West (A Roam Series Novella) (11 page)

“No,” she sobbed, trying to pull away. I let her go, aching to speak to her alone, to say exactly what I wanted to
say out of Logan’s earshot.

“Give me your hand,” he took her palm, wrapping a towel with ice around her fingers carefully. “You may have broken it. I can’t say it wasn’t completely worth it, though,” he added, shooting me a fuck-you glare.

Ignoring him, I grabbed her hand, unfurling her fingers and then curling them into a fist again. She winced but didn’t cry out. By now, I could tell when she was in pain. “It’s not broken. Just don’t punch anything anymore- especially me. I’m immortal, remember? Punching is not effective.”

“You feel pain,” she hissed, backing away from me as far as possible while I still held her hand in mine. “And if I can’t trap you, I may as well punch you until my hand breaks.”

Julie
. Julie’s fiery gaze, right there, at the worst possible moment. I turned toward the window. “I deserve that.”

“They can be trapped?” Logan interrupted. “Immortals can be trapped? What does that mean?”

“I mean they can be trapped,” I snapped,
you fucking idiot.
“Just not killed.”

I dropped her hand to the bedspread.

“Then why couldn’t we lure Troy through the fountain, and trap him in 1977?”

She looked at Logan. “How would we do that?”

“We destroy the door- we destroy the fountain.”

My mind raced. I thought of the connections I had, the means, and the possibilities as I ran through a dozen scenarios.
Maybe he’s not such a fucking idiot.
“You’re suggesting we- what, blow up the fountain?” I began pacing, thinking. “How?”

He talked about bringing materials through from the past, and I watched Roam cross the room and go into the bathroom.

The soft click of the lock echoed through Logan’s words.

He knew
I’d slept with her.

I put Logan up in
a different room for the night. We’d worked out a plan, only after he’d punched me
himself
- much harder than Roam had.

It’d heal by tomorrow, but I had to hand it to the kid- he had some strength.

I slipped into Roam’s hotel room, watching her even breathing as she lay on the bed. Every so often, she’d give a tiny sob in her sleep.

Careful not to wake her, I
lowered to the bed. I wanted to gather her fingers in mine, but I was sure I’d pull her out of her peaceful dreams.

And I knew how rare those were.

Sometime later, she was pushing me, and I roused at her voice. “West- West, wake up,” she urged, and I sat up quickly. “What are we doing first?”

Her face was still tear-streaked, but her eyes were muted with controlled order. I cupped her face in my palms, turning her to lie beneath me. “First, I need you to forgive me. Please,” I whispered against her lips.

When she nodded, no hesitation, no fear, I groaned, pressing my mouth to hers. I kissed her with gratitude, apologizing with every touch, every gentle caress. When I pulled away to look at her, I could barely see her through the darkness. “I never want to talk about it again,” she murmured. “The past is the past. Every life we’ve shared has had a terrible ending. What you did was awful, but you weren’t yourself, I believe that.”

I reached for the lamp. I had to see her; I had to see to believe she was truly forgiving me for what I’d done all those years ago… and for lying to her. She gasped, reaching for my face. “What happened to you?” she cried, tenderly brushing her fingertips over my eyes.

“Logan said good-bye,” I answered, wincing. “It’ll heal.”

“Did you hurt him?”

I sighed. “No. I couldn’t. His anger had nothing to do with this prophecy- or our lives. It was just a guy pissed at another guy for sleeping with his girlfriend. I deserved it.”

She lowered her eyes before I could watch them fill with tears. “I deserve the terrible things he said to me, too.”

We sat in silence for a while.

And suddenly, we were moving.

I explained the plan. Go to the fountains, go through the door…

And that was as much as I co
uld tell her without scaring the hell out of her.

The moment we passed through the fountain, I gripped her hand tighter, staring down at her.

My god. Julie.

I never thought I’d see her again.
Her blonde hair, her smoky eyes… she looked the same as the day I’d last seen her.

The day I’d killed her.

“Do I look different? Am I her?” Roam asked,
Roam
,
Roam is inside there. My little Roam.

“Yes,” I managed, hurrying to a cab. “The Byway Motel,” I ordered, and the driver snorted.

“That’ll costya, friend.”

“No problem,” I patted my jeans, thankful my wallet had traveled.
Everything on our person travels.
Remember that.

“I don’t even recognize my own hands- they are
different
,” she breathed, and then I watched her lower her eyes to her chest, gasping.

“She high?”
The driver accused.

“No,” I an
swered, taking her hands in mine and squeezing them, reassuring. “Please put on the radio?”

Dancing Queen
filled the cab at my request. I turned and took her in, amazed at what was happening.

We traveled.
Into the past, through a fountain.

A past life.

Her face went pale, and she covered her mouth. “I think I’m car sick,” she whispered, covering her stomach. I watched her press her fingers to her skin, holding her breath. “I’m pregnant,” she breathed, shocked.

I was losing her. She was panicking; I could hear it in her voice. I tugged her closer.

“I know. Everything that I told you about happened later tonight. We’re already ahead, since I’m sober and I know you have no intention of aborting the baby.” I spoke under my breath, out of the driver’s earshot.

“Of course not,” she groaned, holding her mouth. “Talk to me- I’m going to throw up,” she begged.

“Don’t hurl in my cab, bunny,” the driver threatened.

“Did he just call me bunny?”

“Pull over,” I growled. She made it out the door and to a trashcan in just enough time.

When we finally reached the motel, the BYWAY sign brought a rush of memories back, memories I’d tried to keep buried for too many years.  She reached for my hand.

“What can I do to help?”

I turned to her. She widened her eyes as I closed mine, pressing my lips to hers in a faithful, comforting kiss. “What was that about?” She asked, breathless.

“Just checking to see my little Roam is still in there,” I responded, still with my mouth against hers. “Offering to help was so out of character for Julie. It reminded me that it’s still
you
.”

“I’m sure I’ll cry or faint any moment, rest assured,” she answered, sighing.

“Stop it. You’re being too hard on yourself. So many things have happened for you in just a few short weeks, baby. Give yourself a break.”

She shrugged.

“Well, now what?”

“Now, I get our key from the office, and we go to our room
. And we… think.”

She followed me. She trusted me inexplicably. Guilt tore at my chest.

We were waiting… for Troy.

I was going to save her
this time.
I had to trust that she carried our child.
I had to believe that what I was about to do was the only way. Trapping Troy and giving her a safe world to raise our baby in was the last plan I had.

Logan knew to wait at the fountain, moving back and forth
through time until he saw that we were there, waiting.

I just had to lure Troy back to the fountain… and send Roam home.

Logan would make the call to have the fountain destroyed… and I would trap Troy in 1977.

With me.

Forever
… or until I could find a way back to her.

The hotel room brought on horrible memories for both of us; mine of the past, hers of her nightmare. The bed was still unmade, the sheets still
rumpled from our lovemaking earlier that day.

Drug paraphernalia littered every surface of the room, and empty bottles of booze lined the counters.

She only looked at me, at my eyes, and I kissed her forehead, pleading. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

I’m sorry, Julie
.

“I forgive you. It wasn’t you,
West, just like it wasn’t
me
. Let the past lie,” she hushed, gripping me to her, and I nodded against her hair.

It was time to say goodbye to her.

It was time to say goodbye to the only girl that had ever made me feel whole, and truly needed…

And
devastatingly loved.

“Roam, please don’t ever forget me. Everything I’ve done- and everything I’m going to do- is for you.
I love you, and I will always love you.
” 

“I love you, too,” she answered, crying as I crushed my lips to hers.

Three knocks thundered with my heartbeat.

I pushed her behind me, fucking furious that I hadn’t gone straight for a gun before
coming there.
I’d thought I’d have more time.

Rush him.
I threw the door open, ready to take him out at waist level…

Until I saw her.

Troy stood before us, holding a young girl about Roam’s age at gunpoint. He had a handful of her platinum curls, and she was crying out angrily every time he yanked on her hair.

“Surprise.
Hey there Jules. Or Roam, back from the dead. This is the first time I’ve ever had to kill you twice. Maybe I’m making up for my missed opportunity with Julie, right, West?” Troy sneered.

“
You sonofabitch,
” I blocked Roam, my eyes sweeping over the girl in front of me.

Her blue eyes met mine, and it was like looking in a mirror.

Violet.

My daughter, almost eighteen years old.

“
Where did you find her?
” I was beyond angry. I had to pull it together, and fast.

He laughed, and Roam moaned, swaying on her feet behind me. He pistol whipped my daughter, and I watched her drop to her knees in agony.

“
Stop!
” Roam screamed, sobbing, reaching for Violet. Violet stared at us, confused and terrified.

She has no idea
who I am.

“So you just came here to wait for me.
So confident.” Troy gestured to the old Buick in the parking lot. “Come on, you know where we’re going.”

“Stay behind me,” I ordered Roam, and I could feel her breakdown before her voice reached a hysterical level.

“What?
No!
We can’t go with him!”

I turned to her, my fingers encircling her wrist. “
Without question
,” I breathed, reminding her of her promise before we’d even left.

She sobbed, nodding finally and following me to the car.

Violet
.

Now I had to worry about both of them.
God, she’s beautiful…
I wondered if she even knew who I was, or what was happening to her.

I half listened to Troy’s ramblings, making sure we were headed back to the fountain. When I realized he was going to use Violet against me, and keep Roam here to kill her, I knew I needed to think.

Can Logan take them both back safely? Can I get them both in a position for Logan to save them… far enough away from Troy?

I was going to get shot.  I already knew that much. What I needed to do was make sure that both Violet and Roam were safe before I lost consciousness.

Roam gripped my hand, paralyzed in fear.

Violet was fully conscious,
fighting against Troy’s hold… even after he’d nearly knocked her out.

I tried to think clearly. To t
hink back to the day I found my infant daughter not breathing, pale and cold in her crib.

I’d breathed into her mouth, trying to pump her chest, trying to restart a heart that had stopped for far too long.

Leaving the room, I slid down the wall in the hallway, crying for the first time in my entire life.

I knew Laurel was sick.
I knew she was depressed, but I could never imagine she’d harm our child. Minutes passed, and I cried, pleading with God to forgive me for Julie, not to take my baby away… that when the numbers came, I’d leave, I’d go as far away from them as possible and protect them from Troy and the Alter.

I’d do anything.