chapter Two
It was several days before we could go save Katrina. Even though we had the location, the intelligence reports we got showed that there was no activity in that address. No one knew where Katrina was and we hadn't heard from the kidnapper or kidnappers. I was beginning to go crazy just sitting put, doing nothing. Dylan tried to help and getting to know him was a good distraction. But it only stood to reason that the inactivity would get to us eventually.
That morning we were lying next to each other. We'd just come into the room and were exhausted. I didn't even bother to change out of my clothes as I collapsed on the bed. I moved a little and rested my head on his arm. The other arm automatically came around me.
“This is driving me crazy.” He said after a while.
I was surprised to hear him admit it. I knew Dylan was the action type, he was a protector after all, but he was always so sure of himself and in control. I'd never known him to let any vulnerability show. I caressed his chest, thrilled with the way his muscles corded and rippled.
“I'm sure we'll get information any day now.” I soothed.
“It's just that I was so sure we would be on our way back to the states now. I want to spend time with you and take you on dates and everything.”
I smiled in delight. “Well, we might not be able to go on dates right now, but we are spending time together.” I pointed out.
“We are, aren't we?”
“Yeah. And we can talk. We haven't done much of that, really.” Probably because we'd spent eight months on the phone before we'd finally begun dating, we seemed to spend more time necking than anything.
“Okay. So what do you want to talk about?” He asked.
I knew what I wanted to talk about, but it was a topic that had been out of bounds, sort of. Still, I needed to know and he needed to talk about it. So I resorted to telepathy. Tentatively, I reached out and tried to connect with him.
You know what I want to know, Dylan.
I felt his instant withdrawal and it was not just that he'd taken his arms from around me. Even though we were still touching, I knew we'd lost connection. He was silent for several minutes while I waited patiently. Finally, I felt his presence again.
I wish you wouldn't go there, Lu.
But, why don't you want to talk about your family?
Because it hurts. He adjusted his position until he was looking in my eyes and I felt the devastation, which was reflected in his. It just hurts too much.
I knew there were hidden depths to this man I'd fallen in love with. Stuff he'd experienced before I'd ever come along. There were so many gaps in his life and I desperately needed to know more about him. His complete refusal to even discuss his past had been driving me nuts for several months now. I'd taken his refusal to talk to me as a sign that he didn't trust me. However, looking into his eyes and seeing the despair in them, I finally realized that what was going on inside him was bigger than me. It was probably bigger than him, too, and I decided to wait until he was ready to talk about it. Instead of asking him to trust me, I guess it was time I showed some trust of my own.
“Did I ever tell you about how I left London for the states?” I asked, trying to keep my voice as casual as possible.
He turned to look at me then. You don't have to do this, Lu.
“I haven't spoken to anyone about this.” I said, choosing to ignore him. “I know you read up on me when you were assigned as my bodyguard last year, but well...” I shrugged.
Lu, come on, sweetheart. You really don't have to talk about this.
I need to, Dylan. It's been festering inside me for so long and now that I'm back here, it all threatens to swallow me. I need to get it out so I can move on with my life.
He sat up then and leaning against the headboard, he held out a hand.
Then let me hold you while you talk.
I scrambled up to a sitting position and leaned into the protective circle of his arms. As always, anytime I was in his arms, I felt like I was finally home. It felt so right. I sighed and relaxed, but was silent for a while, trying to sort out my thoughts. He just held me and waited.
“You know about how I got away, right? I'd crawled into the vault at home to read a book, then I slept off. I woke up sometime later and immediately knew that something was desperately wrong. I left the vault and went upstairs. I could hear voices then. As I got closer, I heard my father's voice. He was pleading.”
I went silent as I relieved the horror of that day. I could feel nausea rising up and I pushed it back. I trembled slightly and Dylan's arms tightened around me. Feeling the strength coming from him, I took a deep breath and went on.
“I couldn't see what was going on, but I heard him pleading, asking them to spare Claudia's life. Claudia was my little sister; she was just eleven years old then. He told them that she was a child and knew nothing about it. But they claimed that his daughter had it and that if she didn't speak, she would go the way of the mother. That was when I knew my mom was gone. They'd killed her, I just knew it. I tried to search for her using telepathy but all I got was emptiness. There was a dark hole where her essence used to be.”
I could feel the tears trickling down my face. I bent my head and used my shoulder to try and rub them off, but they just kept coming faster. I choked down a sob and took a deep breath. When I'd achieved some semblance of calm, I went on.
“Just then I could feel my dad searching for me and I connected with him. He told me in a calm voice to go back to the vault and not come out. I wanted to know what was going on, what had happened to mom. But he just told me that he loved me and even when I couldn't see him, he would be there for me. Then he ordered me into the vault in a tone that didn't brook disobedience. Sobbing, I crept back into the vault. I just knew that my life as I knew it had ended that day. But even in my wildest imagination, I could never have known how completely it had ended. By the time the people from the Protector HQ came over and found me in the vault, every one of my family was dead. Murdered by whoever had been in our house that day, demanding it.”
Silent sobs racked my body as I finished narrating the events of that terrible night. I still had nightmares about it, even though I'd tried so hard to forget.
***
I held the petite woman in my arms as she sobbed and felt my heart open even more to her. She was the other half of my soul and it pained me to see her hurting so much. Such tragedy should never have befallen such a young girl, but that was life and even vampires were not immune to it.
As I held her, I muttered comforting words and told her how much I loved her and how brave and strong she was. Half the time, I didn't even know what I was saying; I just felt this overwhelming need to ease her hurt. Finally she calmed down and I reached for the box of tissues on the bedside table and handed it to her. I pulled out a handful and, grabbing hold of the edge of her chin, I tipped her face upward and slowly wiped at the tears.
When I was done, she blinked and raised her tear spiked lashes, and I felt my chest tighten with emotion. She was so beautiful. Her gray eyes looked like the sky after a storm and I felt every part of me begin to melt. I leaned forward and took her lips in a gentle kiss, meant to give comfort. Her eyelashes went down as she shut her eyes. With a sigh, she wrapped her arms around me and opened her mouth, deepening the kiss.
I tasted the salt from her tears and felt her sadness. She shifted slightly and the nature of the kiss changed, becoming passionate. I drew her closer and slanted my mouth over hers so I could get better access. She teased me with her tongue before she caught hold of mine and sucked gently. I went from hot to red hot in an instant. I broke the kiss with a groan, knowing that if I didn't stop then, we would go further than we'd ever gone before.