A/N: Hellooo lovelies :) We've got a new chapter up for you guys, mostly in part to your incredible reviewers- and of course, the awesome and much appreciated collaborations with xxdarknessxfallsxx!
Ummidia Q, you made my day. So reviewers, keep em comin!
As always; Read, Enjoy, Review
Love ya'll
- Swan's Catastrophe
Chapter 10: Blood On My Hands
You felt the coldness in my eyes, and something I'm not revealing.
Though you got used to my disguise, you can't shed this awful feeling.
It's the me that I let you know, 'cause I never show - I have my reasons.
I hate to say that I told you so, but I told you so, yeah!
There's blood on my hands, like the blood in you.
Some things can't be treated; so don't make me,
don't make me be myself around you.
- Blood On My Hands, The Used
I took another wary step towards my front door as the red-eyed men advanced. This was not good. Their crimson eyes followed my movements, and the man who stood a few feet ahead raised an eyebrow at me.
"We hear that you've offered your services to the drug dealer, Reed," said the man who I assumed to be the boss. His voice was like a deeper, darker version of Reed's.
"Offered is such a vague term," I replied nervously, voice shaking. "Really, I was tricked and forced into lending my services."
My back was against the door now, and my hand reached out behind me, searching for the doorknob. The man's eyes never strayed from my own, and he stepped towards me again, only stopping when he was only a foot or so away. On the inside, I was panicking. But on the surface…no, I was still panicking.
"What exactly do you want?" I asked, flinching when the red eyed man glared at me.
"We have a little bone to pick with your master," the man said patiently. My first thought was 'Bone to pick? What is this, the old west?' but then, the wheels began to turn in my head, and I quickly realized where this was going. "But because your master is conveniently indisposed at the moment, we'll have to settle for sending the message through you."
My eyes widened into saucers and my hand began searching for the doorknob more frantically. Why I thought putting a door between me and these men would stop their attack, I didn't know. But, I was kind of beyond using logic at this point. And they hadn't even touched me yet!
There was a silent few seconds where I stared at the man, and he stared back. The entire time I stared, I was searching for the doorknob.
Finally, my hand closed around the small, bulbous, handle. Not wasting any time, I turned it, and nearly fell into my foyer.
Forgetting everything, including the part where I was supposed to shut the door and lock it, I ran for the stairs.
I had made it to the fourth step, a new record for creating distance between my assailants, before I was tackled. A strong hand wrapped viciously around my ankle, yanking so roughly I was surprised it wasn't torn from the socket. I screamed both out of fear and pain as I was dragged back down the stairs. At the bottom, were more red-eyed men, waiting for me. My screams intensified as they all lifted me up like some sort of sacrifice and shuffled to the door. My eyes were bulging out as I came up with eleven different nasty things they could do to me.
I struggled in their grip, finding a new reason to renew my fight. If I suddenly disappeared, Reed would have no reason to keep my mother alive, and without me, Reed wouldn't be able to handle the huge client base for Panacea so Caden would have no reason to keep Reed around. As I came to terms with the impact of this realization, I began to wonder if they had planned it like that all along.
No, there's no way they could know all of that.
"What do you want?" I screeched "Leave me alone!"
"Justice, my dear," the leader replied, he was walking calmly beside us as if it were completely normal for a bunch of supernatural men to be hoisting a human girl above their heads like a sacrifice to King Kong. "We want justice."
I screamed again, managing to kick my way out of their grip. As soon as I hit the ground, it was again fight or flight. This time, I decided to go a different route than my usual.
I fought. And I fought hard.
I was actually doing well until the leader man decided to get involved. One swift upper-cut, and I was down for the count.
"I hate it when they have to be difficult," the leader sighed, inspecting his punching hand idly. I cried softly to myself as I tried to rise back to my feet. My jaw felt like it had been smashed with a sledgehammer. The pain was excruciating. I was faintly aware of the gravel decorating my cheek from where I hit the ground. It stung, but it was nothing like the pain in my jaw. Even when Reed was being rough, he was never that rough.
A strong hand wrapped around my arm and pulled me forcefully to my feet.
I was surprised at how submissive I had become. It was as if that brief connection of skin when the man had touched me had somehow drained the fight right out of me. Or the life. I stood numbly, expecting another blow, or another cryptic speech from the leader, but it never came. Instead, the man who was basically holding me on my feet loosened their grip. If I wanted to, I could just rip my arm from their grasp, and run off again.
Surprise turned into curiousness and I raised my eyes from the ground to see what was going on.
In front of me, the red-eyed leader was being held up off the ground by a strong, pale hand that was wrapped around his throat.
"Unhand her," the male snapped, not breaking eye contact with the leader. The message was clear even without his attention. In an instant, I was free of binding hands. The man, still holding up the leader, turned to make sure and offered me a quick wink before turning back to the leader.
It was Caden!
"I believe you're forgetting who's in charge of this area, Shepard." Caden told the man. "I am the sheriff, and I decide who is kidnapped and who is not- and this girl," Caden paused to point at me, "is not to be touched," he finished. His voice grew cold for the last part.
"I should have you killed right here and now for letting your men parade her around without so much as a glamour," Caden snarled.
"But it's the middle of the night, all of the humans are asleep-"
"Do you think they remained asleep when her screams echoed throughout the entire neighborhood?" Caden interrupted, his eyes began to take on a silver tint.
The lead guy, Shepard, seemed to take the hint, and shut up.
"Now I'll let you off with a warning this time, but if something like this happens again, I'll have all of your heads," Caden said, eyeing each and every red eyed man present. "Understand?"
They all nodded, before vanishing into thin air. Absently, I began working my jaw- before the pain exploded ten times worse than before. Why am I so stupid? My eyes filled with tears, and I tried to cradle my mouth without actually touching it.
"You should get some ice on that," Caden said coolly, analyzing me with critical blue eyes.
I forced myself to ignore the pain long enough for my mouth to form the words 'Thank You.'
His icy eyes softened infinitesimally and he nodded in the direction of my house "I'll walk you home," he said gruffly, avoiding my gaze for the rest of the trip.
Apparently, my definition of walking someone home and Caden's definition were two completely different things. Instead of going back to wherever he came from when we reached my front door, he walked me upstairs into my bedroom, fluffed up my pillows before tucking me into bed, and then disappeared downstairs. A few minutes later, he returned with an ice pack, and a cup of chamomile tea.
I had never been more embarrassed in my life.
I wasn't used to being babied. Even before my mom was sick, I was usually the independent, 'I can take care of myself' type. So, this was completely foreign to me. Especially since the person babying me was not only a vampire, but a man who threatened to condemn Reed and I to death for the murder of his brother and his father if we didn't sell 'vampire steroid-spiked Panacea.'
The thing that pissed me off most was that I was only guilty of one of those crimes- and Reed wasn't guilty of either of them. God, I'd gotten us into some deep shit.
I picked up the notebook and pencil that Caden had set on my bedside table and began scribbling onto its blank page. When I was done, I flipped the notebook over, and all but shoved it in Caden's face.
He read the words I had written with slight disinterest, raising an eyebrow at me over the notebook when he finished. Giving a bored sigh, he took the notebook and pencil from my hand and jotted down his reply.
When he handed the notebook back to me, I smirked at what he wrote.
In messy handwriting at the top of the page, was my scribbled question: Why are you doing this?
Apparently, it didn't take long for Caden to register that I was referring to the babying instead of the blackmail because a few lines underneath my question, Caden had written: Protecting my investment.
I sighed painfully, slowly shaking my head. Why was it that all supernaturals saw me as some sort of property or "investment" instead of a person with feelings, and emotions, and breakable bones.
I sunk deeper into the mattress of my bed as I absently petted Lucy, who was curled up and purring beside me.
After about a half hour of silence, I began working my jaw. It still hurt, but now it hurt as if it were bruised and sore instead of the searing white pain it had been a little over an hour ago.
"When are you leaving?" I asked, trying to speak yet move my jaw as little as possible.
Caden reclined in his chair, glancing at my bedroom door.
"Oh, in about, 5...4...3...2..." He trailed off just as my bedroom door burst open. Reed's red eyes were fixed on Caden as he moved further into the room.
"Caden," Reed hissed. "Why have Shepard and his goons been sniffing around this place and the graveyard?"
"They're doing a lot more than "sniffing" as you can see," I grumbled, wincing beside myself when I felt some sort of grating when my jaw moved.
"Will you stop talking!" Caden snapped, turning away from Reed to glare at me. I rolled my eyes but obeyed as I fell under the scrutinizing gaze of Reed.
His red eyes smoldered when they landed on my bruised and swollen jaw before skipping to Caden, and then to my bedside table where an empty teacup, notebook and pencil, and baggy filled with melted ice all lay.
Narrowing his eyes, Reed sighed and crossed his arms.
"Okay, I give up," he said caustically, rolling his eyes skyward as his tongue flicked out to trace his lower lip. "Why would Shepard attack Hayley, why would you save Hayley, and why is there yet another fucking undead demon in my workroom?"
A/N: xxdarknessxfallsxx here! Thanks everybody soooooo very much for all the reviews and feedback! There was one in particular that made me break into a huge grin, when a certain somebody called me a "self-titled smut artist." I think I fell in love.
You guys make me so happy. I'm just as addicted to this as you are.