Faith Revisited (19 page)

“He described your sister to a tee.”

Hope was shocked by this turn of events. She hadn't expected Bale's friends to accuse her sister of trying to kill Bale. Even if Faith had been angry enough with him to want to, Hope did not think she could have done the deed, sick
or
healthy. While Faith had yet to admit it, Hope was fairly certain her sister was in love with Bale.

“Faith couldn't hurt her mate.”

The bald dude who had yet to introduce himself snorted, and the desire to slug him was so strong, it took all Hope's willpower not to turn around and do it.

“Mate?” he asked with a smirk.

She glared at him. “Don't give me that look. We are vampires, not shifters, so the fact that Faith is physically tied to Bale is not our fault. And I'm only repeating what Arak told me.” Hope turned her attention to Remy. “Who is this jackass, anyway?”

Baldy stopped short, glaring down at her. He would be an intimidating figure if Hope intimidated easily.

“You need to be taught some manners.”

His tone was threatening, and it brought a smile to her face. “So Bale has already informed me. What? You think you can do it?”

“Oh, I guarantee it, sweet pea,” he growled, and her arms broke out in goose bumps. Not from fear but from excitement. And that only angered her more.

“Zeke,” Remy said, his tone that of a warning, “don't you have a job to do?”

Zeke lifted her chin with a finger, raising her eyes to meet his. And she had a long way up to look. He was at least a foot taller than her. Hope could tell by the gleam in his eyes he was used to using his height to his advantage, and even though that single touch left her shaking, she refused to allow him to think he affected her in any way. She met his gaze steadily.

“Most definitely,” he murmured.

Hope seemed to be falling into his gaze, but at the last minute, she yanked away from his touch. “Try it, and lose a limb.”

Zeke chuckled. “I'll be seeing you soon, sweet pea.”

Over her dead body. Hope backed away from the giant, moving closer to Remy. She had to remind herself she was here for Faith, and if she didn't want to end up as badly screwed as her twin, Zeke and all his buddies were completely and totally off-limits.

Still grinning, Zeke turned and disappeared through a darkened archway. Hope heard him climb some stairs, then forced her attention away from the male and glanced at Remy. He was watching her curiously, and she shook her head.

“Don't even go there,” she mumbled. “Ain't gonna happen. So is Bale really okay?”

Remy smiled at her quick change of subject but followed her lead as she trailed next to him through the darkened bailey. “He was injured pretty badly, but it was not life threatening. Arak 82

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had to put him out, though, because he refused to calm down and let Arak treat him. He kept screaming about your sister. He wasn't making much sense, but his words led to the belief that she was the one who had attacked him.”

Hope snorted in disbelief. “I'm telling you, Faith couldn't even walk across the room to get a bottle of water without my assisting her. She didn't do this.”

“I hope not, because Bale can't take another betrayal.”

Hope looked at him sharply, but by the harsh angles she saw on his face, she knew not to bother even asking for clarification.

“Faith loves him,” she said quietly. Remy was the only one she would reveal such words to. There was something about the male's calm strength that made her trust him, even when she didn't want to.

Remy smiled sadly. “He loves her too.”

Hope smiled, relief smoothing the lines from her face. “Good. That's all I needed to know.

Then ultimately, Faith will be okay.”

Remy studied her for a moment before he opened the front door to the keep. When they stepped into the foyer, it seemed all hell had broken loose. The first thing that registered was the loud bellowing that echoed though the rooms. Then Kash rushed past them without even noticing they had entered, and took the stairs three at a time.

“Come on,” Remy ordered as he quickly followed Kash.

Hope had a hard time keeping up and was soon trailing far behind the other two. At the top of the stairs, she turned to the right. At least she was kind of familiar with the upstairs. She knew they were heading toward the wing of the abbey that housed the infirmary and Arak's bedroom.

As she moved closer, the bellowing grew louder. Stopping in the doorway of the infirmary, she spotted Remy standing beside a bed. He was staring down at who she could only presume was Bale, but there were so many males standing around, she couldn't see for sure.

“Damn you, Remy. Let me go!” a voice yelled. Yep, it was Bale all right.

Remy glanced at Arak, and the other male replied, “He managed to throw off my sleeping suggestion.”

Remy returned his gaze to the bed. “Bale, if you do not stop thrashing around, you are going to reopen your wound. And then you won't be going anywhere.”

“You son of a bitch. If anything has happened to her, I will kill you myself,” Bale hissed as Hope moved closer to the bed.

“Bale, just tell them Faith did not do this,” she said quietly, and every male head turned to her.

“Why the hell would my mate try to kill me?” he barked as he glanced at the males, pinning each with a harsh glare. “It was a Rabisu demon. It got me in the parking lot of the club.

Was my own damn fault, really. I was distracted and didn't see it coming.” He looked to Hope, his eyes pleading. “Faith? Is she okay?”

Hope glanced at Remy, uncertain exactly what she should tell Bale. He didn't appear to be in any kind of condition to help Faith at the moment.

“Hope, tell Bale that your sister was not attacked by any demons.”

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Before Hope could respond, Bale beat her to the punch. “But there is something you do not want her to tell me,” he growled. “What?”

Hope stopped beside the bed and looked down at Bale. The sheet was resting across his hips, leaving his bandaged and bruised abdomen visible. His skin didn't have the usual tan glow of health but was rather a pasty white.

“Bale, you need to stay calm and listen to me.” When she had his complete attention, Hope continued, speaking softly. “Faith is sick.” When Bale moved to rise, Hope sat on the bed and placed both hands on his arms. “Listen to me!” she demanded, and Bale stilled. “She is sick. Not from a demon attack, but from the inability to feed. She appears to be slowly starving. It's not critical yet, but you need to get better, Bale, because Faith needs you.”

“She's so damn stubborn,” Bale murmured with a sigh. “I told her…” His voice dropped off, and he shook his head. Then he turned to Arak and said, “Bring my mate to me, Arak. I need her with me as much as she needs to be here.”

Arak's gaze narrowed at Bale, and he appeared to brace himself for a fight. “But you need to promise me you will lie here and relax. It's going to take me a good hour to bring her back.”

At Bale's nod, Arak suddenly disappeared right before her eyes. “That is so cool,” she announced.

Chuckling, Kash said, “I've missed you, doll. Let's get something to eat and leave Bale to rest.”

Hope nodded eagerly, giving Bale's arm one last pat before she rose from the bed. Of all the brothers, Kash was her favorite. They were like two peas in a pod. “So did you get that movie you were lusting after?”

“Oh yeah. You up for watching it?” he drawled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as he led her from the room.

Hope smiled and wrapped her arms around Kash's thick waist. “You know it,” she said, leaning into him. A strange feeling of being home washed over her. It was something she hadn't felt the last time she was within the abbey, and it unsettled her. Feeling the weight of a stare on her, she glanced around until her gaze met the male with the scar's, the one called Levi. He was standing in the doorway to the infirmary, just watching her. She snuggled deeper into Kash's embrace. She didn't like Levi. His look seemed to pierce right through her, obtrusively seeing things she didn't want revealed. And what worried her even more was that her sixth sense might have already come to pass.

* * * *

“You don't look so good, sweet girl.”

“Really? I never would have guessed.” Her eyes narrowed at him. “Why are you here?

Obviously Bale did not care enough to show himself, so why send you?”

“Faith, Bale was hurt last night outside your club.”

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“What?” Faith jumped to her feet, the backs of her knees hitting her chair and sending it rolling toward the wall. Without the support, she wobbled and would have surely fallen if Arak had not teleported across the room and encircled her with his arms.

“He is okay, just not well enough to get out of bed yet. But the first thing he demanded when he woke was for me to come get you,” Arak said softly next to her ear.

“He's really okay?” Her eyes searched his face for any hint that he was lying or telling her a half-truth.

“I promise. But he won't rest until he knows you are safe.”

Faith shook her head. “No. Bale is mad at me.”

Arak chuckled. “Even if he were, there is nothing like almost dying to make someone reevaluate things. And I was with him when he stormed out of here the other night. He wasn't as upset with you as you might think.” Arak moved back from her slightly, framing her shoulders with his hands. “Did Bale tell you about us?”

“Yes, though at the time I didn't understand. I learned some interesting things on the Web about the Grigori.”

“Really? We're on the Web?”

Arak seemed surprised by that. Faith couldn't wait to show him all that was available with the click of a button. But later. Now she only wanted to know about Bale.

“Then you must understand how terrifying this is for Bale. I won't go into details, because that is for Bale to explain. But I will say this: he has already lost a wife.”

Faith tried to pull away because she wasn't sure she could stand to hear how much Bale had loved his wife, but Arak only tightened his hold.

“Bale loved Thea, and he was devastated when he lost her.”

“I don't want to hear this,” she hissed.

“If you would just let me finish, you would understand why I bring it up. I do not speak of Thea to hurt you, Faith. Bale was devastated, and she was not even his heart mate. You are, and he fears not for himself but for you. We Grigori are always only one step away from becoming archdemons, and if you were punished by the Father for loving Bale, he would gladly take his place in the ranks of Hell as punishment.”

“But why would anyone be punished? There are several angels who have mates.”

Arak appeared surprised by her statement. “Who?” he asked hoarsely.

“The vampire Principal, Muriel, for one. She is mated to Ezra, the dominus,” she said, referring to the leader of the entire vampire population. “They even have several children.”

Arak looked like someone had hit him with a two-by-four.

“Why is that so important?” she asked quietly, placing her hands over Arak's.

He smiled sadly and only shook his head. “We have wasted enough time. I have exactly forty minutes to get you back to the fortress before Bale starts hunting us. Can you make it? I would offer you my blood, but I fear Bale would take my head for such an act.”

Faith smiled weakly. “It's okay. It would probably only make me sick anyway.”

She clung to Arak as he helped her from her office to the parking lot. He rolled his eyes when he saw her car.

“What is it with you and Bale and the sardine boxes you two drive?”

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He was not amused by her giggle as she watched him try to fit behind the wheel of her Bug. It was just not made for a six-feet-four male, and he looked simply ridiculous with his knees pinned to his chest. Faith had to spend the entire drive with her fist to her mouth and looking out the window, because every time she glanced his way, she burst into a fit of giggles.

She couldn't help herself. Really, she couldn't.

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Chapter Ten

Bale lay with his eyes closed, looking a bit pale but still large and intimidating in the narrow bed. A white bandage covered a great deal of the part of his abdomen under his ribs, and Faith hesitated in the doorway, not wanting to wake him. She was terrified that if she got too close, she would jump him. Her fangs were aching to drop just from the sight of him. She knew once she caught the scent of his skin—mocha with just a hint of vanilla—every cell in her body would begin to pulsate in need.

His eyes opened, meeting hers briefly before traveling over her body. A look of relief flooded his face when everything seemed to pass inspection. He raised an arm, hand outstretched to her.

“Come here, baby.”

Faith released the hold she'd had on Arak, wanting to make it across the room on her own two feet, but she faltered after only a few steps, and her knees buckled under her. Arak rushed forward and caught her before she hit the ground.

“I'm no good to her right now. Just sitting up in this damn bed takes all my energy. Arak, bring my girl to me.”

Faith protested when Arak scooped her into his arms. “It's not a good idea, Arak. I'll only make things worse. I won't be able to control myself if I get too close to Bale, and he needs his strength to get better.”

Arak paused midstride. “She's got a point, Bale.”

“And I won't get any better if I have to get out of this bed and chase her around the fortress, Arak. I can control her.”