Page 12 of Blood & Bond (The Bouchers #2)

Lucy

C harlie stood and tugged me up with him as four Vampires crowded into the room. I recognized three of them, but I knew instantly who the fourth was. Zeke’s family had arrived.

“I thought you said a couple of hours,” Ambrose said as the door closed.

“No fucking airport,” Danny replied, barely glancing at us. “Didn’t feel like putting it down on the highway.”

“Is that where you come in?” Ambrose asked in amusement, looking at the Vampire I hadn’t seen in months.

His curly hair had been pulled back in tight braids, and the casual shorts and T-shirts he’d worn in Europe had been replaced with some kind of tactical vest and boots, but I would’ve known him anywhere.

“Matthias,” Charlie said, his voice barely a whisper.

Matthias’s head snapped to the side. His eyes were sympathetic as he looked my brother over. “Charlie,” he greeted quietly.

“We landed at the property,” Chance informed Ambrose. “Took the helicopter from there. You ready to move?”

“Situation outside?”

“Found five. Assuming they work in twos, there’s someone still out there. Nothing we can’t handle if the need arises.”

“Let’s do it.”

“Josiah is keeping an eye,” Danny said as Ambrose walked my way. “It’s going to be a tight fit.”

“We’ll make it work,” Ambrose said over his shoulder as he reached me. He turned back and cupped my cheek in his hand. “Just do whatever we tell you,” he said softly. “We’ll be out of here soon.”

“Okay.” I swallowed hard. Sneaking around had been scary, but we’d never actually known for sure if someone was searching for us. We’d just followed Zeke’s directions. It was an entirely new experience to know the wolves were at the door. “Give me a gun.”

“You won’t need it,” Ambrose replied.

“You don’t know that.”

“You think any of us would ever let something happen to you?”

I looked around the room. “Evidence says no,” I replied. “But give me one anyway.”

Ambrose stared into my eyes for a long moment, then turned. “Who has a pistol for Lucy?”

Chance scoffed, but the brother I hadn’t met yet walked toward us and pulled a pistol out of a holster on his thigh. It looked like Ambrose’s.

“You know how to use it?”

I wrapped my hand around the grip and the weight of it instantly felt familiar.

“Yes,” I replied as muscle memory kicked in, and I checked the magazine. “Thank you.”

“Don’t shoot me in the ass,” the new brother replied.

“Let’s move,” Chance ordered.

Pulling the strap of my bag over my head and across my chest, I handed Charlie my bat, just in case, and followed the others toward the door. My brother crowded me, not letting me move more than a foot away from him.

I took a deep breath as Danny threw open the door and stepped outside.

“Sorry, Lucy,” Matthias said quietly as he wrapped his hand around my arm.

I opened my mouth to ask why the hell he was apologizing as worry filled my chest, but suddenly we were moving.

The sun was rising, making the wet pavement practically glow outside, and I squinted as it burned my eyes.

My hand grew sweaty around the pistol as I kept my eyes on Ambrose’s backpack ahead of me.

The Vampires moved like a well-oiled machine while Charlie and I lurched along, trying to match their pace.

We’d gotten about ten yards from the hotel doorway and were turning a corner when I realized why Matthias had apologized.

Fire engulfed my arm.

Every single point where his fingers touched felt like it was being burned with acid. The breath in my chest felt stuck there as I tried to yank it out of his hold, but his hand was like a vise. Black spots dotted my vision as I stumbled.

“Keep going,” he ordered calmly, his head swiveling from side to side. “Try to ignore it.”

My mouth filled with saliva, and I fought the urge to vomit as the pain just went on and on.

It was probably a good thing that I couldn’t seem to catch my breath, because if I had, I would’ve been screaming.

Only Charlie’s presence beside me and the knowledge that these Vampires were trying to protect us kept me from fighting Matthias off.

It only took a few minutes, but it felt like hours later when we heard the helicopter. The blades were still spinning as we jogged toward it. Someone I didn’t recognize sat in the pilot’s seat, but I barely glanced at him as we bent our heads and climbed inside.

Calling it a tight fit was a joke. Chance got in the front seat while the rest of us piled in the back like clowns in a car.

I let out a whimper as Matthias shoved me into a seat and finally let go of my arm.

Charlie sat on one side of me, and Ambrose on the other, but I barely noticed them as I cradled my arm against my chest.

Someone carefully pulled the pistol out of my other hand.

Then we were lifting into the air. Charlie cursed next to me.

I couldn’t even look at him as I curled over my arm. The pain was gone, but the memory of it wasn’t.

“Shh,” Ambrose soothed into my ear, wrapping his arms around me. He pulled me tightly against his chest, tucking my face in the crook of his neck. “You’re okay, Lucy.”

I shuddered and pressed closer. Yes. That was what I needed. My hands fumbled with the hem of his shirt until I could slide them under it. The skin against my palms was smooth and warm as I breathed him in.

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

The helicopter was loud as hell, and there wasn’t any conversation as we flew, but at some point, Ambrose set a pair of headphone-things on my head that at least blocked out the noise of the wind and engine.

My stomach lurched over and over again, and I could feel Charlie shifting uncomfortably beside me, but I didn’t have it in me to check on him.

Ambrose’s chest felt safe, and I wasn’t ready to let go of him yet.

The moment we touched down and someone opened the door, my brother lurched outside, fell to his knees, and puked in the grass.

“Charlie,” Matthias called in amusement. “Bad form.”

“That was awful,” my brother replied, breathing heavily as he wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist.

I looked around as Ambrose helped me step down.

We were next to some kind of landing strip.

There was a plane parked at one end of it, opposite where they’d parked the helicopter, and across from us was a huge building with another plane parked inside it.

Those were the only things visible. We were surrounded by trees as far as you could see.

“Where are we?” I asked as I reached for my brother and pulled him to his feet.

“My family’s property,” Matthias replied, walking toward us.

I stumbled backward until my back hit Ambrose’s chest. His arm came around me instantly, which made me feel a little better, but Matthias was still too close for comfort, even a few feet away.

“I’m sorry,” he said with a wince. “It had to be done.”

“What the fuck did you do?” I asked, reaching up to grip Ambrose’s forearm. He didn’t seem like he was going anywhere, but I needed to be sure.

“No one knows you’re my mate,” Ambrose said, kissing my temple. “And we needed to keep it that way.”

“You’re not making any sense,” I replied, watching Matthias carefully. His hands looked perfectly normal. He wasn’t wearing gloves or anything. How the hell had he burned my arm? Was it a Vampire thing?

“It’s painful,” Charlie said to me quietly. He paused to spit in the grass. “The touch of anyone that isn’t your mate is painful.”

I stared at him in shock. What the hell was he talking about? If that was true…how many times had I hugged my brother? Held his hand? Ran my fingers through his hair until he fell asleep? How many times had I shoved him or elbowed him or pinched him good-naturedly?

“No, not you,” Charlie said quickly. “No. You don’t hurt me.”

“He’s your brother, baby,” Ambrose said, tightening his arm. “It doesn’t work that way.”

“My mate says women are fine too,” Matthias said sympathetically. “And it fades a bit over time. It’s not ever comfortable, but it’s never as bad as in the beginning.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

I couldn’t touch any men who weren’t related to me? What the fuck was that ?

“It could be worse,” the new brother said as he strode toward us. “For most mates, I think it’s just sustained contact, but Reese can’t even brush against someone. She doesn’t even shake hands anymore.” He stopped a few feet from us. “Hey, I’m Beau.”

He smiled gently at my brother, searching his face.

“Beau,” Charlie greeted with a nod.

“Chance and Danny,” Ambrose said as the other Vampires came around the helicopter. “And Josiah.”

We congregated at the end of the landing strip. No one got too close, and I felt a little like an animal at the zoo as they looked us over. I wondered if Charlie felt the same.

“The Boucher brothers,” Charlie said softly, a little smile playing on his lips.

“It’s good to finally meet you, Charles,” Danny said with a grin. It didn’t meet his eyes.

“You too,” Charlie replied.

“First time on a helicopter?” Chance asked with a chuckle.

“How could you tell?” Charlie asked dryly.

The group laughed, and I felt a little of the tension in my shoulders disappear.

I wanted them to like him, I realized. I didn’t really care how they felt about me, but I really needed them to like my kindhearted brother.

Zeke wasn’t there to make sure that his family treated my brother well.

He wasn’t there to tell them all about my brother’s best attributes or show them how much he loved Charlie.

It was all wrong.

I leaned back against Ambrose. I wasn’t sure when he had become my comfort, but I was too overwhelmed to question it.

The Vampires stood around for a few more minutes talking to Charlie and each other, but I wasn’t really paying attention to what they were saying.

I was too focused on their expressions and body language.

Relief filled me when I determined that they were welcoming him in, treating him like one of their own.

“We need to get back,” Beau announced finally. “My mate is probably climbing the walls.”