The Defender (The Carrier Series Book 2) (12 page)

“Devil with a blue dress on. Brilliant.”

I knew it was him the second I heard the British accent.

Of course he would be here—it’s frat sponsored. Why hadn’t I put
that together?
My heart somehow raced faster—there was no way of
escaping. I reluctantly turned around to find a handsome man wearing black
pants and a simple black T-shirt with the British flag covering the front.

Adam walked slowly towards to me, but I crossed my arms across my
chest and retreated backwards a few steps.

“Ava, please give me a chance to explain what happened last week.”

“I have never felt more like a fool in my entire life. Completely
assaulted.” Then I raised my voice, “My sandwich was on the floor!”

Oh, Ava,
my brain complained,
why
didn’t you have this conversation planned out ahead of time?

The people at the admissions table were staring at us. Adam swung
his head around and quietly suggested, “Let’s go in here.” He pushed open the
door that led from the hallway outside the ballroom to the student lounge. I
followed, nervously wondering what I was going to say to him.

The lounge was empty, and the only light in the room came from the
exit signs over each of the four doors and a soda machine in the far corner. I
stopped a few feet in and stood with my arms still crossed over my chest. Adam
moved in until he was only half a foot from me. I took a step back and realized
this was the exact room where I met Adam.

“Ava, I am so monumentally sorry about what happened the other
day. That girl, Thora, is the Theta Sig sweetheart. The boys in my frat paid
her to pretend she was dating me and try to break us up.”

“Ridiculous. Why would they do that?”

“Because that’s what frat boys do. They mess with each other for
entertainment.” He took a step closer to me and carefully placed his hands on
the outside of my arms, near my shoulders. Before I could think about
protesting, his touch woke something up in my barely beating heart.

Adam stared deep into my eyes. “I’ve been worried sick about you
this week.” He rubbed my shoulders and let out a very heavy breath. “What they
did was cruel and horrible and someone as sweet and caring as you never ever
deserved such merciless behavior. You must believe I would never do anything to
jeopardize our relationship. You are so important to me, Ava.”

I wanted to believe him, but I didn’t know if I should. He was,
however, emanating calmness and sensibility and he conveyed no sign of panic or
nervousness. He could be telling the truth.

My heart believed him. My brain wanted it to be the truth.

I allowed him to pull me in for a hug and I relished the safety I
felt while wrapped up in his arms.

“I don’t know, Adam,” I said, still in his embrace. “What if your
frat friends decide to screw with us again?”

“Don’t worry. They’ve had their fun. They’ll move on to another
victim now. I promise.”

I pulled back, but kept my hands on his waist. “Fine. I will allow
myself to be in the same room as you again.”

“Really? Woo!” His intense smile was simply adorable. His brown
eyes lit up as he wrapped his arms around me, picked me up in a hug, and swung me
around a few times in somewhat of an overreaction.
“Oh, Ava! You will not regret this! You are an
amazing woman!”

“Okay! Okay! Put me down! I’ve gotta get back into that party
before my friends think I’ve been kidnapped.”

“Right-o.” He put me down promptly, opened the door for me, and
then followed me out into the hallway. Adam grabbed my hand and began swinging
it in his like little kids do out on the playground.

“You look smashing, as always,” Adam said.

“Thanks. You too. Not much of a costume guy?”

“Halloween is not one of my favorite festivals. My mates and I
like to celebrate Mischief Night.” His wide smile showed his perfect teeth.

“I have to ask—what’s Mischief Night?”

“I’m glad you asked, Princess Ava.” He stopped right in front of
the door to the party. “The traditional British Mischief Night is on November
4th. It’s basically a time when teenagers take the liberty of pulling
outrageous pranks on their friends and families.”

“I can imagine the mischief you must have gotten yourself into.”

“Oh, Princess. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” He winked
and I looked at him with imploring eyes. He sniggered a little laugh. “Maybe
sometime. But right now, I wanna see you cut a rug!” He opened the door and
pulled me in before I could protest.

Holding my hand, he led me all the way onto the dance floor. We
passed my friends, clearly confused, as they gestured to ask if everything was
okay. I nodded back at them and smiled as Adam continued to lead me until he
found some space in the middle of the floor.

Some type of hyper pop song was on and we bounced around each
other for a while, letting loose. It was like we were the only two in the place
acting silly and not caring what we looked like. My nervousness had crept away,
and I finally allowed myself to have a little fun. Several songs passed and we
were starting to sweat.

But before I knew it, the music changed to a ballad. We stared at
each other for a few seconds, wondering whether we should leave the dance floor
or engage in a slow dance. I had told myself I would give him another chance,
but was I was ready to jump back in right where we left off?

Before I could complicate the situation by overthinking it, Adam
took charge and made the decision. Smiling sweetly, he placed his hands on my
hips and pulled me into his body slowly and carefully.

“I missed you,” he said.

Excitement rushed through my veins as he slowly and deliberately
placed his hands on my bare shoulders and gently slid his palms over the skin
on my arms. Then he lifted my hands up and laid them down on his shoulders and
neck. He returned his hands to my hips and slid them around to my lower back.

His eyes stayed focused on mine, drilling deep into my soul and
breaking down the wall I had placed around my heart. I moved in a bit closer,
moving my arms from around his neck to around his waist. I laid the side of my
face flat against his muscular chest. It felt so right and so perfect. I could
hear his heart beating quickly and noticed mine was beating just as fast. My
mind was racing.

Uh-oh. I’ve had this feeling before.

He rubbed my back as we danced there, swaying back and forth, and
round and round for a few minutes until I heard him quietly call my name.

I pulled back from my position on his chest and looked up at
Adam’s kind face. His brown eyes were simply sparkling, peering out into mine.
For the first time I saw a truly beautiful face looking back at me, and a smile
crept onto the corners of my mouth.

“Ava,” he looked so happy, “has anyone ever told you how wonderful
you are?”

My heart was starting to melt. My face wouldn’t stop smiling, but
I couldn’t say anything. Where was my voice?

He continued, “You are talented, fun to be around, intelligent.”
He took his time, letting each compliment sink in. “You’re a superb dancer.” That
one made me laugh.

We were still swaying to the music. “Ava, I’m not supposed to feel
this way about you. I’m in big trouble.” We continued dancing as the song
switched to another ballad.

“What do you mean?”

Adam slowly and deliberately brushed some hair from my face. “I
think I love you, Ava. I think I need to spend every day of the rest of my life
with you.”

And as if those words were the soldiers needed to break through my
wall, I suddenly felt as if I could love Adam, too. But how could this be? Just
last week I had more hatred toward this man than anyone in my whole life. Could
I simply be caught up in an unsuspecting romantic moment?

He was waiting for my answer; it was clear in his eyes.

“I…I…” I didn’t know what to say, but he saved me before I said
anything more, as he placed a hand on the back of my neck and moved his face
closer to mine. He gently swiped his thumb over my lips and searched my eyes,
contemplating whether he should kiss me. Last time we tried this a car blew up
only a few hundred feet from us, and tonight I felt like my heart was about to
explode out of my chest. I was unaware of the other hundred people in the room.
I just wanted so badly to kiss him.

“Screw it,” Adam muttered, and then his lips touched mine. We
kissed slowly, drawing out the fullest length of the kiss each time our lips
embraced. A rush of happiness flowed down my body, as our lips interlocked on
the middle of the dance floor.

I moved in closer, my hands moving up the back of Adam’s neck and
my fingers running through the hair on his head. With each passing second I
felt more and more like I wanted Adam to be by my side, like I wanted to call
him my own, and to share all my life’s experiences with him. I was falling hard
for him—right there on Halloween night in the middle of an overcrowded dance
floor.

“Ah!” I pulled away quickly and doubled over in pain. “My head!”
No! It was happening again! Suddenly I saw myself in a cave filled with water
up to my waist. That very handsome man from my other visions was kissing my
neck and shoulder. It was incredibly romantic.

“Dammit, Ava! Ava! Not now!” Adam dragged me off the dance
floor—people were starting to stare. For the first time I heard frustration in
his voice. “Snap out of it! Come back to me!”

“No!” I pulled my arm free his grip. “Who is that man?” I
desperately wanted him back. He was fading away quickly, taking his beauty and
my heart with him. I closed my eyes tight, willing that sweet face to return to
my mind.

“Forget about him! Ava, we have to leave straight away!” Adam took
my hand and I allowed him to lead me out the back door into a dimly lit
hallway.

I stopped walking as I noticed the pain was subsiding. “No, I’m
okay. I’m better now.”

I need to see a doctor tomorrow. Enough is enough. Something is
seriously not right with me.

Adam’s voice was urgent, filled with pressure and annoyance.
“Listen to me, Ava. You don’t understand. We need to leave right now.”

Still holding my hand, he expertly led me along a back hallway,
down several stairs, and into the kitchen behind the banquet hall. How did he
know this was back here, and what were we running from?

“Wait! Let me tell my friends I’m leaving. Where are we going by
the way?” I tried to stop walking and turn the other way, but Adam’s hand had a
tight hold and was still pulling me after him.  

Suddenly a strange sound came from the darkness behind me, and
then ZOOM!—something whizzed by, knocking the red devil-horn headband right off
my head.

My hand instinctively went up to touch the place where the
headband had been, and I quickly glanced behind me to see what the cause was.

“Get down!” Adam screamed.

When I turned back around to look at him, he was standing in a
rigid position, pointing a gun into the darkness.

Where the hell did that come from?

I hit the floor as he fired several shots into the back of the
kitchen. It was so incredibly loud; I screamed but couldn’t even hear myself. I
fearfully covered my head and neck with my arms as kitchen appliances broke and
shattered all around me.

The shots stopped momentarily, and I felt Adam grab my arm. “Run!”

I followed him out of the kitchen and into a hallway through a
door on the other side. My ears were ringing so loudly, I could barely hear the
music from the party still blasting, everyone apparently unaware of the
shooting in the kitchen. At the door Adam held me back with his arm while he
took a quick survey of the scene and then told me to run down the hallway to
our left. I did as I was told and ran as fast as I could, but while I rushed I
heard two more gunshots from the hallway behind us. As he ran after me, Adam
turned and shot a few shots in response.

I came to a service door and slammed my hands into it, trying to
emerge as quickly as possible into the alleyway behind the student center. We
ran down the length of the brick wall until we came to a loading dock area. It
was freezing outside and I wished I was wearing something over my strapless
dress.

“Hide behind this corner and don’t speak.”

I nervously nodded my head. Although I was afraid, Adam seemed to
be calm and steady. I trusted him. I knew he’d keep me safe.

Footsteps sounded from the right. Someone was quickly approaching.
Adam stood in front of me as I tucked in around the corner. I half expected
Adam to take a bullet for me right then and there, dropping dead to the ground
at my feet, but the approaching stranger didn’t shoot.

“God, Adam, what the hell were you thinking? You were supposed to
get her out of here hours ago!” I couldn’t see the person but his voice sounded
familiar. He was getting closer.

“I know, I know, sorry. Where are they now?” Adam stayed in front
of me, blocking my view from the business at hand.