Their Thief: Redemption

Chapter 20 (Part 1)

My head jerked up at the faint sound of the elevator announcing its arrival. The ring barely made its way through the fog surrounding my head.

I blinked my bleary eyes, clearing the exhaustion that had my head nodding as sleep called to me in the middle of the day. It had become increasingly difficult to keep my head up and my eyes open for the last hour. My sleepless night spent tossing and turning in an effort to avoid sin-filled dreams from following me throughout the day seemed to be taking its toll. It had taken a while to manage the troubled sleep that followed me after I was first bitten by Alec, not to mention everything else that had happened, but it seemed Jace's bite had reset any progress I had made from that first night where I lay in drenched in my sweat while starting up at an unfamiliar ceiling, shivering and craving something that had any remaining pride in my body crying.

"I can't believe she can be such a bitch to her own sister!" Kiara gasped at my side, the pieces of popcorn she held in her fingers never making it past her lips as the TV held her attention captive. It was probably why she hadn't noticed my struggle to remain awake even with my lack of response each time she spoke, which I was sure was every few minutes. Or maybe she had adapted and just grown accustomed to me answering with silence.

Luca may seem to trust her, but I couldn't bring myself to fully, not after witnessing her slip a mask on and off so easily. Simon used to do the same whenever we found ourselves in a pinch, instantly transforming into an angel who could do no wrong instead of the homeless pickpocket he was. We were. I failed to notice the mask he was wearing in the end until it was too late.

It would have been worse if I hadn't crossed paths with Alec, Jace, and Luca. Simon's plans to trade me for protection in prison existed before either of us knew who the three Kings were; before they had a chance to break him.

But it was easier to blame the three monsters who had introduced themselves as nightmares than the first man who ever offered me love.

"Is Luca back?" I questioned, rubbing one of my eyes as I arched my back in a stretch.

"Huh?" Kiara questioned, not hearing me as her eyes took in the petty fight playing out on the TV in front of us. It was a shame that exhaustion had kept me from tuning in to most of the reality show she had put on. It seemed interesting with the shoes-throwing fight that was playing out.

"Do you understand?"

My eyes darted towards the foyer the elevator opened into at the sound of Luca's voice. That answered the question I had been asking Kiara. But it also gave rise to another.

Who was he speaking to?

The rough grunt that answered him didn't give me much to go on. The sound of the elevator door shutting didn't make it easy to listen for any distinguishing notes in the brief sound, but there were only so many that Luca would let near me, his coming to retrieve me and Kiara from the mall acted as evidence. My mind jumped to two individuals in particular.

It didn't take long for one of them to appear before me.

I surged to my feet as Luca entered the living room. Following just a step or two behind him was Jace. His eyes instantly locked onto me, stealing my ability to breathe as a burn flared to life at my shoulder where his teeth had left their mark. It was so bad that I couldn't help but curl over and rake my fingers over the scared skin to leave raised welts in an attempt to ease the fire licking at my skin.

It helped. A little.

I took slow slips of air like I had learned to two years ago to help oxygen make its way to my lungs as my hand reached for the closest support, finding Kiara's arm as she pushed to stand in front of me, her attention finally leaving the screen. Being able to breathe helped me focus my attention elsewhere until the burn could become an afterthought; always there and never quite disappearing. With two itching bites marking my skin, I would have to work twice as hard now to ignore it.