The Providence Trilogy Bundle: Providence; Requiem; Eden

by McGuire, Jamie

  “You don’t have anything to worry about. I’ve always been yours.”

  Jared took my hand and kissed my new ring, content. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

  As the evening approached, I grew increasingly nervous. Jared reassured me that Lillian was very fond of me, but it didn’t help to calm my fears.

  As soon as we walked in, the wonderful smell from my childhood saturated my senses. Jared’s mother greeted us in the foyer, and I grinned when I realized how much Jared looked like her. She hadn’t changed, only this time she was in a sage green apron. Her long blond hair enveloped her shoulders, and her wide, blue-gray eyes wrinkled with her broad smile. She approached me with open arms.

  “Nina! Nina, it’s so good to see you, honey. We’ve been waiting for you for a long time.” She hugged me tightly and then pulled Jared in to kiss his cheek. The plant Jared held caught her eye. “This is for me?”

  “Nina insisted we bring you something. I tried to tell her the poor thing would be dead in a week.”

  “Oh! Jared, you’re so silly.” She giggled, lightly smacking his shoulder.

  I could see why an angel would fall in love with her. She was a beacon of light, and love seemed to pour from her every word.

  “Come in! Come and sit; dinner is almost ready,” she said, carrying the small plant with her.

  Bex’s eyes brightened as he stood to greet me.

  Jared gestured to the boy. “Nina, this is my little brother, Bex. Bex, this is Nina Grey.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Bex said, surprising me with a hug. His blond hair was nearly white, and his big blue-gray eyes matched his freshly ironed shirt. Even at eleven, his muscles were already well on their way to his older brother’s size, and he was almost as tall as I. Jared watched me with adoration as I hugged his brother. Bex pulled out my chair, and I smiled appreciatively before taking a seat.

  I caught Claire rolling her eyes, and Jared cleared his throat.

  “Claire? Could you help me in the kitchen for a moment?” I heard Lillian say in a slightly firmer tone than she’d had moments before. Claire stiffened and then quickly joined her mother in the kitchen.

  I sat between Bex and Jared as Lillian and a significantly more affable Claire brought the dishes of food to the table.

  I felt seven years old again as Lillian circled the table, scooping out side dishes to each plate. After Lillian served me, she leaned down and kissed my cheek.

  “I have missed you, sweet Nina,” she crooned.

  When she retreated to the kitchen, Jared pulled me to him and kissed me affectionately. “I told you. She loves you.”

  I smiled, feeling a little overwhelmed at the outpouring of love. Apart from Jared, the only person that I felt loved me so deeply was my father. It felt as if I’d had a secret family my entire life that I wasn’t aware of. They had all—but one—loved me from afar and watched me grow. Gabe’s occasional proud paternal glances made more sense now.

  I looked over at Claire and wondered why they didn’t regard me in the same way that she did. My family had kept Gabe away much of the time, and now I occupied the majority of Jared’s and, until recently, Claire’s time. I couldn’t fathom the pure goodness in Lillian for loving me despite what my family had done to hers, but she sat across from me, watching me as if I were a long lost daughter who had finally returned home.

  I looked down to my food, the deluge of emotion threatening to bring tears to my eyes.

  “Nina?” Jared whispered, caressing my knee.

  I nervously chuckled. “I’m fine,” I said, looking up at him as if he’d given me the greatest gift in the world.

  He was confused at first, but my overwhelming happiness prompted a wide grin across his face. We ate and laughed as Lillian and Bex told funny stories about Jared. Even Claire allowed herself to laugh a few times. Jared and I shared our time in Little Corn, and Lillian rushed over to look at my ring, kissing her son on the head in approval.

  Lillian looked at her watch and smiled at her youngest son. “I’m afraid it’s bedtime, Bex,” she smiled.

  Bex fought a look of disappointment and nodded, stopping to hug me before he retreated upstairs.

  “Wow. What a great kid,” I mused, watching him leave.

  “He is. All of my children are exceptional,” she said, watching Bex as he climbed towards the second floor.

  “Yes, they are.” We all shared a laugh at that, and Claire cleared the table of our pie plates.

  Jared leaned over to kiss my forehead, and Lillian beamed with joy. “You make my son the happiest I have ever seen him. You don’t know how wonderful it is to finally see him smile that way.”

  I looked at Jared, who scanned my face with deep adoration. He touched my cheek, and I tore my eyes away from his affectionate stare, embarrassed by the intimate way we were behaving in front of his mother.

  I struggled to deflect the three pairs of eyes staring at me. “So how does that work? Bex having a bed time, I mean. Isn’t he awake by midnight?” I asked.

  Lillian’s musical laugh filled the air. “He has told you everything, hasn’t he?” she said, winking at her son. “The younger they are, the more they sleep. They slept almost as much as other infants when they were newborns. By their first birthdays, they no longer needed naps, but they still slept nearly through the night. My goodness, you and I would have our work cut out for us if we had babies that only slept two hours a day!” She laughed again, and I felt the blood rush to my cheeks.

  Jared shifted in his seat. “We haven’t discussed that, yet, Mom.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” She smiled sweetly. “I’m notorious for wishful thinking.”

  I felt Jared’s warm hand gently encompass mine. “Let’s just take one thing at a time. We don’t want to scare Nina off.”

  I smiled at Jared. “It would take a lot more than that to scare me off, as if that could ever happen.”

  Claire stiffened in her seat, and almost simultaneously, Jared did the same. Lillian watched her son. She was waiting for something but didn’t seem afraid. Jared turned his head, listening intently. He reminded me of a wild animal sensing danger, on alert, ears scanning the air for movement. Suddenly, Claire stood up and kicked her chair against the wall. I jumped at the noise, and then it was dark.

  “Bex,” Claire whispered.

  Jared grabbed my arm and whisked me up the stairs, with Lillian just behind us. We rushed down a long hall and then entered the last door to our right. He backed me into a corner and gently put his finger to my mouth. It was then that I realized something was very wrong.

  I could barely make out Jared’s form in the darkness as I saw him lean over Bex’s bed and whisper in his brother’s ear before disappearing silently from the room.

  It was quiet for a long time, and I jerked when I felt Lillian’s hand on my arm. My eyes darted back and forth between the door and Bex, who was lying as still as a statue in his bed.

  Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from downstairs, and I closed my eyes. My heart threatened to punch through my chest with every beat. Another crash came from a different area of the lower level, and then two gun shots rang out. I heard scuffling, and then a male voice cried out, abruptly cutting off.

  Bex remained in his bed. The room became clearer as my vision adjusted to the darkness. Unable to discern who was in the house, how many, and who was winning, I told myself that Jared was alive as long as I was.

  In the next moment, a stranger dressed in black burst through the door. The bed lit up with the beam of a flashlight, and in the next moment, the man charged, yanking Bex from his bed. I lunged forward when the man pressed cold metal against the boy’s temple.

  “NO!” I screamed. Lillian grabbed my shoulders and jerked me against her chest.

  Claire appeared in the door way, targeting the intruder with her handgun. She jerked her head up once, breathing heavily. “It’s been awhile, Crenshaw.”

  Even in the darkness, I could see a smug smile on Claire’s fa
ce, as if she had the upper hand. Crenshaw pressed the barrel of his gun against Bex’s head.

  “Claire?” Bex said, sounding as terrified as I felt.

  “It’s okay. Everything’s going to be all right,” Claire assured him.

  “Just let me take her and I’ll go quietly. I’ll leave the boy down the street,” the man growled, true fear underlying his demand.

  “You know that’s not going to happen, Crenshaw. Just take your life and go,” Claire said, looking down the sights of her firearm.

  Crenshaw tightened his grip on his gun. “I can’t go back without her—you know that. Hand Jack’s kid over and I’ll leave the boy,” he rasped.

  Bex’s head tilted from the pressure of the barrel pressing harder against his skin.

  Claire’s expression was frightening, even in the darkness. “Do you know what I’ll do to you if you leave a mark on him? Ease up on that barrel, Harry.”

  “I’ll go!” I said, desperate to end the standoff.

  Crenshaw’s attention jerked toward me then. “Nina?”

  “I’ll go with you. Just leave them alone,” I blurted out, a tear burning down my cheek.

  Claire sighed in exasperation, keeping her eyes on Crenshaw. “I’m not going to trade one brother for another, Nina. Stay where you are.”

  Crenshaw cocked his weapon, and Claire took one hand off her gun and held it palm-out toward Crenshaw. “Okay. Okay, Harry. I’m laying down my weapon. Easy does it,” she said, moving slowly to lay her gun flat on the floor.

  Lillian held her breath, and her nails lightly dug into my shoulders.

  “Your heart is racing, Crenshaw.” Claire said, standing up slowly with both hands in front of her.

  “So?”

  “So they warned you about us, didn’t they?”

  “Yeah, so?” He sniffed.

  “So when they warned you about Jared and me, and they sent twelve of you to take on two of us, and you all came in here, guns blazing, knowing most of you wouldn’t make it out”—she raised one eyebrow before getting to her point—“did they warn you about Bex?”

  Crenshaw’s head darted around to each side of him, unclear what Claire meant, but he looked terrified.

  A small hand slowly rose into the air. “Nice to meet you, Crenshaw. I’m Bex.”

  In the same second, Bex’s body blurred in movement, and Crenshaw’s dark form bent unnaturally as he cried out. I heard bones snap as the intruder’s gun fell to the floor. In the next moment, Bex stood over his assailant. In one swift jerk, Bex pulled Crenshaw’s neck, and a loud crack pierced the room.

  Lillian exhaled as Bex stood over Crenshaw’s broken body. Claire walked over to her slightly taller, younger brother and hugged him.

  “I underestimated you,” Claire said, smiling at the overgrown boy in her arms.

  “And you said I wouldn’t be able to act scared enough,” he taunted.

  “I admit it. I was totally wrong. For a second there I thought you were going to cry like a little girl. He didn’t see you coming at all,” she said, pressing her fist against his jaw.

  Bex playfully punched her in the arm, and she ruffled his hair.

  “Are you okay, Nina?” Bex asked, turning to me with a concerned expression.

  I could only lift the corners of my mouth for a second, grateful when Claire motioned for him to follow her downstairs. I recoiled as I watched Bex step over Harry Crenshaw’s body as if he were a piece of furniture.

  Jared came through the door moments later, and after surveying the scene, walked straight to me.

  “You okay, sweetheart?” he asked, pulling me tightly into his arms.

  I nodded. “Where were you?”

  “I had to take care of a few things downstairs. Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked again, holding my cheeks in his hands and scanning my face.

  I nodded again, and then my knees buckled. Jared lifted me into his arms and carried me downstairs through the darkness.

  “Should I get the lights?” Lillian asked.

  “Not yet,” Jared answered.

  I heard Claire trot down the stairs and rummage through a cabinet in the bathroom. With a small flashlight in her mouth, she turned to look at her back in the mirror as she flattened a pink Hello Kitty Band-Aid against a deep cut on her shoulder.

  Jared took me outside into the night air. “Take a few slow, deep breaths. You’ll feel better soon.”

  I felt a blanket surround me as Lillian kissed my forehead. “I’m so sorry, baby. We’ll try again another night.”

  I couldn’t reply. She acted as if she’d burned the pot roast, not that a group of men had broken into her home and assaulted her family to kidnap one of her guests.

  “I need to take Nina home. Claire and Bex can clean up. Call me if there is a problem,” Jared said.

  Lillian nodded and kissed her son.

  “I am so sorry.” I choked, the guilt crushing me.

  Jared’s mother cupped my cheek in her palm and stared at me with deep sympathy. “This is not your fault, Nina. It’s no one’s fault. It is what it is.” She shrugged with a small smile, and I tried to return her expression, but I was afraid if I let the numbness escape me for even a moment, I would break down in front of everyone.

  Once in the SUV, I asked Jared to take me to Andrews.

  “Why?” he asked, genuinely surprised.

  “I just want to go home,” I said, looking out the window.

  Jared traced my fingers with his. “I’d feel better if you stayed with me tonight.”

  “I think I . . . I just want to sleep in my bed,” I said, stumbling over my words. I had made the decision before I’d gotten in the car.

  “If that’s what you want.” He sighed in resignation, and then turned down a road that led to Brown.

  Jared slowly pulled beside the curb and switched off the ignition. Without a word, I pulled on the handle to let myself out.

  “Nina?” Jared called as he caught up with me. “I don’t think this is a good idea; you’re not in any condition to be alone.”

  “Beth is there,” I said as I continued walking.

  He stopped me just as I reached for the door. “You don’t want to be around me tonight, do you?”

  I didn’t want to say it. I begged myself not to, but I had to say the words. The tears threatened to fall, but I forced them back. “I can’t do this, Jared.”

  He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, shoving his hands in his pockets. “You can’t do what?”

  “We have to go back to the way things used to be,” I said, trying to keep my voice from breaking.

  I could see the clouds forming in his eyes. “What are you talking about?” he asked warily.

  “I . . .” My lips pressed together, afraid to speak words that would be physically painful to say, “I don’t think we should be together. I don’t see how it can work.”

  Jared was instantly angry. “Don’t do this. You think what happened at Lillian’s tonight is your fault.” He gripped my shoulders. “It’s not your fault, Nina.”

  “They came to your mother’s house, Jared, for me. If I hadn’t been there, they wouldn’t have come. Quit saying it’s not my fault. It is.”

  Jared’s eyes narrowed. “How do you think this is going to help, exactly? This isn’t the first time someone has been in our home. It’s not the first time Lillian has been in danger. She was married to Jack Grey’s guardian angel, Nina. It sort of comes with the territory.” He relaxed a bit and pulled me to him. “We can take care of ourselves, okay?”

  I pulled away from him, surprised at his casual demeanor. “You brought me to meet your family, and you expect me not to care what happens to them?”

  Jared grabbed my hands and sighed in frustration. I could see that he was desperate for me to see reason. “Nothing happened to them. I realize you were scared, but it was completely under control. You don’t think Bex has seen worse?”

  “In his home? In his room? Your eleven-year-old br
other broke a man’s neck in his bedroom, Jared. That’s not normal.”

  “We’re not normal!” He took a deep breath to keep his voice calm. “Bex just got home from training with the Marines, Nina. You’re not saving him by doing this. It’s who we are. What do you think you’ll accomplish by pushing me away?” He shook his head and looked at me as if I’d lost my mind.

  But I was resolved.

  “It’s going to keep them focused on me and out of your mother’s house.”

  Jared’s eyes darkened and a grave expression shadowed his face. “So we won’t go back there. If that’s what you want, we’ll stay away from her house.” Jared reached for me, but I moved away.

  I shook my head. “They already know who you are. They know where your mother lives. They know about Bex now. The damage is done, Jared.”

  “You’re being unreasonable. This doesn’t make any sense,” he said in a strangled tone.

  I looked to the sidewalk. “Don’t make this harder—”

  “Than it already is? Original,” he snapped. “How are we supposed to go about this, Nina? I’m no longer allowed to speak to you or touch you? You expect me to go through that again?”

  His pointed question sent a new bolt of guilt shooting through me, and I struggled to keep his pain from overriding the guilt that I felt at Lillian’s.

  “I don’t know what I expect; I just know this is too hard. It’s too . . . I’m going to get your family killed! Don’t you care about that?”

  He rolled his eyes. “You’re not going to get them killed. Three out of four of us are Half-breeds, Nina. Twelve well-trained humans couldn’t make it out of our house alive, tonight. You don’t have to do this!”

  “Hybrids,” I insisted. “Don’t fight me on this. You know I’m right. They know they can get at one of us with the other.”

  “So we’ll solve the problem, not run from it. I can’t believe you’re saying this,” he seethed. “You of all people, who stood in the freezing rain for fifteen minutes because you didn’t want to wait a few more days for me to appease your mother! Who sliced open your hand and nearly broke your arm because you had to talk to me! Two days ago we decided where our wedding will be, Nina! You’re just going to walk away from everything we’ve been fighting for?”