Prologue
Fresno, CA
Erica rushed home from her small outing. What some would call a mundane task of going to the grocery store, she considered it a luxury. While the store was full of busy women on their way home from work, some with small, cranky children in tow, Erica leisurely browsed up and down each aisle, taking her time to sniff and select a few precious pieces of fruit and a loaf of bread. Yes, she daydreamed of having the means to buy extra goodies, the opportunity to get out of the house and away from her husband brought a smile to her lips. Unfortunately, she was late in arriving home, increasing the chance of ruining her otherwise pleasant evening.
She pulled her little beat-up car into the driveway, immediately spotting her husband’s car. A frown formed where a smile had been dancing on her lips just minutes prior. Would it be too much to hope he hadn’t been out drinking already? While she indeed never held it against anyone wanting to stop for an after-work cocktail or beer, her husband’s drinking was in an entirely different category. To make matters worse, his temper, which was never great, was positively horrible once he started drinking heavily. Now, she was late arriving home, and she knew well he did not tolerate his mandates disobeyed. Goosebumps snaked up her arm as she turned the ignition off. Taking a deep breath, she attempted to calm her racing heart before opening her car door. There was little sense in wasting any more time; it would only serve to make his temper worse.
She grabbed her precious small bag of groceries before hurrying into the house. As soon as she opened the door, he was there, anger pouring off him in waves.
“Where have you been?” The stench of alcohol was pungent as he bellowed his question in her face. He had barely waited until she was inside, and the door shut behind her.
To show fear would be a mistake, but she felt a slight tremble go through her body anyway. Damn, Shawn would notice; he always did. The only thing she could do was take a meek stance and pray it would work. Eyes cast downwards; she replied, “I’m sorry I’m late. I have no excuse.”
The bag holding her pitiful meager food items was torn from her arms and sailed across the room. She watched as it hit the wall with a splat, a small whimper escaping her lips as she remembered the two juicy oranges, the ripe red apple, and the soft loaf of bread that she had lovingly picked out. All of it ruined. She only had a quick moment to mourn her beloved groceries before her hair was being snatched out of her head as Shawn forced her to her knees.
“Please, I …I’m sorry. It w…..won’t happen again.” Begging, she was begging, even though she knew it wouldn’t do a damn bit of good.
“You’re damn right it won’t happen again! When I give you a time limit, I expect you to obey!” Although he was still roaring at her, he let go of her hair and almost gently ran his fingers down her cheek, making her wonder just how much in control of himself he was. That thought had just surfaced when he grabbed her chin roughly, jerking her head upwards to meet his eyes. This time, it was the complete opposite. His actions were out of control, but his voice had suddenly become calm. “I can see you need to be taught a lesson in obedience.”
Oh crap, she knew things were going to get a lot worse before the evening ended. Even though she knew from experience that pleading would do no good, she found herself trying anyway. As tears slipped down her cheeks unchecked, her whole body began to tremble in fear. “No, I have learned my lesson. I promise it won’t happen again; I am truly sorry.”
Unfortunately for her, those were the last words she could speak before her husband Shawn cut loose on her. Jerking her up by her hair, he punched her in the stomach several times before backhanding her across the face. His strike to her face hit so hard it sent her flying across the room, slamming the kitchen counter and bouncing off before hitting the floor. He calmly stalked over to her and aimed his booted foot, kicking at her as if she were no more than trash. She cried out in pain, several kicks landing in her abdomen and stomach, as she curled up in a ball, trying to protect her head as much as possible, just praying she would make it through his “discipline” alive.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, he stopped kicking and grabbed her by her hair once again. He pulled her through the house to the bedroom, drug her over to the bed, and tossed her down. As he stood before her, he immediately reached down and began to unclench his belt.
Erica looked up and cringed in horror. As bad as Erica was already hurting, if he decided a beating with the belt was in order, she wasn’t sure she could survive it. Already her head and ribs were in agony as she lay quietly whimpering on the bed, trembling uncontrollably. He knelt on the bed, and she couldn’t help but glance down to see not only had his belt been removed, but he had also unzipped his pants, his flaccid manhood hanging out.
She stared up into this monster’s face for a few seconds, trying to guess his intentions. He had not said a word the entire time he had dished out her “discipline,” and now the faraway look in his eyes told her he wasn’t there. Oh, his body was present. But Erica had seen that look in his eyes way too many times before. He seemed to be in another place and time. His next words confirmed her fear. She watched as he reached over to gently stroke her face, his gesture kind and caring as if he hadn’t just beat the shit out of her less than five minutes ago.
“What’s your name, pretty girl? I won’t hurt you.” Oh shit! Whatever had snapped in his brain, he didn’t even know her? She would have sighed if her ribs weren’t in agony. When her husband got drunk, he would often have flashbacks from his time in the service. During these flashbacks, Erica would usually become either enemy or whore, neither having an advantage over the other. It looked like tonight she would be his whore. Erica watched as he wobbled, his movements now as erratic as his behavior had been since she walked in the door. As he tried to stand, she silently watched as his foot hit the bedpost, causing him to lose his balance and sprawl to the floor. His head hit the nightstand on his way down, and Erica found herself holding her breath, scared to glance over the side of the bed to see what his current state was.
On the one hand, if the blow to the head had killed him, she would be free. But then again, she doubted she’d be that lucky. No, more than likely, he would jump up any minute now and blame her for his unfortunate luck. She waited another minute before she cautiously peeked over the side of the bed. He was sprawled out cold on the floor, and for once in her life, she didn’t care whether he was dead or alive. He was either passed out drunk and would wake up in the morning with a hell of a headache or dead. Did it make her a horrible person to want him gone forever? Either way, she would deal with him in the morning. She’d had enough for one day.
Leaning back on the bed as best she could, she breathed a small sigh of relief. At least for tonight, it was over. The pain in her ribs continued to worsen, and blackness began to descend upon her. She welcomed it. At least then she wouldn’t feel anything.
Chapter One
The next morning came too soon for Erica’s liking. Still experiencing sharp pains, a glance over the side of the bed assured her she was safe for the moment, but it wouldn’t last long. She noticed he had shifted a bit through the night, so, unfortunately, her monster husband was still alive. Erica’s only priority was to get out of the house before he woke and decided to blame her for his fall last night; or come to the delusional conclusion that he needed to continue her discipline. Lucky for her, there was someplace she had to be today other than home. She had class at the local college, which gave her the perfect excuse to get her rear in gear and get out of the house before her husband woke up, even though every muscle in her body protested when she tried to move.
She carefully climbed out of bed and tiptoed to the bathroom. As she stood in front of the mirror, inspecting the new bruises that were already forming, she had a moment to contemplate her life. How did a kind, law-abiding young woman like herself get into such a tangled web of life? Was she a horrible person and just didn’t see it? Did she deserve this kind of life? The thought crossed her mind of reaching out for help, but she quickly dismissed it. She didn’t want to be responsible for someone else getting hurt. And it wouldn’t matter who she reached out to, they’d end up hurt, or even worse, dead, and it would be her fault. The police couldn’t even help her at this point. What would they do? Issue a restraining order and tell her husband to stay away from her? Like that would do any good. A restraining order is only a piece of paper, and Erica knew her husband well enough to know it wouldn’t even slow him down for a minute.
Her life had been going okay up until four years ago. No, it wasn’t perfect, but she hadn’t needed to fear for her life constantly. When she first met Shawn, she had been young, naïve, and blind in not seeing him for the monster he was. She shook her head at herself in the mirror. She wasn’t going to take the blame for the fact he had done a great job of covering his real personality. “I should have known better, though. I should have never fallen for his lines of making me believe I was safe; I was loved.” She frowned at her reflection in the mirror, mentally kicking herself for what had to be ten thousand times for falling for his lies.
It had all started so innocently. Erica had allowed a friend to set her up on a blind date. He seemed so kind and caring, thoughtful, and romantic. Their first date quickly led to a few more, and before she could blink twice, she agreed to marry him. He had quite literally walked into her young life, found her insecurities, and worked them to his advantage. She realized that now. It hadn’t taken very long for him to know she had been raised in the foster care program her entire life. With no real family and only a handful of acquaintances, to suddenly have a good-looking older man’s full attention was heady. She was quickly swept off her feet with his charm.
The other room’s slight sound gave her the momentum to stop standing in front of the mirror, thinking about things she couldn’t change and get a move on it. If she didn’t make it out of the house before he woke up, chances were, she wouldn’t.
Throwing on some cover up on her face, she quickly donned a long sleeve shirt. Getting jeans on was a bit more complicated, but Erica was determined. She grabbed her books and keys and quietly left the house.
As she drove to class, earlier thoughts from standing in front of the mirror came roaring back. Her “happily ever after” fantasy marriage had died almost as quickly as it had begun. Once the wedding was over, her world turned into a nightmare once Shawn had her settled in his home. He had done a great job of hiding who and what he indeed was while they were dating. His drinking, which hadn’t seemed terrible at all while they were dating, quickly worsened. It had gone from bad to positively horrid over the past four years. And when he was drinking, he was at his worst. Add to the excessive drinking; she had also discovered she had married a vampire on her wedding night!
For the past two years, Shawn consumed more liquor than he drank blood. When she thought about it, there was a part of her that was happy about this fact, considering her vampiric husband would often take his dinner straight from her. If he weren’t an alcoholic, she assumed she would have been dead a long time ago.
It took a while after they were married, but she finally got him to open up one night and tell her his story. He had been a young officer in the Army during the Vietnam War. He and a few of his team members had been captured and held prisoners of war. Their captures had thought it would be a big joke to change their prisoners into vampires, and why not? Release them back into society and watch them wreak havoc.
Unfortunately for her, Shawn tended to have flashbacks of the war when he became too intoxicated. During these flashbacks, Erica would watch him become a total stranger to her. He seemed unaware of where he was or who anyone around him was. She would watch him in horror as he appeared to reenact some scene in his mind of being in Vietnam’s jungles. It was during these times; Erica was not his devoted wife but one of the enemy. The first few episodes had scared her so severely she had tried running away from the situation. She had quickly learned a painful lesson in not making him angry when he was already out of his mind.
Her mind went to the episode of the night before, and she thanked her lucky stars he had passed out before inflicting any more pain on her. She was even more relieved she had made it out the door this morning before he woke up. Now, if she could only figure out how to leave him and never face him again, her life would be perfect.
She wanted to leave, she did, but just how does one go about doing that? He would come after her; that was a sure bet. And if he found her, she wouldn’t live to tell about it. Talk about a hopeless situation. She surely couldn’t go to the local police station stating, “I need a restraining order against my vampiric husband.” Like that would do a bit of good! They would more than likely put her in a padded cell, and Shawn would be waiting for her when she was released.
Yet, she knew if she continued to stay with him, it was only a matter of time before he killed her. It made day to day life more comfortable to allow him to think he ruled her, as she had quickly figured out when her life went out of control. She knew from experience if she didn’t play the little submissive housewife, he would simply beat her into submission. But the truth was he had not won. Her independence was still there, just carefully hidden, waiting in the wings to come alive.
There had to be a way of escaping a controlling, manipulating vampire and live to tell about it. But how? She had been allowed to have no friends since becoming married and forced to stay home for his beck and call. Add to that; he threatened her at least weekly that if she ever attempted to spill his secret, he would kill her.
To avoid going stir-crazy, she had started nagging him almost two years ago to allow her to take a few courses at the local college, just for something to do. It took her fighting him for a year until he finally conceded, although she often paid a steep price for her independence streak.
She pulled her little car into a parking space, allowing a slight smile to tug at her lips. She had made it, and she knew someone would be waiting for her in class. She had managed to befriend a classmate and had somehow been able to keep this tidbit of information away from her husband. Her friend Kevin was her ray of sunshine as she traveled alone in her sea of despair. He was also her confidant. She certainly couldn’t blurt out that her husband was a vampire, of course, but after talking with him for a few months, she finally trusted him enough to share a few of her problems. She had confided in him that her husband was an alcoholic and became abusive at times when he indulged. The bruises she sported at least once a week were testimony enough. After the night she had endured last night, she could use a friend.
As soon as she walked into the classroom, her eyes immediately zeroed in on her friend. He was watching for her, just like she knew he would. He seemed to have a concerned look on his face, but she chalked that up to the fact that she was running late, something she rarely did.
Kevin felt a punch to the gut the moment she strolled through the door. Erica spotted an empty seat next to him and walked over, attempting to smile as she headed his way. One look at her and the cold, black fury that threatened to overpower him forced him to suck in a deep breath and count to fifty before releasing. Her smile was rigid, and a simple glance had assured him she was in pain.
“Good morning.” She greeted him in a fake cheeriness and then nearly blacked out from the pain just from sliding into the empty seat next to him. Just what in the hell had happened to her last night?
He sent her a look that instantly told her her false cheeriness didn’t fool him. “Morning,” he grumbled in reply.
There was no more time for talking as the professor stood up, addressed the class, and started his lecture. Since Kevin didn’t give two licks about this class one way or another, he called upon his extra keen senses to assess her injuries. He hadn’t missed the fact of her wrapping her arm around her ribs as she took her seat. Yes, there was substantial damage to her ribs, but how many and the severity was something Kevin couldn’t determine. That alone made his temper threaten to explode, and he took a moment to wrestle it back down. As casually as he could, Kevin leaned over just a bit closer to her and inhaled deep. The scent of blood hit him hard. Her blood, to be exact. Another deep inhale confirmed it was coming from two different sources. The first was from her arm, covered up with her long sleeve shirt so that he couldn’t see anything. Just the thought of the possible cause had him seething. Had the bastard cut her? The other location seemed to stem from her monthly, and he quickly cast that information aside. She was a human female, after all.
He closed his eyes, praying for an excuse just to touch her. With one touch, he could easily access all feelings, thoughts, memories, and emotions. Unfortunately, he had to be skin to skin with a person for this process to work. After what he suspected she had to endure last night, he was sure the last thing she’d want was someone touching her, no matter how casually.
Sitting back in his seat and crossing his legs at the ankles, he concentrated on attempting to read her emotions. It was a long shot, more like a total impossibility, but it wasn’t like he had anything else better to do. He didn’t need to be an empath to feel the pain that seemed to surround her. It was coming from almost every area of her body. What in the hell had this woman endured last night? He frowned as he thought about the best way to handle this situation. One thing was sure, as soon as class was over, he was going to come up with an excuse to make skin contact with her, knowing he would have all of his questions answered in an instant.
Little did she know he had fantasized about this small human woman for quite some time now. He quickly fell into a familiar fantasy.
Erica was sitting on top of him, her legs on either side of his. She ran her hands across his chest, seeming to enjoy just touching him. As she leaned down to kiss him, her long auburn hair cascaded around them as a private curtain.
He gently ran his hand down her side. “You are magnificent, Erica.” He whispered in awe as he leaned forward to capture her lips.
A change in tone from the professor broke Kevin out of his musings. The class was almost over. Okay, with a little luck, he would get the answers he needed.
He glanced over to see Erica attempting to pay attention to the professor and ignore him. He just barely withheld a chuckle. That was only going to last until the instructor dismissed the class. Then he planned to have all her attention, one way or another. No, he wasn’t going to be a dick about it, but he had a feeling after what he suspected was a night of hell, she would need a friend. And he was just that friend. His plan consisted of not leaving her until he had the answers he needed. It wasn’t a long shot to figure out the monster she was married to was responsible for her current state of health. The same demon who was slowly destroying the body Kevin loved so very much. Oh, Erica was unaware of his feelings; he had done a great job hiding his true feelings for her. Instead, he had become her rock of support, her confidant, her friend. All while desperately trying to persuade her to get away from that monster she was married to. The monster who was destroying the woman Kevin would gladly give up his own life for.
It was bizarre enough of a situation that she was married to a vampire. Oh yes, Kevin knew what he was; he had done his own investigating. The reason Kevin knew Shawn was a vampire, well, because Kevin himself was a vampire. But that was where the similarities stopped. Kevin wasn’t a monster. He certainly didn’t go around harming women. It baffled him as to why Shawn treated Erica the way he did. She knew about vampires, just from listening to her edit her recounts of prior run-ins with her husband. So, he knew Shawn had shown no restraint in keeping their race a secret. It was legal to expose their race if your mate was human, but the vampire needed permission first. No such request had been filed, though. Kevin had checked. Had Shawn just married her for his private punching bag? It didn’t make sense.
Their professor dismissed the class, and everyone started to gather their notes and laptops. Kevin glanced over to see Erica still sitting in her seat, hands clasped together primly in her lap. With a calmness he wouldn’t have believed possible, he asked her, “Would you like to join me in the garden? You look like you could use a soda.” He backed up his request with a megawatt smile and was rewarded with a blush as he heard her heartbeat speed up. She wouldn’t say no. The garden he referred to was a picnic area outside the student lounge, amid beautiful trails of flowerbeds along both sides. With birds chirping and squirrels coming right up to you looking for a morsel of food, it was a very peaceful setting to go and forget about current problems, even if it was temporary. Erica loved the gardens, which Kevin was aware of, as they had often visited them. She found them to be peaceful and relaxing, making the park one of her favorite spots. When they sat down at the picnic tables, it was as if the world stood still, and they were entirely alone.
“Sure,” she replied, and then he watched her try to hide her pain as she stood up from her seat.
They walked silently down the hall. Kevin stopped and grabbed a coke from the soda machine and quickly caught back up to her before she even realized he had been delayed. As they slipped outside, Erica led the way to an unoccupied picnic table under a tree. Kevin waited until she was seated, opened her soda, and then handed it to her. After watching her all morning, knowing she was in pain, he found his otherwise easy disposition to be unsettled. Kevin had let his mind wander and conjured up all sorts of scenarios as to what had happened to her last night.
He took a seat across from her, and without even thinking first, growled out, “What the hell happened to you?” He winced as he instantly regretted his choice in words, knowing the harshness in his voice would scare her.
Instead, it seemed to make her sit up a bit straighter as she glared over at him. She snapped back her reply. “And here I thought I’d put myself together fairly well, considering all things.” She gave him a look that clearly stated, ‘I am not in the mood for any man’s shit!’
Kevin sucked in a deep breath and prayed for patience as he reached over to gently place his hand on top of hers, hoping she wouldn’t pull away. The second their skin touched, he immediately jumped into her mind. Five seconds later, Kevin heard his own sharp intake of breath, as Erica’s memories of last night’s events were also his memories. Pulling from some unknown reservoir of inner strength, he gave her what he hoped was a calming smile before replying soothingly, “I apologize for being so harsh. Are you okay? You look to be in pain.” He dared her to lie to him. Was she in pain? He had felt her pain for over two hours now. Showing real concern came easy enough, after what he just witnessed from her memories; she was lucky to be moving at all today.
“Bad night,” Erica replied.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he inquired, allowing his thumb to rub over the backside of her hand gently. He knew she wouldn’t tell him everything; she never did. But he wanted to allow her the opportunity to talk about whatever she was comfortable with.
“I just need you to be a friend right now.” He noticed her eyes glazed over. She turned her hands around and clasped onto his tightly. “Can you do that for me?” The request came at barely the slightest of whispers. Kevin felt a sharp pain in his chest as he watched her eyes well up with tears.
“You know you are in a situation that will only get worse over time. Why in the world, don’t you leave him?” Kevin asked her pointedly.
“I wish it was that easy.” Tears were building in her eyes as the despair pouring off of her broke his heart.
She had been trying to figure out a way out of things almost since she said those fated words, “I do.” Locking eyes with Kevin, she wanted to pour her heart out to him. He was the only person she felt remotely comfortable enough to tell any of her problems to. And the weight of bearing everything Shawn dished out, but having no one to turn to, to confide in, was wearing her down. Since Kevin knew Shawn was an alcoholic, she felt free to tell him about the drunk flashbacks, merely stating he had been in the military and suffered from severe PTSD. The bruises were proof that Erica was on the wrong end of the deal most of the time. However, there was only so much she could confide in him without putting his life in jeopardy. Of course, Kevin had no idea Shawn was a vampire, and he honestly had no idea just how far Shawn would go on his bad nights. She just couldn’t bring herself to tell anyone how bad he treated her; most of the time not even coherent enough to know who she was. No, she treasured her friendship with Kevin too much to spill her guts completely.
“Erica, I can help you if you will only give me a chance. Let me protect you from him.” Kevin’s voice broke into her train of thought.
What a sweetheart he was, and a complete opposite of the monster she was married to. She knew he meant every word. She didn’t doubt for a moment Kevin would do anything in his power to keep her safe, but exactly who was going to keep him safe from Shawn? If her husband was just your ordinary abusive, drunk asshole, then yes, she hadn’t a doubt in her mind Kevin could and would wipe the floor with him. But Kevin had no idea the monster she lived with day in and day out, and there was no way she could tell him.
And if all of that wasn’t enough, she was pretty sure there was another situation brewing on the horizon also. She had a distinct feeling Kevin would love nothing more for this relationship to be more than friends. Yes, Kevin was a wonderful friend. His dark hair, tall, muscular build, and easy smile had sent more than one woman swooning. But he seemed fixated on her. Maybe he was just into playing the hero. Perhaps he saw her as a damsel in distress, and he just couldn’t help himself. Or maybe she just imagined it all. After all, he was the only friend she had. In the situation she was in, was it any wonder her broken mind sought to latch on to anyone willing to be nice to her? Now there was a pathetic thought. You’re reading too much into this, Erica. He isn’t interested in a mousy little thing like you. You thought Shawn was interested in you also, and look where that got you. She had to keep him in the ‘friend’ column before she did something monumentally stupid and act like a lovesick simpering fool. She couldn’t survive if he ever walked out of her life. It wasn’t like he had done anything to give her the idea he was interested. He had merely been a friend, her rock to cling to when the tide was high. Damsel in distress, her mind reminded her. Of course, if she told him her current husband was a vampire, he would probably think she was nuts and lose interest quickly as he dropped her off at the nearest mental facility!
She watched as Kevin took out a piece of paper from his back pocket and quickly jot down his address, home phone, and cell phone number. As he handed it over to her, he restated what he had told her multiple times already. “If you ever need help, I’m only a phone call away.” His fingers gently brushed over her the top of her hand before he pulled back. He had steadily been trying to convince her to leave Shawn for months now.
Heat infused her face as a tingling sensation ran up her arm just from his fingertips grazing over her skin. Damn, she had it bad. It was time to put things into perspective and keep Kevin in a firm ‘friend’ category before doing something stupid. Clearing her throat, she looked up at him. “Thanks, Kevin. You are truly a good friend. I know I’ve got to figure a way out of this; I’m not sure how. My biggest fear is Shawn chasing me. I truly believe he would kill me if he found me after I left him.”
“Just know that you are not alone. It is your decision, Erica,” he reached over and gave her hand a reassuring, gentle squeeze. “Just please don’t wait until it is too late.”
As Erica stared down at the piece of paper in her hand, she contemplated her situation. God, how she wished she had someone she could honestly confide in, tell them every horrible detail of her life. But Erica did not dare. She wouldn’t allow anyone else to get hurt, and if Shawn ever thought she had help leaving him, he would surely go after Kevin. No, she could not have that on her conscience. Kevin had a family. He was not married, but he was continually talking about his parents and three sisters. Erica had no family since she was raised in the foster care system. In hindsight, she realized this was probably one of the reasons Shawn singled her out. With no family or friends, there was no one to care if she was around or not.
So, was there anyone out there that could help her? She knew she had to do something. Things couldn’t continue going on this way. The prospect of going to the local police and informing them she needed their protection from her deranged vampiric husband did not seem all that appealing. She glanced up and caught Kevin watching her. If only she didn’t have a conscience reminding her that it would be on her shoulders if Kevin got injured.
As Kevin watched Erica, he could read every bit of misery in her eyes. To make matters worse, she didn’t know the truth about him. After what Shawn had put her through, Kevin had his doubts she would ever fully trust a man again. Let alone another vampire. The entire situation just sucked! He swore under his breath, vehemently. Erica was one of those rare, beautiful gems that deserved to be nurtured and loved every day. As he continued watching the misery in her eyes, Kevin made a silent vow to himself; not if, but when, he got his hands on that bastard, alcoholic vampiric husband of hers; Shawn Harper would pay for the torture he had inflicted upon her. Kevin knew that he would have no peace of mind until he was sure that Shawn Harper could never touch this beautiful woman sitting across from him again. He just had to convince Erica to allow him to help her get safely away, first.
He thought about telling her about himself. It was a risk, no matter what he decided. Naturally, revealing the existence of vampires to a human was forbidden, except for those few vampires who fell in love with humans. They still had to receive permission from the vampire judicial board before doing so. And if said love affair didn’t work out, all information about vampires was to be erased from the human’s mind immediately. They would re-enter human society with a false memory to take up the time.
But with Erica, Kevin did not need to worry about that. She already knew about vampires. And she was his mate. His soul cried out for her every time he said goodbye. Unfortunately, she had seen nothing but the worse of his kind, and he was quite sure if he were to tell her about himself and his family, she would run screaming in the opposite direction. No, he couldn’t afford to take that chance. He would need to woe her until he gained her trust ultimately and then hope she would accept him for what he was. The beast in him growled in displeasure. They had waited long enough to claim her. But Kevin knew if he didn’t go slow and cautious with his mate, he might very well lose her before he ever claimed her.
He kept her in the garden most of the afternoon, knowing she needed a bit of sun and fresh air. He was confident she had no ambition to return home any sooner than she had to. As it was, it was late afternoon when the two walked out to the parking lot. As he closed her door for her, he leaned down into the open window. “Remember, I am only a phone call away. Day or night, call me if you need help.”
“Thanks, I will.” She replied quietly, and he quickly read the fear of returning home in her mind as he reached through the window and gave her a gentle hug.
As Erica pulled her car onto the main road, her fear of what was in store for her at home came rushing back. It was as if she were some horrible criminal heading to her execution. What would tonight bring? How much longer was she going to continue watching her life spiral down to nothing? How much longer was she going to put up with the unbearable pain that followed almost every drinking binge Shawn went on? And was there a place on earth that was safe once she did leave?
Pulling into her driveway, the first thing she noticed was Shawn’s car missing. Thank heavens! Of course, this probably meant Shawn started drinking earlier today, which would mean more trouble tonight when he returned home. After last night’s episode and the amount of pain she was still feeling today, Erica wondered if she would survive if she had to go round two tonight.
Fear is always a great motivator; she thought as she sat back in the seat of her car, trying to figure out what to do with her life. She had the house to herself, and if his past track record could be relied upon, she likely had a few hours before he would be home. Why not take advantage of the situation? As much as she did not want to involve Kevin, he seemed like the only person who could help her. Did she have the courage to walk away and not look back? Or was she going to chicken out and wait at home like a good little lap dog for Shawn to come home and abuse her? If she left within the next hour or so, she would have a chance to get away from him. Could Erica hide from him well enough he wouldn’t find her? She felt sure she could stay hidden for the night. Her biggest concern was after that. Shawn could easily track her down at the college tomorrow, but other people always surrounded her. Would that be enough to keep him from doing significant damage? She thought about leaving the town entirely and starting over, but where would she go? What would she do? At least if she reached out for help and kept herself surrounded by people, she might have a fighting chance.
She was basing this all on the fact that Shawn had never dared to make a scene in public before, so she had to think that he wouldn’t want the human police involved. Since he was a vampire, secrecy was everything. Could she use this to her advantage? It was her best chance of getting away from him and living to tell about it.
Her fingers clutched on the piece of paper Kevin had given her earlier like it was her lifeline. He had recently told her he had a large house in which he shared with his family. As much as she didn’t want to involve anyone else, much less put an entire family at risk, she knew she couldn’t continue. And if she kept herself surrounded by people, maybe, just maybe, she would have a fighting chance. “I wonder if he would mind a house guest.” She mumbled as her fingers were already punching in his number.
***
Kevin had let time slip away from him, not wanting to leave Erica, and it had almost caused him to be late for work. One look at his face, and Kevin’s second in command, Marshall, knew the boss was not in a good mood.
“Bad day at school today?” Marshall teased.
Kevin looked up from his desk and growled. “I want that bastard staked and baked!”
“Exactly which bastard are you referring to?” Marshall replied calmly, with a smirk on his face as he sat back in his chair. Something happened today to put that frown on his friend’s face. He was going to get the story out of Kevin, one way or another.
“Shawn Harper,” Kevin growled out in reply.
Shit, what had that no-good drunken vampire done to his pretty little human wife now? “The last thing I heard, we were waiting until his human wife was safely out of the way before we went after him. Has something changed?”
Kevin’s cell phone rang, preventing him from replying. He quickly glanced at the caller I.D., as he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He wondered what could have possibly gone wrong in this short amount of time.
“Erica,” Kevin breathed into the phone. Why was she calling him now? He had just left her less than an hour ago.
“Kevin, yes, it’s me. Did you truly mean what you said earlier today about helping me?” Erica asked, a little uncertainly.
“Tell me what I can do to help,” Kevin replied smoothly, sitting up in his desk chair and automatically grabbing for a pen. He didn’t know how or why she seemed to have a sudden change of heart, but he wasn’t going to question it. If Erica Harper was ready to leave her no-good bastard vampiric husband, Kevin would make damn sure that happened!
“How do you feel about a house guest for a few days? I need a place to hide, just until I can get things under control and feel secure to be on my own.” Kevin found himself momentarily speechless. Did he hear her correctly; she wanted to stay with him? Kevin had been dreaming of this day forever, silently praying it would come true. Now that it had arrived, he wanted the chance to prove himself to this young woman.
“Erica, you are more than welcome to stay with me. Do you need help getting to me? Where are you? Where is Shawn? Did he hurt you again?” His tongue suddenly came unglued from the roof of his mouth, and he found himself firing off questions rapidly. He just wanted her safe and in his arms. Was that too much to ask?
She giggled a bit nervously. “I’m fine, and I am at my house right now. Shawn is gone and probably will be until later tonight. I am going to gather a few things and make a run for it. Can I meet you at your house in an hour?”
“I will be waiting for you,” Kevin replied. “If you have any problems, call or text me immediately. I’ll come and get you.”
Erica closed her eyes as she grew silent for a moment. If she ran into problems, there was not a soul in the world that could help her. She quietly whispered thank you to Kevin and promised she would meet him in one hour.
As she headed toward her front door, the fear of the possible consequences she was setting into motion had her knees trembling and threatening to give out from under her. But she could also feel the adrenaline starting to pump through her veins. A small smile stole at the corners of her lips; she was finally taking back control of her life. The thought had her standing a bit straighter. She was making a significant decision in her life today, and she wasn’t going to tolerate the abuse any longer. She only hoped that God was smiling down on her and would keep Shawn away until she had escaped. She was aware he could show up at any given moment.
Erica unlocked the front door with shaky fingers and walked inside. Now that she had made her decision, she wanted to get out of this house immediately. Erica quickly found an overnight bag and threw a couple of changes of clothes in it. Then, she went to the bathroom and threw in a few necessities. Erica would worry about what she was going to do in a few days. For the moment, she had bigger fish to fry. The most important thing was to get out safely.
It took her only a short time to gather what was needed. She quickly glanced out the window before heading out the front door to verify the driveway was still open. Taking a deep breath, she cracked the door and peered outside. All she had to do now was make it to her car and out to the main road.
As she carefully slid into the drivers' side of her car, the enormity of what she was doing hit her squarely in the gut. Her heart was racing uncontrollably, and as she started feeling a bit lightheaded, as she realized she had been holding her breath since walking out the door. She released her lungs and silently willed herself to calm down as she started her car. Her mind refused to listen, though, as insecurities seemed to plague her. Yes, Erica had taken control of her life, but she was also putting another family’s lives in danger. Would Shawn try to destroy them if he found her? Did she have any other options? Erica certainly couldn’t see any. No, she was smart enough to know if she did not get away soon; it would be too late.
She put the car into drive and pulled out of the driveway. She tried hard not to consider the consequences if she was not successful. She floored the gas pedal, in a hurry to put as many miles between her old home and the new life she was starting as of right now.