In the Shadows (The Blaisdell Chronicles) (18 page)

BOOK: In the Shadows (The Blaisdell Chronicles)
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I looked behind Nathan, and for the first time, saw another emotion in Alex I’d never seen before. I tried analysing what it was, but before I could, his head lowered, brushing himself off. He paused, as if realising something for the first time. He lifted his chin. 

“My God, Lucy. You
do
care for me, then?” The slow, forming curve in the corner of his mouth seemed hopeful.

Barely a moment later, Nathan spun around and his fist connected with Alex’s jaw.

I quickly threw myself in front of Nathan, but when he saw Alex crumpled on the ground, I couldn’t help but notice the gleam of satisfaction in his eyes. I leaned closer to Alex, hearing him muttering curses under his breath.

“Don’t be fooled, Alex,” I warned in a surprisingly firm tone. “Just because I stopped Nathan from beating you to a pulp, doesn’t mean a thing. I will never be with you. Not now, not ever.” 

I felt Nathan’s warm hand touch mine from behind. I returned his gaze and felt the turmoil in his words. “Why didn’t you tell me about Lady Stark?”

Words seemed to stick in my throat. “I-I didn’t know…I mean, I only wanted to help—”

“Now we have no other choice.”

Before I could question him, Nathan had grabbed my hand and ran with me back down the alleyway. Over my shoulder, I was just able to make out Alex’s fading smile. Coldness replaced his expression, as his voice bounced back from the tall buildings at each side.

“I won’t give up, Lucy! We
will
be together!

CHAPTER 22

 

“Damn him! How dare he return to cause trouble! You shouldn’t have stopped me, Lucy! He deserves everything he gets!”

I’d wanted to talk to Nathan on the way back, but his fury made me keep my mouth shut. He’d marched back into Whitmore’s to pick up my coat and bag, and to tell Mr Whitmore in no uncertain circumstances that my shift was over and I wouldn’t be back. It was only then that I’d been able to open my mouth again and protest. How dare Nathan come in and try to take over my life! But despite my pleas for Mr Whitmore to ignore him, the anger laced in Nathan’s voice had made Mr Whitmore shrink smaller than his already short frame, and pay me the cash he owed.

It was almost as if Nathan was back on the battlefield. The way he’d spoken to Mr Whitmore was more of an order than a request, and the way he bundled me into his BMW and sped off made me feel like some sort of a hostage.

My head snapped back against the headrest when the car finally stopped outside my house. He didn’t seem to be aware of the slight twinge in my neck and was already pulling me out, taking the key from my fumbling fingers.

He was already bolting past me up the stairs, so I followed and found him digging out my holdall from under the bed.

“Get your things. We don’t have much time.”

There he was, issuing commands again, and now it was my turn.

“Nathan, what —?”

“If Lady Stark’s back, we don’t have much time. Now, hurry up!”

I controlled my nerve and stood still, arms folded. Nathan regarded me angrily, but as he stomped forward, he brushed past me and opened my drawers, throwing out all of my clothes.

“Nathan, stop this now!” I knew I had to make him listen. Pushing myself in front of the drawers, my hands clamped either side of his face, forcing him to look at me. It was then I noticed a bead of sweat forming across his brow. His chest heaved, and although he was still agitated, he’d at least stopped for a moment.

“Nathan, please calm down.”

He frowned, as if I was talking nonsense. “Calm?
Calm?!
I will
not
be calm until I know you’re safe. Now, pack your bags. If you don’t, I will.”

“What about Mum and Derek?”

He groaned, loudly. “Your parents aren’t here, but you can write them a note.”

“And say what exactly?”

He moved around me, searching everywhere. “It doesn’t matter what you say. You’re good at telling lies, anyway.”

My heart deflated in my chest. “I didn’t exactly lie. I just wanted to get answers. I wanted to help—”

“Lady Stark, Ellen, or whatever she’s called now would never help anyone but herself. Please, Lucy. Just do as I say.”

I couldn’t take it anymore. My hand pushed against his ribs. “Stop! I mean it, Nathan. Stop this, right now.”

Brief silence cut off his energy. He waited, his eyes masking his true feelings.

I let my shoulders sag. “I know you’re worried, but running away in the middle of the night won’t help. Alex found me before and he’d find me again.
Ellen too.”

“Not if we get a head start.”


Pleas
e
, listen to me. Look, I know you’ve suffered—”

“Do you?” he replied, flatly, ignoring my touch on his arm.

“I saw what happened. It wasn’t right, and you think you have to make amends, but you don’t.”

“This isn’t just about the war.”

My ears sharpened with interest, but nothing else followed.

“You accused me of telling lies, but you’re the one who kept the truth from me. Perhaps you should have told me everything to begin with.”

Even as I spoke, I remembered Nathan’s cryptic warning in the alleyway. I hadn’t listened to him then, and probably wouldn’t have trusted anything else he said either. The truth was, I’d been flattered by Alex’s attentions, reminding me of my almost-relationship with Steven.

“I’ve never had a boyfriend. I don’t see why—”

There was a brief pause, when his hands cupped my cheeks, tilting my head up. “Is it so hard to believe you’re very beautiful?” He pressed a gentle kiss to my lips, silencing my protest. “I’ve always thought that, even from the moment I first saw you.”

I bite my lip, savouring the warmth of his affection. “You were celebrating your s
eventeenth birthday in the gardens at the Briggstow Estate. I was having a break after sparring again with Sampson, when I heard a noise. Of course, I wasn’t invited, but I stole a peek at you through the trees. It was a bright, sunny day and a couple of suitors were swarming around you. I’d never had the most urgent need to cuff anyone in my life, until I’d seen them fawning all over you.”

Images floated inside my head from the past. I could remember two gentlemen eager for my attention. Knowing them from the gossip columns as a couple of the worst libertines, I’d politely dismissed them, and sat on the bank, near my maid, Edith, who served me strawberries and lemonade.

“I saw your beauty, but I also saw your heart, your pain deep inside. You were gazing out, eyes in my direction. Although I knew you didn’t see me, part of me wished you did. I looked closer, and something inside made me feel what was in your heart. You wanted to be held, to be loved.”

My throat was thick with unspent tears. How had he known such things with just a glance? I’d wanted people to see me for who I was, but it felt like the signals I’d been sending out were in another language.

“More than anything, I wanted to reach out and hold you, hoping one day, when we finally met, that you’d be the one who saw me not as Sulis’s bastard, but as a man. A man who had fallen under your spell, who’d give up his last breath for you.

“It was like I’d been asleep, dreaming about you for the past two hundred years, and when I woke up, there you were. Everything that had happened, every thought, every touch we’d shared had been etched onto my soul, permanently. I didn’t feel complete without you, yet I felt I’d be a liability if I stepped into your life. I hoped you’d be all right without me, but I needed to be sure. So, I started wandering after you, all the while trying to stay away. That’s how I’d been able to find you when you were in danger and one day, I had to make myself known. I wanted you more than I’d ever wanted anything, but I’m a damaged man, and those other memories haunted me still. I thought if I could just warn you of the danger, then you’d listen and I could leave your life again, as if I’d never returned. But it didn’t work.

He breathed a long sigh.

“My feelings weren’t safe, and the more I saw you, the more I felt my heart pine. So I tried to be rude, to say anything to make you stay away, but I only ended up hurting us both.”

His warm fingers were soft over my cheekbones, until he held me firmly, his stare burning right through, as if he was finally allowing me to see into his soul.

“Don’t you know how much you mean to me? How much you’ve
always
meant to me?”

My fingers traced his trembling lips. “I know. I feel the same way. It’s only been you I’ve felt inside.”

My heart skipped a beat in anticipation, waiting for a kiss to unfreeze me. Nathan’s face held many soft features; high arched dark eyebrows, icy blue eyes, full lips and high cheekbones, with barely any stubble on his jawline. But when he balled his fists, his knuckles turned white, as if he was trying to shut out images that were taunting him.

“Nathan?” I asked, softly. “What is it?”

He pinned me with an intense gaze, clutching my shoulders so quickly that I gasped. “I can’t lose you. I won’t leave you ever again.”

“Neither will I.”

My skin tingled as he pulled me closer. I touched his hair, soft and thick, loving the way each strand felt in my fingers. He bit my lower lip, and I didn’t need any more persuasion. Our tongues met, entwining like our hands, our hearts, making us one. He made a guttural noise from the back of his throat, and suddenly my back was against the wall, his hands gripping my waist in a possessive manner. I gasped, feeling my blood run like fire when his fingers went over my thigh, rising under the hem of my t-shirt...

Suddenly, the phone was ringing. The kiss ended, and we continued to stare at each other, our lips still wet and breathing ragged.

The phone rang again.

“You’d better get that,” Nathan said, letting me go.

Ready to shout at whoever it was, I stormed past him, and answered.

“Hello?”

“Lucy, pet, where were you?”

“Mum, I was only upstairs. What’s up? Are you coming home?”

“Haven’t you seen the weather reports? The snow is much heavier now, and they say it’ll hit Briggstow tomorrow. We can’t even leave the hotel. Derek tried shovelling the snow around the car earlier, but it’s no good. I’m sorry, but we won’t be back until it’s safe.”

“Oh,” I replied unhappily, even though inside I was secretly punching the air.
With no parents around, I could spend some time alone with Nathan.

“We’ll call you tomorrow
with an update. We’re so sorry, pet.”

I hung up the phone, walking towards Nathan, who was looking out the window, peering through a gap in the blinds.

“Mum said they’re snowed in and don’t know when they can come back.”

He nodded. “It’s starting to snow here now. Take a look.”

Snowflakes gently fell to the ground, contrasting against the blackness of the night sky. Amber street lights glowed, making them appear shiny, like shattered glass. The whole imagery appeared so magical, like I was in a dream.

Nathan was adamant we had to leave before the snow got any worse. With my holdall packed, we started to leave the house just after five o’clock. It was beginning to get dark and the street lights were glowing like fireflies, but only when we were just a few steps from Nathan’s car did a rustle in the bush covered in the shadows made me jump. Nathan realised it too, and he pulled me behind his body. The strong smell of whiskey tormented my senses and I gathered my poise, ready to face the stocky man coming out from the shadows, cursing as he struggled to remain standing.

He jabbed a short finger in Nathan’s direction. “You! I’m going to kill you for what you’ve done to my daughter!”

Nathan held his hands up, and took a step forward. “I’ve not done anything to her. Believe me, I care for Lucy very much.”

Roger’s mouth turned into a snarl. “I don’t believe it! Lucy’s friend told me what sort of person you are!”

I tried to rush past, but Nathan held me back. “That’s nonsense! My friend Jen is visiting her Gran as we speak.”

“It wasn’t Jen who told me.”

The thought struck Nathan and I at the same time. “
Ellen!”

“What you’ve been told isn’t true,” I pressed on. “Nathan hasn’t done anything wrong.”

Roger blew out a hot breath. “I’ve been watching you for some time, Lucy.”


Stalkin
g
, you mean?” I asked.

Roger’s body twitched in agitation. “Waiting for the right moment to speak, after I’d made a mess the last time. I
know I didn’t send you a card when you turned seventeen in September, but I want to make it right.”

I could hardly believe he remembered my birthday.

Roger advanced forward, and came right into Nathan’s face, his head tilting up to meet his gaze. “I even saw you pushing my daughter around outside her work. I was ready to stop you, but then I was seen, and was told by your own former lover what sort of man you are! Before I could challenge you, you were both gone.”

Nathan was surprisingly calm. “Allow me to answer my charges. As Lucy has already told you,
Ellen cannot be trusted. She was never my lover, but her reasons for hating me are a long story.”

Roger made a rude noise.

“And,” Nathan continued, “I’ve never harmed Lucy. Everything I do is for her protection.”

“Liar!” Roger howled, like a wolf.

He tried throwing a punch at Nathan, who saw what was happening and quickly pushed me out of the way, just leaving enough time for him to sidestep the attack. Roger was angrier than a raging bull and charged forward, knocking Nathan into the garden wall, sending a potted plant over the edge, smashing on the ground. Nathan grabbed Roger’s wrists, holding him back, as Roger wriggled desperately, trying to be free.

“I’m not your enemy,” said Nathan calmly.

“You are!” roared Roger. “You took my little girl away from me!”

“No, he didn’t!” I shouted back. “Your behaviour did that! It was never anyone’s fault but your own!”

Roger slumped onto the gravel, unable to meet anyone’s gaze. A lump formed in my throat. I wasn’t going to apologise, yet it seemed he did want to make amends. Believing Ellen’s lies, he’d planned to rescue me in the hope I’d welcome him back into my life again.

Nathan’s hand covered my shoulder, sensing my turmoil. I didn’t need to hear him to know that. “We have to go. If
Ellen’s been speaking to your father, she might not be far behind.”

“I can’t leave him like this,” I replied, quietly.

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