Savage, page 15
part #1 of The Healer Series
Rhett laughs at something Rachel says, his green eyes lighting up as he does, and my heart beats faster. He’s a beautiful man and laughter stitched across his face is a sight to behold. When Rachel laughs and places her small hand on his arm as she speaks, I close my eyes and turn around. She likes him. I can tell. I think he likes her, too, judging by how closely they are sitting to each other. It’s bittersweet to witness it. He was mine once, and I let him go. I couldn’t be the woman he needed, and he couldn’t let me be the woman I needed to be. Even with that in mind, I still care about him. Shouldn’t you hate your ex? I don’t. I love him, and a part of me always will.
Regardless of my feelings for him, he’s not Daniel. The love I feel for Rhett is not what I feel for Daniel. Daniel is . . . everything. I know this, it’s why I chose him, but I don’t understand why I can’t let go of Rhett completely. They say the opposite of love isn’t hate—it’s indifference. This is true. Hate in itself is a form of passion, just as love is. Only when you feel neither can you know you’ve truly let go of someone.
When I hear Rachel laugh loudly again, I speed away, heading toward the ravine. Maybe she can make him happy. He deserves it, but I know deep down, if she hurts him, I’ll kill her.
Wait for the storm to calm, Nick said. I take a long drag of my cigarette. I’m not the kind of guy that just sits on his ass and waits for things. I’m a hands-on kind of guy. I get shit done. That’s who I am. That’s why I’m in charge. All it’s taken is a tiny brunette with a tight ass and a great smile to completely rock my world off its axis. Here I am, sitting like a fucking pussy, waiting for her to come back and tell me she forgives me.
Hell has certainly frozen over.
When she left, I watched her and Whit head toward the shed we’re keeping Whitlow in. Now, five minutes later, Whit is heading toward me. The sun has just set below the tree line in the distance and dusk is here. I’m leaning on the doorframe of our room when he reaches me, his mouth in a hard line. Clearly, he’s pissed about something.
“Why’d you bring Whitlow here?” he asks without preamble.
Straightening to my full height, I run a hand through my hair. By the tone of his voice, I know he disagrees with my decision. I don’t owe him any explanation, but I’ll give him one. “I thought after everything he put her through, she deserved to kill him,” I answer honestly.
“If she were going to kill him, she’d have done it by now, don’t you think?” His tone is a bit hostile, and I smirk. He’s pissed at me. He’s questioning my actions in regard to his sister.
“Maybe,” I answer, reminding myself to keep my cool. “In case you haven’t noticed, she’s a little off lately.”
“Oh, I’ve noticed,” he growls. “And to top it off, she’s pregnant.” His gaze meets mine in a challenge, but what he’s challenging, I’m not sure. Certainly not a physical fight because that would be like . . . a toddler challenging Ali. It would be stupid.
“Yeah. Looks like you’ll be an uncle again,” I add, letting my gaze move past him in search of Kitten.
He closes his eyes and shakes his head. “There was a plan for her. Now that she’s unstable and pregnant, the plan is shot all to hell.”
My curiosity is officially peaked. I step toward him, brow furrowed. A plan? “What the fuck are you talking about?”
He shakes his head and sighs loudly. “Nothing. Forget I said anything.” He takes a step off the stoop, but now he’s got my mind going. Jerking Whit up by his collar, I drag him in the room, kicking the door closed behind us. Staring into his eyes, I feel the hook, and I connect to spell him.
“You’re going to tell me what the fuck you’re talking about. I want every detail.”
I stand as he sits on the bed and begins to tell me a twisted story of a woman who used her niece and nephews to plot revenge. As he tells the story, he clarifies Lucy did her best to give them some semblance of a normal life. She did love them, but she always planned to set them on a course where they would right the wrongs of the past by seeking a death for a death. Their whole lives, it was made clear, Aldo was the powerful one; of course she was. The twins’ shared gift is limited, but their role was always to watch out for her, keep her safe, and keep her motivated.
“All our lives, we were told she was the one. She was the one that would make it right.”
I blink and at him in silence for a brief moment, trying to understand what he’s saying. “I’m not following you.”
He shakes his head in frustration. “She’s the strongest of the three of us. Always has been. Lucy knew where her path would lead, and Hudson and myself were meant to support her, encourage her to do what needed to be done.”
“And what was that?”
“Kill everyone that ever hurt our family.”
When they insisted on staying in one place their senior year, Lucy agreed, fearing they’d run away, or rebel, if she didn’t give them this. Whit didn’t know what her plan was at the time, or even that she had a plan, but there had been a plan which was foiled when Thomas came into the picture. With his arrival, and the triplets discovering vampires existed, things were set into motion early. Lucy hadn’t anticipated Aldo falling in love, and she knew Thomas threatened to ruin what Lucy had planned for her.
“The morning of our prom, she pulled me aside and told me something bad was about to happen, and I needed to be strong for Aldo and Hudson. She said Aldo had a path she must stay on because it was her destiny, someone was coming to help us, and we’d be okay.”
“Who?” I bark. “Who was coming to help you?”
“Sarah,” he says. “She didn’t tell me who was coming, but sure enough, after the fire, Sarah was there and took us somewhere safe. I’m sure Lucy didn’t anticipate Aldo going into a self-induced coma and hiding in her dreams for a year, nor did she anticipate Rhett coming into the picture and Aldo falling for him.”
My head feels like it’s about to explode I’m so angry, but I cross my arms and remain planted to the ground as he continues. Lucy told Whit Aldo was driven by her love for her family, especially her brothers. They were her backbone. Although Hudson wasn’t aware of all the scheming going on, it was important Whit and he be there for her, supporting her decisions. She told Whit, Aldo would leave for a long time because there was something she had to discover about herself, her true self.
“So you didn’t question any of this shit?” I ask in disbelief. “It sounds fucking insane.”
“Lucy always protected us, Daniel. Always. For her to tell me this, to tell me what she wanted to happen, I knew it was important. If she were to put Aldo in danger, there was a good reason.”
“You think revenge is a good reason to send a weak eighteen-year-old girl into the world of vampires?”
He runs a hand through his hair. “I asked questions, Daniel!” he snaps. “But she said I’d get answers in due time. And I have. More than I fucking wanted.”
“You do know your crazy fucking aunt could’ve gotten her killed?”
“Did she, or did she not, take down the vampire nest responsible for my mother’s death?” he asks pointedly, as if this one fact not only justifies, but validates his part in Lucy’s plan.
I can’t help it. I laugh in disbelief. “Oh yeah,” I snort, jerking him up by the collar. “At what expense, Whit?” I growl. “I had to throw away fucking centuries of recon work and plans of a rebellion so she could do it. So I could keep her from getting fucking killed!” I fling him back on the bed and punch the wall, crumpling the drywall. “She had a lot of help!”
“You’re in the way,” he says calmly. “Just like Thomas and Rhett. Lucy took care of getting rid of Thomas, I pushed her from Rhett to keep her on course, but you . . . you must leave her.”
Whipping around, I stomp toward him, my fists clenched at my sides, ready to pound his skull in. “What do you mean she got rid of Thomas?”
“Sarah,” he shrugged. “She killed Lucy and burned the house down. Made it look like vampires had found us.”
All the air in my lungs has been sucked out of me. Lucy killed herself to move Aldo? If Aldo thought vampires killed her aunt, she would stay on course. She made it look like Thomas was the one who turned them in. Lucas’s part was only coincidence. Maybe he was planning to turn Aldo in and take her to the nest, but he wasn’t the one who turned the entire family in, like kitten thought. No one turned them in. It was all a fucking illusion.
“And Rhett?” I ask, still processing this mind fuck of information.
“Doesn’t know anything about it. He was very protective, and didn’t want her healing and so on. I told her she was meant for more. That he was a good guy, but not the right guy for her. She left not long after that.”
“So you mean to tell me you and Sarah have been in on this together. You’re fucking the woman that murdered your aunt?”
He flies off the bed and gets in my face. “Lucy wanted it! It was her choice!”
I shove him back so hard his teeth clink when he hits the bed. “And what about Aldo’s choice?” I boom. “Where the fuck was her choice in all this?”
“Revenge was her choice! She chose it!”
“Yeah because she was manipulated by your crazy aunt and fucked up girlfriend!” Whit moves to roll off the bed, aiming toward the door, but I grab him and toss him on the floor, kicking him hard in the gut. He groans in pain, clutching his stomach. My insides ache to destroy him, beat him to a bloody pulp, but I can’t. Kitten cannot know about this. I hate to lie to her, but even if she wasn’t going through a pile of shit as it is, this would devastate her. It devastates me because I love her, and I know how much her family means to her. Dragging Whit up, I look into his eyes and connect to him again.
“You will keep your mouth shut, and not instruct or advise your sister on anything, ever again. Do I make myself clear?”
He nods, and I release him.
Taking a few calming breaths I shake my head. “Ya know, I’m the one that helped her kill that nest of vampires. I gotta know, why do you want me to leave her?”
“Because she’s in love with you. Love is her kryptonite. It makes her weak.”
“That’s funny. A moment ago you were telling me how Lucy knew her love for her family would be her greatest motivator; the thing that strengthened her.” I shake my head. “Well, lucky for you, I’m strong enough for the both of us.”
“Are you going to kill the doctor, or am I?” he asks. “He’s messing with her head.”
I snort and take a deep breath. “It takes strength to kill someone, Whit. Even if they deserve it. Right now, I’d rather kill you more than him. At least she knew he was hurting her; she could see and feel the knife as he stuck it in her. But with you, she has no idea her brother, who she fucking adores, has been playing her like a goddamn fiddle. She thinks you love her.”
“I do love her!” he shouts. “Don’t you fucking say differently! I would do anything for her!”
“Except not use her love for her family as a tool to manipulate her,” I shout back. “Yeah,” I nod a few times. “That’s real fucking love. Now get the fuck out of here before I kill you, you piece of shit.” I push him off the small porch and watch him stumble toward the house. My eyes catch Aldo and Thomas standing to the far side of the farm house, looking at the kids as Lila and Hudson feed them dinner. She’s smiling as she stares up at him.
I shake my head, hating the fact she’s talking to him when I’m over here going fucking nuts. Then I look to the shed where we’re keeping Whitlow, and see Sarah staring right back at me. With a smile of disdain, I shut the door to our room and trek my way over to her.
She watches me approach, her arms crossed and mouth in a hard flat line. She was probably a beautiful woman once, maybe before she was changed. Now, she’s cold and almost void. There’s no softness to her at all.
When I’m about three feet away, I stop and we stare at one another. “Daniel,” she manages, but the way she says my name sounds more like what the fuck do you want? I chuckle and scratch my beard.
“You know, from the day I met you, I haven’t liked you. There’s just something about you I never trusted.”
She tilts her head, her lips curving slightly. “Is that so?”
“Yeah,” I answer. “And now, thanks to your boyfriend, I know why I felt that way.” Her eyes widen for the briefest second before she recomposes herself. “Yeah. He told me. How Lucy and you have been plotting, manipulating Aldo. What was the plan, Sarah? I imagine this wasn’t it. So tell me, what is it you and Lucy wanted Aldo to do?”
She turns her gaze from mine and stares straight ahead. “I haven’t done anything except try to help them, Daniel,” she answers.
“You killed Lucy,” I say, and her head whips to me, brows drawn. “Yeah, Whit told me.”
“That’s what he thinks? That I killed her?” she asks. Now I’m wondering if Whit was wrong, or if she’s just a really good actress. You can’t trust a fucking word coming out of her mouth, so I decide she’s messing with me.
“Yep. Said Lucy planned to keep Aldo on the straight-and-narrow path of her plans, and used her own life as the ultimate motivator. She framed Lucas and Thomas for it, too . . . with your help.”
She glares at me. “I didn’t kill Lucy,” she steps toward me. “She contacted me and told me they were in danger. By the time I got there, the house was already burning down.”
“You told Aldo it came through contacts you had on the inside that a set of triplets had been found.”
She steps back and shakes her head. “Should I have told them what really happened, Daniel?” she asks. “Told them about what Lucy really did and why?”
“The day she died she told him something bad was about to happen, and someone was coming to help them. Why would she tell Whit that?”
“Because she knew I was coming, and that I would help them!” she sneers, her blue eyes offended. “Yes, I lied about a few details, but it was only to keep her from turning into a complete fucking basket case, Daniel. I mean, she did lapse into a self-induced coma for a year because she was so devastated over the loss of Lucy. Do you think it would have been wise to tell her Lucy offed herself?”
I want to believe she’s telling the truth, but I don’t. There’s only one way to find out. Seizing her by the neck, I slam her into the shed wall and link my mind to hers.
“Did you kill Lucy?” I ask, to which she shakes her head no. My grip is so tight on her throat she can’t speak. “Have you been helping Whit sabotage her relationships to manipulate her?” She shakes her head no. Well son of bitch, she was telling the truth. Stepping toward her until my face is an inch from hers I say, “You are going to keep your boyfriend away from her, do you understand?” She nods yes. “If you have any visions of me, the hybrids, of Aldo, or our child, you will contact me immediately, and tell me. You will speak of these visions to no one else. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” she wheezes, and I release my grip letting her crumple to the ground. Pulling my cigarettes out, I quickly light one and stare down at Sarah as she holds her throat.
“Do you even give a shit about her, Sarah?” I ask, knowing she’s still spelled and will answer me honestly.
Her gaze meets mine, and she presses her lips together before saying, “Only because her brothers and my brother love her. She means nothing to me,” she replies simply.
Squatting down so we’re face to face again, I lean toward her. “Have you wanted her dead?”
“Not dead,” she admits with no remorse. “Just gone so they can live their lives not worrying about her.”
I take a drag of my cigarette and blow the smoke in her face. “You really are a cold hearted bitch, you know that?”
When I stand and turn away she whispers, “Takes one to know one.”
When I return from my walk-about, I round the front of the house and stop. It is the day of exes.
“Hi,” Thomas gazes up at me with his deep brown eyes, and stands from the porch step he’s been sitting on.
I smile softly. They told me how hard he worked to walk my dreams trying to find me. And he did. Maybe with Rhett’s help, but Thomas never gave up. He steps toward me, and we stand awkwardly for a moment before I wrap my arms around him. He doesn’t hesitate to squeeze me to him, and I bury my head in his chest.
“Thank you, Thomas,” I breathe, trying to hold my emotions at bay.
“I’m just glad you’re back and safe,” he whispers. The embrace isn’t heated or sexual. It’s comforting. I realize he’s accepted what we are. Both of us know we will never be together, but we still care for each other. We always will. It’s a great comfort knowing Thomas will always be there to help me.
When we pull away, he smiles, his brown eyes twinkling. “You have a minute? I’d like you to meet someone,” he says.
“Sure,” I agree, and he takes my hand, leading me toward the large building where the refugees from the nest live. There are picnic tables with kids sitting and eating. Hudson is grilling hotdogs, and Lila is busy filling cups from a pitcher. Beau is in his high chair, giggling at some kid tickling his feet. There are some older kids helping by scooping fruit on the other children’s plates or giving them chips.
“You see that girl over there at the second to last table. The little one with pigtails?” Thomas asks as he leans into me and points.
“Yeah,” I nod as I watch the little girl take a giant bite from her hot dog.
“That’s my niece, Corinne,” he says proudly, and my heart beats wildly. He found his niece. Thomas was a product of the nest, born into it just like me; except, my brothers and I were fortunate Sarah took us away just after we were born. Thomas’s older sister Carey was taken, used like so many other women to produce healer offspring for the purpose of feeding vampires. Once taken, Carey never returned, but her daughter Corinne, Thomas’s niece, did.
