“Dying will do that to a person.”
Thomas’s heart literally stopped in his chest. “Dying?” His voice cracked.
“Yeah. Twice that I know of, but she keeps things from me so I won’t worry.” She said it so nonchalantly, as if it wasn’t really that important at all.
Juliana stepped from the shadows at the bottom of the stairs. “Three times actually,” she said with the shrug of one shoulder.
A strangled noise came from the back of his throat. Again with the acting like it was no big deal. What was wrong with the women in his life? “Three times?” He looked at the fresh scars on her arm. “Don’t you think you should be in a hospital somewhere? Or at least in bed?”
She frowned. “I didn’t die yesterday. Just almost.”
Almost. Yes, that was so much better. She just almost died. He laughed, realizing he sounded half-crazed but unable to help himself.
Juliana shook her head then turned to his sister. “No worries. Rachel was asleep. I heard everything. I would have stopped you if I didn’t want him to know. He’s got to earn the rest though.”
Relief smoothed the lines around Sara’s eyes and she nodded. Getting caught spilling secrets had spooked her. Thomas wouldn’t get anything else out of her.
“It’s time for me to go home,” Juliana said and opened the front door.
“Wait,” he and his sister said almost in unison. Juliana ignored them and stepped outside, shutting the door behind her.
“I need to go after her,” Thomas said. “Thank you for telling me what you did. It’s more than I knew.”
“You knew she was there, didn’t you?” his sister asked.
“I knew, but I needed to hear it and so did she. Neither of us are very good at talking to each other.”
Sara studied him for a moment. “At least you know it, I guess. Go after her.”
He opened the door.
“Thomas,” she said stopping him.
He looked over his shoulder.
“Take care of her this time.”
Perhaps it was stupid of her to wander out into the dark by herself considering everything that was going on, but she didn’t care. She would rather face both demons by herself again than spend one more moment in that house. She had to get away. She couldn’t face the questions Thomas would have. Not right then.
If he was sincere with his sister about the reason he left, she had some thinking to do. Not that it excused him leaving without explaining, or asking her what she wanted.
Part of her regretted letting Sara tell Thomas how much she grieved when he left. She’d hoped he would realize she never intended for him to leave completely. She never wanted that, but his temper and ego got the best of him. Or so she’d thought. His words were playing on an endless loop in her head. Had he really left to give her freedom? She’d never known Thomas to do anything that didn’t benefit him in the end. She couldn’t see how this did.
The night wind wrapped around her as she walked toward home. Goosebumps rose on her arms, reminding her that she didn’t have a jacket, or even sleeves for that matter. She rubbed her arms roughly with her hands in an attempt to warm herself. After a few moments she gave up, letting the cold sink into her skin and numb her.
A car approached and she willed herself to blend in with the shadows. To not be seen. It had never worked in any of her twenty-seven years, but there was a first time for everything.
The car slid to a smooth stop a short distance in front of her and the passenger door opened. She arched a brow thinking of how many bad horror movies she’d seen that started just like this—the kind vampire pulling over to pick up the lonely hitchhiker. It always ended badly for one party or the other. She considered ignoring the car and walking past, despite the welcoming warmth that seeped from its interior.
“Please.” Thomas’s voice was low, with no demand in it. Just a plea. She couldn’t deny him. She slid into the car and shut the door. “Thank you,” he said but didn’t look at her as he pulled away from the curb.
She kept her eyes locked on the scenery passing her window and let herself stay lost in her thoughts. A dull ache formed in her chest and she rubbed it with her hand as she wondered for a moment if she was going to cry. Then she realized the feeling wasn’t hers. She glanced at Thomas. His eyes stayed locked on the road in front of them, his knuckles white where he gripped the wheel. Every muscle in his body was tight. She could almost hear his teeth creak as he gnashed them together.
Picking up each other’s emotions was just one of the many joys of being United. Her shields were iron tight, and usually so were his. Evidently he’d let them slip. “Thomas.” That was all she said. Just his name.
The car jerked to a stop. Slowly, by degrees, the depression faded.
His hands still gripped the wheel and he looked straight ahead. “I’m sorry,” he said.
She let the silence stretch, uncertain if he was talking about the sorrow he’d transmitted or something else.
“I shouldn’t have come back. Not without talking to you first.”
“That might have proven difficult, as I would have just hung up on you.”
He ignored her attempt to lighten the mood and started driving again. When he stopped in front of her house, she didn’t move. After a while he said, “I never dreamed my leaving would bring you such pain. I knew you’d be upset, but not heartbroken. I hoped only that you would realize that you desired me, wanted me as much as I did you. That we were meant to be together. It never occurred to me that you could already be in love with me.”
“Did you really think I agreed to be tied to you for the rest of my life because I wanted to get laid?” She tried but couldn’t keep the bitterness from her voice.
He reached out his hand but pulled back before he touched her. “I reacted without thinking. I did what I thought was best for the both of us. I thought if I left you’d experience life and come around to the idea of us faster. But I never heard from you. I finally resolved to swallow my pride and come back whether you wanted me or not.”
She stared at him, her jaw slack with disbelief. “Thomas, I called you. Over and over again, I called.”
He went utterly still.
“Every day,” she said, not believing he didn’t know. He had to know. “I called all day, every day for a week. Someone else always answered. The last day I was informed in no uncertain terms that regardless of what I fancied myself to be to you, you did not wish to speak to me and it would be better for everyone involved if I just gave up.” She left out a few of the other things the female stated, mostly because she had no desire to know if they were true. “That was when I broke down on Sara’s couch and vowed never to call you again. No matter how much I might want to. I figured you’d call me if they were wrong. You never did.”
He turned to her, eyes pure black with rage. “Who was it that told you this?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Some girl. Does it matter?”
“It shall matter very much to them if I ever find out.”
“Surely something you said or did must have given them the idea you were through with me,” she insisted.
He shook his head. “No, I was wallowing in self-pity. They were told not to disturb me except for items of the utmost importance. Namely you.”
She sighed. “And why would they think I was important?” She hadn’t so why would they? He’d never understood just how disliked she was by a good portion of the coven. She was an outsider, an invader. For the most part that changed when she killed Raoul’s lackeys. Oddly enough, it proved she was worthy to be among them. Or some crap like that. She didn’t really care anymore.
“They knew how I felt about you. I made it very clear.”