A Night at Tears of Crimson (20 page)

He walked over to Cara, pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly. He was pleased that Gabe left them in peace as he held her, allowing the tears to continue until she was finished. Wiping her cheeks with his hands he then lifted her chin to meet his eyes, “Lover, the only thing that was real there was the bite, I give you my word.”

Her thoughts almost unmanned him and he felt a pang of regret for allowing the deed. Considering the choices he had, he knew that allowing her to feel pain was something he refused. Delving into her thoughts he calmed her and removed the guilt she felt over the illusion that Gabe had given her of his seduction.

She felt the misery of betraying him lift immediately, and knew without doubt what he had done. Standing up quickly, she ran from the room feeling angered beyond belief that he would manipulate her that way. She had to get out of this place, the sensations and mind games were too overwhelming and she felt betrayed deeply. She made it to the front door before he visualized before it, stopping her exit.

“Cara, wait!” pulling her into his arms, he held on to her tightly not wanting her to leave this way. “Please lover, I cannot bare your pain,” he whispered the words desperately knowing how deeply he had hurt her by altering her mood.

“I can’t do this Rafe,” tears streamed down her cheeks as her heart ached beyond comparison. “You can’t play with my emotions that way, if you have any feelings for me you’ll let me leave,” She needed to clear her head and felt like she was smothering as her breathing became erratic.

She struggled in his arms and he felt his control slowly leaving him. His arms released her immediately and he moved away from the door knowing that allowing her space was all he could offer, as the monster inside of him demanded blood. “Leave now before I can no longer allow it,” he roared loudly shaking the walls, the hold he had on the blood lust inside himself was very thin. Watching her run out the front door the demon inside of him raged. He slammed the door behind her and destroyed the entire room to stop from running after her. In three hundred years he had not felt the overwhelming need to destroy and knew that it was the human emotion of love that caused the reaction.

She ran until reaching her home then made her way inside. She had never seen such anger in a person’s eyes and the thought of the violence in Rafe, terrified her. She had fallen in love with a demon and knew that he had the capability of destroying her. Her breath escaped in short pants and dizziness engulfed her as the pain of her heart breaking, dropped her to her knees. Forcing herself to calm her breathing, the white pin points of light dancing before her eyes slowly receded. This was not some fairy tale romance between a vampire and a human it was real, and there were consequences. She needed time to think and couldn’t help but wonder if she even had the capability of rational thought anymore.

"Leave him Cara," her granny appeared in a white mist before her and she stood in silent disbelief at the apparition.

"Granny?" The one word escaped her lips as she stared into the beautiful blue eyes of the woman she had once believed could walk on water. Her sense of reality came crashing down around her and all she could do was stare, aching for her arms to hold her again.

"Sweet child there is still time to make this right," her voice was soft and filled with compassion. She had watched her fall from grace with silent defeat, unable to cross the realms until this point to talk with her. The most Holy had granted her this one chance to alter her granddaughters’ path.

"I love him so much, Granny," how could she disappoint the woman that had given her so much love in a world that only attempted to hurt her, she thought miserably.

"You will find a greater love than this one child, don't destroy your soul for him." She wanted to plead with her to break that bond before it was too late. "To stay with him will take all the light from your soul Cara Faith." She could see the indecision on her face and knew she had little time left. "I can't stay Cara, you must find a way to resist this temptation," her spirit faded as the Holy one ended her visit to the earthly plane.

Emptiness filled her soul as she watched the vision disappear. Knowing what she had to do didn’t make it any easier but she forced herself to stand and walk upstairs to pack. She knew without any doubt whatsoever that if she stood before Rafe again tonight, he would make her forgot everything again. Her Granny had come to warn her, and after everything that happened tonight she wasn't sure the love she felt was strong enough to erase his betrayal.

Was she willing to die for that love or endanger herself from those that surrounded him? How could anyone answer that when they were surrounded by the seduction of a vampire? Her soul was being given a chance and she had to find some place to think without being influenced by his embrace.

She finished packing what she would need for a long vacation. The tears blurring her vision made the task almost impossible, but she finished as the sun was still high. Packing up her SUV, she drove over to Angela’s, refusing to leave without saying goodbye. In truth she wasn’t sure at that point if she would ever return and she wanted her to understand. Getting out, she walked up to her door and knocked lightly.

Angela answered the door, looking at her friend in astonishment. “Holy hell Cara you look like shit hon,” pulling her into her arms she hugged her tightly. Cara held onto her tightly and Angela knew that something horrible had happened. Pulling her inside and shutting the door she led her over to the couch and sat down beside her. “What happened?” she asked, knowing without doubt it had something to do with Rafe.

“I can’t explain Angela, but I need to get out of here for a little while.” forcing back the tears she wanted to tell her everything but couldn’t put her in danger that way.

“Should I call the police?” whatever he had done to her had been horrific, judging from the pain in her friend’s eyes and she felt the overwhelming need to punch him in the face.

“It’s nothing like that Angela,” shaking her head knowing she couldn’t explain the truth and tried to come up with a lie, hating herself for not being able to be honest. “Rafe and I just need some time apart, I really can’t say more,” taking a deep breath she forced herself not to hyperventilate at the thought of leaving him.

Angela felt her anger grow and she pulled Cara in for another hug. Whatever he had done to her had obviously been horrible enough that she couldn’t face him, and she would give him a piece of her mind later. “Where will you go?” she asked quietly while stroking her friend’s hair trying to calm her.

Forcing back the tears she tried to clear her mind. “Honestly I don’t know Angela I just need a few weeks to sort out my feelings,” Where was she going to go? she thought to herself. She definitely didn’t want to go home to Alabama and all the friends she had here were loyal to Rafe.

“My uncle owns a small cabin in Tennessee,” Angela remembered, “he doesn’t use it this time of year since hunting season’s over.” Standing up she walked over to the phone and called him. Their conversation was short and he gave her permission to use the cabin for a couple of weeks. “He says its fine, just clean up the place when you’re done,” she drew out a small map and handed it to Cara. “The keys are above the door at the entrance, I hope your cell phone gets reception out there because there’s no phone,” Angela smiled trying to lighten the situation.

“I don’t know how to thank you Angela,” she hugged her impulsively not knowing what she would have done without her. “You are the best friend a girl could have,” the tears began again at the kindness she had given her.

Hugging her back she whispered softly, “Dry those tears girlfriend, you go up there and clear your head then come back so we can enjoy each other’s company again, you hear me?”

“I promise I’ll return the favor,” hugging her back she felt a sense of peace knowing at least she had a place to go for a while. “Would you give a note to Rafe for me?” she hated asking her for another favor, but didn’t want to take the chance of facing Rafe again before she left.

“Of course I will,” standing up she walked over to her computer desk and pulled out a notepad and pen and handed it to her. “You just get yourself together up there,” she winked trying to lighten the moment feeling pleased when Cara smiled tentatively and began to write. She wanted to ask what had happened but sensed that her friend was on the verge of completely breaking down, and that was the last thing she needed before the long drive to the cabin.

Cara finished the note and forced herself to not cry again. This was what she needed and if there was one thing she prided herself on, it was being able to deal with any situation. A lifetime of dealing with her mother’s painful distrust had taught her well. “I’ll call you when I make it there Angela, thank you for being such a good friend,” she forced herself to smile.

“Don’t worry about it, you just get better,” hugging her again she took the note putting it on the desk before walking her to the car. “If you get lost just call me and I’ll help you find your way,” they hugged again before she watched Cara drive away. She planned on giving Rafe a piece of her mind at work tonight, boss or not. Cara was one of the sweetest girl's she had ever met, and she deserved a hell of a lot better than whatever had happened to her.

She drove on knowing that every minute was pulling her out of his reach. Her heart was breaking mile by mile. The hours passed the sun had set and she was still driving. The tears had long stopped falling, numbness had settled into its place and she felt exhaustion taking over. Seeing the exit sign, she breathed a sigh of relief because according to the directions, the cabin was only a few miles away. The mountains were dimly outlined by the moonlight as she pulled down a long dirt road marked only with a white mailbox. This was definitely the place she thought pulling up in front of small log cabin. This was about as close to nature as a person could get she thought to herself as she got out and walked up to the door.

Reaching over the door and running her hand across the wood, she found the key and pulled it down. As she unlocked the door, it creaked slightly. It was pitch black, and she felt her way along the wall until finding a light switch. She shut the door behind her and looked around. It was definitely a hunter’s cabin, she thought to herself noticing only the most basic of features. First things first, she thought, easily finding her way to the small bathroom. She quickly used the restroom and knew that she really didn’t have the energy to do much else tonight. She walked out, and her eyes fell upon the full-sized bed and laid down in exhaustion falling asleep before her head had really hit the pillow.

Angela walked into Tears of Crimson determined to have a talk with Rafe. She walked over to Michael who had his normal grin on his face and smiled. “Hey Mike is Rafe upstairs?” she kept her voice friendly not wanting to involve anyone else in this confrontation.

“Yeah babe he is, but he's in one hell of funk,” Michael warned her shaking his head. He couldn’t remember ever seeing the boss in such a terrible mood and he just planned on staying out of his way tonight.

“Thanks gorgeous,” Angela winked and made her way upstairs, not really caring what kind of mood her boss was in. Pulling the letter out of her purse she knocked on his office door.

“Enter,” his voice was hostile and he hoped that whoever dared interrupt him had a death wish because he was damn sure in the mood to give in to their wishes this evening. He had stopped by Cara’s and noticed her things missing and had almost took off after her before he calmed his rage to the point of not allowing himself to chase her down.

Angela steeled herself against the anger in his voice, and walked inside feeling her own rage fill her. “I have a message from Cara,” her eyes shot daggers at him, “and a few choice words of my own.”

“You would do well to remember who you work for!” Rafe shouted before reeling in his temper and taking over her mind. He understood the human’s anger toward him and in truth was glad that Cara had such a protective friend. “Sit down and give me the message.” he lowered his tone seductively as he continued to delve into her mind seeing that she had allowed Cara to stay in her uncle’s cabin and got the visual direction to the place from her memories.

Angela handed him the note, unable to tear her eyes away from Rafe. A strange calmness overcame her and she breathed a soft sigh as her anger melted away as quickly as it had begun. She felt a soft tingling in her mind and confusion overcame her. What had she wanted to say to him?

He read over Cara’s note feeling an ache where his heart once beat. She was confused, scared and needed a little time to herself to discover if she was willing to continue on in their relationship. Forcing the anger back he tried to think logically and not as the monster inside of him demanded. She had no idea what wrath she had brought onto herself by leaving the area and he knew he should have explained things better but there had been so little time.

As if on cue Gabe stormed in through his office door without knocking. “Where is the girl,” he demanded his fangs protruding.

“Be calm brother she is isolated and will not reveal our secrets,” Rafe knew he had to diffuse this situation as much as possible before Gabe began to track her. “Angela just gave me her location and she will be easy to find.”

Gabe’s wild eyes landed on the other human. “For her sake I hope she has kept her mouth shut,” he delved into Angela’s mind reading the conversation they had earlier and felt his anger lessen. Lowering in front of Angela he pulled her head back by her hair and sank his fangs into her flesh deeply suckling a few precious drops before sealing the wound. The small taste of her blood was like a map to Cara’s location and he stood to face Rafe.

“You were lucky this time brother,” Gabe shook his head, “these humans' are nothing but trouble.”

“She is mine brother, I claim ownership,” he knew that Gabe would respect his decision even if he was completely against the concept. He saw the disgust that filled his brother’s face and knew had he not claimed the girl he would have destroyed her. The thought filled him with such rage he had trouble containing it and his fangs descended as a hiss escaped.