Broken (Endurance) (13 page)

The demon laughed.  It was a hideous and evil laugh that echoed throughout the house. He stepped closer to her, rubbing his horns across her chest. Makayla shuddered at the thought of him touching her again.

"I have found you, again." He chuckled, an eerie sound that rumbled from deep in his throat.

Makayla fought to get his hand from around her neck and succeeded in getting him to loosen his grip.  He did not want to kill her just yet. "I have missed you,” he growled.  “Don't you miss our passionate nights?" His cackling laughter echoed through the hall.

"Screw you."

"I wish you would. One taste of you and I was hooked." He grinned. "Now, you stink!" he yelled suddenly.

Makayla jumped.

"You smell of angel, blah nasty, disgusting angel."

Makayla was stunned by what he was saying. She was with Tamarius and while he was a great guy, he was no angel. Makayla couldn't understand what the demon meant. She kicked at the demon, trying to get away from him. He tightened his grip causing her to gasp for air as she tried to escape.

He laughed as he absorbed her blows. Although he wanted to hurt her, he couldn't. He had to obey his commands. She was not to be killed or injured. Remembering his last commands before entering this realm, he let her body slide to the floor.

"How did you figure me out those years ago?" he questioned.

"I could see you, stupid. Who could miss those horns?" Makayla said, breathless as she stood up.

The demon leaned over her, placing both hands on either side of her. He peered into her eyes.  "It must be nice to finally be with the one you are supposed to be with... a man that I can't possess. I will find another way to get what I want," he said, dragging his claw down her shirt. It sliced through the cotton shirt with ease and tore through her bra, exposing her.  A thin line of red appeared where his claw had grazed her skin. The demon laughed as Makayla slapped and punched him in a futile display of anger.

At the end of her strength, Makayla was about to surrender, to give in.  She could already see the triumph in his eyes.  But the triumph was short-lived as his eyes suddenly dulled.  The demon yelled in pain as he doubled over. Black blood spilled everywhere, as he grabbed the side of his head. He straightened up and stared in shock at the horn in his hand.

Tamarius stood before him holding a sword. The demon looked up at him then disappeared into thin air, returning to his demonic dimension. Tamarius ran around the room to make sure there were no others. Satisfied, he returned to Makayla who was now sitting on the floor with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head buried in her hands.

He knelt down in front of her, conflicted with his emotions of worry and anger.  "Baby, are you all right?" Anger was set aside as concern took over.

Makayla couldn't look up at him, she felt so ashamed and damaged. She bled from the scratch left behind by the demon.

She slowly rose to her feet and Tamarius could see the blood rolling down her stomach. He tore open her shirt and sought the source of the bleeding.

"You’re hurt," he whispered.

Tamarius looked at his sword and willed it to vanish. He then turned his attention to Makayla. "Let's get out of here." He lifted her chin and tried to make eye contact, but she stubbornly kept her eyes down.  “Baby, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on."

She looked at him. "I… I'm scared."

"Ah, anyone would be. That thing was big and ugly."

"Of you."

"Me? I won't hurt you."

"I can't get you involved in this battle." Makayla said looking into his grey eyes. They made her melt inside. Every time she gazed at him they looked back at her with pure untainted love and support.

"Your battle is my battle." Tamarius pulled her into his arms.

"Tamarius, I don't want you getting hurt," Makayla said as she pulled out of his embrace.

"Makayla, don't do this. I know what you’re doing."

"Why haven't you given up on me? I'm damaged, scorned, useless..."

"Stop,” Tamarius cut in. ‘You are beautiful, strong and intelligent. And with all that you’ve been through… I’m fascinated by the way you held onto your sense of humor."  He smiled, trying to lighten the mood.   "I'm no angel. I'm not perfect. My heart tells me, actually it screams at me, letting me know you’re the one for me and I'm the one for you. So don't give me this crap about not wanting me to get involved. I love you. You're my other half. Whatever you’re going through, I'm going through, also."

"Who are you?" Makayla smiled.

"Your soul mate," he replied with a kiss. He took off his shirt and drew it over her head.

Makayla winced from the pain as she lifted her arm to slide it into the sleeve.

"Let me see that cut." Tamarius lifted up her shirt.

"You just want to see my goodies," Makayla joked.

"They are my goodies, for your information." He laid his hand on the long cut between her breasts.

Makayla felt the relief of his warm energy healing her wound. Feeling better after only a brief touch, she touched his hand.  "Let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps."

"Yeah." Tamarius held her hand as they walked out, forgetting to lock the door behind them. They walked back to her parents’ home, talking and laughing with each other.

Makayla was curious about Tamarius. He was very different from the men she’d dated in the past. She was curious about why the demon had said she smelled like an angel. "Okay, how did you know I would be there? When I left you were sound asleep."

"Yeah, I faked it. I knew eventually you would be making your move. That’s why the door was cracked. So I could hear you."

Makayla laughed to herself. "I'm sorry for putting you through all this. I need to know why this happened to my cousin."

"I don't think your cousin is the one in danger," Tamarius said as they walked up the front porch of her parents’ home.

"Well, she was trying to protect the children..."

"Makayla, I overheard your cousin’s warning. And despite that, you still went to that place. There is more to this story and, until we find out what’s really going on, I need you to stay away from there."

"Tamarius, you can't ask me to do that. How are we going to get to the bottom of it if we always play it safe? Those children want their home back. They’re not happy being shoved into an already overcrowded home."

"All right, but don't go there without me," Tamarius commanded.

"Are you bossing me around now?" Makayla snapped back, suddenly irritated.

"I don't care if you get mad at me, as long as you’re still alive. Makayla, promise me you will not go there without me," Tamarius growled.

While Makayla had no intention of returning there alone, she refused to let Tamarius feel he could control her.  She’d already had enough of that with her controlling and abusive first husband. "You’re not my father or my husband and even if you were, you can't control me."

"I don't want to control you. I just want to know you will be safe and out of danger. Why is loving you a challenge," he snapped back.

"A challenge? Well, I wouldn't want to stress you," Makayla said, walking past him and into the house.

Tamarius put his hands on his hips and bit his lip to keep from swearing. He hadn’t meant what he’d said, but had lost his temper. Loving Makayla was not a challenge.  Keeping her was the challenge.

DNA

Two days had passed since Cressida’s meeting with her client when she finally received the news that the DNA results were in. With nervous tension she wiped her sweaty palms on her black pencil skirt, grabbed her office phone and pushed the button to take the call.

"Cressida Dash speaking."

"Ms. Dash, after our last conversation I don't even know how to approach
you,” P
rosecuting Attorney Jason Reyes said.

They’d met for the first time the day before and while Jason had heard of Cressida's amazing résumé, he  was taken aback when he heard she had agreed to take the case.

Everyone knew she only took cases defending the victim, never defending the offender.

"Give it to me," Cressida replied. Her nerves were on edge and she couldn't take the wait anymore. Good or bad, she had to deal with it.

"The tests showed that his DNA did not match." Jason sighed.

"This can't be...  He has to…  I…"

"I know that any other attorney would be doing back flips on learning that their client’s DNA did not match the DNA found at the crime scene, but..."

"I don't understand. This doesn't make any sense. This whole case doesn't make sense. I shouldn't be talking to you like this, but something in my heart tells me this man is guilty." Cressida was on the verge of tears as she spoke.

"Well, what's your next move?" Jason asked, already knowing what had to be done.

"Oh, he can't be let out. He’s going to run and it kills me that I have to be on the wrong side."

"Well, Ms. Dash..."

"Please, call me Cressida"

"Cressida, we still have to find out who the DNA evidence belongs to. I truly respect your integrity.  I don't know many attorneys who would have the integrity that you are displaying right now. You’re putting your reputation on the line. When we heard you were taking the case everyone became nervous. You always side with the victim and in this case you didn't or so we thought. You’re an amazing woman."

"You don't have to be so nice. I’m just doing what I feel is right. I need to get the sleep I was getting before this case."

"Okay, well, I didn't know for sure how you would respond to this, but the detective working on the cold cases and I would like to meet with you. It wasn't clear what he wanted to talk to you about."

"I would be happy to meet with him."

"Come down to my office, let’s say around noon."

"Noon is good. I will just have to clear my schedule, but that would be fine."

Cressida hung up and looked at her watch. It was already ten past ten and she had planned to meet Maxwell for lunch.  This was quickly becoming a regular outing for them.

Cressida pulled out her cell phone as she walked out of her office. With her free hand she indicated to her secretary that she would be away for some time then quickly walked towards the elevator just as Maxwell answered his phone.

"Good morning, beautiful," he answered.

Not wanting to have her call dropped, Cressida turning away from the elevator.

"Hey, handsome. Something came up. I’ll have to take a rain check on lunch."

"No. Why?" Maxwell groaned.

"The DNA came back and it didn't match."

"What?"

"I can't go into details right now. I have to meet with someone. I promise I will make it up to you."

"If you spend the night here then I’ll forgive you."

"I have spent every night there for the past week. I don't even know what my condo looks like anymore."

"What do I have to do to make you stay. Your condo isn't going anywhere?" Maxwell laughed.

"Honey, come on. You’re going to get tired of me and most likely kick me to the curb at any moment now." Cressida laughed and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror beside the elevator.  It amazed her how lighthearted and happy just talking to Maxwell made her look and feel.