The Deal Changer (Book IV)

Chapter Fifteen - Not Dead

Sorry? I stared blankly at his grief-stricken face and couldn't understand why he was apologizing to me. Unless...Unless he didn't know what had happened, or why it had happened. "I was in the pantry," I croaked out, swallowing several times to lubricate my dry throat. "My house was on fire."

Matthew gave a pained nod and squeezed my hand. "I was about an hour away when I felt your panic." His eyes drifted, haunted, from mine and he focused on the wall behind me. I drove as fast as my car could go. I swear I was about to have a heart-attack, I swear." He swallowed hard and shook his head. "I barely stopped my car when I arrived to your house. It was entirely in flames."

I remained silent, hoping he wouldn't stop.

"I dove inside first to pull you out. I honestly didn't believe we would make it out. When I pulled you out I killed those involved before bringing you back home." Another kiss to my fingers. "You were barely breathing. Just barely. And there were burns across your legs and injuries all over. I had Shana speed up the recovery process for you. Carol has been monitoring you the entire time and believes you're almost entirely healed."

That explains why I wasn't in pain. My injuries were all healed. "...Did they say why they attacked me? Those vampires?" I slowly questioned, awaiting Matthew's fury.

He shook his head and squeezed my hand. "I didn't give them the chance to, I suppose. But I know why."

My body went rigid and I tried to not show my panic. "Why?"

"Someone is out to get me." His brows knitted together in concentration. "I came home early because I was informed someone I was close friends with had been killed in a fire, along with several people I do business with." He looked me directly in the eyes with a deep sadness in them. "And then you were attacked in the same way in less than twenty-four hours of the first attack."

I had to remind myself to blink because I was focusing so hard on keeping the guilt from my face. I killed one of Matthew's close friends? It must have been the one who knew me, who recognized me as Mrs. Foster. Even though Matthew has taken away someone I was close to, I didn't feel great about taking away one of his friends. A life for a life didn't bring me as much satisfaction as I would have thought.

"I am so sorry, Anna," Matthew mumbled against my hand. "I knew there were risks for you and I've been doing my best to protect you, but I didn't think...I didn't..."

Matthew was practically crumbling before my eyes. I had never seen him this broken before, and I knew I had caused all of his agony. While it was deserved, especially after what Cedric had told me, I couldn't stop the guilt consuming me. "Hey," I whispered, touching his chin so he wouldn't look away. "It's fine. I'm fine. I don't blame you for this." Especially considering it was my fault.

Matthew shook his head. "You should. I nearly lost you. It was like the night you had died was repeating itself, only a thousand times worse because this time I knew I couldn't survive if you didn't."

The way he said it brought chills to my body. I couldn't survive if you didn't. Did he mean he would have died if I had? "You saved me. That's what matters," I tried to comfort, even though a voice in the back of my head told me to let him suffer.

"Barely." He rested his chin on the side of the bed and looked up at me with his glassy eyes, the movement causing the blanket around his shoulders to slide down a bit.

That's when I saw something I didn't take notice of before. There was a dark shade of red down his neck with what appeared to be an uneven texture to his skin. I sat up quickly, nearly falling over, and turned to him. He looked about ready to push me back onto the bed until I grabbed the blanket around him and pulled it away from him slowly.