Forbidden, Tempted Series (Book 1) (38 page)

He laughed, stepping back. She hated being out of his arms, but when he wasn’t touching her she didn’t feel quite so light-headed.

“No, really.” He held up his hands and then stuffed them into his pockets. “No funny business. I just want to hang out away from all this.” He gestured at the thick crowd.

“I don’t know.” Not that she didn’t want to. Because she did, but being alone with Cain wasn’t a smart idea. It was getting harder and harder to remember why she was even a virgin anymore, not to mention that more than half the time Cain still pissed her off and she wasn’t sure she was ready to get in such a messy relationship. Sex only seemed to make things worse, not better. Her mom had told her a million times only do it with the right one and for the right reasons.

Was Cain the right one?

“Hey.” He cocked his head, tipping her chin up to stare deep into her eyes. “We don’t have to go. I don’t want to do anything you don’t want to do. If you’re not comfortable, then we can stay.”

Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.

It was on the tip of her tongue to say yes, when Janet’s loud shrill broke the mood.

“Cain. Flint. Hurry up, come quick!” Janet waved her hand.

Frowning, Cain turned and Flint looked up. Frantically waving, Janet stood inside Abel’s trailer.

Cain was turning and running, Flint not a second behind him. They reached the trailer in no time.

“He’s passed out and pale.” Ja’s voice quivered as she ushered them inside the cramped trailer. “I was going to look for Adam, but I saw you. Help him.”

Cain knelt beside his brother, cradling his upper body in his arms.

Abel was breathing very shallowly. Flint’s heart clenched as she sank to her knees beside them. His skin was clammy, his muscles like limp noodles as his head flopped against Cain’s chest.

Hefting his brother in his arms, Cain stood and then gingerly placed Abel in the center of the bed.

“Is he going to be all right?” Janet swallowed hard. “What’s happening to him?”

Deep grooves marred Cain’s forehead as he peered at his brother. He was holding on to Abel’s wrist and standing completely still as he seemed to listen to something Flint couldn’t hear.

“He’s going to be okay.” He sighed with relief.

A sob broke from Janet’s chest and she covered her mouth with her hands.

Cain turned and nodded. “He’ll be fine, Ja. It’s part of the process.”

Flint studied the pale face of her good friend. He didn’t look good. His skin was more than just pale... it had bluish tint to it. His mouth was lax and hanging partly open. The dimple that she loved so much was nowhere in sight. He barely looked like the same guy.

She sat on a corner of the bed, crossing her legs and holding one of his hands.

Janet bit her lip. “The Russian twins came down with a bad cold and Adam told Rhi and me we gotta cover that show. I stopped by just to say hi. Are you sure he’s going to be okay?”

“Yeah.” Cain nodded with a slight smile for her benefit. “He’s a rager. Takes a lot more than this to kill us. Go do your show—I’ll stay with him until you get back.”

“Me too.” Flint nodded.

Scrubbing a hand down her face, Janet walked over to Abel’s side, planted a quick kiss on his forehead, then turned and left with a hiccupped sob.

The second Flint knew she was out of earshot, she held Abel’s hand and said, “So this is how you guys transition?”

Cain’s look was hard. “No.”

“But, I thought you said...”

“She’s a kanlungan—when they bond it’s for life. Janet’s already showing the signs. I wasn’t going to tell her the truth. She’d have lost it.”

Fear slithered like a cold snake down her spine. “Is he dying?”

He shook his head, but worry marred the lines around his mouth. “I don’t know what this is.”

“Should I go get Adam? Or your mom?”

He grabbed her hand, running his thumb along the webbing of her fingers. “Adam’s working the ring. Better to just leave him alone. Mom’s in costume setting up the next act. I’ll get her soon as he wakes up.”

Flint looked back at Abel. His skin didn’t look so wet anymore, or so blue. “How long will that take?”

“I can already hear his pulse beating stronger.”

“You can hear that?”

His answer was a clipped nod.

Flint brushed her fingers across Abel’s face, gently repeating his name, hoping her voice might help him wake up.

“It was them,” Cain said after a while.

“Hive?” She whispered, glancing quickly at Abel. “How do you know?”

“I just do. We don’t get sick.”

“Ever?”

“Never.”

“You think he saw one of them?”

Cain shrugged a shoulder, a helpless look on his face as he gazed at his brother, who appeared to be sleeping.

“How much longer until he learns the truth?”

He touched her cheek, and for the first time Flint sensed vulnerability in him. It even felt to her as if his hand shook a little.

“We all transition differently. Mine took years. His seems to be progressing faster.”

Brushing an errant lock of hair out of Abel’s eyes, Flint pressed her lips tight.

“Something is wrong,” Cain said.

“What? Here? Now?” She looked around tensed and ready for anything. An attack maybe? She didn’t know.

“No.” He shook his head. “But this whole situation is strange. That day she attacked.”

“Yeah?”

“I didn’t give it much thought.” He rubbed his jaw. “But she went at Abel first.”

There’d been a scream, an ungodly, unholy sound full of pain. She’d not had much time to think about that because then the drone had been on her.

“At first I thought Abel had just gotten in the way and her objective was to reach you, for God only knows what.”

“So you think they’re not really after me then?”

“Oh no.” His blue eyes burned. “They’re definitely after you. I still haven’t forgotten what that bug did at school today. They want you. But...”

“What if they’re after Abel? Why? It doesn’t make sense. He’s not one of you guys yet, and me... I’m nothing.”

He rubbed his thumb along the inside of her wrist, as if to say she was definitely
not
nothing.

Abel took that moment to moan. Loudly. His fingers clenched in hers.

“Feel like crap.” He groaned and grabbed his head with his free hand. Working his mouth from side to side, he made as if to sit up. “Dizzy.”

Flint gently pushed back on his shoulder. “Think you should lie down for a while. Let the vertigo pass.”

Narrowing an eye, he glanced at Cain. “What happened, dude?”

He shrugged. “You tell me. Janet walked in on you passed out on the floor.”

“Really?” He rubbed his head. “What time is it?”

Flint smoothed his hair back. “Little past eight.”

Swallowing hard, he nodded. “Last thing I remember is lying down and then I started to daydream...” Here he paused and looked at Flint significantly.

Cain cleared his throat.

Shrugging, Abel finished. “Got a bad headache and then I don’t remember anything after that.”

“What was your body doing?”

“Huh?” Abel looked confused at Cain’s question.

“Rapid heartbeat? Sweating? Chills?”

Again he acted like he was going to sit up, and Flint pressed her palm on his chest. “Stay still, Abel. You didn’t look good.”

“Well, I must not have looked that bad or you would have called an ambulance. I’m fine. Just have a bad headache. Need an aspirin.”

Cain stood and zipped up his black hoodie. “I’ll get Mom—she’s the one with all the meds.” Lifting a brow, he looked toward Flint.

“I’ll stay with Abel.” She rubbed the back of his hand.

Nodding, he left.

“Abel, you scared me.”

Holding her hand tighter, he pressed it hard to the spot above his heart. “Scared myself. Kind of freaky to wake up and not remember anything.” Warm brown eyes searched hers. “But I do remember one thing. I didn’t want to say it in front of Cain.”

She could have heard a pin drop, it was so quiet.

“Yeah?”

“I was dreaming about you.”

She swallowed hard.

“And then I dreamt about
her
.”

Ice spread through her veins. “Who?”

Oh man, had he somehow heard her and Cain? She mentally scrolled through what they’d said, trying to remember if they’d said too much.

“Flint, that woman called me a name before she attacked me.”

“What did she say?”

“Rager.”

“I
think he knows.” Flint grabbed Cain’s hand after they dropped Abel off at Layla’s.

Layla had crooned over her son, smothering him in kisses, and then walked over to her massive medicine cabinet. Cain hadn’t been joking when he’d said she had all the meds. A large gray metal cabinet standing in the corner of her bedroom was full to bursting with labeled glass jars. Some of them were obvious. Like pills. But a lot of it was looked herbal.

Leaves, twigs, some yellowish-looking pustule thingies that burped a kind of dingy-brown fog when the canister was disturbed.

Abel had seemed resigned to his fate, staring hard at Flint as she turned to leave. As if he’d wanted to say more but didn’t dare do it in front of anyone.

But why did he want to talk with her about it? Why not Adam, Layla? Or heck, even Janet?

They got back to Abel’s trailer, and Janet and Rhi were back. They all hugged each other, Janet sniffling the whole time.

“He’s fine, Ja.” Cain patted her back.

“I know. It’s just... it scared me. You know how it is for us?”

Flint glanced at Cain, who only frowned and dipped his head.

She was tired. Bone tired. Like there was no more energy left in her body, her legs were like rubber, and her knees wobbly. Dropping onto the edge of the bed, she hugged her knees to her chest. Cain sat next to her.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine. He’s fine. It’s not like anything happened. I’m just really tired.”

Squinting his eyes, he studied her. “When was the last time you ate?”

Now that he’d mentioned it, at the mall. Close to two hours ago. She never went that long without eating anymore.

“Okay, you like hamburgers?”

She nodded.

And jeez that took so much energy just to bob her head. Grabbing her forehead, she leaned against the head of the bed as Cain walked out.

She began kneading her stomach as a low ache started to crawl through her gut.

Rhiannon crawled toward her. “Hey, girl, you don’t look so hot. You’re looking pale and...” She touched the back of her hand to Flint’s forehead. “Yeah, pale. No fever. But dude, you look like you’re gonna hurl or something.”

Closing her eyes for just a second, she tried to ignore the need for a bucket and worked at swallowing and not overthinking the strange onset of chills and aches inching through her bones. A cold hand touched her neck.

“Flint,” Janet whispered, “were you bitten by a bug?”

The moment she said it, Flint became suddenly aware of the hard knots under her skin. The same spot the guard had attacked her. They’d gone away before, but now they were back and throbbing worse than ever. She hissed when a hot flare of pain washed down her body like a lightning arc.

“How long have you been feeling like this?” Rhi asked.

She shook her head. “Just now.”

“Humans take Tylenol, right?” Flint heard Rhiannon rummaging around. “Abel’s got to have some around here somewhere.”

Teeth clacking, Flint shook her head. “His mom has all the medicine.”

“No.” Rhi shoved a drawer shut. “She’s only got the hard stuff. Monster consumption only. That crap would kill you.”

“This is not good,” Janet muttered under her breath and Flint couldn’t help but agree.

Something had happened to Abel and now it seemed to be happening to her. Was he contagious? Had she caught something?

But the thoughts were fuzzy around all the pain, and all she could do was close her eyes and pray to pass out the way Abel had.

Rhiannon’s footsteps came back from the hallway. “Nothing in the bathroom.”

Janet looked up. “Have you looked under the bed?”

“The bed?” Rhi asked Janet as if the question were dumb. “Why would he keep Tylenol under the bed?”

“Because he’s a boy and they always throw crap under the bed.”

“Fine, whatever.”

Moving the sheets, she peered. Every jostle of the mattress hurt like she was an exposed nerve, and the tiniest breath of air brushing against her made her want to scream.

“What’s this?” Rhiannon’s voice sounded strained.

“What?” Janet asked and Flint cracked an eye open.

It was a doll-shaped thing. Actually, it sort of reminded her of a voodoo doll. Made of burlap and stitched haphazardly along the sides. No larger than the size of Rhiannon’s palm.

“What is this?” Rhi prodded it with her finger.

Just then the door opened. It was Adam.

His large frame filled the door, unholy fury burning in his swirling blue eyes. Still dressed in his ringmaster clothes, the bright red and gold jacket flared behind his booted legs. He should have looked ridiculous, but he didn’t.

“Where’d you get that?” he snapped.

Rhiannon shook her head. “I found it. Under Abel’s bed. Flint’s getting sick too.”

Adam’s hard glare rolled across Flint’s face.

She pinched her nose and blew through her teeth, beginning to feel marginally better. The terrible ache in her skull at least was now little more than a tender throbbing, and she noticed something she hadn’t before.

The room smelled like sour milk.

Curling her nose, she wiggled up on her elbows. “It reeks in here. I’m pretty sure they’ve been in his room.”

Adam stepped inside and snatched the doll from Rhi’s hand, shaking it at Flint. “Of course they have. Filthy, murdering bastards.”

Cain walked in next. Without stopping to glance at anyone, he walked to Flint’s side and sat beside her, wrapping her in his arms. His eyes were hard when he looked at Adam.

“What is that, Adam?”

Layla walked in a moment later, her eyes wide and staring at the group.

The trailer suddenly made Flint feel claustrophobic. She clung to Cain’s shirt while he ran his hand up and down her back.