A Destined Death (33 page)

The information about Lissa had to have torn him up inside, and it wasn’t fair. My soul had let him down and left me to deal with the consequences. And I hadn’t told him before which made things worse. I’d let him take the fall in his own mind. I’d let him believe that he failed at trying to keep her alive, when all along she’d walked willingly toward her death.

“I won’t fail him again,” I vowed before I started to drift off.

A click that sounded like a door lock yanked me awake. I jumped out of the cool water and quickly pulled on my clothes without bothering to dry. After I replaced the necklace around my neck, I peeked out of the bathroom, finding the room door ajar an inch.

My heart jumped and then beat so loudly I could hear nothing else. I appraised the beds, finding only two female figures sleeping in the dim light.
Coty!
I wanted to call out to him, but I feared the attention the sound would attract. Continuing forward, I stopped to dig one of the guns out of the bag on the table. I had no qualms about taking the gun; it felt right in my hands at that moment. Tapping the room door open with my foot, I stepped into the doorway.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. Nothing could have lightened the blow.

A vampire with bright red eyes hovered over Coty’s lifeless body, drinking from his neck.

“Get your fucking hands off of him!”
I snarled which grabbed the vampire’s attention. When he stood, I shot him in the chest with all the bullets in the gun. The act seemed to confuse him, so I threw the gun down and ran toward him, kicking as hard as I could. When he stumbled backward a few feet, I quickly lifted Coty into my arms and bolted into the room.

I laid Coty on the bed and locked the door, my body and hands quaking with fear. Vaguely, I began to notice what was happening around me. Tina sobbed and held Coty’s hand as she stared down at his unmoving body. Candy called out CPR checks.

“No pulse,” she said before she gave him mouth to mouth and pumped lightly on his chest.

I stood frozen with fright while Tina sobbed louder. I needed to check on the scuffling noises outside the door, I needed to call Ben, Tina needed to be comforted, yet I couldn’t move. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from Coty’s unmoving face. His wide, scared eyes held no spark of life. 

Finally, he coughed and began breathing. When I saw his little chest rise and fall on its own, I fell to my knees. Tears of relief poured from my eyes. “Thank you so much for bringing him back, Candy!”

Candy took deep several deep breaths and then nodded. She paused for only a minute before she grabbed a weapon and stood by the door.

“I’m okay,” Coty finally breathed. His tiny hand reached around Tina’s neck to pat her shoulder. “Is he gone?” he asked me, his coffee eyes still large with fright.

“I’ll check,” I said bravely. I wiped my eyes and tried to focus. I had to keep it together until he was safe. Now more than ever, I
needed
him to be safe.

The noises outside the room diminished to nothing but I grabbed the last gun anyway and leaned against the wall beside the window. With a deep breath, I slowly pulled the drapes aside and then held that breath until I thought I would pass out. I saw no one but a pile of ash lay on the sidewalk.

Candy squinted and I shook my head. 

A hard knock on the door made us both jump.

Candy peeked out the peephole. Her eyes grew large and her jaw dropped.

“Who’s there?”

She shook her head slowly.

A warning bell went off in my head when she unlocked the door and opened it. I instinctually moved to stand in front of Coty and Tina protectively as if I might shield them with my body.

“You girls can’t stay out of trouble for a moment, can you?” Johnny looked handsome, dressed in a suit and tie, his hair less spiked than normal. His turquoise eyes sparkled when he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.

“Johnny?” Candy asked, still awestruck.

Johnny sighed and rolled his eyes. “Don’t make a big deal out of this, Candy. I came to talk you two out of going to the Elders.”

“You killed that vampire?” she asked.

“I was a little late but…yeah.” Johnny peered around me to Coty. “Are you all right, little Coty?”

“How do you know his name?” I asked suspiciously.

He smirked and raised his eyebrows. “I know a lot more than you think.” Ignoring my suspicious glance, he walked around me and knelt by Tina who held Coty protectively. He gazed into her eyes until she calmed and then healed both of their neck wounds before he stepped away.

“Thank you,” Tina said, wiping her tears. She looked down at Coty’s blood stained shirt and led him to the bathroom, grabbing his bag on the way. “I’m going to give him a bath.”

When the door closed and locked, I gawked at Johnny. “Are you…was that you in the room two doors down?”

“Yes, Elizabeth, I saw Ben kiss you. That’s really your question, isn’t it?”

I straightened, then tried to hide my guilty glance by looking at the floor.

“Leave her alone,” Candy warned.

“What are you going to do, shoot me?”

“If I have to,” Candy returned, raising her gun.

Shaking my head, I stepped in front of the gun and turned to Johnny. “Thank you for killing that vampire and healing their wounds, but you already told us it wasn’t the Elders so what are you really doing here?”

Johnny eyed me for a moment, then folded his arms and cocked his head to the right. He didn’t speak but his gaze casually moved to Candy, who’d replaced her gun in the bag.

I bit my lip, trying to hide my smirk as I went to relax on the bed nearest the bathroom. The situation seemed all too clear. Johnny had a crush on Candy, and he’d come to keep an eye on her. I thought it was sweet but Candy scowled.

She folded her arms across her chest stubbornly and tilted her head, mocking his pose. “If you know so much, you’d know someone else is holding Draven and Armando. We’ve got it covered.”

Johnny raised his eyebrows. “I see…I’ll just be going then.”

At that second, the door flew open, and Ben’s loaded crossbow aimed at Johnny’s chest. Candy jumped in front of Johnny. Panicking, I ran for Ben but the quarrel fired before I made it. With supernatural speed, Johnny picked up Candy in one arm, stepped to the left, and caught the arrow in his right hand.

My deep breath wavered and stuck in my throat. I fought to calm myself before the situation got any more out of hand. It didn’t work. I tackled Ben, knocking the crossbow out of his hand and his big hat off his head. He pushed me off him and stood, but his blue eyes held an intense, almost trancelike gaze on the vampire. He stepped into the room and reached inside his coat pocket. I screamed when he pulled out his wooden stake. Candy appeared frightened too, her eyes wide while still caught in Johnny’s grasp. Johnny appeared amused but moved toward the far wall.

“Please, Ben, no!” I yelled. I made it to my feet and pulled on his arm with the stake in it.

Ben finally turned a hard glare on me. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said dryly. “Another one you want to protect?”

I tried to pry the stake from his hand but he held on with an unyielding grip. “He saved our lives tonight. A vampire came here, an evil one with red eyes.”

“How did they find you?” he asked suspiciously, tossing a glance at Johnny.

Johnny rolled his eyes and set Candy on her feet. “I’m out of here,” he growled, scowling at Ben as he walked to the door and disappeared.   

With the two separated, I felt a pang of relief but I turned to Ben pointedly. “Will you stop trying to kill our…friends?”

Candy calmly closed the door and sat down at the table. She reloaded the gun I’d fired at the evil vampire. Her face bore no expression.

“Get better friends!” Ben demanded. 

I took another deep breath for good measure. “What are you doing here anyway? I thought you were going to call. Did you find Charles?” 

“There’s no sign of him and no damage to the jet. My guess…when you didn’t show before sunset, he got scared and took off. He’s probably hiding somewhere.”

I nodded, preferring his theory to my own. Draven would be hurt yet again if Charles died in France because I’d brought him. “Candy, where’s the jet staff?”

“In the airport hotel, Milady.” She looked up from the weapon bag. “Would you like me to check on them?”

“Yes, please. Tell them to be ready shortly after sunrise.”

She nodded and opened her phone to make the call.

“What’s the plan?” Ben asked.

Taking his hand, I pleaded in a soft voice, “Would you please escort Tina and Coty to South Dakota if we can’t find Charles in time? I know it’s a lot to ask but I trust you, and I’d feel safer if you stayed with them.”

He eyed me curiously. “Seems to me Candy would be better for that, darling. I got a feeling you’re gonna need some real killing done.”

Candy covered the receiver with her hand. “I won’t leave her.”

Ben rolled his eyes but conceited with a sigh. “I guess I’ll pray for you then. I could use a little vacation anyway. But I’m staying here tonight.” He took off his coat and laid it on the floor before he smiled at me, offering his dimple. “Unless you’d feel safer with me in your bed.”

“I’ll call for a cot,” Candy uttered when she closed her phone. “Milady, the crew will be ready by sunrise.”

“Thanks.”

I said many prayers before I went to sleep for the rest of the night.

“I don’t blame you,”
Draven’s voice whispered like a soothing lullaby. I’d buried myself too deep within my subconscious to tell if it was real or just an echo of what I wanted to hear.

****

The next morning, Ben escorted Tina and Coty to the jet. Ben called to check in and let me know that Charles hadn’t shown up yet. Charles still wasn’t answering his phone and neither was Johnny, Candy informed me. I knew Johnny could take care of himself, but I feared someone or something had attacked Charles. He was a mark too and in just as much danger in Paris as the rest of us.

Candy smiled as I paced nervously. “Draven trained Charles too. He is well-prepared, and I’m sure he is fine, Milady. Draven has complete faith in our capabilities.”

I knew that was her polite way of saying
I
needed to have more faith in their capabilities, but at the mention of Draven’s name, I sighed.

“He’ll probably show before we leave.”

We decided to leave just before sunset because Candy said some vampires were angered if they received visitors during the day. Pissing off the vampire who held Draven was the last thing I wanted to do, so I agreed but my mind was a mess.

Normally, I found clarity when I wrote so I grabbed my notebook from my bag and labored on my novel, making it to the twentieth chapter before the sun started to fall in the sky. I’d been trying so hard to be strong for Draven, but I felt as though I’d failed. My heart constricted even more because I still hadn’t heard from him. All I had left was the hope that he still loved me after he accepted what Lissa had done. I had to believe in us and believe our love would make it through…if we survived.