by Ada Frost
“Okay, baby, Mummy’s home.”
I hit the lights and reached out, grabbing Aloura and hauling her to me as we both gazed around the room. I pulled out my cell and dialled the police. I held Aloura against me so tight she huffed out a breath. There was no way I was letting her go. Ice chilled my veins as a cold shiver crept down my spine. Her body trembled against my side as she stared at the patio doors.
Someone had been in her home.
Without activating the alarm.
You failed.
After I called the police, I alerted the main house and woke her father. Obviously he was frantic, and said he would be here in a few moments. I still hadn’t let Aloura out of my arms. We stood just inside the doorway. Her gaze hadn’t moved from the collage of pictures covering the glass doors.
“The police won’t be long,” I reassured her quietly. She didn’t answer. “Aloura?”
“How did they get in?” Her voice trembled, and my stomach twisted. I wrapped both my arms around her and held her close to me. She buried her face in my chest and released a long shuddering breath.
The alarm was never activated.
The dog knew this person.
She knew them.
You failed.
I opened my mouth to speak when the door flew open. I pushed Aloura behind me and stood ready to tackle whoever it was. When I registered it was Graham, I relaxed slightly. He had clearly ran from their house because he was panting, closely followed by her mom. He was dressed in striped lounge pants and a white t-shirt. His silver hair was mussed, and his eyes were groggy with sleep. Her mom was clutching at a black silk robe. Her hair was braided in a thick plait.
“Baby,” she said, going straight to her daughter and taking her in her arms. Graham’s attention went to the collage.
Slowly he headed over to the images. I glanced at Aloura, closed and bolted the door, and followed Graham. The images were all of Aloura. But more worryingly – they were of her in her home.
“What the hell is that?” Graham snarled and pointed to a group of photos in the centre. All were pretty dark and incredibly incriminating. A cold chill raced down my spine. I stiffened and glanced over my shoulder at Aloura. Her mom had her arm around her as they came across the room to join us. They both followed Graham’s finger, and Aloura gasped at the images displayed.
They were taken tonight while we were at the club. In most of them Aloura was sitting beside Lou laughing and drinking. But the ones that had Graham’s hackles rising were the ones I had my arms around her while we danced, and when we were in the secluded corner – kissing. It was nothing more than a moment in time, but the image showed a very different picture. I could see from Graham’s perspective how passionate of an embrace it appeared.
You failed.
“Dad.”
She was interrupted by a call from the main gate.
“Don’t touch anything,” I snapped, pointing at them as if they were under suspicion. I ran upstairs to watch the monitors, two police cars at the gates. I pressed the button to allow them in. Then I scrolled through the camera feeds.
Movement on the screen caught my attention. I watched as the police cruisers pulled up outside the house. Two officers from each car got out. Two headed around the house, and two came to the door. I padded out of my room and raced down the stairs. Graham was heading across the room to answer the door.
“It’s the police.”
He bobbed his head but made no attempt to look at me. I glanced at Aloura, but her attention hadn’t swayed from the images. There must have been a hundred.
All of her.
Slowly, I navigated my way past the furniture and stood by her side. “You okay?” Never in all my life had I wanted to put my arms around someone as much as I wanted her in my embrace. I needed to keep her safe. I wanted her close.
“Why would they do this?” For the first time since entering the house she looked at me. Those big brown eyes blinked; tears shined in them. I reached out without thought and brushed my thumb over her cheek. “Why would they want to hurt him this way?” she whispered. I was captivated by her. My thumb traced over her creamy skin, rough against smooth. Her complexion was flawless – that’s when her words hit me.
“Hurt him?”
“My dad. That’s what, whoever did this, was aiming for right? To hurt my dad?”
“No, honey. This is a personal attack at you, not your dad,” her mom interrupted.
Aloura’s eyes gazed at me as if waiting for my confirmation. I stepped into her space and spoke in a low tone.
“I’m here to keep you safe. But your mom is right; this is directed at you. I think their plan has changed.”
“Why?” Her tone was so deflated I could almost see her slipping into shock. I needed to touch her.
“People are fucked in the head. Evil has no reason for existing. There are people out there who will attack the good to make their pitiful lives more meaningful.”
“How? You secured the place.”
“I have no idea how they got in. I can only apologise about that. But I will never leave your side. I swear it.”
You failed her, and them.
She huffed out a breath and leaned into me, burying her face in my chest. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and held her to me. She was shaking, but I knew she wasn’t crying. When I lifted my gaze, her mom was watching us with a look of concern and bewilderment. Graham wanted to cut my balls off and feed them to the rat if his vicious snarl was anything to go by. And being the sick twisted bastard I was, I held Aloura tighter.
“The police will need to talk to us,” I whispered against her ear. She shivered, and I glanced around for a sweater or something. I rubbed my hands up and down her arms, trying to generate some heat when she shivered again.
Over the back of the couch I noticed a throw blanket. Holding her close, I moved us over to it. Opening it up, I draped it around her shoulders.
“What’s that for?”
“You were shivering.” I tucked it tight around her and held it together at her chin. Her small hands clasped the fabric and hugged it close to her.
“I wasn’t cold,” she muttered before turning towards her parents and the police officers.
After two hours of police questions and them scoping the grounds and taking evidence, they dispatched. I had shown them the camera footage of a guy, medium build dressed all in black, enter the property. He fussed the dog before going through the house. He plastered the photos on the doors before turning to wave at the camera outside the patio door. The fucker knew they were there, and he was playing us. The bizarre aspect, he arrived shortly after we left for the club, and returned before we came home to add the photos he had clearly taken of us at the club. I stood facing the doors that were now clear of images, as they had been taken as evidence. Forensics had photographed the scene. The footage was in their possession too.
“I want you out of this house and off of my property,” Graham demanded from across the room. Sally grumbled, rolling her eyes at Graham’s outburst. Aloura slumped down on the sofa and placed her head in her hands. I couldn’t take my gaze from her even though the insensitive prick wanted a showdown now.
“I am talking to you,” he snapped and stalked towards me. Slowly I lifted my head and glared at him. I gritted my teeth and fisted my hands. There was no way I would start shit in front of Aloura and her mom, but the fucker had another thing coming if he thought I was leaving Aloura here.
“Graham, calm down.”
“Do not tell me to calm down, Sally. How the hell did they get this close to her? You were supposed to be protecting her.”
“They weren’t close,” I replied calmly. “The reason they only managed to get photos of her was because I was there as her security detail.”
“I don’t think so. You failed to do your job.”
“I failed at nothing. She was safe with me. No one touched her. But they sure had easy access to her home, a home you live a hundred yard
s from.” Sally flinched at my tone. Even to my ears, it was deadly.
“Who the hell do you think you are?”
“The man you paid to protect her.”
“Protect her, not maul her. What you thought she was a cheap –”
“You finish that sentence, and I will slap you,” Sally said, pushing at Graham’s chest. “Stop being a neanderthal and think. In every photo he is by her side. She is never alone because he was there, keeping her safe. That is what we pay him for. What our daughter decides to do personally is entirely up to her. She isn’t a little girl anymore Graham, so stop being an idiot.”
“I warned him.”
“Oh, shut up. If you had listened to your parents, you would be shacked up with boring Brian the bell-end botanist.”
I opened my mouth to interject when manic laughter from the lump hiding under the blanket startled me. We all turned to stare at the shape shuddering under the blanket. Concern swamped me when she sounded like she was crying more than laughing. Her mom was the one to step forward and go to her daughter. She squat down in front of the blanket and tugged it over her head so they were both hidden underneath. They spoke in hushed tones for a few moments. My gaze never left their huddle, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t feel the cold hard stare of her father. In my peripheral vision I saw him glaring at me, with his hands cocked on his hips. I understood his anger. I was angry at myself for getting in the situation.
Did I regret touching her? Yeah.
Why? Because I wanted to be the one under that blanket holding her. I wanted to touch her so much my hands ached for it. I desired her with a desperation I had never owned before. My control was slipping, and I needed to rein that shit back in. Clearing my mind, I stepped back, but there still wasn’t enough space between us. She was the type of perfection someone like me would never be able to have. I glanced across at her father. Seeing the disgust in his face crippled me. Shaking my head, I focused to see Graham’s lip curl in anger.
He saw me.
He knew.
I stumbled back again, bracing my hands on the wall behind me.
Aloura lifted the blanket and offered me a gentle smile. Her mom stood and headed to Graham. She said something to him, but he shook his head and continued to glare at me.
“Dad, it was me that kissed him. He never so much as touched me. Those photos show the moment he pushed me away. He isn’t interested. Are you?” She spun to face me. Her eyes widened at whatever she saw, but just as quickly her expression cleared, and her attention went back to her parents. “Dad, I was drunk, an idiot, and he was a gentleman. I know what it looks like, but the truth is he never touched me. Ask Harry. He was there.”
“But –” Graham started, but Aloura cut him off by throwing her arms around him and whispering something to him.
I was on the edge of a cliff ready to fall. I couldn’t hold on much longer. Shakes overtook my body, and my vision blurred. My chest tightened. I couldn’t breathe. Everything inside me screamed at me to go to her, to wrap her in my arms and never let go. But the noises were laughing, calling out truths, heckling me. I waited for the moment for them to see inside me. To see the horrors that were hidden beneath my skin.
The darkness is inside you boy.
You are one of us
Graham headed to the door and cast me a final warning glare, but whatever Aloura said placated him enough. Her parents were leaving her with a monster. I screwed my eyes tightly shut and lifted my fist against the side of my head. I yanked my cap down, trying to cover my ears. Shaking my head, a growl escaped me.
Dirt runs in your veins.
Boys like you are nothing but toys.
“No.” I lifted my fists and pounded them against my temples. I sucked in air. I couldn’t breathe. I placed my hand over my chest. I was choking. I glanced around the room; the air was so thin. Slurred voices called out to me, but they were far away.
I needed space. I couldn’t breathe.
I staggered towards the stairs. Something restrained me, grappling hands.
Hands everywhere, mouths, touching...so much touching.
Choking out a frightened sob, I pressed my palm against my captor and pushed.
Our toy.
My feet wouldn’t work. It was like trudging through sludge. I used my hands and clawed up the stairs; stumbling, I cracked my knee on a solid step. The pain didn’t register, only the screaming noises and echoed voices.
“Ryan?”
Blood...so much blood but it was never mine...
“Ryan.”
Voices echoed around me. my vision blurred. And I slumped against the wall. I pressed the heels of my palms against my eyes and willed the images and noises to back away, to give me space to breathe.
“Ryan.” That voice, again, reverberated through me. That gentle melodic tone reaching into the darkness to protect me. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms over my head because I knew it had to be an illusion. There was no saviour. The shadows came and swallowed you whole. My chest hurt like a motherfucker because I was holding my breath.
“Ryan, breathe, honey.”
Their blood will be on your hands. You will fail, boy.
“No,” I gasped, rocking forward and back as my father’s voice pulsed through me.
“Ryan –”
“Don’t touch me,” I growled when hands pressed against my knees. Immediately the touch was gone.
A soft voice whispered through the darkness. I felt like I was chasing them down a tunnel. I clutched my chest and pressed against the wall. I was having a damn heart attack. I opened my eyes and saw Aloura crouched before me.
“Hey.”
“I shouldn’t have been there. I was hiding. They’re dead because I’m a coward,” I panted, sucking air into my lungs. I was dying. And panic clawed at me. “It was my choice, my fault. I enlisted to fucking hide.” I yanked at my hat and gripped tightly to my head. “I don’t deserve to be home; they do. They all do. I failed. He said I would.”
“What can I do?”
I glanced up at the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was the voice chasing me. Her brown eyes held understanding not blame. She was imploring me to let her help.
“Tell me what I can do,” she said.
“I don’t know.”
“Ryan, I need you to breathe. In – out.” She sucked in a breath and released it.
“I know how to fucking breathe,” I snarled. She never flinched. She continued to breathe slowly, and I found myself copying her.
“Tell me what you need,” she asked firmly.
I fixed my eyes on her mouth, watching as she inhaled and exhaled. My chest loosened. My pulse slowed.
“I don’t know.”
I covered my ears when the noises started screaming again. They attacked when I was weak. I couldn’t be this pathetic.
“The noises.”
“Noises?” she asked quietly, no accusation. There was silence from her, but the voices in my head were escalating, screams; vile twisted hateful words echoed around in my skull.
“Ryan, think of the music. Remember when you came to the music room? Think of...me...playing. Can you do that? I was playing ‘Fly’ by Ludovico Einaudi. Do you remember?”
I sucked in a breath, trying to concentrate on her words. I watched her lips as she spoke softly to me, trying to protect me. That wasn’t her job. I wasn’t worth protecting. People like her deserved that, needed that.
“I shouldn’t be here. I’m not fit for this.”
“Concentrate on remembering the music, Ryan. I have what I need. No one is replacing you, so unless you want me on my own, you stay. No one can replace you.”
“Aloura.” My voice was a breathy plea. She needed to realise I was a dangerous man. I couldn’t even control my own body. My mind belonged to the shadows of my past. I couldn’t be what she needed. Her soft hand cupped my cheek. When I lifted my gaze to her chocolate eyes, I knew the stubborn woman wouldn’t let me go.
I gritted
my teeth and closed my eyes. “You’re a fool.”
“No, you are the fool if you think I can let you go.”
God, she was going to be the death of me.
His confused gaze almost brought me to my knees. I could only surmise that what had just happened was a panic attack. Not having seen one before, I didn’t know what to do other than talk to him. I was so glad I was able to usher Mum and Dad through the door before they noticed anything. Dad’s scepticism about Ryan was at an all-time high. Witnessing that would surely have pushed him over the edge, but there was no way I was continuing this bodyguard business without Ryan. I trusted him. He acted a little strange, but I couldn’t and wouldn’t turn my back on him.
“What?” he croaked; he glanced around the hallway again. It had been painful watching him stumble and crawl his way up the stairs. When I followed, he was cowered against the wall, hugging his head and muttering. Then he held his chest and gasped for breath. It was terrifying. More than once I tried to get to him, to wrap my arms around him and hold him, but he was catatonic.
I’d assumed the other night he had said those things about the noises to ease my nerves. I never for one minute thought the noises were really plaguing him.
We were still in the hallway in the upstairs landing. He was sitting against the wall with his massive legs bent and his arms rested over the top. I was sitting opposite with my legs crossed, watching him, waiting for him to gather himself and hopefully explain what had just happened.
“He wasn’t in any of those photos. Everyone from our group was in at least one, except him. He arrived late and he left early,” Ryan mused with a frown marring his features.
“Who?” I asked, not following. I wasn’t sure if he was still in a semi-daze.