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“No,” she answered, shaking her head. She
didn’t even register his mom walking up with Sea.

“I know you’re scared, sweetie. I’ve been
there too. Please, I’ll explain it all too you, but you’re safe
with us,” Catherine said.

How did Catherine know what she was feeling?
Julie was looking into the eyes of the man she loved, and they were
the eyes of a monster. How could you? I believed in you. Julie had
a rush of resentment. Why was my life the one you chose to destroy?
Julie contemplated what he had done to her and her emotions. Filled
with a sudden rage, she slapped him. An unfathomable roar came from
somewhere deep within his chest. His eyes went black. The coldness
in his eyes she had dreamed about had nothing on the bone-chilling
black she was looking into. He curved his hand around her neck.

“Leave, Julie, or I will hurt you.” His
warning was marked with grief.

Stoic, Julie held her ground. She was tired
of running. She firmed up her shoulders and stared him in the eyes,
unflinchingly. He kneaded his fingers into her neck. It hurt. Julie
took in a gulp of air. There was no doubt in her mind that he could
snap her neck without breaking a stride. Trucker would never
intentionally hurt her. She was sure of that fact, even if
everything else she believed was fleeting away in front of her. His
grip tightened. She felt despair and malice transmitting from him,
but more than that, she felt fear and love. He let go of her neck
and adjusted the straps on her tank top, then started dragging his
fingers down her arms. She bit her lip as the burning started. Each
one of his individual fingers seared into her skin. The agony was
more than she could take. Julie started to scream stop when he
grasped each of her wrists and flipped her hands over. They both
stared down at her palms.

“The touch of my rosy-cheeked lamb,” Trucker
said and outlined her life line with his pinky. “The burn is
torment. She’s worth it.”

My touch burns him. He feels that agony every
time I touch him. Yet, he still reaches for me. She concluded he
was trying to confide in her how her touch affected him. He wasn’t
trying to hurt her. “I love you, Trucker.”

He arched his neck and howled. Julie felt a
surge of horrendous pain. It was intense, immediate, and
unrelenting. Looking down, she saw the sparks flying from his hand
around her wrist as if a firecracker exploded in his palm. Then she
felt a loud audible pop. Her hand started swelling immediately. So
numb mentally and emotionally, she didn’t know what to feel. He
slowly released her wrist.

Closing his eyes, he spoke, “I’m sorry,
please . . .” He seized her good wrist and pulled her against him.
He stood over her, his body curving into hers. Julie felt his
stomach muscles quiver. He bite down on his wrist until a drop of
blood dripped onto his crisp white shirt. He brought his wrist to
her mouth letting the blood smear across her lips. Scared, Julie
screamed.

“Let her go. We have to get her home.”
Catherine cried out.

Trucker’s face went lifeless. “I’m so sorry,
Angel, please drink it. It will make the pain stop,” he begged as
he pushed his wrist into her clamped together lips.

She shoved him, but he wasn’t moved. She
toppled to the ground. “What are you?” Julie was beside herself,
and was surprised at how cool and collected she sounded.

“No.” He shook his head.

“Tell me now,” she ordered as she wiped his
blood from her lips.

“Are you sure?” Catherine asked her.

Julie cut her eyes over to her. “Yes, I have
no choice . . . What are you?” she asked.

“A demon,” he said softly. He fell to his
knees and bowed his head. She felt no emotion. Her heart had been
ripped from her chest and she was left empty.

Suddenly, vomit exploded from her mouth. She
vomited repeatedly, until there was nothing left. Catherine put Sea
down and held Julie up. For the first time in Julie’s life, she
felt nothing. She wasn’t happy or sad. Her head was going a million
miles a second, but she didn’t feel anything.

“Honey, I’ll take care of your arm. Please
come with me,” Catherine pleaded. Julie saw the worry in her eyes,
her human eyes.

“Are you?” She managed to get out.

“No sweetie, I’m human just like you.”

“Why?” Julie asked.

“I fell in the love with the wrong boy, too,”
she answered. “Just come home with us. I’ll explain everything to
you, sweetie.” Catherine stroked her hair. “You can’t tell anyone.
Knowing this is dangerous for everyone. They will kill you.”

Images drifted in and out of her mind; his
eyes, telling her he had a dark soul, crushing a snake between his
fingers, sudden and swift mood changes, a picture of a girl
flashing on a computer screen, a girl who could double for her, a
girl at the wrong place at the wrong time, a girl who was supposed
to be her, the warnings, they will kill you. All there was for her
was death and destruction.

She stood up and slowly started backing away.
“Do it quick. Pease don’t make it hurt.” She sobbed
uncontrollably.

Trucker caught hold of her, thrusting her
onto his chest. “What, baby?”

Julie saw profound emotions in his eyes, but
the overriding ones were love and despair. Why does he still look
at me like that? Just get it over with. Make it fast; at least
don’t let me suffer. She closed her eyes and whispered, “Kill
me.”

Julie heard a loud furious roar come from
Trucker and waited for the final blow. She felt the ground. It was
different, softer. She opened her eyes. She was standing with
Trucker in his home. It appeared to her to be his bedroom.

“What?” she asked.

He seemed shocked about the sudden change in
venue, too. “Talk to me.”

“What are you waiting for? Just get it over
with, please. I won’t run, please make it fast.” The tears flooded
her face and fear infiltrated her aura.

“Baby, please stop,” Trucker insisted as he
pushed his wrist back into her mouth.

She bit down then screamed. He took three
steps back and ran his fingers through his hair, pulling it. Why is
he so upset? Surely he has a million ways to kill me. Oh no, he is
going to make it long and hard. He lunged at her and with blinding
speed and had her against the wall. She felt his arms and even with
the speed, the soft landing. She tried to move, but it felt like
every part of her body was belted to the wall.

“Look at me now,” he ordered. Her eyes locked
with his. They were enlarged and glowed. A pair of wings sprung out
of his back in a burst of the coldest black, blacker than even a
starless, moonless night. He held her in an unbreakable but gentle
grasp. The look on his face was a perfect blend of longing and
torment. Everything about him at that moment only humanized him.
That was, until he raised his arm and started to bring it to her
mouth.

“If you make me drink your blood, I’ll beg
you for death.” Julie was terrified at his reasoning behind getting
her to take his blood.

“Kiss me.” The evil resonance of his voice
rumbled out of him demanding undeniable obedience.

She noticed his lips and had a strong urge to
kiss him. His lips molded around hers as if they were made for each
other. It was the sweetest, most loving kiss he had ever placed on
her lips.

“Can you feel it? You’re everything to me,”
he asked, and she watched in amazement as his massive wing span
ascended into his back.

Voiceless, she closed her eyes. She could
feel it. The love that poured off his lips was unquestionable, but
he was everything she tried to avoid in life. He was hate, evil,
and the devil’s angel. His tricks were tremendous and unimaginable.
She had just witnessed him sprouting wings. Julie was positive the
act of showing false love was an easy one for him.

“If I wanted you dead, you would’ve already
been dead. I wouldn’t bring you to my home to do it.” Reaching for
her hair, he paused before gently trailing a finger down her cheek.
“How many times have I had you alone at the pond that no one knows
about? You’ve seen for yourself I could beam you anywhere in this
world and easily do with you what I wanted. All I want is to be
with you.”

Unexpectedly, a man burst through the door
and tackled Trucker, slamming his head against the wall. Trucker
dangled with this man’s hand forcibly around his neck. The whole
scene unraveled in front of Julie as if she was watching a TV show.
She felt detached.

“What are you doing?” he asked Trucker.

“I can’t lose her, Jake.” Trucker could
hardly talk through the tears. “She owns me.”

“So you’re going to hold her hostage. Look at
your eyes, boy. You’re changing right in front of her. Next you’ll
spread your damn wings.” He let Trucker go with a sudden drop.

Trucker rubbed his eyes. “Tell her I won’t
hurt her.”

The man glanced back at Julie. He saw that
her arm was swollen from her fingertips to her elbow. “I don’t
think I can do that. She's already hurt.” Jake stated with a quick
jerk of Trucker’s shirt collar.

Trucker walked over to Julie who still felt
chained to the wall. He bushed his fingertips over her temple,
across her jaw, and down her neck. He tilted her head up. His eyes
were wild. “Angel,” he whispered and the spell was broken. Julie
fell into his arms. His grip on her was excruciatingly tight.
“Jake, help her. She won’t let me.”

Jake nodded his head and took hold of Julie’s
arm. She flinched immediately. She was too tied up in knots to deal
with any more of his kind. He smiled, and she felt an unexpected
peace come over her. “It’s okay, sweetie. I’ll make it stop
hurting.”

He swept his hand lightly down her arm and
grasped her wrist. She took in the man holding her hand and was
taken aback by his average appearance in an ocean of incredibly
beautiful people. He was plain, dressed in all khaki. Feeling a
rush of extreme warmth in her wrist, she was shocked into reality.
The pain once again became unbearable. His hands started glowing.
It was as if the sun itself shone from them. The pain slowly
subsided as her bones fused back together. The swelling vanished as
she gained full range of movement in her wrist.

“What?” was all she could manage to say.

Jake peeked up at them and smiled again, a
warm beautiful smile. His eyes were not harsh. They were soft and
gentle. Julie fought the urge to reach out and touch his face.

“Boy, you did a good job on this one,” Jake
stated. Trucker’s breath caught and ceased for a moment. “It’s all
right now, beautiful.” Jake rubbed her knee. Julie raised her wrist
and moved it around; it was healed completely.

“How?” she asked.

“My gift, sweetie.” He kissed her hand,
calming her nerves. “Julie, Trucker won’t hurt you again. I know
what he is, and I also know how he feels about you,” Jake said with
a wink.

Julie watched him leave and noticed two older
men standing by the door. They were dressed in black suits and
seemed to fade into the background. One of them said, “We’ll be in
the library if you need us.”

Trucker nodded his head. She wondered what
they meant. Trucker knelt down beside her, trying hard not to touch
her. “Angel, will you talk to me, please? I won’t hurt you
again.”

“You don’t want to kill me? I’m not a game
for you?” she asked, and had the sensation that someone had erased
her capacity for absorbing new facts.

“No, baby, everything I told you about my
feelings are true. You mean the world to me. Please say you at
least believe that?” He started to touch her before jerking his
hand away but not before she noticed the bite on his wrist was
completely healed.

“I want to believe it. Will you tell me
everything?” Julie asked. She was amazed she was sitting there
having this conversation after all she knew about him. That was the
problem. She didn’t know. Yes, she finally knew what he was, but
not what made him, him.

“I’ll tell you everything. If it gets too
much . . . those two men can sweep your mind clean of all memories
of us.” He spoke soft and sweet as if he was trying to explain
something to a child.

She wanted to forget that day but needed to
know all his secrets. As hard as it was to think about staying, it
was unbearable to imagine ever losing him. She shook her head. “Am
I in danger?”

She had to know staying was not a death
sentence, even if it would be the most idiotic decision ever.

“No, not as long as you keep your mouth shut.
My mom is not the only human in our world.”

“I’ll keep my mouth shut, I promise. Just
keep those monsters out of my head.” Her voice broke. He wiped the
tears from her cheeks. Julie cherished the way he tenderly caressed
her face.

“Angel, they’re not monsters. They’re
neutral. They help the good and bad for the greater good. They
won’t hurt you. You’ll still remember me, only not my dark
secrets.” He pushed a curl behind her ear and tugged on her
earlobe. “I’ll walk away and leave if you want.” He couldn’t
continue. The words seemed too hard to say.

“You don’t want to hurt me?”

“No, baby. I want to love you.”

“Why did you try to make me drink your
blood?” Julie asked and crushed his hand against her face.

“My blood can heal you.”

“That’s a vampire myth.”

“That’s a
me
fact,” he replied and
pulled her over onto his lap.

“But you have a soul?” She remembered his mom
mentioning her gift to him.

“Yes,” he said with regret. “It doesn’t do
much for a guy like me.”

“If you have a soul, you always have a choice
to be good or not. Even a guy like you.” Julie caressed along his
jawline, wanting to relieve the hurt in his eyes.

“What?” Trucker asked and tilted his head to
the side. He seemed shocked that she would say that.

“If you have a soul, you can change.”