Caged (31 page)

“It’s silver. They shot him. He didn’t do anything and they shot him,” I babbled.

I sounded oddly removed from the situation, as if it suddenly became too much to bear. Sean tried to direct my attention by asking questions, but I just kept repeating myself while I looked back down at Cooper’s body, my eyes glazed and unfocused.

“Ruby,” he said, shaking me just a little. “What happened?” I stared at him mutely. “Ruby. I need you to pull it together,” he said calmly. ”Tell me what happened.”

“Eric. He brought others,” I said faintly.

Sean growled at the mere mention of Eric’s name. It was echoed by others, who until that point, I hadn’t noticed were even there.

“He was here?” he asked, scanning the apartment.

“He still is,” I said meekly.

They all sprang to attention with fighting stances, looking around as if concerned about ambush.

“Where?” he asked, jumping to his feet.

“You’re standing on him,” I replied.

They looked around confused for a moment, then realization set in; the carnage had a name. Several names. Sean leaned in closely to me, whispering in my ear.

“You did this?”

I nodded.

He leaned closer, brushing my ear with his lips.

“Good,” he replied.

I looked at him with surprise.

“Are you going to kill me now?” I mouthed with barely a sound.

He looked at me with genuine surprise.

“No,” he said without pause.

It was my turn to look surprised.

“Why did you come for me in Utah, then?” I whispered, narrowing the distance between us further.

A ghost of a smile flashed across his face, then quickly disappeared.

“I made you a promise once. I keep my promises,” he explained. “No more cages.”

45

My heart burned, but in a good way for once. I’d forgotten all about that talk we’d had and how my upbringing had struck a chord with him.
He came back to save me
. Cooper’s offhanded comments became so clear. No wonder he’d thought I was so thick. I had misread every action Sean ever made, interpreting it all as aggressive and malice-laden.

Cooper.

I looked at Sean with the pleading eyes of child, again shedding tears, though at a more subtle pace.

“Can you help him?” I asked, fearing the answer.

He pressed his lips together tightly as a foreign rumbling sound rattled his chest.

“No. I can’t,” was his reply. With that, the tears fell far more rapidly and I threw myself onto the body again, clutching the bloody mess to me like a teddy bear after a scary dream. Maybe that’s what it was.

“Ruby. I said that
I
can’t,” Sean continued with his business voice returning. “But I know someone who can.”

He seemed reluctant to share that information, as though he wasn’t looking forward to what it entailed. There was a collective rustling of movement behind him; the brothers were stirring about cleaning up the mess I’d made. Sean grabbed one of them and started barking orders.

“Call her. Let her know we’re on our way and that it’s going to be a messy one. She’ll want to put the tarp down.”

His brother nodded and whipped out a cell phone. He was talking to someone as he left the apartment, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t English and had no idea what was being said.

“Is he dead?” I asked innocently.

Sean furrowed his brow and then rubbed his forehead with his thumb and index finger.

“Sort of. It’s complicated. He doesn’t have much time, though.”

I sprang to my feet like a springbok.

“Well, let’s go then. We don’t have much time. He can’t die, Sean,” I rambled as I ran about the room collecting things I thought we needed. When I witnessed Sean’s inaction, I found myself grabbing him by the coat lapels and screaming into his face.

“HE CAN’T DIE, SEAN!”

There was a hush of silence from the group of rubberneckers who were supposed to be cleaning. I scanned their faces to see utter shock and disbelief. I took this to mean that Sean was not only their leader, but someone who was never, ever, to be challenged or reprimanded in any way. I took the hint, slowly releasing his collar and smoothing it out, all the while apologizing for my tone.

“I can’t lose him,” I said, eyes downcast, posture submissive.

Sean said nothing in response, but scooped Cooper’s body up and started down the stairs with him. I quickly followed, being literally pushed out by a room full of hostility and anger, all of which was apparently aimed at me. I didn’t think his brothers liked me very much. I guess I was their sworn enemy, so it was hard to hold that against them.

The two of us ran out to the SUV he had driven and placed Coop in the back. When I went to get into the passenger seat, a hand grabbed me abruptly and swung me around.

“You can’t go with me,” Sean said.

“What do you mean? He’s not going without me!” I said, fighting against his hold. “This is bullshit, Sean. He’s like this because of me.”

“Fine, but you have to take your own car,” he conceded, seeing that I wasn’t going to let it go. “You can’t stay there.”

I couldn’t understand the expression on his face. It smacked of embarrassment and anger, with a hint of something I just couldn’t quite place.

“I’ll take the TT. Just drive fast,” I told him, before realizing that our two cars weren’t going to hold all the men in my apartment. “What about the guys?”

“They know where to go. They’ll be there as soon as they’re finished with your place. You gave them quite a job to do,” he said while turning to walk away. For the briefest second I was sure that a smile of pride flashed across his face.

We drove through Portsmouth at a blistering pace, which was a challenge given the road layout. New England wasn’t exactly built on a grid system. We ended up about fifteen minutes out of town in a slightly more rural area with large properties and plenty of trees covering them. We wound down the driveway to arrive at an unassuming blue cape with black shutters. A woman was waiting for us on the front step. An amazingly beautiful woman with a body that didn’t quit. I got a good look at most of it as she seemed to subscribe to the less-is-more school of dressing. I wasn’t aware until then that it was socially acceptable to call a bra a top. I learned so much when I least expected to.

I followed Sean up the walkway, watching Cooper’s head and legs dangle beyond his outline. The light of the moon cast an eerie glow on Cooper’s face, making him look oh-so pale. My breath caught in my throat and I fought back tears with violent tenacity.

The strange woman greeted Sean (and I mean
greeted
him), then turned and led the way in without so much as a glance in my general direction. Bitch.

I bit my tongue to keep from saying something I was sure to regret later.

The house was sparsely furnished and plain inside. Nothing adorned the walls and there were few amenities overall. I spotted a couch, and without being offered, plopped myself down on it. That won me an unfriendly glance from the supermodel. Ruby, one. Bitch, zero.

The two of them muttered something nonsensical to each other in the adjacent hallway. It seemed boring until the volume picked up. It wasn’t English, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to pick up on pissed off in any language.

“She stays!” Sean yelled, then stormed into the room. He was beet red and breathing heavily.

“Don’t move!” he commanded.

I was in no position to argue and did as I was told. The Bitch didn’t return, and Sean left to join her.

I fiddled with the hem of my shirt for a while, then tried to clean the dried blood from under my fingernails; it was going to require soap and a brush, for sure. I giggled to myself, finding the thought comical. The sound of the front door opening snapped me out of that. In poured the brothers, all of them, and goody for me, they’d remembered to pack their hostility for the trip. I was met by dozens of angry stares, but fortunately, nobody saw me fit to speak to, and that suited me just fine. They did, however, find it necessary to pin me into the center of the couch, surrounding me on both sides with walls of muscle and attitude.

Find a happy place, find a happy place…

The screaming started from the back room shortly after their arrival. It was like nothing I’d ever heard, nor would care to hear again. The first image in my head was of someone being burnt and skinned alive at the same time. There was horror and desperation in that scream and it pained me to hear it, especially when I realized that it belonged to Cooper.

I shot off the couch, aiming for the room the sound came from, but I didn’t make it far. I was taken down by a brother standing just off to the side of the sofa. He pinned me to the floor with such hatred that I knew I’d be bruised for weeks after. I yelped at the pain and he laughed, continuing to say nothing. The silence from those guys was really starting to creep me out.

Sean’s voice boomed through the room.

“Let her go!” he commanded to the man holding me down. When he didn’t move quickly enough, Sean lunged at him. “NOW!”

Like a puppet on a string, the brother did exactly what he was told, but looked none too happy about it.

“What are you doing to Cooper? I want to see him!” I demanded.

“It’s…messy,” he replied, looking somewhat contrite. “You can’t.”

Another scream came from that room and I bolted for it only to be unsuccessful a second time. Sean held me tight to him.

“Ruby, you can’t. It’s for the best that you don’t see what’s going on.”

I started crying in my mounting frustration.

“I need to see him. I can help him…I can speed his healing,” I argued.

“You don’t, and you can’t. Everything that can be done, is being done.”

“But you don’t understand, I
can
speed his healing. I did it when we…”

“ENOUGH!” he yelled, cutting me off, his eyes turning forest green before me. “You will sit and do as you’re told. You will not meddle in this. I think you’ve done quite enough tonight.”

Ouch. That was way harsh.

I sat where I’d stood, on the floor near the hallway. The brothers went back to diligently hating me, yet ignoring me at the same time. Sean returned to the room, where no subsequent sounds escaped.

It had to have been about forty-five minutes before anyone appeared. The Bitch strode down the hall, past the opening towards the far end. She was covered, better yet shellacked with blood. Not a spot on her was untouched. The coating was thick and heavy and clung to her. I heard what must have been a bathroom door close and water start running.
I’d want to clean that off ASAP too
. Then I realized that I probably wasn’t looking much better myself.

Sean emerged looking fatigued. I’d never seen him like that before.

“He’s going to be OK, but there’s some possible permanent damage. We’re unsure of how well he’ll be once he’s up and around.”

“I want to see him,” I pleaded.

“I will
not
get into this again. It’s out of the question, Ruby. Leave him be for now. You will see him later.”

“But he needs me,” I whispered off into the distance.

“He needed me,” a disembodied voice called from the hall. “Not you.”

I looked up to see the Bitch draped all over Sean, again wearing precious little. Her silk mini robe was v-necked down to her navel, and her hem was flirting with peep show length. She ran her hand in circles across his chest while she spoke.

“I think, little doggy, that it’s time for you to go home. Run away now…shoo,” she said with a heavy accent that I couldn’t quite place - possibly Slavic or Mediterranean.

My blood was boiling. She had me all shades of pissed off, and I wanted to fight in a way that I should have been ashamed of. Too bad I wasn’t.

I could hear a faint voice in the back of my head telling me to take off the ring. I think my wolf wanted a shot at her, too, but it wasn’t necessary. I’d make her proud on my own. If the Bitch wanted a fight, I was happy to oblige, verbally.

“Desperation is such a stinky cologne. Perhaps you should go back to the shower and try washing it off.”

Her sickening, pleased-with-herself smile dissipated in no time flat. Ruby two, Bitch zero. She repositioned herself in front of Sean, all the while never losing contact with him. I wanted to tear her face off.

“Get. Out,” she spat.

I laughed.
That wasn’t much of a comeback.

“With. Pleasure.”

I stormed to the front door focused on nothing but leaving. I turned to slam it behind me and caught a glimpse of her all over Sean while he stood impassively looking at me. I hated him instantly.

I’m not exactly sure how I got home, given that I wasn’t paying attention to how we got there in the first place, but somehow I arrived. I opened the main door, being sure to lock it behind me this time, seeing as how it seemed that whenever I didn’t double-check, random people showed up in my place. I begrudgingly climbed the stairs and schlepped myself into the apartment. I turned on the lamp on the entryway table, too tired for full illumination.