricity shot up her arm, giving her hope. Their connection wasn’t dead. “That woman you had sex with in New York was a witch. That was three months ago.”
Zane lifted their joined hands and studied them. “Your touch packs a punch, woman. So does your story. Three months? I take it you didn’t like this woman if you’re calling her a witch.” He glanced out the window. “Am I still in New York? The landscape sure doesn’t look it.”
“No, you’re in Texas.” She squeezed his hand, bringing his attention back to her. “And I mean witch in the literal sense. By now, you can at least accept that the paranormal exists. How else could you have healed me?” She brushed her fingers over the wound he’d healed on her forehead then gave him a serious stare. “This woman, Mia…. She sold your soul to a demon to repay a debt. Okay, I see the look in your eyes. I know this is going to be hard for you to swallow, but keep an open mind and think about what you just experienced.”
Releasing his hand, she stood and rounded toward him, taking a deep breath.
“Okay, this will sound insane, but I’m just going to lay it all out for you. The demon that owned your soul was also after me. My sister and brothers and I are called Sentinels. We all have special gifts to guard our world from the demon world…and other stuff. For the last two weeks, you’ve been helping us fight this demon, but last night, he took your soul.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. With a sigh, she met his gaze again, determined to finish. “I can only imagine the pain you went through while with him, but I fought him. Defeated him. And, well, here you are. Your soul is yours again.”
Zane stared at her. “What is it?”
“What is what?”
“This gift of yours. Prove it.”
Fallon nodded. Somehow she’d known he would want proof. Fine. Maybe then he’ll believe me.
Holding her arms out to her sides, she breathed in and focused. Two fireballs ignited, floating just above her palms. Tossing one up in the air, she said, “Show.”
The ball shot across the room and burst into a sprinkling arc of sparks and light. Of course, there was no way to understand the impact of her power from a little flare of fireworks, so she mentally shrugged. The house already needed a ton of work. What’s another wall?
She hurled the remaining fireball across the bedroom. The molten orb slammed into the sheetrock, exploding a hole large enough to walk through into the living room.
“Holy fuck!”
“That’s just a small demonstration. You should see what happens when we kiss or make love.”
Zane rose and padded to her. “So, how did I get this little gift of my own? Because I have to tell you, I think I would remember being able to heal people like this.”
“I don’t know. It must be a byproduct of being in that demon.”
He lifted his right palm to her, revealing a bright pink scar on his skin. “What’s this?”
Surprise dashed through her. Lifting her wrist, she showed him the bracelet her aunt had given her, the embedded ruby glinting in the light. “You touched this once. It left a brand like that. But that was days ago. It had healed.”
Zane reached out, clasped his hand over her wrist, and froze. Heat ran up her arm, zinging through her blood stream and pooling in her sex. Clamping his other hand on her neck, he pulled her to him, his lips crushing hers, his tongue invading her mouth in a hard, dominant kiss. With a moan, she pressed against him, and just when she thought she might melt into a puddle at his feet, he broke away.
“Damn.” He looked at his hand, still branded with her mark, a mix of disconcertion and awe surfacing in his eyes. “I felt it. The love I
had for you. I felt it.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what this means for us, Fallon. I still don’t remember you. All I feel inside me is darkness, pain, anger. It’s been with me since I awoke, and it scares the crap out of me.”
She grabbed his hand. “I can help you, I know I can. Please give us the time to do that.”
He nodded. “The only time I didn’t feel that darkness in my heart and soul was just now when I kissed you. But I can’t kiss you twenty-four hours a day, and what’s inside me right now isn’t fit for humanity.”
“Please, trust me. Give my family and me a chance to fix this. I need you so much, Zane. I love you with everything I have. I can take away that pain, that darkness, and give you back the loving, wonderful man you are. Please give me the chance to do that.”
“Okay. For now, anyway.” He tilted his head, his gaze flitting to her mouth and then back to her eyes. “The only thing I’m certain of is that even though I don’t remember you, somehow I know I loved you. And that kiss…being close to you like this…it’s like a light in that darkness. Seems I need you just as much.”
“We’ll beat this. I promise we will.” She led him to her bed. “Let me lie with you, ease your headache. Tonight, let me show you how much I love you.”
***
Fallon watched Zane sleep. He wasn’t peaceful, tossing and turning when she wasn’t lying next to him. Several times, he yelled in agony, the sound breaking her heart. God, what he must have gone through.
Easing onto the couch in the living room, she tapped the autodial on her cell phone. She needed to make the call quickly and get back to him.
Erik answered on the first ring. “Fallon?”
“I’m here.”
“I was just packing to come to you. What the hell happened?”
She fought to talk through the lump in her throat. “I beat Haileon. Zane’s back, but he doesn’t remember anything after meeting Mia.”
Erik swore. “Nothing?”
“Not even me. Although his hand is branded from my bracelet, and he does remember that he used to love me. But he’s…changed.”
“How so?”
“You’ll see. I’m bringing him to the island tomorrow. It might be late though.” She planned to take the laptop back to the bed with her and book their flight.
“No worries. Wyatt just told me the jet was available. They just finished with repairs or whatever. I can ask them to meet you there.”
“Thank you.” She sighed. One less thing to worry about. “We have to find some way to help him, Erik. I can’t lose him. Not now. Not after everything.”
“I know. We will.”
“Oh, Erik? He has his own power now. He can heal with his hands. I’m not sure how or why, but I have an awful feeling we are going to need him soon.” She twisted toward the bedroom door, Zane’s tortured groans calling to her. “Real soon.”
“Get some rest. We’ll be here for you tomorrow.”
Fallon strode to the bedroom, the light from the partially open bathroom door spilling across the floor. Zane lay on the bed, his body rigid and shaking. Tormented moans growled from his throat, and then he jerked, his fists fending off some unseen horror.
Terror streaked through her, and she rushed to his side, brushing her hand against his shoulder. He jolted then eased his arms back to the bed.
“No,” he muttered. “I won’t…do…that.”
She lay next to him and stroked her fingertips across his sweaty, furrowed brow. “I’m here, Zane.”
Epilogue
Erik paused in snapping green beans and set his hands on the cool granite counter. Though she hadn’t addressed him mentally—seeming to have left that wall she’d slammed down in place—he sensed Fallon was near. Tilting his head, he stared toward the kitchen doorway leading to the front of the house.
“We’re here,” her voice rang out.
“In the kitchen,” he called back. Grabbing another bean, he broke it into pieces and dropped them into the colander.
Fallon entered the room, her gaze landing on him, and her shoulders eased downward a bit. Behind her, Zane shuffled in, his wide eyes searching. Erik gritted his teeth. Yeah, the guy was different than before—tense, closed off.
Erik came around the kitchen island and embraced his sister. Zane’s gaze narrowed. A grimace flitted across his face, vanished. Fallon stepped from his embrace and turned to face Zane.
“This is my brother, Erik.”
Erik stuck out his hand. “Hey, man.”
Zane accepted the gesture. “Hey.” When he released, he straightened, and his gaze shifted from him to Fallon and back. “Wow, you two really do look alike.”
Erik chuckled. “Yeah, and there are two more copies around here somewhere.” He angled toward his sister. “How was the flight?”
She nodded. “Smooth. Aunt Serida sure knew how to travel in style. That jet is plush.”
He laughed and squeezed her shoulder. “I think Amber’s in the library. I’m sure she’d love to see you.”
Fallon took Zane’s hand and led him down the hallway. Erik trailed after, keeping an eye on them. Man, the guy doesn’t even move the same way. He almost seemed to crouch—though not visibly—as though he might either attack or bolt out the door at any moment. Nothing like the self-assured doctor who’d stitched up Wyatt’s back.
They strode through the library door, and Erik spotted his other sister perched on a chrome ladder, stretching to retrieve a book from a high shelf. Her gaze cut away from her task.
“Fallon!” Amber scurried down the ladder and rushed across the room to embrace her sister. “I’ve missed you.”
“Me, too.”
Amber looked at Zane, and releasing Fallon, she moved to hug him as well. The guy flinched at her touch, but as she stepped back, still clasping his hands, she smiled. “Welcome, Zane.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you.” She glanced at Erik. “My brother speaks quite highly of you.”
Zane gave him a sharp stare. “Really?”
He gave him a curt nod. Damn, the guy seems suspicious of everything. ’Course, he doesn’t know who we are. He didn’t remember them or the near-death battle they’d survived together. The friendship they’d forged was gone. He probably felt like the guy who’d missed the punch line while everyone else was in on the joke. Apprehension would be normal, right? So why did it seem more than just anxiety—more like barely concealed distrust? Why did he seem so damn…dark?
“So, what do you think?” Releasing his hands, Amber waved her arm in a large arc. “Do you remember any of this?”
He glanced around and shook his head. “No, not really. I kind of have a feeling that I might’ve been here before, but I don’t remember any of it. Not the details.”
Amber grinned. “Déjà vu.”
Zane frowned. “Yeah. More like that.”
“Ooo!” She faced at Erik. “You should take him to the conservatory. Isn’t that where you had that big battle with Haileon?”
Zane looked at Fallon.
“The demon I told you about,” she said.
His brow furrowed deeper. “The one who crushed your ribs and broke your back? The one who nearly killed you?”
She flinched. “Yeah. Him.”
“I fought him?”
Erik nodded. “As I recall, you weren’t too big on the idea. But, yeah, you did.”
Amber reached for her sister. “Erik’s told me about what happened. And now Zane says you broke your back?” She grimaced. “I don’t know how you survived that kind of pain. I don’t think I could do it.”
“Are they here yet?” came Wyatt’s voice in Erik’s mind.
“Yeah. Where are you?”
“Down at the beach. Thought I saw something out over the water.”
The impression of discomfort washed through Erik. “What was it?”
“Nothing. Just the sun on the waves, probably.”
The sensation faded, replaced with irrit
ation. “We’re headed to the conservatory.”
“Ah-yuh.”
Fallon slid her hand down Zane’s arm in a loving gesture. “It was rough, but Zane took care of me.”
Erik stared. The tension in Zane’s shoulders eased. The tightness around his eyes softened. So, he and Fallon are still connected. Good. That means there’s still a chance the old Zane can be recovered, right?
He gritted his teeth. Hell, who was he kidding? He had no idea how to fix any of this—or even if it could be fixed.
They walked down the hall to the conservatory. Scanning the immense greenhouse, he was again impressed with how quickly the windows had been repaired and the huge ass column set aright from when Fallon had knocked it against that asshole demon. A shudder snatched through him. Damn, it would be a long time before he could jam the memory of that night into some steel lockbox in the back of his mind.
From behind them, Wyatt shuffled in. “Bout time you got here.”
Fallon pivoted and rushed to give him a hug. Again, Zane’s gaze narrowed. Erik grimaced. Was this going to be a problem? Were they going to have to keep an eye on the good doctor?
Wyatt shoved out his hand. “Good to see you, man.”
“So, you’re Wyatt?” Zane accepted the gesture with a hearty shake. “I…I helped you.”
Wyatt nodded. “I am, and you did indeed. Stitched my back up after Haileon tossed me out that window.” He waved a hand toward the newly installed glass panel.
Zane glanced where he indicated and raised a brow. “Damn.”
Wyatt snorted. “Yeah.”
Fallon took Zane’s hand and led him to a table. “This is where we stood that night. Erik and Wyatt were over there.”
“And your sister?”
Amber sighed. “I was home in California. I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you guys, but I can’t say I’m unhappy about missing almost getting killed.”
Wyatt moved toward her, draped his arm over her shoulder, and gave her a squeeze. “No one’s saying otherwise, babe. You’re here now.”
Waltz into Fire (The Sentinals Book 1) Page 27