Chapter 14
DAMIEN
Eight Years Ago
‘Watch it, man!’ The man who shoved his way past me positively reeked of cheap gin, enough so that I was certain if I lit a match near him, he’d ignite.
I pursed my lips, thinking. It honestly wasn’t the worst option I’d considered.
Besides, from the way he was swaying, he should absolutely not be driving, and yet here he was, stumbling toward a car, a set of keys in his hand.
Fuck knew how many people he’d hurt tonight on his little innocent bender.
But before I could consider snatching the keys away from him, or revisit the whole setting-on-fire idea, he had piled himself into the car and screeched out of the parking lot.
I sighed, leaning back on the cool brick wall.
Such was my life. As much as I’d learned the patterns of people who deserved to be punished and those who deserved a second chance, I couldn’t save them all.
I’d spent too much time trying, once I’d come to my senses, and it only ever brought me failure.
The more I’d try and protect, the more I’d lose. In the long run, it wasn’t worth it. Humans were going to be humans, and I’d have to let them play out. I didn’t have the emotional capacity to try and sort through them myself any more. Didn’t have the strength to try and save them.
Except for her. She deserved saving. Maybe more so than anyone else in this forsaken world.
I tried to do my best, protecting her when I could. I was more successful sometimes than others, but I couldn’t watch her all the time, as much as I wanted to.
Stella. I heard her name for the first time when her sister raced toward her at the hospital they’d brought her parents to, even though they were far past saving. I heard a nurse say to another that she’d insisted, just in case there was a chance.
Even then, she always believed there was a chance. There was hope.
I wasn’t there for her parents. She came from good people, people who loved their children with their whole hearts.
I was at the hospital that night for someone else, a waste of space, not worth the small amount of brain power it would take to bring him back to Hell with me.
When Grace ran through the halls, calling out Stella’s name like a prayer, it caught my attention.
Stella reached for her sister, still a child really, and I watched as she carefully tucked away any of her own feelings, leaving herself a blank slate for Grace.
That amount of power, the amount of emotional control it took to be the master of your emotions like that, struck me where I stood.
I shook off the feelings the best I could, but I found myself drawn to her, time and time again.
I told myself I was waiting for her to slip up.
There was only one way off this decrepit ride, and that was with me dragging her with me to Hell.
Except the slip-up I’d been waiting for never happened. My captivation turned into an obsession. How could a woman who’d experienced so much heartache still stand? How did she not turn to a life of darkness?
I helped her along the way when I could.
Little things, really. Found lost keys for her.
Helped her lawyer ‘discover’ money when there was none.
Which was how I found myself here tonight, at a dingy bar I really didn’t care to be at.
I spent so much of my time around terrible humans, I didn’t want to add to that any more than necessary.
But in the last month or so, I’d noticed a change in Stella.
She was slipping more often, her perfect mask cracking in places it hadn’t been cracked before.
She was losing herself. I’d been waiting for it to happen, biding my time, and now that the moment was here, all I wanted was for her to find herself again.
I’d wasted enough time. I pushed off the wall, brushing the thick smoke out of my way as I walked past the bouncer with a glare that had him backing away.
The smoke wasn’t any better inside the bar. Loud music with zero soul pulsed through the room. People pushed up against each other at the bar, impatient for service, and still more danced under the colored lights on the small dance floor. I was certainly the only sober one here.
I hated it.
Someone ran a hand over my arm and I jerked my arm away in response. ‘What the fuck?’
The woman next to me was entirely unfazed by my attitude, a bright smile on her face as she said something I couldn’t hear over the awful noise they pretended was music.
I shook my head, ready to walk away from her. But she stopped me with her hand on my arm again. It took everything in me not to snap her hand off at the wrist for touching me.
‘My friend thinks you’re cute!’ she screamed in an attempt to be heard over the noise.
I cringed. Great. This again. I picked her hand off me, and brushed her aside. Cute. Would they still think I was cute if they knew my day job? Fucking imbeciles.
I needed to find Stella. She’d been in here for a while now, and I wanted to make sure she was okay.
The bright-red top she’d been wearing didn’t stand out to me at the bar.
I scanned the dance floor next, not seeing her there either.
Fuck. I dragged my hands through my hair.
Had she slipped out without me noticing?
If I missed her leaving because of Too-Drunk Teddy, I was going to use everything in my power to track him down and drag him back to Hell with me.
She could’ve left with anyone. I didn’t trust those supposed friends of hers to keep her safe.
Stella seemed to orbit on the outskirts of them, and from what I’ve seen on other nights out, they were far too quick to leave her behind for a guy, or whatever else seemed to catch their eye.
I shouldn’t have been surprised by human nature any more.
I groaned, silent compared to the pulsing bass across the room. I could track her. She might need a hand if she was stumbling home in the dark, drunk. But if she was alone, tracking her might be obvious.
Fuck, I was a mess. The me from a century ago would probably laugh in my face if he found out I was this torn up over a human.
Well, the evening had been a complete failure. I turned back toward the entrance, avoiding the stare of my new fan who didn’t seem to take the hint, when a flash of red caught my eye.
Stella disappeared down the hallway toward the bathrooms. I took off in her direction, telling myself I just needed one look. One look to make sure she was okay, and then I’d be off. She’d be okay without me.
The music faded slightly as I turned the corner, down the dark hallway lined with old records, allowing the unmistakable sound of sloppy kissing to take over.
‘No.’
I could just make out Stella’s voice, and while the protest was slurred, it was there.
Whatever was happening down the hall, Stella didn’t want.
I crossed the rest of the hall in little time, raging at the sight in front of me.
At the far end, tucked away in the corner, was Stella with her back pressed up against the wall.
A man in a dark jacket had her cornered, kissing her neck while she actively tried to push him away.
I needed to keep my anger in control. Making a scene in the bar wouldn’t do anyone any good; Stella would see me, and it’d be a big mess to clean up all those memories. I needed to stay in control.
‘Stop!’ she slurred. ‘Fucking stop.’
‘Come on, baby, you’ve been making eyes at me all night. I’ll make it good for you.’
Red flashed in my eyes, and I wanted to snap more than ever. Instead, I forced myself to walk calmly toward the pair. In an attempt to relax my fists, I stuffed my hands into my pockets.
‘I think she said no,’ I said. ‘I’d leave her alone if I were you.’
Stella turned her face in my direction, obviously drunk but relieved. Snapping his head to face me, the man she was with glared. ‘And I think this is none of your business. Back off if you know what’s good for you.’
He was walking a fine line, and I couldn’t wait for him to step over it. I wouldn’t make a scene unless I really had to, but if he was the one to instigate it… well, who could blame me?
I sighed. ‘Listen. Obviously, you didn’t hear me the first time. But she said no. And I said, leave her alone. I’ll give you another shot to do either of those things.’
‘Fuck off.’ He leaned into Stella again, ready to kiss her neck, the skin that deserved to be worshipped, not abused, and she shot me a look of desperation. If only she knew who I was.
I grabbed him by the back of his cheap leather jacket and flung him against the wall, away from Stella.
His head hit the wooden wall with a thunk, but before he could sink to the floor, I yanked him up by his throat.
Holding him against the wall, he choked and gasped as I pressed him harder, the wood beginning to crack around him.
‘I told you to let her fucking go. But you just couldn’t listen, could you? You know, I tried to keep my anger in check, really. So everything from here on out is your fault, and your fault alone.’ Keeping hold of him with one hand, I looked at Stella. ‘Are you okay?’
She nodded with wide eyes. ‘I think so?’
I shook my head, the man clawing at my hand now. ‘It’s a yes or no question. You’re either okay, or you’re not.’
‘I’m okay now.’
I nodded, somewhat reassured she hadn’t sustained any long-term damage.
My anger dimmed, and I found myself back under control.
I turned back toward the bigger problem of the night.
His face was turning purple, and I cursed, dropping him to the floor.
‘For fuck’s sake, why’d you have to be such a pussy? ’
‘You… you choked me, man!’ He coughed, his voice little more than a croak.
I rolled my eyes. ‘I would’ve done a lot worse if Stella said she wasn’t okay. You got lucky.’
‘Fuck, man, she’s just some drunk whore. If you really wanted a turn that bad, you just needed to ask. Probably wouldn’t be the first time she’s been shared.’