Falling Into Place (18 page)

“Let me use the bathroom real quick.” He
stepped past her and locked the door. Robert deserved some kind of
warning.

R - Liz is in a shitty mood. Tonight is
probably the worst night you could pick for a reunion. Try to go
easy on her. We’ll be at In 2 Deep. - T

Tremaine washed his hands and took his time.
He didn’t bother checking his phone again. When he stepped into the
room, he found Liz pacing. “You okay, doll?”

She looked up, and her eyes locked on his.
“No, not really. Something bad is coming, Trem. At least I know
you’ll be here with me.” She wrung her hands as she looked away.
“It’s the same feeling I used to get when James was following me.
It’s scaring the shit out of me. He’s dead. I shouldn’t feel like
this.”

Tremaine stepped in front of her and pulled
her into his arms. He murmured into her hair, “Anything I can do to
help?”

“No.” Liz leaned into him a moment before
taking a step back. Her expression had gone blank. She hadn’t
resorted to that in years, and he felt like hell because he
couldn’t even reassure her that the bastard was dead.

He swept her hair behind her ear, and
murmured. “Come on Liz, we should go.”

“I know.” She put on a brave smile and
followed him down to his car. The ride was silent. She was
brooding, and he was too busy feeling guilty to say much. Then he
saw Robert’s Lexus and bit back a groan.

The night was about to plummet right into
the shitter when she caught on.

* * * *

Liz eyed the silver Lexus with a sneer. It
was something Robert would drive, but that was ridiculous. He never
once called, never once showed up in twenty-one fucking years. And
she still missed him so damned bad she didn’t know if she would
fall into his arms or run away crying.

She didn’t trust herself around Robert after
nearly killing him. Leaving was the right decision, at least until
she could do a little healing, but her heart never fully
healed.

There were days she wished she could have
Robert erase every last one of her memories. Maybe she wouldn’t
wake up crying over the hole he left in her heart, or worse,
screaming when she was sober and the dreams played back everything
James took from her.

Forcing away every last thought of Robert,
she stalked toward the door. At least until her hand brushed the
silver paint and her knees gave out as images of Robert in this
very car played through her mind.

Tremaine was right there to catch her. He
hauled her against his body. “Shh, Liz. It’s okay.”

She shoved him away. “You knew. You fucking
knew,” she cried. “Why tonight?”

His eyes narrowed and he stepped closer.
“You’re going to have to listen to him. I know you don’t want to,
doll. Trust me on this. You know I wouldn’t lie to you.”

“Shit, shit, shit,” she cried, still trying
to back away, but Tremaine banded his arms around her waist,
lifting her off her feet.

Memory slammed down on her.

She was twelve, and had just finished her
chores. After putting the broom away, she turned and Sinclair
wrapped his arm around her waist, picking her up as he turned and
pinned her against the wall.

She screamed, but his hand covered her mouth
as his curse flowed through her. All the beatings flooded her
memory, the pain flashing though her body. That was the night he
took her innocence.

Liz panicked, trying to twist away. She knew
she couldn’t rein in her magic when the past haunted her. That
terrified her beyond anything.

“No, not like this, no.” Her voice broke,
but he held on.

“It’s me, Liz. I’ve got you. You know I
won’t hurt you.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” she whispered.
Calming down was easier said than done, but she tried for his sake.
Her heart was racing, her breath coming in gulps, and she couldn’t
get away without hurting Trem which she refused to do.

He took her chin, forcing her gaze to his.
“I don’t know the whole story Liz, but James is alive, and Robert
is terrified for you.”

“Put me down, just put me down,” she
squeaked out, trying to force back the rush of magic that wanted to
burst free.

There was a pop and she felt the shift of
air behind her. She went frantic, flailing and thrashing. Robert
pressed in on her, trapping her between both of them. “Let me go,”
Liz screamed. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“Liz, listen to me, it’s bad, it’s really
bad,” Robert’s voice was rough like he was upset. He was trembling,
and she knew he was right, but she was seconds from losing it
completely

His hands wrapped around her waist, his
fingers gliding over her belly.

Tears sprang free, leaking down her face.
That morning played back through her head. Him dead on the floor
because she made a mistake.

“Go, just go. I can’t,” Liz begged on the
verge of a breakdown.

Brody and Slater came running out and saw
her trapped between the two bigger mages. She knew how it had to
look.

Before she could think to say anything,
Robert wound his arms around both Tremaine and Liz and took them
back to her house in a blink of an eye. The same house, in that
same damned dining room.

Tremaine and Robert both backed away leaving
her trembling and alone. She turned on Robert, glaring daggers at
him. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Scaring the shit out of the
Alpha and his Second?”

“Liz,” Robert whispered, anguish bleeding
into his dusky blue eyes. “Liz, please listen to me. You told me to
go, and I was a fool to believe that was what you wanted. I found
the letter.” A sob tore from her before he continued. “I know I’m
too late, that’s not why I came, but Emily…,” his voice broke.

He wasn’t there for her. All this time and
he still wasn’t there for her. If she wasn’t already beyond
shattered she would fade into nothing.

His sister though, whatever happened to
Emily had hurt him. That much was obvious. Liz knew Emily was the
only family he had left… or not, as the case may be.

What James did to her was bad enough, but
what did he do to Emily? Robert’s pain was too much. She wanted to
take it away. Without thinking, she stepped toward him, taking his
face in her hands as she looked into his eyes. His hands came up to
cover hers.

“What did James do?” her voice was soft and
tender. He shook his head and she asked, “Is Emily okay?” No matter
how much Emily always tore Liz down, she understood why, which was
why she ignored it.

Robert shook his head.

“What happened to her, Robert?”

Tears fell down his face. “She’s in bad
shape. I think James cursed her. I don’t know what to do.” He
closed his eyes. “I found her journal. He’s coming for you, and
Jarvis is involved. He wants your power, he wants to tear it from
your body, Liz. I can’t let him do that.”

“Shh, shh, Robert. I’m sorry about Emily,
really I am. We’ll take care of James, and we’ll figure out what to
do for her,” she promised. There was nothing she wouldn’t do to
take his pain from him. “What can I do?” she murmured.

Robert wrapped his arms around her, pulling
her into a tight embrace. He cried into her hair. His embrace felt
like home, and even though she knew it would tear her apart later,
she couldn’t pull away. “I can’t lose you to him. I won’t let him
touch you again. I’m so sorry Liz. I didn’t know she brought him
back, I didn’t know she healed him. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay, baby,” she murmured, rubbing his
back as Tremaine came up beside them to put his arm around each of
them. It made her feel a little safer, but if James was alive, she
wasn’t sure anyone was safe. “Robert, we’ll figure this out.” Even
if it shredded her soul, she would endure it to keep him safe and
kill James once and for all.

Her phone rang. “Shit, I need to take this.
We don’t need the wolves hunting you down.” She stepped away and
hit talk. “Hey Slater.”

“You okay, Liz?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“I know that neither Robert, nor Tremaine
would ever hurt you, but you were freaking the fuck out, and then
you were gone. Talk to me.”

“They won’t.” Not physically, but she didn’t
think she would survive when Robert walked out of her life this
time. She sighed heavily. “We’re okay, and we’ll be back to the
party soon. Robert has some terrible news, and we have shit to deal
with.”

“You know, we’re here for you if you need
it. You have friends here. Whatever is going on, we’ll be behind
you,” Slater promised.

“I appreciate that, but I’m not sure you can
help. Tell everyone we’ll be there soon.”

“Right. See you then.” Slater hung up and
she stared at the ground, trying to figure out how to cope with the
news that her worst nightmare was back and that the man who let her
walk away was going to rip her open all over again.

* * * *

Robert hated himself for hurting Liz, the
one woman he had given his heart to. She was so completely
selfless, and he realized for the first time that was why she left.
She was afraid of hurting him again.

Robert didn’t understand how Liz could
forgive Emily. His sister had done everything in her power to send
Liz away, and Emily may have changed her mind about her, but Liz
didn’t know that. Then, his sister brought back the man who finally
broke what Robert and Liz shared.

Liz was a hundred times better than him. She
forgave Emily instantly, when he couldn’t. Hell, she never even
blamed Emily.

She stood there, staring out the window with
no expression on her face. He knew that look. She was hurting, but
hiding pain.

Robert moved to her and tipped her face up.
“Liz, what is it?”

“Your sister,” she whispered.

He growled “If she hadn’t brought James
back, we wouldn’t be in this position.” Liz flinched and looked
away. He wrapped his hands around her shoulders, but she wouldn’t
meet his gaze. “The only one I’m worried about is you,” Robert
admitted.

Her eyes flashed to his, and there was heat
in her words. “She’s your sister. She may not be my favorite
person, but I would never wish James on anyone. She doesn’t deserve
being cursed.”

“She brought James back. James, the same man
who broke something between us and made you walk away from me.” His
voice broke and a tear ran down his face.

“He’s not the one who nearly killed you. I
thought you were him. I couldn’t tell after…,”She shook her head,
her eyes slamming shut as her tears trickled down her face. “I’ve
learned to strip illusions without fail, but I’ll never forgive
myself for what I did that morning.”

Tremaine moved behind her, pulling her back
against his chest. “Liz, you can’t blame yourself, doll. After what
he did, anyone would have panicked. The important part is that you
brought Robert back. You saved him. No one else.”

Her hands clenched into fists. “But I didn’t
stop James. I went after him, and I couldn’t stop him. He’s still
alive.”

Robert took her face in his hands and dried
her tears. “Stop. I don’t hate you, Liz. I’ll never hate you. There
was blood everywhere. I was so scared. I should have woken you
first. You’ve always had such bad nightmares.”

She laughed bitterly. “He ruined me, Robert.
He ruined us.” She took a shaky breath and then walked to the
bathroom. The door slammed shut and then the water came on.

Robert turned to Tremaine. “Why didn’t you
tell me she was such a mess?” It wasn’t an accusation.

Tremaine snorted. “Yeah, because that’s
exactly what she wants everyone to think, and I did tell you she
needed you. I told you she missed you.”

“She’s afraid of me.” Robert pinched the
bridge of his nose. “Of me.” He wanted to scream because it was his
fault.

“No. She’s afraid of herself.” Tremaine
glanced toward the bathroom door. “She could have killed you,
Robert. She nearly did. She blames herself.”

“She shouldn’t.”

“Yeah, well you and I both know she takes
the blame too damned much. Sort of like some other kid I know.”
Tremaine jabbed his finger into Robert’s chest.

That was the problem. It was Robert’s fault.
He could have done a hundred things differently and they wouldn’t
have been in that position.

* * * *

Tremaine walked away as he plowed his hands
through his hair. As much as Liz needed Robert and vice versa, it
was going to kill him to see them together when things had been
slowly falling into place for Liz and Tremaine.

Who am I fooling? Liz is never going to stop
loving Robert. And who in their right fucking mind would ever stop
loving Liz?

He knew she was a mess, but a beautifully
broken mess who had picked up the pieces, glued herself together
and carried on to spite everyone. Tremaine loved that about Liz.
She never stopped and she never gave up. Leaving Robert had been
the hardest thing she had ever done, and out of some twisted
misguided notion, she thought she was doing the right thing.

Tonight was going to be an epic disaster.
There were too many things that were bound to come out, and no easy
way to do it.

“I’m such a fool,” Robert’s voice was
tortured. “I’ve torn her apart, and she must hate me after staying
away so long.

“Shut the fuck up,” Tremaine whispered
urgently. “I’ve told you for years that you needed to get your ass
in gear and fix shit. She’s been hurt too damned bad to come to
you. She doesn’t think she’s worthy of your love. She is, always
was, but she doesn’t get that.”

“How do I fix this, Tremaine? You’ve been
there for her for twenty-one years. How do I make up for being a
fool? How do I make her understand how sorry I am for not fighting
for her?” Robert’s fists clenched. “I did as she asked even though
it broke my heart, but I thought that’s what she needed.”