Memories: Volume 9 (The Lillian Rayne Series) (5 page)

I
took the phone and hurried into the foyer. I pushed the button to call
Cornelius. It rang once before Cornelius picked up. “Drake, I swear…”

“It’s
not Drake,” I said quickly cutting him off.

“Lillian,
where are you?” he asked sounding relieved.

“I
am safe, I guess,” I said softly. Drake walked in and settled against the door
jamb. I was a little nervous with him listening to our conversation.

“You
were safe with me! I want you back here! Tell me where you are! I am coming to
get you!” His voice was raised. It was Cornelius’s version of yelling.

“Cornelius,
I am not sure what to do. Drake seems to think someone is working with Eleanor.
I didn’t leave you on a whim. I remembered my cousin’s name,” I said trying to
calm him down.

“Your
cousin? Tanner? That moron can’t protect himself. Lillian, I am begging you.
Tell me where you are,” he said sounding panicked.

“Cornelius,
I…” before I could finish the phone was snatched out of my hand.

“There,
you know she is safe, have a nice night,” Drake growled and hung up the phone.

“I
wasn’t done talking to him,” I said glaring at him.

“Yes,
you were. He knows you are safe; all is well with the world,” he said grumpily
and walked off.

“Is
everything ok?” Tanner asked cautiously as he walked into the foyer.

I
looked at him and scowled. “Drake is an ass. I don’t see why I can’t talk to
Cornelius for more than a few seconds.”

Tanner
grinned. “He isn’t a bad guy, and there was a time when you knew that. Drake is
taking your whole memory loss thing really hard.”

“Are
you sure I can trust Drake, Colin, and Lyle?” I asked softly. I figured I would
ask him since he was the only name I remembered in the blur of familiar faces.
It was obvious that Tanner meant something to me. If we grew up together, then
we were like sister and brother.

“I
am more than sure. Lyle is my uncle. He has made mistakes, but he is a good man
at heart, and Drake and Colin only want what is best for you,” Tanner said
reassuringly.

I
felt a little better, but not much. I wanted to see Cornelius. I hated that he
was worried about me. I felt like I wasn’t being fair just running away from
him. I looked around the house trying to distract myself. “This place is really
nice inside compared to the outside. I thought you were bringing me to a
haunted house,” I said smiling slightly.

“Those
were my thoughts when I first saw the place. I thought Lyle had gone insane,”
he said smiling.

I
sighed and sat down on a bench in the foyer. “I wish I could remember my life.
I feel like I am missing so much. It sucks not knowing who I loved, and who I
hated.”

Tanner
walked over and sat down next to me. “You are brilliant Lillian. You will
figure everything out. I always looked up to you because I thought you were the
smartest and the strongest of all the hunters. I still think that now.”

“I
resent that statement,” Colin said as he walked down the stairs.

“You
were a hunter too?” I asked curiously.

“I
was until I ran into your good friend Cornelius. There is more than one of us
that have been adversely affected by your lover,” he said dryly.

“He
changed you into a vampire?” I asked quietly. I wasn’t sure how it all worked.
I didn’t have much experience in it, at least not since I woke up with no
memory.

He
scoffed. “Yes, and he changed you into a vampire. He changed you; against your
will mind you. After that, he somehow managed to persuade you to love him. I
will never understand that.”

“Cornelius
really isn’t that bad,” Tanner said softly.

I
was surprised Tanner was defending him. I was actually a little relieved. I
didn’t want to hear bad things about Cornelius, but I also didn’t want to be
the only one defending him. I wasn’t sure if I was defending the right person.
Colin admitted that I loved Cornelius; so maybe I did. I had the sudden urge to
go back to him. I didn’t want to be away from him. The more I thought about it;
the more I realized I wanted to be with him. “I shouldn’t be here,” I said
standing abruptly.

“What
do you mean?” Colin asked slightly on guard.

“I
want to go back to Cornelius. He loved me, and I think I love him. I don’t
think he will hurt me, and I don’t want to be away from him,” I said quickly.

“Lillian,
it is safer here right now,” Tanner said as he glanced at Colin.

“I
don’t want to be here. I’m sorry, but even if I am in danger, I would rather be
in danger near Cornelius,” I said as I turned to go to the door.

Colin
appeared in front of me, and I hesitated. “You can’t leave,” Colin said firmly.

“I
was under the impression I wasn’t a prisoner,” I said angrily.

“You
aren’t, but you can’t go back to him,” Colin said standing his ground.

“I
don’t want to be here. I want to go back to him,” I said trying to keep my
temper in check.

Colin
opened his mouth to argue, but Lyle cut him off. “Colin, go get Cornelius and
bring him to her.”

“What?”
Colin asked confused as he looked at Lyle.

“If
she trusts him; then we will have no choice but to trust him. I would rather him
be here than her leave,” he said softly.

I
was a little relieved Lyle wasn’t going to try to force me to do what he
wanted. The look of disbelief on Colin’s face made me wonder why it was such a
big deal that Cornelius came here.

“Fine,
I will be back in no time. If Cornelius doesn’t kill me first that is,” Colin
said dryly; then he was gone.

“Thank
you,” I said softly looking at Lyle.

He
forced a smile. “I only want the best for you, Lillian.” He turned toward
Tanner. “Tell Drake what is going on. We may need his assistance,” Lyle said
calmly.

Tanner
nodded and hurried down the hall in the direction Drake had gone earlier.

Before
I could speak Cornelius appeared in the Foyer with Colin. Colin stumbled away
from Cornelius, glaring at him. Colin had blood running from his mouth.

“Cornelius,”
I said excitedly. I ran to him and threw my arms around his neck. I was
relieved that he was here. He looked unscathed, unlike Colin.

“Where
is Drake,” Cornelius growled. He sounded like he was ready to hurt Drake.

“Lillian
being here is not entirely Drake’s fault,” Lyle said softly.

Cornelius
didn’t notice him until he spoke. Cornelius froze when he looked over at Lyle.
I could see the rage cross Cornelius’s face before he could even say anything.
“You are supposed to be dead,” Cornelius growled as he positioned himself
between Lyle and me. Cornelius was acting like he was trying to protect me from
Lyle.

It
was obvious, Lyle and Cornelius had history that Lyle forgot to mention.
“Please don’t fight,” I pleaded taking Cornelius’s hand. I didn’t want him
fighting with Lyle.

“Why
did you let him come here?” Drake asked angrily as he stormed into the foyer
followed closely by Tanner.

“Drake,
we are not here to fight. We are here for Lillian,” Lyle said moving to block
Drake from advancing on Cornelius.

Cornelius
remained in front of me. He was holding my hand tightly. I was just glad he wasn’t
trying to fight them. “I would love to know why you think you can just take her
away. Did you really think she would just believe all your lies?” Cornelius
asked darkly.

“The
only reason you are here is because I care for my daughter, and I would prefer
you be in my house then for her to leave,” Lyle said angrily.

“Now
she is your daughter? Where have you been? She has been in trouble countless
times, and you never showed. Why now?” Cornelius countered.

Lyle
hesitated and shifted his gaze to me. Cornelius was asking a reasonable
question. According to everyone I had a lot of enemies, and that meant I was in
trouble quite a bit. Lyle didn’t show up for any of that, but somehow now he
was insisting on helping me.

“She
was strong and confident before she lost her memory. Now she is unsure, and I
worry about her safety. Just because I did not make my presence known that does
not mean I wasn’t watching over her,” Lyle said quietly.

“And
you thought it would be a good idea just to take her from me? You thought she
would be ok with not seeing me again?” Cornelius asked angrily.

“We
can hope, can’t we?” Drake asked matching Cornelius’s tone.

Cornelius
glared at Drake. “If it wasn’t for Lillian, you would be dead.”

“Stop
it!” I ordered. I didn’t want to listen to them threaten each other. I didn’t
see how any of this was beneficial.

“I
agree with Lillian; we all need to calm down. Like I said before we all want
what is best for Lillian. I want her to remain here where she is safe. Eleanor
has infiltrated your people. I have a very reliable source that tells me
someone is feeding Eleanor information about Lillian,” Lyle said watching
Cornelius.

“You
think I trust either of you?” Cornelius asked skeptically.

“I
am not asking you to trust us. I am asking you to do what Lillian wants,” Lyle
said softly.

Cornelius
looked down at me. “Do you really want to stay here?”

I
thought about it for a minute; then I looked at Lyle. He didn’t have to agree
to let me see Cornelius. He could have thrown me somewhere and locked me up if
he wanted to. “I think we should trust Lyle. He didn’t have to let me see you.
I really don’t think he wants to hurt me,” I said as I looked up at him.

Cornelius
looked slightly annoyed by my response. He probably wanted me just to go back
with him and forget Lyle and the others, but I really didn’t want to leave. “Then
we stay,” he said suddenly agreeing.

Everyone
looked surprised that he just agreed. “I don’t trust him,” Drake said clenching
his fists.

“Neither
do I,” Colin said grumpily. He had cleaned most of the blood off his face, but
he still had some on his shirt.

“The
only thing that matters is that Lillian does trust him; so Tanner, please show
them to a room,” Lyle said curtly, and then he walked off without another word.
Apparently the conversations for the night were over.

Colin
rolled his eyes like he didn’t want to do what Lyle said. “This is just great,”
Drake muttered; then he stalked off like he usually did.

“Come
on Lily,” Tanner said as he made his way up the stairs.

I
followed him. Cornelius followed close behind me. I was sure I was going to get
a piece of his mind as soon as we were alone. I told him I wouldn’t leave without
him after I did it the first time, but I did anyway. I knew he was probably
furious with me. It would be so much easier if everyone wasn’t worried about
everyone else betraying me. It was all so confusing.

“If
you need anything, just call,” Tanner said as he opened the door and stepped
aside.

“Thank
you,” I said forcing a smile. I didn’t want him to think I was mad. I wasn’t
mad; I was just a little ruffled after all the arguing.

Cornelius
followed me in the room and shut the door. The door closed hard enough to
startle me a little. I looked at Cornelius; he was glaring at me. “You said you
wouldn’t leave on your own again.”

“I
wasn’t on my own,” I said defensively. “I wanted to know what was going on, and
they said I had to come without you.”

He
made an annoyed noise. “Lillian you are going to get hurt if you aren’t
careful. Don’t you think it is odd that Lyle showed up after pretending to be
dead for years? It is a little convenient that he shows up when you lose your
memory.”

I
scowled. “I don’t know because I don’t remember. All I can do is take
everyone’s word. I don’t know who to believe and who not to believe. I figured
it would be best just to hear everyone out.”

He
stepped forward and pulled me against him. I looked at him a little wide-eyed
at his sudden aggressiveness. “I love you, and I will do whatever it takes to
protect you.”

I
reached up and touched his face. “I knew Tanner’s name. I don’t know why I did,
but I did. I want to trust him. Maybe there is someone working with Eleanor.
Maybe we should trust them,” I said trying to reason with him.

He
didn’t look like he wanted to be reasoned with. He looked more like he wanted
to argue with me. I watched him trying to come up with a valid argument if he
did decide to argue. His brilliant eyes glittered with annoyance, and I felt my
pulse quicken. I moved forward and pressed my lips to his before I could think
about what I was doing. He froze obviously startled by my sudden advance. After
a second, he folded into me and deepened the kiss. His lips trailed from my
mouth to my neck. I gasped in surprise when I felt his fangs sink into my neck.
My body immediately relaxed in his arms. It was almost an involuntary action
because I was caught off guard. Pleasure clouded my mind, and I couldn’t think
about anything but Cornelius. He released my neck; then brought his own wrist
to his mouth. He bit his wrist; then pressed his wrist to my lips. I was a
little unsure about what he was doing. I tried to pull away, but he held me
firmly in place. I couldn’t fight him. Cool blood filled my mouth, and I
reluctantly swallowed. I thought I would be afraid, but I wasn’t.