Cursed (Book 1, The Watchers; Young Adult Paranormal Romance) (34 page)

Brand was there by
my side placing a possessive arm around my shoulders, but he refrained from
glaring at Malcolm too much.  I guess he was letting Malcolm’s over exuberance
slide under the circumstances.

I told Malcolm
what I had told Brand about my experiences since being abducted.

“Justin will pay
for this,” Malcolm said with such vengeance, it took me by surprise.

We saw car
headlights shine through the windows.  Before I knew it, Tara and Will were
running through Brand’s front door and enveloping me in their arms.  None of us
said anything.  It almost felt like old times again.  The three musketeers were
back together.

“Where have you
been, girl?” Tara sobbed holding me tighter, her shoulders shaking
uncontrollably from her tears.

“It’s a long
story,” I answered, holding my two best friends as tightly as I could.

Tara didn’t seem
in any rush to hear my tale.  But I think that was because she was in a state
of shock.

“Excuse me.”

I looked up and
saw a police officer standing in Brand’s doorway.

“Ms. Nightingale?”
he asked, walking closer to us.

“Yes?”  What was a
police officer doing here?

“I was at Ms.
Jenkin’s place when she learned you were here.  I was wondering if you could
tell me where you’ve been.  We’ve had people out looking for you for a while
now.”

I didn’t know what
to say.  The police had been looking for me?  What was I going to tell this
nice man?  That I’d been kidnapped by a vampire and held captive against my
will in a stone room that existed somewhere in time and space but I didn’t know
where exactly?

“She was with me,
Officer,” Malcolm came up to me and put his hands possessively on my shoulders.

“Willingly?” the
officer asked, eyeing Malcolm suspiciously.

Malcolm grinned. 
“Of course.”

I saw Brand come
stand beside us with a murderous look in his eyes, focused completely on
Malcolm.  Malcolm’s hands began massaging my shoulders in an intimate gesture.

“Can you tell me
where you two have been the last few days?”  The officer asked, dubiously. 

 “We’ve been in Las Vegas,” Malcolm answered.  “I wanted to show Lilly all I had to offer her.  We simply
lost track of time if you know what I mean.”  The easy way he told his lie even
made me think it had happened.  I didn’t appreciate what he was insinuating,
and I saw the thundercloud over Brand’s head darken.

The officer sighed
in exasperation.  “Well, the next time you two decide to take a lover’s
vacation, would you please tell Ms. Jenkin’s.  She’s had us combing this city
for Ms. Nightingale for almost a week now.”

“Please accept our
apologies,” Malcolm said.  “If there’s anything I can do to make reparations
for your time I would consider it an honor.  A police fund perhaps?”

“Well, I guess
that would be appreciated,” the officer said, seeming mollified by Malcolm’s
offer.

Malcolm let go of
my shoulders and walked to the officer easily leading him back outside
discussing how to go about making a generous contribution to the local police.

Once the officer
was out of ear shot, Tara said, “What was that all about?”  She looked at me
completely confused.  “I know you weren’t with Malcolm.  What’s goin’ on?  Why
would he lie like that?”

How could I
explain everything to Tara?  I knew I didn’t have the strength to tell her
everything she needed to know, not now.

“Tara, you need to
trust us right now,” I said to her.  “This just isn’t the time to explain
everything.  You deserve an explanation, but I really need you to just trust
me.”

“But I’m gonna get
some answers right?  The truth, not that bullshit Malcolm just spewed?”

“I promise you. 
Tomorrow we’ll all sit down and tell you everything.  I just don’t have the
energy to do it right now.”

“We’re just glad
you’re back,” Will said, taking me into his arms.

It was the first
time in a long time Will and I held each other like this, like we used to when
we were kids.  Could Will and I finally connect like that again and leave all
of what happened in the last couple of years behind us?  I hoped so.  I
desperately wanted my friend back, my confidant.  Will pulled back and kissed
me on the forehead before letting me go.

Brand was there
taking one of my hands in his.  “Right now, I think we should forget about all
this for at least a night.  You need to get some rest,” he said to me. 

I couldn’t deny I
was extremely tired, but I didn’t want to leave Brand.

“I’m not leaving
you,” I told him in a voice that he couldn’t argue against.

Brand looked to
Tara and Will as if asking permission for me to stay the night.  I think I
might have laughed at his sense of propriety if I hadn’t been so exhausted.

“I guess that’d be
all right, for one night,” Tara amended.  She pointed a finger at Brand, “But
you have her back home first thing in the morning.  Y’all got some explaining
to do.”

Will’s expression
was harder to read.  “Lilly’s a grown woman.  She can make her own decisions. 
Just make sure you keep her safe.”

“I’d be happy to
drop by unexpectedly to make sure she’s safe,” Malcolm volunteered walking back
into the house.  I could hear the police car driving off.

Brand raised an
eyebrow in Malcolm’s direction, but refrained from saying anything.

After everyone
left, Brand took me to the bathroom connected to his bedroom.  He made me a bubble
bath.  I think he was afraid to leave me alone so he just turned his back to
let me undress and didn’t turn back around until I was securely under the thick
layer bubbles.

He leaned against
the wall watching me bathe.  His eyes still held the haunted look I’d seen when
he first opened his bedroom door to find me sitting on his bed.

“I’m real,” I
reassured him, trying to erase his doubt.

“I’m still not so
sure,” he admitted. 

“You could always
join me in this big bathtub if you want to feel just how real I am,” I teased.

He finally
grinned.

“Another time,” he
promised.

I didn’t linger
long in the bath.  Brand found me a pair of his pajamas to wear.  Once I was
dressed he lifted me off my feet and took me to his bed.  We laid there for a
long time not saying a word, just feeling comforted in each others arms.

“Do you think
we’ll be able to figure out what’s happening?” I asked him, snuggled against
his side under the covers.

“We will,” he
said. “We have to.  I’m not ever losing you again.”

I laid my head on
his chest listening to the steady beat of his heart.  There was no one I
trusted more to help me solve the mystery which had become my life.  I was
certain we would find a way to figure out who wanted me dead and why.  Who was
better qualified than my own personal angel to help me find the answers I
needed?