Текст книги "Transcending Darkness"

Автор книги: Airicka Phoenix

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Текущая страница: 32 (всего у книги 36 страниц)

His body drew away from the door, no longer only aching to see her, but wanting to save her from further pain.

“Killian?” From the wide eyed look of surprise on Vi’s face, she hadn’t been expecting to find anyone blocking the doorway. She exhaled a bit nervously and offered him a sheepish little smile. “You’re here.”

He didn’t know what to say, so he gave a slight nod.

Vi licked her lips and shot a glance towards the side of the room where he suspected the bed was. Her brows drew together for a second before she was looking at him again with an innocence he didn’t buy.

“I’m just on my way to get some poison in a cup so I’ll let you guys talk.”

He heard a hiss from the room that could have been words, but she ignored it as she skipped through the door. Killian moved to let her pass, but she stopped in front of him and threw both arms around his shoulders.

“Thank you for bringing her back,” she whispered in his ear before letting him go and stepping back. She offered him a crooked smile. “You should have brought chocolates.”

Killian blinked. His gaze dropped to his empty hands like he had no idea where they’d come from. Vi laughed as she sprinted past him and hurried down the hall with Phil falling into step alongside her. Killian remained, staring at his palms and wondering if he should get something from the gift shop. That was what normal people did when visiting someone in the hospital, wasn’t it? But it was too late for that now. He was already there and she knew he was there.

Drawing in a breath, he stepped into the room.

It was the exact replica of Maraveet’s room. Dull white walls, crude, blinding lights, a window overlooking the parking lot, and a bed bracketed by two end tables. Juliette sat in the center of it, hooked to an IV and wearing a green gown that matched the blankets tossed over her lap. Her face was streaked with dirt and her hair was matted, but she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

“Hey,” she whispered.

He dared a single step closer. “Hi.”

She fidgeted slightly with the blankets, tucked a lank curl behind her ear and swallowed before speaking again. “How are you?”

Killian almost laughed. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

God, why was this so hard? Every moment thrummed with tension and unease and he didn’t understand it. He couldn’t recall a single moment between them that had ever felt so intense or awkward. Not even their first time and that had been an odd experience for him.

She broke the silence.

“How’s Maraveet?”

“Good.” He moved to the foot of her bed and braced his palms on the plastic footboard. “She already left.”

Juliette nodded. “Good. I’m glad she did.”

“She mentioned a plan.”

Her cheeks flushed and she chuckled.

“What was it?” he pressed when she didn’t elaborate.

She peered up at him with a sheepish half smile. “That we tell the police everything. That we were taken and held captive on that ship by Cyril and his men. That they were going to sell us, but we managed to take them by surprise and we ran. I made sure Maraveet told them we’d never met before and she was supposed to use a different name, just in case. But at least they got her statement and that will help put Cyril away. I also made sure none of this was traced back to you. I doubt Cyril will tell them you killed his parents, not without revealing that his killed yours first, or that he’d spent the last ten years plotting revenge. I also didn’t mention Marco. I said I didn’t see who grabbed me so … as far as the police are concerned, Cyril was a human trafficker and we were victims that got away. I’m also kind of hoping his men won’t talk, but if they do, it’s their word against mine and they’re criminals so I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that.”

Something tightened in his chest. It coursed through him, propelling his body to do something completely crazy like go to her and gather her up into his arms. The weight of the last couple of weeks hadn’t diminished, not even in that moment. It sat heavy on his chest, a suffocating force crushing his lungs. It killed him to see her there and not be able to go to her, or touch her, or love her. It hurt to stand there and not know what to do.

“That’s very elaborate,” he mumbled. “You really thought it through.”

Juliette gave a little shrug. “I had a few weeks to really perfect it, on the off chance we actually escaped.” She peered at him. “You didn’t kill him, did you?”

Kill him? No. Cyril was still very much alive, if not seriously rethinking his life choices. Killian may have promised Juliette he wouldn’t kill the little fuck. But even she wouldn’t have been able to stop Killian from beating the last two weeks into him.

Killian shook his head. “Tied him and his men up and left a note for the police. Frank stayed to make sure the police got them all when they arrived.”

She exhaled her relief. “Okay good.” She nibbled on her lip, a frown knitting her eyebrows. “What was Arlo doing there?”

He almost laughed at the disgruntled question. “Would you believe me if I told you he was there to help find you?”

Her eyes narrowed. “At what price?”

That was the question. Arlo hadn’t said anything when he and Killian parted ways by the ship, but he knew the Dragons would expect some kind of thank you gift, especially since Arlo was the one who actually found Juliette.

To Juliette, Killian shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. You’re safe. That’s all I care about.”

Her gaze lowered to her lap. “Thank you for taking care of Vi. I’m really sorry about your windows. I’ll pay for the damages.”

Killian shook his head. “It’s not important.”

“Still, I should—”

“I don’t care about the windows.” The sharpness in his voice had her eyes lifting back to him and the sadness in them punched him in the chest. “The only thing I wanted was to get you back,” he murmured. “I know I said some things I shouldn’t have, but I’ll always be here for you.” His head dropped forward so he was staring at the twin peaks of her feet under the blankets. “You can come to me for anything. I won’t ever turn you away.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Thank you. That was it. But what had he expected? That she’d tell him she loved him and wanted to be with him forever? That she’d forgiven him for the horrible things he’d said to her? Even if she did, that didn’t mean he could bring her back into his world. Not ever again.

He drew in a breath. “Goodbye, Juliette.”

Her brown eyes held his and no matter how hard she fought to keep her face smooth, the gathering tears tore at him. It reflected in the tremor of her chin and in her white knuckled grip around the blanket. A pink tongue snuck out and wet her lips before disappearing once more.

“Goodbye, Killian.”

It was incredible how something so tiny could feel like she’d taken a bazooka to his chest. Two little words that it felt as hollow as her voice. The plastic beneath his hands creaked under the force of his grip. He relinquished it quickly and pushed back. He began to turn away, needing to leave before he did something infinitely stupid like beg her take it back, but he stopped. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his mother’s pendent. He set it gently on the foot of the bed, not trusting himself any closer to her.

“Take care of it for me,” he murmured, unable to look at her, knowing that if he did and she was crying, he’d never leave. “It’ll just collect dust if I keep it. You could give it to your children one day.” Children she wouldn’t have with him.

Children she’d create with some other man, someone who could give her children, someone who could give her the normal life Killian couldn’t. Someone who would get into bed with her at night and touch her and hold her and make her come apart. The man didn’t even exist yet and Killian could already feel his blood boiling. The very idea of this faceless person touching Juliette made his vision go red. But he didn’t take it back. Instead, he turned on his heel and stalked to the door.

“Don’t go.”

He couldn’t be sure if it was a voice in his head or if the words had actually been spoken, but when he glanced back, Juliette was staring out the window, her eyes unblinking and bright. Her arms were clasped tight around her and she was cutting a gash in her bottom lip.

She looked up when he stopped. Her eyes met his and a tear cut down the curve of her cheek to cling to the corner of her lips. Something hard kicked him in the stomach, hard enough to nearly send him to his knees. His chest tightened and he was sure he was about to die of asphyxiation. Her lips parted and Killian left. He ran before she could let the words he could see in her eyes spill through the room and further destroy him.

Chapter 30

Juliette waited until his footsteps had faded before letting the walls crash down around her in a flood of agony. The pain of watching him walk away devoured her all over again with a fresh urgency that made her insides feel hollowed out. It cut into all the tender places that were already torn open from their original break up and ripped the crude stitching wide open. She reached for the pendant and broke into a fit of sobs that mostly had nothing to do with Killian. It was as though the dam she’d built during her captivity burst and she was swamped with everything she’d kept locked behind it. It flooded over her, pulling her under until she was sure she would die. Even to her own ears, the sounds escaping her weren’t quite normal. They were the wails of someone under immense torture, which was exactly how it felt.

“Hey.” Thin arms wound their way around her, pulling her forward into a body that smelled of orchards and citrus. “It’s all right,” Vi whispered. “It’s going to be all right.”

Juliette couldn’t even push away the wild drumming beating down on her long enough to give an answer. She didn’t even know what she could say that would justify her complete meltdown. How could she explain that she was only just starting to feel the full impact of the terror she should have felt during her stint in the cage? How could she possibly make anyone understand what she’d gone through? They may not have beaten her like Maraveet or raped and tortured her like Killian’s mom, but the never knowing what they would do was a sort of torture beyond words. It was waking up and wondering if that would be the day they would finally break her. It was the prayers that went unanswered and the guilt of being powerless. Tangled amongst all of that was the loss she felt at losing Killian and knowing it was the right thing. She couldn’t stay with him when he refused to leave that life that had put her in the hospital in the first place. She couldn’t stay with him knowing it was a possibility that she could be taken again. She couldn’t stay when her presence in his world made him weak. He’d said as much himself and Cyril had confirmed it. She would be his death and she would never allow that.

“When can I go home?” She lifted her wet, blotchy, and swollen face off Vi’s damp shoulder. “I need my bed.”

Vi gave her a sad little smile. “Not until tomorrow, but I’m going to stay right here with you, okay? So, just lie down and rest for now.”

She did, not because she’d been told to, but because the thought of sleeping the hours away made the idea seem logical. Only a few more hours and she’d be in her own bed, dressed in her own clothes and walking through her own home. It had been so long that she almost ached with the need to be surrounded by all the familiar things she’d always took for granted.

“What’s that?”

Juliette followed the line of Vi’s pointing finger at the pendant she still held clutched in one hand. She unfurled her fingers so the girl could see.

“Killian gave it to me,” she whispered. “It belonged to his mother.”

“It’s beautiful!” Vi gasped. “Where is Killian? I thought for sure he’d still be here.”

Her fingers closed around the cameo. “He left.”

Vi blinked. “Oh, when is he coming back?”

“He’s not.” Hot tears trickled from the corners of her eyes and soaked into the pillow. “He’s gone.”

“What?” There was a bemused chuckle in the question. “Why?”

“Because he could never love someone like me.” That was what he’d said, someone like her, someone inexperienced and stupid in the ways of love and sex.

“No, that’s not right. The guy is crazy about you. Trust me, I know. I was there when you were taken.”

Juliette had nothing to say to that, no explanation. Even if she had, she was in no mood to do so. She shut her eyes instead and willed herself to sleep.

True to her promise, Vi was still there when Juliette opened her eyes again. The sun was already high in the sky and it filled the room with a pale, white light that chased away the cold gloom of the night before. Vi sat slumped forward in a plastic chair. Her arms were folded on the bed next to Juliette’s hip and she was sound asleep. In the doorway, she could just make out Phil’s somber profile and wondered if he’d been there the whole night. But it was the pendant still clutched in her hand that really pulled her attention. She peered down at the ivory face of the girl with the flower and thought of Killian. She wondered where he was and what he was doing and if she would ever see him again. She doubted it. The night before when he’d walked out of the hospital had been their final goodbye. The thought was devastating, but she knew there was nothing she could do, but let him go.

Next to her, Vi shifted and sat up yawning. The right side of her face was a maze of welts from her coat sleeve. Her makeup had smudged, leaving thick, black mascara rings across her cheeks. She squinted at the window across the room, then turned to peer at Juliette.

“It’s morning.”

Juliette smiled at the hoarse croak. “Yup, looks that way.”

Groaning, Vi pushed back the chair and rose, straining her entire body towards the ceiling. She yawned loudly and bowed backwards with her arms above her head, her fingers interlocked. She straightened and let her arms drop down at her sides.

“I need coffee and an Advil.” Grunting, she glowered down at the chair. “You’d think they’d make those things more comfortable.” She rubbed her ass. “My butt is killing me.” She exhaled and glanced at the door. “Hey, Phil’s still here.”

Juliette nodded. “I think he’s been here the whole night.”

Vi huh’d. “I guess he really feels bad.”

“About what?”

The girl turned to Juliette. “For abandoning me at the mall.”

“He what?” Juliette’s voice carried across the room, drawing Phil’s attention. He peered inside briefly before going back to standing guard. “He what?” Juliette repeated quieter.

“Remember that night you called and I said I was at the mall?” At Juliette’s nod, Vi continued. “Well, remember how I said Phil got a phone call and would be right back? Well, he didn’t. He got called back by Killian or whoever’s in charge and he just left without a damn word.”

“He what?” Juliette’s snarl was followed by the struggle to untangle herself from the blankets.

Vi stopped her. “Calm down. It’s fine. I was pretty pissed myself, but whatever. I always knew he wouldn’t be around forever. Not like he’s really my dad or anything. He’s just some guy paid to stick around. It was my fault that I…” she trailed off to study the diamond pattern sewn into the blankets. “I’m over it.”

Juliette ceased her struggling and peered at the girl standing before her with her tangled locks and drawn features. Maybe it was because she had never really seen her sister, but looking at her now, it was impossible not to see just how lonely she was. Everything about her screamed for affection and companionship and Juliette had never once stopped to give her either.

“Hey.” Reaching out with the hand not hooked to an empty bag of fluid, Juliette took Vi’s fingers. She gave them a light squeeze. “We’re going to be okay. I promise. You and me.”

Brown eyes lifted and peered at her with apprehension and a timid glimmer of hope. “Yeah?”

“Promise,” Juliette said again. “Things are going to change. We’ll make sure they do. We have each other no matter what.”

A hint of a half-smile tugged the corner of Vi’s mouth. “I like the sound of that.”

Juliette beamed. “Good. Now go get us some coffees while I hunt down the doctors and hopefully get the hell outta here.”

Laughing, Vi hurried from the room.

Juliette watched her go before reaching for the call button hanging off the side of her bed and hitting it … repeatedly.

“Yes?” came a grumpy voice from the speaker mounted on the wall.

“Hi, I was just wondering when I’ll be discharged?”

A moment passed, then, “The doctor will make his rounds shortly. Please just be patient.”

She hated bothering anyone, especially people who held her life in their hands, but there was nothing wrong with her and she wanted to go home.

“You wouldn’t happen to know how long that will be, would you?”

“No,” came the abrupt response, then a click as the connection was severed.

“Thanks a lot,” Juliette grumbled.

With nothing to do, Juliette sat there and stared at the opposite wall, trying not to think of anything, except going back to her normal routine as quickly as possible, which meant calling the hotel and the diner and begging them not to fire her. Charis would take some convincing, but the hotel might still take her back once she explained the situation. She didn’t even want to think about what might happen if neither took her back on top of everything else. The very thought was soul crushing.

Nevertheless, she grabbed the hospital phone and began dialing.

As she suspected, the moment Charis answered and Juliette said hi, the woman fired her. It wasn’t even done nicely or apologetically.

“We’ve already hired someone competent and reliable,” the woman sneered into the line. “Drop your uniform off and don’t even bother asking for your last pay as you still owe us.”

The line went dead promptly after the short rant.

Juliette sighed. Oddly enough, she felt no remorse over not having to go back. If anything, she was sort of relieved.

She called Harold next.

He picked up on the third ring.

“I completely understand,” he told her after she’d finished explaining the situation. “We’re just so relieved you’re all right. Can’t believe such a thing even happens outside of movies. But yes, of course you still have a position here whenever you’re ready to come back to it.”

The relief was astronomical. She wasn’t sure what she’d done to deserve that sort of break, but she wasn’t going to question it.

Mrs. Tompkins was her final call. She was still at her daughter’s house—thank God—so Juliette decided not to tell her about anything that had happened. They chatted a few minutes, mostly about Mrs. Tompkins’s move before hanging up. She was setting the phone back on the end table when Vi returned with a paper bag in one hand and a drink tray with two plastic cups in the other. She bounded into the room and set the items down next to the phone.

“I found bagels,” she declared. “No peanut butter, but they had cream cheese and jam.”

“Tell me what happened with your friends,” Juliette said after a stretch of silence that was filled with cream cheese spreading and coffee sipping.

Vi looked down at her bagel with cream cheese and jam, her mouth twisted in grimace.

“They’re assholes,” she mumbled. “I always knew it, but…”

Juliette stopped eating. “What happened?”

Vi set her half-eaten bagel down on the wrapper and dusted the crumbs off her fingers. She continued to stare at her breakfast rather than Juliette.

“They dared me to take something from a store in the mall. It wasn’t anything special, a lipstick that wasn’t even my color, but it was something we used to do all the time so it wasn’t a big deal—” Juliette opted to let that comment go for the time being. “—so I did it. I took the lipstick and started to walk out when Brittany went running to the clerk and ratted me out. I mean, dead on told the girl I took the lipstick. I was stopped and searched and obviously I had the thing so I got busted.”

“Vi!”

Vi rolled her eyes. “I know. Stupid. Anyway, Phil got me out. He talked to the woman, said he was my dad and I wasn’t stealing. I was waiting for him and must have forgotten to pay for it. The woman let us go and we left. I felt about two inches tall. I’d never been caught before. I was also pissed. They were supposed to be my friends. That’s when Phil kind of set me straight, told me I was being a shit and I needed to clean up my act. He made me swear not to take anything anymore or he’d arrest me himself. Kind of started liking him after that.”

No longer hungry, Juliette set her bagel down and wiped her hands on a napkin. She reached for her coffee and cradled the warmth between her palms.

“You should have told me,” she said.

“I hardly saw you,” Vi countered. “I mean even before Killian, you were never home and when you were, you were yelling at me or sleeping. Besides, I knew you were only going to lecture me on stealing and I’d already learned my lesson.”

Juliette exhaled. “I’ve been so unfair to you, haven’t I? Probably the worst sister on the planet and I am so sorry. I have no excuse.”

Vi nodded slowly. “Yeah, you were, but it’s either you or Uncle Jim and you won’t make me wear frilly panties.”

Gagging, Juliette recoiled. “That is disgusting!”

Vi grinned. “And yet so true.”

Laughing, Juliette shook her head. “Okay, enough of that. Let’s talk about what we’re going to do.”

“Do with what?”

“Everything.” She shrugged. “We have nothing to worry about anymore. The hotel doesn’t exactly pay in gold bricks, but we’re going to be okay if we’re careful—”

Voices in the hallway had them both glancing back just in time to see Arlo stride into the room, followed closely by Phil. The two stopped at the foot of the bed, Phil with a scowl.

“Hey there, Juliette,” Arlo said in that tone she had never wanted to hear again. “They told me you were awake.”

Juliette nodded. “Yeah.”

“Excellent.” His brown eyes flicked over to Vi, lingered in a way that made Juliette’s skin prickle before returning to her. “Glad to hear it.”

“What are you doing here?” she demanded with more bite than was necessary.

“Just coming to check on my favorite person. You had the entire underground community looking for you. McClary is probably happy to have you back.” His gaze slid to Vi again, who stared back at him without a trace of emotion. “Also came to see when they were letting you out.”

Juliette frowned. “Why?”

He shrugged. “Curiosity.”

“It’s none of your business,” she retorted.

He fixed her with an arched eyebrow. “Seriously? That’s the attitude I get for saving your life?”

A muscle tightened in the pit of Juliette’s stomach as a sickening realization crept home; was he going to strong arm her into owing him all over again? Was that why he was there?

“I won’t come back to you,” she hissed. “Not ever.”

Arlo rolled his eyes. “Calm down. I don’t want you back. My father was already compensated for his help in your rescue, which means you get to go on and live your boring little life.”

“Compensated how? By whom?”

“McClary,” he said simply. “Gave my dad the deed to the ports.”

Juliette remembered all too well how badly Arlo had wanted the port papers signed, enough so that he’d knocked the shit out of her for it.

“Lucky you,” she muttered.

“Yup.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “I personally think we got the better end of the deal, but whatever.” He slanted his gaze towards Vi again. “Hey, walk me out.”

“No!” Coffee sloshed over the rim of her cup when she shot up and grabbed Vi’s arm. “She’s not going anywhere with you.”

“It’s okay.” Vi detached herself from the hold and rose. “I’ll be right back.”

Arlo smirked at Juliette. “I’ll see you around, Juliette.”

With an arrogant salute, he spun on his heels and led the way out of the room with Vi right behind him. Juliette met Phil’s angry gaze.

“Follow them. Don’t let him touch her.”

Phil didn’t even hesitate.

Juliette set her cup down and hurriedly kicked the blankets off. She scooted to the edge of the bed and tossed her legs over. The cold tiles bit into her bare feet as she hopped down. She reached for the IV pole and was about to follow when Vi returned.

“What are you doing out of bed?” the girl demanded.

“What are you doing following that asshole?” Juliette shot back. “Do you have any idea what level of bad news—”

“Chill!” Vi laughed. “Trust me, nothing will ever happen between me and that guy. Like ever. I know exactly what he is and what he wants and I’m not an idiot.”

Juliette jerked back in surprise. “Really?”

Vi nodded as she made her way back to the bed. “I can overlook a lot of things about a guy, but selling, beating, and degrading women is where I draw the line. So, yeah.” She flopped down on the stiff mattress and reached for her bagel. “No sexy fun time for him.”

Juliette blanched. “Ew!” Gingerly, she regained her seat. “So, what did he want?”

Vi bit into her breakfast, chewed, and swallowed before speaking. “A kiss.”

Thank God she was already sitting or she would have fallen over.

“What?”

Vi snorted. “He made me this promise before they set off to find you the other night, that if he found you first, I owed him a kiss.”

“And you said…?”

“What do you think I said? Obviously no. I know what he did to you, what he made you do. He told me everything.”

Juliette blinked. “He told you?”

“Yeah, we were stuck together in Killian’s house for like days and there was nothing to do. So, we talked. He was honest about everything.”

None of it made sense. The last thing Juliette ever expected was honesty from Arlo, never mind his inexplicable interest in her sister, which irritated the shit out of her.

“Well, stay away from him,” she mumbled. “He’s not like Killian. He’s definitely not the good guy.”

“I know.” Vi stuffed the rest of her bagel into her mouth. “I’m pretty sure that’s the last time we’ll ever see him.”

Juliette could only hope.