Waiting (30 page)

I threw my arms around him and buried my head in his neck trying to comfort him.

“I'm so sorry!” I could barely manage the words aro
und my sobs, but I know he understood
me.

His arms wrapped around me, pulling me close and holding me there as his friends slowly circled us again, keeping us safe from an attack if one came.

“We need to leave, Parker.” A soft voice pulled our heads up to see sorrow and regret on everyone around us. “We'll come back, but for now, we need to leave.”

Parker stood with me still in his arms with a short nod of understanding, not wanting to endanger anymore lives.

Two men grabbed onto Parker's arms and others did the same before we lifted off the ground and left quickly, me wrapped around his front.

They must not be able to fly on their own.

We dropped them off in town
then took off again. I watched his eyes the entire time, just as he stared into mine.

My heart had never felt so much pain, could never imagine it, and I'd only known the man a few weeks.

Sure Parker and him had their differences and only recently started talking again, but they were brothers. A love between brothers could never completely dissolve, no matter the case.
 

**********

It was two days later t
hat Parker finally calmed down
 
enough
to talk about it.
Work seemed rather redundant at this point so I'd called
and told them I was ta
king
vacation the whole week.  A
nd since he hadn't offered to leave his cliff side home, I stayed with him.

From dusk til dawn his friend Gunther, the one who'd made me drink at the club, stayed with us. Either for comfort or safety, I wasn't a hundred percent sure, though his presence did seem to keep Parker more relaxed.

He brought meals, healthy young men, twice the same gu
y, and Parker would feed.  H
e also fed from me while Gunther was away.

It was three in the afternoon and we were sitting up in bed, snuggling, when I finally felt brave enough to start asking questions.

“Can I ask you something?”

His body tensed but he nodded warily, tightening his grip around my shoulders. My finger lazily drew triangles over his exposed chest.

“What was in the drink Gunther gave me?”

His body relaxed while he kissed my
forehead
. What did he think I was going to ask?

“A bit of
 
Quinn's blood, Francis' and mostly mine, mixed with cranberry juice.” Yuck. “Quinn's to break his hold over you, Francis' just in case they said you needed it before
their
hold over you ended, and a
lot of mine so
I
could will you to show me what we needed to do in order to free you.”

“That explains it then.”

“Explains what?”

I lifted my head off his shoulder and sat up straight, his arm falling to my back, but remained in contact.

“First I f
elt as if a tie had been broken.  I
t was like a zing of electricity through my body. Then when I spotted you in the crowd my hands started touching all over my body, which I guess is because Sam said I couldn't do anything I wanted to until both you and Francis touched me.”

His face pulled into a frown the second I mentioned Sam.

“Can we talk about what happened now?”

“I am so sorry
,
Piper.” He rolled me on my back and covered hi
s long, broad self
over me, his eyes filled with regret. “I shouldn't have been with Francis. I should've been watching over you like I planned on doing.
 
I should've...”

“Stop.” I silenced him with a quick kiss before laying my
head back down and
looking
into his eyes. “That's not what I was referring to. It's not your fault I was taken. We got out of there alive and nothing horrible happened while I was there.” Purple start
ed trickling back into his eyes.  H
is face never even twitched to show he was relaxing, thankful, whatever the emotion he was having. “I'm
referring
to leaving Francis there.”

The purple disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

“I'll get him back.”

It was a solemn promise I already knew he'd make. But when?

“I know. Why were
yo
u afraid of Koopa?” Maybe afraid wasn't the correct word to use on a man's sensitive eg
o, but it seemed to fit here. “
I mean, there were only three of them, two if you take out Sam, and there were at least twenty of your friends. And I'm supposed to tell you that Sam only did this because they have her mate.”

“I don't care what her excuse is.” His growl tickled my neck. “She is responsible for your capture and all the events after. Once Francis is freed I'm leaving her in his hands to do with as he pleases.”

Maybe I should switch the focus of the conversation.

“How are we going to get Francis back? And you never answered me about Koopa.” I offered him my most concerned smile, trying not to sound pushy, or have him clam up all together.

“
We
aren't going to do anything. You're too fragile and I won't be putting you in any more danger.” That did make sense, but it doesn't mean I was going to accept it that easily. There must be something I can do to help. “I'm coming up with a plan with my brethren that we'll be able to put into action within a few days.”

He rolled back onto his side while sifting his left hand through my tattered hair, leaning in to kiss me with a tenderness I felt all the way to my toes.

“As for Koopa, I wasn't scared of him.” He chucked his fist under my chin to make sure I understood, drawing my gaze to his quirked lips. “We go way back. And when I say that, I mean he helped me and Francis hunt down our mum and
watched us slay her.” I gasped
then pressed my lips together, waiting for the rest of
the story. “After she was gone
we no longer had the burning fury inside us to seek out others to murder, though that's what Koopa wanted. When he learned there would be no swaying us, he took off and left it at that
.  Y
ou could see it in his eyes that he wasn't going to let it go for long.

“About
forty
years later he tracked down Francis when he was at a low point, effectively turning him into a Pulpa
in the long run,
and using him to do his
bidding
. I searched
for and
found Francis many times over the years, but he always seemed to slip from my grasp, or his friends would show up just when I would start making progress with him. In my last attempt, two innocent lives were taken and I'll never forgive myself. I played his game over and over until then, always thinking I'd be able to get him back one day, and now he's been taken again. I don't know if he's strong enough to stay sane through it this time.”

There was that accident again. They've men
tioned it multiple times, yet are
unwilling to elaborate. It must'
ve been life changing
since he wasn't willing to talk about it.

Parker's head tilted to the side, listening. Gunther must be back.

“If he's back, I think we should all brainstorm together.”

I started to get up before finishing my sentence, throwing on some sweats and watched as he slowly did the same. He must really like to tease me, what with the knowing smirk on his face when he caught me staring
at his sculpted form
, then blush when I looked away.

We met him in the kitchen.  He'd obviously over heard
me and was waiting in a relaxed position with his feet up on the wood table and his arms crossed behind his head.

“What are we brainstorming?”

I grabbed a fruit bowl out of the fridge before taking a seat next to Parker at the table.

“First off, why did those vampires get thrown
back from Koopa
 
when nothing was there?”

“Koopa is an old vampire,
” Parker explained. “You gain more power and abilities the older you get. You've played the Nintendo game, Mario, and know that King Koopa can bounce people off their feet with his jump, and that's essentially what he does, though just with his mind.”

I sat blank faced, confused.

“Are you saying that King Koopa is based off this Koopa guy?”

Parker nodded and Gunther chuckled.

“He loves it too. Thrives on his recognition and the image he's been given. The way he
struts
his stuff, you'd think he was the original Dracula or something.”

They both seemed to agree on this and shared a look.

“So, he can throw anything across a room with his mind? Great. How are we going to get past him, or stop him, or...just, how?”

“His power depletes when he uses it. He only has a good few throws until he needs to drink again, regaining his power. My plan is to go at him strong, scare him into using his power early, then hitting even stronger. He won't stand a chance.”

Was that really his whole plan? Go strong and then go stronger? That didn't seem as strategic as we needed it to be.

They threw a few ideas back and forth while I silently mulled things over, thinking about everything I've learned and how I can put that to good use. Their
whispers
barely registered to me when my mind starting putting pieces together.

Maybe we didn't have to go to them, maybe we could get them to come to us.

Maybe I didn't have to be a nuisance, a boulder holding them down.

Maybe...just, maybe.

“Why don't you use your power and make Sam come to us?”

They both stopped talking and looked up at me thoughtfully before both
of
Gunther's hands slammed down on the counter as he l
et out a quick bark of laughter.
Parker's lips twitched befor
e picking me up and twirling me,
sitting me on the table
after two full circles
.

“That's why I love you.” His lips brushed over mine as I gasped.

Did he really just say that to me?

He sensed my unease, whispered something too low for me to hear, making Gunther disappear
, all the while holding my gaze.  Neither of us blinked
.
I
remained wide eyed and unmoving
.

“I didn't mean to say it so casually like that, and you cert
ainly don't have to say it back.  B
ut I do. I love you.” I
blinked
then swallowed, gaining some of my body reflexes back. “I'm sorry.” Now confusion l
it my face. “I should've waited.
I didn't mean to scare you.”

My mouth flopped open but apparently speech wasn't one of the senses I've gained back yet.

He loves me? I guess it's not all too surprising, what with how he's been watching me all these years and still wants to hang out with me. But,
he
loves
me
? I do
n't deserve him, but I will sure as hel
l not ruin a good thing when it
s gift wrapped and handed to me.

If he one day realizes his feelings aren't as permanent as mine, I'm pretty sure I'd be able to hold myself together until he was out of view, before completel
y coming undone.  B
ut for now...he's mine.

“I love you, too, of course.” My hands clasped onto his biceps. “Please, don't be sorry. The first time you said that to me I didn't see you for ten years.”

Hi
s eyes swirled with purple.  H
is lips twitched, revealing the most beautiful sight that I'll never get enough of.

“I'm not sorry for loving you, I was sorry for casually mentioning it.” He sealed his lips over mine once more before pulling back. “I love you.”

I bit my lip to try and contain the joy spreading through me. I'd gladly sell my soul to the devil to hear him say that every day.

“I love you, too.” He grinned widely before I continued. “Which brings me to my next idea.”

Nodding, his face turned business like while he waited for my next thought, making me feel important. He
wants
to listen to me. I really hit the jackpot.

“If you turn me
I won't hold you back and I'll even be able to help, rather than just sit at home, which is
probably where you'll stash me
until you get back. Who knows how long you'll be gone and I don't want to be worrying the entire time.”

I'd started out light, making a suggestion, before turning it into more of a demand, more strict at the end.