Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood 7)

He knew they were all there...and yet, he was alone. Utterly alone, sucked down deeply into his body, imprisoned in blindness.

Wrath cranked down onto the chair's arms so he didn't scream. He wanted to be strong for his shellan and his brothers and his race. He wanted to drop a couple of jokes, laugh this off as an interlude that was going to pass soon, show that he still had his sac and shit.

He cleared his throat. But instead of something along the lines of, This man walks into a bar with a parrot on his shoulder... what came out was, "Is this what you saw."

The words were guttural, and everyone knew who they were addressed to.

V's answer was low. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Bullshit." Wrath was bathed in blackness, his brothers around him, no one able to reach him. It was what Vishous had seen. "Bull. Shit."

"You sure you want to do this now?" V said.

"Is it the vision." Wrath released the chair and slammed his fist onto the desk. "Is it the f**king vision?"

"Yes."

"The doctor's coming," Beth said quickly, her hand smoothing down his shoulder. "Doc Jane and Havers will talk. They'll figure this out. They will."

Wrath turned to where the sound of Beth's voice had come from. As he reached out for her hand, she was the one who found his palm.

Was this the future, he thought. Relying on her to take him when he needed to go somewhere? Lead him like a f**king cripple?

Keep it together. Keep it together. Keep it...

He said those three words over and over again until he didn't feel so much like he was going to explode.

And yet the impending detonation came right back when he heard Doc Jane and Havers enter the room. He knew who it was by the fact that everyone else once again stopped in the middle of what they were doing: No more smoking, no more chewing, no wrappers unfurling.

All quiet except for breathing.

And then the male doctor's voice. "My lord, may I examine your eyes?"

"Yes."

There was a shifting sound of clothes moving... Havers was no doubt taking off his coat. And then a soft bump, like a weight had been put down on the desk. Metal against metal-the lock of a doctor's bag being released.

Havers's well-modulated voice came next: "With your permission, I'm going to touch your face now."

Wrath nodded, then flinched when the soft contact came, and for a moment, he had hope as he heard the click of a penlight. Out of habit, he tensed, preparing for the light to hit whatever retina Havers was going after first. God, ever since he had memories, he could remember squinting at light, and after his transition, it had gotten much worse. As the years had gone by-

"Doc, can you get on with the exam?"

"I've...my lord, I've finished." There was a click, presumably Havers turning off his light. "At least with this part."

Silence. Then Beth's hand gripping his harder.

"What's next?" Wrath demanded. "What can you do next."

More silence, which somehow made the darkness even blacker.

Right. Not a lot of options. Although why he was surprised he hadn't a clue. Vishous...was never wrong.

Chapter FIFTY-FOUR

As night fell, Ehlena crushed her father's pills into the bottom of his mug, and, when the powder was fine and consistent enough, she went to the refrigerator, got the CranRas, and poured. For once, she was grateful for the order that her father required, because her mind was not on what she was doing.

In her current state, she was lucky to know what state she was in. New York, right?

She checked the clock. Not much time. Lusie would be arriving in about twenty minutes, and so would Rehv's car.

Rehv's car. Not him.

About an hour after she had called and left her message about his ex, a voice mail had come back from him. Not a phone call. He'd dialed directly into the system, put her number in, and left the recording.

His voice had been low and serious: "Ehlena, I'm sorry that you were approached like that, and I'll make sure it never happens again. I'd like to see you at nightfall, if you're free. I'll send my car for you at nine unless I hear back from you that it doesn't work." Pause. "I'm so sorry."

She knew the message by heart because she'd listened to it about a hundred times. He sounded so different. Like he was speaking in another language.

Naturally she hadn't slept during the day, and in the end she figured there were two ways to take it: Either he was horrified she'd had to deal with the female at all, or he'd had a really shitty meeting.

Maybe it was a combination of both.

She refused to believe that nut with the crazy eyes had any credibility. Hell, the female reminded Ehlena too much of her father when he was in one of his delusional episodes: fixated, obsessive, in another reality. She had wanted to do damage and had calibrated her words accordingly.

Still, it would have been good to talk to Rehv. She could have used the reassurance, but at least she didn't have to wait any longer to see him.

After she was certain the kitchen was left in exactly the same arrangement as it had been when she'd come up, she took the stairs to the basement and went to her father's room.

She found him in bed with his eyes closed, his body still. "Father?" He didn't move. "Father?"

CranRas splashed as she all but threw the mug onto the table. "Father!"

Those eyes opened and he yawned. "Verily, daughter mine, how fare thee?"

"Are you all right?" She looked him over even though he was mostly covered by the velvet duvet. He was pale and his hair was all Chia Pet, but he seemed to be breathing easily. "Is there anything-"

"English is rather coarse on the ear, is it not?"

Ehlena paused. "Forgive me. I just...Are you well?"

"Indeed I am. I was up well into the day thinking of another project, which is why I dallied longer than usual upon this bed. I do believe I shall let the voices in my head wander onto the page. I believe I would benefit from giving them an outlet other than myself."

Ehlena allowed her knees to loosen and she sat without grace on the bed. "Your juice, Father. Would you care for it now?"

"Ah, lovely. The maid is so thoughtful to prepare it for you."

"Yes, she is very thoughtful." Ehlena handed him his meds and watched him drink, her heart rate slowing.

Lately, life had been nothing but a series of Batman BANG!s, POW!s, and CRACK!s, with her pinballing around her comic-book page until she was dizzy. Guess it was going to take some time before every little thing stopped getting blown up in her mind into mad drama.

When her father was finished, she kissed his cheek, told him she was going out for a bit, and took the mug back upstairs. By the time Lusie knocked about ten minutes later, most of Ehlena's brain was back where it needed to be. She was going to see Rehv, enjoy his company, then resume her job search when she got home. Everything was going to be okay.

As she opened the door, she straightened her shoulders with resolve. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Lusie glanced over her shoulder. "Did you know there's a Bentley parked outside your door?"

Ehlena's brows shot up and she leaned around the jamb. There was indeed a brand-new, super-shiny, spectacular Bentley parked in front of her shitty little rental, looking as out of place as a diamond on the hand of a bag lady.

The driver's-side door opened and an incredibly beautiful, dark-skinned male rose from behind the wheel. "Ehlena?"

"Ah...yes."

"I'm here to pick you up. I'm Trez."

"I'll...I need a minute."

"Take your time." His smile revealed fangs and she was reassured. She didn't like being around humans. Didn't trust them.

She ducked back inside and put her coat on. "Lusie...would you be able to continue coming here? It looks like I'll be able to keep paying you."

"Of course. I'd do anything for your father." Lusie flushed. "I mean, both of you. Does this mean that you've found another job?"

"Money has loosened up a little bit more than I expected. And I hate his being here alone."

"Well, I'll take good care of him."

Ehlena smiled and wanted to hug the woman. "You always do. As for tonight, I'm not sure how long I'll be-"

"Take your time. He and I will be fine."

On impulse, Ehlena gave the female a quick embrace. "Thank you. Thank...you."

Grabbing her purse, she hit the door before she made a fool out of herself, and as she emerged into the cold, the driver came around to help her into the Bentley. Dressed in his black leather trench coat, he looked more like a hit man than a chauffeur, but when he smiled at her again, his dark eyes flashed an extraordinarily brilliant green.