Tall, Silent & Lethal (Pyte/Sentinel #4)(21)

The door slammed shut behind her, startling her as everything went pitch black. Forcing herself not to panic, she turned around and blindly searched for the doorknob. When she found it, she tried to turn it, but it wouldn't budge. She yanked on the door several times before she slammed her shoulder into it as she tried desperately to turn the knob.

“Oh God, please no,” she cried softly as she pulled at the door as old terror surfaced, threatening to overtake her. She could almost hear the screams and the growls as she pounded against the door. This could not be happening, not again. “Help! Somebody, please help me!” she screamed as she slammed her fists against the door.

“Please!”

Chapter 8

“You want another beer?”

Christofer didn't bother looking up at the waitress as he nodded. She sighed heavily with annoyance as she walked away, probably hoping that he'd just leave. Hell, at the moment he wished he could do just that. He wished that he could get into his truck and forget that this small town even existed and live the life he craved.

There were so many things that he wanted to do and see, but never had the chance because of his duty to his sister. He didn't blame her for the way his life turned out. He blamed himself. If it hadn't been for him, their parents would have lived and his sister would have lived a full happy life instead of a life filled with sorrow and disappointment.

He'd lost count over the years of just how many ways he'd truly f**ked his sister over. He was the reason she'd spent four years in that hell being poked, prodded and experimented on by those monsters. He was also the reason why they had to hide after their escape and the reason she never had the childhood that she’d deserved. If it hadn't been for him, she could have been adopted out after the war to a nice couple, but he'd been unable to let her go.

When they came to the States he'd planned on finding a couple that would take Marta in and love her as their own. Through a priest, he’d found a young couple that would have done just that. They would have given her everything that he couldn't, a home, stability and, most of all, a childhood, but in the end he hadn't been able to part with her. He couldn't trust anyone with her care. It was one of the most selfish things he'd ever done.

She meant the world to him and he'd thanked her by destroying hers. There were so many things in life that she'd given up to stay with him. Instead of a life with dolls, schoolwork and games, she'd lived a life on the run. They never stayed in any area long enough for her to make friends, because they were always afraid of being discovered.

He knew that he should have destroyed the lab and all evidence of their existence when they’d escaped, but there hadn't been enough time. He'd been too afraid to find out what they'd do to his sister if they'd been caught. Instead, he’d grabbed his sister's weak body and ran and never stopped running it seemed until about forty years ago when Marta finally had enough.

It was the first time they'd ever truly argued. She was tired of running and wanted a home, a real life and he wanted to keep her safe. It hadn't mattered what he said or did, she’d refused to listen to him. He tried, God, how he’d tried to convince her to stay with him, but she wouldn't. She’d said she loved him, but couldn't live like a fugitive any longer. She needed some peace in her life and in the end he'd been helpless to do anything but see to her wishes.

So he’d bought her a house and stepped back, allowing her a chance at the life he knew that she deserved, but he was never far from her. He took any job he could find, jobs that no one else wanted and sent her every last cent. The only thing he seemed to need was blood in his stomach and that was easily handled with a visit to the seedier side of whatever town or city he happened to be living in at the time.

For years he’d slept in abandoned buildings, garages and woods, too afraid to make any place permanent. Even though he'd missed Marta a great deal, he was glad that she no longer lived that life alongside him. As much as it hurt to watch her go on with her life, he was glad that he could finally do the right thing by her. In time it gave him comfort to know that his little sister was happy, had friends and had even fallen in love.

He'd never seen her happier than on her wedding day when Richard promised to love, honor and cherish her for the rest of their lives. Although it had frightened him to entrust another man with her care he did it, because he truly believed Richard loved her. For the first five years of their marriage, Marta was always smiling. Then one day her smile dimmed and she didn't seem to have as much energy anymore until one day she could hardly get out of bed.

The next five years were a struggle for her and hell for him. No one knew what was wrong with her. Her doctor tried to convince her that it was all in her head and for a while she believed him. Richard certainly had. Her husband started to pull away from her, leaving her alone, in pain, and not caring that she wasn't eating or able to even get out of bed.

Christofer left a construction job in Canada when he’d stopped receiving letters, couldn't get her on the phone, or a straight answer from the man he'd entrusted with her care. The day that he came home and found her practically living on the bathroom floor caused something inside of him to snap.

For the first time since he'd woken up and found himself chained inside a cage, he hadn’t fought to keep the monster inside him buried. After settling his sister in her bed he went after the bastard that was supposed to care for her. It hadn’t taken him long to find Richard's scent and hunt him down. When he found Richard in that motel room two towns over God himself wouldn't have been able to save him.