Inferno (Book 4 The Kindred Series) (9 page)

Cassie nodded, biting nervously on her
bottom lip as she joined him by the windows. “There might be others
that survived whatever happened down there.”

“There probably are, but if I find them
they won’t be alive for long.”

“Julian…”

He turned back to her, his eyes
flashing briefly red in the light. “I’ll stay here with these
people, and I won’t hurt them because of you. I may even stop
killing, when we get out of this town, if it will make you happy.
But if I come across those bastards that put us in that hell hole I
will kill them. They do not deserve to live,” he
growled.

Cassie’s lips parted at his words. It
was not the fact that he planned to destroy the people that had
tortured them that surprised her, but the fact that he would stop
killing for her. “You would really stop killing?” she
breathed.

He stared at her for a long moment,
confusion and hurt flickered briefly through his eyes. “I would do
anything for you Cassie.”

She inhaled sharply, tears burned her
eyes. She ached for his unhappiness. “Julian...”

He held a hand up, shaking his head. “I
know Cassie. I’ve always known that you would choose him, that he
was where your heart belonged. It doesn’t mean that my feelings for
you will change though.”

Cassie managed a small nod, her gaze
darted behind him to the covered window. “I never meant to hurt
you.”

He quirked an eyebrow, the familiar
amusement played over his features again. “Don’t get ahead of
yourself there princess.”

“Don’t call me princess,” she responded
automatically.

He grinned at her, flashing his perfect
white teeth. “Your wish is my command.”

“That’s even more annoying.”

He laughed softly, a small rumbling
sound that reverberated through his chest and warmed her to the
tips of her toes. She was immensely relieved that he still wanted
to speak with her, that he did not hate her, and that he could stay
her friend. “Thank you Julian.”

He frowned at her, shifting
uncomfortably. “For what?” he demanded gruffly.

She smiled over his discomfit, taking
some pleasure in aggravating him as much as he liked to aggravate
her. “For keeping me sane, for being there for me, for being my
friend.” He scowled at her for a moment before turning his
attention back to the window. “And for not ripping my throat out
the first chance you had.”

He laughed softly as he turned back to
her. “Well, the night is still young.”

Cassie grinned at him, moving closer to
lean against the wall on the other side of the window. She moved
the curtain aside to peer out at the dark street. Nothing moved but
the street lights, apparently on a timer, had come on. Their light
cast shadows across the road, it spilled into the darkly lit
woods.

“Thank you also Cassie.”

She poked her head back out from behind
the curtain to look at him. “For what?”

He grinned at her, wiggling his
eyebrows comically. “For keeping me sane, for being my friend. For
making Dani come back for me.”

She looked at him surprise. “How did
you know about that?”

He shook his head as he rolled his
eyes. “Blondes,” he muttered, though he smiled kindly at her. “You
and Dani did have to touch me to help get me out of
there.”

“Oh,” she said dully, a small flush
staining her cheeks. “Then you already knew everything that Dani
told us about what was going on in there, and what they wanted with
us before we got here. Why would you threaten to take the knowledge
out of her forcefully?”

He shook his head, his hand clenching
slightly on the curtain. “I didn’t already know what she knew. I
can’t read two people at once, it’s too overwhelming. And since I
can’t stand that bitch, I concentrated on you instead. You also
kept hold of me for a lot longer than she did.”

Cassie nodded slowly as she digested
this information. “I see.”

He was silent for a moment, his eyes
dark and distant. “I’m not sure I can promise anything when it
comes to her either.”

“She got us out of there,” she reminded
him.

“She helped to put us in there,” he
retorted.

Cassie was silent for a moment, torn
between her desire to get even with Dani for her actions, and her
desire not to see her hurt. At one time she had thought of Dani as
a little sister, she had cared for her, and she had been betrayed
because of that trust. But she still could not bring herself to let
the girl get hurt. “No Julian, Dani will get hers in the end, but
we won’t be the ones to give it to her. Besides, we may need her
still.”

He grunted softly as he folded his arms
over his chest, looking completely disgruntled by her answer. “Are
we staying here all night?” she asked softly.

“That’s the plan.”

“If you want to get some sleep, I’ll
keep watch for awhile.”

He shook his head, leaning against the
wall again. “I’m fine.”

Cassie nodded, resting her head against
the wall as she studied the street. Though they had spent every
night in their cells talking endlessly, they both remained quiet
while on watch. The moon moved across the snow, its light
illuminated the street even more. Cassie shifted slightly, she
pulled on the edges of the over large sweatshirt she had found in
the back, along with a pair of work jeans.

“Did you know they were giving me your
blood?” she asked softly after awhile.

Julian tore his attention away from the
window. “I suspected,” he admitted.

She gaped at him for a moment. “Why
didn’t you tell me?”

He shook his head, his platinum hair
falling across his forehead. “You had enough to worry about in
there without me adding to it, especially when I wasn’t
certain.”

She bit on her bottom lip, turning back
to the window. “How did you know?”

“The discoloration in your arm, it’s
what happens when vampire blood is introduced into the human
system.”

“I’m not human.”

“You’re more human than
not.”

“I couldn’t have said it better
myself.” Cassie jumped slightly, turning in surprise as Devon
emerged from the darkness. He strode purposely forward, the shadows
hugging his powerful frame. Her mouth went dry, her heart thumped
loudly at the sight of him. He was the most magnificent thing she
had ever seen, and he was hers. She glanced swiftly away, her eyes
focusing on the floor as she tried to get her body under control.
Julian may understand where she belonged, but she didn’t want to
rub her relationship with Devon in his face.

Devon’s arms encircled her, wrapping
around her waist as he pulled her against his chest. He stared hard
at Julian for a moment before bending to drop a gentle kiss on top
of her head. Apparently he didn’t care what Julian thought, or how
it affected him. “You should be asleep.”

“I slept all day,” she reminded
him.

“Hmm.” He nuzzled her gently for a
moment before pulling slightly away. “Has there been anything out
there?”

“Not in a long time,” Julian
answered.

Devon turned toward him, his hands
tightened on Cassie’s waist for a moment. She could feel the
tension humming through him as he watched Julian. Devon was still
uncertain what to make of him, uncertain how to handle this change
in events, or if he should trust him. Cassie wanted to tell him
once again that he could trust Julian now, but Devon had to come
about this in his own way, on his own terms. They had once been
good friends; she hoped that they could get that friendship
back.

Minus the murder, destruction, and
women that had once bonded them, of course.

Cassie shifted slightly acutely aware
of the fact that she was now surrounded by two of the most powerful
men on the planet. Men that could destroy each other if she wasn’t
careful. Sensing her distress, Devon pressed tighter against her,
gently rubbing her back as he tried to soothe her.

“You can get some sleep if you want,”
he said to Julian.

Julian shook his head, crossing his
arms over his broad chest. “I’m good.”

Cassie turned back to the window,
pulling the curtain aside. Devon leaned over top of her, his chin
resting on her head. “How long are we going to stay here for?” she
asked quietly.

“We’ll gather things tomorrow, leave
tomorrow night,” Devon answered.

Cassie shifted uncomfortably, hating
the idea of being cooped up in here for that long. “Why so
long?”

“Everyone needs a rest, including you.”
She chose to ignore the censure in his words, and Julian’s soft
chuckle. She wanted them to be friends she didn’t want them gaining
up on her though. “Plus, we need to formulate a plan, and exhausted
overwhelmed people do not think well.”

“The same with vampires,” she
retorted.

She felt his smile as he rested his
cheek against her hair. “Yes, and vampires.”

Cassie leaned into him, savoring in his
strength. She was never going to leave his side again, it didn’t
matter if he thought it would be best for her, she would not do it.
“You can’t send me away again,” she said softly. “Even if it is for
my own good.”

He body tensed against hers. “I won’t,”
he promised.

“Ever.”

“Ever.”

She turned slightly toward him,
searching his intense emerald eyes. She saw the sincerity in his
gaze, read the determination in the hard lines of his face.
“Good.”

He smiled wanly at her, kissing the tip
of her nose. Cassie grinned back at him, wishing that she could
kiss him for much longer than that, but knowing that she couldn’t.
Her gaze darted to Julian, a momentary wave of guilt crashed over
her. Whenever she was around Devon, she forgot all sense of reason,
and everything around her. Including Julian. And although his face
remained impassive, she could sense the strain in his body. The
last thing in the world she wanted was to hurt him
further.

She turned slowly back to the window,
guilt eating at her. Devon rubbed her back gently as he leaned
around her to pull the curtain back further. “Where are they all?”
he murmured.

“Somewhere up to no good,” Julian
answered.

They continued to watch the road, the
moon moving over the horizon as an hour slipped past. Cassie’s feet
began to ache; her back grew sore from standing for so long. She
leaned harder against Devon, needing to ease some of the pressure
on her already wounded feet. “Want me to get you a
chair?”

She shook her head, not wanting to move
out of his arms for even a moment. She was opening her mouth to
speak when Devon stiffened against her, just as Julian’s head
whipped to the right. Cassie tensed in anticipation, leaning
forward to pull the curtain back further. Devon seized hold of her
hand, stopping it in mid air.

“Don’t move,” he hissed.

Cassie froze, her heart thumped loudly,
her breath froze in her lungs. Julian and Devon were as still as
stone, their eyes focused outside. Cassie was afraid to speak, but
she was dying to know what was going on. Devon released the curtain
slowly, pulling it back into place with barely any movement. He
pulled her back a step, his arms tightening around her.

Then she heard it. The breath exploded
from her as her heart leapt wildly in her chest. All three of their
heads tilted back as a scurrying noise rattled across the roof,
coming from the back to the front. It paused halfway across the
roof. She waited tensely, adrenaline coursing through her as she
waited to see what the thing was up to, what it was going to
do.

A loud crash echoed from above, it
reverberated through the room. Cassie jumped in shock, Liam jolted
awake his eyes were wide as he searched the darkness wildly. The
lantern she had set on the shelf vibrated toward the edge, tilting
precariously. Julian moved silently and swiftly, catching hold of
it before it clattered to the floor.

Cassie stared at him in wide eyed
amazement as he settled it on the floor. Another crash reverberated
through the building, causing Cassie’s breath to hitch in her
chest. The windows shook loudly. Devon’s arm tightened upon her,
pulling her back another small step as the scurrying resumed toward
the front of the building.

He glanced sharply at Julian, nodding
toward the back. Julian moved as silently as a wraith toward the
back of the store. Liam took a step toward them, his hands fisting
as his gaze remained focused on the roof. Another loud bang echoed
from the back of the store.

Cassie jumped as Devon pulled her back
another step. “Move slowly,” Devon whispered in her ear, his voice
just barely audible, even to her.

The three of them crept toward the back
as something scurried loudly over the roof again. A series of loud
grunts and shouts echoed forth. Though they had once been human,
Cassie could not help but see the creatures as anything more than
apelike monsters now. She hated herself for it, but she knew that
she was going to have to keep that attitude if she was going to be
of any use against them.