Tall, Dark & Heartless (Pyte/Sentinel #3)(100)

"I was always there for you, Danni," he whispered, "Always."

"N-no, you weren't," she sobbed against his chest. "You weren't there for me anymore. You left me and I had no one! You just abandoned me! I had to move on without you and I was so scared, Caine, and you weren't there to catch me if I fell."

"I was always there," he whispered fiercely.

"No," she sniffled, "you weren't. You weren't there to make sure that I was okay and you weren't there when everything fell apart and my parents were killed. I needed you so badly and you weren't there!" she cried out even as she tightened her hold around him until he thought his ribs would break, but he didn't care.

"I was there," he promised as he pressed another kiss to the top of her head.

"No, you weren't," she said firmly as she shook her head against his chest. "You have no idea what I went through, w-what I did."

He swore softly as he pressed another kiss to the top of her head. He never meant to tell her, but the woman was killing him and he needed her to know that she'd never been truly alone.

"I know that you think that you were all alone back then, Danni," he said, sighing as he pressed one last kiss to the top of her head before pulling back and admitting, "but you never were. I was always there for you and kept you safe even when you crossed the line."

Chapter 36

"What the hell are you talking about, Caine?" she asked, taking a deep breath in hopes that it would calm her down.

She couldn't believe that she just lost it like that. After all these years she should be a master at ignoring her feelings, but after the last couple of days, too many things had happened to her and somehow her control slipped. If he hadn't come after her she could have had the meltdown without the added benefit of mortification and moved on with her life. Now she had to deal with the knowledge that Caine had witnessed this auspicious occasion. But, apparently that wasn't good enough, because now he was hell-bent on confusing her.

"Your parents' killers, Danni," he answered quietly as she pulled back to look up at him. "I know what you did."

"So?" she said with a careless shrug as she grabbed the top of the sheet with one hand and wiped her eyes with the other. At least her tears weren't coming as fast and her sobs had died down. Hopefully by the next time she ran into him, say five or six centuries from now, he'll forget all about this horrifying moment. She could hope at least.

"The Council found out about it, Danni," he said, making her breath catch. A moment later she slowly released that breath and forced another careless shrug as common sense prevailed.

The Council knew and if they cared they would have done something. Since they hadn't done anything or so much as mentioned it to her then they obviously didn't care. It wasn't as if she made a habit of performing unsanctioned kills so there really was nothing to worry about and obviously they knew that. The only thing that she didn't know was why Caine was bringing this up.

"What's your point, Caine?" she asked, wiping at her eyes again as she walked past him and continued to head towards what she hoped was the main road, but it was kind of difficult to tell since the property was surrounded by woods and there didn't seem to be any neighboring houses. Maybe her newfound skills would come in handy, she hoped as she inhaled deeply and caught the scent of what she thought was car exhaust so she kept on going, hoping that he'd just let her go.

"You were sentenced to die, Danni," he said softly, stunning her enough that she stumbled over a small rock, but of course Caine flashed in front of her and caught her before she landed face first on the dirt road.

As he helped her to her feet she couldn't help but notice that his erection had finally died down, which was actually great since the damn thing was distracting. Well, it was distracting even in this state, but thankfully Caine had given her something to hold her attention.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded as she stepped back away from him and pushed her hair out of her face.

"You're a human who broke their rules, Danni. You killed two minions, humans, without permission. When the Council found out about it they took a vote and decided to make an example out of you," he explained as his eyes slowly shifted from grey to red.

"I-I wasn't notified. There was no trial," she argued even though she knew that it wasn't required. She wasn't a Sentinel so their rules and protection didn't apply to her. As a human she received the Council's protection as long as she didn't cross the line. The moment she had, all bets were off and the Council would do whatever it took to protect their cause.

"They didn't need one, Danni. We both know that," he said, sounding frustrated as he rubbed his hands down his face. "You should have come to me for help, Danni."

At that she had to let out a humorless laugh. Go to him? Was he kidding?

"You cut me out of your life, Caine. How the hell was I supposed to go to you when you made it more than obvious that you wanted me gone, huh?"

"You should have come to me, Danni," he bit out angrily. "You were in deep shit and you knew it and you sure as hell should have come to me when you found out that you were dying!" he roared, his fangs shooting down as he got in her face. "I would have protected you, Danni, and taken care of everything," he said, cupping her face in his large warm hands as she struggled not to break down again.