Dark Awakening (15 page)

Running over to it, she answered
quickly.

Warm happiness bubbled out of her. "Hey baby, how you doing? I just wanted to call and make sure things are fine."

"I'm excellent. I took a bath and was just about to watch one of your DVDs.
I’ve
wanted
to see that Twilight move forever. I can’
t believe you own it.” Her voice dropped to a husky whispe
r
. “
I'm glad you called.”

He groaned on the other end. "Tell me you haven't dressed yet and you're standing
there wet,
dripping,
and naked."

"No, I'm afraid not," she said
laughing.

"I just got to work, but are you sure I can't call Sarina to come visit with you while I'm gone? I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"Thank you, baby, but I don't think so. I'm going to enjoy these next few hours of solitude with your epic
vampire/werewolf
collection."

His rich laughter filled the line. "
Those are courtesy of
Vera for my birthday, so enjoy, b
abe. Remember, if you change your mind, if you need anything, just call." He sounded so concerned, so unlike his usual cool self, she couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm
fiiine
, go
to work. N
ow." He said goodbye and hung up. Sighing blissfully, she hit play from the DVD menu and curled up on
his
luscious
sofa that
even smelled like him
.

The picture quality of the TV was amazing. She'd only had a small, thirty-something inch from
ten
years ago back at the apartment. His looked brand new, top of the line with shiny black trim and a neat little stand.

The movie started and the cell went off again. Grinning, she answered with a perky, "
Hellooo
?"

"Alison. Are you ready to come see me?"
Alison dro
pped the phone, her gut clenching
in
icy
fear
as
her lungs struggled to breath.

The front door flew
open,
slamming into the wall with a loud crack as several men came rushing in. Everything happened in slow motion. Alison screamed and took off
running
towards the kitchen.

Eyes wide, heart pumping, lykaen sprinting out of the cage, she made it four steps before a heavy body took her hard down to the ground. Her nose slammed into the ground. She
winced
at the pain, tears springing to her eyes.

She screamed until her throat burned,
her arms were dragged behind her
and
tied tight,
and
then a cloth was forced over her mouth. It smelled foul like gasoline. She struggled not to breathe, knew that
whatever
that smell was dangerous.

A hard fist
slammed into
to her lo
wer back and she gasped in pain
accidentally sucking in
the toxic smell.

She wanted to cry, to run. But she couldn't do any of those things. Da
rkness exploded over her like an eclipse
and
then
she was out.

Chapter 1
3

Flashes of white light
flipped
on and off
.

             
With each blink, her eyes absorbed more light, more images. Her head felt like a dozen bowling balls were shoved inside it. Surely if she tried to lift her
head,
her neck would snap like a twig trying to lift a car. Memories arrived to her in fragmented slides.
The pieces didn't make sense. They were out of order.
Struggling to open her eyes against the bright white light, she forced her sluggish mind to work.

Why was it that when one needed their body to work at maximum capacity, it utterly failed?

The puzzle pieces were there but she couldn't line the right ones up. Men breaking in, a phone call with Rome, a cruel cold voice, the sharp pain to her gut that woke her, the smell of gasoline against her nostrils.

"How much did you give her?" a nasty voice said. "Get the fuck up already, bitch." Alison forced her
eyelids
open. Dark, blurry figures
above
her.

A dead
ly
calm enveloped her. She knew that voice as
clearly
as if it
were
her own. That voice had haunted her nightmares for two long years.

"Conlin," she
croaked,
her voice dry and scratchy. Her entreaty sounded nothing like the scathing snarl she wanted it
to. A dark figure came closer and
knelt next to her. She could feel the heat radiating off his body.

"Oh, Ali, welcome back. How I've missed you
,
lumara
. You've caused me so much trouble. I let you leave me all those years ago only because your father threatened to go to the Justicars. Ha, I should have pursued you anyways, the bastard doesn't have the balls
to do anything more than talk.
" A whimper slid out of her throat, even through the muscles that tried to stop it.

Don't show fear, she told herself. She heard him inhale deeply and exhale. She smelled the peppermint of his breath and cringed, turn
ing
her heavy head away from the smell.
She’d breathed in the same scent while struggling to breathe under the assault of his fists two years
ago.

Fingers curled around her neck and tilted her head back. She could see him almost clearly now.
She choked out a sob.
The blur faded to only a little like her eyes still weren't focused. She could see the sharp line of his jaw, the straight
eyebrows;
light
blonde hair that fell in sharp
across his face. Pretty features nothing more than a guise for a monster.

Mustering up
strength
didn’t feel two years ago
, she faced him, the ache in her head feeling lighter, and laughed. Those cold eyes narrowed to tiny, hard slits, his mouth tightened.

"Get on with it already. I have a movie to watch back at home."
Who
was this brave creature speaking through her?
she
wondered wildly. She was stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He was going to kill her.
Hell,
I
might as well state my peace.

He pulled back a hand and let it fly, catching her cheek and lip in a biting slap.

"I was mistaken, I suppose. I had no idea you'd be eage
r for me again." He leaned down until
she could feel his hot breath in her ear. "You missed me didn't you, Ali? Missed ou
r
times together. Missed my cock deep inside of you, spilling myself on that last stroke. You're getting me all worked up just thinking about it, Ali."

Alison swallowed hard, her thighs unconsciously slamming together. Her heart raced a mile a minute in her chest, but she took a deep breath. Stay calm. Don't think about it. You don't need to be here. A cold sense of
déjà
vu wracked her memory. She'd been in a place just like
this
two years before.

She thought about Rome and his strength. His smile and laughter, his home and heart, so easily given to her. It gave her strength enough to close out everything else around her. Seal
herself
up into a shell. He could touch her, but he wouldn't really touch her. He'd never have the
privilege
again.

Turning
to
him one last time, she looked into his blue eyes and said, "I will never be yours Conlin.
Never
again." Closing her eyes, she saw only her happiest thoughts. Like a Ferris
wheel
moving,
she cycled through the images and detached herself from her body. No matter what he did, she wouldn't feel it.

Her mind drifted, exploring the possibility of meeting Rome Kategan without having taken the path via Conlin. She saw herself holding hands with Rome in front of the Kategan pack, her parents were standing at the front looking proud. Rome kissed her as the
truemate
knot was tied by the Elder
. He
whispered he loved her.

Somewhere in the back of her
mind,
she registered shouting and a dull pain her stomach, but she didn't feel it. She almost smiled.

* * *

Rome slammed his fist into his desk. The wood splintered and cracked under the power of his fist. She was gone. Taken from
his own
damned house. He should have been there. A red blanket of fury enveloped him like a cloud. His beast was out of the cage and
snarling
. He jabbed his fingers at his
cell phone and growled like a
beast when he pressed the wrong number. It took everything in him not to crush the phone in his hand. He dialed it correctly the second time.

"Where the fuck are you, Jackson?"
The animal in his voice made his words a deep, frightening baritone.

There was a pause. "Fuck, I was just on my way. I had a...
hang
up
. Why what's happened?" He sounded winded, but
his voice turned all business.

"You're supposed to be watching Conlin's house, Jacks. He took her. The son of a bitch has her and you can't even tell me if she's at his house?" Realizing his desk was shaking, he looked down and saw his thighs shaking with the force not to run.

"
Fuck. Shit,
I'm already on
my
way
there
. I'll be there in seven minutes. I'll call you after I scope out the place.
Dammit, I fucked up.
"

Rome couldn't wait
anymore,
he
sprinted
through the office building
and
down the twenty flights of stairs and wasn't even winded
w
hen
he flew through the garage to his car. He dialed the Justicars and told them what had happened. After getting their promise th
at they'd be there immediately, he called
Vane
who
was already on his way. He'd been performing his rounds of the grounds when he saw that two of his guards were dead near his house.

The first piece of relief all day: he'd taken the car today.
The BMW's speed was needed as he ripped across the city.
It would take an hour to get there, so he pushed the pedal to the medal and planned
to make
it in thirty.

Never had thirty minutes seemed so long.

* * *

"
Motherfucker
."

"Aw, baby, don't go. We were only getting started."

Jackson ignored the woman and
jerked on his clothes, snatching
his keys and ma
king
sure his wallet and
money
were
still in there before heading to the door.

He'd seriously fucked
up
, but he'd make it up
to Rome..
.
somehow.
As long as she wasn't dead yet.
Fuck
. He threw open the door, but her voice stopped him.

"Poor human. You're too late. He's going to kill her. He's going to fuck her brains out
and
kill her. I don't know which order he's going to do it in
though
."

Turning
sharply to the shapely woman who'd called herself Sandra, Jacks felt a ripple of awareness. Shit. He'd really fucked up
—
twice
.

Grabbing his
tazer
from his
belt,
he pointed it at the women and pulled the trigger. She screamed as bolt
s
of
electricity
scoured through her body. She bucked and then collapsed on the body. Her chest moved with the flow of breathing, but she was out. She had something to do with this, and he'd be sure she was brought to justice.

"Not if I get there first, bitch," he said and shut the door quietly behind him.

Chapter 1
4