Authors: Alicia Dean
“Are you threatening me?”
“
Warning
, sweetheart. Warning you.” He tipped an imaginary hat to her. “I’ll be in touch.”
She stared at him for a moment, then dropped her gaze and skirted around him.
Behind her, he spoke, his voice taunting. “Oh, by the way. You won’t get rid of Dimitri easily, either. He has an additional agenda.”
She paused and slowly faced him. “What does he want?”
He grinned. “Dimitri’s in love with you.”
“In love?” she scoffed. “You’re ridiculous.”
“You couldn’t tell?” He shook his head as if in regret. “Sometimes I forget how stupid humans are. See you around.”
He sauntered away, leaving Audra gaping after him.
Dimitri in love with her? Preposterous. Good Lord, the man...the
thing
...wasn’t even alive, wasn’t even human. Didn’t even
know
her.
But sometimes...the way he looked at her...
For God’s sake, no. She neither believed nor cared how Dimitri felt about her. She had enough relationship trouble with real men. She damned sure didn’t need to get mixed up with the undead.
She slammed her now-cold coffee into the nearest trash can and picked up her pace, hurrying to the sanctity of her home.
A rain forest bubble bath sounded amazing right now. Perhaps another evening of relaxation and wine were in order. This time, as much as she loved her friend, without Riley’s company. She felt as though she hadn’t really been alone since Dimitri and crew entered her life.
Her house came in sight, barely visible in the dusk falling over her neighborhood. The white frame bungalow with its burgundy shutters and colorful flower garden gave her a sense of calm. She let out a relieved breath. Yes. Solitude was exactly what she needed.
She was a few feet from the porch when she saw what appeared to be a discarded pile of clothing on her doorstep. Who would have left clothes for her? Frowning, she moved closer.
Light from her porch light shone down and illuminated a swath of dark hair...a smidgen of pale flesh...a woman’s face.
“Dear God.” Audra dropped to her knees next to the figure, flinching when her bad leg folded beneath her.
The woman lay on her back, her face turned to the side, dark hair obscuring her features. Audra touched two fingers to the side of her neck. The pulse was steady, strong. Gently, she placed a hand on each of the woman’s cheeks and turned her head. The hair fell away, and the features came into view. One side of her face was bruised and bloody. That same eye was black, nearly swollen shut. Blood trickled from a split in her lower lip.
“Maria,” Audra gasped.
Maria moaned and slowly opened her eyes. “Audra. Didn’t know where...else...to go.” Her eye closed again and tears poured from them.
Audra fumbled her cell phone out of her purse. “Hang on. I’m calling for help.”
“No!” Maria’s eyes shot open and she waved her hand feebly at the cell phone. “Please don’t.”
“You’re hurt. You need to see a doctor.”
“Hurt, yes. Call for help, and I’m dead.” The words were spoken calmly, but the terror in her expression was anything but.
Audra hesitated. She could at least wait, get Maria inside, check her over herself, and determine if she should be seen. If her injuries were severe, then in spite of her protests, Audra would call. She dropped her cell phone back into her purse.
As she was about to help Maria to her feet, a sickening thought struck her. “Where are the girls? Are they okay?”
“With my mother. She’s...hiding them.”
“Thank God.” Audra wasn’t certain if Scott had ever hurt the children, but it damned sure wouldn’t be a good idea for them to be around when their father was in this state of mind. Audra peered into Maria’s eyes. “Can you stand? Did he hurt you internally? Anything broken?”
“Nothing broken. I can stand.”
Audra held Maria’s arm and helped her up. They took a few steps before Maria stumbled. Audra steadied her, holding her upright with one hand while she unlocked the door with the other. She pushed the door open, then helped Maria into the house.
She led her to the couch and lowered her onto it. “Here, let’s get your coat off.” The brown wool coat that had first appeared to be discarded clothing.
Audra shuddered. What if she hadn’t come home when she did? What if Gaylen had discovered an injured Maria on her porch?
Banishing those thoughts, she sat next to her patient, feeling along her jaw line. “Does this hurt?”
Maria shook her head. Audra continued her examination of her injuries, moving to her neck, her shoulders, down to her belly, gently probing, asking at each point if her exploration hurt. Each time, Maria claimed it didn’t, but she winced when Audra pressed against her ribs.
Audra lifted her blouse. A deep, red, angry welt ran down one side of her body. Hot fury pumped through Audra’s veins. “Son of a bitch,” she muttered. “I think you might have a broken rib. Maybe a couple. We need to call for help.”
Maria shook her head and took her shirt from Audra’s hand, tugging it down over her injury. “No broken ribs.”
“How do you know?”
Her smile was bitter. “Trust me. Experience. I’ve had them plenty of times.”
Pity clenched Audra’s gut. “Good point.” She knew the woman spoke the truth. Audra had treated her at the hospital for a few of them. “Let’s get you cleaned up. You’ve had the hell beat out of you, but you don’t appear to have any life-threatening injuries. I’ll get the first-aid kit. Be right back.”
Audra left the room and retrieved the kit from the medicine shelf in the bathroom. When she returned, Maria’s fist was clenched against her mouth and tears flowed down her cheeks.
“I hope you’re not crying over that asshole.” Audra snatched a couple of tissues from the box on the coffee table and pressed them into Maria’s hands.
She used a tissue to wipe tears away, but more took their place. “We fought because I filed for divorce. He went ballistic. I really thought he loved me. This isn’t love, is it?”
“Not by a long shot.” Audra sat next to her and began gently cleaning the blood from her face and applied anti-biotic ointment to her cuts. “Why were you still living with him after you filed the papers?”
“I didn’t know where else to go. For now. I was hoping if I filed, he’d see I was serious about leaving him if things didn’t change.”
Audra pressed her lips together, but didn’t comment. Surely Maria didn’t really believe that was the way things worked with a violent abuser like Scott? Running fast and far, making a clean break was the only way to get through to assholes like him.
“Where is he now?” Audra asked. “How did you get away?”
Maria’s lip quirked, but there was no humor in the gesture. “He was finished. He went to the store for beer. You know how guys like to unwind after a workout.”
Nausea coiled in Audra’s belly. “So, when he gets home and finds you gone...” She glanced at the door. Had she locked it? “Be right back.”
She hurried over to lock the doors, sliding the deadbolt home as an added precaution. Before returning to the couch, she grabbed the fireplace poker and brought it back with her. Maria eyed it, but didn’t say anything.
“I thought I was going to pass out, but I knew I couldn’t stay there. I can’t let him keep doing this.” She sniffed and dabbed her eyes with the tissue.
“I didn’t see your car. Did a friend bring you?”
“Friend? I have no friends. I’m not allowed. I walked.”
“For God’s sake, Maria. It’s over five miles!”
She nodded. “By the time I made it here, everything went black. I must have passed out.”
“Why did you come here instead of to a hospital?”
“I knew I could trust you.” Maria put her head down. “I’m sorry I’ve been cold to you lately. I couldn’t stand for you to see my shame. See what a weakling I am.” She paused. “I couldn’t stand to see you hurt...knowing...”
Audra lifted her brows. “Knowing what?”
Maria was silent for several seconds, then said, “Just knowing everything Scott’s done. And I still stayed with him.”
Audra pressed an ice pack to Maria’s side. “Lie back and keep this against your ribs.”
Maria leaned into the corner of the couch. “I’m an idiot.”
“That’s not important. What’s important now is what you do next. We need to call the police. He needs to be in jail.”
Maria looked up. “He was in jail before. It only helped me for a few months, and now it’s starting all over again.” She barked a bitter laugh and lowered her voice to a near whisper. “Didn’t help you at all.”
“What was that?”
Maria squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. “Nothing. Forget it.”
“What did you mean?”
Beneath her closed eyes, tears brimmed and coursed down her cheeks. Her chest heaved, and sobs wracked her body. “I’m sorry. Oh, God. I’m so sorry.”
“Maria? What is it?” Audra asked, although she knew. Somehow, in spite of her claims of, ‘But he was in jail,’ she’d known all along. “Scott had something to do with me getting hurt, didn’t he?”
Maria didn’t answer. She continued to cry.
“Calm down. You’re going to make your injuries worse.” Audra took her by the shoulders. “Look at me, Maria. Stop crying and talk to me.”
Maria opened her eyes. “You’ll hate me. I should have told you.”
“Tell me now.”
“Will you promise me one thing? Don’t call the police?”
“I can’t promise that. First of all, Scott beat the hell out of you, again. Secondly, if he had something to do with what happened to me, the police should know. He can’t get away with this shit, Maria. Stop protecting him.”
Maria tossed the ice pack onto the cushion next to her and sat forward, dropping her head into her hands. “I’m not protecting him,” she said. “I’m protecting everyone else. He will kill me.” She lifted her head. “And he’ll kill you.”
Audra pressed the ice pack back to Maria’s side. “All the more reason to stop him. Tell me everything.”
Maria considered for a moment, then leaned back once more. “Scott was in jail, but he put his buddies up to it. I don’t know if they were supposed to kill you, or just hurt you.”
She went cold inside. “If those men hadn’t stopped them, I might be dead.”
Maria winced. “You’re probably right.”
“Who all was involved? I need names.”
“You’re going to call the police?”
“Of course I am.”
“We’re both dead then.”
“For Christ’s sake, Maria. You’re a walking dead woman as long as that bastard is free.” Audra pushed off the couch and paced across the floor. “You might as well tell me everything you know. If you don’t, I’ll give the police what I know, and the investigation will turn up the whole truth. If you tell me everything, I’ll ask them to keep your name out of it. If you don’t...” She shrugged. “You’re fair game. Scott will find out you talked...if he’s out on bail...”
“Okay. Okay.” Maria brought a hand to her forehead, fingers shaking as she rubbed them along her skin. “God. I can’t believe this is happening. I’ll tell you everything.”
“Let me call Shane first. He should hear it from you.”
“Shane?”
“Sheriff Dunham. He’s looking for the men who hurt me. I want you to tell him what you know.”
“Please. No police. Not yet. I can’t stand the thought of all the questions...being bombarded with cops. Please.”
“I’ll just call Shane. I’ll ask him to come on his own. Initially. But the entire force will become involved. These are serious crimes your husband committed, Maria.”
Audra wasn’t sure if Shane was at the station, so she dialed his cell. He answered right away, saying, “Audra?” in a cheerful tone, like he was happy to hear from her.
She felt a flash of guilt that she wasn’t phoning for personal reasons. “Are you working tonight?” she asked.
“No. Off duty. You need something?”
“Could you come over here, please? I have a—situation.”
“Are you hurt? What’s going on?” The lightness left his voice.
“You remember Maria? She’s the one who’s...hurt.”
“Did you call an ambulance?”
Audra drew in a deep breath. He could have been here by the time he asked all those questions. “Please, Shane. Can you just come? I’ll explain everything when you get here.”
“Sure. On my way.”
Audra hung up the phone. Maria had been watching her, wide-eyed with hope, and maybe a bit of dread. “Well?” she asked.
“He’ll be here soon. I’ll make you some hot tea.”
Audra went into the kitchen and microwaved a cup of tea. As she returned to the living room and handed it to Maria, someone banged loudly on the front door.
Not Shane. He wouldn’t have gotten here that quick. Or, at least she didn’t think so. Of course, she didn’t know where he’d been when she reached him.
An angry voice shouted through the closed door. “Maria? You in there? Open the fuck up!”
Definitely not Shane.
Maria choked on the tea and jumped to her feet, nearly dropping the cup. “Scott!” The word came out in a strangled whimper.
“It’s okay.” Audra placed a hand on Maria’s arm, removing the cup from her trembling fingers and setting it on the coffee table. “We won’t let him in. It will be okay.”
Maria nodded but yelped out a scream when the banging became louder.
“I’ll cut you and that whore. Open the goddamned door!” He let out a guttural war cry. The room erupted with the sound of shattering glass as the picture window next to the door imploded.
~*~
Dimitri tossed the last of his meager belongings into the duffle bag. Veronica stepped away from the closet, her arms loaded down with dresses.
“Where are we going next?” she asked as she tossed clothes into her suitcase.
Dimitri didn’t respond.
“D, honey.” She took hold of his arm and tugged until he faced her. “What’s the matter? Don’t you have another place picked out for us?”
He clenched his jaw, then shook his head. “Not...
us
exactly.”
“What do you mean? Not us?” She dropped to the bed and put a hand to her mouth, releasing a dramatic sob. “You’re replacing me, aren’t you?”
“Replacing you? I don’t have to replace you. I don’t need anyone.”
“You have to have a woman to share your bed. It’s better than the torture of being alone, isn’t it, Dimitri?”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?” She stood and walked over to stand beside him. “You can’t bear the quiet, the time with your own thoughts. Can’t stand what you were. What you are.”
“I was alone for over two hundred years before you came along.”
“And how was that, huh? Memories? Nightmares? Regrets? I know what you were. Why you became a reaper. That all you want now is to redeem yourself.” She took hold of his arm again, this time with a gentle touch, and looked into his face, her voice softening. “You need me, darling. I can help take away the bad memories.” She tightened her grip. “And for God’s sake. I need you. I love you. You’re the only reason I’m here. The only reason I exist.”