Family Ties [Sequel to She Belongs To Me]

Undone

Vincent:

I tried to mask the dread on my face as I walked into the cabin. Hope was not my favorite person by any means, but it was never my intention to kill her.  I just wanted to hold her captive until Emily came to her senses, then I was going to let her go on her merry way back to her bubblegum pop girl wannabe life.

Her death was going to complicate things.

Emily would be furious when I broke the news to her.  She would probably give me the silent treatment for a while, then move on to cursing at me and trying to turn Cora further against me.  I was going to have to nip this thing in the bud before it escalated into something unpleasant.

I stepped into the bedroom and put my hand behind my neck, shifting on my weight like a nervous child who just got busted eating from the cookie jar.  Emily turned away from me with a frown, while Stella stood up and put her hands on my shoulders. "Is something wrong?" She asked, gazing into my eyes with concern. 

I would have normally pushed her away, but her touch sent waves of comfort through me.  No matter what I did at least I knew Stella would always have my back. It was going to be a shame to get rid of her when the time came.

"Can you come with me for a minute?"  I asked, grabbing her arm and pulling her with me out of the bedroom.  I glanced back at Emily before shutting the bedroom door and ushering Stella outside to the car. 

"What's going on?"  She asked. 

"Hope's dead."

She cocked her head to the side. "Really?  Are you sure?"

"I think I know a dead body when I see one, Stella!"  I answered a little more sharply than I meant to.  Stella shrugged her shoulders and tore her arm away from me, stepping closer to the trunk.

"Let me take a look at her just to make sure." 

She pressed her fingers down on to Hope's neck and put her ear next to her nose, checking to see if she was breathing.  After a few seconds she looked at me and said, "Her pulse is low, but she's still alive.  She probably just passed out from heat exhaustion or the stress of riding in here so long."

"So, she's okay?"

"She will be."  Stella said, "Can you take her into the house so I can get a better look?"

"Sure thing."  I said.  I carefully scooped Hope into my arms and carried her into the cabin, taking her into another one of the bedrooms and laying her down on the bed. 

Stella closed the door behind us so we would not be disturbed, then she kneeled in front of the bed to check Hope's pulse again.  "She should be fine after a couple of hours resting in the air conditioning."

She slowly peeled the tape off of her mouth and leaned her head in, listening to her breathe once more.  "Can you grab me a glass of water from the kitchen?  She may be dehydrated as well."

"Yeah, no problem."

I returned with the glass of water a few seconds later and Stella took it from my hand.  "Open her mouth for me." 

When I did what she asked she took a sip of water from the glass and spit it into Hope's mouth. My face flushed red and I could feel myself getting slightly aroused. Stella noticed right away and shook her head at me with a look of disapproval.  "Really, Vincent?"