Pure Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #3) (24 page)

Grabbing the phone from her pocket she
noticed she had missed another call from Harrison. Her eyes burned
as she read the text message that followed. She hated making him
angry, but she couldn’t call him. She knew the sound of his voice
would smash her resolve into a thousand pieces. Instead she was
going to keep on pretending that everything was normal and smash
her heart in the process. She quickly sent back a chipper reply
about being busy with Gabe and that she would call him in the
morning. Flipping the phone shut with a snap of self-loathing, she
slumped at the table with a weary sigh. The subway sandwich in
front of her was bursting with nutritious goodies and all Gemma
could do was grimace.

“Eat it.” Gabe pointed at her with a stern
finger. “You need the energy for tomorrow.”

She picked at the crumbs with her finger and
reluctantly gave in to the demand. Gabe slid into the booth
opposite her and devoured his food, trying to encourage her.

Eventually her plate sat empty. Pushing it
aside she turned to her father, ready for their last debrief before
getting some shut-eye.

“Now I know we spent the last twenty-four
hours going over this, but I want to cover all the details one more
time before bed. That way it’ll be fresh in your head while you
sleep.”

“So, I leave first thing in the morning,”
Gemma began.

“I think that’s best. You’ll be rested and
ready to move.” Gabe held his breath for a minute then released it
with a harsh sigh. “Are you sure you’re not trying to go too soon.
I mean these details are pretty sketchy at best. I’d really prefer
to go a little more in depth with this. I…”

“Dad.” Gemma placed her hand on his arm.
“Tomorrow. We don’t know how quickly Alistair and Penelope will
move once they get out of that room. I’m guessing they’re not still
in there, so we’re running on borrowed time as it is.”

Gabe sighed then closed his eyes. Reaching
for their collated page of notes, he placed it in front of Gemma.
She picked it up and studied the contents for the last time.

“So I arrive at this shopping mall at ten
pm.” She fished for the photo and gazed at the bright red lettering
adorning the entrance.

“Do you think you can visualize your way
there?”

“I’ve been studying these images all day.
I’ll be able to get there.”

“Once you arrive you need to find some
clothes and head for Redwood Highway, take back roads if you’re
confident you won’t get lost.” He placed the map in front of her
and she soaked in the directions, pulling it closer to her face to
make sure she didn’t miss any details. “Now the police were called
at 12:10 am when the neighbors heard gunshots, which means that the
Hart’s probably arrived around midnight, but they could have been
staking out the house from much earlier in the day, it’s impossible
to know. That’s why you’re getting there a couple of hours early.
It’ll give you plenty of time to explain things to Lena and get the
hell out of there before anyone sees you.”

Gemma nodded, feeling the enormity of the
task pressing down on her.

“But if things go wrong and your timing
somehow gets screwed up, you just get the baby out of there.”

“What about Mom?”

Gabe’s expression was pinched as he uttered
the words. “Getting yourself away from the Hart’s is more important
than anything else. If your Mom gets hurt in the process you have
to keep moving.”

He placed another sheet of paper in front of
her with a name and address clearly printed on it. Gemma picked it
up with icy fingers and memorized the details.

“You need to get the baby to this couple.
Explain everything to them. They’re not time spirits, but they can
be trusted. They’ll contact me and I’ll come and collect you from
there.”

“You know if I do pull this off, they may
still find us again or there might be others.”

“If we have to spend our life on the run then
so be it, but like you said last night, it’s better than having
Simeon dead and Harrison’s family in danger.”

“Not to mention Dom and Ruby.”

Gemma’s hand shook slightly as she placed the
paper on the pile of information she knew she’d spend the next few
hours reabsorbing. Her father’s fingers came to rest on her
own.

“You’re doing a brave thing. You know I
wouldn’t let you if I didn’t think it was the best option.”

She nodded.

“Are you sure not telling Harrison is the
right move?”

“Dad,” Gemma begged.

“He’ll understand. What you’re doing won’t
change the way he feels about you.”

“I’m leaving him! Don’t you think it’s better
that only one of us has to live with that knowledge?” Gemma blinked
rapidly, finding it unbelievable that she’d have any tears
left.

Gabe squeezed her arm. “Come on, kid, you
need to get some sleep.”

“You go ahead. I just want to check over
these notes one more time.”

Gabe kissed her forehead and settled down on
his bed, he had offered it to Gemma, but she couldn’t stomach the
idea of lying on the same mattress Simeon had. She was going to
take the couch.

Glancing at her father, she shot him one last
half smile before he turned over and rustled to get comfy. Five
minutes later his breathing fell into the steady rhythm of
sleep.

Forcing her mind to function, Gemma dove into
her mission. She wanted to be as prepared as possible. Taking her
time, she went over the details, studied the photos and revised her
plan of attack. By midnight she felt prepared. Straightening the
messy array on the table she piled the sheets neatly at the end and
found her fingers fidgeting with her necklace.

Closing her eyes, she pictured Harrison’s
face as he pinned it around her neck and felt his soft lips as he
nuzzled her collarbone. The urge to see him was intense and the
more she tried to will it away the more powerful it became. She
needed to feel his breath on her neck, she needed to feel his lips
on her skin, she needed to hear his whispered words of affection…
and she only had one more night to get it. Before she could stop
herself she was sneaking out the door and walking her bike down to
the road.

With a flick of her key and a snap of her
wrist she powered towards his house. One last goodbye before her
heart was gutted from her body.

Chapter
Thirty-Seven

St Augustine, Florida – 2011AD

Harrison tossed and turned. The sheets
tangled around his legs and he kicked at them until his bed became
a tousled mess of cotton confusion. Sitting up with a sigh, he
grabbed two handfuls of his hair and tried to argue his way out of
the paranoia that had been massacring his stomach all day. Sure,
Gemma’s texts had been sweet and happy, but he knew something was
wrong. The fact she had left the day before without saying goodbye
spoke volumes, but his mother had remained very nonplussed about
the whole thing. He knew she was lying, but no amount of badgering
was going to break her.

Then of course the family had arrived and
that had brought with it a fresh batch of problems that Harrison
was not in the mood to deal with. Rosie was bursting with questions
he couldn’t answer and his brothers were desperate to know every
facet of the fight he had been in. Bryan was reserved and quiet,
which made his mother antsy and none of it really mattered, because
all he could think about was Gemma.

Reaching for his phone, he scrolled through
his messages and re-read her texts from the day, scrounging for
something that might explain the gnawing sense of dread in his gut.
The last one from the evening popped onto his screen as he heard a
tapping on his window. Jerking up from the bed, he strode towards
the window and pulled back the curtain.

Gemma’s face was luminescent in the moonlight
and the look of delight dancing in her eyes when she saw him, made
his stomach settle in an instant.

“Hey.” He slid the window up and rested his
arms on the pane. “What are you doing here?” He reached for her
arm, wary of her perch on the edge of the sloping roof.

“I missed you today,” she whispered. “I just
had to see you.”

“Come in.” He was about to step back and pull
her with him, but she grabbed his arm.

“Let’s go somewhere.” Her eyes were deep with
longing as she nibbled her cheek. “Do you want to spend the night
with me?”

Harrison knew exactly what she was referring
to; the look on her face was enough to deduce her intentions. A
smile curved his lips. “Is that a trick question?”

She grinned back. “I’ll meet you downstairs
in a minute.”

He slid his window shut and raced to shove on
some pants and a sweater. His worries fled as he imagined what lay
in store for them. Creeping down the stairs, he made it out of the
house without waking a soul. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he
nibbled her earlobe as they made their way towards her favorite
spot.

The gates to the National Park were closed
for the night, so Gemma parked the bike out of sight and they made
their way on foot. It took them fifteen minutes to stumble and
giggle their way to the sand. Once they breached the trees the
moonlight created the soft glow they needed to see each other
clearly.

He spread out the blanket she had brought and
they both sat down nervously. Harrison wasn’t sure how to begin.
They had gotten pretty hot and heavy once in a while, but that was
never planned. He was still amazed they'd managed to stop
themselves from going all the way.

The urge to devour her on the spot was
tempting, but this was it... he wanted the moment to last. Taking
her long fingers in his, he kissed the tips one by one then gently
ran his hand up her arm to rest on the side of her neck.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” her whisper was so soft he nearly
missed it.

Taking his time, he leaned towards her and
let his lips linger on hers. Fire warmed each particle of his body
as he laid her back on the blanket and let himself get lost in the
moment. It wasn’t until her arms were wrapped tightly around him
that he noticed the desperation in her kiss. He lurched away from
her.

“What’s wrong?” Her eyes were wide with fear.
The same look Rosie got whenever she knew she was busted.

“I can’t do this, Gem.” He turned away from
her, feeling a mixture of wrath and grief.

“Harrison.” She slid her hand up his
back.

“You’re leaving me, aren’t you?” His head
turned at her silence and eventually his body followed. “How can I
make love to you, knowing it’s the last time I’ll ever get to do
it.”

Her skin paled as her eyes dropped to the
sand. “How did you know I was going back?”

“My gut told me,” he muttered darkly.

They sat in brooding silence for what seemed
too long. Eventually Gemma looked up with beseeching eyes.

“You told me once that loving someone is
about putting their happiness before your own. I can’t just sit
around and let them destroy your family.”

Reaching for her hands, Harrison gathered her
fingers and held them like a lifeline.

“We could run away together. They won’t be
able to find us. My family could move again.”

“What about Dom and Ruby… and Simeon?”

“Who cares about Simeon!” He loathed his
desperation, but couldn’t help himself.

“He was murdered, Harrison,” Gemma’s voice
was soft. “You can’t tell me you want to live with that, especially
when you know it can be stopped.”

He dropped her hands and turned away.

“I’m the only one who can fix this. I have to
make sure they don’t get me as a baby.”

“Meaning you’ll grow up with a different
life.” He couldn’t keep the bitterness from his voice.

“Please…”

“I love you, Gemma.” He turned back, touching
her cheek with gentle intimacy. “I want to marry you one day.”

Her eyes instantly filled and her face
crumpled with soul piercing agony.

“You think I want to leave you? You brought
me to life.” She placed her hand over his and squeezed his
knuckles. “But I can’t let them do this. Please try to
understand.”

“I do.” He wiped at her tears, hating that he
felt such rage at her departure, knowing it wasn’t going to help
her. “Gem…” he kissed her tears.

“I just want to be with you. Since the day I
first saw you, that’s all I’ve ever wanted. I can't say goodbye to
you, but I needed to see you again. I had to... I couldn't...”

The tears were coursing down her cheeks so
fast he couldn’t keep up with the flow. Wiping at the streams with
his thumbs, he pulled her face towards his and reached for the fire
one last time.

With fervent kisses they both yielded to the
flames, their souls disintegrating to ash as they said their final
farewell.

Chapter
Thirty-Eight

Anastasia National Park, Florida – 2011AD

Dawn softened the hues of night, turning the
sky amber. Gemma opened her eyes and took in the patient lap of the
ocean. With a tentative ear she listened to the birds call and
couldn’t keep a smile from her lips.

They hadn’t made love in the end. Neither of
them could do it. Knowing it was their last time together they
stuck with the familiar and kissed until their bodies were searing
with hot flames. Every time they got carried away, Harrison would
pull back and tenderly touch her face. He'd open his mouth to say
something then change his mind and the kissing would begin all over
again.

Eventually Harrison turned her onto her side
and snuggled in behind her. With his arms wrapped around her, she
dozed in euphoria for the rest of the night.

Running her fingers lightly over the arm
wrapped around her waist, she felt the warmth of the night war with
the cold chill of departure. Her body stiffened with the thought
and that’s what woke him. They didn’t say anything to each other;
they couldn’t. So instead they lay in locked silence waiting for
one of them to have the strength to end it.