Crimson Groves (21 page)

Shutting my eyes and squeezing them as hard as I could, I said, “No! We can’t do this!” I tried to step back. He didn’t ease his grip on me, trapping me against him. If I were just human, I wouldn’t be able to move. But I wasn’t. I used a little bit of my vampire strength to pull out of his embrace, leaving him gasping as I flashed over by the fireplace. He stumbled but quickly regained his balance.

Swinging an astonished look at me, he said, “I don’t know where that came from! I’m so sorry! Please don’t be mad! I’m sorry!” He took a few steps toward me.

My body was on fire and still wanted him so bad. I needed to cool down. “No! Don’t come any closer. Please. I need a minute.”

He held up his hands and took a deep breath. “Okay. I’m gonna go in the kitchen and get a drink.”

I couldn’t get any more words out, so I just nodded. He turned around and walked out of the living room.

I’m not sure how long it was before he called out and asked me if I wanted a drink, but thankfully I’d cooled back down and felt like myself again. He brought out a couple glasses of water and sat down on the sofa. As he set the glasses next to the laptop, he asked me to fill him in on everything else that had happened at the pub. I sat down next to him—but not too close—and then told him everything he wanted to know. His eyes grew wide when I got to the part about biting an innocent. They grew even wider when I told him how delicious she was.

There was one piece of information that I purposely withheld from telling Tyler, since there was no way I could risk arguing with him again. The fact that I’d be returning to Rayver’s Pub alone would not go over so well. My decision to go without him was final. The right time to tell him was still undecided. Is there ever really a right time?

The laptop jingled again. The email still waited to be opened. In the heat of our discussion, I’d forgotten all about it. Tyler leaned forward and wiggled his finger across the mouse board. The Hawaiian beach scene morphed into a solid gray background with tiny icons along the bottom of the screen, one of them a mailbox. Tyler double-clicked it. The e-mail sender address was the one Lily used to send me the blood donor information.

Abby,

I was thinking of you. I’m so worried. Bronx

has gone crazy. He’s looking for you everywhere.

He doesn’t believe you’re in Florida anymore. He

has other vampires helping him search for you. I

overheard him say something about Texas. Are

you in Texas? Be careful. Don’t trust anyone.

They could be working with him.

Please write back and just let me know you’re okay.

Lily

Tyler and I simultaneously looked away from the laptop and stared at each other. What the hell was I going to do now? Bronx was starting to look for me outside of Florida. Why would Texas be the next place he’d look? Did that mean Savannah was safe for now? Not that I believed any place was really safe—not until Bronx was no longer after me.

But would his death be the only way to stop him? Could I kill him if it came down to it? I’d never killed anyone or anything before in my entire life, or afterlife. If divine intervention allowed an opportunity for me to kill Bronx, what if I couldn’t? What if I froze and let him get the best of me in that moment?

All I could go on right now was a gut feeling that I would be safest right where I was, at least for a little while longer.

15

Ability

TYLER SLEPT FOR NEARLY SIX hours before awakening abruptly due to another vision. His shrieking cry interrupted a love song by George Acosta that I’d downloaded from Beatport.com. Alarmed, I rushed to his side and found him sitting against the bed’s headboard, sweating profusely and breathing frantically.

The vision—or premonition as he would call it—showed Bronx finding me on a night I went to one of the donor clubs alone. The location and time frame as to when that happened remained a mystery. Going back to Rayver’s Pub without Tyler tonight, then, just got more challenging. Putting those thoughts aside, I sat down on the edge of the bed and firmly wrapped my arms around him. My face pressed into his cool, moist tee shirt as I nestled into his chest. Beads of sweat dripped from his chin to the top of my head.

I held him tight, reassuring him the best I could as he tried to regain control over his breathing. Unable to pull himself together, he pushed me away and stormed out of the bedroom. Like a shadow, I trailed after him. “I just wish I knew where it was. What club you were at. And when it happens.” His bare feet slapped the wooden floors all the way to the kitchen.

Lingering in the hallway, I tried to encourage him. “Maybe you’ll get another vision. One that will fill in those blanks.”

He looked at me, eyebrows raised, mouth crimped, and replied, “Maybe? I have this stupid gift of seeing the future and the best I can offer right now is ‘MAYBE’? Maybe I can help you, or maybe not. Depends if my stupid gift works again!” He grabbed a coffee cup out of the cabinet next to the fridge and chucked it across the room. It hit the wall with a clatter, and shattered into a million pieces. Tyler hunched over the sink, staring into it.

I edged closer to him. I reached for his back and nervously rubbed tiny circles on it. Regardless of the unsettled mood, I felt a small fire spark to life inside me. “Ty, just calm down.” I pushed harder into his back. “Try to relax. Anger never helps anything.”

Without looking away from the sink, he replied through gritted teeth, “We only have a couple of hours before you’re going to need blood! How will we know what club to go to? I can’t risk him finding you!”

My stomach churned. The need to be close to him intensified. I quickly pulled away and stepped to the side. Shaking my head, I retrieved another mug and set it on the counter beside him. Keeping my hands to myself this time, I said, “I appreciate your concern for me, I really do.” I started fidgeting with my hair. “That’s why I know you’ll understand that I have to go back to Rayver’s Pub tonight. Not just for blood, but for information. I need to go alone. I can’t risk putting you in danger.”

He looked at me, eyes widening, “You’re what?” he demanded.

“I need to know what Stone’s not telling me. He’s holding out on me. I need to know why.”

“I’m going with you,” he snapped. “You’re not going back there alone!”

“Yes I am! I have to. Don’t you see that’s the only way to find out what Stone knows? You can’t come!” I walked over toward the café table and started pacing in front of it, that familiar anger trickling inside me.

“What if something happens?” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air and waving them at me. “How will I know? How can I help you if I’m not there? What if Bronx is there? Then what will you do? You’re absolutely not going anywhere without me tonight! Do you understand that?”

I stopped moving and glared. “What the hell would you do if Bronx was there? Fight him? How? He would defeat you before you took your first swing at him! What protection can you possibly offer me?”

Tyler didn’t back down for a second. “Regardless of what you think, I know how to fight!” he yelled. “Without me there, he’d just take off with you! I could at least provide a distraction and give you an opportunity to escape.”

My fangs plunged out of my mouth, anger surging in my veins. “Escape! And then what? Just leave you there with him? I’d end up needing to save you
...
along with myself.”

His eyes drilled into mine. “I’m coming with you or you’re not going! You’re not going to scare me away with those fangs of yours!”

That got my blood boiling to the point where I was about to explode. I could feel the burn in my eyes—hot, stinging fire. “I can’t risk that! You can’t come with me!”

He stared at me, frozen, and perhaps fearful as my raging glare challenged him to say another word. I watched the vein on his neck pulsate rapidly, and I licked my lips as I imagined how good he would taste, most likely better than Britney. Shivers danced on my spine, and I squeezed my fists into tight balls. I couldn’t bite Tyler! It wasn’t worth it—I cared about him too much. Afraid if I didn’t put space between us I’d lose myself to the blood lust, I flashed out to the living room, shoulders slumped, head low.

He didn’t follow. The coffee maker started steaming and puffing. Shortly after, I could hear it pouring into the mug. Hopefully he was thinking things through and realizing I’d made a good point. At the end of the day, what protection could Tyler offer me beyond his ability to see the future? No offense to his male ego, but he had to know I was right. Since I wasn’t entirely convinced of that, though, I paced in front of the fireplace, occasionally noticing that lonely log. The anger finally melted away, the blood lust eased up, and my eyes no longer burned.

Even though his footsteps were soft, the wooden floors still creaked. He stood in the doorway between the living room and the hall, coffee cup in hand, staring at me with those beautiful green eyes. The expression on his face was softer now, but I was still afraid he might set off my anger again. Because of that, I decided to stay by the fireplace.

“I don’t agree with you”—he took a sip of his coffee—“I don’t think you should go without me. I want to be there for you. I don’t like this at all but because you feel so strongly about it, I respect your wishes and will let you go without any more arguing.”

I stood there frozen, mouth open but unable to speak. His truce was totally unexpected, and yet so very appreciated. Did he really just say all of that? Relief engulfed me and soothed my lingering anger. I watched him with quiet gratitude, sensing a slew of emotions bundled inside him: sincerity, attraction, concern, uncertainty, fear. I admired his surrender. I wouldn’t have been able to do it. Such a hypocrite, I know.

I started walking toward him—slow, steady, human steps—until we were only a foot apart. The smell of his coffee made my nose twitch. I gazed at him, keeping my focus on his eyes. “Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you for trusting me on this.” I grabbed his hand, gave it a tight squeeze.

“I’m going to be worried sick until you get back here. Worried sick! Please don’t be gone long. In and out.”

“I can handle that.” I was on my tiptoes, kissing him on the cheek, then rushing back to the other side of the room.

“As tough as you are, it’s hilarious that coffee can send you fleeing for your life.” He chuckled, turned and walked away.

The sounds of banging, clanking, and sizzling came from the kitchen as Tyler fixed himself something to eat. I stayed in the living room, sitting on the sofa against the wall, blankly staring at the laptop. More questions looped in my head while I made unsuccessful attempts to answer them. That e-mail from Lily. Why did she ask if I was in Texas? Was that where Bronx was headed? If so, then I should be safe—a little bit longer anyway. And Stone. What was he not telling me? There was more to his story, and I had to find out what it was.

My thoughts were suffocating me—like staying underwater longer than you can hold your breath. Getting these answers was the only way I’d ever reach the surface and get that breath. Right now, though, I was a long way from that. Plus I still didn’t know what I was going to do about Bronx. I couldn’t hide from him forever. And why did he keep the Head Council a secret? He must have known that I’d find out about them at some point. I felt like I was looking for hidden objects in one of those tricky pictures, but I hadn’t been able to find the first thing yet. By the time Tyler made it into the living room, I was mentally fried.

“You should change out of those clothes so I can wash them. It’ll give me something to do while you’re gone,” he suggested. He sat down next to me, gently rubbing my thigh.

That familiar warmth ignited in my gut, crept up my chest to burn inside my neck. Hot chills flushed across my face. I gave him a mild shrug. “Okay.”

“Did you respond to that e-mail yet?” He stopped rubbing, reached for my hand, took it inside of his, and folded his fingers between mine.

“No. But I will before I leave tonight,” I assured him. Gently pulling my hand free, I stood up and headed out of the room. The warm tingles inside me relaxed. The heat cooled off. When I glanced back at him, a trace of sorrow glimmered in his eyes. I shook my head, feeling a sorrow of my own, and headed for his bedroom.

I didn’t want to upset Tyler. Actually, I felt bad about it. But there were so many other things to deal with—things more important than some silly love affair. Love affair? No way! We couldn’t get distracted right now. It could cost us our lives, and I wasn’t willing to pay that price…again.

I sat down on the edge of Tyler’s bed and let out a long, troubled sigh. Aside from the Tyler, Stone, and Bronx problems, I couldn’t shake my worries for Lily either. She’d been in the back of my mind ever since I left the club. Our friendship was no secret. Bronx would use that to his advantage to find me. Even though she didn’t know where I was, there were still other ways he could use her to get me back. They say don’t borrow trouble, but I had a feeling the trouble was already there, whether borrowed or not.