Providence (15 page)

I nodded, preoccupied with an errant thought that had popped into my head. “So…if I’m cramping….”

Jared closed his eyes and nodded. He clearly didn’t want to dwell on the subject.

I giggled in disbelief. “That hurts you?”

Jared chuckled and rolled his eyes. “I don’t get cramps, Nina, no. I’m aware of it.”

His answer caused my giggles to erupt in laughter. I was definitely feeling the effects of fatigue.

I tried to remember where we left off before my short bout of hysteria. “When did you know I was yours?” I asked. Jared’s eyebrows lifted and I corrected myself. “When did you know that I was your Taleh?”

He nodded in understanding, but a grin lingered on his lips. “Archs are assigned to their humans, but Half-breeds—,”

“Hybrids,” I interrupted. I didn’t like him using a derogatory term to refer to himself.

He smiled. “Hybrids have to figure it out on their own. Another reason Archs resent us—it leaves our humans vulnerable for a time. They don’t agree with that.”

“Lots of cons,” I sighed.

“There are pros,” he assured me. “We have few advantages over the Archs, the most important being that because we’re half-human, we can kill other humans to protect our Talehs if necessary. We can see them, even if they remain hidden to humans. We also retain a fraction of their pronounced strength, focus, intelligence, and accelerated healing. Archs are indestructible and they don’t bleed; bullets don’t bounce off of them, they simply pass through them.”

I glanced at his fading scar. “But you bleed.”

“Yes, but we heal quickly. Very quickly.”

“So, the wings thing….” I yawned as exhaustion set in.

“You don’t have to worry about me sprouting feathers, Nina,” he chuckled. “Archs don’t fly. They simply appear where they wish to go. I’ve always found the pictures a bit silly, myself.”

“I like those pictures,” I argued.

“You’re disappointed, then?” The corner of his mouth pulled up as he rested his hand on the back of my chair, leaning towards me.

“Not really. I’d rather be sitting across from my angel without wings than looking at a picture of an angel with them.” I could feel his breath on my lips, and I leaned closer to him.

Jared fell against his chair. “I knew this conversation was going to be difficult, but it’s become difficult for a completely different reason,” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

“Why is that?” I asked, surprised at his sudden retreat.

He glanced up at me with a smirk. “I thought I’d have to stop you from running out into the street in a panic, instead I have to concentrate on finishing everything I want to say before you get me too flustered to speak at all.”

The blood pooled under my cheeks, and Jared touched my face lightly with his thumb, tracing to my lips.

“It’s a nice surprise,” he said, letting his thumb slide from my chin.

“I’ll try to restrain myself,” I said flatly.

“Why don’t you leave that up to me?”

I raised a dubious eyebrow at him and he chuckled. His demeanor had improved one hundred percent since the beginning of our conversation, and I couldn’t help but grin.

He outlined my fingers with his and I yawned, relaxing with his warm touch.

He gave me a disapproving look. “Nina….”

“I still have questions,” I said. “You said you don’t get sick. Ever?”

Jared shook his head with an amused smile, he was enjoying my interview.

“But the rest, about dying after your Taleh, do you…?”

“Yes.”

I gasped. “But that’s not fair!”

“Nina, don’t forget…I fully intend on growing old with you.” He enveloped me in his arms then, pulling me into his lap. “I literally can’t live without you. But I wouldn’t want to, even if I could.”

I struggled for words to reply with, but they never came. Jared’s expression tensed as though he might have said too much, and the need to relieve his quandary had me searching for new questions.

“That’s very convenient, isn’t it? That you and Gabe’s Taleh just happened to be father and daughter?” I asked, hoping to take the uncomfortable expression off his face.

“It’s great for carpooling.”

I tried not to smile. “Seriously.”

Jared leaned his forehead against my cheek, taking in the scent of my hair. “It’s quite common. Archs are family as well as an army, existing in groups. Those groups are generally assigned humans that are related or connected in some way. It creates stronger bonds with humans.”

His candid desire to grow old with me made my heart race, and I was suddenly focused on his mouth. After all, he’d only qualified that we wait until he told me everything.

And we were so close…

“How many like you exist?” I asked to distract myself. I didn’t want to give him another reason to point out my embarrassing lack of self-control.

“Not as many as you might think. Like I said, it’s taboo to get too involved with humans. It’s even worse to fall in love with one—to betray your seraphic family for one.”

“So how can they protect us if they despise us?” I asked, incensed.

“It’s not that, Nina. They have an almost maternal love for humans. They see you as innocent, naïve children. Falling in love with a human is frowned upon by Archs as humans would an elderly man falling in love with a five year old. It’s a social taboo, it’s inappropriate. It’s not because they are disgusted by humans, though there are those that feel that way. But those types of emotions lead to falling farther than earth.”

“Dem—,”

“Don’t say it. Don’t even think it. Especially in my presence, they tend to hover.”

A shiver traveled down my spine, but when Jared pulled me tighter to him, I instantly felt more at ease. As I relaxed my cheek against his neck, I yawned again.

“All right, it’s morning. Time to take you home.” He stood up and in the same movement, lifted me effortlessly in his arms.

“I’m not leaving until you kick me out,” I said, feeling slightly intoxicated.

“Then you may never leave,” he said, kissing my lips.

He sat beside me on the couch and I leaned against his chest, sliding my arm across his middle and nestling my head under his chin. He didn’t speak; the only sound in the room was the buzzing from his ceiling fan and our quiet, rhythmic breaths.

Before I could focus the fuzziness in my brain to form another question, exhaustion engulfed me, and my eyes became too heavy to keep open. I relaxed further into Jared’s side, feeling my consciousness slip away. It wasn’t an uncomfortable feeling—I felt I was just where I belonged. My last coherent thought was the contentment I felt as Jared’s warm arms tightened around me.

Chapter Seven

Caught

The mangled, dark blue sheets underneath me were unfamiliar, but their wonderful scent was one I recognized right away. I lifted my head, peering around to study my surroundings. I was in a king-sized bed that sat against a grey, cinderblock wall. The alarm clock on the night table read nine o’clock in large, red numbers.

My eyes drifted to a metal frame beside the clock, and I blinked to bring it into focus. It was a black and white picture of me. It had been taken from an indefinite distance, zoomed in on my face. It was from a high angle, and it reminded me of the surveillance photos I’d seen in the Port of Providence file.

Rolling over, I hugged the pillow next to me. It smelled like Jared, and I took in a deep breath. His scent was incredible—like line-dried laundry, soap and something else…the way it smells when it’s about to rain?—I couldn’t put my finger on it.

The only rooms upstairs were his bedroom and a closed door to what was likely the master bath. The far wall beyond the end of the bed wasn’t a wall at all, only a metal railing.

I heard Jared’s voice speaking to someone else in French downstairs. His company’s voice was distinctly female. They argued in hushed tones, and in my limited knowledge of French I thought I heard Jared reprimand the woman for waking me.

This piqued my interest, so I tiptoed to the railing to steal a glance at the woman below. When my fingers met the metal bar, I saw that Jared and Claire were both looking up at me. I waved sheepishly and bit my lip, feeling foolish for trying to sneak up on celestial beings.

“Good morning, sweetheart.” Jared said, almost crooning.

Claire’s expression was the polar opposite of Jared’s. She glared up at me with ice blue eyes, as if she wanted to scale the wall with murder in mind. I recoiled, suddenly feeling out of place.

While avoiding her eyes, I noticed crisply folded bedding at the end of the couch. Jared had slept downstairs.

“If you’d like to shower, fresh clothes are on the dresser. You’ll find everything you need,” Jared called up to me.

On the dresser sat a neatly folded stack of clothes, and beside them a pair of boots. My eyes darted to the opposite side of the dresser where my toiletries sat. They were all from my dorm room.

“Where did you get these?”

“I had Claire bring them,” Jared explained, making his way up the stairs. When he reached the top, he pulled me to him and kissed my neck.

I glanced down to Claire, who hadn’t ceased her death stare. It was clearly more than intimidation. If Jared hadn’t been near, I would have been afraid for my life.

“Don’t worry about her. She won’t bother you,” he assured me as he pulled me away from the railing. “Did you sleep well?”

His face was positively lit up; I couldn’t recall seeing him quite so cheerful.

“I must have. I don’t remember anything after we sat on the couch.”

I ran my hands over his light blue t-shirt, letting my fingers glide over the perfect highs and lows of his chest and abdomen. He was incredible. I’d seen plenty of physiques like his on posters, commercials for exercise equipment and movies, but never in person; certainly never within my grasp.

Jared tightened his arms around me. “I was careful not to wake you. You’re so peaceful when you sleep.”

“You slept on the couch?” I said, letting my disappointment show through.

“I reconsidered…several times,” he said, his lips brushing my neck when he spoke.

“When did she bring my things?”

“Earlier. She’s been in and out a lot,” he frowned. “She’s not happy about our conversation last night. I assume it has something to do with that.” Chuckling at my inevitably worried expression, he kissed my forehead. “Breakfast will be ready soon. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

After my shower, I reluctantly crept down the stairs. Claire and Jared watched me approach the table with equal but conflicting focus.

“You’re beautiful,” Jared whispered before he kissed my cheek and pulled out a chair.

Claire continued to glower as I sat across from her.

“Claire….” Jared warned. Her irritation turned to him, then. I felt a brief moment of relief.

“Thank you for bringing my clothes, Claire,” I whispered. As soon as the words left my mouth I thought better of it. Her icy blue eyes shot back at me and I sunk back into my chair.

Jared stared at her until she shifted uncomfortably. “You’re welcome,” she grumbled, looking down at her plate.

“Ham, mushroom, green pepper and cheese omelet…toast,” Jared pointed out each with his butter knife as he spoke, and then shoved a forkful into his mouth.

I stabbed the eggs and took a bite. He was an incredible cook.

Everything he had made for me was exactly the way I liked it.
“Mmmm…that’s good. I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” I hummed.

The fork clanged against my plate as I chewed the last bit of egg, and Jared rested his chin on his hand, amused at my shameless appetite.

Claire sighed in irritation. “You should be aware that Cynthia knows Nina spent the night here last night.”

With indifference Claire watched Jared’s face morph into anger.

“And how does she know that, Claire?” he seethed.

“I told her,” Claire admitted.

Jared slammed his fist on the table. I jumped, but Claire didn’t react. I watched them stare the other down, wondering if I should distance myself from the line of fire.

Jared noticed my growing unease and placed his hand on mine. “What exactly did you tell her, Claire? And more importantly, why?” he spoke through his teeth, working to keep his tone calm.

“You didn’t give me a choice, Jared. After what happened at the hospital, and last night, Cynthia needed to know what was going on. That’s what Dad would have done.”

“Dad’s not here.” Jared’s voice broke as he fought to keep his calm.

Claire crossed her arms. “Obviously, Jared, or you wouldn’t be insisting on going through with this. You’ve gone against everything Dad taught us, hours after he died. I tried to tell you, but you won’t listen....”

“You can go, now, Claire,” Jared snarled.

Claire’s stoic expression faltered at her brother’s stern tone. “Fine. Cynthia is waiting at Andrews. Maybe she can stop this before it gets too far.” Claire shoved herself away from the table, grabbing her keys and motorcycle helmet. I cringed when she slammed the door behind her as she left.

The force of the door crashing into the door jamb caused the shelves on the walls to tremble. I peered over at Jared, whose jaws worked under his skin.

“So she knows about us, so what?” I said, squeezing his hand.

Jared didn’t answer right away, and I could tell that he was trying to calm down before he spoke.

“This…complicates things,” he said in a low tone. “We should get you back. The longer she has to wait the more difficult it will be.”

I stood and shook my head. “Have I missed something here? This is my mother we’re talking about, right? Why are you so nervous?”

Jared took our plates to the sink and then went directly to the coat stand.

He held out my coat and tried to smile, but it resulted in a twisted, pained expression. “Ready?”

Nodding, I twisted into my coat. I was glad when he took my hand and held it until we reached his SUV, and even more pleased that he didn’t release it for the entire drive to Brown, but he didn’t speak a word until we reached Andrews.

He put the Escalade in park and looked straight ahead, releasing my hand to grip his steering wheel.

“Aren’t you coming in?” I asked.

Jared shook his head. “I’m the last person she wants to see.”

“O…Okay,” I said, unsure of what to make of his behavior. Jared had admitted to standing up to my father once, but he wouldn’t face my mother.

I reached for the door, but Jared grabbed my arm and pulled me to him with worry in his eyes. His hands cupped my face and he pressed his lips against mine with a sense of urgency. When he finally released me from the kiss, he leaned his forehead against mine, closing his eyes.

“You act like you’re never going to see me again,” I said, suddenly nervous.

“I can’t ask you to go against your mother’s wishes, Nina.”

I laughed once in surprise. “You think she’s going to tell me to stay away from you?”

“That’s exactly what she’s going to do.”

I shook my head. “You should know my mother has a poor track record for changing my mind. Even she knows it.”

“She seldom fails to get her way. Just…don’t listen to her.”

“Her tricks work on everyone but me. I’m not going anywhere.”

One corner of his mouth turned up, but it seemed contrived.

“I’ll call you later, okay?” I ran my fingers through the sides of his hair, and he pressed his forehead against mine once again.

“Okay,” he whispered.

The Escalade stood motionless until I was inside the building, and then it slowly pull away.

Knowing he would be listening, I hurried to my room. I was anxious to calm the storms in Jared’s eyes, even if that meant going toe to toe with Cynthia Grey.

I opened the door and froze. Cynthia stood in the middle of the room, her arms crossed, prepared for confrontation. Beth twisted around in her desk chair, meeting my eyes with a sympathetic expression.

“I think I’m going to grab some coffee. Would either of you like me to bring you something ba—,”

“No thank you,” Cynthia interrupted. She must have been far beyond anger; she was never cross enough to be so rude.

“I’ll take some, Beth, thanks,” I said, making a show of appreciation. Beth nodded and grabbed her coat, rushing out the door.

“Where were you last night?” Cynthia demanded.

“You know perfectly well where I was,” I said, mimicking the set of her chin.

This took her off-guard. Cynthia typically relied on the element of surprise.

She recovered quickly. “You can’t get involved with Jared, Nina. You don’t know anything about him, trust me.”

“I know enough, Mother.” I sat on Beth’s bed and looked to the floor. I would have to choose my words carefully.

Cynthia reared her head and stepped in front of me. “Nina Elizabeth, it’s too dangerous. I know you think you know him, but you don’t.”

I laughed once. “If he’s dangerous then why is he being paid to protect me?”

Cynthia’s mouth flew open. “That arrangement was between him and your father. You’re not listening. He’s not dangerous to you. It’s dangerous for you to be…to become…involved with him. He has just as many enemies as your father.”

“I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you?” she asked. “Do you know what you’re getting yourself into? I don’t think you have the slightest idea of where this could lead or the choices you’ll have to make. I don’t think he’s thought this through, either, or he wouldn’t have done this. Maybe not, maybe he’s too selfish to care—,”

“Selfish?” I shrieked. “How can you say that about him? After what we’ve put him and his family through, Mother?”

“Is that what this is about? Guilt?” Cynthia paced the room, arms still crossed.

“No!” I gasped. “It’s nothing like that,” I said, embarrassed that Jared could hear her words.

She closed her eyes and sighed. “Nina…please. I’m begging you. You know that I want you to be happy…but this—this is not going to end well,” her voice was quiet.

I smiled. “Does anything end well?”

Cynthia heaved her usual resigned sigh, but this time it was different. It was the same she used in the seldom event that she lost an argument to Jack.

“I wish this one time, Baby, that you would listen to what I’m trying to tell you. The last few months have been the culmination of every fear I’ve ever had.”

I had been unaffected by my mother’s infamous guilt trips since I was thirteen, but now that she’d used Jack’s death, I couldn’t break free of the blame. She had never wanted me to find out the truth, and I imagined that it was the one thing she wanted to remain unchanged after we lost my father.

When I thought of her dishonesty and how she’d kept secrets about Jack and Gabe and the Ryels from me for years, the guilt turned to anger.

“You can’t tell me how to feel,” I glowered.

“It’s not too late, Nina. You can save yourself,” she said, lifting my chin. Her uncharacteristically soft affection caught me off guard, but I was resolved.

I pulled away from her. “I don’t need to be saved from Jared.”

Cynthia sucked in a sharp breath and pinched her nose with her thumb and finger. “Nina….”

I could see that she was finished. She had pulled every trick from her bag and laid her cards on the table. I felt triumphant as I imagined Jared smiling at my words.

Beth returned, then, sitting beside me on her bed. “Hazelnut and Splenda,” she smiled, handing me a Styrofoam cup.

“Thanks, Beth.”

Cynthia looked at me, exasperated. “I’m going home now. Please think about what I said. It’s important.”