Masquerade (19 page)

Arms surrounded me and for
a moment I pressed myself closer, my heart beating unbelievably
fast. He came back! But
…something was
off…his
smell was wrong. It was too clean
and light and I didn’t fit against him the way I should. I pulled
away. “Cole.”

He reached out and grasped
my shoulders. “You okay
, Hev?”

“
Yeah, sorry.”
Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.

“
Come sit down, Heven,”
Kimber said from the booth.

“
I have to go.”

“
Where are you going to go?
I drove you here.”

I stood there trying to
come up with a response. Cole put an arm around me, and I dropped
my head onto his shoulder
.
For so many days I had been panicked and the
comfort felt good
.

“
Come sit with me,” Cole
said softly, and I went with him because I didn’t know what else to
do
.

“
I’ll get you a hot tea
instead of this coffee.” Kimber picked up my discarded cappuccino
and walked off.

Cole smoothed the hair from my face,
“It’s all going to be ok.”

I was fighting tears so I didn’t say
anything as he rubbed slow circles over my back.

“
What’s going on here?” The
raspy deep voice sent my heart splintering. I pushed Cole’s arm
away.

“
Sam!”

His hazel eyes flashed at
me, but then went to Cole and
narrowed.
“Get your hands off my girlfriend.”

I pushed Cole away and ran
forward, throwing myself against him. He caught me but the breath
hissed between his teeth. I tried to pull
back, to see what was wrong, but
his
hold tightened.

“
I’ve been so worried!” I
said into his chest.

“
I know, and I’m sorry,”
he said, leaning down, whispering into my ear. Goosebumps raced
across my skin, the sound of his voice was exactly what I needed to
hear.

I went to grab my bag from the booth,
and Cole stepped into my path. “You can’t go with him,
Heven.”

“
What? Yes I
can
.” I pushed Cole back with my hand and
grabbed my bag.

Sam cleared his throat and came to
stand at my back. “Hey, Kimber. I appreciate you looking out for
Heven while I was, uh, gone.”

“
Where were you?” she
asked.

“
I was sick, I couldn’t
call.” He glanced down at the floor when he spoke.

“
You were sick? Are you
alright?” I asked, turning to face him.

“
Can we go somewhere to
talk?” He asked.

“
Of course,” I said,
motioning that we should go.

Cole stepped in front of
Sam. His eyes were hard. “You don’t deserve her. Heven deserves
someone who would treat her right.”

“
I don’t think you have
much say in the matter.” Sam said tightly.

Cole grabbed my arm and
tried to tow me aside. “We need to talk.”

“
No, we don’t. I’m going
with Sam.”

Cole shoved a hand through
his dark hair. “I don’t trust him.”

Sam made a sound and then
shoved Cole down into the booth, and Sam was pulling me along with
him out of the coffee bar.

“
Why did you do that?” I
demanded when we were outside

“
If that guy touches you
one more time…” He growled, almost to himself because his back was
to me. His fists were clenched at his sides and his back was
tense.

“
Sam?”

His shoulders dropped and
he turned
, his somber hazel eyes eating me
alive. “I’ve missed you.”

I groaned and went into his arms,
hugging him hard. When he winced I stepped back. “What’s the
matter?”

“
Nothing, I’m fine.” He
tried to pull me toward him, but I could see pain in his
face.

“
Are you sick? Hurt?” I
began running my hands over him, feeling for any sign of
injury.

He caught my hands between his. “I’m
all right.”

There was a faint yellowing bruise
along his jaw. I brushed a finger across it. “This?”

He blew out a breath that ruffled his
hair. There was a cut along his hairline. I gasped and reached for
it. “This?”

“
Let’s go,” he urged,
pulling me toward the truck at the curb.

“
What happened to you?” I
demanded as we drove away.

“
It’s nothing to worry
about. I’m sorry about not being around.”

That’s all he had to say? I
wasn’t about to accept that. I’d spent three days worried sick, and
then he shows up clearly healing from some sort of
injury and he says that it’s nothing? I don’t
think so. He has some real explaining to do! “Where have you
been?”

“
At home.”

I didn’t even know where that was.
“Where is home exactly?”

“
Across town.”

I made a frustrated sound
in the back of my throat. “You disappeared without warning for
three days. You didn’t answer my
calls or
my texts, and I had
no idea where to look
for you because I have no idea where you live, and now you won’t
tell me what’s going on.”

“
Don’t cry,” he said,
hoarse.

I turned my body away from him, angry
at myself for being such a wimp. I couldn’t even be mad at him
because I was so relieved he was all right. I wiped furiously at my
eyes, ignoring that he was slowing the truck and pulling over.
Broad hands caught me around the waist and hauled me backward until
I encountered his solid chest. His arms wound around me and held on
tight. His breath was warm and brushed over my ear, making me
shiver.

“
I was so scared,” I
admitted, fresh tears falling.

“
I know, sweetheart.”
Somehow the tender endearment made it worse, and I cried
harder.

“
I…didn’t know…if…I would
see you again.”

“
I couldn’t leave
you.”

“
But you did,” I accused,
turning to face him.

He sighed. He looked tired, and there
was an echo of pain in his eyes that I thought he might be trying
to hide. “I got in a fight, okay?” He pushed a hand through his
shaggy hair. I caught another glimpse of the cut on his
forehead.

“
A fight? With
who?”

“
My roommates.”

So I was right to think they weren’t
really Sam’s friends. “But why?”

“
It doesn’t matter,” he
said, his jaw hard, and his eyes flashing. Fear skittered along my
spine.

“
You were hurt,” I began,
pushing away my fear and tentatively reaching for his hair, lifting
it to study the cut.

I felt him tense, but he allowed my
touch and didn’t respond to my words.

“
Lean down,” I
whispered.

He lowered his head, and I trailed a
finger along the cut. It was red and slightly raised and looked
like it had been pretty bad. I brushed his hair further back and
wondered how a cut that looked so vicious could be closed already.
“Oh, Sam.” I sighed, pulling away.

I opened the glove box, and
a small first aid kit fell out. Exactly what I was looking
for
.

“
I’m fine,” he
growled.

“
That cut needs to be
covered, or it’s going to get infected.” I found a bandage and some
anti-bacterial cream in the kit and motioned for him to come
closer. I knew that it was closed and wouldn’t get infected, but I
felt like I should do something to help him
.
I thought he would argue but he
didn’t, and I went about cleaning the cut and bandaging it. When I
was done I took his face in my hands and tilted his head to study
the yellowing bruise along his jaw. He had another behind his ear,
but there was nothing I could do about bruises.

“
Why didn’t you call me?” I
whispered.

“
I didn’t want you
involved.”

“
I would
have helped you.” My voice
trembled
as I put away the first aid kit.

“
I’m fine.”

“
But…” He cut off my words
by pressing me into his chest and wrapping me in his arms. It felt
good and safe, and I had missed being with him even more than I
knew. I relaxed against him, surrendering to his warmth and love.
We stayed like that a long time, but something intruded through my
cloud of contentment. Sam wasn’t completely relaxed; he was holding
himself a little stiff. I gasped and sat back. “Where else are you
hurt?” I reached for the hem of his shirt, but he caught my
hand.

“
I’m all right, Heven. I’m
just a little stiff and sore, okay?” His eyes begged me to let it
go.

After a few minutes I sighed. “You
need to move.”

“
I’m working on it,” he
muttered.

I blushed, ashamed. He already worked
two jobs. He was probably trying to save enough for his own place.
“Sam?”

His
eyes softened when I spoke his name. “Yeah?”

“
Next time, call me,
okay?”

“
I never meant to make you
worry.” He held open his arms and I eased into them, not wanting to
hurt him. Was he thinner than before?

“
I’m glad you’re back.”
Everything inside me calmed and settled.

“
I wish I could spend the
afternoon with you, but I have to work in an hour.”

Disappointment washed through me, but
I pushed it back. The more he worked the sooner he could move out
away from his roommates. I tilted my head back and smiled. “We have
just enough time to go get one of those Bubble Teas you like so
much. My treat.”

He smiled. “Deal.” Before releasing me
he inched closer, his lips covering mine. Long moments passed as
our lips met again and again. When he pulled back my heart was
going a mile a minute. He stared at me so intently that I began to
squirm in my seat, but then he blinked, pressed a kiss to my
forehead and put the truck in drive.

The Hate

I spent three days chasing down a
false lead. Three days wasting my time! All because some informant
thought he could give me bad information. Now he isn’t giving
anyone information. Except for the worms I buried his mutilated
body with.

To make matters even
worse, I returned, expecting to see Sam back at home. To see that
he learned his lesson. Only I was informed that he left three days
ago and hasn’t been back. He’s been out watching that little bitch
girlfriend of his, protecting her from me.

Little does he know that
he can’t protect her from me any more than he protected himself.
Clearly, his lesson wasn’t harsh enough. Clearly, he didn’t learn
anything.

It’s one thing to see the
parts or faces of bodies that you never knew. Let’s see how the pup
does when he sees the bloody corpse of someone he loves.

The Hope

I’m frightened for them.
How many more people are going to have to die so that virtue can
triumph? Can one man really stop the evil one? One man who isn’t
even pure of spirit.

I pray that he can turn
from the evil inside him, turn to the light.

I don’t know how much longer she can
remain in the dark. She must be made aware of the way she is being
hunted. Perhaps they could work together to overcome what is
coming.

I pray together they can
be strong.

Heven

Kimber lived on a lake. Even though
the house was large, it looked like a cozy log cabin from the road.
Only after you came down the driveway to park next to the four car
garage did you realize just how big it was. It was a beautiful,
peaceful place that had views of the lake from every room in the
house. Full-grown trees canopied the lawn making it feel as though
you were in your own private space all the way down to the
water.

I was surprised that Kimber wasn’t
having a huge party like she had last year on her birthday.
Instead, all she wanted was to hang out here at her place with the
people she was closest to. Frankly, I was relieved. The last big
party I went to didn’t turn out too well.

“
You look good tonight,”
Sam said when he picked me up for the party, opening the truck door
to help me in.

I felt my cheeks burn. “Thank
you.”

I was wearing one of the
new outfits I’d bought when Kimber and I were at the mall. It was a
nice outfit, but more understated than what I would have
chosen
Before
.
Even though it was early spring, it was still pretty cold, so I was
wearing a fitted pair of jeans with a few strategically placed
rips, a pair of brown suede boots that came to the knee and a white
button up shirt with ruffles around the neck instead of a collar.
Over top I added a deep red military-style jacket with pewter
buttons that I found hiding in the very back of my closet
(leftovers from
Before
).
The only jewelry I wore was the
whistle, which was tucked beneath my shirt and the bracelet Sam had
given me.