Page 93 of Heartbeat Girl
That was how easily he claimed her before Steve or I could. Those few seconds of her screaming in front of us were the most important. Liam got to her first. When Liam offered her his blood, it was set in stone. He claimed her before he realized that. And Liam decided what we would do with her, but given everything I’d seen him do since Jayne, I believed he would have taken her, no matter what. And no matter how much more Steve showed his bitterness to Liam, he wouldn’t step on Liam’s toes.
Liam suffered at the hand of Marilyn, more than any of us. He dragged us from the darkness more than once. He took the hits, the torture, and the unwanted affection from Marilyn. All to protect us. He also did the most wrong for our sire. Chilling how strongly one succumbed to evil when another commanded it. I’d grown so comfortable that sometimes I forgot all the bad things I’d done.Wedid. It didn’t feel like my life when I looked back at my memories because itwasn’t me. Puppets. That’s what we were in Marilyn’s wake.
Liam had been the only one brave enough to seek a witch. His choices had given us almost four years of peace. That was better than the life Marilyn forced on us. And why I’d never go looking for anything more than Jayne’s friendship.Now, her smiles and support? I wouldn’t let him take those from me. I needed her light as much as he did—we all did. In Jayne’s presence, everything was justbetter.She stole all the dark with her red cheeks and running away. But watching her distance herself from Liam the entire day wasn’t as amusing as it used to be. Instead, it filled me with dread. Her back to us, running away like she’d always done, suddenly felt like life or death. If we lost her…
A palm smacked my back as I walked off the stage. Steve looked down at me. “It’s fine. She’s mad, but she’s not leaving us.” He turned his head to where Jayne spun around to avoid Liam, who rushed off the stage to her. It didn’t surprise me Steve realized what I was thinking.
“I used to be afraid of her being near us,” I told Steve as Liam grabbed Jayne’s arm. She smacked him away. “But now I’m terrified of the idea of her leaving us.”
But why?I should want her safety. And I did. More than anything. I knew without a doubt Steve and Liam felt the same way. Why couldn’t we leave her be?
“Yeah, I get it. It’s a little strange how much I want her near, especially when I know she’ll always be his.”
I froze at Steve’s admission. That was as truthful as one could be. I wouldn’t have dared say that even if I felt the same. I studied his furrowed brows and the glint in his eyes as Steve watched Liam’s head droop rather than chase Jayne.
“It’s enough for me having her near,” I admitted. “Everything’s more hopeful when she’s around.”
There was a longing in the way Steve watched the door Jayne exited that mirrored Liam’s expression. Steve caught me looking, ran his fingers through his hair, and sighed. “Don’t worry. I’ll get there, eventually. I can’t hide my feelings as well as you.”
“She cares for us, too,” I added.
He grinned. “Iknow.How could she not?”
I placed my hands in my pockets and observed a sulking Liam. “Think Liam will feed tonight?”
He hadn’t fed since he took too much from Jayne.
Steve shook his head. “That’s over. Whatever’s happening between him and Jayne has him repulsed at drinking blood from another. Haven’t you noticed his expression the last few times he fed before Jayne?”
I nodded. Liam's nose crinkled, and he nearly gagged, but he never said it outright.
Slapping my back again, Steve wandered off.
I smiled as I watched Liam wave a worker away. He’d been standing in the same spot for a long time and people noticed.
All I saw was howhopelesswe’d all be without Jayne.I walked toward him, but then I heard it. The slight, coy voice held me in place.
Pete.
There was a laugh that followed, and chills swept over me.
You can finally hear me. I’m glad. Oh, how I’ve missed you. How I’ve missed you all. But I’m very, very disappointed.
Chapter Thirty-One
LIAM
As I stood staring at the door, Jayne slipped through. A backstage worker tapped my shoulder and asked, “Are you all right?”
I didn’t have to say anything. When I raised my head and glared, she retreated on her own. I touched my eyes. Were they blackened, or did my expression scare her? I wished I had the sense to care, but my mind drifted.
Jayne wouldn’t talk to me without bringing upLarissa, and I wouldn’t talk to her when she brought up Larissa. One sire caused enough of a problem. I wasn’t about to let a different one pluck Jayne away. Something in Larissa’s eyes terrified me. I assumed Marilyn was our biggest issue, but along came another sire while ours slept.
Jayne didn’t allow me in her bed that night, either. The door to her tiny space in the van waslocked.Already, I regretted telling Chris to fix it, but I wouldn’t make things worse by breaking it again.When she woke that next morning, she barely looked at me. When she did, she mentioned Larissa.
I remembered the tears in Jayne’s eyes when she last brought up Marilyn, and my gut bottomed out. My Heartbeat Girl thought my forced bond to Marilyn was something that overshadowed my love for her. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. My love for Jayne helped me realize something.
Nothingwas stronger than the connection I had with her. Until experiencing Jayne, I’d never imagined I could take on the control Marilyn had on me. I was willing to try to kill Marilynmyself.I’d attempt the impossible.