Arielle Immortal Fury (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 6) (17 page)

Chapter 11

“EVA!” GABBY’S VOICE
startled her. Arielle looked up, saw Eva approaching with Ian, and smiled. She always felt peaceful around
the couple. As soon as the four of them got in line, Arielle spotted Paul and Loren sitting at a small table in the far corner. They were
leaning close to each other, whispering, and exchanging kisses. Leaving the line, she quickly approached her friends.

When she got closer, she called, “Get a room!” Arielle couldn’t
hold back laughter as they turned, momentarily startled. Seeing her, the couple started laughing with her.

“Hey, sis,” Loren called out. They stood up. Arielle gave Loren a hug first and then turned to Paul. He pulled her into his arms and laid a big smooch on her mouth.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said. Arielle giggled and returned the friendly kiss.

“I’ve not seen you in a while,” Arielle said.

“You’re right; just the different hours I guess,” he agreed. “But we’re all going out tonight, so it will be like old times.”

“Where’s my brother?” Loren asked, looking past Arielle as if
searching for Sebastian.

“He’s not here. He received a call last evening about the
company's
security being breached. He and Troy went to the office to assess the
damage.”

“Oh, no!” Loren exclaimed, closing her eyes briefly. “What happened?”

“I don’t really know, and I will not know until he comes home this evening. I believe it is something similar to the issue he had last year, the one that took him to New Zealand,” Arielle said quietly. She could hear the emptiness in her voice.

“Gosh, I’m sorry, Arielle,” Loren said. “I remember that he was
gone for a long time. Is he going away again?” She displayed a
sisterly concern that touched Arielle.

“Hard to say,” Arielle replied. “But I have a feeling this issue will not be resolved from here.”

Loren smiled softly. “I’m sure that Sebastian will do the right thing.”

Arielle nodded. “I know I am being selfish, but I don’t want him to go away.”

“Will you feel like going out tonight?” Paul asked.

“I don’t think that going out tonight is realistic, but you never know.” Arielle glanced at Gabrielle, who had left the line and was standing right next to her with a dubious expression on her face.

“Hi, Paul. Hi, Lauren,” Gabby said, pleasure in her voice.

“Hi, Gabby,” Paul gave her a quick hug before he and Loren sat back down. Paul and Gabrielle fell into conversation about their next class while Loren and Arielle talked about Sebastian.

 “We’re going to get some lunch,” Arielle finally said. “Come on, Gabby, let's go.” She planted a kiss on Paul’s cheek and bent down to hug Loren warmly. “We’ll see you later,” she called as she turned and walked back toward the food line with Gabby on her heels.

“Wait up,” Paul called out. They both turned at the same time. “I’m hungry. I’ll walk with you.” Leaning down, he pressed a soft kiss on Loren’s lips. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back,” he told her. He walked fast to catch up with Arielle and Gabrielle.

“I guess we are the only ones in the group that need real food,” he said, glancing between them. They both stared back at him. His face looked befuddled. They couldn’t help it; they burst out into
laughter.

Paul picked up his lunch and walked back to where Loren was
waiting for him. Arielle and Gabrielle found a table to share with Eva and Ian. They ate their lunch while the immortals pretended to
enjoy a soft drink. Arielle said goodbye to her friends when it was time for her one-thirty class.

She had walked by couple buildings on her way from the cafeteria when she noticed that Christian and his girlfriend were walking in the same direction only a few feet away from her.
Reflexively, she raised her hand to her neck and touched her necklace. She picked up her pace and entered her classroom building quickly. She had no idea where they went, because she never looked back.

 
I must be going out of my mind, but I have had enough crazy people
trying to kill me
. The two seemed to be everywhere she went. She had seen them enough to be certain they were immortals. Their appearance and the way they moved gave them away. She was sure
that she was not mistaken.

Arielle had talked to Sebastian about Christian, and his reaction had been unexpected. He seemed comfortable with the new guy and his girl being around Arielle at all times. Sebastian’s instincts were always faultless, and she trusted him completely. But he was usually more worried about her than Arielle was about herself. She scowled at the thought and tried to get Christian out of her mind.

She left school around four o’clock. The weather was cool, and it had been drizzling all day. She opened her backpack and took her iPod out. Scrolling down until she found her favorite song, Arielle put her earbuds in and smiled wide. She turned the music up and buttoned her jacket before heading to the parking lot. She glanced up to see dark clouds overhead. It looked like the rain was getting ready to come down heavy. She picked up her pace and reached her car just in time to avoid the downpour.

She thought about the errands she needed to run before she headed home. She needed to stop at the grocery store, pick up her laundry from the cleaners, and get some gas. She was surprised that she hadn’t heard a word from Sebastian, but she guessed that he had been busy. While waiting at the red light, she noticed a beautiful black Mercedes behind her. She couldn’t see the driver, because the windows were too dark. A sporty little Mercedes was the car she had wanted to have ever since she was a teenager. But she had nothing to complain about while driving a gorgeous red Porsche. She loved the amazing car. Above all, it was a gift from the man that meant everything. She chuckled at the thought, and when the light turned, she pressed on the gas.

A couple hours later, her errands were complete and Arielle was stopped at another red light close to home. When she happened to look at her rear view mirror, she was jolted by a strange sensation.
The same Mercedes waited a few cars behind her. Her thoughts swirled wildly. She had been driving around town stopping at several locations, so why was the same car right behind her? Her
eyes narrowed, and
anxiety crept into her head. The light turned green. She drove
forward. After a short distance, she reached her street and took a sharp turn. Her eyes flicked from the road to the rear view mirror just in time to see the black Mercedes continue straight past her street. She let out a loud gasp.

She pulled into the garage and lowered the door behind her. For a long moment, she sat in the car scowling at the bizarre thoughts that invaded her mind.
It has to be a strange coincidence.
But how can the same car be right behind me after all those stops I made?
Something didn’t feel right, but she didn’t have an explanation. She let herself in
through the side door. Walking into the kitchen, she set the groceries
on the counter. She then picked up the dry cleaning and carried it
through the main hall to the bedroom. As she laid the dry cleaning on her bed, the black sports car kept invading her thoughts.

“Oh, relax,” she told herself out loud. “You are freaking out for no reason at all.” She hung Sebastian’s shirts up and changed into her sweats. Walking around the bed, she picked up her book from
the nightstand. She was going to read until Sebastian either came home or called. She was deep in thought when she noticed bright lights through the window shades. She peeked through the closed
blinds and gasped aloud. A car’s headlights passing by reflected off the chrome of the same black Mercedes that was now parked on the street across from her house. Her mind whirled. A thousand reasons why that car
could be there invaded her mind, but she kept coming back to
Annabel.
Arielle assumed that Annabel must have found out where they
lived, and she sent her goons to kill her.

Arielle ran her tongue over her dry lips and felt bile rising up her throat. Whoever was driving that car had followed her home, and now he, she, or they were sitting in that car right outside the
house. She was consumed with fear. Terror spread through her body, immobilizing every limb. She wasn’t sure how long she had been standing glued to the window when she heard another car approaching and saw
Sebastian pulling up to the house. He drove into the garage. She
pulled
herself together and ran toward the garage. She jerked the door open and fell right into Sebastian’s arms as he was trying to cross the threshold.

“Well, hello to you, too,” he said, looking startled as he enfolded her in his embrace. After a short moment, he realized that she was shaking like a leaf. He looked down at her apprehensively.

“What’s wrong, baby? Did something happen at school?” Arielle took a few deep breaths and slowly explained with a few broken syllables about the black Mercedes. She saw his face go pale, and his eyes narrow to slits.

He set her down and ran to the bedroom window. Arielle
followed. He pulled the blinds open, but the car was gone. “I noticed the car when I pulled up, but I didn't think anything of it,” he said.

He took Arielle’s hand and pulled her with him as he walked
into the study. He sat them down on the sofa. His arm moved around her shoulders, and he pulled her close, dropping kisses on her forehead. Soon, she was feeling better, knowing he was with her.

“When did you first notice the car?”

“After I left school, I headed for the grocery store. I stopped at a red light, and I noticed a black Mercedes stopped right behind me. I
really didn’t think much about it until I was almost home. Then, I stopped at a red light down the street, and when I happened to look
at
my rear view mirror, I noticed the same Mercedes a couple cars
behind mine. I was alarmed and frankly quite scared, because I knew that
they had being following me for a while. I had to run a lot of
errands, and I had to make several stops.”

Arielle took a deep breath. “When I finally turned into our street, the car went straight, and I thought that it had to be just a weird coincidence. I’d let my imagination run wild again. I was thinking of Annabel,” she said. The exasperated tone in her voice didn’t escape Sebastian. “I was in the bedroom changing clothes when I heard the humming of an engine. I peeked through the blinds, and I saw the same black car right outside our house. I was so scared I didn’t know what to do. I hate to think what could have happened if you hadn’t come home when you did.”

Arielle took another deep breath and held Sebastian’s gaze.
Letting her go, he stood up and started to pace back and forth. He pinched the tip of his nose, looking baffled.

“Do you think Annabel is behind all this?” Arielle asked,
pressing her lips together. She tried to pretend that she was relaxing, but she was failing miserably.

“I’m not sure…but one thing I know is that immortals don’t
work this way. I don’t want to make any assumptions here,” he said and
gazed into her eyes. “Maybe it was a weird coincidence, or it might
be a guy from school that likes you.”

Arielle snorted. She was sure that Sebastian didn’t believe a word he was saying, but he was clearly trying to make her feel better.

“How was school today?” he asked. She decided to let him
change the subject.

“Fine, school was fine. But what about you? What happened at the office? I’ve been waiting for you to call or text.”

“I’m sorry. I was in meetings all day.”

“Something must be terribly wrong; you don’t fool me. I know you better than you think. You didn’t sleep last night after the call, and you were out the door very early this morning.”

“It’s just business, baby. I don’t want you to worry about.” He really did not want to discuss the Russian mafia problem with
Arielle right now.

“Is that nothing going to take you away from me any time soon?”

“I have to wait and see.” He was staring at their entwined hands, clearly perplexed.

“Sebastian, what are you thinking? You are scaring me. Please
talk to me.” He walked up to her and pulled her into his arms. He bent down and pressed his lips softly on hers. She fell completely apart. She closed her eyes and deeply inhaled the sweet immortal scent. His embrace always provided the safe haven she needed in
times of unrest. She loved him immensely. Gazing into his brilliant emerald eyes, she kissed him back with passion and want.

“What is it, my love?” she asked him.

“Just a lot going on at work that needs to be resolved, so we
don’t find ourselves in the same impasse we did last year.”