She nodded her agreement as she rested her head on his chest and held him against her. "It will be," she vowed.
Chapter Twenty-Four
"There you are!" Isabelle cried when they emerged from the mall. The rain had stopped, and the sky was cleared. The air seemed cleaner, though it was more humid. Emma blinked against the sunlight and spotted Isabelle across the street from them with Stefan at her side. "Where have you been?" she demanded as she stalked across the street toward them.
"Getting out of the rain," Ethan replied.
Isabelle's brow furrowed as her gaze slid back and forth between them. Ethan's glasses were back in place, but Emma could feel the more relaxed posture of his body as he stood beside her.
"We've been looking all over for you,” Isabelle said.
Though the only place Isabelle was looking right now was at her neck, but Emma knew her dampened hair covered Ethan's bite mark on her.
"You've found us," Ethan said.
"Are Jill and Mandy ok?" Emma asked anxiously.
"Mandy's fine; we were separated from Jill. Aiden and Ian are looking for her now."
Emma took an abrupt step forward. "Separated, how?"
"There were a lot of people on the beach," Isabelle said. "Everyone started running at once. Aiden lost her when she hopped on one of the buses."
"I'm sure she's fine," Ethan assured her. "It was a quick storm. Come on; let's get you back to the house."
"Not until we find Jill," she insisted.
Ethan's jaw clenched, he was about to start arguing with her when he spotted Aiden jogging toward them from the beach. His brother was barely breathing hard when he reached them. "We found her; she just got off the bus again. It took her a little while to get back to here on the bus. Ian's taking her to the house now."
"Good," Emma breathed.
"Come on, let's go," Ethan said and clasped her elbow.
Emma carefully studied the people walking so casually past them. She was half-afraid one of them might turn around and stab her at any second, though she doubted Tristan's plan was for her to be dead. No, she was certain he had something far more sinister in mind for her. She stayed close to Ethan's side, and by the time they returned to the house, she felt jittery and uncertain. The sound of the door closing behind her and the lock clicking into place was music to her ears.
Mandy and Jill poked their heads around the corner of the door from the pool area before they'd even stepped into the living room. "There you are!" Jill hurried across the room and threw her arms around Emma.
"There you are!" Emma said and embraced her friend.
"I got a short tour of the area," Jill said with a laugh. "But I stayed dry."
"You okay?" Emma asked Mandy.
"I'm fine," she said and squeezed her arm.
"Who knew rain could be so damn inconvenient," Jill said as she bounced out to the patio again. "But the sky is clear, there's a pool here, and I forgot to leave the volleyball on the beach so we can always play in the pool."
It sounded like fun, but Emma found herself leaning closer to Ethan as thoughts of retreating to his bedroom filled her. She'd never thought she'd be the type to stay in bed with a guy all day, but right now the prospect of spending all week with him there sounded like a little bit of heaven to her. She was about to give Jill some excuse to leave when the doorbell rang.
Despite her best efforts not to show her distress, not to let everyone know just how rattled Tristan and his band of psycho groupies had made her, she jumped at the sound and spun around. Ethan rested his hand reassuringly on the small of her back.
"I'll get it," Stefan said.
Ethan stepped in front of Emma as he braced himself to launch at whatever might come through the door. Stefan glanced back at Isabelle to make sure she was safe before pulling the door open. There was no death threat on the other side of that door, but Ethan felt his anger rise almost as much as if there had been when he saw who was standing there.
Brian leaned insolently against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest and a pair of dark sunglasses covering his eyes. Ethan had almost forgotten how much he disliked the smug asshole until seeing him again.
"You rang," Brian drawled and flashed a smile. "Or I suppose I just did."
"Holy shit," Jill whispered behind him. "Is that guy real?"
Emma wondered the same thing as her gaze was riveted on the man in the doorway, exuding raw sexuality and an air of superiority the likes of which she'd never encountered before. Hair, so blond it was nearly white, was cut short to enhance his high cheekbones and pointed chin. Lips the color of blood were a stark contrast to the paleness of his flawless skin. His full upper lip curled into a smile that revealed his extended fangs.
"Brian," Stefan greeted.
"Stefan," he said with a bow of his head. "Are you going to invite me in, or am I going to hang out here all day working on my tan?"
Stefan looked as if he was tempted to drive his fist into Brian's face, but he still managed to step aside as he spoke. "Come in, Brian."
Brian uncrossed his legs as he rose away from the frame. "How nice of you, Stefan, considering the last time we were together you were threatening to rip my head off."
"It's still a very tempting idea," Stefan murmured.
Brian gave him a dazzling smile that caused Jill to start fanning herself. He grabbed a duffle bag from the ground beside him and walked into the house. "Well, if it isn't the purebreds," he said with