The Dark-Hunters (29 page)

How she wished the beast had found Julian’s sword beneath the bed and made the mistake of touching it. Now that would truly have been justice.

But Rodney hadn’t found it. In fact, Julian’s shield was still where he’d left it, propped against the wall beside the bed.

Looking around at her scattered clothing, Grace felt so violated, as if Rodney’s creepy hands had touched her body.

Grace saw the door to her book closet slightly ajar. Her heart stopped beating as she walked to it, and opened the door wider. In that moment, she truly felt as if Rodney had ripped her heart out and stomped on it.

“My books,” she whispered.

Julian crossed the room to see what she was looking at. His breath caught in his throat as he stood behind her.

Every single book she owned had been torn to pieces.

“Not my books,” she said, falling to her knees.

Grace’s hand shook as she touched the pages of the books her father had written. They were irreplaceable. Never again would she be able to open them up and hear his voice speaking to her from the past. Nor would she be able to open up
Black Beauty
and hear the faint memory of her mother reading it to her.

It was all gone.

In one move, Rodney Carmichael had killed her parents all over again.

And then her gaze fell to the shredded pieces of
The Iliad.
Tears filled her eyes as she remembered the way Julian had looked when he’d seen it. The hours they had spent with each other as she read.

Those hours had been so special. So magical as they lay in front of the couch lost in the words of the story. It was their own little realm. Their own special heaven.

“He decimated all of them,” she whispered. “Oh, God, he must have been here for hours.”

“Ma’am, they’re just—”

Julian grabbed Officer Reynolds by the arm, and pulled him back into the bedroom. “They’re not just books to her,” he said between clenched teeth. “Don’t mock her pain.”

“Oh,” he said sheepishly. “Sorry.”

Julian returned to Grace inside the closet.

She was sobbing uncontrollably as she ran her hand over the shredded pages. “Why would he do this?”

Julian picked her up and carried her out of the closet, then laid her on the bed. She held on to him so tightly that he could barely breathe, and she sobbed as if her heart were splintering.

In that moment, Julian wanted to kill the man who’d done this to her.

The phone rang.

Grace screamed and struggled to get up.

“Sh,” Julian said, wiping her tears with his hand while holding her steady. “It’s all right. I’m here. I’ve got you.”

Officer Reynolds handed her the phone. “Answer it in case it’s him.”

Julian glared at the man. How could he be so insensitive as to ask her to talk to that rabid mongrel?

“Hi, Selena,” Grace said, then she burst into tears again as she told Selena what had happened.

Julian’s thoughts whirled as he considered the man who had invaded her home and wounded her so deeply. What concerned him most was the fact that the man knew what to go after. He knew Grace. Knew what was important to her.

And that made him far more dangerous than the police realized.

Grace hung up the phone. “I’m sorry for the outburst,” she said, wiping her tears away. “It’s been a long day.”

“Yes, ma’am, we understand.”

Julian watched as she pulled herself together with a strength of will he had known few men to possess.

She led the police through the rest of her house.

“He must not have seen this book,” one of the officers said as he handed Julian’s book to her.

Julian took it from Grace’s hands. Unlike the officer, he wasn’t so sure. If the bastard had tried to tear it up, then he had been in for one nasty surprise.

The book could never be destroyed. Over the centuries, he had tried to do it himself, countless times. Not even fire could mar it. But the book served to remind him of just how true Grace’s earlier words were.

In a few days, he would be gone and she would have no one to protect her.

That thought made him ill.

*   *   *

The police were finally leaving as Selena pulled into the driveway. She got out of her Jeep with a tall, dark-haired man who had his arm bound in a cast, and came running to the door.

“Are you okay?” she asked Grace as she hugged her.

“I’m fine,” Grace said, then looking over Selena’s shoulder, she greeted the man. “Hi, Bill.”

“Hi, Grace. We came to help.”

Grace introduced him to Julian, then the four of them went inside.

Julian stopped Selena as soon as they entered, and pulled her aside. “Can you keep her downstairs for a bit?”

“Why?”

“I have something I need to take care of.”

Selena frowned. “Sure, okay.”

Julian waited until Selena and Bill sat Grace down on the couch. Then he went to the kitchen, grabbed a couple of trash bags, and headed upstairs to the closet.

As quickly as he could, he started cleaning up the mess so Grace wouldn’t have to see it again. But with every piece of paper he touched, his rage grew.

Over and over, he saw the tender look on her face as she had looked through her collection, searching for a book to read. Closing his eyes, he could see her hair falling over his chest as she read to him.

And in that moment, he wanted blood.

“Jeez,” Bill said from the doorway. “He do all this?”

“Yes.”

“Man, what a psycho.”

Julian didn’t say anything as he continued to shove papers into the bag. All he could focus on was the scream in his soul that demanded vengeance. It made a mockery of the one that called out for Priapus.

It was one thing to wound him. But to hurt Grace …

The Fates had better have mercy on the man, because Julian wouldn’t.

“So, you been dating Grace long?”

“No.”

“Didn’t think so. Selena hasn’t mentioned you, but come to think of it, she hasn’t been so worried over Grace being alone since her birthday, either. You must have met her then.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, no, yes. You’re not much on talking, are you?”

“No.”

“Well, I can take a hint. See ya later.”

Julian paused as his hand brushed the cover to
Peter Pan.
He picked it up and ground his teeth. Pain assailed him. She’d loved this book most of all.

He clenched it tight in his hand, then added it to the bag, as well.

*   *   *

Grace didn’t know how long she sat on the couch unmoving. All she knew was how much she hurt. Rodney had struck deeply in his violation of her.

Selena brought her a cup of hot chocolate.

Grace tried to drink it, but her hands still shook so badly that she was afraid she’d spill it. She set it aside. “I guess I need to go clean up.”

“Julian already did that,” Bill said from her armchair as he flipped channels on the TV.

Grace frowned. “What? When?”

“He was up there a little while ago, cleaning out the closet.”

Gaping at the news, Grace went to find him.

Julian was in her parents’ room. She watched him from the doorway as he straightened the last of the mess. He folded her father’s pants in a way that would have made Martha Stewart cringe, then placed them in the drawer and slid it shut.

Tenderness flooded her at the sight of a once legendary general cleaning up her house to keep her from having to do it. His kindness touched her all the way to her heart.

He looked up and met her gaze. The warm concern in those deep blue eyes warmed her deeply.

“Thank you,” she said.

He shrugged. “Didn’t have anything else to do.” Though he’d said the words casually, there was a note in his voice that belied his nonchalance.

“I’m still grateful.” She walked into the room, looking around at all his hard work. Her throat tight, she placed her hand on the mahogany footboard. “This was my grandmother’s bed.” she told him. “I can still hear my mother telling me how my grandfather made it for her. He was a carpenter.”

His jaw rigid, he stared at her hand. “It’s hard, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“Letting go of the ones you love.”

She knew he spoke from his heart. From the heart of a father who missed his children.

Though he no longer thrashed about at night, she still heard him whisper their names, and she wondered if he knew how often he dreamed of them.

And she wondered how many times a day he must think of them and ache for the loss.

“Yes,” she said quietly, “but then, you know that better than I do, don’t you?”

He didn’t speak.

Grace let her gaze drift around the room. “I guess it’s time I move on, but I swear I can still hear them, feel them.”

“It’s their love you feel. It still warms you.”

“You know, I think you’re right.”

“Hey,” Selena said from the doorway, interrupting them. “Bill’s calling for a pizza. You feel up to eating?”

“I think so,” Grace said.

“What about you?” Selena asked Julian.

Julian cast a knowing smile to Grace. “I’d love some pizza.”

Grace actually laughed as she remembered him asking for it the night she’d conjured him.

“Okay,” Selena said, “pizza it is.”

Julian handed Grace her mother’s wedding rings. “I found those on the floor.”

Grace started to put them back on the dresser, but she couldn’t. Instead, she placed them on her right hand, and for the first time in years, she felt comforted by them.

As they left the room, Julian started to close the door.

“No,” Grace said softly. “Leave it open.”

“You sure?”

She nodded.

As she entered her bedroom, she realized he’d cleaned it as well. But when she saw the empty shelves where her books had once been, her heart broke again.

This time, when Julian closed the door, she didn’t argue.

*   *   *

Hours later, after they had eaten, Grace finally convinced Bill and Selena to leave.

“I’m fine, really,” she assured them for the umpteenth time at the door. Reaching out, she placed her hand on Julian’s arm, grateful for the strength of his presence. “Besides, I have Julian.”

Selena gave her a stern look. “You call if you need anything.”

“I will.”

Still unable to feel completely at ease, she locked the door and led Julian upstairs to her room.

She lay in bed with Julian at her side.

“I just feel so vulnerable,” she whispered.

He stroked her hair. “I know. Just close your eyes and know that I’m here. I’ll keep you safe.”

He wrapped his arms around her. Grace sighed at the comfort he gave. No one else had ever soothed her the way he did.

They lay for hours before she finally fell into an exhausted sleep.

*   *   *

Grace came awake with a scream lodged in her throat.

“I’m right here, Grace.”

She heard Julian’s voice beside her and instantly calmed. “Thank God, it’s you,” she whispered. “I had a bad dream.”

He kissed her lightly on the shoulder. “I understand.”

She gave his hand a squeeze before leaving the bed to get ready for work.

As she tried to dress, her hands shook so badly she couldn’t even button her shirt.

“Here,” Julian said, moving her hands away so that he could button it for her. “You don’t have to be scared, Grace. I won’t let him hurt you.”

“I know. I know the police will get him and it’ll be over.”

He said nothing as he helped her dress.

Once they were ready, she drove them to her downtown office. Her stomach was so knotted that she could barely breathe. But she had to do this. She wasn’t about to let Rodney control her life. She was in charge and no one would take that away from her. Not without a fight.

Still, she was glad for Julian’s presence. It comforted her in a way she didn’t want to think about.

“What is this called?” Julian asked as she led him into the huge antique elevator in her turn-of-the-century office building.

Grace showed him how to pull the door closed and noted his immediate discomfort as they were sealed inside it.

“It’s an elevator,” she explained. “You press these buttons to reach whatever floor you want. I’m on the top one, which is eight.” She pressed the old knob-style button.

Julian tensed even more as the elevator moved. “Is it safe?”

She arched a curious brow at him. “Surely the man who fearlessly faced down Roman armies isn’t scared of an elevator?”

He gave her a peeved glare. “Romans I understand, this thing I don’t.”

She wrapped her arm around his. “There’s not much to it.” She pointed up at the trap door. “Outside that door are cables that lift it up and down, and there’s a phone.” She pointed to the call box below the buttons. “If you get stuck in the elevator all you have to do is pick up the phone and you’re connected directly to an emergency staff.”

His eyes darkened. “Does the elevator get stuck a lot?”

“Not really. I’ve had my office here for four years and so far it’s never once gotten stuck.”

“If you weren’t on it, how would you know if it got stuck or not?”

“Elevators let out this piercing alarm when they stop. Trust me, if it got stuck, someone would know.”

He swept his gaze around the wide space of the elevator, and by the light in his eyes, she could tell naughty things were on his mind. “Could you make it stop on purpose?”

She laughed. “Yes, but I really don’t want to be caught
flagrante delicto
at work.”

He dipped his head down and kissed her lightly on the cheek. “But being caught
flagrante delicto
at work could be a whole lot of fun.”

Grace hugged him close. What was it about him that made her feel better? No matter what, he always seemed to make things more fun. Brighter. “You are bad,” she said, reluctantly letting go of him.

“True, but you love that about me.”

She laughed again. “You’re right. I do.”

The doors opened, and Grace led him the short distance to her office.

Lisa looked up as they entered and widened her eyes. A smile spread across her face as she gave Julian a thorough once-over. “Dr. Grace,” she teased, toying with a strand of her blond hair. “You got a hot boyfriend.”