Page 14 of Patrick’s Seduction (Scanguards Vampires #19)

14

F allon stepped out of the tub and started drying off with a large, fluffy bath towel. She looked into the mirror, inspecting the bruises on her body. To her surprise, they looked like they were healing very quickly, almost as if the whole incident was just a nightmare. But it wasn’t. She rubbed her left shoulder, and although it wasn’t injured, she could feel something there. No pain, no, not really, but something else that made a shiver run down her spine into her tailbone. It was as if touching the spot unlocked something inside her: a memory.

She’d always known that perfume or other distinct smells could help recall memories, just like listening to music could remind a person of things from long ago. But a touch? So why did she feel that there was something there, so close to touch, yet still beyond her reach?

She tried to block it out, not wanting to destroy the relaxing state the bath had put her in. She’d relived the intimate moments she and Patrick had shared. She’d felt safe in his arms—and cherished. Patrick had been gentle, not demanding like Cameron had always been. At the thought of him, she felt pain in her left shoulder again. She rubbed the spot, wishing the feeling away, but it persisted.

She reached for the clean clothes she’d placed on the hamper. Slowly, she put on panties and a fresh pair of khakis. When she pulled the long-sleeved T-shirt over her head and the fabric connected with her left shoulder, a jolt of fear rushed through her. She shivered involuntarily.

Her heart beat like a jackhammer, and her throat went dry. She smoothed down her T-shirt, trying to calm herself, but realized that her hands were trembling. The fear she’d felt the previous night when she’d encountered her attacker, came back in all its facets.

And with the fear, a memory emerged. She closed her eyes, focusing on it, her pulse racing the way it had raced when she’d turned away from the refrigerator in her lab to face the intruder. At first, all she saw was darkness. It was suffocating. She gasped for a breath, but her body tensed, knowing what was coming. She saw the eyes then, but she didn’t recognize them, because they glowed in the dark. Fear spiked inside her. Like a predator, he approached, leaving no doubt as to what he wanted. When he spoke, she recognized his voice. It was Cameron who’d attacked her.

“It’s your fault, Fallon. You leave me no choice.” The icy words felt like blades slicing into her skin, tearing her flesh.

When he gripped her shoulder, and his nails dug into her skin, she tried to free herself, but he was stronger. His face was only inches from hers. She felt paralyzed, unable to move, unable to escape.

“You’ll be mine,” he claimed.

Tears stung in her eyes, making her vision blurry. She felt excruciating pain in her shoulder, as if he was slicing her open. She couldn’t tell what was happening, whether it was Cameron’s hand that was hurting her, or whether he was biting her, ripping her flesh. All she knew was that she wished she was dead so she wouldn’t have to endure the pain and fear any longer.

“Nooooo!” she begged, trying to appeal to his mercy. “Please, let me go!”

But he had no mercy to give. No heart to appeal to. No compassion for her pain. He was evil to the core. Bad through and through.

“Fallon!?”

A female voice pulled her back into the present. Lydia, Patrick’s blonde colleague, rushed into the bathroom.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, concern in her voice.

Fallon felt her body shake and recognized that tears were streaming down her face. Lydia pulled her into a sisterly embrace, and she welcomed the comfort her arms provided.

“It’ll be alright, Fallon,” she murmured, comforting her as if she were a child, and right now that was what she needed: to feel safe, to know that somebody was there for her, to protect her, to care for her. And right now, she was glad that it wasn’t Patrick who was holding her. In this moment, she didn’t want to feel Patrick’s sensual embrace. It would only confuse things. Right now, she needed to remember what Cameron had done, no matter how much it hurt to relive it.

“I remember some of it now,” Fallon said, lifting her head and wiping away the tears.

Lydia released her from her arms. “About the attack?”

She nodded. “I saw him. It was Cameron.” She rubbed the spot on her shoulder that still ached. “I could feel him. He hurt me.”

“Tell me how.”

Fallon shook her head, still not understanding what exactly Cameron had done. “I’m not sure. I saw him. He grabbed me. Here.” She pointed to her shoulder. “I can still feel the pain.”

“May I?” Lydia pointed toward her shoulder.

Fallon nodded.

Lydia pushed the T-shirt aside to look at the shoulder. “I can’t see a bruise or an abrasion.”

“I know.” She felt like crying again. She wasn’t lying. “But I felt it. It was as if his fingernails were claws. As if—”

“Claws?” Lydia interrupted, her eyes widening.

“Yes, it felt like it, or like his teeth. As if he bit me. I know it doesn’t make any sense, but I know what I felt. I remember it. I can still feel his touch.”

“I get it, I do,” Lydia said, nodding. “I’m not discounting what you’re saying, but you should tell Patrick what you remember. He needs to know what Cameron is capable of.”

“But it makes no sense.” Patrick would think that she was making it up. “I can barely believe it myself. I mean, why would he bite me? If that’s what he did. No, he couldn’t have. It must have been his fingernails.” She furrowed her forehead and looked at Lydia. “I’m a doctor. I know what happens when a person bites someone. There’s always an infection. And it would heal really slowly, but I can’t see a wound…”

The more she talked, and the more she thought about it, the more confused she was getting. Something was seriously wrong.

“I know Cameron hurt me. I know it was him. I recognized him. But the rest? I don’t know for sure what he did to me. Only that he did something. And that it was my fault.”

“Your fault?”

“Yes, he said it. I remember it clearly.”

“Let’s call Patrick. He needs to know.” Lydia pulled out her cell phone and tapped on a contact. “Hey. Fallon is starting to remember things.” There was a short pause. “I’ll let you talk to her.”

Lydia handed the phone to her, and she took it hesitantly. “Hi, Patrick.”

“Hey,” he said softly. “You’re remembering the attack?”

“Only parts of it. And I’m not even sure about some of it, other than that I recognized Cameron. It was him, and he attacked me.”

“What else do you remember about the attack?”

“Tell him about the bite and the claws,” Lydia urged her.

“What was that?” Patrick asked as if he’d heard Lydia’s words.

Fallon cleared her throat. “I think—and I’m not a hundred percent sure—that he either bit me in the shoulder or dug his claws into me.”

“His claws? You saw claws?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t see them. I felt them. As if his fingernails were two inches long and sharp like blades.”

Patrick cursed under his breath, but she heard it nevertheless.

“You don’t believe me. I knew it. I shouldn’t have told you.”

“No, Fallon. I do believe you. There are men who’re capable of anything.”

A sob traveled up from her chest, and she suppressed it. “I don’t even believe myself. But I can still feel the pain. But there isn’t even a bruise there.”

“Don’t think about that right now. At least you can be sure now that Cameron did this. We’ll get him for it. I promise you that.”

She didn’t know what to say, but she felt grateful. Lydia took her hand and squeezed it in reassurance.

“I’ve been looking into Cameron a little more. Can you tell me, have you ever been to his flat, stayed overnight there?”

“No. He lives all the way out in Marin County, so he always just stayed with me when we were going out.”

“Marin County?” he asked, a quizzical tone in his voice. “His driver’s license shows an address in the city.”

“That can’t be,” she insisted. “He told me he lives out somewhere near San Rafael. That’s why he always suggested that he stay over at my place. He said it would be better for me, since I go to work early, and if he had to drive me all the way from San Rafael to UCSF in the morning, we’d be stuck in traffic.” He’d made it sound like he was concerned for her wellbeing. “Why would he lie about that? Are you sure he has a flat in the city?”

“I’m gonna find out. One other thing: I couldn’t find anything on where he works. Do you know?”

“He said he works for his family. They have, I don’t know, some businesses. And it sounded like he was managing some of them. But I didn’t ask what it was exactly. The corporate world doesn’t really interest me.” Maybe her lack of interest about what Cameron did for a living should have made her realize earlier that she didn’t really want a future with him.

“Alright, not to worry. I’ll go to the flat and check it out now.”

“What are you gonna tell him, when you find him?” Her hand trembled again at the thought that Patrick would confront Cameron, and that Cameron would lash out at him, hurt him like he’d hurt her.

“That depends on what I find. I’ll first have to confirm that he still lives at the address on his driver’s license.”

“Be careful, please,” she said, turning away from Lydia, and lowering her voice. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

A soft chuckle came through the line. “You won’t have to worry about me. Just promise to stay with Lydia no matter what. She’ll protect you. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

“Okay.”

She disconnected the call and turned back to Lydia, handing the phone back to her. Lydia gave her a warm smile.

“He can take care of himself,” Lydia said. “We had the same training. He is one of the best.”

Fallon forced a smile. She hoped that Lydia was right, because her memory of the attack had made her realize one thing: Cameron was stronger and more dangerous than he looked.