“Devon!” her terrified scream followed him. The torment in her voice caused his non-beating heart to shatter into a thousand pieces, but he did not slow as he raced further into the night.
***
Cassie stood in the shadows, her arms folded over her chest as she continued to glare at everyone every once in awhile. Julian remained rigid by the door, his hand resting upon it, his ice colored eyes focused upon her. The windows had been boarded back up, the bodies tossed into the basement, and the trapdoor blocked by a heap of shelves piled on top of it. No one was sleeping in the backroom tonight; they had all joined her and Julian in the front room.
Though she hadn’t thought that they would sleep, and knew that she would not, soft snores filled the room. Chris stood by the other window, his head bowed, his arms folded over his chest as he leaned against the window. Though he almost looked like he was asleep, Cassie knew that he was not. Neither was Liam, who was sitting in a chair, his feet propped up on one of the counters, the back of his chair leaning against the wall.
They were babysitting her, and she resented them all for it because the minute that they weren’t looking, she was going after Devon. Come hell or high water, she was going out there and she was going to find him. And once she did, she did not care what happened, she would do whatever she could to make him happy, and to bring him back here where he would be at least a little safer. And where she knew where the hell he was!
She did not kid herself, and neither did anyone else, into thinking that they were safe here. The creatures knew that they were here. They simply had nowhere else to go right now. No place could be completely barricaded, and nowhere would have the supplies that the store had. And there was no way that Cassie was going to leave this store without Devon. She had been separated from him for too long when she had been held prisoner, she was not going to take the chance of losing him again.
A small moan snapped her attention toward Melissa as she turned slowly over. Though she continued to sleep, her face twisted in pain as she turned onto her side. Melissa healed fast, and Annabelle had used her powers to help heal the wounds in Melissa’s side, but they were still deep and painful. Every time she moved, she moaned in pain. Cassie’s heart went out to her. She hated to see her friend in such discomfort. Melissa settled back down, her mouth going slack as sleep reclaimed her.
Cassie turned back to the window, wishing that she could see through the board that covered it. Her skin crawled, her body ached, she itched to jump through that window and flee into the night in search of Devon. She wanted to see him, needed to see him. Where was he out there? Why had he left her?
A knot formed in her throat, she found it difficult to breathe. She knew why he had left her, but she just wished that he had talked to her about it first. That he had given her a chance to talk to him. Shuddering, Cassie wrapped her arms around herself, trying hard not to completely unravel. She would join him; she would give him anything he wanted, even her life. She didn’t care what the consequences of those actions would be anymore, as long as it made him happy, and she could be with him again.
“You’re not going out there.”
Cassie’s gaze darted to Julian as he growled the command in a gravelly, irritated voice. Her eyes narrowed, her hands tightened upon her arms. “I didn’t say I was.”
He lifted his head, his eerie eyes oddly bright in the small amount of light filtering into the room. His handsome face was hard; lines of pain etched his mouth. He had not been hurt in the battle, Cassie knew those lines of pain were because of her. Guilt and anguish for him filled her. She truly did love him, not like he loved her, but she desperately wanted him to be happy. And unfortunately she could not make him happy, no matter how much she wished she could. He had a piece of her heart, along with most people in this room, but Devon owned her soul, her body, and her mind. She could only hope that eventually Julian would find someone that could return his love, someone that could give him everything that he wanted and so desperately needed.
He quirked an eyebrow at her. “I know you,” he grumbled.
Cassie turned away from him; she couldn’t meet his gaze again. He did know her, not only had he touched her, and seen many of the details of her life, but he knew who she was, and what she thought. He knew her strengths and most of all he knew all of her many weaknesses. He knew that she battled with her self-control, not as bad as Julian, and nowhere near as bad Devon, but there was something inside of her too. Something dark, and dangerous, and lethal.
“I don’t understand why he left,” she whispered.
“Yes, you do.”
Cassie shuddered as she bit on her bottom lip nervously. Yes she did, but if he had just given her a chance, she would have agreed to give him everything that he wanted. “But he doesn’t have to fight it anymore,” she whispered.
Julian shifted; there was a ripple of muscles that reminded her of a sleek panther hunting its prey. She frowned at him, her forehead furrowing as anger spurted through her. She could sense his displeasure, his disapproval. “Yes, he does.”
Cassie opened her mouth to protest, but he swiftly cut her off. “You may have chosen him over me princess, but I’m going to make damn sure that you stay alive. You know, as well as I, that there is no way to know what could happen to you, and that is not a chance I am willing to take.”
She stared hopelessly back at him, she knew that he realized how much this meant to her, how much she wanted this. But, like Devon, her safety would always be his priority and there would be no changing his mind on that. But she needed him to understand her on this one. “I am,” she whispered.
“Really?” he demanded sharply. “Are you really? You may not care what happens to you, but I’m pretty damn sure that you care about what happens to Chris, Melissa, Luther, and everyone else in this room.”
She recoiled slightly, stunned by his words and the vehemence behind them. “Of course I do!” she retorted.
“Well if something goes wrong you could quite possibly kill them all. And if you go wrong, then Devon is going to go wrong, so there is a good possibility that everyone in this room will end up dead. Including me. I love you princess, and I’ve lived a long life, but I am not ready to give it up yet. Neither am I willing to lose you.”
Tears bloomed in her eyes; she swallowed back the lump in her throat. “Julian…”
“He’s not going to change you, not right now anyway. None of us can take the chance of losing you.”