Darkness Falls (8 page)

Bursting through the surface of the water, he sucked in huge gulps of air. Dragging his body out of the cooled water, he wrapped a towel around his waist and headed into the adjoining room. Rummaging in the closets, he pulled out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, not caring if they matched or even if they fit properly. As soon as he got some food, some
real
food and not blood, into his system, he was going to scope out the neighborhood and see if he could discover what happened to Malorie. If, and it was a huge if, she was still alive, he was going to talk to her. Maybe she would know what happened, why he wasn’t dead.

Chapter 3

~
Malorie
~

Present

“Jack!” she cried, flying out of the bed because the last time she had seen her husband he had been a vampire and he had nearly killed her when he drank too much of her blood.

He sat up and looked at her with solemn brown eyes, holding his hands up in a gesture of peace. “It’s me, Malorie, I’m no longer a vampire.”

Ignoring his pleading words, she kept her eyes locked on him as she backed away while blindly searching for a weapon. There was something that was trying to get through her panicked thoughts but she couldn’t think with Jack sitting on her bed and staring at her. Wrapping her hand around a fire poker, she prepared to defend herself if he attacked. “That’s not possible, Jack. There is no cure for vampirism and Feryn killed you when he killed all of the vampires that night.”

His brows drew together in a thoughtful frown but he just shook his head. “The blast threw me but it didn’t kill me.”

“You’re a vampire, Jack,” she cried out, her grip on the poker slipping.

“No,” he denied, shaking his head. His eyes were brilliant and clear as he looked at her and she finally realized that he didn’t reek of death, that he didn’t look like a wax corpse.

“Oh, God,” she moaned, the weapon falling from her hand and clattering to the floor. Her legs crumbled beneath her and she followed the make-shift weapon down, unable to tear her eyes away from her dead but not-dead, vampire but no longer a vampire, husband. “How?”

He was by her side in an instant, wrapping his arms around her. “It doesn’t matter because I’m here now. We can be together again.”

“Jack,” she whispered, searching his face and wishing she knew how to handle a husband who was supposed to be dead. “I’m with Feryn now. He’s my mate.”

He scowled at her words, “But I’m your husband.”

“And you died,” she reminded him. “Twice.”

“None of that matters now.” As he spoke, his eyes dropped to her breasts and she realized how flimsy her robe was. “I refuse to lose you a third time.”

“You almost killed me, Jack,” she said, tightening the belt of her robe as she managed to stand up and take a few steps away from him. Conscious of his eyes on her, she staggered over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of sweat pants, sliding them up her naked legs. Taking a peek at him from over her shoulder, she saw how intense his expression was as he devoured her with his eyes and she was no longer sure she could trust him. Instead of taking her robe off, she grabbed a sweat shirt and pulled it on over the robe, not caring how ridiculous she looked.

“It wasn’t me,” he protested, taking a step towards her. When she flinched, he stopped and held out his hands in supplication, “Not really. I lost the part of me that made me human, the part that knew right from wrong. But I never stopped loving you.”

“I know,” she choked out. “It’s just if I had been anyone else I wouldn’t be here any longer. You took too much blood and I almost died.”

“Malorie,” he cried out softly, ignoring her reserve and crossing the room. Taking her hands in his, he begged her with a look. “I never wanted to hurt you. At the time I wanted you to become a vampire.”

She tried to tug her hands away from him but his grip was too strong and she had to remind herself that he was no longer a vampire. Cautiously, she asked, “Is that something you still want?”

His eyes closed in agony as a shudder wracked his body. “God, no. When I was one it seemed like the most incredible thing in the world but looking back…. God, no. It was awful, Mal, just awful. I did things….”

His words trailed off as he lost himself in dark memories and Malorie automatically reached out to comfort him, cupping his cheek in her palm. Despite the fact that he had been gone for six years, he had been her first love, her partner, her best friend, her husband. “Don’t think about it right now.”

He pressed his face further into her hand, his expression morphing to tormented pleasure. Taking a ragged breath, he opened his eyes, “Mal, even when I was a vampire you’re almost all I thought about. You have no idea how happy I am to have you back.”

“Jesus,” she gasped, pulling away from him and taking a few steps back. “How did you even know where to find me?”

“The other night I saw you standing in the window looking out over the empty streets,” he told her. A fierce scowl twisted his features as he added, “But you weren’t alone. I waited until I was sure your boyfriend was gone before I snuck in.”

“He’s more than my boyfriend,” she told him. “He’s my mate.”

“Malorie,” he implored.

“I’m not exactly human, Jack,” she blurted, trying to make him understand that they no longer belonged together but her brain was so befuddled with everything she didn’t think she was doing a very good job of it. “And neither is our son.”

“Toby.” He mouthed the name but no sound came out and an expression of despair darkened his face, as if he was just remembering he had a son. “My God, Toby! I want to see him. Where is he?”

“Jack,” she pleaded, grabbing his arm as he headed towards her door. Using her body weight to keep him from leaving her bedroom, she hissed, “You can’t, Jack. Not like this. Besides, he’s sleeping and I’m not going to wake him up.”

“He’s my son,” Jack returned, not fighting her but obviously eager to see the child he never met. “I deserve to be a part of his life.”

“Jack,” she tried again.

“Malorie, my sweet,” Jiro interrupted as he stepped from out of the darkness, from out of nowhere. He wore a smile as he leaned against her wall, his arms crossed across his broad chest, but his eyes were hard, observant as he took in the scene before him. “Who is this?”

His hair was bleached blond once more and the diamonds were back and at that moment, Malorie wasn’t sure whether she was glad to see him or terrified. She should have known Feryn would never let her remain unprotected. “Jiro.”

“Malorie?” Jiro repeated her name, arching the eyebrow that sported two hoops.

How was she supposed to answer him? She looked at Jack, who was wearing a mulish expression as he almost dared her to introduce him. Subtly, she shook her head no but he smiled cruelly. Stepping towards Jiro, he held his hand out, “I’m Jack. I’m….”

“No,” Malorie breathed, reaching for the proffered hand, as if she could stop the wreck from happening. Jack didn’t understand the danger of telling an Aradian he had been cured of his vampirism.

Jack gave her a perturbed look before turning back to Jiro, “I’m her husband.”

For what seemed the longest time but was probably only a few seconds, Jiro simply stared at Jack. Finally, he let out an incredulous laugh, wiping imaginary tears from his angry eyes. Swinging an arm around Malorie’s shoulders, he pulled her against his hard body and she knew he wasn’t offering protection. The strength of his hold indicated he thought she was going to run. He was a fool. It’s not like she could escape the time disruption. “That’s funny. I thought I heard you say you were Malorie’s husband.”

“I am,” Jack ground out, eying Jiro’s hold on her with increasing anger.

“Her dead, vampire husband,” Jiro bit out, the false humor abruptly gone.

“I’m no longer dead,” Jack said through clenched teeth. “And I’m no longer a vampire.”

“Apparently,” Jiro deadpanned. Turning to Malorie, he asked, “How is he not dead?”

Her jaw dropped as she stared at Jiro as if he had gone mad. When he continued to look at her as if he actually expected her to have the answer, she threw her hands up in the air, which was difficult to do since he was holding her so tightly. With a low growl, she asked, “How the fuck should I know?”

“I think we should discuss this with Feryn.”

“I think now would not be the right time to discuss anything with Feryn,” she countered. “Especially the return of my dead husband.”

“I’m right here,” Jack tried to interject but both Jiro and Malorie were ignoring him.

Grabbing her shoulders, Jiro turned Malorie until she was facing him, his expression dark. “You’re marriage has ended, Malorie. You’re bound to Feryn.”

“Jesus, Jiro, do you think I don’t know that?” she asked.

“She’s my wife,” Jack growled from behind her.

Looking past her, Jiro smirked, displaying his sharp fangs. “Bondage trumps marriage.”

“You’re not helping,” Malorie grumbled, glaring at her mate’s brother.

“Sorry.” He said the word but it was apparent that he wasn’t sorry at all. “What are we going to do about this?”

Reaching up and pressing her fingers and thumb against her pounding forehead, she shook her head and tried to figure out what to do. “We can take him with us when we go to New York tomorrow. I’ll be able to get him a new identity and some money to start a new life….”

“I’m not leaving you, Mal,” Jack protested. She felt his fingers at the small of her back, the discreet contact something from their days hunting vampires. What was he planning?

Spinning, she grabbed Jack’s arm before he did something foolish, which at that point could have been anything. Glaring at the man who had died twice, she shook her head, “Don’t.”

“He’s a vampire,” Jack hissed.

“Even after spending all of that time among the vampires, you still have so much to learn,” she told him, keeping her place between the two males. “Jiro is not a vampire, Jack. He’s an Aradian, like Taella only not insane.”

A tortured moan came from between Jack’s lips at the mention of Taella’s name and she wasn’t sure if it was because he missed her or because he feared her. Leaning against Jiro and borrowing his strength, she took Jack’s hands in her own, “We’ll get you a new identity, Jack. You can go anywhere you want, be anything you want to be. You’ll have a whole new life.”

“But you and Toby won’t be in it,” he said thickly, swallowing the emotion down. “I’ve lost everything, Mal, you can’t take my son away from me, too.”

“I didn’t say I would,” she said, even though she wasn’t sure how it would ever work since Toby knew his father had been killed by vampires.

“Let me see him now,” Jack murmured.

“It’s too much,” she said. “Maybe in the morning but it’s late and right now I have too much to deal with and I can’t… I just can’t.”

“Don’t send me away,” he pleaded, squeezing her hands, his brown eyes begging more eloquently than any words. “I’ve been in the darkness for so long let me have this, please.”

“Jack,” she breathed, torn. She had loved him and had mourned him and she didn’t know what to do. Dealing with Jack so soon after her argument with Feryn was too much and the pressure was giving her a headache. Shaking her head, she looked at him with sad eyes, “Do you have a place to stay?”

“I’ve been staying in one of the houses,” he said, color burnishing his cheeks as he looked away from her in shame. Straightening his shoulders, he gave her a boyish grin that she had loved when she was a girl. “But I’m running out of food and I am going to go insane if I am left to my own thoughts for company.”

“God, just find a room and crash here,” she said, ignoring the huff of indignation from Jiro. “Just don’t… just keep your distance from Toby. I’ll have to figure out what would be best for him.”

“You’re not kicking me out?” he asked, the hopeful expression almost breaking her heart because there would never be anything more than friendship between them ever again.

“We’ll take you to New York,” she repeated. “We’ll figure it out once we get there.”

“Malorie,” Jiro murmured in a low voice. “Do you think this is such a good idea?”

“Not at all but what else am I supposed to do?” she asked, her eyes darting to Jack. He still loved her, she could see it in his eyes that also burned with guilt and remorse and fear.

“Feryn will be furious.”

“He’s already furious,” she muttered. “But there’s no reason to tell him anything just yet. I’ll talk to him once I’ve figured a few things out.”

“Malorie.” Jiro’s tone was low in warning as he placed his broad palm over her stomach.

Putting her hands over his, she gave him a watery smile, “It’s not like there’s anything he can do, Jiro. He wouldn’t risk losing his child.”

Jack’s pain filled gasp echoed in the room and when Malorie looked at him he looked like a man who had just seen the end of the world and he was the only one left standing. His eyes dropped to her stomach before he turned around and stalked out of the bedroom, anger and despair chasing after him.

She looked up and met Jiro’s amused expression, which only made her frown, “I don’t want to hear a word from you.” When he opened his mouth, she slammed a hand over it and shushed him, “Not a word.”