Shades of Amber (20 page)

“
How do you do
that?”

He shrugged, “I was
blessed with the same sight and magic my ancestors had, and cursed
with the same fate. If you think about it, I’m a triple threat.
I
know
that you
won’t be able to lie to yourself forever, Jade.”

“
So you can see things
before they happen?”

His fingers brushed the
bandage on my forehead. “Sometimes.”

“
Did you foresee Chance’s
attack on me in the alley?”

Something passed over his
face. “No. I didn’t predict that.” He leaned against the side of
the bed, crossing his arms. “I followed you, waiting to see who was
trying to separate us.”

I swallowed my nerves and
looked him in the eye. “I want to sleep in my own bed.”

“
No.”

“
What do you mean
no?”

He grabbed my hand.
“You’re hurt. What kind of boyfriend would let you stay home
alone?”

“
You can’t keep me here
against my will!”

“
We both know you want to
be here, Jade. I’m just waiting for you to stop fighting
it.”

I leaned against
him.

He was right. Shouldn’t I
be happy he was here, and not lying six feet under?
I studied him as he laid next to me. He was still
the same guy who’d pursued me at school, not relenting until I’d
finally agreed to be his girlfriend. But he was also very
different. He was more dangerous, more obsessive, more
irresistible.

What would you do if the
one who got away came back into your life?

I stared at the ceiling,
contemplating my choices.

Troy pulled me into his
chest. “All you have to do is stop fighting.” He gestured to a
large flat screen that emerged from a hidden compartment. “We can
be normal, Jade. We can watch TV until you’re ready to fall asleep
or do whatever you want.”

I opened my
mouth.

“
But you can’t go home.”
He sat up and ran his hands through his hair. “I know you, and what
I didn’t know before, I discovered after weeks of following you. If
I let you go home you’ll run again.”

I wanted to say something
sassy, but he actually looked sad, and maybe even hurt. I bit my
lip, surprised when I felt bad. I didn’t want to go, but that tiny,
logical part was screaming for me to get out.

I put my head on his
chest. “Okay, let’s watch TV.”

Imagine This

Life is never as
simple

as it seems,

Especially when

living in a
dream.

To know that

monsters do
exist…

Well,

I never imagined
this.

-Jade

Chapter 25

When I opened my eyes, I
had the room to myself. Exhaling slowly, I wrenched the comforter
back and pulled on my red robe. I stopped at the sink and leaned my
head against the mirror, waiting for the water to warm
up.

Taking a step back, I bit
my lip, as I stared at the way the white bandage marred my
appearance.

My right hand shook as it
touched the edge of the tape.

What if it looked
bad?

I laid the bandage on the
sink and lifted my eyes to the mirror.

If I thought my hand was
trembling before, it wasn’t nearly as bad as when I reached for the
place where my cut had been. I put the bandage back on my forehead
and raced downstairs.

After a few seconds, I
heard muffled voices. Taking a deep breath, I tied it, and then
marched toward the back of the house.

Bingo.

I ran my hand over the
door before pressing my ear against it.

¤¤¤¤

…
Troy…

How much trouble could
Jade get into if there was no way out of the house? It was a loaded
question. Knowing her, she’d already managed to break a window and
scale the trellis.

My gut told me to check on
her, but I had a meeting that couldn’t be postponed. Marshal had
five minutes.

The doorbell rang at
10:56. I sat behind my desk and pressed a button on the
intercom.

“
Who is it?”

“
Marshal.”

“
Come to the
office.”

The front door unlocked
with the touch of a button, leaving me to gaze at my favorite
picture of Jade and me. It was taken a few months after we started
dating on the same bench where she’d agreed to be my
girlfriend.

I rubbed my hand down my
jaw.

It may have taken three
years, but I was finally about to have Jade in my life for good. No
more separations, no more hiding. I just had to make sure it was
safe.

That was where my best
detective came in. The sound of his heartbeat accelerated as he
walked through the house. Marshal was in his thirties, 6 feet tall,
and 260 pounds. He may have been larger, but he knew I was not to
be trifled with.

“
Any developments since
Chance escaped?” I asked once he closed the door.

“
Some, but we haven’t
found him yet. We’ve dealt with the guy who lost him and found your
girl’s car. It was a few blocks from the coffee shop, now it’s in
her driveway, safe and sound.”

“
I’m glad you found it.
She loves that car.”

He took the seat across
from me. “As for the other thing, I’ve been digging through your
family’s history and it seems Nikoli did father a child, Micah
Mercalli. He was born around the same time as Christian’s son.
While Christian focused on being a good father and looking for his
brother, Nikoli poisoned his son against the other half of his
family. He wouldn’t even give him the Montague name.”

“
What else?”

“
There aren’t a lot of
details about Micah’s descendants, but it appears that as the curse
flowed through Marcus’s blood, hatred flowed through Micah’s, and
every relative since then.”

I rubbed my temples. “What
of Angelique?” I was anxious to solve the mystery behind the
Montague matriarch.

“
That’s where things get
fuzzy.”

I stood up, leaning my
hands on the desk. “What do you mean ‘things get
fuzzy’?”

“
I looked through the
newspapers, but couldn’t find any mention of her after that
disastrous night. Perhaps the answers are at your family’s
home.”

The likelihood of getting
Jade to go back was slim, but I had to try. I sat down, rubbing my
hand over my chin. “You’re right. That may be the best lead we
have.”

Marshal leaned forward.
“So how are things with the girl?”

“
Things are going well; I
just have to remind her how good we are together.” I pictured her
leaning against the door.

“
That’s good to hear,
boss. She sounds like a fighter.”

¤¤¤¤

Jade

My anger came flooding
back as I heard my name spoken behind the door. Pressing closer, I
tried to make out the rest of the conversation, but I was losing my
patience.

Grabbing the doorknob, I
shoved it open without a second thought. Two sets of eyes found me,
but Troy’s friend was the only one who looked startled. I entered
into the room and looked around. It was a cozy office with
recliners near the fireplace and two chairs in front of the large
desk.

“
Stop right there!” I said
when Troy moved toward me.

My anger was slowly
turning into fear as I thought about what might happen
next.

Troy sat on the edge of
his desk and smirked. He was wearing a black tailored vest over a
white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and denim jeans.

I bet he enjoyed seeing
himself in the mirror.

“
I don’t have a
reflection, remember, cher?”

Oh, yeah.

My eyes slid from his
muscular arms to the amber ring that sparked like a
flame.

How could I
forget?

My eyes stayed on his
chin, but I couldn’t avoid his gaze forever. I turned toward Troy’s
guest. He looked studious with his short brown hair and glasses,
but filled the whole chair with his large frame.

“
Who are you?”

When he didn’t speak, I
looked over his head to the pictures on the mantle. There were some
of Troy and I, and a few candid shots of me.

Maybe he didn’t forget
about me.

Troy’s hand glided down my
arm. “How could I ever forget about you?” He slipped his arms
around my waist. “You think I jest, but you mean more to me than
anything else.”

My anger turned to
suspicion. “So, who is he, and why were you talking about
me?”

I pulled away and stared
at Troy.

He motioned for the guy to
stand up. “This is Marshal, my private detective and he only asked
how things were going between us.”

I looked up at Marshal
like a child in front of a bear. He was a couple inches short of
Troy, but where Troy was lean and muscular; Marshal was built like
a Grizzly.

“
What are you
investigating?”

Marshal looked at
Troy.

“
Can’t you speak for
yourself?”

Troy chuckled, “Of course
he can, but he’s bound by a confidentiality agreement.”

“
Then, you tell
me.”

“
Whatever you want,
cher—within reason, of course.” He turned toward Marshal and shook
his hand. “I’ll be in touch.”

“
Wait! You’re
leaving?”

I didn’t want to be alone
with my vampire ex-boyfriend.

The man paused to look at
me before continuing to the door. “I only came to give Mr. Montague
a report Ma’am.”

“
Did you know he’s holding
me here against my will?” I asked, hoping he had some
compassion.

Troy stepped between us.
“I’m sorry; she’s got a bit of an imagination. She hit her head the
other night and probably still has a concussion.”

Although his back was to
me, I could see the ring glowing with his irritation.

“
Well, I hope you feel
better. I’ll let myself out.” Marshal said as he shut the
door.

Troy turned around and
stared at me for a moment before taking a step. “What did you think
he was going to do? Did you think he’d call the police? You can’t
hold someone hostage if they want to be with you.”

“
I don’t want
that.”

He laughed. “You said it
yourself, you love me. You’re just afraid of what I’ve become, but,
I promise I’m the same as I was before, only better.”

“
You say that, but you
don’t consider how much being with you is hurting me. What if you
leave again?”

“
Don’t worry about that! I
wouldn’t be able to leave you even if you want me to.”

My eyebrow rose. “Why
not?”

Instead of responding, he
stared at the floor as he trailed his finger along the
desk.

My eyes couldn’t leave him
as a scary concept entered my mind. “You did something, didn’t
you?”

He looked up, his amber
eyes bright and seductive as he held his hand out for me. “Come
here.”

I shook my head, and ran
for the door. He caught me and turned me around. “Why wouldn’t you
be able to leave if I wanted you to?”

His seductive smile had a
wicked edge.

“
Tell me,” I demanded,
afraid I already knew the answer. “What happened to the cut on my
forehead?”

“
I said I could make it go
away.”

“
Yes,
but
how
did you make that happen?”

His eyes sought mine, but
I closed them, shivering as his lips touched my cheek. “I mixed our
blood.”

My eyes flew open. “How?
When? W-why?” I gulped, almost too afraid to hear the answer. “What
about this necklace that won’t come off?”

Troy chuckled as he tucked
a curl behind my ear. “How? Well, I bit my lip and then kissed you,
giving you a few drops of my blood before the cut healed. When?
Last night on the couch; and as for why? Well, I’m selfish Jade, I
don’t want to wait an eternity for you to realize you
don’t
want to be without
me! I’m tired of watching you lie to yourself. This way, you’ll be
drawn to me no matter what.” His fingers grazed my throat. “And the
necklace? Well, would you believe me if I told you that it also
binds us? This way you will always have a piece of me with
you.”

“
What does that mean,
exactly?”

He ran his finger down my
jaw. “I will always be able to find you.” He moved back. “You can
go home, but you’ll think about me, crave me.”

“
Why?” I could barely
breathe. I wanted to focus on the part about me going home, but I
was afraid of everything else.