Broken Dreams (68 page)

“I know. I’m so sorry for doing this to you.” I reached for him again, but he shoved me away. “Henry…please. I’m so sorry.” I began to sob myself. His anger toward me was well deserved and justified. “It was wrong and hurtful for me to say those things to you.” I sniffled and wiped my nose on my shirtsleeve. “But I need you to be more understanding from my point of view. Your drinking is scaring the hell out of me.”

He looked up at me, red-eyed and tear-streaked. The hurt in his eyes was driving it home for me. After several long moments of his pain filtering through me, he reached out and grabbed my hands, pulling me up on to his lap. He wrapped his strong arms around me and pulled me into his chest.

“I will stop. I promise you. But, please, just give me some time.” I nodded into his chest. “I can’t bear you leaving me, especially considering that we would still be stuck together if you did. It would kill me to see you doing your own thing, or if you eventually met someone else. It would, Elaina. I would curl up into a fucking ball and just waste away. I never want to be with anyone again. Just you.”

“I’m sorry.” My words were quiet. Then he lifted up my chin and kissed me. After all the terrible things that I said to him, I didn’t deserve his lips on mine. I shied away. “I don’t deserve for you to be kind to me.”

“Yes, you do. I know it’s been hard putting up with me, and I’m sorry that I’m doing this to you. I can imagine that I have been a chore, between all the puking and passing out on you. Then having to put up with my anger and sickness on top of it all…” He cleared his throat. “Can we cuddle up in bed?” I nodded.

He picked me up as he stood, walked us over to our bed, and laid me down. He curled his body around mine and held me as I drifted off.

***

The next morning, I woke up alone. I felt deflated and began to get emotional. I worried that he decided to leave me because I was so cruel to him. He never said that he forgave me for my harsh words.

Panic rose through my body. I needed to find him and talk to him about what was said. I jumped out of bed like a maniac, grabbed my Sig, and ran to the door. Just as I stuck my hand out to grab the knob, the door swung open, nearly taking me out. I pulled out my Sig, aiming it toward the door, and screamed like a banshee.

“Whoa, love…it’s just me. I apologize for scaring you.” He pushed the door shut, and I tucked my Sig safely back in its proper place. He grabbed me and held me to his chest while I hyperventilated.

And then, of course, I cried.

“Hey…hey, hey. Calm down. What’s wrong?”

My words were muffled, coming through the fabric of his hoodie. “I thought you left me.”

“Why would I leave you?” He sounded confused.

“Because I was so cruel to you yesterday. I humiliated you.”

“Did you not hear me when I said I only ever want to be with you? I meant that. I would wither away without you, regardless of our arguments and occasional lack of thinking.”

I looked up at his bearded face. “Where did you go?”

“I woke up early and cleared the storefront across the way. I brought over everything they had, and put all of my booze over there so it’s out of my field of vision. I’m not sure it will help, but it’s a start, I guess.” I looked up at him, and he curled his lips inside of his mouth. I was disappointed when I smelled the booze on his breath, but I didn’t show it. “You want to go get breakfast?”

“Yeah. I’m starving.” He held me close as we left our room and walked down the hall to the cafeteria.

***

More than a month had gone by. I decided to start keeping a tally of how many days we were there. I found an empty notebook, putting a tally mark in it every morning. I hoped that I could fill the thing up, plus many more.

We had settled into a routine. I worked hard at trying to be nicer to Henry about his drinking, but I do admit that I would dump bottles when I would see them lying around. Sometimes I would find them in odd places. I would play all innocent when he would ask if I had seen them anywhere.

I was beyond nervous that Gunther was going to pop up at any time. I was scared of what kind of group he had gathered. I was scared that he was going to kill Henry. And I was scared that, because it was our luck, he would show his face when Henry was completely shitfaced, passed out, and drooling on himself.

Henry asked us not to go outside alone at all. If we did need to go outside for any reason, we were to go in pairs and be loaded up with weapons. Nick wouldn’t allow Claire to even get near the doors. At that point in her pregnancy, she wouldn’t be able to outrun a turtle, let alone an army of headhunters.

To keep us occupied during waking hours, Henry and I would go work out in the gym for extended periods of time. Lord knows, I could use the exercise, and he realized what the 750ml presses were doing to his body.

There were a few times that our workout sessions turned erotic. There was just something about seeing him shirtless, sweating his ass off, his gym shorts barely hanging onto his leans hips. It drove me right into a sexually frustrated mess, and he knew it. We were lucky that no one ever walked in on us. I think we christened every wall, corner, door, and speck of floor in there.

On the way out of the gym one morning, Nick and Thomas approached Henry and asked if they could go out and explore the town center. They were bored and wanted to look around. Henry agreed, but only if he went with them. Nick asked me to keep a close eye on Claire. She was having a terrible day.

“She’s been having a lot of contractions…more than ever. She’s very uncomfortable. I’m not sure what to think. I hope she isn’t going into labor. It’s too early.” His eyes were full of worry. The silence that followed his statement said it all. “I don’t want to be away from her, but she said I’m a giant pain in the ass because I am constantly up hers. I’m just so worried. If she’s making me get away from her, then I need someone to keep an eye on her.”

“Of course I will. I promise that I’ll take good care of her. You know that.”

“Yes. Thank you.” We headed toward our wing.

Henry changed his clothes and geared up. Nick and Thomas geared up, as well, then they met up and took off. I decided to go get Claire to see if I could get her to come out of her cave for a while.

After several minutes of convincing, I was finally able to get her to come out to the cafeteria with the book that she was reading.

“How’s that?” I grabbed her a chair to prop her horribly swollen feet up on. She looked exhausted, but sleep was far from what the baby had planned. She said the little one would dance on her bladder all night long.

“That’s good, thanks.” She smiled at me, but I could see that she was still really uncomfortable.

“Are you sure? I can run back and grab your pillow, or a blanket?” She sighed. “Claire…just tell me what you need. I am more than happy to get it for you.”

“A pillow would be great.” She smiled.

“I will be right back.” I ran my hand across her shoulders as I left her for a moment, something I shouldn’t have done. I should have stayed with her. I didn’t realize how much I should have stayed with her…until I got back from retrieving her pillow.

***

“Both of you stay outside. I’m going to go in and grab a drink real quick before we explore a little.” Nick sighed. He was pissed. “I’m not going to apologize for it anymore. I promised Elaina that I’ll stop, and I will.” He swiftly turned on his heels and headed into the store where he stored the majority of his booze.

Nick looked over at Thomas. “Can you believe him? Sometimes I want to punch him in the fucking face,” he grumbled. “Elaina keeps saying that I have to be patient with him, but Christ! How fucking patient do I need to be?”

Thomas just stood there, nodding in agreement. That was one great thing about Thomas. Unless asked, he usually kept his opinions to himself. He tended to be a great sounding board for everyone. He wasn’t a huge fan of it, but if it helped everyone out, then he was willing to accept his fate. Nick paced around, while continuing to grumble over Henry and his drinking. Thomas was scanning the road, when saw something…or maybe someone.

Two someones.

“Nick,” he whispered. He didn’t respond. He was far too deep in his loathing of Henry’s drinking. “Nick!” he whispered louder.

“What!” He turned around.

“Look…” Thomas pointed down the road.

“Shit…I wonder if that’s him.” They both ran and hid in the bushes in the front of the school. “Just be quiet and watch.” Thomas nodded.

They watched from behind the bushes. An older, fit blonde man and a young girl, who was barely legal, walked into the town center, as if they were on a mission. They heard him speak to the girl.

British.

Nick looked at Thomas with huge eyes. He mouthed, Gunther. Then, of course, they went into the store that Henry was in.

“What do we do?” Thomas nervously asked.

“Just sit tight for a moment. If they’re in there too long, then we’ll go in.” Each second that ticked away seemed like an hour.

Nick’s entire body was on high alert. He hoped neither Elaina nor Claire came outside. The situation was far too dangerous. He didn’t want him or Thomas to go in and warn them, just in case they got into a fire fight.

The man that they presumed was Gunther came out of the store. He looked pissed and defeated. He was looking around the area, and took a few steps toward the road.

But then something odd happened.

The young girl stepped one foot out of the store, and said something to him. They couldn’t make out what it was, but the man rushed back in.

“Here we go. Give it a second or two, and we’ll go in.” They both swallowed hard, sweating those last couple of seconds.

***

Henry heard the door open to the store. He was in the small back storeroom, polishing off a bottle of scotch. At first, he thought it was Nick and Thomas, but he knew they would have called out to him and let him know it was them.

He screwed the cap back on the bottle and set it down on the shelf, careful not to make a sound. He flattened himself up against the wall and slithered his way to the door of the storeroom.

Two voices filled the store.

“Fuck,” a male mumbled. It was all Henry could do to control himself and keep hidden.

Gunther.

Henry’s body filled with rage and his hands shook. Then he heard a female speak. She sounded young, maybe a teenager.

“That was a great trip. Nothing better than walking fifteen miles for nothing.” She was full of attitude which, coincidentally, was very familiar to Henry.

“We had to try,” Gunther snapped. “There are three little ones that need to eat.” Little ones? Since when did he have children? Henry thought. Not surprising, though, since the douche was a fucking man whore to the maximum. He would dip his wick in anything that was breathing…or barely breathing.

“I know,” the female muttered.

Then he heard the door open and close. Henry crept around past the storeroom, and was surprised to see the short, scrawny female alone in the store. An evil smirk spread across Henry’s face. Show time, motherfucker.

He snuck up behind her as silent as a lion stalking its prey. When he saw his moment, he grabbed her, covering her mouth with his cold hand.

“Don’t scream,” he said gruffly into her ear.

Awakened Desires (Shattered Lives, Book Two) Sneak Peek:

I had the cabbie drop me off about a block from the blood bank. As I got closer to the building, I saw Cock-up’s company-issued blacked out Tahoe in the parking lot. My lips curled up into a rather dodgy smile, adrenaline started coursing through my body and, thinking about what was going to transpire, I nearly became hard.

When I entered the building, I decided to keep my aviators on to hide my signature eyes. I couldn’t afford for anyone to notice that Cock-up and I had the same eyes. The receptionist greeted me with a rather happy sing song voice. I tried not to chuckle. It would surely be a pleasurable visit for me, but not for Cock-up. I couldn’t wait to surprise him. Maybe I should have brought him flowers and chocolates.

“Good morning,” she purred. “Welcome to New York Blood Bank. Are you here to donate today?” She adjusted her blouse so I could get a better view of the valley between her tits. I’ve seen better, but hers weren’t bad. I made myself look nervous. I shifted my weight a few times, jammed my hand through my hair, and looked around the room. And the Oscar goes to…

“Ahh, well…I’ve never donated before so I’m a bit nervous. I was wondering if I could speak to someone in charge about it? Maybe your head phlebotomist?”

“Let me check to see if he is available.” She smiled at me. Her mouth was wide and luscious, and her crystal blue eyes sparkled in the bright light.

“Certainly. Thank you.” The receptionist, name plate says Jennifer, looked me up and down. Typical. I threw her my half-lidded smile as she fumbled with the intercom.

“Hey, bossman?”

“What can I do for my favorite receptionist?” Ahhh, sweet victory was heading my way. I could taste it on the tip of my tongue. My heart pitter-pattered with some serious motherfucking joy.

“I have a possible donator here, but he would like to speak to our head phlebotomist first. It would be his first time.” I stood there, leaning against the desk, pretending to be waiting patiently.

“Excellent. Give me a few minutes. Take him to the lounge and make him comfortable.”

“Will do.” She hung up. “Follow me. Would you like some coffee?” She stood up and slowly sauntered around the desk, giving me the old one finger follow me signal. Abso-fucking-lutely.

“Yeah, that would be great. Thank you.” I gave her my best church boy smile. Not that I knew what a church boy smile was, but I was imagining that my pearly white, toothy grin was what it would look like.

“Don’t worry. It’s the good stuff. Henry treats us well here.” She laughed a little. I would imagine that was the case, considering he was spending the program’s quid.

She was quite fit. Blonde, late thirties, and a killer arse swaying to and fro in a black pencil skirt. She made sure I noticed that as she took me back to the lounge. I’d fuck her from New York to London, but that’s not what I was there for. I needed to focus.

“Have a seat, and I will grab you a cup of coffee.” She waved toward a small table and chair set. I was still hung up on that arse of hers. “Cream or sugar?”

“Pardon?” Then I realized she was waving a packet of sugar in the air. “Oh. No, thank you, Jennifer. I greatly appreciate this.” I sat down in the chair directly across from the door and rested my elbows on the table. It was a small cafeteria lounge, equipped with a refrigerator, microwave, cabinets, and a counter top. Maybe it was the place where they put donors for a little pick me up before they ushered them out? Whatever. I only needed a few minutes to get my point across.

“Here you go.” She sauntered back over to me and leaned over just right as she set the cup of coffee down in front of me so I could get a nice peek at her underneath that exquisite near sheer white blouse. I pulled off my aviators, and she watched my eyes travel to the depths of her valley. I saw why Cock-up kept her around. Lucky enough for me, she hadn’t noticed my eye color. “There is creamer in the fridge and the sugar is by the pot, just in case you change your mind.” Not likely, baby. I nodded at her with a half smirk. She blushed and left the room.

I took a sip of the coffee. Jennifer was correct. It was good. I sat back, relaxed, and waited for the moment to arrive. The excitement was almost too much to hold in, though. My legs started bouncing around under the table. Another face-to-face meeting would prove to be bloody priceless. The door to the lounge swung open, and the Cock-up storm barreled in. His face was tight in a folder, pulling out some pamphlets.

“Alright, sir. Let’s start with th…” He looked up at me, and I was grinning like a prat. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?” he snapped, and a sadistic laugh poured out of my body. “Seriously, what is your malfunction?”

“You have a job to do, Liam.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “You need to do it.” My voice was deep and low, rumbling out of my chest.

“It’s Henry, and I will do it on my own accord,” he growled back at me.

“Bollocks. Sit.” I pointed at the chair across from me. He glared at me for a moment, and then sat down like a good little lad. I took another sip of coffee. “Thanks for the coffee.” I gestured the cup toward him. “It’s quite flavorful.”

He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Get on with it already,” Cock-up growled. I chuckled at his efforts to try to intimidate me.

I sat back in the chair with utmost confidence and casually looked at him. “I was sent here to ensure that you do your job. You are already past the deadline.”

“Does it look like I fucking care?”

“Nope. But let’s just say this. If you do not do your job, then I will take you back to the complex and teach you a lesson or two. No skin off my back.” I shrugged and took another sip of coffee. “I sure do miss the old times.”

“You going to beat me?” Cock-up leaned forward, really trying to work the intimation factor. “Bring it on, old man.”

“Nice.” I laughed again. Always the funny guy. Then I leaned into his face just so I could get my point across. “I can still kick your arse, lad. You surely will not be able to shake me. I am going to follow you all around this entire city until you do your job. I will stalk you so much that you will always be looking behind you. I will ensure that you have that creepy crawly feeling running up your spine, even when I’m not in your shadow. I will even look in your windows to watch you fuck that bird you’re with.” Temper tantrum triggered in three, two…

“You stay away from her! I will put a bullet in your motherfucking head. If I see you breathe on her, I swear to God, you will wish you never set foot in this city. Do you hear me, old man, or do you need to turn up your hearing aids?” I laughed and stared him down. Feisty little bugger.

“You are clever as always…Liam.” He snarled at my use of his name.

“I swear I will give you a true death,” he growled. Feisty, feisty.

The door to the lounge swung open in haste. Cock-up looked up at the pretend tough guy that walked in. “What?” he snapped.

“You alright, bossman? I thought I heard some shouting while I was knocking on your office door.”

“Yes, sorry. What do you need, Steve?” I laughed and they both looked at me. The whole thing was just giving me a case of the jollies, indeed.

“Can you sign off on this, please?” Steve looked between Cock-up and me as he approached the table. He grabbed the pen from Steve and quickly flipped through the paperwork. “It’s approval for the funds for a supply order.”

“Right.” Cock-up John Hancock’ed the paperwork and handed it back.

“You sure everything is alright? Need me to stick around?” Steve pushed his pointy chin toward me. He folded his arms across his titchy chest, trying to make his skinny arse look bigger. Two seconds was all I needed for that bitty duffer.

“No. I’m good. Thanks.” Steve took one last look at me, like he was committing my pretty face to memory, and left the lounge.

Cock-up turned back and looked at me. “Get the fuck out of my life.”

I stood up and smiled. I clapped my hand sharply down on his shoulder. “I will be watching you. I hope I don’t run into that black-haired fox of yours when she is all alone. Gosh, that would just suck.” He was seething at me. “You know me. I have a way with the womenfolk. Wouldn’t it suck if she chose to fuck me to see what it’s like to be with a real man?” That triggered my stellar smirk yet again.

Cock-up jumped out of his chair and pulled his Sig out of the small of his back, pushing it right into the middle of my forehead. His jaw was clenched so hard, his teeth were straining under the pressure.

Again, I smiled at his effort. It was rather adorable. He was making me swoon with pride. I had taught him well. Then my lip rolled into a snarl.

“Do it. I fucking dare you,” I growled as I stood up.

“You leave her alone.” Cock-up spoke through his teeth. “You leave her out of this. This is between you and…”

I interrupted. “You and the rest of the world, Liam. Now, if you will excuse me, plenty to do in a big city like this.” I turned on my heels and left the lounge. I wasn’t worried about the Sig pointed at the back of my head. I knew he wouldn’t dare shoot me right there in the blood bank.

Chalk another one up for me.