Rising, he crossed over to sit beside her. When she didn’t stop him or tell him to get away, he hugged her against his chest. Lowering his head to hers, he rested his cheek on top of her hair.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. When he got the chance, he’d find this Carter and tear his spine out through his mouth, but he kept that to himself. “It never should have happened.”
Callie didn’t say anything as she curled into him. In his arms, she could almost forget the nightmare Carter unleashed on her life.
He kissed the top of her head and inhaled her sweet scent. “We’ll go get your things tomorrow. I’ll see if some of the others can join us, and we’ll cordon off an area to keep an eye out for Savages. If we go in the day, we should be safe.”
It had been long enough; if the Savages had ever watched her place, they’d most likely given up by now. He was being overprotective, but he couldn’t stand the idea of losing her like he lost Coralie. If he could change her….
He shut the thought down; he was losing it, but after what she revealed, he wouldn’t push her to join him. She’d been pushed around enough by Carter without him doing it too; she had to decide in her own time and way.
He could and would control himself until then. Even as he considered it, the demon part of him stirred. It didn’t want to be denied what it craved so badly, but it didn’t have a choice. He would wait until she was ready.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Anything for you,” he said as he kissed the tip of her nose.
Warmth and love flooded her as she hugged him.
Chapter Thirty-Four
They went to her apartment the next day but didn’t go inside. Instead, they set up a perimeter around the three-story, blue building and watched for any sign of Savages from four different SUVs. Declan and Willow were in one vehicle on the other side of the block. Saber, Logan, and Asher were in another SUV.
Killean and Simone were on the other side of the block, but they were soon leaving to return to the motel and rest before coming back to relieve someone else from their watch. Callie stared at the building four houses down and diagonally across the street. With its fresh coat of blue paint and white shutters, it was cheery.
She clearly remembered the day she moved in. She’d stared up at the building with a box in hand while she welcomed the fresh start it offered.
That fresh start was over, but as she reached across the console to rest her hand on Lucien’s thigh, she realized she had a new fresh start ahead of her. “When this is over, I want you to change me.”
Lucien tore his attention away from the quiet, suburban street to focus on her. His heart hammered with excitement as his fangs tingled, but he maintained control. “Are you sure?”
She smiled. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I want this, Lucien, and I want you for eternity.”
He still hadn’t spoken of love, but she knew he loved her. Some people, or vampires, had a tougher time with the words, and given his history, she understood why. His actions spoke of his love, and that was enough for her.
His hand clasped hers, and their fingers entwined as he squeezed it before bringing it to his mouth and kissing her knuckles. He suddenly wanted to charge into that building, throw all her things in boxes, and get out of here. The sooner they were home, the sooner she would be his.
The phone rang, and Lucien hit a button on the screen in the center of the dashboard. “Hello,” he said.
“We're going back to the hotel,” Killean said gruffly. “We’ll be back in a few hours.”
“We’ll see you then.”
Lucien disconnected and settled back in his seat. At first, they didn’t speak, but after a while, they passed the time by telling stories of their childhoods. Then they played a trivia game on her phone, and finally, Callie fell asleep with her head on his lap.
He stroked her silken hair as he studied the building and searched for any sign of Savages or their cronies lurking nearby. He didn’t see any sign of them.
Killean relieved them a few hours later, and they returned to the hotel where they slept, made love, and showered before returning to relieve Saber, Logan, and Asher. The night and the next day progressed in the same way. They rotated a few more times before all agreeing they believed it was safe to enter the apartment.
At nine o’clock the following morning, when the sun was high in the sky, Lucien pulled the SUV into her parking spot. The others remained spread out around the block, keeping an eye on the apartment.
He and Callie would go inside to pack her things. When they finished, the others would help them remove her boxes, and they would leave. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours.
They planned to take a few days to return home, but this would soon be over, and she would soon be his forever. Lucien could barely contain his excitement over that as he turned off the vehicle. He glanced over at Callie as she craned her neck to look up toward her floor.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Yes. This won’t take long. I’m only getting the things that are important to me.”
She didn’t plan to take any furniture. There was no need for it at the mansion, and it would only slow them down.
She opened her door and climbed out. It was still morning, but the heat of the July day and the thick, muggy air made breathing difficult. She was still staring at the building when Lucien walked around the vehicle and took her hand.
Her fingers entwined with his as she led the way to the front door; she couldn’t wait for this to be over so they could go home and she could join him. She was excited to start this new journey in her life.
When they arrived at the steps, she released his hand and lifted a rock from the bed beside the stairs. She examined the fake stone and pulled free the key her neighbor hid inside. At first, she hated the idea of that key being there when the woman showed it to her. Now, she was glad her neighbor hid it there.
She used the key to unlock the front door before returning it and leading Lucien into the building. A set of stairs rose before them and turned a corner before disappearing. The stairs were too narrow to walk side by side, so he led the way up them.
There was one apartment on each floor, and they climbed to the second before continuing onto the third. The stairs ended with her door only a few feet away from them. She didn’t have a key for this door; she lost it in the chaos of her abduction and flight for her life, but Lucien pressed his shoulder against the wood, grasped the knob, and shoved the door open.
The wood splintered and cracked before the frame gave way and the door swung open. The stale air hit her immediately. She hadn’t been home in almost a month, and the place had been locked up the entire time. Maybe the police or some of her friends had searched it, but she saw no evidence of that as she peered inside.
Though it was mid-June when she left, she’d closed all the windows before going out to the bar. It had been raining when she left, and she didn’t want to return to wet floors. However, June had given way to July, which had brought a stifling heat and oppressive air to the apartment.
Sweat was already beading on her forehead when Callie stepped into her living room. She made it a few feet before Lucien cleared his throat, and she turned back to him.
“You have to invite me in,” he told her.