Untamed (Vampire Awakenings, Book 3) (21 page)

Emma was just coming around the breakfast bar
when he pulled the door open. His muffled curse, and the abrupt
stiffening of his shoulders should have prepared her, but she
wasn't at all prepared for the spectacle of the dead cat on the
stoop. Emma's stomach turned at the unnatural angle of the poor
animal's neck. Her mind still wasn't comprehending what it was
seeing, or why the cat was there, until Ethan bent to examine it.
With his body out of the way, her eyes were drawn to the large red
slut
scrawled across the blue
door.

It felt like her mind was wading through
quicksand as it tried to process everything that she was seeing.
Then she spotted the paper that Ethan was pulling away from the
cat. "Ethan..."

"Stay back Emma." She barely heard him but
there was something about the tone of his voice that made her
freeze in place.

His upper lip curled into a sneer, he went to
crumple up the paper but she stopped him. "I want to read it."

He glanced at her over his shoulder. "I'm not
so sure that you do."

Emma threw her shoulders back and stretched
out her hand. "I'm not backing down from anything he does."

Ethan glanced at the paper and the dead cat
before reluctantly handing her the note. Emma hated the shaking in
her hand but she couldn't stop it as she took the paper from him
and unfolded it slowly. She recognized Tristan's hastily scrawled
writing immediately.
You're still mine, no
matter who you fuck. Next time it will be his body on your
doorstep. I'm watching you.

Emma's stomach twisted, it took all she had
not to throw the meager contents of her breakfast up. She'd known
that Tristan wasn't right in the head, that there was something
sinister within him, but she had never expected this. That poor
cat. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she took in the broken body
of the innocent animal. At the same time rage swelled up within her
but she wasn't sure if she was more infuriated, saddened, or
terrified right now.

Ethan rose and took a step toward her but she
held up her hand to ward him off. "You should stay away... He's
not... He can see..." she choked out as her gaze went over his
shoulder to the door beyond him.

"I don't care," Ethan said and wrapped his
arms around her.

Her hands flattened against his chest as she
tried to push him away but he refused to let her go. Despite her
good intentions to keep him away, she found her fingers curling
into his shirt and pulling him closer. "You should be running from
here, you should be getting as far from this insanity as you can.
You're in danger..."

"No I'm not," he said forcefully. "And I am
not going
anywhere
. No matter what
happens I am staying by your side Emma."

"Ethan he's obviously unstable, look at the
cat." She took a shuddery breath as she fought not to completely
fall apart. "We should call the police."

His hands flattened on her back as he pressed
her more firmly against him. "There's no proof that he did any of
this Emma, I know you thought you saw him that day but we don't
know where he is, or where to start looking for him. There's not
much that the police can do."

She frowned at his words. "But they can start
looking for him. With his prior history if they can find him on the
island than they may be able to do something."

Ethan's mind spun as he tried to come up with
some way to keep her from going to the police. It was the normal
thing to do, it was the
human
reaction to something like this, but the last thing he wanted was
human interference. He was determined to find this man and seek out
his own revenge. He'd been trying for years to keep his murderous
impulses restrained but he was willing to let the monster inside of
him feast on the bastard tormenting her like this. But if humans
were involved, and Tristan went missing, they might look to
him.

"And if I don't report this now and it
escalates they'll question why I waited," she continued.

None of the reasons that ran through his head
sounded like a plausible excuse for her not to go to the police
without sounding suspicious or unsupportive. He'd just have to make
sure that Tristan's body was never found. "Ok, I'll call them. Why
don't you sit down and try to relax a little," he said as he led
her over to the couch. "Do you want me to get you anything?"

Emma shook her head as she sat numbly on the
couch. She realized she was still holding the crumpled note and
dropped it on the table as if it had burned her.

***

By the time the police left Emma felt
completely drained, another shower and a nap sounded like two of
the most pleasant options in the world to her. Ethan was in the
kitchen when she emerged from the shower, the delicious scent of
grilled cheese drifted to her and though sleep had been her next
goal, comfort food seemed much more preferable right now.

She settled onto a stool at the breakfast bar
as he flipped one of the sandwiches in the pan. "I scrubbed the
front door," he told her.

A pang stabbed her heart and some of her
appetite dwindled away. "Thank you."

"The police will find him, it's not that big
of an island," he said reassuringly.

Emma hoped so; they had at least seemed
concerned about the situation, competent, and they had promised to
keep an eye out for Tristan. Ethan placed a plate with two
sandwiches on it before her. Resting his arms on the counter he
bent down to look her in the eye. "We're going to get through
this," he told her. "Now eat."

Emma picked up one of the sandwiches and
began to peel the crust from it. "Thank you, for everything. I
think most people would have run screaming for the hills at a dead
cat on a doorstep and the knowledge of a psycho ex."

"Yeah well I've got a lot of crazy things in
my life too."

"Like what?"

Ethan took a deep breath and watched as her
small fingers deftly peeled the last of the crust from the
sandwich. "Like nine over protective and extremely nosey siblings
and a crazy house I share with some of them. Believe me it's rarely
quiet and they're always into one thing or another. My parents are
so in love that at times it's sickening and their crazy friends
from college also stay on the property with us, along with my
brother-in-law, when he and Isabelle aren't traveling."

"Your parent's college friends live with you
too?" she asked in disbelief.

Ethan had never found it odd that The
Stooge's had stayed with them over the years, but he could see how
it would be odd to an outsider. To a human. "They never really grew
up," he said with a forced smile. "I guess we should have called
them The Lost Boys instead of The Stooges."

"They never got married?"

"The Stooges?" Ethan snorted. "No. Believe
me, when you meet them you'll understand why."

Emma paused in the middle of biting into her
sandwich to look at him.
When she met
them
, a shiver of delight went through her at his words
and the unspoken promise behind them. "Why do you call them The
Stooges?"

He smiled as he rested his elbows on the
counter before her. "Yet another thing you'll understand when you
meet them."

She grinned back at him and took a bite of
her sandwich. Her smile faded away as her thoughts returned to the
events of the day. "Your life may be chaotic but there were no dead
things being left on your front porch."

One day she would understand that there were
plenty of dead things and blood in his life, but she had enough
going on without dumping even more horror into her lap right now.
He would probably have to do it sooner rather than later from what
he'd heard about the beginning of his parent's relationship, and
what he'd witnessed with Isabelle and Stefan, but right now all he
cared about was keeping her safe.

She finished off the first sandwich and began
to methodically peel the crust from the next one. "No dead cats at
least," he said.

"That's always a bonus."

When she was done with the second sandwich,
she began to pick at the crust on her plate. "You pull the crust
off just to eat it?"

Her forehead furrowed as she glanced down at
the plate. "I never really thought about it, it's just something
I've always done. I guess it is kind of weird."

"Not at all," he assured her as he leaned
forward to kiss her. "Do you want another one?"

She thought about it for a second before
shaking her head. "No, I'm good."

The door opened and she turned to watch as
Jill and Mandy entered the house. "Why is there a bucket of water
and a sponge outside?" Jill's eyes were riveted on something Emma
couldn't see as she asked the question.

Emma wasn't ready to deal with their concern
yet, but she knew she had to. "I forgot about those," Ethan said as
he walked around the counter toward them.

Grabbing the plate full of remaining crust,
Emma made her way over to the trashcan and dumped them inside. She
heard Ethan talking with her friends but she couldn't make out what
they were saying. When Mandy and Jill appeared on the other side of
the breakfast bar she knew they'd already been given the rundown on
what had happened. Mandy looked as if she was trying not to vomit
and Jill was about three shades paler than she had been
yesterday.

"Are you ok?" Jill demanded.

Emma didn't know how to answer that question.
"Of course she's not ok. I swear Emma if I see that asshole I'm
going to kill him!" Mandy declared as she stormed around the
counter and hurried over to her. Emma was consumed by the urge to
cry as Mandy and then Jill threw their arms around her and huddled
close. "Don't worry hon, we're going to keep you safe. That piece
of shit won't dare come around the three of us."

Ethan cleared his throat from the doorway.
"Ok four of us," Mandy amended.

The warmth and security of her friend's arms
helped to ease her anguish even further. She wiped at her eyes as
she stepped away from their embrace. "Thanks guys, but I think it
would be best if you stayed away from him. He's even crazier than
he used to be. I don't understand this," she said with a shake of
her head.

"They say people like him escalate Emma, no
one can understand why, but the police will catch him," Jill
brushed the hair back from her face in an attempt to calm her
further.

"I hope so. That poor cat..." Emma shuddered
and hugged herself. "Tristan's completely lost it."

Mandy and Jill were unable to keep their
uneasiness hidden from her as they exchanged a look. "We
will
get through this," Mandy
promised. "Maybe we should go home early."

Panic shot through her at the thought and her
gaze flew to Ethan. His jaw clenched, he folded his arms over his
chest but he didn't say anything. The thought had already crossed
her mind that she should leave, Tristan would follow her, she was
certain of that, but she would be away from her friends and they
would be safer.

"Maybe
I
should just go," she suggested.

"Absolutely not!" Jill said vehemently.
"We're not going to let you travel all that way alone with that
douchebag running around. If you go we all go."

"Jill..."

"No arguments," Mandy interrupted. "Jill is
right."

"If you would like to go, I will go with
you," Ethan said. Jill and Mandy glanced at her in surprise but
their surprise was nothing compared to hers. "I'll make sure you
stay safe. No one will harm you Emma, not while I'm around."

"Your brothers are coming Ethan, your family
is here," she said.

"They'll understand. You're my biggest
concern right now."

If she hadn't already been falling in love
with him, those words would have started the plunge. As it was, she
realized he had just pushed her completely over the edge. How was
it possible she'd only known him for such a short time and yet he
had taken possession of her heart in a way that no other man ever
had? It seemed too good to be true and she supposed she should be
leery of that, but she simply couldn't be when he was saying things
like that and staying by her side when others would have left.

Tristan had shown her just how awful a
relationship could be, and he was continuing to show her that now,
but with Ethan she saw just how fantastic one could be. What it
could be like to trust someone and have them raise her up instead
of trying to tear her down. Her heart continued to swell with love
and she was beginning to feel like an idiot for just standing there
staring at him.

"Awww," Jill said so quietly that Emma barely
heard her.

"I think
I
might be falling in love with the guy," Mandy said in a low
whisper.

Emma released them and walked over to him.
She slid her arms around his waist and rested her head against his
chest. "I'm not going to run," she said. "It will only give him
satisfaction and he'll follow me. We're here to have fun and we're
going to try and have it. The police know, they'll be looking for
him, I'll be no safer in the states than here."

Relief filled Ethan as he held her against
him. He would have an easier time keeping her safe as long as they
were on this island. He may not know exactly where Tristan was but
he'd be able to figure that out while they were still here.

Emma leaned against Ethan's side as they
walked along the beach back to the house. The warm air caressed her
skin and she couldn't rid herself of the goofy smile on her face.
It had taken a lot of prodding for them to get her out the house,
but she'd finally relented to Ethan, Jill, and Mandy's insistence
that she had to at least try to keep having fun.