Sparks

Chapter 9

He was remarkably light-footed for such a large man. It was sad that this was the first thought to come to mind when he snuck into the room behind Sander and then bashed him over the head with something she couldn't even identify. Her heart thudded harder against her ribcage with each step that he took. How was he so quiet? How had Sander not heard him enter?

And then when Sander's body slumped to the floor and a small stream of blood escaped from the gash at the back of his skull, she nearly screamed. She couldn't even tell which emotion was stronger. Well, she couldn't until Romelius cut the ropes and she leaped into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her small frame and drug her body closer to him until she was crushed against him.

"Are you alright?" He asked into her hair. He couldn't bear to look at her right now. He couldn't risk seeing the emotions that would surely be spilling from her beautiful blue eyes. He wasn't going to lose himself in the orbs of a woman. Not again.

Instead of responding, she hid her head in the crook of his neck. He smelled perfect. Just like every dream man that she had ever envisioned in her messed up head. He was her dream guy. Of course, she wasn't allowed to tell him that. She had grown to know him very well over the past couple of days. He wasn't looking for a relationship and he would feel ambushed if she up and told him that she had been looking for him her whole life. So she clung to him, loving the perfectness that he provided her. The safety and comfort that she hadn't ever truly felt.

He held her for a few more minutes. Mentally taking a picture of the scene. Then when he felt that she was calm, he pushed her shoulders back. His dark eyes ran over her entire body, analyzing each cut, bruise, and mark that was on her body. None were too severe.

"The police are on their way. It's over, Pagatti. You can tell your story without fear. He will never get you again." Tears of joy fell down her cheeks as she leapt into his arms again. She laughed and sobbed. Her body had been on a roller coaster ride since Sander had entered her life. She had been bouncing from sorrow to anger to depression and back again. This was the first time she could remember actually feeling a burst of joy.

Romelius couldn't help but laugh along with her and swipe at her tears. Her happiness was contagious as all of her emotions tended to be. At least, that's what he was blaming his joy on. His heart felt lighter than it had in years. His body felt full of life and giddiness. But he knew it would soon dissipate.

He shoved the thought from his mind and held Pagatti to his body, spinning her around in circles. She screamed with joy and he found himself laughing. Laughing harder than he had ever remembered laughing before. He had never felt so productive in his life, than he did now holding this joy-filled woman.

Since Saturn's death, Romelius had been sure he wouldn't feel the way he did now ever again. He had promised to himself that he wouldn't allow a female to hold the control in his life. And while he could easily say that Pagatti meant not to control him, he felt that she did.

With her smile, he smiled. When she laughed, he found himself laughing too. When she cried, he sought out her pain and aimed to destroy. Whatever she did, he based his next move off of. She didn't know that that was what she was doing. How could she? But he knew. And while he enjoyed the reawakening that he had gone through and cherished Pagatti like he had cherished no one else, he knew that he would end this before it went too far.

For even though they were both broken creatures, Pagatti had been freed of her pain. Sure, it would always haunt her and she would constantly make decisions for herself based on the fear that was embedded in her soul. But she had broken free and come to terms with all that had happened. Romelius knew better than to think that he had. Saturn still haunted him day and night. No matter what Pagatti did for him, she couldn't change the fact that Saturn still held his heart in her dead hands.

Pagatti's laughter drew him from his painful thoughts and he focused on the giggling woman. The police had arrived and were moving about the room eyeing the two of them, confusion on their faces. But the bruises on the girl's skin told her story enough that they allowed her to have her moment of giddiness. Instead the officers moved to Sander's body and the scene around the room. Handcuffs were latched to Sander's wrists and paramedic's whisked him away to tend to his head wound.

"I can get Lacy," Pagatti whispered in his ear, her breath tickling the hair on his neck. The words and her breath, both, warmed his heart. He once again felt the feeling of fulfillment and achievement. Pagatti was already thinking of her safe sister and her plans in the future and it was because of him.

He settled her onto her feet and gripped her shoulders lightly, pushing her just fair enough to look at her face. Bruised and swollen, with split lips and a nasty cut on her forehead, Romelius wanted to bash Sander's head in again. But instead he took in the way she smiled at him, full and bright, lighting her blue eyes. The way she seemed to be taller as if the weight of the world had been taken off her shoulders. She tilted her head to the side, letting her blonde hair fall, framing her face as she watched him examine her.

She liked the way he looked at her, liked the safety that he offered. She began to mention it when a detective tapped on her shoulder, drawing both of their gazes from each other. He was a tall man, taller than Romelius. He smiled stoically, though his gaze softened when looking at Pagatti. Romelius felt sick, even though he would never admit that jealousy was coursing through his veins.

"Miss, you're going to have to come down to the station with me," the officer whispered as if she were a young child and ready to break. She hated that men always saw her as a broken thing once they knew her story.

She looked to Romelius, seeking his support and comfort. She corrected her line of thinking. Not all men looked at her like she was broken. She knew one who thought of her as anything but.

Romelius nodded, "I'll be right behind you."

Earning him a breathtaking, electrifying smile of a grateful woman as the officer steered her towards the squad car. Romelius simply sighed and exited to his car.