Creatus (They Exist), prequel to the Creatus Series

Sneak Peek - Creatus - Chapter 2

Derrick leaned over Kristina, thankful she was still alive. Her eyes opened and she smiled. She had to be in pain, but she forced a smile anyway. His heart soared. He'd wanted to wait a few more years. But now that he was here, beside her, allowing her to see him, he had no idea how he'd waited as long as he had.

He could have lost her. She could have died from that drop. He'd never believed for a second she would jump. She'd never indicated she was suicidal.

He touched her face again, loving the way her soft skin felt beneath his palm, hating that he was going to have to hurt her to help her. "I'm not going to lie to you; this isn't going to feel pleasant. I need to set your shoulder before I can move you." He removed his leather belt and held it in front of her mouth. "Bite down on this."

Her eyebrows furrowed a bit, a flicker of fear lighting in her eyes, but she accepted the strap without uttering a word. Did she think he'd hurt her on purpose?

Derrick bent her arm at a ninety-degree angle, rotating her arm and shoulder inward, toward her chest. She clenched her teeth together on the leather, restraining her cries, for which he was grateful. It would kill him to see her in agony. Slowly, he rotated her arm and shoulder outward, keeping her upper arm stationary, coaxing it back into the shoulder joint.

She released her grip on the belt and exhaled in relief. "How did you do that?"

"I'm a doctor." He scooped her up carefully and moved her into his vehicle. They needed to talk, but they couldn't remain here. Someone might have seen her jump and would be calling the police.

As if in shock, Kristina didn't say anything else as he strapped her in the passenger seat. She just stared at him, her hazel eyes sparkling in the morning sunlight. Beautiful, mesmerizing, even though wisps of red lined the sclera. He reached into the cargo area of his Navigator and grabbed a blanket, which he handed to her as he dropped behind the wheel. She accepted it without comment, wrapping it around her. He adjusted the temperature controls as he drove out of the parking space at the yacht club where he'd carried her up on shore. She still hadn't spoken a word, so he drove off without explanation. Maybe she was in shock or ticked that he'd called her stupid. It'd been rude, he knew. But why in hell would she jump off a bridge?

Feeling her gaze burning through him, he cast a glimpse in her direction.

"You're ... real," she finally sputtered, a quiver in her voice as she touched his arm. "You're flesh and blood."

Huffing out a chuckle at her words, he attempted to contain his nervousness of her accusation, as if she'd discerned there was something unusual about him. He didn't look any different from any other twenty-something-year-old male.

He'd always assumed that once they met, he could convince her that she'd been mistaken as a child when she told the police officer that her dark angel had saved her.

"Of course I'm real," he said, attempting to add enough conviction behind his words so she wouldn't question him further. He proceeded over the Tobin Bridge and took the exit toward the park underneath the tall structure on Chelsea's side of the Mystic River. After he pulled into a space, he turned to the young woman he'd waited fourteen years to meet. "We need to talk."

Her eyes widened in a mock gesture. "You think?"

Derrick exited the vehicle and walked around to the passenger side, opening the door, but Kristina didn't get out. "Are you coming?" he said as softly as he could force himself. He'd saved her life for the fifth time by his count — of course, she only knew about two of the situations — and the first thing she chose to do was develop an attitude with him.