Page 115 of Consume Me

After they left for Mika’s, I tried to stay busy to keep my angst at bay.But as the hours ticked by, I ran out of ways to escape my worries.Stepping outside, I drank in the sun and watched for them along the shoreline.Long minutes later, I tossed off my robe and dove into the pool.I hoped swimming laps would burn off my nervous energy.

As I reached the shallow end, Dylan and Nick stood at the opposite end of the pool looking haggard and exhausted.Gliding through the water with powerful strokes, I neared the ladder.

“Wait,” Dylan said, holding up a hand.“Don’t get out.We’re coming in.”

They quickly stripped off their clothes, then dove into the pool.With a playful tug, Nick pulled me underwater, then wrapped me in his arms before pushing off the bottom and launching us up to the surface.

Dylan impatiently moved in behind me and meshed his chest against my back with a heavy sigh.My mind raced with questions.But before I could ask, they held me close and began revealing the details of Julianna, aka Emerald’s attack.

Mika’s reasons for wanting to stay invisible were complex but completely bewildering.Personally, I thought he was being a total douchebag, but I kept that opinion to myself.Yes, the death of his sub had caused him massive trauma, but hiding his feelings for Julianna wasn’t doing him any favors.

But what bothered me most was finding out I couldn’t call or talk to her until Mika granted permission.To me, keeping her sequestered from her friends seemed as harsh as the attack she’d endured.I wanted to see her…talk to her…help take care of her.But Dylan and Nick denied my pleas.

A part of me wanted to march down the beach and give Mika a piece of my mind.He wasn’t her Master.He shouldn’t get to call the shots.He’d hidden in the shadows, for years, watching and wanting her like a stalker.

When I found out he had sex with her last night, I nearly lost my shit.What kind of monster did that to a woman who was in such a vulnerable place?Add the fact that he’d torn out of her house after, like a scared pussy, made me want to kick his ass.

I could do it, too.I had a black-belt in Karate.

Needless to say, I lost all respect for Mika then.

Dylan and Nick knew I was livid, but made me promise not to say a word, or interfere in anyway.I grudgingly agreed, but wasn’t happy about it.

The following week was nothing short of depressing.Genesis felt as hollow and void as my former life without Julianna.Drake looked vacant, as if the light had been sucked from his soul.The absence of his imposing demeanor made my heart hurt.Dylan and Nick confided that Drake had been reaching out to Julianna daily, only to hear one excuse after the next as to why she couldn’t see him.

Trevor wasn’t fairing much better.His best friend had figuratively been bound and gagged by the oh, so powerful Mika.Even Drake was keeping his sub completely out of the loop.And Trevor didn’t bother to try to hide the dark circles under his eyes.

The whole situation was a cluster-fuck of biblical proportions.

After spending a few subdued hours at the club, Dylan, Nick, and I climbed into bed and snuggled together until we all drifted off to sleep.

A short time later, Nick’s cell phone rang, jolting us awake.

Quickly glancing at the clock on the nightstand I wondered who in their right mind was calling at three in the morning.Dragging the device to his ear, Nick answered in a groggy voice, then seconds later, bolted out of bed, and flipped on the bedside lamp.

“No.Fuck.No.Is he alive?”The anguish in his voice made my blood run cold.

“Who are you talking about?”Dylan demanded, rolling out of bed and rushing to Nick’s side.

“Mika’s been shot,” he announced, pressing the phone tighter against his ear.“Did she get shot, too?”

“She?She, who?”I demanded, but I feared I knew the answer.

“No.Julianna is okay.She’s at the hospital with Drake and Trevor.Mika’s father just arrived, as well,” Nick relayed.“Sorry, George.Go on.”

Nick dropped on the edge of the bed as if his legs could no longer support his weight, then engaged the speaker option on his phone.The three of us huddled around the device as George’s grief-ridden voice filled the bedroom.

Silent sobs wracked my body and tears spilled down my cheeks as George relayed the horrific details.

In his attempt to right his wrong, Mika discovered that Julianna had convinced herself she was no longer a sub.After consulting Drake, they enlisted help from Sammie—who had been picking her up and bringing her to Mika’s office for days.After finally making a breakthrough earlier that night, Mika had been escorting Julianna to her car when Jordon—the monster who’d attacked her—threatened her with a gun.Mika pulled his own weapon and killed Jordon, but not before taking a bullet to the chest.

Mika had died in the ambulance, en route to the hospital, but the EMTs had been able to revive him.By fate or some divine miracle, he’d made it through surgery but was in critical condition at St.Agnes Hospital.

George answered Nick and Dylan’s questions as best he could while I struggled to pull myself together.While thrilled Julianna was alive, guilt for all the ugly, venomous assumptions I made against Mika pumped like a thick, oily sludge through my veins.He’d not only gone to great lengths to repair the emotional damage he’d done to Julianna, but he’d also sacrificed his own life to protect her.

“Mika is the most stubborn prick I know.He’ll pull through.I know he will.”The conviction in Dylan’s voice bolstered fragments of hope inside me.

“Thank you for calling, George.We’re on our way,” Nick assured before ending the call.

---