Framed (32 page)

“I want you to stay
—
” he started, before cutting himself off.

“I hear a 'but' coming.”

He scoffed in response.

“Timing is not our friend, is it?” he asked as he slid down the window to sit against it.

“Timing, karma
—
your being my sworn enemy...,” I listed off as I came to kneel before him. “
Many
things are not our friends. Maybe that's a reality we both need to face.”

There was a brief moment of silence between us before he replied.

“You
are
mine, Ruby. I said that and I meant it. I feel it in my soul,” he said, his tone resoundingly serious. “Until I met you, I wasn't sure I had one.”

The wall I'd built up around my heart lost a few bricks with that statement. He
did
mean it, and I could feel it. Scarlet could too. She howled in my head her profound approval or extreme distaste
—
I couldn't be certain.

“I can assure you, Sean, that you have a soul and
so
much more,” I said, closing the distance between us slowly. “You just need to reconnect with those parts of yourself. There's so much chaos under your controlled appearance. I can feel it...it's unending. You need to find the balance of your emotions.”

“We really are opposites,” he replied, running his thumb gently down my cheek, “as your chaos is
clearly
displayed on the surface.”

He laughed aloud at his own joke. It held an edge of instability to it, as though he was holding on by a thin thread. I would have been too if I were him.

“Yeah,” I said wistfully, “attract and repel does seem to be our schtick.” His laughter died off and the tension mounted again. “So...about me leaving. I think I'm going to head out.”

He grabbed my hand to pull me down gently as I started to stand up.

“I know you don't want to hear this, but it must be said,” he started softly, avoiding my gaze. “Losing Sophie means a lot of different things to me. What she did was unforgivable, but I grieve for her anyway.”

“I know,” I whispered. “You have a lot to process. I want to leave so you can.”

“But where does that leave us?” he asked, looking more vulnerable than I could conceive.

“Us?” I asked rhetorically. “It leaves
you
sad and
me
trying to figure out ways to cheer you up. You want me to go camping in the woods and see what happens? You could come to the rescue...you
know
it's your favorite.”

“Maybe that is what we need to do; start over again,” he said soberly. “You seem to have no issues with finding trouble,
that's
for sure.”

“We all have our gifts,” I said, smiling deviously. “And we
are
going to start again, Sean, at the beginning, where you annoyed the shit out of me in the most delightful way, and I tested your patience, reflexes, and general ability to keep me alive.”

“You really don't make that easy, Ruby,” he said, lightly winding my curls around his finger.

“Then I guess it's a good thing that you love a challenge, isn't it?”

“Perhaps,” he replied, threatening to smile. I leaned in slowly to place a kiss on his forehead, and his arms locked around me, holding me tightly in place.

“Ruby,” he whispered beneath me.

“I have to go, Sean,” I told him, before pushing myself up. I made my way to the door with Sean following slowly behind. As I exited his lonely apartment, I turned to say good-bye.

“So I'll see you around?” I asked awkwardly.

“Not until a crisis presents itself,” he said seriously. My stomach turned at the thought, and my face betrayed me as per usual. He stepped out onto the landing with me, cupping my face in his hand. He lowered his mouth to my ear and whispered, “Fortunately for me, that should be
any
time now. You never know when you'll drop your keys, lose your ring, or be unable to locate the remote control or takeout menus.
That's
when I'll swoop in and save the day. Just like old times.”

My heart skipped the slightest of beats.

“Just like old times.”

Epilogue

It was several days before Ronnie seemed at all herself again. The PC had been out since that fateful night, searching for the Revenant, but, true to his name, he could not be found. I saw the stress on her face, knowing that he was out there, biding his time, waiting to finish what he started. Peyta was never fully told about
who
he was and
what
he wanted, but I was afraid that it would come out eventually, as most skeletons seemed to escape their closets.

She did manage to find time to enjoy the newest man in her life
—
Jay never left her side as he promised Sean. He followed her everywhere she needed to go, including my shop. She never seemed to mind. There was something clearly budding between them, and this time, despite the age difference, I was completely on board.

Cooper and I had a lengthy talk about the events that had occurred the night that Ronnie was attacked. He was fascinated by Ares, shocked by Sophie's double cross, and horrified by the mode of her death. He was happy to have me safe, as always, and was more overbearing and protective than ever. Coming from some people, it would have been annoying, but from Cooper it was expected. He didn't bring up anything about his newfound love for me, and I was in no hurry to do it either. Avoidance was my strict policy on that issue. I hoped that if I dug my head deep enough in the sand it would all go away, but I didn't put much stock in that outcome.

Ares returned home, from what I could gather, along with the other Elders. He claimed to have no intention of returning anytime soon. I breathed a huge sigh of relief upon learning that, but my concern still revolved around what he'd foretold
—
that Ronnie would Change into what made her. She had seemed fine as far as anyone could tell, but Jay and Cooper both said that it could manifest right away or take weeks to show. Until that day, we waited anxiously.

Ronnie and I were still on shaky ground as far as I could tell, but I knew that Scarlet's willingness to fight for her, regardless of what it may have cost her, counted in her mind. Ronnie was stubborn, but even
she
would acknowledge such a sacrifice. A couple of her Underground friends came to stay with her and Peyta. I was thrilled to learn that they were still oblivious to the existence of the PC. Ronnie was suspicious of Sean, but my hope was that she still bought the story we’d fed her about him being a werewolf too, and would leave it at that for the time being.

My visions had abandoned me, much to my delight, but I was afraid the reprieve would be short. The Rev wanted revenge badly enough to search for years and risk capture and death by the PC to get it. With his newfound infatuation with Scarlet taken into account as well, the inevitable was clear. He would be back.

The question that plagued me was, would we be ready?

SCARRED

Coming SEPTEMBER 24, 2012

Book 4 in
The Caged Series

"I loathed myself for wishing a death of that nature on anyone, and even more so because I still wanted it to happen. My moral fiber was unraveling quickly, and I wondered how long my humanity could withstand the unending trial of values my life had become. With every choice I made, I felt it slipping away.

And further down the rabbit hole I fell."

Acknowledgments

Huge thanks to my girls: Virginia Nicholas, Eryn Bagley,
Amanda Zabski
(YA author) and
Shannon Morton
(a.k.a. “The Newbie”). You guys help with all aspects of the process and make it all go smoothly. Jamie Rosen helped me to deliver yet another amazing cover, so I tip my hat to him as always. My husband, Bryan, is not only my biggest fan, but also the brains behind the technical operations. I can easily say that I could not do any of this without him. My final nod is to Jennifer Ryan, who did the editing for this particular novel. Being an Indie author is no easy task, and without those listed above, there would be no Caged Series to follow.

About the Author

I'm an organic-eating Canadian who enjoys a good conspiracy theory every now and again. Cotton candy disturbs me on myriad levels as does the wearing of camouflage outside of hunting season. If I could know the answer to one of history's great mysteries it would be who shot JFK (wandering bullet my ass), and when I grow up, I want to be my Grandma Remple. She totally rocked.