Corinne (Book One of The Red Diamond Saga) Read online

  22

  “I can't believe you just let her leave.” Aaron fumed. He was alone with Conner in one of the small offices, and his fury was filling the room as he paced back and forth. “First she was so important, and then she just gets to decide to leave.”

  Conner smiled patiently as he watched Aaron's frustration displayed through his balled fists and tensed shoulders. He knew that underneath of it was hurt. Aaron had been curious about his sister, and he felt rejected that she was not interested in being part of their family.

  “Aaron, Corinne has led a very confusing and difficult life. If I try to force her, she will only fight me.” He sat down on the edge of the desk and smirked. “But she has also lived her life with no family to call her own. She will not be able to resist coming back. When she is ready, she will find us.”

  Aaron shook his head. “I don't know Doc, I think you might be wrong about this one.”

  Conner shrugged as his gazed hardened. “Either she comes back the easy way, or the hard way. One way or another she will have to realize that she is part of this family. That is not something she gets to choose, genetics chose that for her.”

  Aaron glared in Conner's direction. “You mean you did.”

  Conner reached up and lightly clapped his hand along Aaron's slim but muscular shoulder. “However you look at it, we all belong together.”

  Aaron frowned as he turned away from Conner and shrugged his hand off of his shoulder. His mind wandered to his mother, whom he had no memory of, despite his best efforts to recall even the slightest detail. She had been brave enough to know that all of this was wrong, to put herself at risk to try to save her children. Had she known more than what Conner was willing to share? He claimed ignorance as to what had happened to her, but Aaron had been part of this family long enough to know better.

  “She'll be back.” Conner said with certainty, and Aaron nodded. He did not doubt Conner, he rarely ever did.

  23

  Their bags were packed. The tickets were purchased. But when Daniel looked into her eyes, he knew she was not going to leave.

  “I have a brother.” She said flatly as she stared at the suitcase on the floor in front of her. “I know all of this is crazy, I know none of it makes sense, but-”

  Daniel sat down beside her and gently took her hand into his. “You have a family.” He finished for her.

  She nodded as she bit into her bottom lip. She had never thought about having a sibling, and if the story was true, Aaron was her twin brother. How could she simply walk away from that knowledge?

  “If you want to stay, we can. If you want to get to know these people better, fine. But only if you let me help you.” He said firmly.

  “But everything is so secret. They will never let you anywhere near them.” She was certain they would do their best to maintain their anonymity.

  “Deception, my dear, is my specialty.” He said with a smile. “Let's just try to let it go for now, let yourself recover from all of this. Then, when you're ready, we'll investigate it, together.”

  Corinne smiled at that. She liked the idea of working with Daniel.

  “Agreed.” She said with a sigh. Until she was certain that she wanted to know more about her clandestine family, she was going to do her best to put all of the strange occurrences behind her, and look forward instead to her future with the one person who had never truly betrayed her, Daniel.

  They had a wedding to plan, and she no longer felt any hesitation in doing so. In fact she was excited about the idea, and could not wait to finally make their lives together official. She wanted to make up for all the time she had wasted, struggling to learn how to trust.

  24

  Sam was smiling at her, in that fatherly way. His smile spread wider and wider, as it did, it began to transform into a wicked grin. Around him, she could hear the screams of the women he had harmed, punctuated by his laughter.

  Corinne tried to swing at him, but discovered that her arms were bound behind her back. She tried to stand, but found that her feet were also bound. It was in that moment that she realized that it was not the women from his past he was laughing at; it was the woman right in front of him. He was laughing with joyful anticipation of how he intended to harm Corinne. As her eyes widened in horror, the scene before her become fuzzy and distorted. She found it difficult to understand where she was, or how she had gotten there.

  As Sam drew closer to her, his wicked eyes glimmering with desire, Corinne closed her eyes. The instant that she did, she felt a surge of power flood through her, from the tips of her toes to her scalp. She felt as if she could change the world with a thought or a gesture.

  The intensity of the power she felt made her strain against the ropes that bound her. They snapped with ease, and as she was set free, Sam's expression shifted from one of dominance to one of desperation.

  Corinne stood quickly and lunged toward Sam. The closer she came to him, the further he seemed to drift away, as if the space between them were stretching somehow of its own volition.

  As Sam cried out in fear, his voice mingling with the screams of his past victims, Corinne opened her eyes.

  The ceiling above her was coated with moonlight that drifted through the gauzy curtains of the bedroom window. For the first time in a few nights she was at home in her apartment. As her gaze wandered across the ceiling in search of Sam's horrified face, she came to the slow realization that it had all been a dream.

  Rather than interpreting she decided to let her mind drift as far as it could from it. She started to sit up thinking that perhaps a glass of water or wine would assist in her avoidance of the dream. The moment her head lifted from the pillow, the room spun in swift wobbly circles. Her stomach lurched, and she was certain that she would not make it to the bathroom in time. She stumbled through the bathroom door and collapsed beside the toilet, just before her stomach erupted.

  Her mind was still spinning when she fell against the bathroom floor, her body too weak to sit up or even dream of standing up. The cool tile floor beneath the nightgown she wore was the only respite she received as her entire body burned with heat. It was an odd heat, not like any fever she had ever experienced. It came from deep within her, and it created a sheen of sweat on her skin. Her wrists ached, as did her ankles, as if her body could not contain the heat, which seemed to throb out to the tips of her fingers and toes.

  As her stomach twisted again with the anticipation of another eruption, a groan welled within her. When it poured forth from between her lips its sound was so morose and hopeless that it brought tears to her eyes. As her eyes fell shut against the rise of moisture, she whimpered.

  Logically she tried to tell herself she had a stomach virus, but the emotions that were overwhelming her, the heat that felt as if it was boiling her from the inside out, convinced her otherwise. It felt to her, as if her body had decided to torture her, as if it had rebelled and separated from the rest of her, and declared war.

  For the rest of the night she lay on the bathroom floor, only sitting up every hour or so to vomit again. By the time the morning came, she had little recollection of what life had been like before the onset of this illness.

  She did not hear her phone ringing, or have any sense of the time that was passing. She only knew the pain that emanated through her. When someone began pounding on the door, she mistook it for the pounding of her head. She was dehydrated from vomiting, and her breathing was shallow, though she was not aware enough to even realize it.

  Whoever was pounding on the door was shouting her name as well, but this did not sink into her mind which was glazed over with the edge of unconsciousness. She was slipping away into a dark and quiet place where the pain could not find her, when large hands grabbed her roughly and shook her.

  She cringed as she was jostled back into reality and the pain overwhelmed her once more, making her stomach retch.

  “It's okay.” The voice promised her. “We have all been through it.” She felt a pinprick of pain as
something was injected into her arm, and a moment later the pain began to subside. She took a long deep breath that made her lungs burn, and as she exhaled, the voice that was just beside her became just a figment of her imagination.

  There was no one there.

  She was alone in the bathroom.

  There was a pounding on the front door. Someone was shouting her name. “Corinne!”

  She knew the voice. She ached for the voice.

  “Daniel.” She wanted to shout his name, but all she could do was whisper it. She heard him use his key to unlock the door. She heard its subtle squeak as it swung open. The pain continued to fade away, but the weakness she felt was akin to being paralyzed. When his frame filled the bathroom doorway she gazed up at him from the floor with such gratitude that it brought tears to his eyes. She was pale, and her eyes were bloodshot. Her lips were tinged with blue and when he crouched beside her and gently touched her wrist, her pulse was faint and her skin was cool.

  He called for an ambulance as he gingerly massaged her arms and fingers. His eyes never left hers; holding on to the life that he saw within them, as if he was afraid if he blinked she might be gone forever.

  “Corinne,” He spoke in a commanding tone. “Just breathe. In and out.” He drew in a breath and exhaled, as if he could force her to do the same. She struggled to breathe at the same rate he was, but she was too weak to match his pace.

  “Did you eat or drink anything?” Daniel asked quickly, afraid that she would pass out without him knowing how she had become so ill.

  Corinne could not get her head to move to answer him; she could only stare up into his eyes, using them as an anchor for her focus, to keep her mind from drifting and spinning away again.

  “It's going to be okay.” Daniel promised as the medics rushed in behind him. There was not enough room for all of them in the bathroom, and they insisted that Daniel leave. Letting go of Corinne's hand was hard, but letting go of her gaze was torturous. His eyes flooded with tears as he felt an ominous sensation that he might never see them open, and gazing up at him again.

  The medics worked quickly evaluating her vital signs. They did not waste a moment before lifting her on to a stretcher and wheeling her out of the apartment. Daniel followed closely behind but he was not allowed to ride in the ambulance with her. They were performing CPR on her as the ambulance doors slammed shut, and Daniel buckled over with the stomach wrenching certainty that she was gone.

  25

  “I was too late.” He gasped as he ran his hands back through his blonde hair and tried to slow his anxious breaths.

  “You don't know that.” Lisa said as she reached out to try to comfort Aaron. “I am sure she will be fine.” She could not hide a twinge of jealousy at Aaron's concern. For so long it had just been the two of them, and now there was Corinne. Of course for many years she had known that Corinne would eventually be a part of their lives, she had just never realized how much animosity she held toward the other woman.

  When the door to the small office burst open, both Aaron and Lisa jumped and shrunk back away from the furious presence that was Conner.

  “What have you done?” He growled at Aaron as the man, who by all accounts was more physically capable than Conner could ever be, shuddered like a little boy anticipating discipline.

  “I had to.” He whispered without lifting his eyes from the floor he was staring hard at.

  “No,” Conner hissed as he prowled closer to Aaron. “You did not have to defy me, and risk all of our safety to do something so blatantly stupid.” He lifted his hand as if he might strike Aaron, but after a moment of thought he let his fist fall back to his side.

  “I could feel her.” Aaron confessed as his body tensed in expectation of physical punishment.

  Conner's anger abruptly diminished at those words. “You what?” He asked in a hopeful tone.

  Aaron hesitantly lifted his gaze from the floor, but he did not meet Conner's eyes. Beside him Lisa glanced between the two with concern. The tension between them had been building over the past few years, as Aaron questioned more and Conner grew impatient with his subtle rebellion.

  Lisa had become somewhat of a peacemaker between the two, though she struggled with empathy for others, she had a special affection for Aaron.

  “She was in so much pain.” Aaron breathed as he recalled the heat that had burned through him, as if he was Corinne. “Was I supposed to let her suffer?” He asked, though he already knew the answer to the question.

  “I told you she would return to us, the easy way, or the hard way.” Conner said firmly. “Because you decided to interfere, now we may have to take more drastic measures.”

  “She was going to die.” Aaron insisted as he finally looked directly up at Conner. The moment he met the older man's eyes he regretted it. They were ice cold with dominance, and at the same time a heat brewed deep within them that warned of consequences for his defiance.

  “No, Aaron, she was going to beg.” He spoke in a soft tone, but his voice was so controlled that it seemed as if he had never felt an emotion in his life. “She was going to need me, us, to help her. I knew once the injection Lisa gave her awakened her senses fully she would grow violently ill.” He ran his hand along the curve of Aaron's cheek as he looked more deeply into the man's eyes.

  “What I did not plan for was you ruining it all.” He lifted his hand and let it fall in a swift but forceful smack along the man's cheek.

  Aaron ducked his head to the side in reaction to the pinpricks of pain that rose in his cheek, but he instantly returned his eyes to Conner's.

  “You did something wrong.” He insisted, despite the fear that he felt for Conner. “The pain was killing her.”

  Conner smirked faintly as he glanced from Aaron, then to Lisa. “He's not the smartest, is he?” He asked Lisa, keeping his gaze to her, though his entire focus remained on Aaron. “Well that's something you have in common with your sister.” He sneered, and the force of the back of his hand swung into Aaron's cheek, knocking the man off balance with the surprise strike and sending him tumbling to the floor.

  When Aaron moved to stand, Conner was already towering over him. He gazed down at Aaron with such intense disapproval that Aaron felt as if he was being crushed by the glare that fixed upon him. He managed only to get to his knees before Conner lowered his hand to the top of Aaron's head, and with no physical pressure whatsoever was able to restrain him in that position.

  “You do not tell me, what I do right or wrong.” Conner explained in a patient tone as Lisa watched anxiously. Though Conner usually did not allow his emotions to overcome him, when it came to Aaron he sometimes grew so furious that Lisa worried he would do more than hurt him.

  “If you had not given her a dose of the medicine to ease her pain, she would have had to turn to us. She would have realized that she does not have a choice but to be part of this family.”

  He paused and glanced over at Lisa as he sensed her displeasure at how Aaron was being treated.

  “Lisa understands that, don't you Lisa?” He asked the young woman gravely.

  She was younger than Corinne and Aaron by two years, and though she had been a twin as well from different parents, both babies had not made it to full term. Her twin had died during birth and she was left. As a result she had formed a strong bond with Aaron, which was often tested by Conner to be certain of who she was most loyal to.

  “Of course.” She responded casually. “Aaron, you really should not have interfered.”

  Aaron frowned, but he ducked his head to hide the expression.

  “Now, I must clean up your mess.” He hissed at Aaron as he lifted his hand from the top of the man's head. Instantly Aaron stood up, but he was careful not to show any hint of displeasure.

  “I'm sorry.” He stated mechanically and folded his hand behind his back. “I thought she was going to die, I should have trusted that you would not have let that happen.”

  Conner nodded confidently and with one mo
re disapproving rake of his gaze over Aaron he turned and left the office. Once outside he sighed with relief. He had no idea Corinne would have such a strong reaction to the resurfacing of her abilities, or that she would be alone when the illness struck.

  In truth, if Aaron had not gone to her and dosed her with a medication to limit her body's physical reaction she might have died alone on the bathroom floor. As it was, he was not sure if she was still alive.

  26

  In the hospital Daniel was pacing back and forth in the waiting room. He had been told that everything possible was being done for Corinne but had heard nothing else since. He could not get the memory of her nearly lifeless expression to leave his mind, no matter how hard he tried to replace it with a memory of her vibrant smile.

  Again it haunted him that he may have arrived too late. He had awoken from a nightmare with a strange fearful sensation. When he tried to reach Corinne repeatedly and she did not answer, he assumed she was still sleeping.

  When hours went by and he had not been able to reach her, it reminded him of how she had been snatched off the street without him ever knowing. He had rushed to her apartment.

  After she did not answer the door and he heard her cell phone ringing inside of the apartment, he had let himself in. Now he could only think of the moments he wasted calling and knocking. If he had just gone sooner, perhaps she would have been okay.

  “Daniel?” The nurse who had led him to the waiting room was standing in the doorway. She was pretty and young, but as she looked at him, her face grew weary. “You can see her now.” She said softly with a hint of sadness in her voice.

  “Is she okay?” He asked desperately as he followed the nurse.