The Barrier Between (Collector Series # 2) (24 page)

Ryker shifted on his feet. “This has nothing to do
with her.”

“Not an answer, Ryker. Do you love her?”

“No. Of course not.” He rubbed the top of his head.
My eyes squeezed together to push out the pain that barreled down
on me. Did I think he
was
in love with me? No. But it still
hurt to hear.

“Ryker, you know I’ve always been open to other
girls. As long as there were no feelings attached, it didn’t bother
me.” Amara pushed her violet hair over her shoulder.

“I nev—”

“I know. You are as loyal as they come. And I know
you and I are always going to come back to each other, no matter
what. I was always okay with the fact you didn’t love me. No one
else will tolerate it. Like you said, that’s why we work. You know
it, and I know it. All the others are temporary, and it will always
be us,” Amara huffed. “She is only a blip on the radar, and you
will forget her soon enough.”

Ryker opened his mouth to speak, but Amara raised her
hand. “Right now we have more important things to deal with. If you
want to play this little game of yours with the human, that is
fine. At the end of the day I know it will be me you come back to.”
Amara turned and went to the door. “I am going to go find more
clean sheets. Those are covered with blood and smell like her and
that monkey.” She stepped out the door, shutting it firmly behind
her.

“What. A. Bitch.” Sprig popped up the moment the door
shut. I should have known I wasn’t the only one eavesdropping.

Ryker rubbed his face, plunking down on the bed, his
back to me. “You can stop pretending, Zoey. I know you’re
awake.”

Oh, was this the reason he stopped her? Because he
knew I was awake?
Of course his feelings for her wouldn’t
simply disappear. I knew this time was coming. It was probably
better now than later.

I sat up slowly.

He twisted his head to glance over at me. “You all
right?”

I tilted my head, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” He scrubbed his head where his hair laced in
firm braids. “We need to—”

I put my hand up. I couldn’t handle the impending
rejection. “Things have become complicated. Amara’s back. Till this
is all over, we will return to solely being partners. Focus on what
is really important.”

His jaw twitched. “Pretend nothing happened?”

“Yes.”

“Can I do it too?” Sprig raised his hand. “Otherwise
your therapy bill is going to be extensive.”

We both shot him a
shut up and go away
look.
He squeaked and dug himself under a pillow.

“Is that what you want?” Ryker’s voice was void of
emotion, which pissed me off.

“It’s not about what I want, Ryker.” Anger moved me
out from the twisted sheets, standing.

“What. Do. You. Want?” Ryker rose off the bed, his
figure towering over me.

“What I want is to live a long, happy life. To have
my sister and Daniel alive. To not have
your
fae powers
trapped in me. To be free of all this.
Of
you and
her
.” I wanted to bite my tongue. It came out wrong. Jealousy
of Amara was coating my every thought.

His eyes flashed.

“I didn’t mean it.”

“Yes, you did.” He took a step away from me.

My mouth opened to say something, but he was out the
door before I could utter a sound.

Shit!

I flopped back on the bed and tugged the sheet over
my head. Everything was so messed up. And as usual I only made it
worse.

Sprig’s little fingers tapped on the blanket at my
forehead. “Not to bother you or anything, but are we getting dinner
anytime soon?”

Muscles pinched in my arm and I wiggled, trying to
find a more comfortable arrangement. My mind churned with the
frequency of someone turning the channels nonstop on the TV. Even
with everyone asleep, or pretending to be, the tension in the room
was dense, each one of us fighting for dominance. The dislikes
outweighed the likes in the room, and most were pointed at me,
except from Sprig.

Trying not to toss and turn was torture. Amara’s
sighs of contempt every time I rolled over were enough to force me
to hold still. I couldn’t blame her. She didn’t like this setup any
more than I did. If it wasn’t for the fact I lay next to her, I
would have laughed. She probably never imagined one day, per
Ryker’s request, she would be sleeping next to a human.

Earlier in the evening, after Amara had remade the
bed, she voted I go grab dinner. The only reason I complied was
because I wanted nothing more than to get out of the room. Away
from her and Ryker. He had stopped speaking to me, and the small
room became insufferable. Croygen returned after I brought dinner
back. The four of us and Sprig ate pizza in mostly awkward
silence.

“The girls get the bed; Croygen and I are on the
floor,” Ryker stated, heading for the bathroom.

“What?” Amara jumped up from the bed. “I am not
sleeping with her!”

Ryker stopped, turning slowly.

“I actually second that.” I folded my arms, leaning
back in the desk chair.

“I don’t care.” Ryker scowled. “That’s how it’s going
to be.” He whipped around and slammed the restroom door behind
him.

Amara huffed, falling back on the bed in a pout,
shooting a glare at me like it was my fault.

In a way it might have been. There was no way one of
us would let the other one share the bed with him, so this was the
best arrangement without it getting into a full catfight.

It still pissed me off.

Almost like Croygen was reading my mind, he motioned
to the two of us. “If you girls decide at any time you are going to
wrestle, let me know.”

“Why would we fight?” Amara twisted her lips up. “She
doesn’t
have anything worth fighting her for.”

Oh, she was asking for it.

She got up and began preparing for bed.

Now she and I were stuck sleeping next to each other.
I rolled over, tucking in on my other side. She was a snobby bitch,
especially about humans. The problem was I wanted to hate her for
more than just Ryker, to think she was a spoiled princess, but I
couldn’t. She didn’t back away from hard work. She dove in,
remaking the bed and scrubbing the bathroom because she found too
much of Sprig’s fur everywhere. Maybe she was a bitch, but one with
a solid work ethic, which was hard not to respect in a way. The
feeling only stirred more unease in me.

It wasn’t merely because I was sleeping next to
Ryker’s girlfriend. It went deeper than that. Being this close to
fae dragged up all my old prejudices. I still was not comfortable
with
all
fae. I had grown accustomed to Ryker and Sprig. In
my head I put them in a separate group, and all the other fae we
came into contact with were kept at a distance. Here there was no
distance.

Though, I would be unrecognizable to my Collector
group now. Sera once slandered me when she believed I had slept
with a fae. The idea at the time repulsed me.
Disgusted
me.
Now look at me. I really had crawled into bed with the enemy.

I glanced at Ryker on the ground beside the bed and
then over to Amara, sleeping next to me. I rotated over again. The
bed felt like a torture device. The other night Ryker and I were
having sex in this bed, now his girlfriend was in here with me, and
he was on the floor. Everything that made me feel secure and happy
vanished. It felt like I was standing on the top of the tallest
building and the floor evaporated under my feet, leaving me
scrambling and flailing for anything to break my fall. My stomach
plummeting as I dropped into the abyss.

I was used to change, feeling unstable, but I had
kept my guard up, never letting hope in. Ryker pushed down the
wall, and now I was left scared, unsure, and lost.

My arm twinged with discomfort. I let out a low sigh.
Only a baseball bat or bottle of whiskey was going to help me relax
tonight. I kicked at the sheets, which tangled around my ankles. A
hand landed on my calf, pressing it down on the mattress. My head
jerked up. Ryker still lay on his back on the ground, one elbow
bent, covering his eyes, his other hand on my leg. His thumb rubbed
in soft circles above my ankle bone. I watched him for a while
before I laid my head back down, tucking into the pillow.

His touch could ignite my blood but also calm me.
Tonight I was going to focus on the soothing option since the
kindling would only get me frustrated and more restless. I let my
lids drift close, absorbing the rhythmic motions on my skin.

All I wanted was to have time with Ryker and Sprig
and live a life free of DMG and Vadik. I wanted nothing more than
for Amara to disappear. Sadly, no matter how much I wished her
away, she would be the one who ended up with Ryker. Even if I did
live a full life, it was still a human one. Compared to Ryker and
the years he already lived, my life was a blip. I could see why he
cut off humans after a while. Why grow close to someone who would
not live as long as you?

But you could live forever. You could have Ryker
and all you ever dreamed of
, a voice deep in my heart said. My
eyes opened, and I glanced over at Ryker’s boots. The unassuming
worn boots sat next to the dresser. The power that lay at the
bottom of one of the heels was immense but chilling. And very, very
tempting. All I had to do was agree to let it in, and it would give
me all I ever desired. Didn’t I deserve it? My life had been full
of pain, fear, hurt, and sadness. Wasn’t it my turn to have some
good things come my way? It wasn’t like I wanted to take over the
world like others did. I wanted a family, my sister back, Daniel
alive again, a mom and dad. Money, home, security.

And Ryker.

After the stone’s touch had worn off, I was able to
put it out of my head. The temptation not strong enough to lure me
to hold it again. But curled in bed next to the lover of a man you
were falling for did something to a girl.

So many of our problems could be solved if I simply
agreed to the stone. It might suck the life from me, but that was
happening anyway. Really, what did I have to lose?

Lost in my thoughts I didn’t notice Ryker’s hand had
slipped back to his side, his chest moving up and down in metered
repetition. I lifted my head, slowly looking over the room.
Everyone was fast asleep. I could even hear Sprig’s heavy breathing
from inside the dresser.

The bed squeaked as I sat up. Everything in the room
was old, and no matter how slow you moved it protested. Inch by
inch I lifted myself off the bed, careful not to step on Ryker’s
limbs. Playing a solo game of Twister, I stretched my way over to
the bureau, snatched Ryker’s boots up, and shuffled to the
bathroom, closing the door quietly behind me.

I flicked on the light and settled on the rim of the
tub, dropping the lighter boot on the floor. The other I cupped in
my lap, my fingers tugging at the sole of the boot. Glee filled me
at seeing the gray smooth stone at the bottom of the heel. He
hadn’t moved it. He really did trust me.

Shame spread over me and caused by cheeks to flush.
It’s not like I’m destroying the world,
I reasoned with
myself.
Wouldn’t he want this too? We would be happy. Neither of
us would have to live in pain or fear anymore.

I reached down, my fingers sliding around the rock.
The instant my skin touched it, energy blasted through my body. The
bathroom disappeared, sucking me away from the present.

“I knew you would come back, Zoey.” The stone’s
comforting voice spoke in my head. “You are different from the
rest. Special.” A warmness swirled in my chest, creating a sense of
love and safety. “You and I will help many, Zoey. The lives you
will change and save. The happiness and fulfillment you will have
in your life. Every bad memory will disappear.”

It all sounded wonderful.

“I can bring your sister back to life, healthy and
happy. You can have the parents you always fantasized about, but we
can do even more than you even dreamed. We can lead the world in
stopping diseases and preventing children from being born with
disabilities. And this is only the beginning. Don’t you want to
stop children from hurting? To provide better homes for children in
foster care? To be the one who has the power to save lives? How
about all those who suffer at fae’s hands?
You
could protect
the human race.”

This all sounded amazing. How could helping to stop
cancer or children from being abused be a bad thing? Humans no
longer the unknowing or unwilling victims of fae. I could do it
all. The girl from the wrong tracks saving the world. The stone was
right. I had been thinking too small.

“Yes, Zoey. There is not a limit to what we could do
together. The people who thought you were nothing, who didn’t want
you, treated you horribly... they will be sorry. All you have to do
is say yes to me, Zoey. Take me in willingly. And everything you’ve
ever wanted will be yours. Don’t you think you deserve
happiness?”