Finding Fire: Paranormal Romance (Bad Boys Of The Underworld Book 1)

by Crowe, Mallory

  With that said, she turned and walked into the bathroom. She locked the door behind her out of habit, because she knew he could knock down the door if he really wanted in.

  She didn’t feel particularly dirty, but after that close call in the room, she felt as if a cold shower would do her good. She didn’t want to think about his hands or his eyes or how warm his chest felt against her.

  She’d spent years avoiding all men. All she had to do was avoid just this one for two more nights. It sounded as though it should be so easy, but he had this effect on her she couldn’t explain.

  Sure, he was handsome, but you don’t live in a big city without seeing handsome men every day. He wasn’t more charming than other men she’d met. Hell, he wouldn’t even be considered nice, let alone charming.

  Even so, something about him drew her like a moth to the flame. She needed to keep her head clear and remember her motives for coming on this trip. She came to talk with Aleksander, and if she didn’t like what she heard, she would help Nicolas kill him.

  Maybe that was Nicolas’s reason for trying to get her in bed. He might think that sleeping with him would make her more likely to help him kill Aleksander.

  She had to remember that they both had ulterior motives and were both keeping secrets from each other. How could she even consider sleeping with someone who she trusted so little? He felt so unsure of her that he didn’t even want to be asleep in her presence.

  With her mind clear on where she stood in relation to having sex with Nicolas, she climbed out of the shower and dried off. She slipped into the sweatpants she’d brought along and put on her bra and shirt. She never slept in a bra, but today she felt as if she needed all the barriers between Nicolas and her she could get.

  When she ventured out into the room once more to get her toiletries, Nicolas was still on the chair. She didn’t say anything to him as she retreated back into the bathroom.

  A little while later, she came back out. She was cold, as her hair was still wet, and the room already had a bit of a chill to it. She laid an unused towel over her pillow and climbed under the covers.

  When she turned off the light, the room wasn’t completely dark. A bit of light from the rising sun shone through the curtains, but not much of it really penetrated the room.

  She lay in the dark for a few moments to listen for any movement from his side of the room. When it became apparent he wasn’t going to leave the chair, she said, “Get in the bed, Nicolas.”

  He let out a soft chuckle. “I thought you wanted the bed all to yourself.”

  She sighed. “I already explained myself to you. You need your rest. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m too tired to do much of anything right now. Just get in the bed, get some sleep, and keep your hands off me.”

  He didn’t respond. At first she thought he was going to stay in the chair, but after a few moments, she heard him stand and walk to the bed. The mattress dipped toward him as his weight settled on it. She glanced over at him. He lay on top of the blankets and made no move to cover himself. He’d taken his shoes off at some point but still wore his jeans and shirt. He probably wasn’t comfortable, but at least he was in the bed.

  Anna contented herself with the knowledge that she was lucky she even talked him into sharing a bed with her, considering the no-sex rule.

  She rolled onto her side and faced away from him. She didn’t think she would fall asleep too fast, but the night had been very long. Soon her mind drifted, and not long after that, she was lost to sleep.

  ~~~~~

  Nicolas was convinced his heart would beat right out of his chest. The logical part of his mind told him he was safe and that Annabelle had no darker motives toward him, but his fear didn’t understand that.

  He was exhausted from the long drive and from the excessive amounts of control his mind had exerted tonight. He fed, but the small amount he drank wouldn’t support him through two sleepless days.

  Annabelle was right when she said he needed to rest. If Aleksander’s men did find him, he would need to be strong for both him and Annabelle.

  If he got no sleep tonight, it would be a challenge for him to fight off one vampire, and it was likely that more than one was coming after him.

  He willed his eyes to close and his body to relax, but no peace came to him. After about two hours of fighting with his fear, he broke out into a cold sweat. He would never get any sleep like this.

  He looked over at Annabelle’s sleeping form. It had taken her no time to drift into unconsciousness. She must’ve been exhausted from the night’s events. He was glad that at least she was getting the rest she needed. She’d not moved since he’d gotten on the bed.

  He was surprised at how heavily she slept, considering he was sharing the bed with her. He didn’t know whether he should feel flattered or insulted that she could sleep so soundly in his presence. The covers were all the way up to her neck, and all he could see was the dark brown of her hair.

  Sick of staying in one spot, he finally got up and crossed to the bathroom. He ran cold water in the sink and splashed some on his face. He looked at himself in the mirror. His eyes were red, reflecting his body’s need for rest.

  He had to think. Lying in the bed and telling himself to sleep wasn’t working. He needed to try something else. He moved back into the room and looked at Annabelle’s sleeping body. Though the room was dark, his eyes could see clear as day.

  Once again, he noticed how heavily she slept, and an idea came to him. She was so out of it, she’d wake up with no knowledge of what he’d done. He smiled to himself as he got to work.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Charles stood over Anna. She tried to jump off the bed but found her hands bound over her head.

  He grinned at her. It was the grin she’d seen so many times before. She saw his hand reach for his belt. It was different this time. She was on her back, looking up at him. The only way to not see him was to close her eyes, but they wouldn’t close. He wrapped the leather around his hand. He lifted a big arm up and got ready to strike her.

  As her dream-self screamed, Anna came awake. But she wasn’t free of the dream. Her hands were still bound above her head. She looked around desperately for Charles. Her breathing increased to frantic pants.

  She pulled at her bonds. Her legs were free, so she scooted up to where she had more leverage. She flipped on her stomach so she could brace herself on her knees to pull at the material. She was trapped and Charles was going to be here any second.

  Her gasps turned to sobs as she uselessly struggled with the rope. Tears streamed down her face as she kept tugging with all her force. One of her tugs sent her falling to the floor. There were no bed posts, so the bonds were attached to the bed frame.

  Her hands worked at the knot, but she couldn’t see anything. Her sobs got louder as she tried tugging again.

  A large shadow cut through the darkness and fell over her. She let out a piercing scream. She bucked and thrashed her head back, trying to keep him away from her.

  She heard a voice behind her but couldn’t make out the words over her own screams. A big hand gripped her bound hands, and with one tug, her bonds ripped in half.

  She scrambled on her hands and knees away from the man. She tried to relax her breathing, but the sobs still spilled out of her. A light came on, and she was momentarily blinded.

  Nicolas stood in front of her, his eyes filled with concern. “What’s wrong, Annabelle?”

  She tried to speak between the heavy breaths. “I-I-I was tied to the bed.” She looked around the room, suddenly standing. “Is h-h-h-he still here?”

  Nicolas took a step toward her. “Who? Who was here?”

  “Charles, damn it! Is he here?” she screamed.

  “No one’s here but you and I, Annabelle,” Nicolas said in a calm voice.

  “No, no, no. Someone is here,” she insisted. She slowly gained more control over her breathing. “I was tied to the bed.”

  A guilty expression wafted over
Nicolas’s face. “That was me.”

  “Y-y-you did what?” she asked in a confused voice.

  “You were right. I needed sleep. That gave me comfort you wouldn’t do anything to me in my sleep.”

  Her fear turned to anger. “So you tied me to the bed! What the hell is wrong with you?”

  He took another step toward her, and she took a step back. She backed into the door, jumping at the unexpected chill of the wood.

  Nicolas spoke to her in his calm voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—”

  Before he could finish his sentence, she opened the door. Sunlight poured into the room, and he stepped back with a shout. Not waiting to see what he would do next, Annabelle ran out into the sunlight.

  She couldn’t go back to him. Not ever. He’d tied her to a bed. He’d felt powerless and tied her down. He was no better than Charles. Worse, because Nicolas wasn’t even human.

  She’d considered sleeping with him! She’d kissed the monster, and she was probably nothing to him. Just some lesser creature he could tie up at his own convenience, like a dog.

  Shame raced through her as she thought of her own stupidity. She’d run off with a vampire and was surprised when he turned out this way.

  A new wave of tears overtook her, and she couldn’t hold them back. She thought she was stronger now. Thought she could handle herself. That episode had proved she was as helpless now as she’d been fifteen years ago.

  There'd been no time to grab anything during her mad dash out of the motel. She had bare feet, but the cold hadn’t yet penetrated. She had no money or identification with her and no way of getting home. She didn’t even know what town she was in.

  Her only hope was to find the police. Even if she did know better than to hitchhike all the way back to the city, she couldn’t do it with no shoes.

  The sun was low in the sky, so she probably had another hour or two before it sunk below the horizon. It would have to be enough. She didn’t know whether Nicolas would come after her, but she couldn’t be walking on the side of the road if he did.

  She could’ve run to the motel office for help, but she hadn’t been thinking clearly when she’d passed it. She didn’t want to turn back because she didn’t want to walk closer to Nicolas. It was still light out, but who knew how far he could get in sunlight. For all she knew, he could just cover himself with a blanket and go wherever he wanted.

  So she kept walking. She must have been in farm territory, because there was a lot of nothing on the road.

  Eventually, she saw a house in the distance. A large white barn was behind the house, so she assumed that a farmer must live there.

  She walked even faster to reach it. The cold had started to seep into her feet, and they felt heavier than normal. The driveway to the farmhouse wasn’t paved, and she had to carefully maneuver her bare feet over the gravel and dirt.

  Her feet were aching when she reached the front door, but at least the wooden porch felt marginally warmer than the road. She looked for a doorbell, but didn’t see one. She banged on the door.

  “Hello! Is anyone there?” she screamed. No one came to the door. “I need the police! Please, someone?” No sounds came from the inside of the house.

  No one was home. The realization was like a punch in the stomach. She thought about breaking a window and using the phone to dial 911.

  While she contemplated this, she heard a vehicle come down the road. She had to squint to see a large bus was approaching.

  She didn’t want to hitchhike, but this was a bus. It was probably safer than a random car. It was definitely safer than walking down this road in bare feet, waiting for Nicolas to find her.

  She ran down the driveway to the road. The speed caused her feet to ache even more, but she ignored the pain. When she got to the road, the bus swerved to avoid her and rolled to a stop. Anna could’ve cried in relief but figured she’d already done enough crying tonight.

  The bus was newer-looking and said “Gil’s Transport” on the side. She walked over to the doors of the bus, and they opened as she approached.

  “Are you okay, miss?” The bus driver was a portly man who appeared to be in his mid-fifties, but right now he was the best-looking man Anna had ever seen.

  She shook her head in answer to his question. “Can you take me to the nearest police station?”

  He seemed surprised at her request. “Of course. What’s the problem?”

  Anna stared at him. There was a seven-hundred-year-old vampire who may or may not be chasing her when the sun set in what now appeared to be half an hour. She decided against making up a story and just said, “Please get me there as soon as possible.”

  The driver quickly nodded and motioned for her to come on the bus. Her sore feet protested going up the steps, but Anna pulled herself in.

  The bus was filled with seniors. Well, not filled. Only about half the seats were occupied, and every one of the occupants stared at her.

  She suddenly felt very self-conscious and realized what a wreck she must look. She told herself not to feel ashamed. There was no requirement that a woman wear shoes when running for her life.

  Most people seemed to be sitting toward the front of the bus, so Anna opted to sit at the back. She got a lot of curious glances, but everyone was polite enough to leave her alone.

  When she finally sat down, she imagined she actually heard her feet heave a sigh of relief. She ran her hands over them to try to warm them up. They each had some small cuts, but nothing too serious. With the way they hurt, Anna expected to see worse.

  Not long after she sat down, the bus started to move. She had to think about what she was going to say to the police. She would try to keep it simple and as close to the truth as possible.

  She was going on a trip with a guy she’d just met. She woke up tied to a bed in a motel. She would say she didn’t want to press charges, but they would have to help her get home. She could pay back anything once she got home.

  She looked around at the other passengers on the bus. The driver appeared to be the only person under sixty-five. A few appeared to be pushing ninety. Where was this bus supposed to be going?

  She saw two women who weren’t sitting that far away from her. “Excuse me,” she called to them. They both looked in her direction. “Um, what is this bus?” she asked.

  Their faces both filled with pity. “Oh, you poor thing. I cannot imagine what you have been through,” one of the women said. The speaker was a woman with badly dyed reddish-brown hair. Her friend was a plump woman who didn’t appear to go through the trouble of dying her hair, but the light gray looked good on her.

  “I’m Shirley, and this is Nancy.” She motioned to her friend.

  Anna nodded out a greeting to both of them but took note that neither had answered her question. She tried rephrasing it. “So where are you all heading tonight?”

  This time she got an answer. Shirley said, “Gil is taking us all up to Chicago.” She had a huge grin on her face as she said it.

  “That’s nice. Isn’t it a little late for a trip?” she asked. If the sun was only just setting, they might not reach Chicago until close to midnight.

  “Isn’t it horrible? Marion had to try to make it all the way to Chicago and back without her cane, and she fell before she could even get on the bus.” Shirley said this in a sad tone, but Anna had a feeling she was really enjoying telling this story. Shirley must be a bit of a gossip.

  Nancy chimed in, “It’s fine. If Marion actually had made it onto this bus, she probably would have driven us so crazy that we would’ve broken her hip ourselves.”

  Shirley laughed out loud at this but still gave Nancy a stern look for interrupting her story. “Well, we’d been running a bit late even before Marion had her accident, but then we had to wait for the ambulance, and the paramedics were afraid to move her. I swear that woman could scream. I was about ready to march to the nearest liquor store and pour some ‘medicine’ down her throat.” She said the last part with a wink
.

  Anna managed a laugh that wasn’t quite fake. These ladies were calming her down.

  Nancy took over the story, despite Shirley’s glare. “By the time the ambulance finally carted off Marion, we were so late that Gil offered to let anyone who wanted to go home that he would refund their money. So then we had to wait for them to get rides home, because we couldn’t just leave them there waiting for their people.”

  Shirley cut in, “So here we are, riding to Chicago at this time of night.”

  At that, Anna looked out the window. It was getting very close to being completely dark out. She wished the driver would go faster.

  Apparently the women held their questions in long enough. Shirley asked, “So what brings you out here?”

  Anna was all ready to spill out her story she’d thought of for the police, but all that came out was, “Boy trouble.”

  Both women nodded their heads in understanding. They opened their mouths to say more, but the bus came to a stop. Anna looked up to see whether they were at a traffic light but didn’t see an intersection out the window.

  She stood to see what was happening and stared in shock at Brad’s car blocking the road. No! Nicolas had managed to catch up with her already. The sun wasn’t even fully set yet. How?

  A couple of the other passengers muttered among themselves, wondering the reason for the additional delay. Would Nicolas hurt them? Would they die because she dared to ask for help?

  She looked out of the bus windows but didn’t see him anywhere. She needed to find a weapon. Anything she could use to keep him from her.

  She yelled out, “We cannot let the driver of that car on the bus! Does anyone have any sort of weapon? A gun, knife, or even pepper spray?”

  All at once, all of the passengers started to question why they needed to defend themselves and who was outside.

  Someone pounded on the doors to the bus. Nicolas stood right outside. “Annabelle! Open the doors,” he shouted.

  Fat chance, she thought. “Anything I can use? Anything heavy I can hit him with?”