Alone (23 page)

C
onfusion clouded Officer Bently’s
eyes.

“
So, do you still love him?”
he asked. “Do you still love him enough to cover for
him?”

Serenity shook her head, her
eyes wide. Had this man listened to nothing she’d said? She
wanted
him to
understand; understand how it felt to have your emotions ripped
from one side to the other, to spend your life wondering where the
next fist was coming from.

“
I
hated
him!” she said. “As you pointed out, Jackson used
to get his rocks off by beating the shit out of me. One time, he
dragged me out of the shower by the hair and beat me with the
shower head until I passed out. I woke up naked and freezing on the
bathroom floor. In so much pain, I had to drag myself to the
bedroom. I couldn’t even get on the bed, so I just lay on the floor
with a towel over me, trying to stay warm until Jackson came home.
When he finally rolled back from the bar, I asked him to help me
and he laughed. He told me if I behaved like a dog, I should sleep
on the floor like one.”

“
I’m sorry,” Bently told her,
unable to meet her eye.

“
Do you know what really got to
me?”

He
shook his head.

“
To this day, I have absolutely
no idea what I did to deserve that beating. I wracked my brains for
weeks wondering if I’d left the breakfast dishes out or if I hadn’t
cleaned the floor well enough. I was so paranoid, whatever cleaning
I did, I checked, and checked, and checked it again to make sure I
had done the job right. I didn’t question my husband’s state of
mind to beat me as he did; I questioned my own ability to do the
God-damned cleaning!”

She pressed her lips together, realizing
tears were perilously close. She had promised herself she wasn’t
going to shed another tear for that man and she meant
it.

Serenity sniffed and rubbed her hand
across her face. “I guess what I’m trying to say is until you’ve
been in that situation yourself, you’ve no way of knowing how
you’re going to react when you finally think it might have
ended.”

“
You’re right. I’m sorry,”
he said again.

“
I should probably tell you
something else.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“
I’m not staying in this house at
the moment. I needed to get away so I’m staying at a hotel for a
couple of nights. It’s not far, so you don’t need to think I’ve run
off.”

Officer Bently nodded. “Okay. You’re not
under arrest, so you have the right to do what you want. But I’m
glad you told me. What hotel are you staying at?”

She considered lying to him, but then
realized it was pointless. “The Hilton, near the airport. I’ll only
stay a couple of nights. This place has too many
memories.”

“
I understand.”

Not saying anything else,
she
reached
across and pressed the ‘on’ button for the PC. The screen flashed
to life and she typed in the password.

“
Knock yourself out,” she
said, “but I’m warning you, it won’t be pleasant.”

Chapter Eighteen

Officer Bently noted down
a
number of
different login ID’s and told Serenity he would get back to her if
he had any more information. Apparently, Jackson had offered to
meet a number of women he’d met in various chat rooms. According to
Bently, he’d probably done exactly that and was now staying with
one of them. He thought he may be able to run traces on the ID’s
and get names and addresses.

Serenity almost felt bad about
him wasting his time. The police officer seemed genuine and
concerned about her. However, the relief that he wasn’t chasing
her
far
outweighed any guilt she experienced, so she kept her mouth
shut.

H
e handed her his card on the way
out.

“
If you need anything,” he
said, “anything at all, please call. You don’t have to go through
this alone, Serenity.”

She reached out to take the card. He held
on for a moment longer, staring into her eyes, before he let go.
She thought he was about to say something else, but he dropped his
hand and gave her a brief nod before turning away.

Serenity slipped the card into the
back pocket of her jeans.

She was glad he had finally gone and she
could get back to the hotel. She had been aching for Sebastian all
day and hoped their reunion wouldn’t be marred by last night’s
fight. Each time she remembered, her stomach dropped. Trying to
force him into something he clearly wasn’t ready for had been
stupid, especially catching him at such a special, amazing moment.
Serenity wished she could change things and remember last night for
his tenderness and the words he’d uttered over and over, and not
for what she’d tried to make him do.

Sebastian being angry with her didn’t
change what she wanted; to be a part of what he was. She’d had
enough of this life—it brought her nothing but pain. Maybe she was
being utterly selfish, but Serenity didn’t care. It was time she
started thinking about herself, she’d never had the luxury
before.

As dusk fell, Sebastian
walked
into
the hotel room.

A smile broke out on Serenity’s face
and she rose from the couch to greet him.

He lowered his face to hers and kissed her
on the mouth, deep and sweet. She melted against him but he pulled
away.

“
I have something for you,”
he said holding out her necklace. Thick leather gloves covered his
hands.

“
My ‘Serenity’ necklace!” she
exclaimed, taking the jewelry from him. “Where did you find
it?”

He winced. “You don’t want to
know.”

“
I thought I’d lost
it.”

She reached around her throat to hook the
necklace together and remembered the chain was broken. The memory
of how it broke flooded through her and Serenity’s cheeks flushed
with guilt. Instead of putting the chain on, she slipped the
necklace into her back pocket.

“
Thank you,” she said. “What’s
with the gloves?”

He grinned and tugged at the fingers,
pulling them off. “They’re not a fashion statement. Silver isn’t
good for my kind.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
It causes a bad reaction. The
metal burns and affects us in other ways, weakening us.”

“
I’ll make sure I keep any away
from you then.”

“
Don’t worry, it’s only if silver
comes into direct contact with skin.”

“
I won’t wear the necklace,” she
promised, reaching out, pulling him down to her. “I wouldn’t want
you to come up with any reason not to be near me.”

He sank down onto the couch and wrapped
his arms around her, holding her close.

“
I’m sorry about last night,” he
told her, his face buried in her hair.

“
You’ve got nothing to be
sorry for.”

He took her hand. Suddenly, she felt like
he was about to deliver bad news.

“
That’s not what I’m talking
about. I mean, I’m sorry for last night. I shouldn’t have allowed
things between us to go so far.” He shook his head, and stared down
at his lap.

She pulled her hands from his. “I don’t
believe you. Don’t tell me you wish we’d never slept
together?”

“
I... I just know we’re going to
find it even harder to say goodbye now.”

“
Don’t say that.”

He looked back up at her, his eyes
searching hers. “Do you think I am doing this because I want to?
Our sleeping together didn’t make the problem go away, Serenity.
Madeline is still out there. She won’t give up until she either
gets what she wants or she kills you.”

“
Or you do as I ask,” she
said.

“
Don’t do this again,” he shifted
slightly away from her, his body language showing what he was
trying to force his heart to do. “I won’t make you what I am. I
want you to have a happy, normal life—and you will never have that
with me.”

“
What if I do it?” she said
in desperation. “What if I kill myself? I’ll slit my wrists or take
a drug overdose. Will you turn me then?”

His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.
He squeezed hard, fury in his eyes. She tried to pull away, but he
held her in an iron grip and his icy skin burned her
flesh.

“
Don’t you even think
about it!” he said.
Yellow flames lit his eyes, the green melting away like the sun
setting into the ocean. “I won’t let you.”

She tilted her chin in
defiance.

“
You won’t let me?” she said,
scorn tainting her voice. “Is that what this is? Just another man
telling me what to do?”

He faltered. “I’m not...”

She spoke over him. “Because you have all
the power, don’t you?” Bitterness rose inside. “Just like all the
other men I’ve ever known.”

He dropped her wrist. An accusatory ring
of red slowly rose from her skin where he’d held her. “Is this how
it starts?” she held up her arm. “Is this how you become like the
rest? And I thought you were different.”

“
It was an accident,” he
whispered. “You know I would never hurt you on purpose.”

“
Yeah, an accident. Where
have I heard that one before?”

“
I’m not your husband,
Serenity. Or your step-father.”

Serenity didn’t speak. She stared at
the ground, tears of anger, hurt and disappointment welling in her
eyes, making the hotel room carpet tremble before her.

Sebastian spoke with a more
gentle tone. “
Is this how it’s always going to be for you, Serenity?
Always judging men on the same level as your husband or
step-father?” He sighed. “I always thought my life had been cursed
but I guess in a way, so is yours.”

She glanced up at him and a fat tear
spilled down one cheek. He reached out a hand, his cool finger
wiping away the hot fluid.

“
You need to understand what
you’re asking, Serenity. You need to forget whatever
romantic notions you
have about what I am and experience the cold, hard truth. I’ll show
you the truth about how vampire lives and you’ll never want to be
like me.”

“
Show me then,” she
whispered, her heart thumbing in her chest. He made sense but she
didn’t want to know, not really. She loved him and didn’t want to
see him as a monster.

“
Shut your eyes,” he told
her, “and keep them shut until I tell you.”

For once, she didn’t argue. His arms
wrapped around her body and he lifted her. Serenity couldn’t
continue to be angry at him—not when he might leave her at any
moment. She wanted to make the most of every second they spent
together and they didn’t have the luxury of time to
fight.

Serenity buried her face into the smooth,
cool skin of his neck; aware the number of times when she would be
able to feel his skin against her lips or smell his scent was
limited. Just the idea made her want to cry and she clung to him
tighter.

Unaware
of any doors opening or even moving
through the hotel, she suddenly found herself outside. The sounds
of traffic rushed past and the roar of a large airplane coming in
to land at the airport swept above. The noise was strangely
muffled—no, not muffled—more as though they were moving too fast
for the sounds to catch up.

W
ind swept past her ears, as though she was
riding in a car at high speed with all the windows down. It
battered against her, pulling her cheeks back, whipping her hair
from her face. She struggled to breathe; the air tore past so
fast.

Serenity nestled her face further into his
neck, hiding from the force of the wind. Her clothes rippled around
her body, her shirt clung to skin, the rest of the material
billowing out behind her.

The experience
was exhilarating and
terrifying.

Finally, they came to a halt and
Sebastian
placed her on her feet.

“
Wait now,” he told her. “Keep
your eyes shut and don’t say anything.”

G
rass crushed, wet and damp, beneath her
feet and the air finally stilled. They’d left the city far behind.
The scent of damp soil and wet leaves hung on the night air. She
had no idea where they were, but she didn’t dare open her eyes
until Sebastian told her to.

For a moment, she thought he had left her
and she was alone in the night. But then the air around her
changed, like an electrical charge in the atmosphere right before a
storm.

A
sickening
crunch
and a muffled scream broke the still of
the night.

Serenity cringed and whimpered, her
face buried in her hands.

She didn’t want to hear anymore, but the
sounds filled the night’s sky as though created by the earth
itself—a horrific grunting, sucking, like a wild animal feeding
from its prey.