That’s when the first flickers of a plan sparked to life in my mind.
I didn’t need a stake. And honestly, if I had to get close to him, I knew I’d fail. If Caleb looked into my eyes when I was driving a stake through his heart, I wouldn’t be able to go through with it. But there was one surefire way to deal with all made vampires, and it didn’t require me to do a damn thing.
The sun.
I just needed to make certain Caleb was stuck outside once the sun came up. These little beauties would ensure he couldn’t just break a window and crawl in. And I could easily push furniture in front of the door and pray he wasn’t strong enough to breach my protections.
My chest tightened with anxiety at the thought of what I was plotting, but when it was all said and done, I didn’t have any other options. He’d taken them all away the moment he agreed to go through with this.
“Yeah, Caleb. This is all your fault,” I muttered to my imaginary captor.
“Aye,a stor. It doesn’t make you any less of a killer.”
“Well, you should have thought about that before you brought me to murder island, you psychopath.”
“What’s the saying? It takes one to know one?”
“Sure. Make fun of the girl who’s talking to herself to stay sane. Nice move.”
“You’re the one talking for me. You’re doing it to yourself.”
“Go sit on a cactus, Caleb.”
Jesus, I was losing it. “Get it together, Fallon. We have work to do.”
I was careful not to leave drag marks as I brought the panels inside. It didn’t take me long, and bonus, Caleb wouldn’t have any heads up about my betrayal. I winced but didn’t stop. The train had left the station. This was happening.
The boards fit perfectly in the windows, and when I found a stack of 2x4s stored in a closet, custom cut to fit in the brackets on either side of each window, I let out a sigh of relief. The extra barricading would help keep him out. Hopefully long enough.
Once that was done, I took a deep breath and stared at the door, eyeing it like a monster was about to jump out and bite me.
Are you really doing this?The question was a nervous whisper in my mind. The part of me that looked at Caleb and saw only the man I loved. The part that couldn’t imagine a life without him. But on the heels of that uncertainty came the reminder that he’d brought me here for one reason. And it wasn’t to live happily ever after.
“It's her or him, Sunday.”
Steeling my shoulders, I took the few steps forward and slid the lock into place. The heavy click sent a shiver down my spine.
“And now we wait.”
ChapterSixteen
CALEB
Come to an isolated island with no fecking animals to feed on, Caleb. Bloody brilliant.
I’d already broken my other rules, but I wouldn’t break this one. It had to be animal blood. Nothing else.
Any woodland creature I found was so small the nourishment they provided was non-existent. At this rate, I’d be out here until sunrise. Not only that, I’d starve long before the child was born. I’d have to make sure blood bags were on the list of supplies for the next shipment.
I sighed. That meant I’d have to pull out my burner phone and hide my call from Sunday. I wasn’t going to kid myself that she’d simply accepted her lot in life. She was plotting silently. I knew her too well to think otherwise.
Can you blame her? She knows what you’re about now. She hates you.
My thoughts drifted to the end of my fantasy session in the shower. To the taste of her cunt. To how close I’d been to sinking my fangs into her inner thigh and feeding while she came around my fingers. Nothing would compare to the satisfaction I got when I fed from my mate.
Fecking hell. Stop it.
I knew my search was futile, but I couldn’t bear the thought of going back to the house before sunrise and sitting in more of that damned silence. All I wanted was to hold her. To claim her over and over again until our bodies were slick with sweat and my cum was inside her. Where it fucking belonged.