28 Seconds: A House of Valentine Novella (14 page)

“That is
not
how we are going to start this conversation,” Cole said, cutting me off. “She has no memories before she was five. She didn’t know she was a Valentine and remembers nothing of her life before Teresa took her.”

“Wait,” Tony sat forward, tension etching through his shoulders. “Are you telling me, we pulled you out of a house, brought you to a strange place with guns and drugs around every corner, where you don’t know a single fucking person? Cole, I know you can be a raging asshole but you have got to be kidding me here.”

Al’s eyes were narrowing at Cole. “Ditto.”

“Stop, please stop. It’s not as if he had a choice, did he? Everyone was following their precious Valentine orders and I was immediately drugged, if you remember. It’s not like he even knew until after I was already locked away in Atlantic City. Besides,” I gave them a quick smile to try and relieve the tension, “I adapt well and it’s not like I had anywhere else I could go.”

“You, kid, are a hell of a lot more forgiving than I would be. To any of us.” Tony sank back, still huffing. “Fucking monsters. We are fucking monsters.”

“They
are
right, Ariana. If we’d known, everything would’ve been handled differently but we weren’t given that option. But, she’s right as well. Franco’s orders were explicit and she was going to be brought back no matter what. Once I learned, I’ve done my best to make the transition easier and she
is
amazingly adept at navigating everything that’s been thrown at her.”

“Does Franco know?”

“No, and I’d prefer he didn’t.”

Both men nodded their promise, but Al’s curiosity got the better of him. “Can you tell us why you feel that way?”

“I’ve been getting flashbacks or visions, I don’t even know what they are. I don’t know if they’re real or just imagin-” I trailed off. That wasn’t true anymore. I
knew
the one tonight was real. I had no doubt in my mind.

Ever observant, Cole had noticed the tension wash over me. His hand was at my lower back, sitting forward to look at me. “Ariana?”

But I shook my head. “If they are all real, then my life as a Valentine was a really fucked up childhood.”

“That sounds about right,” Tony agreed.

“No,” Cole cut off his humor. “These are things so dark, so violent, that it makes the world stop when they hit her.”

There was something in his tone, some nonverbal communication I missed, that made Tony lean forward. “It’s what was happening on the beach, after the club, wasn’t it?”

I nodded.

“And you had them before you came here, didn’t you?”

Al frowned. “Why would you think that?”

“You don’t learn about experimental PTSD drugs in a textbook. You,” he accused, “had been doing your research long before you ever came here.”

“True,” I admitted. “It’s also true that they are coming more frequently and are more…” I trailed off, uncertain.

“Lethal,” Cole supplied.

“I’m not going to ask what it was, but did you have one tonight? In the chapel?”

“Yes.”

Cole’s eyes turned to Al. “Why?”

“Tony was telling me about TMS while we waited on the coffee. I know nothing about it but it makes sense to me that if she was having one when they hit her, it would’ve short circuited everything.”

“Great,” I grumbled, “now my brain is actually fried instead of just dysfunctional.”

“No,” Tony laughed. “He means it might explain why this one was so much more realistic. They could continue to get more graphic as time wears on. That happens to vets a lot as memories come back. But, it could also just be a fluke, a one time thing because of the way the device works.”

“Let’s hope for that one,” I huffed. “So, there you go. Just in case I start freaking out on one of you, I figured you might should know. And keep your weapons away from me, that’s probably an excellent move as well.”

I had tried to make light but the instant tautness that rocked through Cole’s body made me re-think my words. I’d said something that set him off, put him on edge, but I couldn’t define what it might have been. I chanced a look at him and his eyes were an intense but unreadable dark brown.

“What’s 28 seconds?”

“Hm?”

“You kept repeating 28 seconds,” Al explained.

I looked to Cole for confirmation. He gave a slow nod, almost apologetic. “You say it all the time actually. When you were high on Valentine, when you’re drinking, in your sleep, the moments you just sort of zone out...you chant it almost like a mantra.”

I frowned, wondering what else I’d been stupid enough to say without realizing it.

“Never mind,” Al whispered, “none of my business.”

“It’s not...I mean, it’s fine,” I said, offering him a half smile. “ It’s just...it’s how long the video lasted. The one that let the families find us, got my mom killed, and-”

“Stopped your world spinning,” Tony finished.

“I’m going to take her back to the house to get some rest. Make sure Franco doesn’t get so distracted by guests that he forgets he has a family dinner engagement.”

Tony was at my side before Cole could sweep us away. He reached out his hand, letting it hover above my head. When I nodded, he pulled my head down and gave me a hard kiss on the top of my head. “I’m sorry, Ariana...Ms. Valentine...what the hell ever. I wouldn’t blame you for hating me forever but I swear to you, I’ll make it up to you no matter how many lives that takes.”

He was away before I could even open my mouth to respond and Al took his place. His eyes dropped away and I squeezed his arm. “I know, Al. Ditto, right?”

“Yeah. Ditto.” He grinned, kissed my hand and was gone.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“I thought we were going home.”

“I need some air.  Do you mind?”

I shook my head and stepped to walk beside him down the boardwalk.  I glanced over my shoulder, the handful of men following behind us causing my nerves to twitch.

“You’ll get used to them,” he promised.

“Not likely.”

He tugged off his tie and tucked it in his inner pocket.  “Oh, here,” he pulled out my mother’s rosary from the pocket.  “Found it in the pew.”

“Thanks.”  I weaved the chain between my fingers, letting it slip back and forth against my thumb.

He nodded to it as he unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt and took a breath like he’d been suffocating.  “It’s a Valentine family heirloom.  The beads, they are drusy agate, said to encourage trust and allow the holder to discern truth.  Supposedly blessed by St. Valentine of Rome himself.”  He grinned.  “You know, before his best friend the Emperor beheaded him for marrying people in secret to keep them out of the war.”

“Lies, betrayal, deception, love and war.  Sounds like modern Valentines are just keeping up a long standing tradition, hm?”

Cole chuckled.  “I hadn’t thought of it that way but, yes, I suppose so.”

“She never told me its history or anything, but she never went anywhere without it,” I murmured, fingering the beads as we walked.  “She carried it almost like a talisman.  I never thought I’d see it again.”

“Wait, what?” Cole stopped mid-stride.  “You’ve seen Teresa with this? Recently?”

“Of course.  Whoever saved it from the house-”

“Ariana, we took nothing from the house.  You, your half empty duffel, and Teresa’s body.  That’s it.”

“No, this-”  

“The house was in flames.  I assure you, we didn’t take time to search it. I would not have
allowed
your father’s men to search it.”

“But-”  I glanced at the rosary and then tucked it in my pocket, as if I could protect it from his veiled accusations.

“When is the last time you remember seeing her with it? Not a guess, but are absolutely certain she had it in her hand?”

I frowned as I tried to think.  I hadn’t been attending regular Sunday mass with my mother for most of the summer but I knew I’d seen her with it.  I remembered the street lamps reflecting on the antique bronze as we had walked home barefoot from the church, our sandals swinging in our hands.  “The Vigil of St. James.”

“That’s over a month ago.”

“I’m sorry!  I spent most Sundays on the beach.”

“For chrissakes, I’m not judging your mass attendance, Ariana.”  He waved me up to the entrance gate of the pier.

I hesitated, frowning.  “I’m not really up for carnival rides.”

“The noise and chaos,” he explained.  “It should help keep those demons at bay despite what I intend to say.”

I nodded and he purchased the tickets.  He waved for the guards to stay behind and led me through the gate.

“I promised you I wouldn’t push and while that’s still not my intent, it may end up coming out that way.”

I slipped my hand through his arm, trying to calm the flutter in my stomach. “You want to know about the memory from the chapel.”

“I know you are convinced it was real. I know it was more graphic than any you’ve had so far. Considering that one almost drowned you, that has to be saying something. And, I know that you’ve never flinched when having guns around but you suddenly-”

“Knives, not guns,” I corrected quietly. “I’m not nearly as clever as you think if you learned all that.”

“Well, it took electric shock therapy for you to let things slip so I’d say you’re still pretty damn good,” he said. “But I do need to ask: if you think my men are in danger, if you think they could be harmed...Ariana, they have a right to know.”

“I wouldn’t hurt them.”

“On purpose. We all know that, but-”

“I killed someone before, Cole...before the Carolina house.”

His steps did not even pause, his stride as strong and confident as always. “Taffy? Sour grape was always your favorite.”

I nodded, knowing he was allowing me time to calm my nerves. He kept me attached to his side as he ordered from the stall. He unwrapped the first one for me, popping it in my mouth, and then led me to the railing. I could feel the sea spray coming in drifts that matched the waves, the cold droplets settling on my skin and making goosebumps rise to the surface. I started to open another taffy but Cole stopped me, his fingers warm on my cheek. He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. His kiss was gentle and unhurried, a mix of anticipation and longing that was almost indescribable in its depth.

“That,” he whispered, “should’ve been our first kiss.”

“Sour grape and sea salt on Steel Pier?”

“Yes,” he smiled. “I’ve dreamed about it pretty much my whole life.”

Reckless. Powerful. Intimidating. Deadly. And about the sweetest fucking man on the entire planet. I stretched up, kissing his jaw, and then tucked a taffy into his palm. He chuckled, popped it in his mouth and then tucked me close at his side as we turned to look back over the railing.

After several minutes of silence, he finally sighed. “Friend or foe?”

“Foe. No doubt.”

“Then that’s all I need to know.”

“But-”

“I would love for you to share everything with me. I want you to trust me enough to do that. I want you to trust yourself enough to do that because, no matter how dark you think they are, you
are
a good person, Ariana. But, what I want and what I need are two very different things. You gave me the information that I need.” He leaned sideways to give me a peck on my temple. “Anything more is all up to you.”

“You weren’t surprised.”

“You are a Valentine,” he reminded, smooth as silk.

“Well, it shocked the hell out of me.”

“Very unfortunate word choice, Ariana.”

His mischievous glint caused me to giggle which fast turned into a rolling fit of laughter. It was so insane, all of it, that I couldn’t do anything but laugh. My eyes were watering from the laughter when he shifted to face me. Cupping my face in his hands, he thumbed away the laughing tears at the exact same moment they turned into something much darker.

“We were in California, having a cookout on the beach when they found us. Three men and they saw my mother, but they came for me first. I don’t know why they came for me instead. My mother fought them but we were losing. She pulled a knife from somewhere, no idea where, and stabbed one of them.”

“Breathe, Ariana, I’m right here.”

“The other, he got so angry. He started screaming and then my mother was screaming and he was on top of her trying to strangle her. I took the knife and slit his throat. Cole, I
slit
a man’s throat. It wasn’t even something nice and clean like a gunshot or something.”

I knew I had completely lost it. I was sobbing into his chest, his arms clasping me so tight his hands overlapped on my shoulders. “Not that that would excuse anything, I mean, but, Cole, I sliced a person open and he choked to death on his own blood. Who does that? What kind of person am I-”