Aida struggled to understandwhathemeant. She remembered showing him around the gallery, and he’dpurchased a couple of things, but she didn’t recall discussing anyproblem. She racked her brain in search of an answer, but theharder she tried, the more disoriented she felt.
Had she entered the matrix? Was someone aboutto offer her a red and blue pill?
Before she could come up with a response, herested his hand against the door to the storage room and pushed itopen.
“You’re not supposed to be back here,” shesaid, which might have been the dumbest thing she ever said. Hedidn’t care that he was crushing her hand, so she doubted he gave ashit about Nicolette’s rule of no customers in the storeroom.
“The rules don’t apply to me.”
She was starting to hate this arrogant prick.She wouldn’t mind taking some pepper spray to the face if it hadhim crying like a little bitch afterward.
Before she could reply, a blur coming fromher right caught her attention a millisecond before a fist crashedinto the side of Gerald’s face. His head jerked toward her, and shebit back a scream when the warm blood flying from his mouthsplattered her face. She didn’t have a chance to wipe it awaybefore Gerald jerked her forward and threw her to the floor.
Her hand smacked off the concrete, and herbruised hipbone protested movement as she dragged herself forward,but she was free of his grasp. The inhuman sounds coming frombehind her propelled her faster.
Ignoring the agony flaring from her hip andup her side, she staggered to her feet and limped forward as fastas she could. She didn’t dare look back until she believed she hadenough distance between herself and Gerald.
Ducking behind a crate, she poked her headout as someone hit Gerald. The blow lifted him off his feet andflung him backward. When he hit the brick wall, his arms and legsflew out before he crashed to the floor.
Aida stared at the bearded face, red eyes,and elongated fangs of her savior as she tried to figure out who itwas. And then it hit her like a hammer between the eyes.
“Julian.”
His name was barely a whisper, but his headturned toward her, and for a second, the rage in his eyes lessenedas something she didn’t quite understand surged forth. She hadn’tseen him in four and a half years; why was he looking at her withso much love?
His expression was as baffling to her as hissudden arrival and Gerald’s bizarre behavior. What was he doinghere? And why did he look so hell-bent on killing Gerald as heturned away from her to stalk the man?
She’d always known Julian was a vampire, buthe was so sweet to her that she never could have imagined thisbrutal side of him existed. Now, as he hunted Gerald, every inch ofhim exuded violence.
Her eyes widened when she spotted the strangeblack and red color swirling up the tips of his fingers and acrosshis hands. His reddened eyes burned so bright they illuminated theshadows around him.
A shiver of unease raced up her spine; whathad happened to Julian since she last saw him? What had made himthis strange cross between a man and a monster? And why was hehereafter all this time?
Gerald staggered to his feet, and Aida’s jawfell open when his red eyes swung toward her. He was a vampiretoo!
This day kept getting crazier, and if shedidn’t hurt so bad, she might believe she was trapped in a bizarreand extremely vivid nightmare. She’d dreamed of Julian countlesstimes over the years; none of them were as messed up as this, butthere was a first time for everything.
Her brain felt like it was bouncing aroundher skull as she tried to understand what was happening. The moreshe tried to grasp the answers, the more they evaded her, but shebelieved that somehow, shedidknow them. However, she feltlike an actor who’d walked into the middle of a play and wasexpected to recite all the lines.
Primed for the kill, Julian was more thanready to take this bastard out, but he couldn’t kill him withoutlearning why he was here first. As he stalked toward Gerald, hecouldn’t look at Aida again. He’d seen and heard her shock when shefirst saw him; he couldn’t stand the confusion and uncertainty ineyes so full of love yesterday. His blood had healed her wounds, sono outward sign of what happened remained.
It was torture to leave her this morningbefore she woke and to stay away from her all day, but he did whatwas necessary. He comforted himself by being so close he couldsmell her peach scent and occasionally hear her voice.
He hoped he hadn’t changed her memories soeffectively she would never recall the time they spent together,but he did what was necessary. Not knowing about their relationshipkept her calm as she wasn’t torn between Gerald’s command to killand her love for him.
It seemed to have worked as she woke thismorning and acted like nothing happened when she saw Cassidy andKyle. Cassidy reported Aida was tired but in a good mood. From thestairwell leading to the fourth floor, Julian watched her leave herapartment and walk down the stairs. Once she was gone, he rejoinedhis siblings, and they enacted the plan they came up with lastnight.
Cassidy left soon after Aida and stayed adiscreet distance away while trailing her to work. She spent theday stationed at a coffee shop diagonally across from the gallerywhere she sipped lattes, flirted with the waiter, and pretended towrite a book. The whole time she kept him and Kyle on an open phonecall where they heard everything she said.
After Cassidy left, Julian and Kyle remainedin the apartment while he disabled the security system and camerasat the gallery before moving on to disable the cameras from thenearby buildings. He also shut down any cameras around Aida’sbuilding in case Gerald was somehow using them to watch her here.He couldn’t take the chance Gerald would see him leave thisbuilding or go into the gallery.
Once he finished with that, Kyle left to takeup a position in the alley next to the gallery where he would waituntil Cassidy spotted Gerald. Julian called a taxi, put on someglasses, and a Celtics hat before meeting the car outside. He hadthe driver take the long way before pulling into the service alleybehind the gallery. He handed the driver some cash and changed hismemory of what happened.
They weren’t expecting Gerald to make a moveuntil nightfall, but just in case, they would be close so theycould keep an eye on everyone who entered the gallery. While Julianand Kyle remained hidden, Cassidy was their eyes. She wouldrecognize another vamp in case Gerald decided to use someone elsefor his dirty work again.
When night fell, in anticipation of Gerald’sarrival, Kyle slipped inside the gallery and took Nicolettesomewhere she would be out of the way. Julian knew his siblingswere coming, but they wouldn’t be a part of this battle. This pieceof shit was all his.
CHAPTER 43
