Finding Fire

Chapter 16

Anna watched in horror as Nicolas walked assuredly into the bus. When he reached the first rows, his eyes connected with hers. Their dark brown depths were filled with anger.

Anna held her weapon up in front of her. It was only then she realized it was a tire iron.

A hush had fallen over everyone on the bus when Nicolas got on, but Shirley was the first to break that silence. "Are you this young woman's husband?" she asked.

"Shirley!" Anna exclaimed. She would hate for Nicolas to do anything to hurt her.

Nicolas looked at the older woman and said in that calming and controlled voice, "Annabelle and I are newly married. We are having a bit of a spat, but we are deeply in love. You can see that just by looking at us."

Anna doubted that, with her waving a tire iron around, but she could tell his voice was seeping inside all of the passengers' minds, and they saw exactly what he was telling them to.

"Stop it! Leave them alone!"

Nicolas turned his attention back to her. "Come with me and they will be fine."

He held one hand out to her, as if that was all it would take to get her to come back to him. The scene was tempting. He looked as good as ever. He wore the same shirt and jeans as he had the previous night. His hair was ruffled and looked scruffy. He was a monster whose whole look was designed to lure his prey in. In this case, she was the prey.

She said in as calm a voice as possible, "I can't go anywhere with you."

Nicolas closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he replied. "I understand you're upset. I realize I was out of line."

Anna scoffed.

He continued, "I'm sorry, but nothing has changed. We still both have the same goals we had last night. If you can look past that transgression, I promise to be more conscious of you."

Anna shook her head. "You don't understand. You're not human!"

"I wasn't human last night either. You agreed to come with me then."

"That was before you tied me to a bed!" she shouted. "I'm not some dog you can tie to a tree whenever I become inconvenient for you."

Nicolas seemed at a loss for a moment. "I don't think of you as a dog."

"Then respect my choice and stay the hell away from me," she said.

His head shook as he took a step toward her. "I cannot do that, Annabelle. You have to come with me."

She once again raised the tire iron up in threat as she took a step back. "Go away."

Nicolas became a blur to her eyes as he came toward her at full speed. Without pausing to think, Anna brought her weapon down on the air in front of her with as much force as possible.

She felt it connect to something as his body ran into hers. The blow must have affected him somewhat, because whatever he was reaching for he missed, and his hand ended up wrapped in the fabric of her shirt.

She pulled her body away with as much force as possible as he tugged her back toward him. She heard the fabric tear, but modesty wasn't high on her list of priorities at the moment. She lifted the tire iron up and brought it down once more. She aimed for his head, but he jerked away just in time so his shoulder took the blow.

As his body absorbed the hit, she was able to free herself from his grasp, but her shirt didn't survive the scuffle. The material ripped completely down her left side and was held up only by her right shoulder.