Ravens (14 page)

Kendra groaned, and pushed aside Liam’s
messy hair. He appeared to be so sweet and harmless in his sleep. Too bad, he
wasn’t the same way when awake.

Liam calmed and pacified others through
his touch. He didn’t need to be cognizant to do it to himself.

Biting her lower lip, she took Liam’s
hand into hers and closed her eyes, resting against him as he rested against
her. He groaned and slid his palm over the gashes in her temple as Nathan
watched from the rearview mirror. Even while Liam fought to stay conscious, he
concerned himself with healing Kendra’s wounds.

Chapter Thirteen

Nathan and Lou helped Liam to the
apartment. He regained some energy and limped beside them to the elevator and
to the front door of his apartment where Julie waited.

“Oh, no!” Julie cried. She ran to Liam,
but the guys ignored her. She followed them to Liam’s room where they lowered
him onto his bed.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Ambushed,” Nathan answered.

“By who? I’ve never seen him in such bad
shape. There must’ve been dozens of them.” Julie brushed aside his hair as he
settled.

“He’ll be fine. Let’s give him some
room. I think we all need some rest.” Nathan directed his question to Liam,
“Are you going to be okay, brother?”

“Yeah,” Liam muttered as he situated
himself and pulled the covers to his chest. “Rest sounds good.”

He didn’t bother to change, to wipe the
blood from his face, or even take his shoes off. He would just have to clean
the linens later.

Nathan took Julie out of the room.
Kendra, who stood in the corner, watched Liam with real concern.

“C’mon, Kendra,” Lou said sleepily,
“let’s get some food.”

Kendra followed.

Julie made dinner while she waited for
her boys. In one regard, cooking seemed to calm her, and in another, she was
probably starving. Kendra couldn’t imagine that the humans had fed her. Tonight
she, with the group, ate heartily. Come to think of it, she hadn’t eaten since
eggs and OJ in the early morning.

She sat at the counter while the others
huddled together in the living room. They chatted, laughed, and expressed
sentiments toward Julie. The buffet of food disappeared in a matter of minutes.
With so much energy used during the fight, they needed to reload.

She yearned to face her sister and watch
the expression on Julie’s face when she finally realized who found her, but
Kendra wasn’t prepared for the heartache if Julie didn’t recognize her.
Perhaps, Julie would be up to the emotional reunion after some rest from her
ordeal. 

“I’m beat.” Lou stood and patted his
pseudo-swollen belly. “Time for sleep.” He exhaled, hunched over, and grumbled,
“Could’ve been sleeping with that girl...”

Julie shook her head, muttering, “Poor
Lou.”

Kendra placed her dish in the sink and
headed for the bathroom. After she washed her face and arms, she realized she
didn’t have anything to change into except her comic book vixen outfit. Maybe
she could borrow some clothes from Julie. Speaking of sleep, where would she
sleep? She didn’t know the sleeping arrangements. She supposed the guys would
go back to their apartments and she could crash on the couch.

She walked out into the dim room.
Everyone was already in bed. She found Nathan sprawled out on the couch and Lou
passed out in an uncomfortable and cramp-inducing position in the wide
recliner. She could sleep with Julie.

Kendra gave a light tap on Julie’s
bedroom door before opening it. She approached the bed, disappointed to find
Mark sharing the bed with Julie. Both were sound asleep. Strange, if Julie and
Liam had a thing for each other, why would Mark be in bed with her?

Kendra was too tired to think straight.
She closed the door and wandered toward the only place left to sleep—Liam’s
bed. She hoped he hadn’t stretched out all over the bed.

She removed her shoes and kicked them on
the floor. She pulled out the covers by Liam’s feet and tugged off his
sneakers. She twisted her lips. They were so dirty.

He stirred.

“Who’s that?” he groaned, his voice
groggy, full of sleep.

“Just me,” she whispered, hoping he’d
fall back asleep before he realized she climbed into bed with him.

She pulled the covers down to Liam’s
right so she could crawl in without having to remove the sheets from his body.
He didn’t move, and there was plenty of room for her in the bed without
touching him. She crawled in at the foot of the bed, careful not to disturb
him, and pulled the sheets to her chest when she settled huddled near the wall.

She was exhausted!

Kendra let out a sigh, surrendering to
beautiful, seductive sleep. Her lids grew heavy, and sleep pushed through her
mind, taking her under.

“I knew you couldn’t resist sleeping
with me,” Liam grumbled.

Kendra opened her eyes, and the abrupt
ascent from sleep sent a numbing sensation across her chest. She turned her
head and watched Liam, who faced away. He slept with steady breathing. She
shook her head and sighed. She must’ve imagined it. She fell asleep, faltering
beneath exhaustion.

****

The light from the blistering afternoon
sun burst through the small openings in the blinds. No one bothered to lower
the black curtain the night before.

The red hue from Kendra’s closed lids
stirred her. She awoke, stared at the ceiling, and yawned, stretching her mouth
and expanding her chest to inhale a large amount of air. She definitely needed
last night’s, err, this morning’s sleep.

She rubbed her brow beneath the impact
bruises. Her head throbbed. Maybe if she had held Liam’s hand last night, her
headache would’ve disappeared by now. Thinking of Liam, she knew it best to
crawl out of bed before he realized she slept with him.

Kendra prepared to move, but was
startled to find Liam watching her. It should’ve been creepy until he flashed
that sexy grin. She fought against tugging her lower lip with her teeth since
she found herself wanting to kiss him. Her imagination tossed her into a
whirlwind of thought. What if she attacked him? Would that be so wrong?

Of course it would
! She rebuked
herself. Julie liked him.

Liam rested on his back with his left
hand beneath his head. “Morning, darling,” his said in a low, hoarse, and raspy
voice.

It churned the butterflies in her belly.
Kendra fought against its goodness. She knew what he meant to her sister, and
she didn’t want to come between them. Why did he try to hit on her in the first
place?

“Feeling better?” she asked curtly.

Sitting up, she went to crawl out of bed
the same route she climbed in, but Liam snatched her by the arm, pulling her
back. She twisted her torso and thudded against his hard chest. All those years
of fighting certainly created a chiseled body.

“What’s the hurry?” he began, playful.
He cringed as his eyes wandered to the bruises on her temple. He lifted his
other hand to her skin to heal her.

Kendra jerked away at first, fought the
feeling he incited when he sounded so good, and the warmth of his touch felt so
nice.

She pulled back, and replied in an
irritated tone, “Don’t touch me, Liam McKinley Wallace.”

He pursed his lips. “I haven’t heard
that in years. My mom last said that to me eleven years ago, but I was in
trouble, and she didn’t sound as nice.”

“You are in trouble.”

“With who? You? I think I might like
that, Ms. Kendra Lavender Pierce.”

Kendra scrunched her brows. “You think
my middle name is
Lavender
? Ugh, that’s ugly.”

He shrugged. “Seemed as likely as any
other name. Sorry, sweetheart, as touched as I am that you remember my middle
name after all these years, I never knew yours.”

“Don’t play me.”

“Why would I do that?”

“You’re a guy, why
wouldn’t
you
do that? I already know what’s going on between you and Julie. Shame on you.”
She crawled away in his moment of confusion and muttered, “Idiot.”

Liam sat up in bed as Kendra got to her
feet. She had the mind to clock him one and make him hurt, but a knock on the
door interrupted her thoughts.

“Come in,” Liam called out, the
hoarseness in his voice fading.

Julie opened the door. When she saw Liam
awake and coherent, she beamed. Liam smiled. She ran to him and hugged him. 

“You’re okay!” she squealed.

“Did you doubt me?”

Julie pulled away, stood akimbo, and
scowled. “You sure scared me this morning. I thought I almost lost you.”

“I’d never leave you.” He winked.

“You’re awfully dirty; are you feeling
up to a shower? Maybe even eating?”

“Ah, food sounds good.” Without moving
his head, he watched Kendra to his right. “I need to clean up, but I don’t know
if I can stand up long enough for a shower.”

“Want a warm washcloth?” Julie asked.

Kendra narrowed her eyes, watching the
conversation from the foot of the bed.

“Yeah, could use some help.” His focus
remained on Kendra.

Julie tilted her head and opened her
mouth, but didn’t say a thing.

“You’ve had a bit of a nightmare, Jules.
Plus, that’s awkward, and the guys, well that’d just be weird.” He turned and
tilted his head at the same time. Looking at Kendra, he asked, “Kendra?”

Julie waited for Kendra’s reaction.

“I, uh.” Kendra dropped her hands to her
sides, flustered at the thought of wiping Liam’s body with a wet washcloth.

“That would help out.” Julie smiled at
Kendra.

“Su-sure,” Kendra stuttered.

“Great.” Julie turned back to Liam, who
watched Kendra. “I’ll get some food and then we’ll get you all cleaned up, and
you’ll be better than new.” And by “we,” she meant
Kendra
.

Julie left the room without a second
thought of Kendra. Kendra’s embarrassment far outweighed her desire to go after
Julie. In the blink of an eye, Julie returned with breakfast. The guys entered
right behind her. They smiled and chuckled at the dingy Liam, slapping him on
the shoulder and welcoming him back to life.

“Feeling better, brother?” Nathan asked.

“Yeah.”

“Get rested. Glad to have you safe.”

They left Liam to eat in bed so they
could consume their own meals. Kendra heard them from the bedroom.

“Mmm, thanks Jules!” Mark kissed her on
the cheek.

“Yeah, this smells wonderful, as usual.”
Nathan hummed.

Kendra walked to the bedroom door,
toward the sound of the others in the living room, a place more comfortable
than Liam’s bedroom.

Liam stuffed his face and swallowed.
With his fork in the air, he called out, “Can’t wait for that washcloth.”

Kendra paused at the door but ultimately
ignored his comment. She scoffed and stalked out of the bedroom and into the
narrow space between the back of the couch and the barstools at the kitchen
counter. She once again ate alone while the others hastily chowed down in the
living room. Julie finished first and provided the small amount of conversation
to fill the air. She sat next to Mark, who leaned back and placed his right arm
around Julie.

Kendra thought it odd. 

Julie didn’t ask about the newcomer,
hardly seeming to care.

“I’m so glad you guys came for me,” she
said. “I knew Liam would find me. He always finds me.”

“Kendra helped too.” Nathan jerked his
fork toward the quiet, young woman.

Julie twisted around to view Kendra, but
Kendra avoided her sister and faced the kitchen. She wasn’t ready to
acknowledge the slightest chance that Julie wouldn’t remember her.

“Thank you, Kendra,” Julie said in a
soft voice.

Kendra shut her eyes. She missed Julie’s
sweet voice. This was torture, but she would wait until she found a little more
confidence. Surely, Julie would remember her own sister after nourishment and
rest. She obviously didn’t know Kendra by her face.

“Mark told me Liam found you to help
me,” Julie went on. She turned back around to face the guys who glanced at
Kendra. They pressed their lips, as if keeping a secret, and averted their
gaze.

“I don’t know how you knew where to find
me, but thanks. I knew Liam would figure something out,” she said, giving Liam
more credit than to the others. After all, it took a joint effort to rescue
Julie. “He’d die for me, but I’m sure glad he didn’t. I don’t know what I would
do without him. I love him so much.”

“We all love him,” Lou chimed in. “Maybe
not the way you do,” he went on when the others stared at him, “but he’s
family.”

Julie
loved
Liam. The guy in the
other room who flirted with Kendra incessantly, even with Julie back in the
apartment, was the guy her little naïve sister had fallen for. Who could blame
her? She was sixteen and had been with Liam through all these hard times, and
Liam was undeniably hot. Any girl would lose her senses around a guy like that.