“I’m fine. At least, I think I am. I just needed to work through something,” Willow told Roxy honestly.
“And now you have?”
“Yes. Now I have.” For two days and nights she’d refused all contact with people, concentrating only on Seth. She’d tried to contact him, tried to figure out what she wanted. Anytime she tried to imagine her life without him, her stomach would clench into knots.
She still wasn’t sure exactly what she felt for him, but she knew she wanted to at least give it—give them—a chance. She had thought and rethought her reasons until she was positive she wasn’t doing anything simply because she felt an obligation to him. But Willow also wanted to make sure she was more than a pet to him. She couldn’t be that. Not even if she were treated as a prized pet and given anything she ever desired in exchange for the blood she provided.
As she tried to make her decision, her thoughts continuously returned to the week she’d spent with Seth. At no time while she was there had he made her feel like anything but a welcome guest. Looking back, now that she knew he’d drank her blood, she still couldn’t detect any difference in how’d he treated her.
“What do you do every night, Will?” Roxy’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts again. “You leave at sunset and don’t come back until nearly dawn. What are you doing?”
“I’m looking for someone.” Willow answered her sister’s question, knowing Roxy wouldn’t give up until she had at least a few answers.
Roxy shot her a disbelieving look. “It doesn’t take that long to find someone.”
“It does when you’re looking for someone specific but you don’t know where to find him. And if you’ll excuse me, I have to go. I’m going to be unbelievably pissed at you if you make me miss my meeting.” Without another word, Willow turned and left the apartment.
She could barely contain her excitement when she reached the bar. It had taken two nights, but she’d finally gotten the bartender to talk to her. He’d sworn to her that Jason would be in tonight, but he wasn’t sure what time. He’d explained the man was scheduled for an update, that he would be there—even if just for a few minutes—to make sure everything was running smoothly while Seth was unavailable.
Walking in, she panicked. What if she had missed him? When the bartender saw her approach, he smiled and shook his head. He reassured her that she hadn’t missed Jason.
Willow sat at a table, careful to face the door. She also made certain to keep a lazy eye on the bar, thankful for the peaceful crowd. Since the Night Crawlers weren’t due to play until the next night, Willow felt reasonably sure she would be able to spot Jason as soon as he walked in.
Dismissing all the men asking her to dance and denying anyone who asked to join her, Willow tried to wait patiently, constantly reminding herself that the bartender said she hadn’t missed him. After what felt like an eternity, Jason finally arrived.
Willow watched him enter and stride over to the bar. His blond hair made him easier to pick out in the dim lighting. She waited for Jason to speak to the bartender, before leaving her table to approach him as he lounged against the polished countertop. She had a favor to ask and didn’t want to piss him off by interrupting his business.
She was only a few feet away from him when Jason turned and stared at her.
“Can we talk?”
“I’m pretty busy right now,” Jason told her coldly.
“Please. Just five minutes.” She used the same line he had when he approached her about Seth.
“Make it quick,” he sighed, repeating her answer.
“Can we at least go sit down?”
Jason nodded and followed Willow to her table.
“It’s about Seth…” she began timidly.
“Go on.” His voice was unemotional as he sat opposite her.
“I want you to take me to him.”
“Why?” He leaned forward. She seemed to have his undivided attention now.
“I tried to go see him a few nights ago…” She paused, uncertain how much to tell him. “I had his address, but couldn’t get up to his apartment. And when I spoke to the manager, he said that Seth wouldn’t pick up his phone. Without Seth’s approval, my hands are tied. I couldn’t even get the number of the floor he lives on or his phone number.” And damn her sister—Roxy had erased the number off their caller ID.
Jason nodded. “Seth’s very particular about his privacy. He makes certain his managers are quite aware of that. I’m sure you can understand why.”
“Just take me to him. That’s all I want. All I’m asking you for.”
Jason snorted. “Why should I? Are you planning on killing him this time? At least then he’d be put out of his misery. Do you know what it feels like to starve to death?” His tone became nasty.
“Listen to me, sport,” she said, getting nasty right back. “I only want a few minutes of his time. I need to talk to him and don’t ask me what I want to talk to him about. Because it’s none of your business.” Willow’s temper was rising, getting the best of her good intentions to play nice.
“Then you damn sure aren’t getting taken to his apartment,” Jason stated as he leaned back. He crossed his arms over his chest, and glared at her. “Do you know what I had to go through to find out what was going on with him? To get him to tell me that he was slowly dying? He’s the best friend I’ve ever had and I will not let you hurt him, again.”
After a minute she gave up. She could understand his concern. “Fine. Look, I needed a few days to work through everything. I don’t think it was too much to ask for considering all the information that was thrown at me. And your friend made it pretty clear he didn’t want me around at that moment as well.” Her tone softened, became almost pleading. “I just want to tell him what I decided. And I want to tell him in person—in private. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for either.”
“Fine.” Jason stood. “Why not, I don’t think you could put him in a worse mood.” Without looking back to see if she was following, he walked through the bar to the exit.
Five very tense minutes later she was in the elevator with Jason, heading up to see Seth.
When the doors opened Willow stepped out and Jason gave a slight bow, a sarcastic smile on his face. As the doors closed once more, leaving her alone in the apartment, she wondered if she’d made the right decision.
“Seth?” Walking through the apartment, she called out his name, looking for him. The bedroom door loomed before her and she felt another moment of doubt.
“Seth?” She called him again as she knocked. When he didn’t answer, she opened the door, gasping at the mess she saw.
“Oh my God,” she exclaimed as she looked around. Clothes and glass were all over the floor. Anything fragile had been broken, and over half of the material on the floor was shredded.
“What do you want?” he growled from the side of the room.
“Seth? What happened?” At first she didn’t see him. When she spotted his form squatting in a corner, she rushed toward him.
“Go away, Willow.” He turned away from her, showing her his back.
“What’s wrong, what’s going on?” Concern flooded her body. Reaching out, she moved forward until she was only a few feet shy of touching him. Moving slowly so she didn’t startle him, she continued to close the distance between them.
“Go away,” he screamed, still in the corner.
“No. Let me help you…” Before she could say another word he was standing. He moved forward, pushing her back against the wall.