Aflame (Apotheosis) (29 page)

There, that should do it.
The half empty bottle of blood was wrapped in toilet tissue and placed in the trashcan. A pang of guilt squeezed her chest.

No time for cheesy emotions.

This was best for everyone, she reminded herself. She undressed, placed the locket under her pillow and waited. Zander would be along soon. He couldn’t leave her side for too long. Her body was already flushed and warm with the thought of making love—no, no, no—fucking him. Her gut clenched with a violent twist. This was going to be their last time. She rubbed away the threatening tears.

Leaving was the right thing to do. She was a disaster and he was perfect. He needed somebody equally flawless. She imagined him with a wife, kid and a ridiculous dog. Labradoodle perhaps. His bitch of a wife would be tall and blond. They’d picnic. He’d have a young, blue-eyed boy sitting on his lap. Happy and laughing. That’s how it should be. He deserved that life.

Tyr would follow her, no more women would die, and she’d kill him. Simple.

Grayce jumped when the door slammed and before she turned to look, Zander was sprawled naked by her side.

“Firecracker, had I’d known you’d be here like this, I would’ve cut my gaming session short.” He trailed his finger down the length of her scar and back up. Prickles of burning heat followed its path.

“Do you like dogs?” She rubbed his scar. He quivered under her touch.

“Not particularly fond of them, why?” He chuckled. “You want a dog, baby?”

“Hell no. Just curious.”

* * * *

Zander had wrapped a protective arm and leg around Grayce and succumbed to a deep sleep. She waited. And waited.

When his soft shallow breaths became deep and steady and the weight of his body melted into the mattress, she inched her way out from under his heavy arm.

She retrieved the necklace from under the pillow and wrapped it twice around his wrist before clasping it. Her fingers lingered over the thick veins of his wrist. A pounding ache swelled in her chest as her heart beat in time with the pulse beneath her fingertips. Only when she’d memorized the rhythm of blood flow drumming through the blue vessels beneath his skin did she release him.

The letter was harder to let go. She’d pained over it earlier, and now clutched it to her chest like a precious gem. Would it matter? She was leaving. Would her words matter when she’d all but ripped his heart out of his chest, chewed and spit it out like a wad of gum?

Not in the slightest. But he deserved an explanation, pathetic as it may be.

She laid it on the dresser, put her clothes on in a frenzy and threw her backpack over her shoulder.

She stole one last look at his naked physique. His shoulders spanned half the bed and caramel skin stretched over mounds of fierce, commanding, indestructible power. Unlike Tyr, Zander chose not to exploit his gift for his own gain. Instead, it was used to protect and worship her.

She was walking away.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered and closed the door behind her. Her legs didn’t move until she once again convinced herself that she was doing this for him.

* * * *

Grayce trekked through the forest, confident she was headed in the right direction. Well, at least fifty percent sure. Her immediate goal was to put as much distance as possible between her and the house. Sure, she could’ve taken one of their vehicles and driven away, but it was safe to assume they were equipped with high tech tracking devices. A chance she wasn’t willing to take.

If her theory was correct, the blood she’d left with Zander would prevent him from waking from withdrawals. He was sleeping like a baby when she left, wearing a shit-eating grin, thank-you-very-much. There should be plenty of time to either hike or thumb a ride far enough away that it would be impossible for Zander to find her.

Needle in a haystack.

If she did make it to town, her hot wiring skills were rusty, but she should be able to procure a vehicle and get herself the hell out of Dodge easy enough.

Fuck, he was going to be mad.

Her heart wrenched at the thought of causing him pain.

He loves me.
She shook the thought from her head. Grayce didn’t do love. This was the best thing she could do for him and for Stephen.

She put her headphones on, hoping the music would drown the voices in her head. Bastards were trying to change her mind.

The feeling she was being followed turned into a nag, then a relentless pounding rhythm between her ears. She needed to get further away. Her jog morphed into a full on sprint.

It was only a matter of time until withdrawals kicked in. Although she deserved to suffer, with luck, she’d be able to push through them. The running should help. Concentrating on the music, she tried to keep pace with the tempo and ignore the branches that whipped her face and legs.

Keep going, keep going.

Eminem’s “Shake That” played on repeat to remind her how much she hated men and to push her harder. Running full force, Grayce wasn’t out of breath or the slightest bit fatigued. She looked down.

Holy shit.

Her body glowed and the ground passed under her feet in a blur. She couldn’t fathom how she traveled so fast, but who was she to question the gift?

At this rate, she’d be in another state before Zander woke up. Hopefully, tracking your lover wasn’t a perk of being bonded. That would suck for her. Up ahead, she spotted a hunting cabin. It was small, weathered and judging by its dilapidated appearance, abandoned. She screeched to a halt before tripping over a shorthaired pointer stretched on his back with paws in the air. The dog jumped to attention and pounced toward her with tail wagging and tongue flopping.

“Hi there fella.” Grayce squatted and held out a hand, palm up, toward the creature. A quick sniff and lick, then he pushed his hind quarters into her thigh, begging for a good rub.

The snap of a twig had her hairs standing on end. Jerking around, she fell on her ass. The pooch, unconcerned about the sound, made quick work of licking her wherever he could find bare skin.

“Stop.” The harder she pushed him away, the more determined he became to climb in her lap. After managing to push herself up, she scoured the tree line. Someone or something was coming her way.

Zander. Seriously? How did he find her? Her thighs coiled to run.

“Grayce.” A small voice called out. “Grayce, wait.”

Shit.

Straightening her back, she looked over her shoulder. Stephen huffed and puffed. “Where are you going?” Heartbreak riddled his dirty little face.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. As he approached, she dropped to her knees and grabbed his arms. “Did you follow me?”

He nodded, still gasping for air.

“From the house? You followed me from the house?”

He nodded, mouth open wide to draw oxygen.

“How in the hell did you keep up?”

“I don’t know. I saw you leave and I wanted to go with you. I was calling you, but you didn’t hear me.” Tears bubbled over, forging streaks through the dirt on his skin. “I thought you were running away. You kept going faster so I kept going faster.”

Grayce dropped to her ass in the dirt and pulled him next to her. The happy fleabag licked Stephen’s face and plopped down at his side.

“Well, this sure screws up my plans.” She picked up a rock and threw it at the cabin.

“Where are you going?” By the intensity of his tears, Grayce was certain he already knew the answer.

No use trying to hide the truth. Maybe it was better he heard it from her than anybody else. “I’m leaving, Stephen. I can’t stay here.” Can’t stay anywhere for that matter.

He sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “I’ll come with you.”

“No.” Grayce shook her head. “I can’t promise you’ll be safe. I can’t feed you or give you a home to live in.” It would be even worse with her than it had been with their mother. He was so young. How could she make him understand?

“But I can keep you safe,” he stated. “Zander said it’s our job to keep you and Chelsea safe. I’m your brother. I should go with you.” He gazed at her as a father would his child, with imploring wisdom, like his was the only acceptable truth.

Her eyes blurred with the sting of his words. Of course he would see it that way. He’d been learning from the best. She pulled him into her arms. “You are such an amazing little man. Don’t ever change. Promise me.” She kissed his sweaty head and they sat like that until Stephen’s sobs slowed.

Now what? How was she going to get out of this one? Her phone buzzed against her left butt cheek. Great, that will be Zander, she thought. The buzzing stopped and the ringing started.

Knowing the opportunity for escape had passed, she groaned and stood to pull the phone from her back pocket. Stephen snatched her free hand and held it tight. She squeezed back to let him know she wasn’t going to bolt again.

With trembling hands she pushed the accept button. “Hi.”

“Fucking hell, Grayce. Where are you? What the hell were you thinking?” His tone was fierce, deadly even, with the slightest undertone of fear. How did he know? She’d been gone for what? Maybe twenty minutes?

She sighed in defeat.

“You’re scaring the shit out of me right now. Where are you?” he asked with a growl.

Her skin prickled, not from fear but with shame for what she’d done. That, and embarrassment for not getting away with it.

“I’m sorry, Zander.”

* * * *

Sweat beaded his forehead. Tremors of rage made it difficult to hold the phone without reducing it to dust. Zander grabbed the bedpost with his free hand and snapped it like a twig.

Well, that didn’t help.

He hurled the entire bed through the window, out across the lawn. A blast of fresh air blew across his skin.

That was more like it.

“Fuck the apologies right now. Where are you?” He paced the room, ready to dash as soon as she told him which way to go. Looking down, he realized he hadn’t dressed yet. Shit. He grabbed his boxers off the floor and pulled them on, trying not to fall over.

“We’re by a hunting cabin. East. I travelled east, I think.” Her voice quivered. Good.

“Wait, what do you mean, we?” He heard a child’s scream on the other end of the receiver. “Grayce. Grayce.” There was a crumpling sound, followed by scratching.

“Zander!” Stephen’s scream echoed through his ear. Then, dead silence.

“Stephen! Grayce!” In seconds, Zander stood half naked in front of the cabin. Her cell lay in pieces on the ground at his feet. A dog whimpered and cowered toward him with head down and tail tucked tight between his legs.

His heart stopped beating. “Grayce!” he called, cupping his mouth with both hands. “Stephen!” His voice boomed so ferocious it sent the dog running in the opposite direction. Eyes and ears on high alert, he turned circles and forced the air back into his lungs. He made kindling of the door as he entered the log home. It was empty, but hadn’t been for long. The scent of expensive cologne collided with the fetor of must and aging pine.

“Mother. Fucker.” Zander stormed back outside and gave the doorframe a punch as he passed through. He was home before the old, tired bones of the shack had crumbled to the ground, reduced to dust and rubble.

14

“My little dove. Welcome home. I’m so pleased to have you back where you belong.” The words slithered off his tongue and violated her ears.

Every muscle spasmed in unison.

No, please, no.

Her first response was to retreat to the dark corner in her mind where she used to ride out the sessions in the playroom. To hide inside herself, blanket her soul with the darkness, until the bad part was over.

She knew better than to pull at the leather cuffs binding her wrists and ankles to the wall.

The room hadn’t changed in the three years she’d been gone. Except for the smell. That was different. Mold and dirt. Odd. Tyr had always been a clean freak.

She sucked in a deep breath and started her mantra,
“you are stronger than the pain, you are stronger than the pain.”