Page 28 of Taken By the Vampires
That was unsettlingly perceptive. “Let’s just say I was getting out of a bad situation that had suddenly become untenable.”
There must have been a disturbing look on my face because Xander strode towards me, his features tense and unyielding. “Tell me his name, Ella. Tell me and I’ll make sure he never deigns to come near you again.”
I tensed, curling into Davon’s side, expecting the slap I knew would fall. I should have known. When things were too good to be true, they always were.
Chapter Nineteen
I tensed, curling into Davon’s side. I brought my hand over my head to protect myself. It was an automatic reaction. One I’d honed over time.
When a blow didn’t fall, I sneaked a look between my fingers. A look of sadness edged into Xander’s eyes. He kneeled on the floor so he was face level with me. He took my hand and held it gently in his. “I’m not angry at you, Ella. Never at you. I’d never hit you. Ever.”
Davon had stilled, his fingers curved around my shoulder. Cassius stood and moved towards me, a frown over his attractive features.
I gaped, my gaze roaming over all three men. Xander’s anger wasn’t directed at me. It took my brain a moment to catch up with their horrified expressions.
I hated I’d shown a moment of weakness. Whenever I did that, it never took long for Gary to press his advantage over me. He always preyed on weakness. Logically, I knew I shouldn’t tar them with the same brush, but I’d put up with Gary for a long time. The reaction was ingrained.
It wasn’t as though I could go and tell anyone what he did. It was always done covertly. A slap here, a push there. Always when nobody was looking, but what would anyone do if they did see? He was protected and I was anything but.
But I was here with these guys and I didn’t want to think about Gary and his years of abuse.
“I’m sorry. I overreacted.”
“You did not overreact. A woman doesn’t cover her head like that without good reason. Tell us what happened, Ella,” Cassius said.
I didn’t want to. It didn’t pay to open your mouth about the Trinity or any of their progeny, but they didn’t know about the town, or the people, or Minister Jerimiah or Gary. And it had felt good to be able to talk about it to people prepared to listen. Really listen.
I sighed. “Do you really want to hear about this?” It had been so nice just curling up and talking, without Conway intruding. Without Conway controlling me.
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, Ella, but if you live as long as I have, you know it’s always best to get it off your chest. Maybe we can help,” Davon said.
“Lived as long as you?” I gave him an incredulous look. They didn’t look older than thirty. If that.
“Sometimes we feel positively ancient,” Cassius said. “That’s what he meant. Wasn’t it, Davon?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I meant. And as we don’t have television here, we’re always ready to listen to stories. Even stories full of woe.” His white teeth were dazzling against his mocha skin.
“Well, as long as I’m good for entertainment purposes, I’ll tell you anything,” I snickered.
“We mean it, Ella. Will you tell us? Please?”
Xander’s expression was my undoing. It was sosincere. I’d never seen a guy quite with that expression before. It was one of true feeling, not just put on because he wanted to get into my pants – although it was pretty obvious they all did.
What did it matter if I did tell them, in any case? When the storm cleared, I might be gone tomorrow. The chances I’d see them again were slim to none. I ignored the little twinge of my heart. It was nothing more than wishful thinking and the flattery of being the center of attention of three very sexy men. It was every girl’s fantasy, but I didn’t want to let it get to my head. Or my heart. Hope was a poisoned arrow.
Maybe I should take up their offer to unburden myself. It was the conversation I couldn’t have with anyone else, except my mother of course, and hearing a male’s perspective on the situation might also prove to be fruitful.
I played with a thread of Davon’s shirt. It wasn’t lost on me that he kept his arms firmly about me, as though to anchor me to the spot. I concentrated on the thread while I spoke. “Gary is the mayor’s son and Ellis Myers runs Conway with an iron fist. Between him, the Minister Jerimiah who runs the church, and Herman White, the bank manager, they have the town locked up tight.”
I took a deep breath, my gaze bouncing between them to see if they were still interested. Their eyes hadn’t wandered, so I continued. “For some reason, Gary’s had his eyes on me since I was a girl, but…”
“Go on, Ella.” Davon began to gently stroke my arm again. It helped settle nerves that wanted to jump out of my skin.
“But I’ve never liked him. Not in that way or in any other way either. He’s cruel and he’s always used being the mayor’s son like a right of entitlement.” A rise of anger made me clench my teeth. I’d lost count of the times he’d accosted me in the school hallway, which then became the aisles of the hardware store, the back table at the coffee shop, the quiet shelves of the library.
God, now I’d started, it all came pouring out. Maybe I’d kept things bottled up for too long and like a broken dam, it all began flowing out. I didn’t stop to think, I just spoke, the words piling on top of each other.
“I would never know when he’d turn up and proposition me. Instead of listening to me—I mean, who’d want someone who didn’t want them back—he took it as a challenge. Every time I turned him down, he got angrier.” And angrier. Until he lashed out and then that became the new normal.
