by Мишель Роуэн
“I’m out of here.”
“What about Lenny?”
She smiled at that. “While he should devote his attention to someone who deserves it, I’m afraid he’s stuck with me as his partner for a while. I’ll catch up with him.”
“Enjoy the poetry.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that. And tell Quinn . . . ” she paused, and then smirked before turning away again. “Tell him I’m sorry I kicked his ass.”
“I’m sure he’ll love that. Oh, and by the way, Janie?”
She turned again. “Yeah?”
“Great shoes.”
She looked down at her feet. “Yeah, I know. Would you believe these were on sale?”
“Lucky bitch.”
She shrugged at me and then smiled, just a little one, and vanished into the shadows offstage.
Chapter 21
Iturned to Thierry.
He stared at me and shook his head.
I shrugged. “I don’t even get a thank-you for saving you?”
“What you just did was incredibly foolish.”
“And what’s your point?”
“It could have gone very differently. You could have died. You are lucky.”
I touched my neck and flinched. “I guess I am. I didn’t even check my horoscope this morning to make sure that all my stars were in alignment or anything.”
“Don’t make light of this, Sarah. Nicolai would have killed you. And I would have been able to do nothing to prevent it. It was all my fault that he felt that way.”
I shook my head. “Nicolai was insane. Get it? And no matter how you try to rewrite what happened with Elizabeth , you weren’t responsible for her death. Hunters were. End of story.”
He took a deep breath. “You’re so very innocent.”
“No, I’m practical. You’re just addicted to guilt. Gets you through the day like caffeine used to with me.
But you have to let go of it. It’s over. Permanently over now. Nicolai was the true murderer who definitely deserved what he got. If he didn’t, we wouldn’t be having this conversation about guilt and caffeine.”
He looked away. “We shall agree to disagree, then.”
I studied his handcuffs again. “We probably shouldn’t stay here. We need to leave.”
“I agree.”
“See? We don’t disagree about everything.” I paused. “Besides, you wouldn’t want to miss your flight toFrance tomorrow.”
His expression tensed. “No, I wouldn’t want that.”
“I saw the papers in your office. You don’t have to hire anybody to look after me, you know. I’ll manage.”
“You weren’t meant to see that.”
Time to be brave and put on a good face. After everything that had happened, it was the least I could do.
“But I did. Look, I want you to know that I’m okay with it. Whatever you decide to do, even if it’s leaving the country. I just hope that it’s not just to get away from me. I have enough of a complex as it is.”
He pulled at his bindings. “It’s not just because of you, Sarah. Now, please, we need to leave this place.”
I studied him for a moment, all tied up with no place to go. “Well, isn’t this interesting. Can’t escape now, can you?”
He stopped struggling and looked at me. He cocked an eyebrow. “Escape?”
“Yeah, every time we start to talk about something uncomfortable you turn around and leave.”
“I leave when there is nothing left to say.”
“No, you leave when there’s nothing left foryou to say.”
“It is the same thing.”
I crossed my arms. “Fine. So it’s over between us. You made your point loud and clear earlier. But now that I have your undivided attention I have a few last things I want to say to you before you go ahead and leave the country.”
He sighed. “Sarah—”
“Please, Thierry. Just listen to me, okay?”
His jaw tensed. “Very well.”
I swallowed hard. “I went to see Quinn tonight. I told him that you said that we should be together. I told him that if he helped me rescue you then we could be. Together. Him and me.”
Thierry’s expression hardened. He nodded. “It is the right thing.”
I clenched my fists. “No it’s not. And you know why? Because after everything that’s happened, after knowing you all these weeks, I’ve found out a few things about you. You’re kind of a jerk. A little bit self-involved, to say the least. Very private. Secretive.” I touched my neck. “And you bit me. You almost killed me. I tried to sugarcoat it, but that’s what happened. There is a monster inside you, Thierry, and not one I’m particularly fond of.”
He nodded and turned his gaze away.
“You haven’t even touched me since we were in Mexico ,” I continued, “other than a few kisses. I tried to tell myself it was because you’ve been so busy with the new club, but I don’t think it was just that, was it? You’ve been avoiding me on purpose. Maybe you were hoping that I’d end things before you had to?”
He looked at me. “Perhaps.”
“Everybody. Absolutely everybody has been telling me over and over and over that you and I have no chance of making things work between the two of us.”
I walked over to him and crouched next to him.
“And then you go and break up with me. Tell me that you’re leaving the country. It hurt so bad. Even though I always knew that it was only a matter of time. And when you told me that I should go after
Quinn, the guy who on paper is totally right for me, who has always put me up on a pedestal and makes me feel like I mean something in the grand scheme of things, do you know what I wanted to do?”
He shook his head stiffly. “You wanted to go to him.”
“No. It made me want to scream. Because you are so damn stupid.”
His eyebrows went up and he looked at me. “Stupid?”
“Yes. You’re too stupid to see how in love with you I am. And after finding out about your dark side,
after learning everyone else’s opinion about us, after everything, all I want to do is be with you. Finding out you’re completely messed up doesn’t make me love you any less, it makes me love you even more.
And maybe that makes me foolish. Maybe that makes me stupid, but I don’t really give a shit what anybody else thinks. All I care about is what I think. And what you think.” I sniffed. “And unfortunately,
you don’t feel the same way about me. Or even a fraction. I get that. But it doesn’t make me love you any less. I wish it did, but it doesn’t.”
“Sarah—”
“I know this was just a quick fling for you. I’m too young, too naive, too . . . as Veronique put it . . . goofy . I think she could have picked a less Disney word, but it’s the truth, I guess. I know I don’t fit into your life. And I . . . I don’t care. None of it changes how much I love you. I tried listening to everyone else tell me what I was feeling wasn’t real. And I almost believed them. But they’re wrong. My heart wouldn’t feel like it does if they were right. But I’m not going to force myself into your life if you don’t want me. And I know I’m not . . . not a lot of things. Nicolai just said that there’s nothing special about me. I know that. You deserve more that I just can’t give you.”
He swallowed. “You are a fool, Sarah.”
I laughed. “Gee, thanks for the confirmation.”
“You would risk your life to come here to save me, someone who has hurt you over and over? And you still tell me you care for me?”
“I know. I’m a total dork.”
He blinked. Hard. “You are a gift I did nothing to deserve.”
I felt a big hot tear slip down my cheek. “What?”
“Are you finished with your little speech?”
I nodded.
“Very good. Because now you will listen to me.” He shifted in his seat, his hands still locked behind him.
“You are too young, much too naive, and more than your share
of . . .goofy . This is all true. And tonight after all I said to you, and didn’t say, I believed that I had lost you forever. You and Quinn . . . I know he cares for you. I know you care for him. I knew it was the right decision. But I wasn’t prepared for the knife I felt cut through my heart at the thought of him with you. Him and not me.”
He paused. My heart was thudding madly in my chest.
“This is wrong. You and me,” he continued. “Logically I know this. But I cannot help but wish it were different. That we lived in a different world. That I could ensure your safety both from the outside world and from me. I thought, when I bit you, that you would finally come to your senses. Finally see me for the monster that I had tried to hide from you by distancing myself at every opportunity. But when you didn’t seem to care . . . when your sense of self-preservation seemed to stop in your dealings with me, I knew that I had to take harsh measures to ensure your safety. Even if it meant hurting you.”
He blinked again. “I underestimated your tenacity. Your stubbornness. Now to hear from Nicolai that you would willingly put your life at risk in order to help me, whether or not I ever knew . . . ” He swallowed. “And when you were still there, open to me, caring for me even knowing of my deep flaws, I knew there was only one answer. I had to leave. It would hurt you, once again, but once I removed my presence from your life, I assumed you would thrive. And yet, here you are. Risking your life to save someone who has brought you nothing but pain.”
“No, Thierry, that’s not true.”
“Sarah, I am a very private man. I always have been. But your presence in my life has shone light into my darkness.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“I thought so. But now I’m not so sure. You are so open. So willing to give yourself over to that which may bring you pain. I don’t understand. I thought I could control it. But when I witnessed you with Quinn the other day, in his embrace, I lost all decorum. It drove me mad with jealousy. Made me make rash decisions. And earlier tonight that jealousy blinded me and drove me into the night and into the clutches of Janie.”
“She’s gone now.”
“No one has ever rescued me before, do you know that?”
“Veronique did.”
“A very long time ago and for her own purposes. And ever since she plucked me from the heap of burning corpses there has been a part of me that wished that she hadn’t. For centuries I have wished that death would take me, to let me rest.”
I pressed my lips together, trying not to cry. Well, trying not to blubber, anyhow. It was a little late for the not crying.
“And then I met you,” he said, capturing my gaze. “In my darkest hour. When I felt there was nothing left to live for. I knew I’d found an angel who’d come to save me.”
“An angel?”
“Not literally, of course. You are far from angelic sometimes, Sarah.”
I frowned at him.
A smile tugged at his lips. “I had spent centuries with Veronique and had come to care for her in my own way, but she never touched my heart. In fact, I had begun to doubt that I even had one. But a few days with you and you . . . you saved me. Over and over again, and you probably never even realized it. With your words, with your touch—with simplyyou . And I had never been so afraid in my entire life. For I know who I am. What I am. And the thought of becoming close with someone, after so very long, was too much for me to bear. So I tried to push you away.”
“What are you trying to say, Thierry?”
“What I’m trying to say is that I . . . ” His throat worked. “I adore you, Sarah. Every day that you’re in my life. Despite my brain telling me to push you away, to save you from yourself, my heart cannot help but be selfish. The thought fills me with fear, that I may hurt you, that you may be hurt by others, but I can’t be silent any longer. I . . . I love you, Sarah. I do. Please, never doubt that.”
Holy shit.
“Youlove me?” I blinked. In shock. “Really?”
“You sound surprised.”
“Well, I’m surprised. Yeah, I am.”
“You didn’t think me capable of love?”
“Actually, no. No offense.”
He shifted in the chair, looking a little uncomfortable with his admission. “None taken. So now what—?”
I threw my arms around him and cut off his words with a kiss, ignoring my tears, as they’d become tears of happiness. Thierry loved me.Me . How in the hell did that happen?
“I love you, too,” I whispered into his ear. “But I’m pretty sure you already know that, don’t you?”
I let go of him, finally, and leaned back. His eyes were dark.
“So you forgive me?” he asked.
“No. But I think I will eventually. You’re not leaving for France anymore, right?”
He studied me for a moment. “I suppose any trips I have planned can wait.”
“Good answer.”
He smiled. “I won’t be much good to you tied to this chair, you know.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” I kissed him again and felt his response, his lips parting as the kiss deepened. After a moment, I leaned back again. “I’mso keeping the handcuffs. Just try not to struggle too much, because they do pinch.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Indeed.”
“Yes,indeed .” I beamed at him. “So we’re together. You’re not going to go all cold and distant on me again, are you?”
“But I do cold and distant so well.”
“You really do. It’s a gift.”
“If you wish to be with me, I don’t wish to argue.”
“And you love me.”
He smiled. “Yes, I love you, Sarah Dearly.”
“Then everything is perfect.”
My heart swelled almost enough to burst. So I said nothing else, and instead hugged him tightly, my mouth meeting his in another kiss that left nothing unsaid, with nothing restrained. I knew nothing could ruin this moment. It was perfect. My fractured fairy tale come to life.
His cell phone rang and I leaned back, reached into his inner jacket pocket to pull it out, and held the call display up for him to see.
He raised an eyebrow at me. “It’s my wife.”
I grimaced. Well, maybe things weren’tthat perfect.
“Don’t answer it,” he said.
“I wasn’t planning to.”
I saw motion off to the right. George and Quinn were coming toward us, limping slightly and rubbing their heads.
“What in the hell happened?” Quinn asked.
“My brain feels like it’s going to explode,” George said. “And not in a good way.”
“You both got shot with garlic darts,” I told them.
George sniffed his shirt. “That would explain why I smell like a Caesar salad.”
“Janie,” Quinn growled. “Where is that bitch now?”
I shrugged. “Gone.”
His jaw tensed. “She’s damn lucky. If I ever get my hands on her she’ll be very sorry.”
“So,” George said. “Were asses kicked?”
“Sort of,” I said. “Turned out that Gideon wasn’t all that interested in me after all. It was all Nicolai. He was nuts. Wanted to kill me in front of Thierry.”
“Gideon Chase,” Quinn repeated, “is still interested. I’m sure of it. He’s no good.”
“There’s a newsflash.”
“Where’s Nicolai now?” Quinn asked.
I nodded over at the stain. “He exited stage left. Permanently.”
Quinn eyed me and Thierry. “So are you two—?”
I nodded.
He looked away. “Good. Then I guess there’s nothing left to do around here.” He leaned over and picked up the key that Janie had left behind. “I assume this belongs to you?”
I took the key from him and worked on Thierry’s handcuffs for a moment before they snapped open.
Then I checked my watch. “You know, the party’s probably still going on.”
“We must lea
ve immediately,” George said. “Cake would be greatly appreciated. Unless there’s anything else you’d like to do to almost get us killed, Sarah? Is there?”
I shook my head. “No, this should about do it for tonight.”
“Hallelujah.”
When we got back to Haven, nobody had even noticed that we’d been gone. Which was good, though it was also a little bit disappointing to realize we were not the life of the party. We decided not to fill anybody in on what had transpired in the past couple of hours. At least not yet.
Thierry had definitely sold the club. That couldn’t be changed. But it was okay. No club meant he would do something different. We’d do something different. Or nothing at all. It didn’t matter, as long as we did it together.
Starting with my moving in with him. George had told me in no uncertain terms that while he did enjoy my company on a temporary basis, we were not going to be roommates forever. So I’d decided to move in with Thierry. He didn’t exactly know this yet, but he couldn’t possibly have a problem with that, could he? Don’t answer that.
I gave Amy the gold necklace as her birthday gift. She took one look at it, said thank you, and slid in into her pocket instead of putting it on. It was really ugly, and she was more of a platinum kind of girl. I felt certain that whatever it was would be safely kept locked away in her jewelry box from that day forward and never worn in public. Passing the buck? Maybe a little bit. I knew where to find it if I ever needed it, though I couldn’t imagine why I would.
Quinn seemed to make his peace with me and Thierry being together. I don’t think he liked it, but peace had been made. I introduced him to Barkley the werewolf at the party, and the two kind of hit it off.
Since Quinn had an itch to get out of the country—possibly to get as far away from me as possible, imagine that—he’d volunteered to drive Barkley (who was apparently deathly afraid of airplanes) down to Arizona to rejoin his werewolf pack. They’d split gas money. I was going to miss them. Both of them.
Although those 3:00 A.M. trips out to take Barkley for a walk I wouldn’t miss. Quinn was a little less high maintenance that way.
I did wonder if this Gideon Chase guy I’d been hearing so much about was really interested in me. It wouldn’t be long before the truth that I wasn’t anything all that special got to him, right? Then he’d find something else to interest him. At least I hoped so. He didn’t sound like the kind of guy I ever wanted a face-to-face meeting with. Thinking about that would keep me up at night worrying. And I had enough things to worry about.