28 Seconds: A House of Valentine Novella (5 page)

I nodded.

“For how long?”

“When I was little, just in school, they were constant. Like every night. My mom said it was the stress of moving and they did start going away. Never completely but down to once or twice a month maybe.”

“And now how often?”

“Now?”

“Since your mother’s death.”

I shrugged, not trusting my voice.

“Ariana, how often?”

“Twice a day,” I murmured, “sometimes more.”

His head dropped against the window frame, lost in thought. “But before we drugged you. You had one right before that, didn’t you? In the house.” His eyes narrowed. “When Marco entered.”

“And many others. You had an army with you, Cole.”

“But-”

“It’s not just Marco,” I whispered, “it’s never just been him.”

He rubbed my leg in slow, steady strokes. “Maybe it’s time to define what you call violent.”

“And maybe it’s not,” I countered. “Cole, I know you are trying to help and I appreciate that. I need that more than you know. But I did see my mother killed in my arms. She did bleed to death, gasping for breath, in my lap. I hear her last words echoing in my head at all times. All these flashbacks, whether they are real or imaginary, are merely competing in my scientific brain for some hierarchy of the awful events in my life. And thinking about them just makes them all come rushing back in a movie montage that is killing me. So, please-”

“Okay.” His hands were on my face, wiping away the rush of frantic tears that were drenching me. “Ariana, I get it and it’s okay. Just breathe.”

“God, I’m so fucking pathetic,” I said through broken gasps. “Why can’t I stop crying these days? Damn.”

“You’re not pathetic, Ariana. You’re human. You’ve been thrown so much, so fast, I’d be worried if you weren’t emotional. Add in some pretty damn brutal visions and I’m surprised you’re still standing. No one, save a Valentine, could handle what you’ve been through.”

“A lie, but a kind one,” I murmured and gave him a half smile.

“It’s hard for you, isn’t it? To be here in the house?”

“Not the way you think. I have no memory of this place so it’s just another, house, another city like all the ones we’ve run to my whole life.”

“Then what?”

“I don’t know anyone here, Cole, and there’s so much noise and chatter. My world before now was always calm. Just my mom and me, never getting close to hardly anyone else. We weren’t quiet bookworms or nuns, obviously, but compared to this place, it was an oasis.”

“And the memory flashes don’t help that chaos, I’m sure. The sound of the ocean helps?”

“Not just the ocean but yes. It’s a basic human response...repetitive sounds have a calming affect on the body’s natural physical and chemical reactions.”

“Fucking biochem. Priceless.”

He’d lightened the mood in an instant and I offered him a smile in thanks. “So, do you actually work or are you just a well paid babysitter?”

“I earn my keep,” he promised, “but I do have a commitment tonight actually.”

“Other than me?”

“Yes, Ms. Valentine, other than you.” He hesitated and tilted his head to the side. “But you can come if you like. Get you out of the house and into some repetitive rhythms anyway.”

“Repetitive rhythms?” I laughed. “Did you just offer me repetitive rhythms, Cole?”

“Sounds. Repetitive sounds.” He tapped my leg to get me to move. “Damn you have a filthy mind. Come on, you’re gonna fit right in.”

CHAPTER SIX

Finally. Something familiar. As soon as we stepped into the gun range I felt at ease. There were a dozen or so Valentine men in their fancy suits but, knowing I’d have a gun in my hand soon, it didn’t seem quite as threatening.

“Every few weeks we bring the guys out for some extra training. When it’s slow, we do it more frequently just to keep them in practice.”

“Wait…this is what you call slow?”

“It was slow until a random video got posted online and sent the entire family in crisis mode.”

“So I’m a crisis,” I frowned. “Good to know.”

“Ariana-”

“Damn, Cole, don’t be so sensitive. At least I’m a cute crisis, right?”

“Cute is not the word I would choose, no,” one of the guys said, smiling as he took his gear off the desk.

“Cute is like for puppies or something,” another interjected. “You’re more like-”

Cole coughed. “The heir of the house of Valentine and therefore-”

“A beautiful classy lady that we shall be honored to have with us this evening,” another said, nodding. “Got it.”

The group fell into laughter and Cole shook his head, turning back to me. “Have you ever shot before?”

I sent him a withering glance and waved him away from the desk. “Go be manly or whatever.”

He chuckled and nodded to the attendant. “Give the lady something to start-”

“HK VP9, please.”

“Alright, seems she’s got this under control.” Cole’s brows furrowed together and he gave a mock bow. “Always a surprise, aren’t you?”

I smiled. “I think I liked ‘intoxicating’ much better.”

“Dangerous. Don’t forget that part, Ariana,” he chuckled.

“For such a fearless man, you can be incredible cautious.”

“Serrano, stop flirting and get over here!”

“Saved,” I winked, “by the Valentine clan.”

He moved into the shooting bays as I finished gathering up my things. Rather than jump right in, I hung in the periphery, watching the men take their turns. Cole seemed so animated - teaching, directing and ordering them but always in a manner that kept them relaxed and joking. They included me in their jokes whenever he was occupied with someone and it made me feel like I actually belonged somewhere. I wondered if my mom had felt so comfortable with these men - or if their constant presence was what caused her to run.

Trying to shake off the melancholy I felt building, I took the next available bay. I’d been shooting for as long as I could remember and the gun felt weighty and familiar in my hand. Having something, anything really, familiar made my breaths calm and my head clear. I shot three of the four clips I’d been given before finally taking a break and motionning the range officer for a break. He retrieved my silhouette and placed it on the table with the others. I wasn’t surprised when all the men crowded around to see how I did. They were complimentary - even though my groupings weren’t nearly as tight as they should have been.

“Teresa taught you to shoot,” Cole guessed.

I nodded. “It was a weekly ritual no matter where we lived.”

He laid out one of his targets next to mine, a smile playing across his face. They were nearly identical - ten shots to the head, ten shots to the heart, ten shots to the abdomen...the pattern my mother had insisted upon. She’d obviously taught him the same benchmarks before we fled.

One of the men tapped our targets and then dropped a heavy arm around Cole’s shoulders. “Like brother, like sister, right?”

An instant crimson blush heated my face and I dropped my eyes away. Cole’s throaty chuckle made it even worse as the men continued their ribbing. He took one long stride toward me, snaked a hand behind my head and pulled me into a fierce, unbreakable kiss. He stepped away and hit the man in the center of his chest with three sharp jabs. “Not
my
sister, brother.”

The cat calls and whistles spread around the room and, before I lost my nerve, I slinked up to Cole and grabbed the front of his jeans. I tugged his body into mine and, stretching on my toes, I put my lips close to his ear. “Ten for ten out of 100, big brother.”

It was purposefully loud enough for everyone to hear and his head fell back in laughter. It was a challenge I knew he couldn’t ignore with all of them watching.

“Load and reset us, boys.”

“A Valentine challenge? Who’ll give me a $100 on Cole?”

“Nah, he’ll throw it for the her-”

The bets were flying, the testosterone building, and I couldn’t help but feel alive again. Their camaraderie was infectious.

“You good?”

“I’m fine, Cole.”

“They haven’t been like this in ages. So thank you for that.”

“Let’s see how much you thank me when I kick your ass.”

“We’re set.” The range officer extended his hand toward the bay. “Ladies first.”

“Hell, no.” I shook my head. “He doesn’t get the chance to miss on purpose just to let me win.”

“Cole never misses on purpose,” one called.

A snort from somewhere in the group. “Have you seen her legs?”

He gave me a quick wink before tugging his ear muffs back on. He stepped to the line and fired his ten shots in rapid succession without a single hesitation.

“99.”

“Damn, Cole. Not gonna leave her any wiggle room?”

To his credit, he did offer me an apologetic grin as he moved aside so I could take my turn. I took a deep breath and had cycled through nine slow shots before having to stop and readjust.

“Tied at 90 with one shot remaining for Ms. Valentine.”

I glared at the range officer. “But no pressure, right?”

I felt Cole warm behind me, his lips tracing down my neck, his fingers following a sexy trail down my spine. He gave a low chuckle that sent shivers down to my toes.

“Sorry, gotta preserve my reputation here.”

I tilted my head over my shoulder and wiggled my eyebrows. “Desperate much?”

He smiled, his lips returning to my throat, as the men started barking to distract me. I glanced up, locking my gaze with his...and then fired.

Cole’s eyes jerked to the target but I turned in his arms and gave him a quick kiss on the jaw.

“100,” I whispered, just as the range officer confirmed my hit.

Cole was rushed by the men, a rash of good natured insults assaulting him.

“All right, all right!” He finally held up his hands. “Get your gear and get over to the bar. Drinks are on Ms. Valentine tonight.”

I nodded at their appreciation as they gathered gear and headed out. The range officer handed me my target, already rolled into a tight cylinder.

Cole and his two shadows remained, straightening up the mess that had been left behind.

“Despite the shit I’m getting from the guys, I’ve gotta give it to you. That was pretty fucking impressive.”

“Guess that Serrano charm can’t match her Valentine skills tonight, Cole.”

“Fuck you, Tony,” he laughed. “But yes. It seems she is immune to my touch, doesn’t it?”

I tapped the target on Cole’s chest, offering him a tiny wink. “Memento?”

He paused, confused, and then unrolled the paper and spread it onto the table. My first nine were dead on but the last, the one where he’d distracted me, was so far off center it didn’t even hit the silhouette.

He frowned and sent me a quizzical glance. “90?”

“I bribed the range officer.”

It took a minute for them to understand and then they all began shaking with laughter.

“Now that,” he grinned, draping his arm over my shoulders, “was the move of a true fucking Valentine.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

While my jeans and tank top fit in at the gun range, I was totally out of place at the “bar”. To me, a bar was a tiki hut with a sand floor where tourists gathered in front for fluorescent drinks while the rest of us bought whiskey out of a side window. For the Valentine men, bar apparently meant the high rollers VIP lounge at the nearby casino. No one seemed to care about my attire except me and, after making friends with the bartender, I took several drinks in quick succession to stop from caring myself.

Cole and his musketeers had watched me on the dance floor for over an hour before either deciding I was safe enough, or getting bored of my twirling. They retreated to a quiet table in the corner and starting holding court as snappy looking men and scantily clad women paraded to them. For some reason, it absolutely infuriated me and I moved beyond the safety of the VIP Lounge to the throbbing main club. Here, everything was wilder, faster, and much more risque. Trying to forget everything, I pretended to be someone else and flung myself in the hardest, darkest center of it.

A half hour later, as I was fighting a really cocky but well dressed man in the middle of the floor, a soft tug at my elbow broke us apart and began leading me back to the VIP Lounge. Apparently, my escape was acceptable but fighting the clientele was forbidden. I didn’t know the man leading me which was terrifying, but at least I knew he was leading me to safety which was what I needed more than anything. My emotions began to skitter out of control and I tried to pull myself together.

“Did you get lost, Ariana?” Cole asked, without looking my direction.