Shattered Grace (Fallen from Grace) (51 page)

Quentin plopped down on the couch next to her, bouncing her slightly. His chipper mood caused her eye to twitch. She wanted to sulk.

“
So,” he said, clasping his hands in his lap. “What do you want to do today?”

That was easy. “Die,” she muttered.

He wasn’t so chipper now. His stare gouged a hole in the side of her head, but she kept her eyes straight ahead. “That’s not funny,” he said flatly.

“
I’m not kidding.” Grabbing the remote from the table, she clicked robotically through the channels, one arm crossed over her middle. There wasn’t anything worth watching on the boob tube anyway. Grace clicked the TV back off, threw the remote on the cushion next to her, and got up. “I’m going to go get ready.”

“
For what?” Quentin asked.

“
School.” Quentin started to protest as he too got up from the couch, but she ignored him and walked to her room.

“
I don’t think you should go today,” Quentin said from the driver’s seat, placing a light hand on her arm.

Grace grabbed the door handle, shrugging off his arm. “It’ll be fine.” His protests fell on deaf ears as she got out of the car. She needed something to get her mind off things. Friends and teachers were all she had left.

Warily she walked through the halls, hoping she didn’t make a mistake by being here. But walking down the halls made her edgy and every little noise, real or imagined, increased her unease. In her head she swore if any Fallen or Shadow Hounds showed up today, she’d give in and quit school altogether. Most kids couldn’t wait to get out of school. Here she was with the ultimate legitimate excuse, and she was fighting to stay in.

After checking in at the office, she walked to her locker to grab the books she needed. It was halfway through third period, Calculus. Even though Calculus was her favorite, she couldn’t focus. Turned out, school didn’t help like she hoped.

At lunch, she sat with her friends, but wasn’t really “there” with them. She was somewhere else, thinking about the Fallen, the Shadow Hounds, Quentin, and Darius. Her thoughts were so full she didn’t have any room left for an appetite. Instead of eating, she pushed her food around on the tray, much like the thoughts in her head. She figured the constant chatter of friends would take her mind partly off her life, that’s why she went to school. But her secret life lingered like a ghost, drawing her away.

“
Hey.” In the back of her mind, she knew someone was talking. “Grace?” Zeke nudged her arm. Finally it registered that Zeke had asked her something. When she turned her eyes to his, his expression was full of concern. “Are you okay?”

“
Huh?” Internally, she shook herself, and pushed more food around her plate. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I guess I’m still not feeling a hundred percent yet. What were you saying?”

He put a finger atop her moving hand, stilling it. “Maybe you should go home.”

Giving Zeke as much of her attention as she could, she smiled softly. “I’m fine, really.” Out of the corner of her eye, Grace saw Amanda watching her. She smiled at her too, but Amanda wasn’t buying it, Grace knew that. Amanda lifted an eyebrow, shook her head, and continued eating.

After school, Amanda said she had one more test she was going to go make up, and she’d be completely caught up. Grace’s chest swelled with pride. She was so proud of her. “Go ahead and take my car. I’ll call Quentin.”

“
Are you sure you’re okay?” Amanda asked.

“
Yeah, I just want to go home. See you later.”

“
Okay,” Amanda said hesitantly.

Before pushing the school door open, Grace held her breath and said a quick prayer. She put all her focus on her senses before stepping out. Relief washed over her as nothing else alerted her senses. There was nothing there. In the distance was Quentin’s car. She let out a long breath. With her eyes on the ground, she walked down the sidewalk smiling to herself. For the time being, all was okay.

Absentmindedly she continued walking, kicking at small chunks of bark in her path. A shimmer of silver caught her attention, instantly crashing through her moment of relief. Parked several feet in front of her was the V-Max motorcycle quietly idling at the curb. Darius followed her with his eyes, his helmet resting in his lap. When their eyes met, the boyish grin she couldn’t get enough of spread across his face. That smile kicked her in the gut.

Foolishly, she wasn’t afraid. She was ticked off. The logical side of Grace argued against taking all of her training out on his face, or some other more vulnerable part of his body. As her eyes compressed tight into a fierce glare, she shot it at him, hoping he’d get hit with the message as she cut fast through the grass and ran to Quentin’s car.

“
Grace!” Darius yelled. She didn’t stop, only moved faster.

Throwing herself into the passenger seat of the Jag, she tossed her backpack in the back. “Drive!” Quentin stared at her for a second before twisting the key in the ignition and taking off.

Grace eased into the seat, putting her right elbow on the door and her face in her hand, nervously flicking her thumbnail with the other hand. She snapped her head up, craning her neck to find the source of the noisy rumbling coming up behind them. Her eyes went wide, and her palms coated with sweat. He was coming. A few seconds later, Darius was outside her window yelling. And he didn’t stop. She didn’t dare roll the window down or look out it again, and kept her eyes straight ahead.

Suddenly Grace was pulled to the left as Quentin jerked the car to the right. “What are you doing?”

Like a madman, Quentin kept his hands gripped tight around the steering wheel, manically dividing his focus between the road in front of him, and the man outside Grace’s window. He veered to the right again, and drove over the shoulder line. The threaded warning embedded in the pavement rattled her teeth. Grace’s nails clawed the dash, while she watched in horror as the back of Darius’ bike shimmied out of control behind them. “Stop! You’re going to kill him!” From the passenger seat, she smacked at Quentin wildly. “Stop the car!”

Quentin lifted his shoulder, shielding himself from Grace’s assault. “Relax, he’s fine. It’ll hurt like a bitch if he crashes, but it won’t kill him.” Hostage to her gripping emotions, Grace tried settling back in her seat. She continued looking over her shoulder and out the back window, worried Darius was lying in the road hurt. Or worse.

She turned back around in her seat, crossing her arms. Now she hated both of them.

At the house, Quentin slammed the car in park. “Go inside,” he growled, as he stayed by the car. Before she could get through the front door, the V-Max skidded to a stop a few feet away from her, and her heart nearly dropped to her stomach. Relief washed over her as Darius got off the bike, completely unscathed. She couldn’t keep the smile from her lips, or the tears from welling in her eyes.

Recklessly, Darius threw his helmet on the ground. His focus was only on Grace as he headed toward her. She held on to the door handle, intending to rush inside, but Quentin stepped in his path. They squared off nose-to-nose, saying something to each other, but of course she couldn’t hear it. Darius held up one hand between them, and moved from side to side to see around Quentin, trying to get Grace’s attention. “Grace, just
talk
to me.” He didn’t sound horror-film scary. He sounded like himself. Her heart revived itself from the near fall and hiccupped.

Pissed at her heart, but more angry at him, Grace released the door handle, swiveled around, and glared at Darius. “Why should I? You lied to me. You never told me what you are.”

“
I know, angel, and I’m sorry.” Darius’ brows pulled up, and his mouth pulled down in a frown, matching the plea in his voice.

“
Don’t talk to her,” Quentin grounded out, shifting slightly to block Darius from Grace’s sight again.

“
Or what?” Darius challenged.

“
Just keep talking to her, and you’ll find out,” Quentin threatened. “Grace, go inside!” he shouted over his shoulder.

Darius tried to sidestep him, but Quentin stepped in his way again. “Man, you better get out of my way.” Darius put his hands on his hips and slightly chuckled as he stared at the pavement.

“
I told you last time, I’m not going to let you hurt her,” Quentin snarled, poking Darius’ chest with a finger.

Darius finally quit trying to get around him. Grace gasped when he brought his face up, because his eyes were glowing red. He turned them on Quentin. “And like I told you last time. I’m not going to play nice. Now, don’t make me embarrass you in front of her.” Darius jerked his head in Grace’s direction. The calm and even tone of what he said made it sound eerily threatening. “Now move!” The boom of Darius’ baritone voice jolted a shock through Grace’s system, thundering so loudly it rattled the front door in its frame. It scared the holy living crap out of her.

The guys stood nose to nose, both breathing heavily, bodies shaking. Without thinking, she lurched forward, forcing herself between them, and pushed a hand against their chests. Beneath her hands, she felt their tense muscles relax. Both sets of eyes tore from one another, and settled on her. The sharp-as-steel gaze of Quentin’s softened, and the red glow of Darius’ disappeared.

She dropped her hands away, but maintained eye contact with Quentin. “Let me talk to him.”

“
Grace, I—” Quentin interjected.

“
Quentin, please.”

Grace watched Darius as Quentin made his way toward the house. He mumbled his disapproval all the way to the front door. “Fine, but I’m staying right here.”

She nodded her head. “Fine.”

If she stared any longer at Darius, she knew she’d drown. So, she cut her gaze away, focusing past him before she was swallowed up in the sea green of his eyes. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. She hated that he had any kind of an effect on her at all. Continuously, she reminded herself he wasn’t a normal man, and lies were his way of life. After all, he was a deceiver. Grace swallowed and counted to ten in her head. Both sad and angry, she couldn’t formulate the right words for what she wanted to say. But whatever it was, it needed to be something that would get him to leave her alone. For good.

Darius forced his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry.”

That’s it? I’m sorry? His pathetic attempt at an apology ticked her off more. “You don’t get to apologize.” Even though he just did, didn’t matter. She wouldn’t accept it. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying.

“
I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness.” He kept his hands in his pockets, not moving to touch her.

Resolved, Grace squared her shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. “You said you’re sorry, now leave. I never want to see you again.” She managed to keep the emotion out of her voice, but it threatened to make an appearance in her eyes, so she turned away. Walking away was harder than she thought it was going to be. Then he gently touched her arm, and it was near impossible. That one soft touch almost broke her resolve. Her heart stretched almost out of her chest leaning toward him. It hurt clear to her toes.

Grace begged her feet to continue moving the few feet left to the door, so she’d be safe behind the barricade of the manor. She didn’t want to face him, because if she did, her anger would implode and she’d forgive him.

Just as she was about to turn back around, Quentin pulled Darius’ hand off her, freeing her to run for safety. But the heat of his touch seared through the cotton of her shirt, even standing under the veranda. Minutes ticked by, and she could still feel it. Numb, she twisted the handle and walked through the door. Somewhere behind her were the remains of her shattered heart.