by D. C. Gambel
I smirked at Derek for not asking the details when I could see his face brimming with curiosity. “A drinking partner?”
He grinned crookedly. This time when he reached for the bottle, I let him take it. “You got it.”
“And why did I think he was my soul mate? Because some demon goddess said so?” I asked leaning against the kitchen bar. Derek was attempting to make me something to eat. We’d finished off the bottle of whiskey and had moved on to the vodka. I believed Derek was striving to slow me down by drinking more of the alcohol himself. Little did he know, I was okay with that because it meant he was catching up to my level of awesomeness.
“No,” he slurred placing a peanut butter sandwich before me. I chuckled because he was no kitchen wiz like Ty, but I appreciated the sentiment all the same. “I think it had more to do with the way you two connected. As someone who was jealous of said connection, it was hard not to notice it.”
“Then how could he cheat on me?” I wondered grabbing my sandwich heading back to the living room where the alcohol waited. “I mean if he was my soul mate, shouldn’t it be impossible for that to happen or something.”
Derek offered me the bottle taking the spot beside me having given up on keeping to a separate couch. It made sharing the bottle easier. “I think people make mistakes. Are you really willing to give up on him over this one?”
I shrugged unsure. “I don’t know if I can get past him hurting me. Not like this.”
“Then maybe,” he grabbed the bottle placing it on the end table beside him. “You should sober up to think about it.”
I gapped at him with a grin. “You did not just cut me off.”
“Eat your sandwich and I’ll consider giving you back the bottle.”
“I don’t like peanut butter,” I lied reaching across him for the vodka. I wasn’t really interested in the alcohol feeling pretty buzzed at the moment, but I wasn’t going to let Derek think he could prevent me unless I wanted to stop.
Derek countered my move or maybe it was my sluggish body, but I fumbled landing in Derek’s lap. I giggled as he tried to help me right myself. It did little to help, finding too much humor in the situation that he kept losing his hold until eventually he joined in my delight.
Once my chest hurt from laughing, I finally pulled myself up placing my hands on Derek’s shoulders for help, when it occurred to me how close we were. With just a whisper of space between, I took in his features having never taken the time to admire him before. It would have been so much easier to have fallen for Derek. He was a good guy, the type that made a good boyfriend. He would have never hurt me or cheated on me.
My gaze locked on his blue eyes then fell to his lips before meeting his gaze once more where I watched the humor fade away replaced with something else.
Chapter 16
Groaning, I clutched my throbbing head as it pulsated between my palms, hoping the pressure would help ease it. It didn’t. Groggily, my eyes fluttered trying to open. After several failed attempts, I blinked away the sleep wincing at the bright light of morning, even though it barely crept in behind the unfamiliar gray drapes. Glancing around the room, I blinked again sure I was seeing things incorrectly. Perhaps I was dreaming but then I doubted my head would be killing me as badly as it was. The surroundings weren’t familiar, yet they were similar. A groan beside me alerted me I wasn’t alone. I vaulted straight up, even though my head protested against it, the bedding falling to my hips. I was momentarily grateful that the cool kiss of the air didn’t press against me, until I looked down to see I was clad in an unfamiliar t-shirt and my panties.
Glancing to my right, I took in the blonde hair lying on the pillow beside me.
“Derek?”
No, no, no. The words became my personal montage. I tried to remember what happened the night before. I remembered drinking, talking, falling into his lap, but after that everything was blank.
I focused on my body. My panties were still in place and even though my muscles ached, I didn’t feel the familiar sensations that followed after sex. I still didn’t fully trust me assessment, not until I heard it confirmed, and only one person could do that.
“Derek?” I called out looking straight ahead. I hadn’t noticed his attire or lack there of with the exception of his bare back suggesting he was shirtless.
When he didn’t budge, I grabbed the pillow I had been using and smacked him with it. He groaned sluggishly before turning a glare at me. “What?” he asked not seeming surprised that I was here, in his bed.
Swallowing hard past the lump in my throat, I croaked, “What happened last night?”
The cocky smirk on his face made my stomach sink. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.
“You got majorly hammered. I mean I’ve seen you drunk before but nothing on that level. It was epic.”
Biting my lip, I blinked trying to form my next question. “Did we…?”
His brow furrowed as if he was struggling to process my question and then enlightenment hit. “You think…? I just told you that you were seriously drunk. I wouldn’t take advantage of you like that, Evie and I wouldn’t have let you use me either just because you’re pissed at Cam.”
My head fell between my shoulders feeling both guilty and relieved.
“I’m sorry, Derek. It’s just I woke up in your bed, in what I assumed is your shirt.”
“It’s not mine.” I turned, questioning him with a look. “It’s Ty’s. He was doing laundry before he left. You spilled most of your spiked Kool-Aid on you and you didn’t want to go upstairs to change. If you don’t believe me you can go downstairs and look. I’m sure your discarded clothes are still laying across the back of the couch.”
“I stripped in front of you?” My cheeks flamed. Only Cam had ever seen me naked. Could I have really been that reckless? I didn’t even know where Cam and I stood to act that way in front of a guy that wasn’t only a friend and a roommate to us both, but someone who had known feelings for me. Surely I couldn’t have been that callous.
He scoffed humorlessly. “No. I turned my back. You really think so little of me.” He huffed and started climbing out of bed.
“Derek, no,” I sighed reaching for him. He sat on the edge of the bed, but moved no further to get up; neither did he turn to face me. I crawled up behind him wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember anything,” I whispered. “I’m just trying to piece the night together.”
He bowed his head giving it a gentle nod. “We were up late. You were convinced that Cam wouldn’t stay away so you asked to stay here. I tired to sleep on the floor,” he gestured to the pile of blankets that formed a pallet, “but you started crying and I comforted you. I guess I fell asleep.”
I laid my head gently on his shoulder. “Thank you so much for taking care of me and being a good friend,” I said letting my hands grip his biceps.
Then, for the second time that morning, my world tilted on its axel. The door swung open and Cam appeared in the frame holding my discard shirt and bra. My eyes widened but he hadn’t noticed me.
“Derek, have you seen Evie? She not in either of the roo—” His words fell off taking in the scene before him. My reflexes were sluggish courtesy to my hangover. It wasn’t until he was halfway through his question that I realized how this appeared. “You’re fucking kidding me!” he spat. Dropping my clothes he charged in.
“Cam!” I called out trying to get to him, but he already had Derek off the bed. His fist cracked against Famine’s jaw, but the horseman did nothing to fight against War. “Cam!” I screamed leaping onto his back wrapping my arms around him similar to how I had just been with Derek. The irony wasn’t lost on me. Where Derek had been convincing me nothing happened, I now had to convince Cam the same.
He reached up trying to slacken my grip, but I locked my legs around his waist refusing to let go even if he managed to remove my hands.
“Nothing happened,” I stated in his ear worried he wouldn’t hear me over
his own rage.
“You expect me to believe that? Get off me, Evie. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Then stop and listen.”
He shook his head. “I hurt you. I know. Now you’re in his bed. You’re clothes were skewed downstairs.” He turned his glare back to Derek. “You just couldn’t wait for the opportunity, could you?”
Derek stayed were he was rubbing his jaw were Cam clocked him. “She’s right. Nothing happened. I was a friend to her last night because she needed one after her boyfriend, and would be soul mate, broke her heart.”
And just like that, I felt the fight leave Cam. His shoulders slumped. He reached up gently peeling me off of his body, and I let him. Slowly, I slid down his body until my feet touched the floor. Cam turned facing me the moment he no longer felt me against him.
“Nothing happened?” he asked.
I shook my head. Now that the fight was over, just the sight of him had the tears brimming in my eyes. All the emotions from the day before came rushing back. I glanced over Cam’s shoulder to Derek, who noticed my state. He sighed sympathetically.
“Thank you for last night. I’m sorry about…”
I barley noticed him nod before I spun and was out of the room. Charging down the hall, I stopped just outside of the bedroom I shared with Cam. I needed clothes, but I didn’t want to go in there, into the room where my heart was broken.
“Evie?” I didn’t even bother turning to see who was calling. Instead, like a coward, I darted into the bathroom locking both doors. I heard the bedroom door open then Cam’s voice came from the other side of the bathroom door that led into our bedroom. “Baby?” He called out. A gentle thump sounded from the other side. I could almost picture Cam leaning his head against the door. “Please talk to me. It’s killing me that I hurt you.”
I covered my mouth to hold back the sob threatening to escape. I didn’t want him to know how much his words broke me. I didn’t want to hate him and I hated that he was hurting, but I couldn’t fix it because I couldn’t forgive what had occurred. Whether he meant to or not. It didn’t matter. The pain it caused was real and it was all I could feel.
I waited until he was speaking again before flicking the lock to the door that led into the hallway.
“You know I would never intentionally hurt you. You are everything to me, Evie. Please,” he sighed heavily. “Please tell me I haven’t ruined us?”
Having already twisted the knob open, I was padding down the hall as stealthily as I could with a new urgency. I froze when Derek noticed me. He was holding my discarded clothes. In the pile were my jeans and boots, along with the stained bra and shirt he’d mentioned that I’d left downstairs, that Cam had so kindly brought up.
“Evie?” he asked, but I raced towards him pressing my finger to my mouth. I grabbed what I needed not caring about the rest then sped downstairs.
I was halfway out of the house before I was sliding into my boots having fought my pants during my exit. Grabbing my jacket and gloves on the way out to keep anyone I came across safe, I realized I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t be were Cam could find me. The pain was still too raw. He was my soul mate, I believed that, but that didn’t give him a free pass. On foot, I raced to the edge of the property. Reaching for my phone, I groaned realizing it wasn’t there. I had nothing. No phone, no wallet. I didn’t even have a bra.
There was a gas station a few blocks up. I couldn’t get to it on the main road without risking Cam finding me. Instead, I cut through the woods staying close to the tree line to not get lost, but far enough in the thick of it to not be seen.
Coming up behind the gas station, I glanced around using my hearing. The roar of Cam’s Mustang was vacant from the melody that surrounded me. It didn’t mean he wasn’t out. He could have grabbed one of the guys’ cars knowing I’d recognize the tenor of his car. Deciding to risk it, I hesitantly walked out of the woods. Coming up the side of the building, I glanced around again but saw no sign of him.
I entered the establishment seeing a teenage girl slumped over the counter whose blonde hair was in serious need of a wash. Annoyingly she chomped away on the gum in her mouth without even acknowledging me.
“Can I use your phone?”
Glancing up, she eyed me with disgust. “Ever hear of a cell phone?”
“You mean those strange devices that the government is using to monitor our every move?” The way her eyes widen, I almost smiled. “I refuse to be tracked. So can I just use your phone?” I gestured to the landline. I needed to hurry.
“Yeah,” she shoved it over to me. I smirked when I saw her eyeing her own cell with a newfound disgust. I was momentarily grateful I had memorized Charlie’s cell long ago and recalled it with ease.
“Hello?” She answered curiously and I sighed that she picked up at all.
“Hey, it’s me.”
“I’ve been texting you all morning. Is this a new number?” I heard her shift almost like she pulled the phone from her ear to double check the number.
“No, I’m at a gas station and was hoping you could come get me.”
“A gas…What?”
“It’s a long story to which I will explain after you come get me.” I asked the clerk for the physical address before reciting it back to Charlie. “I can’t wait here. When you pull up honk twice and wait. It’ll take me a few minutes to get to you.”
“Why don’t you just tell me where you’ll be?”
“I did. Just trust me, Char, and please, for the love of God, don’t tell Cam where I am.”
“Uh oh, trouble in paradise?”
“Something like that,” I mumbled. “Promise?”
“Of course. As long as I get the dets when I arrive. I’m at work so it shouldn’t take me more than fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll be waiting.” Hanging up, I slid the phone back across the counter. “Thanks and if a really attractive man comes asking for me, you haven’t seen me.”
She rolled her eyes, but said nothing.
Taking in my surroundings, I darted out of the store and back into the tree line. Squatting down, I eyed the street as cars passed going about their day. It’d been almost twenty minutes when my legs felt like they’d fall off if I didn’t stand to stretch them out. Reluctantly I did just that.
I smiled when I saw Charlie’s old pinto pull up. Not waiting for the honk, I began making my way to it. I didn’t even hear the crunch of dead foliage before arms wrapped around me and everything went black.
Waking for the second time in the space of a day to pounding in my head was disparaging. Waking up in another unfamiliar bed was perplexing. It didn’t hold the same similarities as the room where I’d woken this morning, I noticed, which meant I wasn’t at the manor.
“Don’t worry, sunshine,” Shane called out as he entered the room. “You’ll get use to the noise.” He shrugged. “Or you won’t. Doesn’t matter. We won’t be here long.” He handed me a Styrofoam cup that contained what I assumed to be coffee even though it smelt nothing like any coffee I had ever drank. I realized the noise he meant was the rattling of the building as a train passed close by.
“How did I get here?” I demanded. I knew I wasn’t that hung-over to pass out. I remember waiting for Charlie, but nothing else. “How did you find me?”
“Let’s just call it a hunch that I knew you’d be running. Either that or perhaps I tapped a certain blonde’s phone,” he chuckled lightly to himself. Asking why I was there was insignificant. Shane made it clear, abundantly, that he wanted my help and “no” wasn’t an answer he was willing to accept. Instead I used my energy to scan the room for a possible escape. The place was tiny. I considered shoving Shane and trying for the window, but with no idea how high up we were, I could end up in a worse situation. He was blocking the front door plus I didn’t know what was on the other side—perhaps more people. Shane had worked with vampires and demons in the past and I doubted he’d keep me anywhere near people who were affected by my gift.
I eyed the coffee needing the caffeine, but I didn’t wholeheartedly trust Shane not to poison me, again. Having spent most of the previous night drinking, sleep had been minimal. My anxiety was shooting through the roof. No one knew where I was. I had given Charlie a vague idea, but only God knew how far we were from where I’d been taken. My forgotten electronics meant we couldn’t be tracked. I didn’t even have ID.
“If you’re done,” Shane began wise enough to know I wasn’t going to be a passive prisoner. Holding up a strange looking blade with even stranger engravings, he smirked. “I suggest you behave. Do you know what this is?”
With a knitted brow, I examined the blade he held when I was suddenly hit with enlightenment. “The Blade of Sin,” I gasped.
“Very good. I see you are further along than I anticipated. Then you surely know that it was also the same blade that ended God’s son. I don’t know what it would do to you, since you are technically an immortal, but I’m curious to find out”
“No, Jesus was dead before he was pierced with it.”
“Was he? So you were there to know for sure?”
I gritted my teeth but didn’t answer. He was probably just trying to get under my skin and make me think the blade was stronger than it was, or perhaps it was my own mind trying to dissuade me.
“Up,” he demanded. When I didn’t, Shane huffed quickly closing the distance between us. He grabbed my arm forcefully yanking me to my feet. “Understand this Evie, I need you in Hell, the condition in which you arrive is up to you. You gather attention and I have no problem knocking you out again and possibly killing anyone who tries to offer you aid. So unless you want that blood on your hands, you’ll behave. Understand?”
Rage boiled in me. I wanted nothing more than to punch Shane in his smug face. He cocked his eyebrow waiting for my response. Curtly, I nodded swallowing my pride.
Grabbing me by my elbow, Shane steered me from the room. When we entered the living room I was glad I hadn’t attempted my escape. Resting on the sofa were the two demons. One I had seen work with Shane in the past—the Thor demon. The other I could only assume was the incubus who’d taken on Cam’s form with the way his gaze turned lustful when I entered. I’d proven I could fight his thrall, but I’d been blasted by the Thor demon before and I wasn’t looking for a repeat unless escape was actually possible.