Page 98 of The Depraved Prince
“He’s the one that should be scared. If I ever get my hands on him, he’ll regret ever touching you,” he threatens as he balls his fists.
I scoff and tilt my head side to side because he has no idea that when I say monster, I mean an immortal vampire.
“Cole. He’s bad. Very, very bad. I don’t want to think about anything. I don’t want to think about missing my father’s closed-casket funeral because he was so badly mutilated that they could only identify him by his teeth. I don’t want to think about anything,please…”
What am I pleading for exactly? For Hayden to come back and pretend that he’s actually a good guy and hold me because it’s his arms I want to melt into right now? Or for my heart to fail so I can be with my dad? Because I refuse to turn into a creature that craves blood and lives a malice outrageous lifestyle that will have me damned to hell.
I feel so lost.
Cole forces a smile through his tortured face, hearing me fall apart. He grabs my hand, pulls it to his lips, and kisses my knuckles.
“I’m going to get us some M&M’s before they close the candy stand. I’ll be right back.” He tucks a strand of my bangs behind my ear, and I stare blankly at him. He’s waiting for confirmation.
He knows those are my favorite chocolates.
“Come on. Show me that smile I’ve missed,” he teases.
I squint my eyes at him like he asked me something ridiculous. He pokes my stomach with his two fingers right below my ribs, where he knows I’m the most sensitive from our past tickle fights at work on our lunch breaks.
“Cole,” I seethe jokingly. “Don’t you dare.”
He does it again and again, causing me to flinch every time he pokes me, but then he starts to move his fingers using both hands.
“Stop!” I hiss, keeping my voice low, not wanting to disrupt the movie with my giggles. He wins.
“There’s that smile that makes me so fucking happy,” he tells me. He laughs and continues to tickle me. He pauses for a second and gets close to me as he closes the distance. His lips are right in front of mine. There’s that moment again. The same look he gave me on Thanksgiving right before he kissed me…everywhere.
I grin and try to fight and slap his hands away until I’m full-blown laughing and chuckling with him. Both of us have broad smiles, and we’re twisting for dominance. I love seeing Cole like this; it reminds me why he’s one of my close friends.
He leans in closer like he’s about to kiss me. I slowly blink, like I’m lost. What do I do?
Then lightning strikes in the distance, causing a flash of bright blue light to illuminate the drive-in theater momentarily. Thunders follows suit, rattling the car’s windows and the metal on Cole’s hood.
Suddenly, I see a familiar shade of crimson.
Vibrant. Glowing. And ominous eyes on me.
Hayden.
I scream. Lightning strikes again, causing the movie to jump and the screen to go black for a few seconds. It’s enough to distract me from the eerie, tall figure behind Cole and hidden in the trees behind him a few feet away. I look back to the dancing trees, but he’s not there anymore.
Am I seeing things? Or is he really here? Watching me? Planning to kill the rest of my family because I escaped him? Either way, he’s haunting me. Will I ever truly evade him?
I grab Cole’s hands, pull them off me to protect him, and jump in the passenger seat. Fear invades my vessels, and I palm my scream with cold hands. Everyone in the drive-in theaterturns to me as I try to catch my breath after finishing a loud, high-pitched, blood-curdling bellow.
Cole’s in my face, inspecting me. “What’s wrong, Millie? It’s just lightning, darling.” He cups my jaw, forcing me to look at him.
But I can’t talk. I can’t even look at him because I’m so concentrated on the trees behind him. Tears fall from the corner of my eyes, and I dig my fingers into Cole’s jacket fiercely.
“Get me home, now! I want to go. We have to go, okay? Please?” I hold onto his arms like a lifejacket. He nods and kisses my forehead.
“Looks like the rain came early tonight, anyway. Let’s get you into bed.” He closes the windows and turns on the vehicle. He carefully reverses his truck, and we pull out of the field. Soon enough, rain patters the windshield, and Cole turns on the wipers. During the drive, Cole plays Oasis, and I try to focus on the trees. I keep waiting to see red eyes or dark brown hair again, but it never comes.
It couldn’t be him. I’m being paranoid. I know it wasn’t him because if it were, Cole would be dead right now, and I’d be getting dragged back to Montana against my will. It couldn’t be him…
As Cole walks me to my house, Nash waits for me at the door, arms crossed and worried.
“Do you want me to stay the night? I can stay downstairs. Or in your bedroom? Whatever you want. I don’t feel good about leaving you alone,” Cole offers sweetly when we get to my porch. He walked me to my door like the perfect gentleman that he’s always been. I smile, and I’m on my tip-toes to reach his cheek. I brush my lips softly on his winter-kissed skin.
