Immortal Dreams (71 page)

"No," I declare, my feet digging into the ground to take my stance and emphasize my fervent protest.

He steps toward me, and I waver on my stand as I step back in response.

"If you touch me, I will scream.  You will be arrested.  Go away," I hiss through gritted teeth.

"No.  I can play this game, too.  I care about you, and -"

"Care about me?" I snark in interruption.  "Is this really how you show someone you care?  You trample all over them, and call them to tell them you're not really interested anymore?"

"I never said that," he snaps, his eyes chastising me.  "I was trying to keep from hurting you.  I handled it poorly, but I swear I was doing what I thought I should.  This has been torture for me, too.  You haven't been suffering alone."

"Pardon me if I don't show too much sympathy for your self-inflicted wounds.  I'm not the one who called you to tell you it was over.  I would have had the balls to do it to your face."

He winces under my cutting words, but he knows he can't argue with the facts.

"Get dressed, I'm taking you with me in fifteen minutes - ready or not," he says coldly.

I roll my eyes and plop down on my couch like an errant, surly teen.  I put my headphones in and open my magazine to obnoxiously display my complete indifference to his empty threat.

I'm glad I actually showered yesterday and put on a fresh set of satin pajamas.

I'm in the middle of a page when I feel my body being lifted into the air.  I instantly start screaming and fighting uselessly against the strength he's subduing me with.

He carries me bridal style out the door, and another guy joins us the moment we reach the hall.  He shuts the door behind us, and Devin steps into the open elevator awaiting his abducting ass.

I scream louder, but no one comes to my aide.  None of my self absorbed, useless neighbors even bother to poke their heads out to investigate my screams for help.

Assholes
.

I'm flailing around uselessly in his arms as the elevator doors close.

"Let me go now," I squeal.

"Are you sure she needs help?  She looks pretty sprightly to me.  Maybe you're the only one suffering," the mystery guy whispers in a nearly muted tone.  I don't think I was meant to hear, but he expected Devin to hear it.

"I'm not sprightly, I'm pissed.  What kind of an egomaniac comes into his ex's house and kidnaps her so he can help coax her through the damn breakup.  Get the fuck over yourself."

The mystery guy leans over and looks directly at me.  I stop squirming slightly as he speaks.

"You heard that?" he asks with surprise.

"Yeah.  Now hear this.  You're fucking kidnapping me.  It's a crime you will serve time in a federal prison for.  Do you understand that?" I blare.

His eyes cut away from mine as he returns his attention to my kidnapper restraining my escape attempts.

"She's not the sobbing mess you said she was," the guy says to Devin.

"It's not just the emotions.  Besides, you haven't seen her when no one's looking," he whispers.

"And you have?  You sick son of a stalker bitch.  Put me down now," I screech.

"I'm not putting you down.  Now either I can tie you up or you can calm the hell down," he scolds, as if he's talking to a child.

Bastard.  He's kidnapping me, and scolding me like I'm some kid who didn't clean their room up.

The other guy starts putting my fuzzy boots on my bare feet, and I start kicking wildly to try and connect with him.  He just laughs in response while batting down my feet that prove to be ineffective against him.

I glare at him, and he holds his hands up innocently while giving me such a condescending smirk.

The door dings on the elevator, and I start screaming in vain once again.  A man even holds the door open for us as we pass through the entrance of my apartment building.

Are you fucking kidding me?

Devin tosses me into the backseat of the black SUV that is waiting at the curb in true abduction fashion.  I instantly scramble over to the other side and tug on a door that refuses to open.

"The child lock is on.  Don't bother," he says while sitting down beside me.

The other guy jumps in the driver's seat and cranks the car.  He glances at my death stare in the rearview mirror and laughs a little harder.

"What the hell is your name?" I snap.

"Why do you want my name?" he chuckles.

"So I can tell the cops the name of the accomplice who helped my psycho ex kidnap me."

He laughs even harder.

"Oh, in that case, sure," he snickers out.

"It's Ther.  Just calm down.  You know you're not going to the cops," Devin says softly.

"You have no idea the hell I'm going to raise.  You have no right.  Do you even realize what an arrogant, psycho ass you're being right now?"

"You have no idea how bad this can get if you don't get help," he says with a trembling tone.

"What in fuck's name are you talking about?"

"It's a long story you'll never believe.  Just let me get you some help.  If I'm wrong, then I'll apologize, and you'll never see me again."

I huff and flop back in the seat.  "I can't wait for them to tell you you're wrong."

"I hope I am," he mumbles.

I cross my legs, vigorously shaking the one on top as I try to defuse my imminent explosion.  I'd like to figure out what he thinks it is he can do for me.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask in a calmer but still agitated tone.

"My mother.  She's good."

Holy fucking psycho ex.

"Really?" I ask in an unusually high octave.  "You wait until after you dump me to introduce me to your mom?"

Ther bursts out laughing, but Devin rolls his eyes.  I squirm uncomfortably in my short, slinky pajama set.

"I can't believe you kidnapped me to take me to your mom's while I'm wearing this," I grumble while motioning to my pajama set.

"Ther, toss me the bag," Devin says mildly.

Ther grabs a bag from the passenger seat and tosses it backwards.  As soon as Devin catches it, he hands it to me while avoiding eye contact.

"I packed you some clothes and brought them down to the car while you were
reading
," he exasperates.

I glare at him while I rip it from his hands.  He looks away and starts messing with his phone like a distracted ass.

A smirk spreads across my face when I pull out the shirt because I see a rare opportunity to be a gold medal bitch.

I slide my lacy bra on under my skimpy top, and then I connect it without showing anyone anything.

Devin squirms around slightly uncomfortable, so I know he's aware of what I just did.  Then I stifle a grin as I slowly slide off the stringy pajama top.

The car violently darts out into the other lane, and Ther has to jerk it back into our original lane before he hits the side of an overpass.

Devin growls, "Damn it, Ther!  Keep your eyes on the road."

"Well shit!  I wasn't expecting a striptease in the backseat.  Sue me."

Devin leans up and tilts the rearview mirror up so Ther can't see me anymore.  He plops back down, and I can see him fighting hard not to look at me.  He's also suppressing a threatening grin as I pull down the shorts, revealing my black underwear.

Ther starts to turn his head, but Devin threatens him.

"Do it and I'll kick your ass."

Ther starts snickering slightly, and I smirk as I pull my jeans up with a very slow, seductive slide.  I leave them unbuttoned as I start pulling the shirt on, and my slow, sliding motion continues as I let it gingerly cascade over my flesh.

Devin is breathing a little uneasy, and I hear something crack in his hand.  It's his phone.

"Shit.  Ther, toss me another phone," he says calmly, as if it's nothing out of the ordinary.

Another phone?  He keeps them on hand?

He pulls the card out of the broken phone and inserts it into the new phone that is an exact replica.

Wow.  Perhaps that's why he called me from a different number.

"Break a lot of phones?" I ask while adjusting the new top that looks fairly slinky as well.

I don't remember this looking so sexy when I bought it.  Then again, all of my clothes have fit me different lately - sexier.  It's all been so odd.

"It happens," he says casually.

"Is that why you called me from a random number the other day?"

"Yeah.  I didn't have another phone on me at the time.  I've stocked up since then."

So fucking weird.

"It was my number he called you from.  Just in case you ever want to-"

"Ther, I swear it would be in your best interest not to finish that sentence," Devin growls through gritted teeth.

Ther shifts uncomfortably in the front seat after hearing Devin's latest threat.  I have to stifle another grin.  I'm enjoying this for some reason.  My demented mind is reveling in his psychotic jealously.  I almost feel... drunk, maybe?  It's strange.

I button the top of my pants as Ther lowers the rearview mirror back into place, and then he winks at me.  I roll my eyes at the sick goon drooling behind the wheel, and Devin's eyes narrow at his horrid friend.

"Ther, I'm going to break your face if you keep on," he says while programming his new phone.

"I think you're right about her being infected.  I can't help but look at her.  She shouldn't be so... so hot," Ther grumbles while finally breaking his eyes away from me.

"Infected?" I ask in distaste.

"He's stupid.  Don't pay any attention to him please."

I just roll my eyes as Devin continues to avoid looking at me.  I can feel my body heating up as I stare at him from the corner of my eye.  The blood in my veins pumps faster, my breath quickens, and my heart pounds to the point I can actually hear it.

I can feel the currents of electricity flowing through me as if they're real.  Suddenly, another phone snaps in Devin's hand.  He tosses his head back in frustration, and then he drops the crumbled pieces to the floor.

My body heats even more as I stare at him fully.  I can't look away, and sweat has started to dampen my skin.  He finally looks at me, and he's trapped too.

My body aches for his, and I can tell he's fighting the urge to take me here and now.  He moves toward me, and I fall into his clutches, but as soon as we start to entangle ourselves, sparks fly around the car and the engine sounds like it is exploding.

I can smell burning rubber as the brakes lock up, and smoke fills the squealing vehicle that is skidding across the interstate.

The car spins wildly out of control, and I scream in reaction.  I feel my seatbelt being fastened as if on its own.  My stomach finds my throat and plummets back down with each spiral the car makes.  The blurry scene outside the window turns into a collage of nonsense.

Then, the impact of the crash throws my head backwards, forcing me to gasp for air.  I feel stinging sensations invading me as glass shatters all around to bite my flesh and draw blood.  The metallic tang finds my mouth when I bite down on the inside of my jaw.

The car slides on its roof through the grass, plowing up mounds of dirt and throwing it through the air as it skids to a halt before turning to rest on its side - my side.  Ther kicks the door, and it flies into the air.

Whoa
.  There must be some serious adrenaline pumping through him.

Devin kicks his door off as well, and the same unnatural thing happens.

I'm dumbfounded, but I was also just in a traumatic and horrible wreck, so I could be seeing things.

Devin rips the seatbelt off me, and I cringe in pain as his hand scrapes across one of my cuts.

"Fuck.  How bad are you hurt?" he demands as his eyes scour my tattered body.

"I'm fine, it's all superficial.  Just get me out of here," I say through a trembling breath.

My door is completely flat against the ground, and Devin has to lift me out to hand me to Ther.

His alien hands clasp around me too tightly, forcing me to squeal out in pain, and he instantly loosens his grip.

"Sorry," he murmurs under his breath.

As soon as Ther lays me down, Devin is by my side, better assessing the damage.  I touch the cut on my bottom lip and scowl when I see Devin's perfection still intact.

"What the hell happened?" Devin demands, looking at Ther and ignoring my irritation.

"I don't have a fucking clue.  The engine blew up or something.  One second it's clear skies, and the next there's a flaming ball of fire in front of me.  I tried to hit the brakes, but they locked up.  The psychotic car felt possessed.  I'll call for transport though." Ther says with more confusion than panic.

"So I'm the only one with a scratch?" I ask with a bit of anger lacing my resentful tone.

They're both completely unscathed by the rolling hunk of metal that tried to tear me to pieces.  Neither of them even seems spooked by how dangerously close we just came to dying.

I still don't know how my seat belt buckled.  Was it already buckled?  I could have sworn I was about to straddle Devin, so how could it have been buckled?

"You didn't see that coming?" Ther asks.

"No.  I'm blind around her.  You know this.  I usually see things going on around her though.  It doesn't make sense," Devin says with exasperation while gripping his head that appears to ache.

"I thought you just couldn't see her or anything she does.  She couldn't have done that."

"She could if she's infected," Devin almost whispers.

"Not looking like that.  They look like death when they reach that level," Ther objects in the same whispered tone.

"What the hell are you two talking about?  What do you mean
see that
?  How could anyone see that coming?  What do you mean you're blind around me?  And why does Ther keep referring to me as
infected
?  I think the two of you are defective," I berate while my wild hands swirl over my head to add to my dramatic tirade.

"Like I said, it's a long story you can't possibly even consider believing," Devin says dismissively.

"Hey, come pick us up... Nah, our ride just blew the fuck up... No clue... Alright... Thanks," Ther says into the phone.