Chapter 28
We got to the house about two and a half hours later. It was close to midnight when we pulled into the driveway. There was a car that I didn’t recognize parked near the garage.
“Are you expecting someone? I don’t know that vehicle,” I said, looking over at Maddox.
“It looks like a rental car,” he responded as he stopped the car near the front door to the house.
He put the car into park and killed the engine.
Both front doors of the unknown vehicle opened.
I knew the driver immediately—it was Ronan.
My stomach tightened. The passenger was a woman I didn’t recognize at all.
She was very pretty; she had blonde hair and was thin with doe-like eyes.
It must be someone from The Order. Maybe this was Bonnie.
“Stay here,” Maddox demanded as he opened his door and stepped out.
What the fuck was going on? Maddox looked extremely pissed off—which was something new and interesting. He stalked toward Ronan in a way that was unmistakably hostile. I needed to get out of the car—he could be mad. He wasn’t going to assault Ronan. I opened the door and jumped out.
“What the hell is going on?” I demanded.
“Jos, I need to talk to ye. In private, please,” Ronan said, from behind Maddox.
“This had better be good, Ronan. I can’t imagine why you didn’t attempt to call first and just happen to be sitting in my driveway waiting for me to get home.”
“I need to talk to ye,” he repeated.
I walked to the front door of the house and unlocked it.
“Well, I am not going to keep standing out here,” I said over my shoulder as I let myself into the house.
Maddox, Ronan, and the unidentified woman followed me inside.
I turned to Ronan. “I will talk to you in the game room,” I said as I led the way down the hallway to the double doors at the end.
I entered the room with him right behind me. He shut and locked the door behind him.
“If Maddox wants to come in here, a locked door isn’t going to stop him. You know that—but if it makes you feel better.” I was annoyed with whatever this was.
“Joslyn, I need to ‘ear it from ye. I don’t trust ‘im.”
He was pleading with me; I could see it in his eyes. He desperately wanted me to tell him Maddox had lied. Telling him what he wanted to hear wasn’t an option. I didn’t want to give up Maddox—I wasn’t willing to do that.
“Maddox doesn’t lie. You know that, Ronan.” I don’t understand why he needed me to say it.
“Maddox is naught but a liar!” Ronan shouted as he stepped closer to me. I began to back away slowly.
“What are you talking about?” I said, staring him in the eyes.
“Dat woman,” he said, pointing toward the door. “Dat woman is ‘is maker. De love of ‘is life. De only woman ‘e has ever loved. I’m not sure what ‘e is telling ye. She is ‘ere to figure out what de ‘ell he is doing.”
“The love of his life? Are you serious, Ronan? She didn’t even ask him if he wanted this life.
She chose it for him. Then she served fifty years for it.
He had to have a witch sever their bond.
” I could see the surprise on his face. “Yeah, Maddox told me everything, Ronan.” I was screaming in his face and if he kept up with this bullshit, I was scared I would put my hands on him.
“Yes, she was punished for what she did to ‘im.
He loves ‘er; ye can’t ‘elp who ye love. Trust me—God knows I wish I could right now.” That one stung a little but probably warranted.
“He ‘as been wit ‘er since she was released—a few times.
He is going to make you fall in love wit ‘im and den he will hurt ye. He will leave and end up right back wit ‘er. He is going to hurt ye, Joslyn. I am in love wit ye, and he couldn’t love ye because he loves ‘er. Vampires are different. Ye don’t understand.”
I didn’t even have time to think. Rage took over. I balled my right hand into a fist and pulled back. I swung and connected with his face, instantly straightening my arm on impact. His head snapped back and as he righted himself, I hit him a second time.
“FUCK YOU, RONAN!” I screamed at him and ran to the door. I was frantically trying to unlock the door. I finally got it and was just starting to pull the door open when Ronan threw his weight against it, slamming it shut again.
“Joslyn, please. I’m not crazy.”
“Crazy people don’t know they’re crazy, Ronan. Now, let me out of this fucking room.”
He removed his weight from the door, and I flung it open. I stormed down the hallway and saw Maddox and his maker standing in the foyer. I was fucking done. With everything. With everyone. I walked up to her.
“What’s your name?” I was inches from her face with venom in my voice.
“My name is Amelia. You must be Joslyn,” she said, smiling.
“I am. Can you explain to me why you are in my house?”
“I am here because Ronan contacted me. He thought I might want to know that Maddox has moved on from me. I came here to find out if that’s true for myself.
I haven’t seen Maddox in such a long time.
I wanted to remind him of what we have. He could never replace me.
He will never make another; therefore, he will never have as much time with anyone as he has with me. ”
“Had.”
“Excuse me?”
“What you had… not have. It’s past tense. Like, as in, not anymore. What the two of you have is a lot of fucked up memories and years of betrayal. I also don’t think it’s very nice of you to show up at my house, to talk to my boyfriend. I would say that’s actually pretty fucking rude.”
“I don’t really care what you think of me. I only care what Maddox thinks of me.”
“Well, from what he has told me, he doesn’t think much of you at all.”
Amelia’s stone demeanor broke, and she hissed at me, letting her canines extend. Without thinking, my right hand flashed across her face with a crack that echoed through the foyer.
“Bitch, put your fucking fangs away before I have them removed and you lose that option entirely.”
Her fangs retracted, and she stared at me. The glare was filled with contempt and all of the torturous things she wished she could do to me—as if she wanted me dead. Which I am certain she did.
“You might be protected but accidents happen. You might think he loves you. Hell, he might think he loves you, but our bond can never be broken. Not even by some old witch. I know he thinks it worked, but the love I still hold for him tells me otherwise. And if that old witch couldn’t break our bond, then I know you don’t stand a chance.
” She looked me up and down with disdain frozen on her face.
“I feel sorry for you. This is the moment that you will remember for the rest of your miserable existence as the moment that you lost him—forever. This is the moment when you realize that all the evil shit you have done, all the lying and manipulation has finally caught up to you. Karma is a dish best served cold, and if my math is correct, after one hundred plus years that bitch is pretty fucking icy. Choke on it.”
I turned and looked at Maddox, who was standing directly behind me. “Tell me what you want. If you want to go, the door is right there, and I am not stopping you. But this shit better never happen again.”
Ronan had entered the foyer. “You and I are done, and Maddox has nothing to do with that. He can walk out the door with Amelia, but your ass is going with them.”
I turned to Amelia. “If you ever show up at my house again, you and I will find out together just how much power I truly yield. Being a woman, you should understand that we don’t seek revenge through death.
There are far worse fates than death. If you’re feeling froggy—by all means, please leap.
” I looked at Maddox, who hadn’t spoken since I entered the room.
“Is everyone done talking?” Maddox asked calmly. No one said a word. “Ronan, you are a huge, gigantic piece of shit. I never thought you would be so low or do something so slimy. We are not friends, and apparently, we never were. So, you can completely and utterly fuck off.”
He turned his attention to the pretty blonde vampire with the smug look.
“Amelia, I do not love you. I felt love for you in Hawaii and when I first arrived in New York. Then you chose a life for me. You didn’t ask me if I wanted it, and when you did present the question, it was as an ultimatum.
I never made another vampire, so I resorted to you like an old girlfriend that was always willing to take me in.
That was also seventy years ago. I haven’t seen you, called you, or even gave you more than a passing thought in seventy years.
If you came here to find out if I have moved on from you, what proof do you need? ”
“I love you, Maddox. I’m sorry I made another vampire, and that you thought I replaced you.
I could never replace you. You will always love me, and you will always come back to me.
I know deep down, one day you will forgive me for being so selfish.
I couldn’t imagine being without you or having to watch you grow old and die. It would have killed me.”
“I hate you, Amelia. I was so happy when you made another. That meant you were losing interest in me. I finally knew enough about what I had become that I didn’t need you.
I will never forgive you. Stop giving yourself false hope—it’s pathetic.
I am going to be with Joslyn as long as she will have me.
I have found someone that I honestly believe I could change—if she wanted it.
If not, then she will have me until she dies, and then who knows, maybe I die too.
Not knowing how long I have with her is a million times better than knowing I could have eternity with you. ”