Ravenous (Book 1 The Ravening Series) (27 page)

   I halted in midstride, unable to stop the burst of laughter that bubbled out of me. He turned toward me, holding his arms out. “I don’t smell any better,” I assured him.

   “I don’t care.”

   My laughter ceased as I stepped into his warm, welcom
ing embrace. Though he was brave enough to hug me, it did not last long, and Abby and I left a sludge mark on the front of his shirt. “Are you ok?” I asked softly.

   “Yes.”

   “Bret, Molly?” My voice squeaked, I could barely breathe as I awaited his answer.

   Aiden grinned at me. “They’re fine,” he assured me. “
Bret’s on the road across from the gas station, Molly’s on the road next to it keeping watch for you guys.”

   Cade and Jenna had edged closer, but remained slightly behind us. “What happened?” Jenna asked quietly.

   Aiden’s eyes darkened, anger and sadness crept over his features. “I don’t really know; we were almost to the bridge when all hell broke loose.” His gaze moved away from us, he seemed to be focusing on something that neither of us could see. “That guy that was with us, he was in the front. When that light hit him...” Aiden’s voice grew taut; a slight tremor shimmered through him. “The edges of the light seemed to set him on fire, from the inside out.”

   My heart was hammering, my mouth dry with horror as he uttered the words inside out. Instinctively I sought out Cade and seized hold of his hand. “The fire actually came from his mouth.” Aiden shuddered; his eyes came back to us. “I could feel it creeping up inside of me. I
could feel it licking against my organs, burning its way through me. Thankfully, whereas the others had been trapped by the light, we were not far enough into it to be completely ensnared by it. The three of us were able to break free, able to run. I didn’t even know where we were until we reached the other side of the IHOP.”

   Abby threw herself back into his arms, clinging tightly to him. I released Cade as I made my way to them, wrapping my arms around them both. “Thank God you’re ok,” I whispered.

   “You too,” he said with a small smile. “And from the looks of you it doesn’t seem like you had a very easy time of it.”

   “It was awful,” Abby agreed.
  

  “Let’s go find the others and you can tell us all about it. We’ve found a place to stay for the past couple of days. I’ll take you there before going to retrieve them.”

***

   The shower had been lukewarm by the time I got to it, but I didn’t care, it was still wonderful. I scrubbed myself so ferociously that my skin was red and chapped by the time I was done. I lathered conditioner into my hair hoping that it would help untangle the horrific mess my hair had become.

   We had managed to dig up some clothes upon entering the basement apartment, but they were all men’s clothes. I didn’t care; I would rather have walked around nude then put my disgusting
dump clothes back on again. My old clothes were sitting in a trash bag now, but I could still smell them. Either that or the stench really had permeated my skin forever. Just the thought made me scrub myself again, it was becoming painful to do so, but I didn’t care anymore. I just wanted the smell to go away.

   Wanting to save at least some warm water for Cade, I finally tore myself
away from the spray of the shower. I dressed in the loose fitting tee and oversized pants. Using a belt I cinched the waist and rolled the bottom of the jeans up. It took me a long time, a lot of hair, and a lot of wincing and cursing, but I was finally able to untangle my hair so that it fell around my shoulders and back again.

  
I didn’t pick up the trash bag with my clothes in it; I couldn’t bring myself to touch it, but opened up the door and kicked it out. Much like a soccer ball, I bounced it back and forth between my feet as I made my way down the dark hall before kicking it next to the other two bags sitting by the bulkhead in the small galley kitchen. There was no stove but a hotplate sat next to the microwave. The apartment was sparse; it seemed as if a college student had lived here. I didn’t know if the home above had been his parents, but the entrance into the house had been blocked off. The bulkhead was the only way in or out. 

   The basement had no windows, but we had only turned
on one light upon entering. The light was in the far back, in a small living room with a battered sofa and a ratty armchair that looked entirely inviting. I slumped into the chair, surprised by how comfortable it was considering that stuffing was popping out of the arms. Cade slipped down the hall, moving swiftly toward the shower.

   I drew my legs up onto the
seat, closed my eyes, and passed out.

   I didn’t know how much time had passed when I woke up again. It was impossible to tell time in the windowless
room. My legs were cramped, my neck ached from sleeping at such an awkward angle, but I felt better than I had earlier. “You’re awake.”
   I started, blinking slightly in surprise. I hadn’t realized that Bret was on the couch until he had spoken. I winced as my legs protested against me straightening them and my neck screamed in twisted agony, but I was slowly able to unravel myself from my cramped position. “I didn’t see you there. Where is everyone?”

  
“Bedroom down the hall. How are you?”

  
I swallowed heavily. His tone sounded off, dull, flat. There was something wrong, and I was afraid I already knew what it was. I had been an idiot to fall asleep before I’d had a chance to talk to him; it seemed as if Jenna had beaten me to it. “Ok.”

   “
From what Abby said it sounded like you guys had a rough time out there.”

   “It could have been worse.
Far worse.”

   I tried to make him out
on the couch, but it was too dark in the room. There was definitely something off about him, but I wasn’t sure if Jenna had talked to him, or if he was just as exhausted as the rest of us. I swallowed heavily. If Jenna hadn’t spoken to him, then I had to now. There was no point in dragging this out, no reason to cause him more pain than I was already going to. I couldn’t keep up this charade, and I had a feeling that Cade wouldn’t allow it to continue for much longer. If I didn’t do something, I was certain Cade would.

  
The couch groaned slightly as he stood up and came slowly toward me in the dark. Guilt and self hatred flooded me as he knelt before me and took hold of my hands. I wanted to pull my hands away, but he leaned forward and kissed me before I could react. My head spun, I wanted to recoil from him, but I couldn’t bring myself to be that cruel. Bret didn’t deserve that, he didn’t deserve any of this. There was no spark in the kiss, no desire, but it was comforting, familiar, and sweet. I allowed him to kiss me for a moment longer before I slowly pulled away from him.

   “I’m glad you’re safe Bethany, and that you’re here
. With me.”

   “
Bret…”

   “We can get through this, together. We can get through
anything
together.”

  
His hands were tight on mine, squeezing more firmly as he leaned closer. I swallowed heavily, unsure how to proceed. I had never dealt with anything like this before. “Bret, we need to talk.”

   “You had a rough time out there.”
   “We
all
did.”

   “Sometimes things happen…” I frowned
at him, my eyebrows drawing tightly together. Had Jenna talked to him, or had he picked up on a strange vibe from Cade and I? Either way, it seemed as if he was determined not to hear what I had to say, or to rationalize it away.

   “Did you speak to Jenna?’

   “Jenna? No why?”

   I hedged, uncertain how to proceed.
He must have picked up on something between Cade and I; or perhaps Cade had said something after I’d fallen asleep. “Bret there’s something we need to talk about. Did Cade…”

   His hands tightened on mine, he leaned closer.
“We don’t have to talk about him. When people are frightened, or stressed, they do things that they normally wouldn’t do.”

   “
Bret…”

   “It’s ok Bethany; things will go back to normal now.
Or at least as normal as they can be under the circumstances.”

  
I didn’t know what to say to him, I could barely breathe through the anguish clenching my chest. I had known Bret most of my life, he was a good person. He was a
wonderful
person. It was me that was awful, and wrong and hurtful. I clasped both of his hands tightly in mine. I knew what had to be done, but maybe it didn’t have to be done right now. It was obvious that he didn’t
want
it to be right now, obvious that he was clinging to the hope that we would be fine. There wasn’t much that I could give him, but I could give him that at least. Couldn’t I?

   Movement caught my attention. My eyes snapped toward the doorway, widening slightly as I spotted Cade. I didn’t know long he had been standing there, but if he hadn’t moved I never would have noticed him.
It seemed as if he was a part of the shadows, he blended seamlessly in with the darkness. I watched him for a long moment, amazed and slightly unnerved by the way the shadows embraced him so completely.

   I pulled back, unable to stop myself as
Bret leaned forward to kiss me again. Pain flashed through his eyes, his hands clenched upon mine as he sat back on his heels. I couldn’t look at either of them as I untangled my hands from Bret’s grasp and rose slowly. My back protested the movement as I stretched my cramped muscles, but it felt good to move again.

   I blinked against the harsh flare of light as Cade flipped the switch.
Anger flashed across Bret’s features when he spotted Cade leaning in the doorway. “What do you want?” Bret demanded.

   Apparently
Bret had decided to take all of his anger out on Cade, instead of me. Cade lifted a dark eyebrow; wry amusement flitted over his handsome features. Under the amusement though was a seething mass of tension and anger. This was a situation that was going to have to be resolved, soon, or it was going to get ugly. It never should have gotten to this point to begin with.

   And it was entirely my fault.

   “You know what I want, or at least who,” Cade drawled.
   My mouth dropped, my hands clenched tightly on my arms as I stared at him in utter disbelief. I couldn’t believe he had just said that. “Son of a bitch!” Bret snarled.

   I seized hold of
Bret’s arm as he took an angry step forward. He looked about ready to beat the crap out of Cade, but Cade remained standing nonchalantly in the doorway. He didn’t appear at all fazed by Bret’s anger though Bret was a good thirty pounds heavier, and two inches taller. “I just thought that all the cards should be on the table, so there is no confusion about what my intentions are.” I could only stand there and continue to gape at Cade as his gaze burned over me. “I know what I want, and now you do too.”

  
Bret was shaking in my grip, his hands fisted at his sides. I was trembling from the effects of Cade’s sizzling look, and from the words he had just uttered. I was frightened, heartbroken, and torn. “Don’t do this now,” I managed to whisper. Bret didn’t relax in my grasp, but his gaze did come slowly toward me. The betrayal and anger in his eyes made me want to cry. “Bret, I’m sorry, I really am. I didn’t mean for this to happen, I never meant to hurt you, it’s the last thing in the world I ever…”

   I gasped in surprise as he knocked my
hand aside and jerked his arm from my gasp. Cade’s casual demeanor vanished as he came away from the door. Anger darkened his features; his eyes were ice cold with fury. My heart leapt into my throat, I darted in between them, throwing up my hands to halt Cade’s approach.

   “You want to take this out on someone then take it out on me!”
Cade snarled. His rage was so volatile, so intense, that it caused the hair on the nape of my neck to stand up. It didn’t matter if Bret was bigger; in that moment I was certain that Cade might just kill him. “Not her,
me
.”

   Before I knew what
Cade intended he seized hold of my hand with surprising tenderness, considering the enraged look on his face, and began to rub it. “Its fine, I’m fine,” I managed to stammer out. His eyes came slowly toward me; they crinkled at the edges as his gaze softened slightly. My hand clenched around his, I could not stop the immediate physical and emotional reaction that surged through me.

   “What’s going on?” I had been so caught up in everything that I hadn’t noticed Aiden’s appearance in the room. His hair was rumpled from sleep, his eyes were slightly swollen, but there was a keen
edge in his gaze that was slightly unnerving. “Are you ok?” he demanded of me, his attention honing in on Cade’s hands on mine.

   “I’m fine. Everything’s fine,
” I managed to reassure him.
   He glanced at Bret, then at Cade, before finally settling on me again. Cade had been his friend once, but that had been years ago. Bret was his best friend now; I knew where Aiden’s loyalties would lie. I didn’t want him put in the middle of this. “Better be,” he said softly. “Abby, Molly, and Jenna are awake too.”