Ashes (Book 2 The Kindred Series) (30 page)

She rested her hand on his chest,
curling her head in the hollow of his shoulder. She frowned when he
seized hold of her hand, moving it to the other side of his chest.
It took her a moment to realize that this was what he did every
time she rested her hand over the spot where his heart should be
beating. It was one of the reasons she had never noticed his lack
of a heartbeat before. Well, that and the fact that she had been
too blinded and infatuated with him to notice much of anything
else.

But now, she noticed.

Tugging her hand free, she rested it
back over the empty hollow of his chest, slightly disturbed by the
lack of a heartbeat, but she loved him too much to care. “No,” she
whispered when he reached for her hand again.

“Cassie,” he groaned. “You don’t need
to be constantly reminded of what I am.”

She lifted her head out of the hollow
of his arm to meet his gaze. “You’re the person I love Devon, and I
want to be reminded of that fact every second of the
day.”

He stared at her for a moment, his eyes
wide and bright. His hand tightened around hers, pressing it
tighter to his silent chest. Cassie smiled softly at him as she
bent to kiss him, loving the wonderful feel and scent of him as she
lost herself to the bliss that he offered her.

***

Despite the awful events of the night,
Cassie awoke in a surprisingly good mood. Devon’s arm was draped
over her, his hard face innocent and sweet while he slept. She
dropped a gentle kiss on his brow, scooting slowly out of bed so as
not to wake him. Padding toward the bathroom, she pulled her
bandages gently off, glad to find that the wounds were healing
well.

She took a quick shower and changed
into a pair of jeans and a Red Sox t-shirt, opting for comfy rather
than stylish. It was Sunday after all. Her grandmother would
already be making pancakes and sausages for them, and an egg white
omelet for Melissa. Cassie was pulling out more bandages and
antiseptic when a soft knock sounded on the door.

She pulled it open, smiling at the
sight of Devon’s tussled hair, and sleepy half smile. His green
eyes perused her, an eyebrow quirked slightly. “Adorable,” he
muttered, his voice husky.

Cassie felt her cheeks flush as she
ducked her head. Noting the supplies on the sink, he came toward
her, pulling her shirt gently up. His forehead furrowed, his eyes
darkened as he studied the deep scratches on her side. “Almost
completely healed,” he mumbled, more to himself.

“Why do you sound so upset about that?
Shouldn’t you be happy that they’re healing well?”

He glanced up at her, smiling brightly.
“Of course I’m happy, it’s just surprising.”

She wasn’t fooled. His smile did not
reach his eyes, nor did it lighten the worry that still marred his
brow. “I told you that I heal fast.”

“I know.” He kissed her forehead
gently. “Let me help you.”

Taking hold of the peroxide, he gently
cleaned the gashes. His touch was so light that she hardly felt it.
Smoothing the bandages into place, he stood slowly. “How are the
ribs?”

Cassie shrugged slightly, gently
touching the bruises that were already fading from her rib cage.
The cracks were already healed, but the bone was still bruised,
though not badly. “Much better,” she assured him.

He nodded; his eyes still dark as his
hands wrapped around her waist. “I have to go, but I’ll be back in
a little bit.”

Cassie swallowed heavily, hating to see
him leave. “Be safe,” she whispered.

“Always,” he vowed, kissing her
gently.

She watched as he slipped out the
window, disappearing fluidly over the sill. Shaking her head, she
hummed softly to herself as she made her way swiftly downstairs,
practically skipping down the last set of steps. Despite the
hideous events of the dance, waking in Devon’s arms had lifted her
spirits considerably. Chris was still lying on the couch, his arm
tossed over his eyes in an attempt to block out the sunlight
filtering through the windows.

“Good morning,” she greeted
brightly.

Lowering his arm, he stared skeptically
at her. “Ugh,” he grunted, apparently not at all pleased with
it.

Cassie laughed happily, turning toward
the kitchen. “Get up lazy butt!” she called over her
shoulder.

The ring of the doorbell stopped her
before she reached the kitchen. She hurried to the door, surprised
that Melissa and Luther would ring the bell, they usually just
walked in. Shrugging, Cassie grasped hold of the handle as Chris
bolted upright, leaping to his feet in a smooth, fluid motion as he
cleared the back of the couch in one fluid motion.

“Cassie no!” he barked, his voice
hoarse and strangled.

But it was too late. She already had
the door open, and what was standing on the other side was
something far worse than she ever could have imagined. Something
far worse than Isla and Julian.

CHAPTER 20

Why didn’t she smell pancakes cooking?
And the sausage, well that should be frying by now. And of course
she should be able to smell the mushrooms, green peppers, and
onions that would be sautéing for Melissa’s omelet. But why didn’t
she smell them? It was pancake Sunday, and next Sunday was Belgium
waffles, but for some reason the pancakes were not cooking right
now.

Had her grandmother slept in? No, wait,
she never slept in, she was always up early, humming and dancing
around the kitchen as she cooked. Cassie’s gaze darted to the
driveway. Where was the little red Mustang? Her grandmother’s baby,
her one luxury. It was always parked right there, gleaming and
shiny because it was waxed and washed at least twice a week. Her
grandmother loved to ride around town with the top down, the wind
blowing her strawberry hair back as she blasted the
radio.

Where was the car?

Cassie’s ears were humming, there was a
thrumming vibe in her eardrums that blocked out all sound, all
reason. She turned back to the people before her, the buzz
instantly increased in her head. It sounded like a swarm of bees
had encircled her, and she thought that would be preferable to the
people on her doorstep. The people before her were speaking, or at
least the woman was, but she couldn’t hear them. Cassie knew the
woman was speaking though because she could see the woman’s lips
moving, even if there was no sound.

Cassie’s gaze darted frantically to the
empty driveway again, then back into the house. She inhaled deeply
once more, but still no smell reached her. She did not want to look
at the people before again, but she knew that she had to. She did
not want to hear what they had to say, because with heart wrenching
certainty she already knew what those words would be, and they
would destroy her.

Chris moved into the doorway of the
living room, his broad shoulders were slumped, his sandy blond hair
disheveled from sleeping on the couch. His eyes were filled with
sadness so profound that it pierced Cassie’s heart, it ripped her
violently from the shell of denial and shock she had wrapped
herself in. Chris’s eyes met hers; tears already shimmered in their
sapphire depths. Of course he would know what they were saying. He
had known before she’d even opened the door, and he did not have
bee’s buzzing through his head.

He had warned her not to open it, why
hadn’t she listened?

Slowly turning back around, her gaze
focused on the well built woman before her. Though she looked hard
and professional, her brown eyes were warm, and regret radiated
from them. The man beside her was young, the freckles on the bridge
of his nose stood out starkly against his pallor. He appeared to be
new on the job, and it was obvious that he did not want to be
here.

“Are you Cassandra Fairmont?” the woman
inquired, probably for the third or fourth time.

A pounding on the stairs momentarily
drew all of their attention. Dani froze three feet from the bottom,
her mouth parted as her gold streaked hazel eyes widened in horror.
Her eyes darted wildly to Cassie, then around the house. Tears
spilled down her cheeks instantly, swiftly rolling down to drop
unheeded from her chin.

Cassie shuddered, cold swept through
her veins, turning her entire body to ice. She was certain she
would never be warm again, never feel anything again. Swallowing
heavily, she turned back to the two police officers on her
doorstep. Devon appeared behind them, his shoulders stiff, and his
emerald eyes shining brightly in the morning light.

The presence of the officers must have
stopped him from leaving. He would not leave her if he thought she
might be in danger, or hurt. Though his black hair was still a
tumbled mess, he was the most handsome man she had ever seen. For a
brief moment, feeling returned to her numbed limbs, but it was
swiftly doused by the tidal wave of pain surging through her. She
couldn’t look at him anymore, she couldn’t bear to.

“Yes, I am,” she said stiffly, her
voice choked and harsh.

The woman nodded slightly, her hands
clenched tighter upon the hat she held before her. “May we come
in?”

Cassie didn’t move. She looked up at
the clear blue sky, a sky that was completely out of place right
now. It should be gray, stormy, with no hope radiating from its
rolling dark clouds. The birds should not be singing. Nothing
should be happy today, everything should stop. The world simply
just needed to stop spinning so she could curl up in a ball
somewhere and shut out everything around her. How could she be in
this much pain and nothing around her was stopping to acknowledge
it?

“How?” she managed to croak out through
her numbed, raw throat.

“Excuse me?” the woman inquired in
surprise.

Cassie’s focus sharpened on her, her
eyes narrowed as a wash of molten lava began to fill her, swiftly
burying the pain that entrenched her body. “How did she die?” she
grated, the hand clenching on the door handle nearly ripped it
free.

The officers exchanged a brief,
startled glance. They were probably used to people breaking down
into tears, not glaring at them as if they were Satan himself. And
they sure as hell weren’t used to people asking them how their
loved ones had died. “Miss, if we could please come inside,” the
woman said gently.

“I want to know how my grandmother
died!” Cassie snapped.

“Cassie,” Chris said softly, walking
over to rest his hand lightly on her shoulder. She shrugged him
swiftly off, glaring fiercely at him. His eyes widened, but he made
no move to touch her again as she turned back to the police
officers.

The woman nodded briskly. “I’m afraid
that your grandmother was in an accident. We found her car early
this morning. It appears she swerved to avoid
something.”

Cassie remained stiff, her mind tripped
over the words. A car accident? No, impossible. No accident had
taken her grandmother from her; it had been something far worse.
She knew that. “I want to see her.”

“Excuse me?” the younger officer asked
in surprise.

“I want to see my grandmother’s body,”
she enunciated clearly and slowly.

“Miss, I don’t think that’s a good
idea,” he rushed out clearly horrified that Cassie would make such
a request.

His partner shot him a warning look,
but she looked extremely discomfited by Cassie’s request also.
“Miss, your grandmother has already been identified by dental
records; there is no need for you to…”

“I have a right to see her,” she said
sharply.

“Yes, but…”

Cassie turned swiftly away, grabbing
her shoes from the hall closet. She didn’t care what they had to
say anymore, she was going. Come hell or high water, she was going
to see her grandmother. She didn’t care that she wasn’t wearing
socks as she slipped her sneakers on. Seizing hold of her coat, she
turned back to the officer’s.

“Where is she?”

“Miss…” The woman broke off as Cassie
gazed fiercely at her. There would be no dissuading her, and
although the woman officer didn’t like it, she was not going to
argue any further. “We’ll take you over,” she said softly, ignoring
the shocked look her partner sent her.

Cassie nodded briskly. “Follow me
over,” she said to Chris, not bothering to look at him as she
pounded down the stairs after the officers.

Devon moved to stop her, his long
fingered hand reached for her. She sidestepped him easily, her eyes
narrowing fiercely upon him. She did not wish to be touched or
comforted right now. Keeping her head high, she slid into the
backseat of the police car, not looking back as the cruiser pulled
slowly out of the drive. Chris and Devon hurried to their cars,
pulling out behind the cruiser they followed slowly
behind.

Cassie didn’t see anything on the ride,
nothing registered past the haze that surrounded her. Anger hummed
through her veins, pain constricted her chest in a tight vice grip.
She could hardly breathe, and she found herself not caring. She
didn’t want to breathe. She would be ok if all movement, all
functions of survival simply shut down. For she felt shut down, she
felt cold, and hollow, and numb. If her grandmother could no longer
breathe, no longer see this world, then why should she still be
able to? Cassie shuddered, her fingers dug tighter into her arms as
she clung to them, unable to move, unable to think past the anguish
tearing through her.