Page 46 of Resurrection
“The creature is in the building and it’s safe. Marcus is looking after it until we figure out how to get you under control.”
“The only time I’m not in control is when you are around. Maybe we should remove you and I’ll be fine.”
The asshole laughs.
My fingers twitch with an urge to claw his pretty face out. The only reason I stay rooted to the spot is that I can still feel the taste of him in my mouth and the burn of his touch on my skin. By feeding me his blood before I stupidly ran to save him,he made sure that he is embedded in me so deep that only death will keep me from it. Maybe not even that.
“Ah, bella.” His deep voice sends shivers down my spine. “But you wouldn’t have it any other way, now would you.” Cocking his head to the side, his eyes crinkle at the corners. The easygoing attitude can’t hide the hunger burning in his gaze, and my heart skips a beat. “It didn’t seem to bother you so much before we were so rudely interrupted.”
“It was a moment of weakness and insanity. Acting on instinct instead of using my brain.” I can be the bigger person and not take the bait as well. “It will never happen again. You can be sure of that.”
And that is true. It was pure instinct because that is how I function now that they turned me into a monster. All I want is blood, sex, and violence. Not necessarily in that order and not necessarily separate from each other. I’ve succumbed to the thirst for blood and violence. I’ve avoided the hunger for sex part so far, thankfully.
I hate myself that it bothers me to see the hurt look on his face at my words.He made sure you died, April. Don’t be stupid to fall for his tricks again.Berating myself internally, I hold his gaze. There is so much longing in his look that he is not trying to hide right now, tears prickle my eyes, and his face turns blurry for a second.
“I only hope you will forgive me for what I have done one day, my redemption.”
“You can hope I will forgive you, but it will never happen. And stop calling me your redemption. I’m your nothing, you hear me? Nothing.” Fighting the emotions swirling inside me, I swallow the lump the size of a golf ball stuck in my throat. “If it’s not vampires, humans, or animals, then Eshe was full of shit, just as I thought.”
“Well.” Sebastian struggles to keep up with the change of subject, but finally he blows a breath and gently sets the glass on the bar. “I’m only worried about magic…”
I can’t help it. I burst out laughing, and he trails off watching me like he has never seen me before in his life. I mean, come on. Monster animals running around the world was a crazy enough thought, but magic? What’s next? Dragons, elves, and dwarves will start coming for a cup of tea? The more I think about it, the harder I laugh.
“You do remember me telling you that when they killed you millennia ago, they used a mage to curse your blood, do you not?” Drawling, Sebastian presses his lips in a thin line.
A few more giggles and barks of laughter escape me before I finally realize how serious he is. “You gotta be joking! They sent witches to kill me? Like, what the fuck! Sucking my blood and turning me into this crazy thing was not enough?”
“I’m not sure that is the case, but I will be looking into it.” Satisfied that I finally understand the gravity of the situation, he turns to leave the apartment. “Until we are sure what we are dealing with, stay here.”
The cracked door closes behind him with a soft click. I gape at it for a long time after he is gone, the words magic, witches, and mages spinning through my head. And in his right mind, Sebastian told me to stay here? In an apartment where there are not many places to hide or fight if someone tries to kill me.
Like hell I will wait here to be killed.
I’m out of the hotel before the front door of the penthouse is done closing behind me.
Chapter Forty-Four
The city blurs while I run through the streets. A car crashes into a parked van when I zip across the wide road in front of it, nicking it with my leg. Horns blare, the blaring of the alarm from the silver sedan piercing the hum of the Financial District. Stopping between a pizza place and a dry cleaner, I lean on the wall, watching the middle-aged man run out of the bakery, waving his arms angrily at the stunned woman still behind the wheel of the silver sedan.
Sticking my head out, scanning everything around me, I make sure no one noticed me when I raised all that racket. With the air clear, I bolt down the sidewalk so fast it’s with great effort that I’m able to take turns at the corners. When a recognizable restaurant comes into view, I almost sob with relief. Entering the dark alley, the familiar dumpster meets me like an old friend. My stomach lurches at the stench that shouldn’t bother me, but thanks to my new sense of smell it makes me want to retch. Holding my breath, I slink in the shadows.
Glancing around to make sure no one is around me, I pull the manhole lid up, sliding down the metal stairs and jerking it closed above my head. The putrid air of stagnant water from thetunnels is not much of an improvement, but it has the calming effect I was hoping to achieve. After clinging to the railing for a while, I move down until my shoes plunk down in nasty water that sloshes over my toes. Ignoring everything, I walk up to my usual spot, and with a sigh, slide down the damp wall to sit on the moist ground.
“Why don’t I feel at home?” My voice echoes in the empty tunnels.
I was hoping to get the same feeling I always did after closing the lid to my sewer and shutting the world out. Instead, I want to barf, and my skin is feeling itchy already. Nostrils flaring, I grind my teeth and stubbornly stay where I am. I’ll sit here for days if I have to, until all thoughts of magic and killers disappear from my head. That’s why I came here. This will be the last place anyone will expect me to be. Slowly, my tempestuous thoughts go silent, and for once I feel peace inside my mind. With a heavy sigh, my shoulders sag and my arms flop off my lap, feeling like limp noodles. My eyelids droop, and I allow myself to drift off.
“I knew I’d find you here.” A deep voice makes me jump out of my skin. “I should’ve checked this place first, but I didn’t want to give Andrei a clue.”
I glare at Marcus when he descends the metal stairs. Luckily, he closed the lid when he invited himself in here. His boots clink on each bar before splashing in the murky water when he drops, not stepping on the last two steps.
“Why exactly are you here?”
“Sebastian freaked out when he didn’t find you where he specifically told you to stay.” Curiously looking around, he ignores my bristling and plops down next to me.
“I’m not a dog. Come, April…Sit, April…Stay, April.” While I’m impersonating the jerk, Marcus laughs. “Even mutt doesn’t follow those commands. First, he tells me a mage or a witch might try to kill me, then in his right mind, he dares order mearound to sit in a closed apartment and wait for it. Sebastian can go suck on a lollipop.”
Slapping a paw sized hand on his thick thigh, Marcus howls with laughter, the tunnels of the sewer amplifying the sound. My head pulsates because it’s like a gong going off next to my ear. After listening to him wheeze and hoot for a while, my lips start twitching, and eventually I start giggling along with him.
