Always For You (Books 1-3) (17 page)

A
feeling of panic went through my body.
Where
was John now? Did I just knock him out?
He'd tell Chase now for sure, tell him about me, about what had
happened. My hands began to shake as my grip loosened around Cain's
chest. I felt his hand reach to mine from the handle, locking my
hands back around him. I heard him shout, “hold on Grace, we're
nearly there.”

We shot down the road, once again
approaching town. It was late now, quiet on the streets. We came to a
suburban area, a rough part of town that I didn't know. The buildings
looked run down, the walls covered in graffiti, rusty old cars lining
the street. We pulled up and Cain quickly stepped off the bike,
wincing and grabbing at his stomach in pain as he moved.

He turned to me. “Stay here Grace,
stay on the bike.”

He walked towards the front door of a
building, hitting the buzzer at the bottom. He looked exhausted as he
leaned up against the wall, his face pale, his hands covered in
blood. I heard the buzzer click to life and a scratchy voice shout
out of it. “Who is it?” The voice was aggressive.

“
Brad,
it's Cain. I need your help, now.”

“
Cain,
what's up man?” His tone had changed to one of concern.

“
Just
come down now.”

I moment later I saw Brad appear out of
the door. I recognized him from all those months ago when he'd been
dating Katie. He looked shocked as he saw Cain there, his hands
clasping at his abdomen. They talked in hushed tones for a moment,
words I couldn't hear. The world was still hazy around me, my body
still reeling from whatever John had given me.

Brad suddenly rushed towards me.
“Grace, you need to step off the bike.” He spoke at me clearly,
making sure I heard him, making sure I understood.

I stepped off, swaying as I put my
weight back onto my feet. He put his arm around me and started
walking me towards the front door. He stopped at Cain, his skin lost
of it's color. “Grace, Brad's going to take you to his flat. You'll
be safe there. Please, stay there until he comes back.” I nodded
lightly as Brad helped me into the house and up the stairs. “Grace,
lie down there. I need to help Cain. I'll be back soon.”

He put me onto the bed as my head
continued spinning, laying me down carefully. He then turned and ran
to the door, shutting it fast and locking it from the outside. I
heard him rush down the steps, down to Cain. A flurry of footsteps,
the clanging of metal and car doors opening and shutting, and then a
car shooting off up the road, tires screeching.

Cain

Brad came cascading down the stairs as
I stood there, my body going weak. The adrenaline was starting to
rush out of my body, and the searing pain of my wound was now setting
in. He rushed down and towards my bike, quickly pulling it to the
other side of the street. He opened a rusty old garage door and
wheeled the bike in, before jumping into his car and turning on the
ignition. He drove out, got out of the car again, and shut the garage
door.

He rushed over to me, helping me into
the back seat. “Lie down there mate, we'll get you fixed up.”

He hit the gas and the engine burst to
life, the tires screeching as the car shot up the road. I lay on the
back seat, my mind drifting in and out of consciousness, my eyes
slowly closing shut. Then, the world went black.

September
11
^th
2013

Grace

I stood there looking down on Cain,
breathing lightly as he lay on the bed, his wound fully dressed and
wrapped. Brad had told me he'd be fine, that the wound was
superficial, nothing to worry about. He'd lost a lot of blood, sure,
but they'd sorted it now. “Just a scratch,” he'd joked. I suppose
he did it to calm me down, reassure me.

We were in the house of a friend of
Brad's, or someone who owed him a favor at least. He was a private
doctor, and had a clinic downstairs below his flat. He'd managed to
sort things out, and now Cain was resting it off in his spare room
above. Brad said the hospitals would ask questions if he brought him
in with a stab wound, so he took him there instead. I don't think he
exactly knew what had happened, but it was a wise choice.

Cain stirred as I watched him, his eyes
beginning to flicker, to open. A smile slowly to appear on his face
as he saw me. “Grace,” he croaked, “you're OK.” He sounded so
relieved.

I grabbed his hand and squeezed it
tight. “Thank you. I don't know how to thank you Cain. I don't know
what would have happened if you weren't there.”

He groaned slightly as he shifted his
weight, trying to sit up. “I've always been there Grace. I will
always be there to help you.”

“
But
– but how did you know. I don't understand. And – I heard you say
that – that I'm your sister?”

He signed. “There's so much to say
Grace, so much you don't know. I think maybe you should talk to
Trevor about it. Talk to your dad, he's got a lot to tell you.”

I pulled up a chair and sat down in
front of him. “But I don't understand. How can you be my brother?”
I needed to know, I need to find out the truth.

“
I've
only just found out myself.” He paused, grimacing slightly as he
sat up further. “I never knew my parents, Grace. My mom died when I
was a baby. My father was never there. Turns out, he was your father
too.”

I shook my head. “But that would mean
my dad had an affair. He'd have been married to my mom by then. I
can't believe he'd do that.”

“
I'm
sorry Grace, it's the truth. Talk to him, he'll explain it all.”

I sensed that he didn't want to talk
about it now, that it was too soon. “I'm sorry, I shouldn't be
questioning you now about this. It's just hard to take in.”

I stood up. “Perhaps I should leave
you to rest more? Come back later?”

“
No.”
He reached out and took my hand. “I need to tell you more.” He
had a grave sound to his voice.

I sat down and looked at him, his eyes
beginning to water. His voice was unsteady, breaking up slightly as
he spoke. “I'm so sorry about your mom Grace.”

My breath caught as I heard him speak
of her. “I was there,” he continued, “I was there when it
happened.”

My mind shot back to that night in the
hospital, that night after my overdose. I saw him then, the helmet,
it all made sense. “So that was you,” he said. “You were the
one who saved me?”

He nodded slightly, a tear trickling
out of his eye. “I'm sorry I couldn't save your mom. I'm sorry –
for everything.” His voice trailed off, as if he wanted to say more
but couldn't.

“
Cain,
you tried your best. No one would have done what you did. You saved
my life. And now you've saved me again.”

“
And
that night,” I continued, “that night at Room Z. You were there
then? You were there at the hospital?”

He nodded again, unable to muster his
words. I couldn't put it all together. He'd always been there for me,
always. At the crash, at the club, at the mansion. It must have been
fate. He was my guardian angel, but lost brother, my protector. There
was no way I could ever thank him for what he'd done. There was no
way I could ever tell him what it meant to me.

It was all so much so take, all so much
to deal with. And the mansion, the previous night. It was all such a
blur, like a nightmare that didn't really happen. But it did, it was
real. I needed to know.

“
Last
night,” I said. “Last night at the mansion.” He looked at me,
his eyes drying, his expression turning more serious, more grave.
“What happened?” I asked, “how were you there?”

He thought for a second, his frown
deepening. Then he began to speak, recounting the story, his words
slow and clear.

“
I
had come to speak to you, to tell you who I was. I needed to tell you
about this, all of this. I was waiting outside your flat – your
father had given me your address – and was thinking of what I'd
say. I saw a car pull up. I recognized it from that night outside
Room Z, the night you had an overdose.”

I cut in. “So it was you. It was you
who found me?”

He nodded.

“
How,
how were you there?”

“
I
was at the club with Brad. I saw you go into the VIP area. I know
what goes on back there Grace. I tried to follow you, stop you, but
the bouncer wouldn't let me. They threw me out and that's when I saw
the car rushing away. I looked round the ally, and there you were.”

A tear was beginning to flow down my
cheek, my eyes going watery as I watched him speak, watched him
explain how he'd always been there when I needed help.

“
I
saw that same car outside your flat,”he continued, “I saw you
come out. You didn't look comfortable. I was worried, worried you
were in trouble so – so I followed. I saw you go into the mansion,
I heard a scream, I thought you were in danger, so I broke in. Then –
I saw him put something in your drink. I heard you collapse, your
glass smash on the floor.”

My breathing increased as he told the
story. I remembered this, all of it, but I was scared to hear more,
scared to find out what had happened next.

“
I
walked in and he was there, over you. He saw me and ran for a drawer.
I thought he was going for a gun, so I chased him down. He managed to
get a knife from the drawer and – he got me. “He tilted his head
down to his bandage. “We continued fighting. He was going to kill
me Grace, he was going to stab me in the heart. Then, you saved me.”

My vague memories of the nightmare were
becoming more clear as he spoke. I remembered hitting him, but
nothing more. I began breathing heavily again, my hands shaking. “Did
I kill him?” I asked, my voice timid.

He was silent for a moment as he looked
at me. “I need to know. Did I kill him. Is he dead?” I was more
frantic now, my words desperate.

“
No,”
he said quietly, slowly, “you didn't kill him. It was me. I did
it.”

I leaned back in my chair and breathed
deep. His voice continued, the words cold and dry from his mouth.
“You passed out again Grace. He got back up, came at me again. I
took the knife and – that was it.”

So he was dead. Chase's mentor, his
father figure. What would happen now. They'd find out. The police.
They'd know I was there, know Cain was there. His blood, everything.

“
It's
OK Grace,” he said, as if he saw what I was thinking. “I sorted
it all. I burned down the house, there's no evidence we were there.
No one knew you'd be there, did they?”

My heart stopped. “I – I don't
know. What if they do, they'll get me. I – what should I do?” My
eye's were turning wide with fear, my body shaking hard. He grabbed
my hand and squeezed it tight, dragging my attention back to him.
“Think Grace. Would anyone know?”

I thought it through. He wouldn't tell
anyone. Not about this. This would all be off the books, private. I
thought hard. He'd said it was just us, that no one knew about it
all. It wasn't something he'd want to share, it could ruin him if it
got out.

“
I
– I don't think so,” I said, my words shaking.

“
Look
at me Grace,” he said again. “You did nothing wrong. He deserved
what he got. There's nothing that can link you to this. Nothing.”

I sat there thinking, my heart racing.
It was all such a rush, everything had happened so quickly. How did
it all come to this? How was I here, now, in this situation. How
would I look Chase in the eye now? How would I move on?

“
Live
your life, Grace,” Cain's words broke me from my thoughts. “Put
all of this behind you, and live your life.”

His words were slow now, tired. He
breathed deep, slowly sliding back down into the bed. “I need to
rest, Grace. We both need to rest, move on from this. It's over now.”

“
I'll
come back tomorrow? I'll come back every day.” I said, tears
beginning to roll once more down my cheeks.

He nodded, smiling lightly. “That'd
be nice,” he said, his eyes closing slowly. “I'd like that.”

With
that I turned slowly and walked to the door, looking back just before
I left at my protector, my brother, lying on the bed.
My
brother. I have a brother.

November
14
^th
2013

Cain

I sat in a cafe in the middle of
nowhere, my bike parked outside. My stomach ached slightly, the wound
still not fully healed. I looked out the window of the diner, a
smattering of dusty cars parked off the road. “Fancy a refill
love?”

I
looked up to see a portly waitress holding a pot of coffee. “Please.”
She poured the dark brown liquid into my cup and waddled away. I
reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a small metal hip flask,
spinning off the cap and tipping the contents into the coffee. I took
a sip.
Much
better.

I'd been moving about a bit for the
last couple of months, just waiting for things to die down back home.
Home – I guess I could call it that. I hadn't been there long, but
I had family there now though, so it would always be home to me.
Family – the thought was still to alien to me, so hard to digest.