Page 26 of Falling for the Beast

Dumb. He turned away and tried to breathe normally. He could never kiss her.

Half-way through the movie, the familiar coppery scent of blood caught his attention. He cocked his head, listening. “I’ve got to go.” He stood.

Aribelle jumped up. “Why? What’s happening?”

“Some drunken brawl. I thought it was benign, but someone got hurt.” He flipped his hood up and glared at her. The men were only a block away. “Stay here,” he commanded before he stepped out into the dark night.

Alarm gripped her, and Aribelle stood rigid as Thaddeus’s warning echoed in her head. And then she heard them. She didn’t need super hearing to know it was Gavin and his stupid goons. She ran to the window and peered out at the apartment complex kitty-corner to hers.

Gavin wore a Viking costume and held a sword. He was shouting something. A man lay on the sidewalk in front of the other apartment complex. Several other drunken men scattered like cockroaches. Gavin threw his sword and staggered backward.

She couldn’t tell how bad the man was hurt. And she couldn’t see Thaddeus, but she knew he was there, in the shadows, waiting until everyone was gone. It didn’t take long. Gavin bent over, threw up on the grass, and then passed out.

A dark figure slipped over to the man on the sidewalk. He bent over him, maybe assessing his wound. She turned off her living room light to see better. Thaddeus stayed by the man on the sidewalk for a few minutes. Then the next moment he was gone.

She waited, holding her breath. He’d come back, right? He’d be hurt. Surely he wouldn’t get on his motorcycle and race off. She waited, counting the seconds until her front door opened and Thaddeus slipped inside, hunched over.

“What happened? Where was he hurt?” She peered at him in the dark, her heart thumping wildly in her chest.

“Drunk guy stabbed him in the abdomen.”

Aribelle motioned to the couch. “Lie down. Let me see.”

He slid onto the couch and she opened his jacket. A dark red stain was forming on his T-shirt, and she pulled it up. The cut wasn’t wide but it looked deep. “You need stitches.”

He laughed and then winced. “You’re still thinking of me as human.”

She frowned, unable to voice what was going through her head. She grabbed a towel from the kitchen and handed it to him. “Press down on it. Let’s try to stop the bleeding.”

He did as she said, closing his eyes. His face screwed up in pain as he coughed.

“You okay?” she asked, and then mentally smacked herself. Of course he wasn’t okay. He had a gaping hole in his gut.

“I’ll be fine,” he said. “This is nothing.”

Nothing. He had to be joking. She turned away from the sight of the bloody towel pressed to his skin. Her stomach flipped and she felt light headed.

“Hey,” he said, his eyes apologetic. “I’m sorry. I should have gone home.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be riding your motorcycle like that.”

He pulled the towel away to show her the bleeding had stopped already. He stood. “Belle. I’m fine. This is what I do.”

A knock pounded on her door and she jumped. Thaddeus gave her a meaningful glance before walking into the kitchen and out of sight. She opened the door and Gavin brushed his way past her. “Where is he?”

Fear, worry, and panic all rose up inside her. “Who?”

He glanced around her tiny apartment. “The guy. He came in here.”

She frowned. “You’re drunk, Gavin. Go home.”

“No!” He rounded on her. “I saw him messing with Peter.”

“What, the guy you stabbed? What were you even doing?”

Gavin wagged his finger in her face. “You saw it too.”

Crud. She hadn’t meant to confirm what had happened. “No.”

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