Tragic Beauty (Beauty & The Darkness #1)(78)

I’m in his arms again, and he’s carrying me, like that time when he came back for me. My head falls against his bare shoulder, and I smell his scent. The scent of his skin that’s been in my dreams, for so, so long. Maybe it is a dream after all. Yeah. Must be a dream. These types of things don’t happen in real life. Only dreams, and movies…and books.

He walks us out the door and through the house that was built for me. He’s holding me. Holding me like I weigh nothing. So safe in his arms. Just like that night.

We go out another door, and then there’s smoke. The smell of it so strong. And it’s windy, and warm, and so dark too. I hear men shouting from far away. And then I see the barn, on fire. Wait…the barn? That means…that means we’re…

Outside.

Outside.

I’m not supposed to be outside.

He doesn’t understand. The beast will hurt everything. He’ll kill them. He’ll kill them all. I try to get away, but I’m weak, so weak, and he holds me so tight. I squeeze my eyes shut, the dream turning into a nightmare, when a voice whispers into my ear.

“It’s okay, Ava. I promise. I’m getting you out of here. And everything will be alright. Just trust me, okay? Trust me like you trusted me last time. I’m going to keep you safe. And everything you love will be safe too. I promise. It’s all going to be okay.”

His words tumble inside my head, all mixed up, when I hear another voice say, “No, it won’t.”

My breathing stops, because I know that voice—that cold, hard voice.

Gavin turns us around, slowly, and I open my eyes. At first, all I see is a blur, but then he’s there, standing dark and quiet against the fire raging behind him. I blink and see his arm is out straight, a gun steady in his hand.

“The camera I put in her room wasn’t just to watch her, but to watch for you too,” Shayne says. “Links up to my cell phone here.” He raises it in the air, then tucks it back in his pocket. “Now set my wife down and step aside.”

Gavin looks at me now. He’s sad. So sad.

I want to tell him it’s okay. I want to tell him he can let me go. But I can’t. I have to stay quiet. I try to worm out of his grip instead, but I’m weak. So weak I can’t even move.

He sets his eyes on Shayne again. “It’s time to let her go, man. She’s suffered enough. Look at her. Look at what you’ve done to her.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t talk so high and mighty, superstar. You’re no different than me. I saw those marks you put on her that day. I’m not the only one who’s bruised her and made her bleed, am I? So, I just took it a little further than you, but you’ve done your share too, haven’t you? Maybe not to Ava, but…yeah, that’s right. I’ve done my research on you. And it turns out, you’re a monster, just like me.”

Gavin sways on his feet, and when I look up at him, he won’t look at me. “So, what now?” he asks. “You just going to keep her locked up, killing her slowly?”

“Awww, you wouldn’t understand. You wouldn’t understand what we have. All my life, it’s been me and her. Just me and her. I’ve been the one looking out for her, taking care of her. And you think you can just come along and steal her from me?” The beast looks at me now, and the pain is there, in his face. “But I get it, you know. She’s the kind of girl that will make a man do bad things. I mean look at us—you’re willing to kill for her, die for her, just like I am.”

His somber voice has those strange feelings flooding me inside. In the distance, I hear the wail of sirens and see the smoke getting thicker. A burst of flames catches my eye, and I turn to see the fire’s spread, feeding on the dry grass and brush of the hills around us. I think of the horses and start to panic, when a rumble sounds, growing louder and louder, until they all come running around the bend, hooves pounding as they tear down the road.

I blink slowly, watching them go by. So strange, to see the horses galloping through the darkness and the fire, with their manes flowing and their nostrils flaring. I watch the grey—the grey bought for me—huddled among the herd, with her eyes wide and her long legs stretching out, and her tail flying behind her. And all around me beasts and heroes, and the shouts of men in the distance. It’s like a dreamscape. An awesome, terrifying dreamscape, of heaven and hell, merged into one.

“Ava?” Shayne’s voice cuts through it all and I’m back staring at him. Because it’s his soft voice. The one that hurts so much. “Come on, baby. Come back to me. You belong with me, you know that. Things were changing. And I won’t finish what I started earlier, okay? So things are going to be better now. We can start fresh. And you know I can’t let you leave here, one way or another. You know that, right?”

Yes. I know.

I look up at Gavin and meet his eyes. I manage a smile this time. Something I haven’t done in so, so long. I smile to let him know it’s okay. I smile to let him know I won’t let him die for me. I dig down deep and scrape for a sliver of strength and try to undo myself from his grip, but Gavin just shakes his head. He’s got that look in his eyes—that cold, dangerous look. The one he had that day in my house, when he wouldn’t leave.

“I’m not letting you go this time,” he says. “Not this time.”

He sets his jaw and looks up. “Look, I’m just going to set her down, alright? Then you and me can settle this.”