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It felt good to be sassy again, and that was somewhat surprising. The brothers didn’t seem to like it much as Lazarus arched a very snobbish eyebrow at her answer while Sam straightened and froze.
When he turned, silver blazed at her, a small muscle of his jaw jumped. “The moment you took my hand and followed me, it meant that I was in charge of your safety. And that will only end when I’m certain you’re safe and will live a long and healthy life.”
It was the expression on his face that said more than his words, as if Sam was insinuating that the threat to her life wasn’t only coming from armed men.
How could he have guessed that just before he appeared in her life, she’d inched closer to ending hers?
“Which brings the three of us back to the question of the hour. Who came after you, Sam?”
His intensity turned to his brother. “I think I noticed a couple of men following me just after the New Year.”
“It started after the New Year or you only noticed it after that night?”
Both brothers started a silent conversation that annoyed her. Another emotion that Ellie hadn’t experienced in a while. “Stop it, that freaking telepathic exchange between you. What does that mean, before or after the New Year?”
Sam growled low while Lazarus snickered from amusement. “Sorry about that, Ellie. We don’t know each other inside and out, but we all seemed to connect when we met. That’s new for all of us. Do you have any siblings, Ellie?”
Familiar sadness returned. “No. My parents didn’t really want to have children. I’m the unfortunate result of a one-night stand. A mistake dropped into the system as they didn’t want to look after me.”
Sam, for the first time since they’d arrived, touched her arm, the contact both electric and soothing. “Never say that again. You’re a blessing, not a mistake.”
Just out of her field of vision, Lazarus moved, but all of Ellie’s attention was on the man whose heated eyes were filled with secrets. How could he say something so heartfelt and beautiful when she suspected he longed to hear them about himself?
“Sometimes it’s difficult to remember that. Maybe you should be reminded of the same thing, Sam. Your past doesn’t define who you are. The man you are now, does.”
He jerked back as if she’d slapped him, dropping his arm as he pushed back from the counter and left.
Gapping, it took a few breaths for Ellie to find something to say. “I know I’m not used to talking to people outside of work, but I don’t know what I said to insult him like that.” In fact she felt Sam had saved her life after all.
“You didn’t insult him, Ellie. You were sincere and caring, but of all of us, Sam is the one who suffered most and lately, his dark thoughts seem to drown anything else, even those of vengeance. And believe me, it’s no small thing as that has been his sole focus for most of his life.”
Her instincts spurred her to go to Sam, to help him, support him, but that very fragile part of her wanted to cower away in self-protection. The latter won and she stayed on her stool. Maybe she needed to know more from Sam’s brother. About Sam. “All his life? What would cause a human being to have that kind of objective? What a lonely existence.”
The hesitation in the man was telling. “It’s not my tale to tell. Not even Sam knows I’ve come across this tragedy, but it’s a miracle he’s still with us. However, you’re right. No human can sustain that amount of pain and grief for long without losing their mind. I saw him sliding away before the holidays. I’m not certain what brought him back, but I think it might have something do to with a missed placed call on New Year’s Eve.”
Ellie’s heart squeezed hard. The connection the first time they’d spoken, when they didn’t even know each other’s names, struck her. She remembered the exact state of her soul that fateful night, and it was a shock to discover he’d been suffering the same storm.
“I can’t be the one who helps him, Lazarus. I don’t have the strength anymore.” Saying the words was an official admission of defeat, and was almost unbearable. “I can’t hold anyone’s life in my hands ever again. Forget about me and focus all your attention on Sam to keep him safe. It’s the best thing you could do.”
Lazarus peered deep into her eyes before giving her a reply. “I hear you, but it would never work. My brother may not have said it in words, but he’s promised himself to keep you safe, and that’s with or without your consent. You’re right to say that we’re each responsible for our own fate. Even if I’m not a superstitious man, I think that sometimes we cross paths with people who open our eyes to new possibilities. What if you crossed his path for a reason?”
Ellie shook her head. “Please, don’t put the burden of saving your brother on my shoulders, Lazarus. There’s nothing left in me.”
Slowly, the man came around the counter, nodding. Ready to deny him, and even leave if she had to, Ellie was instead blindsided by his next words.
“And what if it’s Sam who’ll take you from your path of sorrow, Ellie?”
Chapter Seven
Your past doesn’t definewho you are. Sam had those words pounding at his mind and he desperately wanted them to stop as he stood on the rooftop of Lazarus’ home.
The wind blew over the overcast city, some people would say the scent of snow was in the air. Deep down, it amused him, being a son of the desert, raised to recognize every swirl of wind and the clouds in the sky and pray for water. Sam would never get used to the cold weather, but he liked the city, its restlessness and wealth of possibilities.
His body acknowledged Ellie’s presence before he heard or saw her. When he’d first heard her voice over the phone, his mind had been unable to conjure a face, or a body. It was her voice that drew him in, but he was caught when he fell into the sapphire of her eyes. Delicate, ethereal with creamy skin, she was his polar opposite, the winter to his summer. The soothing wind to his scorching sun.
“You’ll catch a cold. You’d better go back inside, Ellie.”
He wasn’t surprised to feel her approach, not after seeing that steely determination that made an appearance in his brother’s kitchen.
