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  "I know. But you can't be with me twenty four seven."

  "I could try." And he gave me one of his rare smiles.

  It did a number on me. I could actually feel my insides melt. My heart even skipped a few beats.

  Chuck, the road crew top guy, grunted at us as he passed by. "Could you do all that sick love shit after we get this show done?"

  "Ah, we're not..." Trevor started but Chuck tossed him a pair of pliers.

  "Just fix that speaker, okay?"

  Without another word, Trevor went to work, and I watched from a distance.

  I didn't believe Trevor when he'd told me to wear earplugs during the show. I should have though.

  Not until Malice had taken the stage, picked up their instruments, plugged in and started to play. The static had nearly broken my ear drums. I'd been near the back of the club at the bar, sipping on a Coke and lime when the screeching, scratching sound just about knocked me off the bar stool.

  Everyone around me at looked at me strangely as I clamped my hands over my ear, wincing in pain. I'd scrambled for the spongy ear plugs in my pocket to put in my ears but not before I heard his voice through the white noise...

  You belong to me...

  I own you...

  Your life's in my hands...

  I'm sucking your soul...

  But this time Thane hadn't been singing to me. He was singing to his next victim.

  I stood at the side of the stage, ear plugs firmly in, scanning the crowd for the incubus' intended mark.

  It was hard to tell because there were at least two dozen possibilities all crammed at the foot of the stage. Girl, goth, punk, alternative, all gathered, dancing, jockeying for a good position to vie for Thane's attention. It all looked a bit too familiar and I wondered if that was how I had looked. Desperate for just one moment of attention, for that one second when our eyes would meet and he would smile.

  I shook myself. God, no wonder he'd chosen me. Like these girls, I'd done anything to spend time with Thane and the band. Anything. I'd been prepared to even lose my virginity to him. To a guy I didn't know, a guy who didn't have one iota who I was or valued me in any way.

  I know I didn't deserve what he'd ultimately done to me but I'd put myself in the position to be used, to be hurt. And I promised myself I wouldn't let any of these girls make the same horrible mistake I had.

  So I watched and waited through their set taking mental notes of the girls in front, what they looked like, what they were wearing. Towards the end, I spied three girls wearing backstage pass badges around their necks. Just like I had.

  When the set was over, I followed the girls backstage, not where the crew went but the talent. A hand around my arm stopped me from going into the dressing rooms.

  "Where the hell are you going?" Trevor frowned at me.

  "I won't let it happen again to someone else." I tried to pull away but he had a tight hold.

  He looked around before speaking again; probably making sure no one was listening to our conversation. Some of the road crew brushed past us. Trevor pulled me out of their way and walked me out the back exit into the alleyway.

  "I told you it wasn't a good idea to hang around them especially Thane."

  "He's going to do this to someone else. I can't let that happen."

  "You can't help them, Salem. You'll blow your cover. He'll know."

  I yanked my arm from his grip and kicked at the wall, frustration building inside like a volcano. "I don't care. Saving them is more important."

  "You can't save them. It's beyond your control."

  I turned and looked at him. He didn't meet my gaze. He was looking at the ground.

  Then it hit me. His guilt was palpable.

  "Why didn't you save me, Trevor?"

  His head snapped up. "What?"

  "You saw me at the party. I talked to you. You knew then didn't you? You knew Thane was going to do this to me."

  He backed away from me, heading toward the door. "You don't know what you're talking about."

  I grabbed him and spun him around to look at me. I gripped his chin and made him really look at me. "Why didn't you save me?"

  A tear slipped from the corner of his eye and rolled down his cheek. I watched its path. A ball of sorrow twisting in my gut.

  "Because I was too scared, okay? You get me? I'm a fucking coward."

  "Is that why you found me after? Is that why you brought me here? Do you think you can save me now?"

  He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. I could see the answer in the liquid shimmer of his eyes.

  His guilt had forced him to find me and bring me here. To take care of me. The same guilt that he fostered for his sister. The fact that he didn't save her either ate at him like a cancer. I didn't want his guilt. I wanted something else, another feeling, to be the reason he was with me.

  I let my hand drop from his face and took a distancing step away. I was going to get sick. "Give me my money."

  "What?"

  "The money I made working this show. I earned it."

  He fumbled in his front jean pocket and pulled out a wad of bills. He pulled off five twenties and handed them to me.

  I folded them and jammed the wad into my pocket. Without another word, I turned and started down the alley.

  "I'm sorry, Salem," he called after me. "I'm sorry."

  I didn't acknowledge it and kept walking. The tears didn't fall until I stepped out onto the street and turned the corner.

  I didn't know for how long I'd been walking but it had been long enough that I was cold and completely lost. Since I was in a city I didn't know it didn't surprise me that I was lost. I looked around for any frame of reference. Unfortunately the Starbucks on the corner was closed but the little café next to it wasn't. I went in and ordered a coffee. I paid with one of the twenties, needing change.

  My coffee in hand, I found an old phone booth, one where I could actually go into. A rare sight on most city streets, especially when everyone had a cell phone. I of course was forced to leave mine at home.

  I picked up the handset, plugged in a bunch of coins and dialed. I didn't know exactly what time it was, late definitely, so it didn't surprise me when a sleepy barely audible voice answered with a grunt.

  "Chloe?"

  Silence, then, "Salem?"

  "Yeah."

  "Oh my God, where are you? Are you okay?"

  "I'm okay." The tears came again.

  "Where the hell are you? Everyone is looking for you. Your mom is flipping out. She thinks you've been abducted."

  "I wasn't abducted." I wiped at the tears. It was almost too much to bear thinking about what I was putting my mom though.

  I looked at the shadow the booth made on the sidewalk. I could easily step on it and slide my way back home, back to my room. I could go home and see my mom. She'd hug me close and soothe away the pain. But I knew that wasn't possible. Not while Malice was around, not while I'd nearly killed Josh.

  "But I had to leave."

  "Because of what happened to Josh?"

  My heart leapt into my throat. "Is he okay?"

  "I heard he's in a coma. Everyone's talking about it."

  "What's everyone saying?"

  "That he was drugged or something."

  I didn't say anything. I couldn't tell her the truth. I couldn't tell her much of anything that would make sense, that she would believe.

  "Salem, you didn't...do something to him, did you?"

  "Are people saying I did?"

  "Well, you did go out with him. Then he ended up in the hospital. Dropped off anonymously by the way."

  "Look Chloe, I got to go."

  "Are you coming home?"

  I traced a finger in the condensation on the booth window. "I don't know."

  "It looks bad, Sale, that you took off. The police have been around asking questions."

  "Don't tell anyone I called."

  "But your mom..."

  I had to swallow down the sob stuck in my t
hroat. I squeezed my eyes shut. "Tell her I'm okay. But don't tell anyone else you heard from me. Promise me, Chloe."

  Silence, then a sigh, "I promise."

  "Thanks."

  "Be safe, Salem. Okay?"

  I hung up the receiver and leaned my forehead on the cool Plexiglas. Except the cold couldn't stem the rising fury inside me. Rage that I couldn't go home. Couldn't even talk to my best friend and tell her the truth.

  Thane had done more than transform me into a monster. He stole away my innocence, my home, and my life. Things I vowed I would get back no matter what.

  Fisting my hand, I slammed it against the booth wall. The plastic box rattled. I slammed it again. And again. I kept hitting it until the skin on my knuckles split open. Blood dotted the Plexiglas.

  After downing the rest of my coffee, I stepped out of the booth and stared down at the shadow on the asphalt. I could leave it all behind. I could go home and explain what happened to Josh. Maybe someone would believe me. Maybe I wouldn't be sent to jail or an asylum for mental testing.

  Yeah right. Who was I kidding? I knew what I had to do.

  I placed one foot into the shadow, then the other, and willed myself to dissolve into it.

  A minute later, I was standing in the hotel room bathroom gripping the counter for balance. The mirror over the sink was foggy. This wouldn't be really weird if I hadn't noticed the sound of rushing water and movement behind the closed shower curtain.

  "Oh my God." Except I was too stunned to move.

  The curtain rustled and Trevor's head popped around the flimsy plastic barrier. "What the hell!?"

  I closed my eyes and reached backwards for the door. "I didn't see anything. I'm sorry I didn't think before riding the shadow here."

  "Obviously."

  Scrambling backwards, I groped for the door handle. It was getting hard to breathe. And it wasn't because of the steam billowing out from the hot shower. It was the fact that Trevor was wet and naked behind the simple sheet of almost see-through plastic.

  I found the knob, turned it and opened the door. But I fully admit to peeking before crossing the threshold. I didn't see anything though except for Trevor's wet frowning face glaring at me.

  I slammed the door shut and leaned up against it, breathing hard. My heart pounded like a hammer on a tribal drum. Then a smile spread across my face. If only I'd slid through the shadow way when he was getting out.

  Stifling a giggle, I pushed away from the door and went into the bedroom to change my clothes. I still had a chill from walking the night streets. But I didn't reach it before the bathroom door swung open and Trevor came out, clad only in a pair of black sweat pants.

  I rooted to the spot and stared at him. His dark hair stood up in wet spikes. Water droplets beaded on the smooth pale skin of his chest. He was nicely constructed, not bulky but not scrawny either. He hovered in that perfect spot in between. I know I was blushing but I couldn't tear my gaze from him. He made my pulse pound in my neck. I had to fight the urge to cover his mouth with mine, and suck him dry.

  "Where the hell did you go?"

  "I...ah, had to get away for a while. To think."

  He searched my face. I wasn't sure what he was looking for, or if he found it when he moved toward me. All I knew was that I wanted, no needed, to lick the moisture off his lips.

  "You need to control your emotions, Salem. Your aura is flaring pretty brightly right now."

  Licking my lips, I took a step toward him. "Would it hurt you if I fed from you?"

  His eyes widened at that. He'd obviously never considered that possibility. This surprised me, since that was all I could think about. How good he would taste in my mouth. Like golden French toast with strawberries and whipped cream and a large amount of maple syrup drizzled all over. Delicious. Saliva actually pooled in my mouth.

  "You can control the hunger. Don't let it control you." He kept saying it but he kept coming closer to me as well. Maybe he wasn't as much in control as he thought he was. Maybe he thought about tasting me as well, really tasting me, not just the flavor of my lip-gloss.

  He was close enough to touch. And that's what I did. I trailed the tips of my fingers down his wet chest. I could hear his quick intake of breath and feel the way his muscles reacted to my light touch.

  He allowed me to touch him even as he backed me up against a wall. What was with him and walls? His control was as frayed as mine. His aura flared crimson, dark and dangerous and delicious. I wanted to lose myself inside the colors. I wanted to give myself over to it, to him.

  "Trevor," I breathed, barely able to think coherently. "I want...I want..."

  That was all I could get out before a scream pierced the fog of my euphoria.

  Chapter 22

  I pushed away from the wall, past Trevor and headed for the door. He reached for my arm.

  "Don't do it, Salem."

  I dodged his hand. "I can't let her die. Not when I can save her."

  "You'll blow your cover. You'll ruin our plan."

  But I wasn't hearing him. I burst out into the hallway, listening for more screams. I wasn't completely sure which rooms the band occupied.

  Another sound came. It wasn't a scream as much as a pitiful mewl, from someone beyond the scope of fear and hopelessness. I knew that sound, because I was sure I had made it before.

  I bounded to the right, certain it came from somewhere nearby. I stopped three doors down and waited. The pathetic whimper came again. Louder, more pronounced. I swiveled around and stared at the door behind me. I put my hand on the handle.

  "Don't." Trevor was behind me.

  "I have to."

  "He might kill you.

  I looked over my shoulder at him. "I feel dead already. It's just logistics really."

  I twisted the door handle. I didn't really expect it to open. And it didn't. Maybe the distraction alone would be enough to save the girl inside.

  I jiggled it some more, then I started pounding on the door with my fists. When that didn't work, I backed up a little and started to kick the door with the bottom of my boot. The door rattled from the impact.

  Other hotel room doors opened and patrons peered out to see what all the racket was. I looked at the elderly woman four doors down.

  "Call security, why don't you?"

  She ducked back in, hopefully doing what I dared her to do.

  I lifted my leg to boot the door once more, when it opened and instead of hitting wood, my boot ended up in Thane's large hand.

  Shirtless and looking dangerous, he glanced at my foot then at me. His eyes were jet black and they made me shiver.

  "I'm pretty sure you have the wrong room."

  He pushed my leg back and I stumbled backwards nearly landing on my ass. If it hadn't been for Trevor catching me, I would have.

  "You better have a damn good reason for disturbing me."

  "I..."

  "We thought you were in danger."

  I whipped around to gawk at Trevor.

  He looked at me briefly then back to Thane. "I overheard someone in the crowd say they were going to jack you up."

  Thane smirked. "Is that right?" His gaze pinned me like a tack through a butterfly. "And what do you say sugar pop? Why are you really kicking down my door?"

  His gaze probed me. It was sickening. My stomach protested at the violation. But I made myself keep his gaze and nodded. "It's what Trevor said."

  "Hmm, I kind of doubt it." He took a few steps forward menacingly.

  Thankfully, security took that moment to show up. It was only one guy, and he was fat and out of shape to boot, squeezed like a tube of sausage into his uniform, but he had a radio, a baton, and a Taser on his belt. Besides he was a witness. It was enough for me to relax a little. Maybe I wouldn't die tonight.

  "What is going on? The front desk has received several noise complaints."

  I wasn't sure what to say. I glanced at Trevor then at Thane. And that was when I saw movement behind him. It was all I needed to make
a decision.

  "We work for the band here." I indicated Thane who was now standing out in the hall, the open door behind him. "And we found out that someone broke into his hotel room. A really unstable groupie."

  Everyone looked at me like I was bonkers.

  Quicker than I thought I could, I streaked past Thane and grabbed the drugged girl stumbling around behind him and yanked her out into the corridor. Thankfully, she was clothed, but her mascara streaked her face like she'd been crying, which I knew she had been. I had heard her cries for help.

  She looked around, bewildered, confused, like she'd just woken up from a very vivid fucked up dream. I would know. I was still trying to wake up.

  "Here she is." I thrust her toward the security guard. "She's pretty unstable. I think she's on drugs too."

  I didn't look at Thane but I could sense his rage growing at having been denied his next meal. Payment for what I'd just done was going to be harsh. But I didn't care. I'd just saved this girl's life. Anything he planned to dish out would be worth taking.

  The guard looked at all of us, like he didn't believe one single word.

  The girl peered at him curiously. "Are you here to help me?"

  "Do you need help?" he asked.

  She slowly looked over her shoulder at Thane. The fear was evident on her pale face and in her wide brown eyes. When Thane sneered at her, she flinched and shuffled drunkenly closer to the guard.

  "Please, can you take me home?"

  He shook his head. "Come on, girl. I'll get you a cab." He gave each of us a hard stare. "If I get any more complaints, you'll all be kicked out on your asses."

  He helped the girl who was unsteady on her feet, to the elevator. The door slid open and they went safely in. She'd escaped with my help.

  The second they were gone, I was yanked by the hair and dragged into Thane's room. I kicked and yelped, scratching at his hand to no effect.

  "Let her go man." Trevor was right behind us, pulling at my body, trying to rescue me from Thane's wrath.

  Escape, I realized, was extremely futile.

  Once inside, Thane picked me up and tossed me across the room, as if I was nothing but a bag of trash. I landed on the big bed, which would've comforted me except within seconds he was on top of me, straddling my stomach and pinning my arms above me.