Masquerade (18 page)

The minute she stepped
inside her house and turned the lock I turned and sought out the
one who was watching. Adrenaline and anger surged through me. I
have had enough. I was tired of looking over Heven’s shoulder,
tired of hiding in the shadows and keeping danger from her
door.

It was time that I eliminated the
threat. I didn’t like to kill.

But that didn’t mean I
wouldn’t.

I drove to an empty lot
not far from town. I didn’t want an audience for the murder I was
about to commit. When I turned onto the road that lead to the
clearing, I felt a weight land in the bed of my truck. I didn’t
bother to look; I knew exactly what it was.

I slammed on the brakes a
few seconds later, letting the truck fishtail and jerk as it tried
to stop so abruptly. I enjoyed hearing the banging in the back and
the snarl of pain.

Once the truck was stopped
I turned off the engine but left the keys in the ignition. I leaped
out of the truck, my body tense, expecting the hit. It came, from
over my head, a body sailing right over me. I turned and caught the
attacker from above and tossed them onto the ground. Again, the
sickening thud of the body hitting the ground pleased
me.

I didn’t wait for them to
get up but leapt on top, landing a few really good punches to the
side of my target’s head.

Next thing I knew I was
sailing through the air, and I turned to land on my feet. My enemy
charged, and I ducked out of the way sending the shadowed figure
stuttering forward. I shoved my enemy from behind, but my nemesis
turned, sharp teeth raking down my arm. I pulled back and glanced
down at the blood welling on my arm.

“
I’m done with you,” I
spat. “I’m sick of the games you keep playing with
Heven!”

I got an answering snarl,
and then I was tossed through the air again. This time I landed
further into the lot, in a part with trees growing closely
together. I gritted my teeth when my back hit a branch, but I
straightened and braced for another attack.

But something else distracted
me.

The smell.

I looked down and held back a gag.
Body parts littered the ground. There was a hand lying next to my
foot and another laying a few yards away. A foot was sticking out
from beneath a pile of leaves and there were puddles of blood in
the grass.

“
I told you that you
belonged with us.”

My gaze snapped up at the sound of the
voice. I preferred them in their other forms. At least then they
couldn’t talk.

I took pleasure in the swollen
purpling bruises that marked the monster’s skin.

“
I’m not anything like
you.”

A humorless laugh echoes
around me. “Then why did you come here?
You
challenged me.
You
have death in your
eyes, you came here to kill. You led me to the place that I kill
too. Your instincts told you it was the perfect place to hide a
body.”

“
When I am done with you
there won’t be anything left.”

I saw the hit coming, and
I blocked it. We went round and round, throwing punches and trying
to weaken the other.

When we both pulled away I
realized I had the upper hand. I smiled, knowing that the months of
fear would finally be over. “I never wanted to kill you,” I said.
“You leave me no choice.”

I pounced, wrapping my
hands around a gasping throat. I heard the others coming and knew
that they would be here soon. I squeezed harder, wanting to snap
her neck
.
She was
struggling so fiercely, I couldn’t finish the job.

A shoulder caught me under
the ribs and I was suddenly knocked aside. I smacked into a tree
and landed hard. Ignoring the pain in my side, I planted my hand in
the grass to stand and came away with a severed ear. I wanted to
gag at the bloody appendage.
Where was the
rest of the body?
I couldn’t think about
that now because the others had come. I hadn’t been fast enough at
delivering death. Why wouldn’t they just let me do this? Removing
the monster would make all our lives easier.

The three of them stood in a line,
staring at me with eyes devoid of emotion.

I glanced at the monster who was
grinning like a maniac in between gasping for breath. “I told you
that you couldn’t beat me. You’re nothing but a little
pup.”

Up until this point my body quivered
and shook, I held back my need to change. But now I prepared to
shift. If I was going to survive a fight of one against three I had
too.

The others recognized what I was about
to do and they jumped into action, pinning me down and
laughing.

“
You need to be taught a
lesson, pup. One you won’t forget.”

I’m not really sure how
long the beating lasted. I tried to fight back, but it was useless.
It was three against one, and I was pinned.

My last thought before I blacked out
was of Heven.

I opened my eyes to only to blink back
the sunlight. How long had I been out?

Heven.

I jerked up, ignoring the protest in
my body and looked for my phone. I was in my apartment. The
apartment I barely ever spent any time at. How did I get
here?

“
Going somewhere?” A voice
beside me asked.

I turned, angry that I
hadn’t realized he was sitting there.

“
Morning. Did you have a
nice nap?”

“
Like you care,” I snarled.
I shoved my hand in my pocket looking for my phone. It wasn’t
there. Then I remembered I left it in the truck. I wondered where
the truck was.

“
She’s fine.” He said, and
I paused and glanced over.

“
How do you
know?”

“
Because
the person who wants her dead is busy
–
got a big lead on
it
.”

“
Why aren’t you out
helping to look?” I asked.

He shrugged and motioned
to the unopened water bottle on the table. I reached over and
palmed the water. I drank it in one gulp. It was cold and felt good
going down. I was beginning to feel the effects of my beating, but
I refused to show any pain.

If I hadn’t known any better I would
think that he stayed behind to make sure I was okay. Except why
would he care? He’s the one that held me down to take the
beating.

I stood, ignoring the way
the room spun around me, “What time is it?”

“
Sit back down.”

“
I have shit to
do.”

“
You look like shit, and
you’re about to pass out.”

I moved fast, and he
wasn’t expecting it. I had my hand around his throat, and I was
half lying across him where he sat, lounged in a beat up chair. “If
you think a couple of broken ribs and some bruises are going to
keep me down then you’re stupid.”

He shoved me away, and I
landed back on the couch. I got back up with clenched
fists.

“
Chill.” He said, rising
out of his chair. “You wanna leave? Go.”

“
You might want to think
about whose side you’re on. I’m not backing down.”

“
Is that a threat?” His
eyes narrowed dangerously.

“
No.” I snapped. “It’s a
fact.” I saw my keys lying on the table, and I grabbed
them.

He smirked but he made no move to
challenge me. “You better do something about your face before you
leave. I have a feeling that little girl of yours might not take to
seeing you like this so well. How are you going to explain
yourself? Huh?”

I must have showed my doubt because he
laughed. “You’ve got a lot to learn, pup.”

With that he walked out the front
door.

I stood there for long moments, using
my senses, making certain I was alone. When I was sure he wasn’t
coming back I walked into the tiny, dirty bathroom and looked into
the mirror.

I had an idea of what I
would see, because my face hurt like hell. He had been right. I
couldn’t go around Heven like this. I couldn’t explain, and she
would be scared to death. I looked at the dried blood covering my
face and the swollen bruises distorting my face. No, I couldn’t see
her like this.

With a sigh I turned away from the
mirror and turned on the shower. I healed fast but my injuries were
pretty bad. If I was a normal person I would be in a comma. But I
wasn’t normal. I should be healed in a matter of days.

I bit back a hiss when the water hit
my back and sides. Broken ribs hurt like a bitch. And so did open
cuts and burns. I scrubbed myself good anyway, ignoring the searing
pain. The soap was the cheap kind, the kind that felt like
sandpaper against your skin. I washed quickly, but thoroughly then
turned the water off and stepped out. I didn’t have time to
linger.

Just because I couldn’t let Heven see
me didn’t mean I couldn’t see her.

The next few days were
going to be endless, but I could do it. I had too. Staying away
from her now was necessary. I couldn’t explain and didn’t know how
even if I wanted to. So I would go back to watching her from afar,
protecting her in the shadows. She was going to be hurt if I wasn’t
around. I hoped she could forgive me.

But at least she’d be
alive.

Chapter
Eleven

Heven

“
Earth to Heven. Come in
Heven…” Kimber said, waving her hand in front of my
eyes.

I blinked, my attention slowly coming
back to reality. Back to the overcrowded coffee house that we were
sitting in. I glanced at Kimber who was staring at me with an
exasperated frown. “Sorry, I wasn’t listening.”

“
Yeah, what else is new?”
Kimber muttered

I sighed and looked down
into my cappuccino. The foam on the top was thick and rich looking,
and my stomach turned. “I’m sorry. I know I haven’t been a very
good friend lately.”

“
No, I’m sorry. That was
bitchy. I would be acting the same way if Cole disappeared for
three days and didn’t tell me anything.”

Three days. Three long,
endless days of staring at my phone, the door, and the window,
waiting for him to appear. I kept expecting that familiar feeling
of safety that I have grown so accustomed to just wash over me, but
it hasn’t, and my insides feel hollow.

Where are you Sam? Where
have you gone and why did you leave me?

What if he was hurt or sick and no one
was there to help him? He didn’t have a family, all he had were
those creepy roommates, and I got the impression they would hurt
him before they would help him. All he had was me. What if he was
lying somewhere wondering why I hadn’t come and was feeling
betrayed and hurt?

I felt betrayed and hurt.
How could someone just tell you that they love you and then
disappear?

My cell phone beeped, a
signal that a text was received. I practically dived at my phone
and hit the button. ‘No New Messages’ was displayed on the screen.
Then the phone beeped again, and I realized it wasn’t my phone
doing the beeping but the phone in the booth behind us. I resisted
the urge to cry and shoved the phone in the pocket of my oversized
hoodie.

“
I don’t get it,” Kimber
said, taking a sip of her latte. “He hasn’t called at
all?”

“
No,” I said for the
millionth time. Before she could ask the next thing that she always
asks, I went ahead and responded, “And, no I don’t know where he
lives.”

“
I always thought
mysterious guys were hot. But now I am starting to think that they
aren’t good dating material.”

I looked up at her and
rolled my eyes. “
You’re
not dating him.”

“
Down girl. Don’t shoot
the messenger.”

I pushed the sleeve up and
fingered my bracelet, taking care to make sure the clasp was still
closed. He hadn’t been around to fix it. “He said he loved me,” I
whispered.

“
Why didn’t you say it
back?” Kimber asked leaning over the table towards me. She reached
out and fingered my bracelet.

“
I don’t know – I thought
I might but then he freaked over something he heard in the woods
and rushed me home. I wished I would have. Maybe he never would
have left.” I shoved the cappuccino away. I couldn’t stand its
smell any longer. My stomach was in terrible knots, and I had a
headache.

“
This isn’t your fault.”
Kimber said vehemently.

Maybe it was.

I scrubbed a hand over my
face. The noise of the coffee bar was pressing in on me. I wanted
to scream for everyone to just be quiet. My hands were shaking, and
I needed to get out of there.

“
I have to go,” I said,
rushing out of the booth.

“
Wait!” Kimber caught my
wrist across the table, pulling me back. I struggled, pulling away,
only to stumble forward right into something solid and
warm.