Wicked Destiny (9 page)

“Hey, I think you got it in my hair!”

“Sorry,” I said, blowing air out of my lungs. “I just don’t understand why they acted the way they did. I mean, Declan left me and I’m with Viktor, so why the games?”

“Baby girl, I haven’t a clue
, but I have to get back in there and serve those drinks. Are you OK out here?”  Mindy would’ve stayed if I asked, but I knew Jared would spaz.

“Go
, I’m good out here. Just give me a minute or two.” Mindy gave me a quick squeeze on my shoulder, and then went back inside the club.

I walked to the corner of the
alley where it met the street. I was hoping I could steal a glimpse of Declan leaving, but before I made it that far, I saw him walking to his truck in the garage across the street, Viktor trailing right behind him.

“Why are you back?”

“That’s none of your business. That’s between me and Sloane,” Declan shot back.

“She doesn’t want
nor need you. Not even your damn guidance. You abandoned your mission and you abandoned her. You failed!” Viktor turned to leave, but before he was completely out of sight, he yelled, “Stay away, Declan. She’s ours now.”

Ours?
What was that supposed to mean, and what mission was Declan supposed to complete? I couldn’t take this anymore, so out of the shadows I went.

Chapter 8

“How long have you been there?” Declan asked while his back was turned.

“Long enough. You purposely made me mad so I would come out here, didn’t you?” I knew it; his silence said it all. Only Declan knew what buttons to push.

“You need
to know that there is more to this than you know.” He turned to face me and those beautiful blue eyes just captivated me. 

“Know what
, Declan? I still haven’t a clue as to why you left me like that. Do you have any idea what that did to me? The
slightest
?”  My voice gradually started to rise.

“Stop before you get yourself worked up.”

“I’ve dreamed of this many times. What I would say to you or what I would do. I am so blown away by this whole situation that I can’t comprehend any of it. Nothing makes sense to me anymore. Why is that? What did you do, or better yet, what didn’t you do?”

“I was assigned to find you.”

“Well, you did and what exactly were you supposed to do, Declan?” He couldn’t look at me.  My blood felt like ice running through my veins. “What was it?” I asked again, because I knew it was something bad.

“You were supposed to be eliminated.”

“Eliminated? How was I supposed to be eliminated, and why?”

“I w
asn’t supposed to leave unless…” He looked away, but I refused to let him go without an explanation.

“
What, Declan? I wasn’t supposed to what? Just say it!” 

“I wasn’t supposed to leave you alive, OK?
” Shock and horror crossed his face. “I wasn’t supposed to allow you to live because you throw the balance off. The balance of good and evil.”  Silence filled the air and I couldn’t say anything. “Say something, please, Sloane.”

“I’m
sorry. Did you just say you were there to assassinate me?” I had to sit before I passed out. “How do I tip the balance? I’m not a bad person.” I didn’t understand.

“It’s in your blood. The darkness is in your blood.
It doesn’t matter what I think, more less what Shay or even Viktor thinks. The truth is in your blood.”

“So you were sent to kill me
, then? What about now? Are you here to finish the job?”

“You know I would never!
”

“Do I? One thing I can count on is you leaving and someone else picking up where you left off.”

“That’s why I am back. I can’t let that happen.”

“So
, you are my knight in shining armor? I don’t need your help nor do I want it. I’ve done just fine without you.”  I turned to walk away, but he caught me but my arm.

“They found you
, Sloane. They know who you are and they have no idea what you are capable of. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to you.”

“
They
who
, Declan?” I threw my hands up. “You aren’t making any sense. Who, the almighty council? I’m sure they know I was born considering who their boss is.”

“Not just them.
Please, Sloane, let’s leave. You and I, and we can run.”  For years I would’ve given anything to hear that come from him. Tonight wasn’t the night.

“You know
, I wished for those words for so long and now that I’ve heard them, I don’t understand what was so important about them. Walk away, Declan. Go home.” He let me go. 

“You can’t mean that.”

“Really? Well, here, let me give you a little demonstration of walking away.” I turned and walked away, feeling pretty confident that I pulled off the
I don’t care
act. But I knew if he asked again I would cave.

“He knows
, Sloane. He’s always known what you are and if you give in to him, it will be a mistake.” I stopped walking, but I didn’t turn around. I felt him right against me. He kissed the back of my head and squeezed my shoulders. “I missed your smell and your blonde hair.” I closed my eyes and a single tear escaped my eye. “You were always the plan on both our parts.  Viktor may never tell you that, but it’s the truth.”

Opening my eyes
, I saw another pair staring back at me. Not the beautiful blue ones, but the beautiful grey ones. Viktor stood in the alleyway and he looked as if he was about to charge. I quickly wiped the tear away. He knew he was coming; he could hear the footsteps without a doubt.

“You have no right to be here.
You left me, remember? So leave me alone. That person you missed died a long time ago.” I ran to Viktor’s arms and he welcomed me without hesitation. He hugged me tightly and over his shoulder I caught Declan watching. It shouldn’t have bothered me, but it did. Declan had no right to come back into my life.

“Are you
OK? Mindy said you were out here,” Viktor whispered.

“Yea
h.” And just like that, I walked away from Declan and our past.

Chapter 9

It was the end of the nig
ht and I was really feeling it. I wanted to just go home and climb into my tub with no distractions of boyfriends, past or present. Just the feel of the water’s warm embrace was all I wanted.   

“So,
do you want to talk about it?” Viktor asked me as I gathered my purse.

“Not really
, Viktor. In fact, if there’s something that needs to be said, now is the time. I don’t think I can take anymore tonight.” I turned to him so that he could see just how serious I was.

“What do you mean?” I could see there was something there and a twist
in my stomach shot through me. I knew this was too good to be true.

“Look
, let me just save you the trouble. When you are ready to tell me the truth, you know where I live.” I walked straight past him and shot Jared a warning glance on my way out. Even he was surely too scared to let one of his snarky comments fly.

Jared

Sloane shot me her famous
don’t even start
look. It was the one that meant business and I learned to not even attempt to approach her. As she hit the doors, I turned to look at Viktor. I saw the look he was giving her back—that hungry possession look, and all he saw was her. I knew that look because I had it every time I screwed up. Viktor was just about to clear the foyer when I grabbed his arm.

“It’s best you let her go.”

“Tell me why I should listen to you.”

“Because I’ve known her longer.
Despite what you think of me and what you think you know about me, I know that girl a whole lot better than you. Running after her is just going to push her away, especially when you’re hiding something.” I released his arm.

“You know nothing about me.”
Viktor was in my face, but I didn’t flinch.

“I call bullshit on that.
Me, I knew there was something special about her, but it’s different for me. I want her for myself, for my own selfish reasons. But you? You have a whole different agenda. Yes, Fallen, I have my contacts too.” I stepped a little closer. 

“If you know so much
, why don’t you just tell her, then? It’s called trust, and even though you know her so much better, she doesn’t trust you, does she?”

“It doesn’t ma
tter what you say or do to me. If you hurt her in any way possible, I will make it my mission to cast you into the pits of Hell myself.” I stepped out of his way and just as he went to walk out the door, I made sure he knew. “Oh, Fallen. When you walk out that door, I want you to know that I know what she is and what it is she really means to you.”

He was gone.

Sloane

As soon as
I cleared the front doors, I started running to my place. I needed to breathe and for some reason all this open space wasn’t good enough. The feeling of freedom was calling; I needed to be somewhere and anywhere but here was fine with me. I made it home in record time and I grabbed my helmet and riding jacket. I pushed my bike outside, and as I cleared the parking lot, I saw Viktor. He didn’t try to stop me.
Good
, I thought to myself. I needed to get somewhere I knew no one would find me.

Before I knew it
, I was already on the highway, wanting to get away and thinking about everything that happened tonight. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. I found myself pulling down a long and curvy driveway and it was old but familiar. Pulling to the end of the driveway, I parked my bike. I climbed off and pulled out of my helmet and jacket, lying across the seat of the bike.

I ha
dn’t been here in years. I stood in between my aunt Dru’s house and the red barn that I lived in for my senior year. My aunt and I knew she was dying that year and we knew I had to get used to being alone. So I moved in and her live-in nurse took my room in the main house.

These two structures meant a lot to me
, but the one structure that stood out the most was the cabin where Declan and I first met. I began walking towards the lake that separated the cabin from the rest of the land. There was an area light that was dully lit and it casted an orange glow to the area. I knew it was my mind playing tricks, but I allowed it. I could hear us laughing as we ran around the bank of the lake and through the picnic area. In the far off distance I could hear the tractor plowing the fields and the animals crying out because they knew it was feeding time.  Most of all, I could hear my aunt singing in the garden. Without even knowing it, I was crying.  Placing my face in my hands, I began to ask why.

Why
was I even here on this earth? What was the purpose of my creation? I stood on the edge of the bank looking out at the moon’s reflection over my own. Things would be so much easier if I weren’t here. I wouldn’t be a disturbance in the so-called balance. Before any more disturbing thoughts came into play, I took one last look at the cabin and walked towards the red barn. I took out the key I never used and opened the front door of my old apartment. Even though I never came out here anymore, I paid a maid service to clean twice a week. If the weather was bad, I paid extra for them to ensure the place was weatherized. From the looks of it, they’d come today.

I walked around my old place
and noted it smelled like peaches, as always. I loved that scent here for some reason, and then I realized why I never bought the same freshener for my loft. Declan, of course. It’s funny how a scent could trigger memories that were long forgotten, but I thought anyway. Leaving my living room where we spent long nights watching TV or studying, I ran upstairs to my room. It was just as I left it. Well, just cleaner. My pictures were still out and posters from old bands still hung on the wall. Looking at them, I wondered if I would peel off the paint if I took them down. I decided to let them stay up. 

I sat on the edge of my bed wondering how things go
t so twisted. I wanted my aunt and I needed someone to tell me the truth. Everyone around me was being so cryptic that it was driving me crazy. Looking at my phone, I checked the time. It was four thirty in the morning. I knew I wasn’t going to make a trip home now, so I decided to make the best of it. I opened my closet door and found a bottle of aged Crown. It had never been opened, so grabbed the glass from the bathroom and washed it out. Next, I grabbed the comforter off the bed and sat on my deck just looking over the lake and the property that was given to me. It was so beautiful, but it just brought back too many memories of me growing up. I’d gladly give it all back just to have my aunt here with me. 

I poured myself a glass full of
Crown and sipped on it as time passed. There was no signal on my phone so I knew I couldn’t be bothered, and that’s what I wanted. Time was passing and the bottle of crown was getting lighter. I pulled out my headphones and listened to some music and sitting here was so peaceful.

Closing my eyes
, I remembered to put both feet flat on the ground so the world wouldn’t spin. That was the number one rule while drinking—keep at least one foot flat on the ground while lying down. Even though all I was doing was laying my head back, I still wanted to take precautions. Evanescence’s “Everyone’s Fool” played and I smiled because it was fitting. The tears started again and I cursed myself. Damn it, why did alcohol intensify the emotions so much? I stood up slowly with my drink in my hand and downed what was left. I looked at the empty glass and I realized, in that split second, that’s how I felt. Empty, and it wasn’t fair.  Wasn’t I entitled to just a little bit of happiness? I threw the glass as hard as I could and gripped the rail. Trying to breathe, I could feel every emotion rising to the top and readying to explode like a volcano. I let out a scream that felt like it shook the very foundation I stood on. Next, it was exhaustion that took over.

I felt my legs give out and I just
lay there, pathetic. There I was listening to the music, hoping it would drown out the world, as I lay on the cold ground. I squeezed my eyes closed, not wanting to look at the stars that I’d wished upon so many times. I said a silent plea to whoever was listening and asked for their mercy. I only wanted to feel what it was like to be safe and unconditionally loved. I lost track of how long I laid there. I let the sounds coming from my earphone distract me from my life long enough to linger to that in between stage of coherence and sleep. 

The sound of John Meyer’s guitar strumming to “Edge of Desire” brought back memories of a dream I had and I wished
I could go back to that night. Wished I had more seconds just to say I’m sorry and that I never meant to be so cold. Someone had to be listening, because he was there next to me and swept me off the floor and into the bed. He wrapped the blanket around me, but everything was so blurry from the tears and alcohol. He sat on the bed next to me and I reached out to place my hand on his face. There was no holding back. The moment of truth was here.

“I wished for so many days, hour
s, and years to see you again. When you finally came, I dismissed you like you were nothing.  I’m so sorry.”  I began to sob.

“Sh
h, it’s OK.  Just sleep,” he whispered.

“No
, I don’t want to sleep. You won’t be here when I wake up. You’ll leave me again.” I tried with everything to pull him to me, but he kept folding my arms back to the bed. In that moment I just wanted him to take me. The need to make uncontrollable love was taking over, but he kept resisting.

“Sloane, sleep
. I’ll be here when you wake up. I promise.” He kissed my hands and my cheek.

“No
, you have to tell me first…” I easily slipped in and out of sleep. “You have to tell me…”

“Tell you what?” H
e whispered so close to my ear it sent electric currents through my body. Every nerve stood on edge.

“What am I?
Just tell me. Am I really that bad?” I started to sob again.

“Can
this wait till you’re coherent?” he asked.

“No!
I am tired of people keeping things from me.” I tried to get up, but he pushed me back to the bed. I quit resisting. “Don’t you love me anymore?”

“Sloane, you’ve ha
d too much to drink and you aren’t making any sense.”

“Then t
ell me and I will go to sleep.” I let him tuck me back in.

“Yes, I love you.
I loved you the moment you rolled those eyes at me when you first played hard to get. I loved you the day I made the worst mistake of my life by leaving you here to face everything by yourself. And I love you even though you are with someone else.”

“He’s not as bad as you think.”

“Sloane, sleep.”

“Sleep with me,
” I urged.

“Sloane
, I hardly think—”

I cut him off.
“Beside me, dumbass.”

“Oh.
”

I rolled over and felt his arm drape across me.
“Declan?”

“Yea
h?” he answered.

“Where did you go?”

Silently, he said, “Everywhere that didn’t remind me of you.”

“How did that work out for you?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Why now?”
I asked.

“I told you
. When I found out they knew about you, I had to come back.”

“So if these people never found out
, you wouldn’t be here now?”

“I don’t know
, Sloane.”

I coul
dn’t help but let a tear slip. Even though I was incapacitated, I knew what was going on. Most of all, I knew what I felt. I would’ve paid dearly for this moment in the morning. I felt cold. The alcohol was wearing off and I felt like someone just threw me in a tub of ice. I shivered and I felt his hold tighten on me.

“I don’t mean to upset you
, Sloane. In fact, I tried to watch you from a distance but it didn’t work. We will figure this out.”

“Declan
?”

“Sloane, g
o to sleep.”

And in a matter of moments, I was out.
He never explained what the deal was with me and these secretive people. I had to make sure my mental notes were still working so that I could remember to ask him in the morning. I was sure Viktor would be a little pissed about all of this, but someone was going to give me answers. And I wished they could give all kinds of answers, like which guy to choose. There was no doubt that I still loved Declan, and I probably always would.