The Valley Pub didn"t look like any pub that Eli was used to. Glossy mirrors, art deco design and two men in suits manned the doors. Decorations in red and green hung from the ceiling. He"d lost track of how many of the people down there had Santa hats on. One woman had come in wearing a red velvet skirt and a bustier lined with white fur. When Eli had suggestedSarel find out where the woman had bought it, she had elbowed him in the side.
"Why don"t you explain why we"re here again?"Sarel asked. The table just behind her emptied and she dropped into the seat before anybody else could take it. Eli didn"t take the other seat-he remained at the balcony railing, staring down at the dance floor.Sarel kicked up her booted feet and propped them on the other chair and gave him a baleful stare. "Can"t we go back to the hotel?Tori isn"t here."
"I know that," he said mildly.Tori was nowhere around. His senses were highly attuned to her. Back when she had first been changed, she had nearly died. Eli had fed her and brought her back from the edge. With most other vamps that would have given him control over her but notTori . He did, however, have internal radar when it came toTori . She was somewhere outside of the town, up in the mountains.
What she was doing, he didn"t know. There had been a time when he could have reached out and spoken to her, mind to mind. Could have known exactly what she was doing. What she was feeling.
b.u.t.tori had blocked him off. Cut him out of her life, just like she had cut off everybody else who loved her. They could fix this. He"d said it to himself a hundred times, a thousand, over the past year. But he was losing faith in that.
You can"t.He couldn"t stop believing that they could helpTori . Bring her back.He couldn"t stop believing it. Eli had to helpTori -he"d promised himself he"d take care ofTori . For Declan.
Failure just wasn"t acceptable.
He didn"t really have an answer forSarel either. He didn"t know why they were there instead of trying to trackTori down and talk to her.
"She hasn"t hurt anybody here."
Eli waited forSarel to look at him and then he repeated himself. "She hasn"t hurt anybody. And it"s not like there"s a lack of options." Eli"s lip curled as he looked out over the crowded dance floor. There were several down there whom he planned on chatting with before they left.
Their evil flooded his senses like poison. Definitely something that needed to be dealt with.Tori had been in town long enough to know she needed to handle it but she hadn"t. He didn"t like that. He knew it bothered Mal. For months,Tori had been Hunting with an aggression that bordered on brutality. She"d used maximum force whether it was necessary or not. If they didn"t rein her in, Eli feared they"d have to kill her before she endangered all of them with her recklessness. Yet here, when there were legitimate threats, she hadn"t dealt with any of them.
"Maybe she knows we"re here."
Eli laughed but there was no real humor in it. "Of course she knows we"re here.Tori would have sensed us before we sensed her. She"s just ignoring us."
Sarelshrugged. "Maybe that"s why she"s not doing anything-she doesn"t want to give you any more reason to come after her."
"I"m notafter her," Eli muttered. He drove a hand through his hair and paced the narrow balcony that overlooked the dance floor. "I"m trying to help her. That is why we are here, to help her."
His wife quirked a brow at him. Her green-gold eyes held none of the normal antipathy she usually displayed whenTori was the topic of discussion. "You think I don"t know that? I don"t want her dead."
Then she smiled a little. "Bald, maybe. Or I did at one time. But she"s been through h.e.l.l this past year.
She"s lost something that makes me hurt to even think about it. I"m a b.i.t.c.h, Eli. But not that big a b.i.t.c.h."
A smiled tugged at his lips and he walked over toSarel . He cupped her face in his hands and bent down, placing a soft, gentle kiss on her lips. "You"re not a b.i.t.c.h at all."
He straightened but before he could move away,Sarel caught his hand. She linked their fingers. "Iam a b.i.t.c.h. I"m okay with that. You don"t need somebody sweet and soft. You"d run them right into the ground." She paused and he watched as she took a rough, unsteady breath. Tears glittered in her eyes when she looked up at him. "I know how much she loved Declan. I love you the same way. Losing you would kill me. I just don"t understand how she"s living through this."
"She"s not living anymore."
Malachi joined them and Eli andSarel looked at him. They weren"t the only ones watching him. There was an odd hush on the upper level, women staring at the ancient vampire while most of the men pretended not to notice he was there. Malachi had a weird effect on people. Women wanted him and men feared him. Most vampires caused that effect to some small extent but Malachi was so d.a.m.n old that the power affected nearly every single soul he came in contact with.
He ignored everybody exceptSarel and Eli as he sat down on one of the hard, uncomfortable chairs.
"She"s not alive inside. She is barely functioning.Declan"s death killed something inside her."
There was an odd tone inMal"s voice. Eli had known the man for more than two hundred years. He was one of the few people whom Malachi actually considered a friend. He knew the ancient better than most people. "Malachi."
That was all he said but they knew each other so well, nothing else was needed. "We may not have a choice, Eli. I do not know thatTori can be helped."
Sarelshook her head. She opened her mouth to speak but then she stopped. She closed her eyes, licked her lips then pressed them together. She looked back at them. "I know I"ve never beenTori"s biggest fanbut I refuse to believe that she can"t be helped. She"s alive. She"smeant to be alive." Pushing out of her seat, she moved over to the wrought iron railing that lined the balcony. She wrapped her hands around two of the scrolled bars and stared down at the dance floor. Brilliant, rainbow streaks of color streamed down from the lights in the ceiling, painting her face with alternating stripes of color. "I"ve been where she is. When Eli and I..." her voice trailed off. Turning around, she looked at them. "I"ve been there. If you hadn"t gotten the two of us back together, Mal, both of us would have died. She and Declan were soul mates. Soul mates need each other to survive. If she"s alive, then it"s because she is meant to be alive. I won"t believe that she can"t be helped."
Down below, out of their range of vision, a tall, rangy blond stepped through the employee entrance. As he made a beeline for the bar, there was a commotion just outside the bar. None of the people inside the bar heard it. The people on the outside were gathering around, staring.
The two vampires and the witch put aside their problems to go and deal with the mortal one causing the commotion outside. Halfway to the door, Eli caught a whiff of something or somebody that was familiar.
But there was a panicked, terrified scream and he couldn"t ignore it.
Chapter Five.
"What?"
With one foot on the porch, Eli paused and looked back atSarel . She still stood on the gravel driveway just behind him, her hands tucked into the pockets of a long leather coat. Her green-gold eyes met his and she shrugged helplessly.
The night was cold. It didn"t affect Eli, although he could feel the cold. It just didn"t cause him any discomfort. It should botherTori though. She was still half human. She sat on the swing at the far end of the porch with her legs tucked up under her and one hand on the back of the swing.
She was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. Nothing else.
She ought to be freezing.
"Why don"t we go inside?" Eli asked softly.
Torijust shrugged. "I like it out here." She lifted her face and stared up at the sky. Through the bare branches of the trees, they could see the star-dappled sky and the moon that gleamed down with a clear, cold light. It highlighted the soft planes of her face. Herthin face.
Eli moved a little closer, hardly able to believe this wasTori in front of him. She was little more than skin and bone. She"d lost far too much weight. "Tori...pet...you look like h.e.l.l."
A faint smile appeared on her lips for a brief moment. Then it was gone. "I"m not looking to win beauty contests, slick." She glanced down at her body and shrugged. "I don"t have anybody to look good for.
Not anymore."
Eli didn"t know what to say.Sarel stepped forward. She paused by him long enough to kiss his cheek and then she walked over to the swing and sat down byTori .Tori frowned and edged a little away, like she couldn"t stand to have anybody that close. "He"s worried about you." Toriglanced at Eli and shrugged. "Yeah, I know. You"ve been shadowing me for the past two weeks to tell me that? Very careful shadowing, might I add. Gatlinburg isn"t that big a town but you all have been very careful not to get too close." She rose from the swing and moved over to the wooden railing. She braced her elbows on it and leaned forward. The cabin was perched on the edge of a deep ravine and she stared down into the darkness below for the longest time before she said, "He"s worried, I know.
Malachi is worried, I know. Even you"re worried. But why are you really here?"
"We just want to help."
Toriturned around and looked at them. Her breathing never changed. Her face was immobile. But tears rolled down her face. The pain in her eyes seemed to scream silently. "Help me? What can you possibly do to help? There"s nothing anybody can do to help."
"You want to just curl up and die?"Sarel"s voice was cool, almost cold. Eli looked at her and opened his mouth but she sent a quelling look. "Is that what you want?"
"Yes!"Tori snarled the word, all but spitting it inSarel"s face. She stalked up toSarel and reached out, grabbing a fistful ofSarel"s jacket in her hand. She jerked the witch upright, lifting her so thatSarel"s booted feet left the ground. "That is.e.xactly what I want. But I can"t die. I don"t eat. I can"t feed. But I don"t die."
A sob escaped her and she let go ofSarel , spinning away. Eli started toward her but she cried out, "Don"t come near me." Low, keening sobs escaped her. She wrapped her arms around her torso and rocked herself back and forth. "I want to die. I"ve tried as hard as I can to get myself killed and I don"t die." Her gaze moved to his and he stared into her tear-drenched eyes. There was a hopeful look in them. An awful, hideous, hopeful look.
Oh G.o.d.No. Eli didn"t pray often-he never had. But he was praying now. She wasn"t- "Don"t,Tori ."
"You want to help me, Eli?" She moved toward him.Sarel reached for her b.u.t.tori evaded the other woman. "I hurt. All the time. I can"t breathe, I hurt so bad. I can"t think. I can"t feel anything but the pain.
You want to help me, then help me end it."
He hadn"t thought he could hurt anymore. There had been a brief period of time when he had thought he was in love withTori . They"d been lovers. For the past ten years, she had been one of his dearest friends. She had married his best friend.
He loved her. He wasn"t in love with her-not even a little. That part of his heart belonged toSarel , completely and fully. But he did loveTori . And she wanted him to kill her. He spun away from her and covered his face with his hands.
Was this tragedy ever going to end?
"I know you"re hurting."Sarel"s voice was soft and steady but Eli heard the fury in it nonetheless. Eli tried to block her voice out. "I can"t imagine how much you must be hurting. But Eli"s hurting too. Declan was his best friend.He lost him too. He loved him too. Just like he loves you. How can you possibly ask this?"
Eli.There was an urgency inMal"s mental voice. b.u.g.g.e.r, now what?
You need to come to town. To the Valley Pub and Grille.Now.And bringTori with you.
None of us are in the mood, Mal. I know there"s a b.l.o.o.d.y mess there, but notnow.Can"t you handle it?
There was a strained laugh. Almost hysterical. And completely unlike Malachi.No. This is not something I wish to handle. OnlyTori can handle this. Finally, something inMal"s voice broke through to him.
For some strange reason, Eli remembered the wayLeandra had smiled at them two weeks ago. That mysterious, knowing smile, as if she knew something. Something started to pulse inside him, kicking up his heart rate, warming his normally cool blood. He didn"t want to give a name to the emotions flaring to life inside him.
Hope could be such a wonderful thing. Could get a man through almost anything. But it could also send him straight into h.e.l.l when hope died. Slowly, he turned and looked atTori . "We need to go into town."
Hurry, Eli. They won"t be here too long.
"So you work back there?"
Lee leaned forward over the bar and peered back behind him. He wrinkled his nose and said, "It smells funny and it"sloud ."
Brian shrugged. "Told you it wasn"t thefunnest place for kids, pal. We could have gone to Burger King."
The boy smiled, revealing a missing tooth. The tooth had been lying on Lee"s pillow when he woke up two days ago. Last night, the tooth fairy had left five dollars and today Lee had spent it. Brian wasn"t sure what the going rate for a tooth was. But he figured Lee had been deprived enough over the past year. He would have put a grand under the pillow if he"d had it. It would have been worth it just to see the smile on his son"s face.
Lee had enjoyed spending every last cent. It had only taken going to every kid-friendly store on the strip. They"d ended up at a department store inSeveirville where Lee bought himself a couple of Hot Wheels.
"I wanted to see where you work," Lee said. He drove the tiny car up and down the counter in front of him and then he grinned. "Can I see if I can drive it the whole way down?"
"Noooo." He reached over and covered Lee"s hand with his before the boy gave in to the temptation anyway. From the corner of his eye, he saw somebody wave at him and he slid off the stool and picked Lee up.
"Where we going? Iwanna eat here!" Lee"s face puckered in a pout, his voice rising in that tired whine that made a parent cringe.
"Easy, buddy. We"re going to eat here. We just can"t sit here to do it. I don"t want you around all thatsmoke. And kids really don"t need to be in this part of the restaurant anyway. Look-we"re going to eat over there. See? They have a tree in there and everything."
Lee"s face lit up. He joined the hostess and they headed toward the enclosed deck. Halfway up the deck, he b.u.mped into a guy. Big guy. Cold, dark eyes. Gave off those mean-a.s.s, don"t-f.u.c.k-with-me vibes. Brian quirked a brow and sidestepped as the guy stared at him like he was trying to see what Brian looked like under his skin. ""Scuseme."
The man said nothing and Brian shifted Lee on his hip, cradling him a little closer. His eyes locked with the big guy for a long, drawn-out moment and then he turned away.
"He looks mean," Lee whispered, looking over Brian"s shoulder.
"Some people, if they smiled, their faces would crack." He changed the subject but as he turned the corner onto the deck, he looked back to the stairs.
The big guy was still standing there. Staring at him.
Malachi still couldn"t believe it.
Declan had just walked right by. As if he didn"t even know Mal. As if he were a stranger. He"d changed stances, pulling the boy on his hip closer, protectively cradling him against his chest.
Protecting him. AgainstMal .
The minutes seemed to crawl by but he knew it had been more than an hour since he had called out to Eli. He didn"t know where the h.e.l.l they were but they had better hurry. Declan and the boy were done eating and it looked like they were heading out.
Malachi almost started to pace. Would have too. But that would almost be like admitting to himself that he was nervous. Anxious. And Malachi didn"t get anxious.
"b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l."
He propped his hands on his hips, watching as Declan and the boy descended the stairs. Declan had the kid up on his shoulders and the boy was laughing. He held his arms up, like he was trying to touch the exposed beams of the vaulted ceiling.
"What in h.e.l.l is going on?" he muttered. He reached out and searched for Eli.d.a.m.n it, where are you?
IsTori with you?
Stuck in traffic on the d.a.m.n strip. I toldSarel I didn"t f.u.c.king want to rent a car. Why in the world would anybody want to live in a place like this? And yes, oh Great One,Tori is with me. But I don"t know for how long.
Hurry.He smiled faintly and added,TellTori I have one h.e.l.l of a Christmas present for her. Malachi waited until Declan and the boy had disappeared through the door before he followed them. The shifter seemed on edge already. Really on edge.Why doesn"t he know me? He shook it off. Didn"t matter. The manwould know his wife. He would knowTori . He just had to keep the guy from disappearing on him. On the sidewalk, Declan was striding off, walking with long, easy steps that were going to carry him away from the pub, out of sight. "Like h.e.l.l."
"Declan."
The blond man stiffened but didn"t turn around. Once more, he just kept walking.
He felt the whisper through the air and turned, watching as Eli,Sarel andTori came striding up the road from the other direction. They all looked confused.
Tori"ssteps faltered. Malachi turned his head and looked at the man and boy walking away.Tori"s gaze followed his. When Malachi looked back in her direction, she was staring at the man with her lips parted, a look of total shock on her face.
Brian had tensed as he"d sensed the man leave the restaurant. He hadn"t seen him but he didn"t have to.
The big, mean-looking b.a.s.t.a.r.d was following him. If it wasn"t for Lee, Brian wouldn"t be too worried. As edgy as he was lately, a good, ugly fight would do him a world of good.