Venom (The Reawakening Series Book 1) (11 page)

I don’t know what Harvey told her about me, but she is about to scream when I glamour and order her to not make a sound.

Without wasting any time, I grab her arm, moving her wrist toward my lips, and sink my fangs into her skin. I drink and drink, savoring every sip of her blood… the same type of blood as Lexi’s.

I know just when to stop drinking so he won’t be able to save her. I pull away and stare into her dazed eyes. “Now, scream,” I order, “as loud as you can.”

I even open the car door so the sound is not muffled, and within seconds, Harvey is here and he is yanking me out of the car.

“
What the hell did you do?” he looks from her to me. The look of horror in his eyes is exactly what I expected to see.

She is having a tough time keeping her eyes open now.

“
Turn her,” I tell him.

“
What?” he looks at me, confused.

“
Turn her. I’m giving you the luxury of making your choices for you so that you don’t have to deal with the consequences of making the wrong ones.” I pause, giving him time to take that in. “And so you don’t have to deal with people telling you that you took the easy way out.”

The look of shock when he realizes why I did this is priceless. “I hope the lesson is learned. You might want to stay out of my business from now on.” I pause again. “And you might want to hurry up. She has seconds left… if that.”

I grin, turn around, and go back inside.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

SARAH

I’m texting Ian to let him know that I’m all right when I hear the piercing scream come from outside. I rush to my window and see Harvey yanking Nicholas away from the car. They exchange a few words, and then Nicholas comes inside and Harvey gets in the car and closes the car door.

I can’t see anything inside the car, so I wait and watch until I see Harvey get out of the car and make his way to the other side. He opens the door and picks up Valerie, cradling her in his arms.

I gasp, my hand covering my mouth when I realize she has blood on her arms and on her lips.

I rush downstairs and open the door for Harvey.

“
What happened?”

He doesn’t need to answer. One look at Harvey and I know what’s happening. It looks as if she is dead, but we both know the truth. She is going through her transformation. She may seem quiet on the outside, but inside, she is in pain.

Turning into a vampire is much like going through surgery where the general anesthesia doesn’t really work. On the outside, she can’t move but she is aware of everything that is going on. She will feel every organ shutting down, one by one, until her heart stops beating.

“
I’m taking her to my room,” says Harvey.

I follow him upstairs. I can’t stop crying because I know this is my fault. I pushed Nicholas too far.

Once in his room, he lays her down on his never-slept-in bed.

“
What’s going to happen to us, Harvey?” I ask in tears.

For the first time since I met Harvey, he looks lost.

“
I don’t know, Sarah. I wish I did,” he looks from me to her. “She’s going to hate me when she wakes up. All her dreams, the job that she loves so much… I ripped it all away from her.”

“
It wasn’t your fault. This is all because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.”

“
Don’t, Sarah. This happened because Nicholas has lost his damn mind.”

He runs his fingers through his hair before he takes a few steps toward the closet, where he stops and punches a hole through the wall.

“
I’ll have to take her away before she wakes up.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
She is going to crave your blood. And also, people will be looking for her. She is a teacher… in a small town.”

I sob. For my own selfish reasons, all I think about is that I don’t want to move.

As if reading my mind, Harvey says, “I need you to stay here with Nicholas. Leaving will just set off alarms—too many coincidences, besides, Ian saw her car and will know that something is going on. I need you to cover for me.”

“
What about Nicholas?” I ask.

“
Avoid him at all costs. You know where to reach me if things get bad. I just need a few days to see how she will react to the change and to come up with a plan. I won’t go too far.”

I nod.

“
We might have to move soon, Sarah. Please be prepared for that possibility.”

“
I hate him,” I say.

“
No, you don’t. He is your brother. He’s just broken beyond repair.”

“
What if we contact Lexi? Ask her to come talk to him?”

“
I think that would be worse.”

“
Worse than him glamouring random women into believing they are Lexi?”

Harvey’s eyes widen.

“
And I’m pretty sure he managed to make himself believe they are Lexi too. He was acting really confused earlier when I asked who she was.”

“
Damn it. I’m honestly at a loss for what to do. If I leave you here, I’m leaving you with him. If you go with me, you’ll be in danger of being drained and killed. She won’t wake up until tomorrow night… at least. Let me think on it, okay? Try not to worry. I know you don’t want to leave but this complicates things in every possible way.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The next morning, Ian texts and calls many times, but I don’t answer. I just stay in bed all day, hiding… mentally preparing myself for the fact that we will be moving again soon. It’s not until he sends a message saying that he is on his way over, that I text him back saying that I’m fine and don’t want to see anyone. He doesn’t reply back after that.

It’s nighttime when Harvey knocks on my door. He approaches me and sits on the bed.

“
How is she?” I ask.

“
Still not awake, but that is expected. I’m taking her to a cabin in the mountains tonight.”

I nod. “Does Nicholas know?”

Harvey shakes his head. “I haven’t seen him. I’ve been in my room since last night. I will leave him a note. It’s best that I don’t see him.”

“
What are we going to do, Harvey?”

“
Actually, I’ve already done something. I want you to trust that my decision was the lesser of the evils. That was the best I could do.”

I give him a puzzled look, but he doesn’t give me any more details.

“
I’ll call you to give you updates. Call me if you need anything.”

I nod.

Harvey stands up. “Your friend is here. I can smell his scent.”

I start to panic.

“
I don’t think Nicholas is coming out of his room. He’ll leave if you don’t want to answer,” he says while noticing my hesitation.

I sigh. “No, I should talk to him.”

He nods. “I’ll wait until he is gone before I take Valerie away.

“
Okay.”

I don’t bother getting out of my yoga pants and tank top. I rush down the stairs before I lose my nerve, and open the door. Before Ian can say a word, I grab his hand and pull him toward the truck.

“
I need to get out of here for a while.”

Once we get to the door, I notice he is tense; probably thinking of what Nicholas will do if we leave this late.

I look up into his eyes and beg, “Please.”

He opens the door for me and then goes around and climbs in.

“
Where to?” he asks.

“
To the farm—where you took me to see the horses.”

He starts the truck and drives in that direction.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

NICHOLAS

I don’t leave my room until I know I’m alone. It’s not that I’m afraid of Harvey. I just don’t want to deal with the drama.

I go downstairs and read a sappy note he left behind about leaving with Valerie for a few days to protect Sarah and that I should take care of her without being an ass in the process.

I crumple the paper and throw it on the floor before going back upstairs. Halfway there,
I hear a noise coming from the study. I rush in that room knowing that no one could have come back into the house.

The curtains are closed and it’s dark. I close my eyes and take in her scent. I actually miss her so damn much I can smell her scent as if she is here. Once I open my eyes, I see the silhouette of her body and I freeze.

“
Lexi,” I whisper.

I shake my head. “You’re not real.”

She turns on the lamp in the corner of the room and I stare at her. Over the past few months, every time I spent with some version of her, they were always still human. I realize this is the real Lexi; the one I turned. Our time together immediately flashes through my mind.

“
Hello, Nick.”

I approach her. This time, questioning whether I might be dreaming. After all, because of her, I can dream.

She stands there, watching my every move.

“
What are you doing here?”

“
Harvey called.”

I freeze again. “Son of a bitch. Of course he did.”

“
He told me that you need help. He worries about you being left alone.”

“
And you came just like that?”

“
It’s not what you think, Nick. I still care about you. Always have. I was worried.”

“
You shouldn’t be. You are still with Tyler, aren’t you?”

She nods and gets angry. She raises her voice in a way that always turned me on… still does. There is just something about when she gets mad and comes out of her shell. “How dare you even ask me that question? You seem to forget an important key in this discussion, Nick. You are the one who left me. So yes, I do still worry about you. I have the right to worry about you. Those thirty years together actually meant something to me.”

I approach her and lift my hand toward her face, ready to feel her once again. She moves her hand up, stops me, and looks down.

I drop my arm back down.

“
I did you a favor,” I say, “by leaving you.”

She looks up with bloody tears in her eyes and shakes her head.

“
Not that it changes anything now, but no… you didn’t do me a favor by leaving me, Nicholas.”

“
But you love him, always have.”

She nods. “I do love him. I loved him then and I will always love him.”

The words hurt worse than a stake through the heart.

“
But make no mistake, Nick… I may love him, but I was IN love with you and you gave that up like it was nothing. You just broke our imprint and disappeared.”

I shake my head, hating myself even more than I did before. “You don’t know what you’re saying. I had to--”

“
No, Nick,” she cuts me off. “You didn’t HAVE to do what you did, okay? You made a choice about us and you made that choice alone. I know you had to hide Sarah and I know you had to protect me, but we could’ve done all of that together. We spent thirty years together, Nick, and I know that is nothing in relation to an eternity, but it’s still long enough to where you should’ve known better. We were partners. I would have gone to hell and back with you if needed.”

Stunned and not knowing what to say, I turn around and sigh. Hell, it’s not like I can win her back. The damage is done.

“
Nick?”

I don’t respond, but she continues anyway.

“
Harvey said you need help, and I came because I care for you and as a personal favor to him, but please let us leave the past in the past, okay?”

Again, I don’t say anything. I just listen.

“
Harvey didn’t elaborate on anything that’s happened. All he said was that he had to turn someone. Do you want to tell me why he thinks you need help?”

I shake my head and turn around, looking her straight in the eyes. I keep my focus there because if I even think about glancing at her lips, I know I will lose my mind for not being able to kiss her. “Nothing that I can’t handle. If anything, he is probably worried about Sarah.”

“
Where is she?” she asks.

“
Being stupid.”

She gives me a puzzled look.

“
She has been hanging out with a human boy.”

Lexi smirks. “Is that it?”

I roll my eyes at her and the last part of the conversation takes me back to how we used to be.

“
Once upon a time you were hanging out with a human girl,” she smiles. “Don’t be a hypocrite.”