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head and just feel. I pulled his head down towards me so that our lips were almost touching.
“Just promise to always stay with me,” I whispered, feeling a sharp need for him. I couldn’t imagine going through this without him and I told him so. “I can’t do this without you.”
Simon tightened his arm around me, pulling my body flush against his. His voice was fierce when he spoke. “You’ll never have to worry about that. I promise I’ll always be with you. I love you, Caitlin.”
Instead of telling him, I showed him how much I loved him with my lips and hands and body. Soon I was lost in a sea of sensations, trying desperately to replace my pain with pleasure.
Chapter Nineteen
I woke up breathless, the images of my dream still fresh in my mind as if it had just actually happened. I tried to squelch the automatic horror at the gruesomeness of my dream so that I could recall every detail. It had been the same one of Ryan lying in a pool of blood in my apartment as he pressed his mother’s iridium medallion into my hand.
Simon was still fast asleep beside me and I tried not to disturb him as I shifted in bed, attempting to get comfortable as I analyzed my dream. It was then that I heard a shout from the living room. Simon shot up in bed at the same time I did, but he was much faster than I was as he jumped out of bed and bounded to the bedroom door, flinging it open. I followed him quickly, my heart pounding against my chest so hard that I wouldn’t have been surprised if Simon had heard it.
Simon flicked on the light and my heart started to calm when I saw Marie sitting up on the couch, rubbing her eyes against the sudden light. Ryan was already up and crouched as if he were getting ready to attack at a moment’s notice. He looked at us blankly when the light turned on, as if he wasn’t fully awake. He slowly seemed to become aware of his surroundings as his body relaxed and he slumped into a sitting position on the floor.
“What the hell is going on?” Simon asked grumpily. “We heard shouting.”
Ryan looked up at us wearily, looking spent. His gaze honed in on me. “That was me. I had a dream about your father. He’s getting closer. I’m able to feel his energy again.”
Instead of frightening me, I felt a stir of anticipation. It was finally time to face my father and I was more than ready.
“How close is he?” Marie asked, looking less than enthusiastic.
“We still have time, but he’s moving fast. At the rate he’s going, he should be here in about a day.”
“We have to get ready for him,” I said with nervous determination. I turned around to go back into the bedroom to grab the palladium and iridium disk but I froze when I saw the bedside table. My cell phone, along with Simon’s, was still on the table where I had placed it before going to bed, but it was completely void of the palladium and iridium disk. Horror and shock ran through me as I dropped to my knees next to the table, frantically searching the floor and underneath the bed and table in case it had fallen, but it was nowhere to be found. With mounting trepidation, I stood up and made my way back to the living room. I couldn’t keep the accusation from my voice when I spoke.
“The palladium and iridium that was melted down is gone. I put it on the bedside table before I went to bed and now it’s disappeared.” I looked at each of them closely as I spoke. Simon’s jaw tightened when my gaze settled on him and I felt guilty for including him in my accusatory look but I couldn’t help it. After all, he had the easiest access to it while I was sleeping. Maybe he had taken it under the misguided notion that he was protecting me, although his glare told me that he saw my doubt and was angered by it.
Marie was the first one to speak. “Shit. Where could it have gone?” Her gaze strayed to Simon and his expression became even more thunderous. I knew Marie didn’t fully trust Simon since he was a vardoger. It didn’t help when Ryan narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he studied Simon.
“You were the closest one to it,” Ryan said as he stood up. He advanced towards Simon, his expression growing fierce. “You could have easily taken it while she was sleeping.”
I could almost see Simon’s body vibrating with anger as he stepped towards Ryan, his eyes dark with fury. “You’re the unknown factor here. You could have just as easily sneaked into the bedroom while we were asleep and taken it. Why the hell would I have taken it?”
“Why would you have taken it?” Ryan parroted back to Simon as he laughed hollowly, although his expression looked anything but amused. “Because you’re a damned vardoger. Because you’re built for killing and betrayal.”
Simon was about to pounce and I stepped in between them before things could escalate. “Stop.” I turned towards Ryan. “Simon didn’t take it. You accusing him isn’t helping matters.” I felt guilty that I had momentarily suspected Simon as well. I wanted to blame it on the shock of seeing the metal disk missing, but I couldn’t help wondering if it was due to the fact that I hadn’t fully accepted him because he was a vardoger. I pushed the thought aside. I loved Simon. That’s all that mattered.
“You’re blinding yourself to his true nature,” Ryan said to me, but he was still glaring at Simon. “He’s a vardoger. Vardogers aren’t on our side. How does your father know where we are? He probably told him somehow.”
Before I knew what was happening, Simon flew towards Ryan in a murderous rage. He moved so fast that I barely had time to register what was happening as he punched Ryan in the face with enough force that Ryan fell back onto the ground. Blood started gushing out of his nose and I had a flashback to my dream of Ryan lying in a pool of blood. Simon picked him up by the front of his shirt, hauling him up so he was dangling before him, his toes barely touching the ground.
“Say it again,” Simon spat out, his expression enraged. “Say it again and I’ll be happy to finish you off.”
“Stop it!” I yelled, finally finding my voice. I grabbed Simon’s arm, trying to get him to let go of Ryan. “You’re making things worse! Just stop it!”
Simon let go of Ryan, who staggered back as he tried to regain his balance. He cupped his hand around his bleeding nose and Marie got up from the couch and went into the kitchen, coming back quickly with a washcloth. She silently handed it to Ryan who pressed it against his nose. Simon was breathing harshly as his hands opened and clenched into fists, his menacing gaze still fixed on Ryan.
“You son of a bitch,” Ryan finally said, although his voice was muffled by the washcloth. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that your first instinct is to become violent.”
I grabbed Simon’s arm when he made a move to approach Ryan again. Ryan, to his credit, stood his ground as he scowled at Simon.
“Stop it,” I said in a low voice, pulling Simon back. When he turned to me, his eyes were full of rage and animosity. Slowly, the fierce intensity faded until his expression was simply bleak.
“You think I took it.” It was a statement, not a question, and I shook my head in protest.
“No, I don’t think you took it,” I said quietly so that the others couldn’t hear. “I know you didn’t.”
