by J. L. Imhoff
But I am dead now to this world.
I could get away with murder.
Chapter 15
Temptation clawed at me, but I pushed the wicked impulse back down. No. I would have to answer to the High Council. And so would Roman. I couldn’t do that to him. Focus—get the locket and go.
I stepped to the master bedroom at the end of the hallway, and pushed open the door. My anger threatened to overtake me and I struggled to push it back down.
Betrayal ripped my soul apart.
Being this far away from the Connective I didn’t feel the euphoria. I was sure now. Negative human emotions surged and became overwhelming without the influence of Poseidia. My skin crawled.
Boxes lined the wall and everything was bare in the master bedroom, too. I crept down the hall toward the spare bedroom where I’d kept my jewelry, and all my clothing. I’d had my locket with me on the cruise, but had taken it off after my shower. David could have gotten rid of everything by now.
Please let it still be here, please.
I opened up the spare bedroom door and let out the breath I’d held. My old and cheap dresser stood there in the dark. I’d bought it at a second-hand shop for less than twenty bucks. David wouldn’t let me buy new furniture. All the money we made went to his tuition.
Correction. All the money I’d made.
Unselfishly, I’d settled for old and worn out. I crept over and pulled open the top drawer where I’d kept my jewelry. It was empty.
I opened all the drawers one by one, but they were all empty and I slammed them in frustration. What did he do with my stuff?
The front door opened and I froze. David? Or Roman? David’s musky scent filled my nostrils. That was fast—crap. Damn—what do I do?
David walked up the stairs, humming a song. I’d left the door open to his bedroom so I slunk back down the hallway and closed it before he reached the top of the stairs. He slipped into the shower, still singing, oblivious to my presence. Good.
What do I do? Do I leave without my locket? Or keep looking?
No—I came all this way and I’m not leaving without it. No way.
Back in the spare bedroom, I searched for a clue as to where he’d moved my belongings.
In the closet was the suitcase I’d taken on the cruise. I unzipped it. Empty. My jewelry pouch along with everything I had ever owned was missing. Damn.
David emerged from the bathroom, whistling the same tune.
I halted.
Time was slipping by too fast.
He walked by and went into the master bedroom. The bed squeaked as he sat down. I tiptoed over and listened at the door.
David’s presence tempted me. My weakness screamed for me to go in and confront him.
Why did he murder me?
Seething rage battled for control. Stealthily, I crept out into the hallway. A board creaked—I stopped.
From where I stood in the hallway, I had a clear view of him as he turned toward the direction of the noise. David’s alarm clock abruptly let out a screeching sound into the stillness of the night. After slamming his hand down to stifle the beep, he returned to his task with his back to me while he searched through his closet.
Silent, I slinked down the hallway until I stood in the doorway to his room. He pulled on boxers and a dress shirt while I moved to stand in the doorframe, silhouetted by the streetlights coming through the window.
“Who’s there?” David must have sensed me and turned around. Scents of soap, shampoo, and mint on his breath wafted over me. Underneath I smelled surprise and fear.
Complete and utter shock crossed his face as I moved toward him—his face paling as he recognized me.
Fueling my fury, I lunged toward him and knocked him onto the bed, straddling him as he fell. I pulled out Roman’s knife, and put it to his throat as I locked my hand around the hilt. Rage had won.
My once calm breath now came in hard bursts.
I’d become tougher than I thought. On top of the man I hadn’t been able to defeat, a sense of victory surged, giving me an adrenaline high. Stronger than I’d ever been in my life, to be in control this time was satisfying, to say the least.
“You’ll pay for what you did.” I didn’t recognize my own voice anymore.
“Anna? What the hell? Is that you?”
“You pushed me, and left me to die. You murdered our baby,” I boiled, pushing the knife into his neck, but careful not to break the skin. The diminishing good part of me won that fight. Far away from the governing euphoria of the Connective, I’d tried my best to choke back the emotions and pain, but failed. “Give me a reason not to slit your throat, right here, right now.” My voice sounded brave, but now my courage was fading. Almost as if an essence pressed itself into my psyche, warding off my human emotions, my rage began to fade. My heart simply wasn’t in it.
“Anna. How? How? How are you alive?” David locked his hand over mine to keep the knife at bay, swallowing audibly as sweat glistened on his forehead. “I’m so… glad to see you; I was worried about you. Everything will be okay now—you don’t have to do this. I’ve missed you so much. Drop the knife and we can talk.” His eyes darted back and forth, his lip quivering.
“Liar!” I screamed, my voice quaking.
“No, no, Anna, sweetheart, calm down. It was an accident and I’m sorry.” David swallowed again and his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
I could sense his lies, the exact way I’d experienced the dolphins’ emotions.
“Anna, I love you. What happened was a horrible accident, but you’re back now. Thank God for this miracle. Drop the knife and we can talk. I’m sorry for what happened to you—I was drinking too much and doing too many drugs… but I’m better now,” he begged.
I closed my eyes, drowning in his emotions. Overpowering, I didn’t know how to control the onslaught.
The instant I let down my guard, distracted by the confusing feelings, David knocked the knife from my hand, and it clattered to the hardwood floor. Startled by his quick movements, I froze, giving him an opportunity to punch me in the nose, bloodying it, and knocking my sunglasses to the floor. I closed my eyes, blinded by the lights, afraid he’d see my transformed pupils.
In the moment of confusion, David was able to push me backward onto the bed. “Stupid bitch—do not ever threaten me,” he growled as he jumped on top of me and wrapped his hands around my throat. “I don’t know how you survived, but you can’t be here. You’ll ruin everything.”
As David locked his hands around my throat, my scarf fell to the side. He released one hand from my throat and tore open the top of my blouse, revealing my chest. “What the hell is wrong with your skin?”
I clawed and hit at him, but he scoffed, no longer threatened by me. It infuriated me more and I opened my eyes, forgetting why I closed them in the first place.
David looked back up at my face, his ice blue eyes meeting mine, the same ones that had looked through me when I pleaded for his help. “What the fuck is wrong with your eyes?”
I sensed his shock and revulsion through the connection I somehow opened. Fear surged through his body. He let down his guard for only a moment, releasing his grip around my neck so I could breathe.
Then David was lifted off me.
“I thought you came for the locket and then we would go. He’s not worth the energy it takes to fight him,” Roman scolded, as he effortlessly lifted David up by his hair.
I’d forgotten all about Roman. Now, I recognized his as the essence, which had pushed into my mind softening my rage. How did he do that?
The alarm went off again. Startled, I sat up and slammed my fist down on the clock, breaking it. I used the scarf, which had fallen from my neck, to absorb blood as it trickled from my nose. Uh-oh. I’m in big trouble now. Dammit, how could I lose control so easily? Stupid, stupid, Anna.
“Who the hell are you? What locket?” David screeched. “She attacked me. I was only defending myself.”
While Roman had Dav
id by the hair, he inquired with exaggerated politeness, “The lady wants her locket. Do you have it?”
“No,” David lied. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I sensed his deceit. “My locket. The one I always wore with my mom’s picture. I took it off… and left it on the dresser in our cabin. What did you do with it?”
“Oh, that cheap thing? It’s not even real gold.”
“Where is it?” I screamed, lunging for him.
Roman stopped me with his hand, keeping me arm’s length away from David.
“I want him to pay for what he did. For killing my baby,” I protested, but eased off and backed away.
“He will. He has to live with himself for the rest of his pathetic life,” Roman snarled. “Where is the locket?” Roman shook David.
“I don’t remember,” David replied. His eyes slid over to the nightstand.
I rushed over, dumped the drawer contents on the floor, and searched frantically. Nothing.
David chuckled.
“Let’s go, Anna. We’re running out of time,” Roman demanded, the veins on his forehead bulging.
The clock had read 2:45 a.m. before I smashed it. Damn. “We still have some time,” I groaned, unsure. This is my one chance.
“No, we don’t.” Roman tossed David to the floor like a ragdoll.
“But…” I turned to David, “Where is my jewelry? I want my mother’s locket. Where is it?”
David shrugged one shoulder while licking his lips and raising his brows.
“Anna, let’s go now,” Roman barked. He’d lost his patience with me.
I strolled over to David and slapped him hard across the face.
David touched where I hit him, looking as if he wanted to say something. What came through to me the moment I touched my hand to his face was his blistering rage. He stared at me, his eyes seething, his breathing hard.
To Roman I acknowledged, “You’re right, we need to go—home.” I pleaded to him with my eyes to drag me out of this hellhole. I was no longer human and didn’t fit in their world.
David wasn’t going to tell me where my locket was. My guess was he’d thrown it away. And we didn’t have time to search the entire house. I’d ruined my chance. Now I knew I’d have to let it go and I guess that gave me some sort of closure. Eventually I would learn to live without my locket. But I screwed up by attacking David.
The bleeding from my nose had stopped and I tucked the bloody scarf into my back pocket. My neck was sore and I rubbed the place his hands had been. My cheek burned where his fist landed before it came across my face to my nose. That is going to leave a mark.
Roman pulled me by the collar on my shirt, out of the room, and the house. In the car, I sped out, squealing tires in the process.
“We’re not in that much of a hurry,” Roman solemnly said through clenched teeth, shaking his head.
“Yeah,” I swallowed audibly, gripping the steering wheel, “but it was fun.” I chuckled lightly, hoping to break the tension. “And he might call the cops.”
“He won’t. What would he say, ‘My girlfriend, who is back from the dead, hit me?’ No, he won’t call, so slow down.” He bellowed the last few words so loudly I swore the car shook in fear.
“I’m not his girlfriend,” I corrected as I drove, easing off on the accelerator.
“What were you thinking? You promised me no contact. Now I’m going to have to make excuses to the High Council. I told you not to not be seen for a reason. When I sensed your emotions change, I opened the window for you to crawl through. Didn’t you see me sitting in the tree outside?”
“Well, it’s not like I was looking through the window.”
“I told you to hide and I would get you out.” Clearly frustrated, Roman rammed his fist into the dashboard. “Didn’t you remember?” His face grew redder, if that was even possible. “You’re weak.”
I opened my mouth to defend myself and propose instead I was only human. But—I wasn’t anymore. He was right—I was weak. “No, I… I… I’m sorry, I didn’t remember. In the moment, I forgot about everything but my rage. It was a stupid impulse,” I admitted. “I don’t know why I did it. I… wanted to see his face when he saw me back from the dead.”
“Didn’t you hear me?”
“Hear you?” Confused at first, it dawned on me he had tried telepathy. “I sensed you… trying to redirect my emotions. But I can’t hear you… like that. I thought you knew.”
He shook his head in disgust. “We would have been better off if you had killed him. That’s an easier mess to clean-up. Now we have a witness.”
My shoulders tensed and we rode in silence. It was about five miles later when Roman said, “I’ll take my knife back now.”
Crrrrap. “I thought you had it,” I moaned, deflating.
“You had it, remember?”
I sucked in my breath and held it until I no longer could. “David knocked it out of my hand right before he hit me. In my rush to get out, I forgot about it. I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”
“You do understand we can’t leave it behind, right?”
“Do you want me to go back?” I asked, slowing the car.
He did a twirling action with his hands and turned to stare out the window.
I stopped the car, turned around, and headed back. The tension was so palpable I could barely breathe.
Shit, he’s furious. Stupid, stupid, Anna. “He’s not going to let us in to search,” I argued.
“Park down the street and we’ll wait him out. Do you still have the key?” His voice lowered, as if resigned to fixing the mess I made.
After fumbling awkwardly in my pocket, I handed it over to Roman.
Moments later David emerged with his briefcase, dressed for work. He hurriedly got in his car and left.
Cautiously, we reentered the house to search for the knife. Roman tossed the master bedroom while I rummaged through the spare, but neither of us found the blade.
“Any luck?” I squeaked, nervously twisting my fingers together as I knew the answer.
“No. Let’s get back to Poseidia—we’re pushing our luck as it is.” Roman ran his hands through his hair, his face reddening again.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled as I followed him out to the car.
Roman stalked to the driver’s side and silently held out his hand for the keys. Without hesitating, I turned them over and got into the passenger seat. Yeah, probably a good idea.
Chapter 16
On the ride back to the Mer house, I repeated I was sorry about a hundred times. Roman said nothing, lost in his own thoughts. Between spoken apologies, I scolded myself.
After a painfully long trip—much farther than I remembered—back at the Mer house, Roman reversed the car into the garage.
We wandered into the kitchen while I stalled, trying to come up with a plan to get the knife back. It was my fault and I needed to fix it—I would figure out a way. I only needed time to think.
“Let’s change and get back,” Roman said.
“Am I going to be in trouble with the High Council again? I blew it, didn’t I?” I finally voiced what I had been stewing on the whole ride.
“I’ll handle it,” he said through tight lips.
“I’m sorry about the knife,” I repeated as I submissively headed back to the bedroom, which had my clothes. Before I closed the door, I turned, and watched Roman walk into the other room, slamming the door without a glance back.
Guilt washed over me.
I changed out of the human clothing and put my dress back on.
For a moment, I contemplated not taking the purse I’d packed earlier, but I couldn’t come up with any reason not to have some underwear—I was already in trouble. With the wide leather straps slung over my shoulder and the bulging bag tucked behind my back, I returned to the room Roman had entered. As I went to knock on the door, it swung open, and he stood there in his ripped jeans and nothing else. “Yes?” He smiled, his foul mood seeming
to have miraculously vanished.
I grinned in reply. Maybe he’s not mad anymore?
“You’re a slow changer. And here I thought girls dawdled. Anyway, I’m ready to go whenever you are,” I joked, hoping to maintain his lighter mood. I’m not going to bring it up if he’s not.
Roman dragged me into the room, pushed me up against the wall, and kissed me hard—his lips were soft yet demanding. Passion penetrated every cell of my being. His hand pressed hard into my hips as he ground them into my electroreceptors.
“Girl, huh?” Roman groaned into my ear as he pushed his pelvis into me.
Again, I lost control, desire taking over. His arms locked around me and guided me to the bed. The edge of the mattress hit my leg as he pushed me onto it, holding my arms above my head.
With his hand, he gently traced the electroreceptors on my arms, and then down my legs. Every time his fingers touched a receptor, it sent electricity and desire through me. I arched up to him as he pressed his hand into my lower back, and then lowered his head to my neck. Lips brushed my skin, sending shockwaves to my pelvis.
“What do you desire?” he whispered, in my ear.
I moaned in response, unable to form a coherent answer.
He flicked the clip on his ear. “Shall we?”
“What?” I stammered, regaining my senses through a clouded haze.
“Go home.”
Deflated, I searched his eyes. A cold shower was needed now, but he was right—we should get back. “Uhhh,” I groaned as I covered my eyes, expressing my frustration. I deserved it. “Fine, let’s go.” I don’t need to be pulled into this kind of entanglement anyway.
Demonstrating a complete lack of modesty, Roman changed his pants, took my hand, and led me back into the hallway, which held the closet with the portal in it. I adjusted the purse as we walked through the portal door.
Back in my quarters, Roman closed the portal, and I hugged him tight.