“WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?” Damien’s roar echoed through the house.
Shit. I threw on my jeans and raced out of my bedroom in time to see the ragged and ravaged Damien downstairs, kicking open every door on the main floor.
Glunk stood at the front door, not attempting to stop Damien—not that he’d be able to.
Xamien met me on the landing, the top button on his jeans undone, hair disheveled, and in the process of pulling his T-shirt over his head.
“Morning, kitten.” He brushed a kiss to my forehead. “Miss me last night?”
“Morning.” He had dark circles under his eyes and looked exhausted. “You didn’t sleep.”
“Not much. Being on my brother’s hit list kept me awake.”
I jolted. “What?”
What the hell was he talking about? Damien was Xamien’s brother? The names were similar, but other than that there was nothing similar about them. “I…. Holy shit…. Damien is your brother?”
Xamien nodded. “But he doesn’t consider us brothers.”
“How come we never knew?” That explained the animosity between them in Toronto.
“He wanted it that way.”
“Abby. Fuck! Where are you?” Damien shouted, followed by a loud crash that sounded like a window shattering.
“I better let him see Abby. He can enter at his own risk.” Xamien sauntered down the stairs as if his raging brother were of no concern.
I followed.
“Damien,” Xamien said.
“Where the fuck is she? I swear to God, I’m going to fuckin’ crucify you.”
“You already tried that once and failed. I suggest you wait until after I show you where she is,” Xamien replied calmly.
Xamien looked over his shoulder at me and winked. “Make some coffee, kitten? Be back in a minute.”
Holy shit. Damien and Xamien were brothers and whatever history between them was explosive.
Xamien led me up a stairwell from the kitchen, and the only reason I didn’t kill him was because right now all I wanted to do was hold Abby in my arms.
I felt as if I hadn’t taken a single breath since I’d walked into the house and her scent had seeped into me. It was different now, more vampire than witch, but still Abby. My Abby.
My usual steady nerves vibrated as the key unlocked a door at the top of the stairs. I didn’t wait for Xamien to pull the key out before I shoved the door open with the heel of my hand.
“Damien, it was her choice. She asked that you never know she was alive. She—”
I kicked the door closed in Xamien’s face.
Her scent was everywhere, and it took me a second to move as it settled into me.
God, Abby was alive. All this time. I still had trouble wrapping my mind around it, even after nine hours on the plane.
So much rage had swirled since Danni told me. The only way I hadn’t lost it on the flight was by putting on headphones and zoning out with music blasting.
My pulse leapt when I heard movement in what was probably a bedroom.
Abby.
Jesus, let me see her smile. No more pain. There’d been so much pain. Months of her suffering as the vampire blood pumped through her veins. The miscarriage. The nights when she’d gone crazy with blood thirst, trying to kill me. The mornings when she’d lain exhausted and still as death.
Her begging me to end her life. The one moment I’d died inside as she’d walked away with Waleron. My begging. The sound of my roar.
“Abb.”
A gasp. Even though it was a mere breath, I recognized it.
Slender fingers curled around the doorframe. Fuckin’ beautiful fingers. They’d rested on my chest so many times in that cottage. It had been months of torture for us both.
A lock of red hair appeared in the doorway.
Slowly, she came into view, her body hugging the doorframe as if afraid to let go of her security.
No smile. No movement toward me.
But her expression was all I needed. Her eyes were wide with recognition and her lips parted as if she’d just taken a deep breath.
Then I saw the pooling of tears in her eyes and my shoulders sagged.
“Christ, Abby.”
A tear tipped over her lid and trailed down her cheek.
Her nails dug into the doorframe so hard that the wood splintered under the pressure, but she didn’t move. Her eyes were locked on me as if in disbelief.
“Abb, baby.” It took me three strides to reach her.
I hooked her waist and dragged her away from the wall and cocooned her within my embrace. Her cheek lay against my chest while my hand stroked her head and I whispered soothing words over and over again. I fuckin’ had no clue what I said, just words of love for the girl I’d thought was dead.
The overwhelming relief of having her in my arms was too much to bear and I lowered us to the floor. Our legs entwined as I cradled her to me, her body shaking as she sobbed.
“Fuck, baby.” I kissed the top of her hair. “Jesus. I’m falling apart here, Abbs.”
All my emotions surfaced and I let go.
I let go of the fear of never holding her again.
The anguish of being denied her sweet honey voice for so long.
The fury at having her taken from me.
I tightened my hold on her and lowered my head to the side of her neck.
“Love you so damn much, baby.”