Page 50 of A Love So Deadly
I was wrong. He had already gotten to her. Beat her up. Battered her until she was close to death. And she is close to death. I can smell it in the air, that little too sweet scent of decay.
She stirs.
“Nell?” I take her hand, and she weakly squeezes.
“Lucian,” she says, turning her gray eyes to me. Her smile is pure, sweet Nell. “You shouldn’t have come.”
She knows exactly why I’m here.
“Let me do this, please,” I say.
She shakes her head, right as the door opens and Elliot appears.
“Your vampire friends make me nerv—” Elliot stops as she takes in Nell. Horror and panic take over her expression. “Oh my God. This woman needs an ambulance, Lucian.”
“I know what she needs, and it’s not an ambulance,” I say and look at Nell again. “Please, Nell. Let me.”
Nell’s arm is broken, and her brain’s starting to swell. The blood’s having a hard time moving around, and she won’t last long. This death she wants will be agony.
“You need me, Nell, and you fucking know it.” My throat tightens, and the words choke out.
“I should go,” Elliot says, backing away. I lift my gaze, and plant it on her making her stop.
“Stay.” Again, my voice sounds too pained to be mine. Nervously, Elliot rubs her arm but nods. “Nell, this is Elliot. She’s… She’s my new assistant. And Elliot, this is Nell, who wants to…” I don’t finish the sentence. The truth hangs in the air, anyway.
“He means that I want to die.” Every word shakes from her lips, and she tries to look at Elliot as best she can through the swelling. “She’s human. Lucian, good for you. Maybe she’ll be braver than me.”
“We just met,” I say. “She’s?—”
“You know you can’t lie to me, Lucian. Please,” Nell whispers. “I’m tired. In my bones, I’m tired… and I’m ready.”
My eyes start to sting. “Nell, please. I can make you better. I can heal you. Please, just let me.”
Nell’s close again and dread grips me. “Nell?—”
“Lucian, it’s okay. Really, it is. My decision hasn’t changed,” she says. “But I need you to promise me one more thing.”
“One more?” I stroke the back of her hand. She feels cold to the touch. “Of course. Anything.”
Her eyes flutter back open and slide to the side to find me. The smile returns. “I want you to end it for me. So it’s quick. On my terms.”
I stare at her in horror. I’m a monster, I know that. But I’m not that kind of monster, not to those I care for. Those I love.
“What does she mean?” Monty asks, glancing around. Then it hits her, and she gasps. “No, she wants you to kill her?”
I answer Nell over Monty. “I don’t want your blood. I want you to live. Forever. I can help. Let me help?—”
“Lucian, please.” Nell’s body trembles. “Do this. For me.”
“No.” I shake my head. “No. No. I refuse.”
I have given her everything she’s ever wanted without question. And I would keep doing so if she let me. But there’s no way I can give her this. Death. Does she even know what she’s asking of me?
Sighing, her entire body sinks into the mattress. “I want to talk to this woman. Elliot.”
I kiss Nell’s forehead, and motion for Elliot to sit at her side.
“Without you here, Lucian,” Nell clarifies. “It’ll only take a moment.”
