Fallen (29 page)

I sneered at him and twisted, popping off his head like it was nothing more than a balloon. 

“Thomas!”

Em’s scream made my head jerk up as I dropped his lifeless body to the ground. Thomas was lying in a crumpled heap on the floor, blood trickling out of his nose and ears.

“Let’s get him upstairs,” I said, bending down to scoop him up in my arms.

“Is he gonna be okay?” Em’s teeth worried her bottom lip as she wrapped her arms around herself.

From what I knew about Healers, they were damn near indestructible. So even though he wasn’t breathing and I couldn’t hear his heartbeat, I wasn’t seriously worried. “He just needs to sleep it off. Hey, can you grab Michael’s phone?” I asked, nodding my head to the black rectangle on the floor.

She jogged over and picked it up, her lip curling in disgust at his bloody remains. I only wished I’d had the time to kill him slowly. That piece of shit didn’t deserve for it to be as quick and painless as it was.

Em followed me upstairs and into one of the bedrooms. My brow arched at the floral bedspread, matching curtains, and pale pink walls. This décor was certainly not what I expected of Isaac, the big, bad leader of the Healer army.

The shit guys do for their women
, I thought, glancing down at the giant man in my arms before setting him on the bed.

Two hours later, and Isaac still hadn’t shown up. My plan was to text him from Michael’s phone and lure him here by saying we had the girl, but that asshole’s phone had a password I wasn’t privy to. I kept hoping he’d show up on his own, but so far no luck.

Leaning against the doorframe, I watched Em as she sat on the edge of the bed, wiping a sleeping Thomas’s face with a damp washcloth. The way she looked down at him killed me. Tore my heart right out. It was how I wanted her to look at
me
.

I wasn’t stupid. I knew she still loved him. And now that he was here…

Well, I had a feeling I’d be going home alone tonight.

It wasn’t fair. I’d just gotten her, and already I was losing her.

I ran my hand over my face, debating whether or not I should tell her how I felt. It’d be a dick move asking her to stay, but…I think I’d already proved how much of a selfish bastard I could be when it came to Em. I knew she was too good for me, and I didn’t give a shit anymore. I still wanted her.

Hell, this might not even matter. She might go back to him regardless of what I said. But if there was a chance, as infinitesimal as it was, I owed it to myself to take it.

I cleared my throat. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

She glanced up at me. Her face remained frustratingly neutral. “Yeah, sure,” she said, setting the washcloth in the bowl of water on the nightstand. She followed me out into the hall and shut the door behind her. “What’s up?”

I took her hands in mine, bringing them up so I could kiss her knuckles. “I have no right to ask you this, but…” I swallowed and twined my fingers with hers. “Stay with me?”

Her brows pulled together as she stared up at me. “Gabriel, I—”

My lips brushed hers as I cut her off with a kiss. “Just hear me out, okay?”

She nodded.

“I don’t…
like
myself. And I was fine with that, until you came along. You make me—” I huffed out a quick breath and ran my fingers through my hair. “This is so fucking cliché.” I shook my head to myself before looking at Em. “You make me…
want
to. You make me want to be the man that you deserve, and I know I’m not there yet, but I can get there with you by my side, I
know
I can. Please don’t give up on me, Em. Don’t give up on
us
.”

“Wow, that’s…” She laughed and wiped away the tears streaking down her cheeks. “You sure know how to make a girl swoon.”

“Good.” I tilted her chin up and sealed my lips over hers.

She smiled against me. “I should probably check on him.”

I rolled my eyes, but let her go. She opened the door and froze as Thomas sat up in bed and stared back at us.

Uh-oh.

Chapter Fifty-Three

EMILY

Gabriel cleared his throat. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

The door clicked shut behind me. I dropped my eyes and wrung my hands as Thomas stared me down, his expression unreadable. I couldn’t look at him. There was so much I wanted to say, but at the same time, there was nothing
to
say. 

I stood there in awkward silence for what felt like forever before he shifted in the bed. “Why am I naked?” His voice was deeper, more gravelly. It sounded like it’d been soaked in gin.

I peeked a glance at him through my lashes, taking in the sight of his torso and arms. He was thinner, but his muscles were still impressive. And deadly. “Your jeans were covered in blood, so I…”
Took them off.
“I would’ve left you in your underwear, but you weren’t wearing any.” My face heated as I recalled undressing him. He was still impressive
everywhere
. “I, uh, made you a sandwich,” I said, pointing to the nightstand beside him. “I thought you might be hungry when you woke up.”

His eyes dropped from my face. “Thank you.” He sat up more, pulling the sheets accordingly to keep his modesty. I looked down to the floor, offering what little privacy I could.

This was so surreal. Seeing him, talking to him—it was familiar, yet foreign, and all of it was awkward.

I heard him take a bite of his sandwich, chew, and then swallow. “You can sit down, if you want.”

I looked up from my spot by the door, but he was studiously avoiding my gaze. “Okay, thanks.” The bed groaned as I sat near the bottom.

Thomas took another bite. “How’s your hand?”

I held it up, wiggling my fingers. “Healed.” I squeezed my palm, remembering how excruciating it felt to have metal slice through tendons and bones. I’d remember that feeling for the rest of my life, and while the physical scars might’ve healed, the emotional ones probably never would. 

For the second time in my life, I thought I was staring death in the face, and it was just as terrifying as the first. Even now, in the safety of Thomas’s presence, I still felt uneasy. Like maybe my mind had checked out as some kind of coping mechanism and this was all a dream. Maybe I was still in that dingy basement, waiting to die…

I pushed the thought from my head, refusing to go down that road. Only sane people questioned their sanity. It was the
in
sane ones who thought they were perfectly fine.

Absently, I reached up and touched the little piece of metal hanging off my neck, my mind still wandering. I had a tendency to fiddle with it when I was thinking.

“You’re still wearing your necklace.”

I blinked and lifted my eyes, frowning. Why’d he sound so surprised? “I promised I’d never take it off.” And I’d meant it.

He set the sandwich down. “You also promised me forever. Look how that turned out.”

My eyes squeezed shut, as if that could block out the pain of his words, cutting into my heart as sure as if he’d used a knife.

I clutched the small but significant token. It was a promise of the future.
Our
future. And he was right, I broke it. It suddenly dawned on me how inappropriate it was to still be wearing it.

Reaching up to unclasp it, I felt my eyes prick. “Do you want it back?”

“No.” He looked and sounded totally offended. “I gave that to you because I wanted you to have it. It’s a gift. Gifts aren’t conditional.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“Didn’t mean to
what
? Break my heart?”

I swallowed, feeling a deep ache in my chest. This conversation was stirring up painful memories and emotions that I wanted to stay buried. “It was never my intention to hurt you. I was only trying to protect you.”

“By
leaving
me?” He laughed. “What a great way to show how much you care. Maybe for Christmas you can hit me with your car.”

“I didn’t know what else to do!” I hung my head, scrubbing my face. “This need, this compulsion—it’s like nothing you’ve ever experienced. People are no longer just people to you, they’re food. You don’t understand what that’s like and you never will.”

“I might not understand what that’s like, but I was sympathetic to your plight. I only wanted to help you.”

“By offering yourself up as an all-you-can-eat buffet! That’s not helping, Thomas, that’s suicide.”

“It’s not suicide if I’d be walking and talking the next day.”

I bit my lip and shook my head, beyond frustrated with the whole thing. “This is stupid. We’ll never get past this impasse and I’m tired of trying,” I muttered, standing up to leave.

“So that’s it. You’re just done.” He was in front of me instantly, modesty forgotten as he blocked my path to the door in all his naked glory. “Is that really how you want to end this?”

I stared up at his blue irises, darkened with anger, and dropped my eyes to the scruff on his face before dipping even lower to his chest. “I’m tired of fighting.” My voice came out limp and weary. “Aren’t you?”

“No.”

My gaze flicked up to his heated stare.

“I’ll never be tired of anything with you.” He said it so simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

My heart felt like it was being ripped in half. “You’re
killing
me,” I said, squeezing my eyes shut. Tears welled behind my eyelids before they reopened. “What do you want me to say? I’m sorry I bailed, and I’m sorry I hurt you, but you weren’t the only one in pain. I sacrificed my happiness for your safety, and guess what? I’d do it all over if it meant you remained in one piece.”

“But you didn’t leave me in one piece!” he shot back. “You ripped out my heart and took it with you when you left. I will never be whole because of you.”

And ’round and ’round it went. I wanted off this fucked-up carousel we’d somehow managed to get on.

“I need to go. Gabriel’s waiting on me,” I said, moving to brush past him.

He grabbed my arm, remaining firmly in front of me. “Are you fucking him? Is that what this is about?”

I jerked my arm back. “That’s none of your business.”

“
You
are my business.”

I sighed. “Thomas—”

“
Are you fucking him?
” he asked again, enunciating each word.

I looked away, unable to answer him.

“Say it,” he choked out, the words harsh as he spoke them through clenched teeth. “I want to hear you say it.”

Silent tears spilled down my cheeks as my eyes met his. “I love him.”

His anger dissipated, replaced by shock, then pain. “You what?”

I nodded. “I didn’t mean for it to happen, but…” I gave him a small shrug and wiped away the tears with the back of my hand. “Sometimes I wonder how I can when I still love
you
.” I choked back a sob. “It’s ripping me apart inside.”

“You
love
me?” Bitter laughter bubbled out of him. “Oh, well that makes everything better.” 

He walked over to the dresser, pulling open the drawers and rifling through them until he yanked out a tiny t-shirt and a pair of pink and white pajama pants. 

I frowned. “What are you—”

“I’m sick of being the dumbass moth who can’t seem to stay away from your toxic flame, no matter how many times I get burned.” 

I recoiled at his words as he stabbed his legs through the pants and pulled them up over his hips, then threw on the white v-neck shirt. The women’s garments didn’t even come close to fitting him, and he didn’t seem to care. 

“You’re not good for me, and you know what? I don’t need you anymore. I managed just fine before you came along and fucked everything up, and I’ll manage just fine when you’re gone, because I’m over it. I’m over
you
.”

He slammed the drawer shut, making the whole dresser shake as he walked past me and out the door, away from me and my shattered heart.

Chapter Fifty-Four

EMILY

“You okay?”

Gabriel’s voice had me turning around, and I gave him a sad smile from my spot near the balcony’s railing. After we got back to his apartment, he sat me down and we had an uncomfortable talk about Isaac being my father. I’d kind of pieced that together from overhearing his phone call with Michael in the basement, but having him confirm it just made it hurt even more. It was probably safe to say that today had been the worst day of my life, and I’d needed some time alone after everything that had happened. 

A gust of wind blew my hair across my face as I said, “Yeah, I’m okay.”

He pushed off from leaning against the doorframe and walked over to me, wrapping his arms around me as we stared out over the city. “I’d say I’m sorry he’s gone, but I’d be lying.” His lips brushed my ear in a soft kiss. “I
am
sorry you’re hurting, though.”

Twining his fingers with mine, I brought his hand up to my lips and placed a soft kiss on the back. “You and I make sense.
Thomas
and I…” I shook my head. “It was doomed from the start. I see that now.” 

I just wish I hadn’t wasted so much energy trying to make it work. It was like trying to keep the sun from rising or trying to get gravity to go up instead of down.

He rested his chin on my shoulder. “I hope you don’t mind, but you have a visitor. She really wants to talk to you.”

“
She?
” Frowning, I looked behind us. My breath caught in my throat as I saw the woman whose picture I used to keep in my wallet.

Vivienne smiled nervously. “Hello, Emily.”

My eyes shot up to Gabriel, who kissed the tip of my nose and untangled himself from me. “I’ll be inside if you need me.”

I blinked, watching her smile at him as he walked past. “Thank you,” she said.

“No problem.” He turned and closed the French doors behind him.

My heartbeat was so fast it felt like I had a hummingbird fluttering in my chest. She walked over to stand next to me, her eyes on the view below. I stood frozen in my spot, too shocked to make a move or say anything. 

She was the epitome of youth, all supple skin and bright, shiny eyes. There were no laugh lines or crow’s feet to be found on her face, and seeing her in the flesh, she seemed more like my long-lost sister than my mother.