FRIENDS. This is it...the end of Beast + Beauty.
It's been a long, lovely ride of suspense and wonderful comments from you the readers. I am extremely excited for you to read the long-awaited ending of Adam + Alina's story...and there may or may not be that kiss you requested. We shall see. As always, if it's been a while since the last time you read, feel free to hop over and re-read Part I, II, III, IV + V , or VI!
Please, PLEASE leave a comment below with your final thoughts and what you thought of the ending...I am planning on expanding this into a full-length novel later this summer as A + A's story deserves a proper telling. Thank you again for reading.
Enjoy.
7
Feet pounded behind her, Lee’s ragged panting
sawing the air. He must have followed them home. "Alina, what are you
doing? He told you to stay!"
She kept walking.
His hand grabbed her arm, yanking her
back. "Are you crazy? There’s nothing good out there!" he
shouted, his eyes wild with fear.
"He's out there!" Alina retorted
fiercely, pulling against him.
Lee’s heaving chest slowed; he shook his head
unwillingly. "We both know he's not good."
She looked at him with sudden disgust and almost
pity. "No," she whispered, yanking her arm out of his grip. "That’s
what you think." She lifted her chin. "I know better."
His face crumpled; she left him standing there
as she ran - not for her life, not for her father's life.
For his.
I envy not the
beast that takes
His license in
the field of time,
Unfetter’d by
the sense of crime,
To whom a
conscience never wakes;
Adam bit back a
particularly colorful curse; clearly Iain had been working on his right hook.
"Always a bloody hero for a girl....but not
this time,” the younger man sneered, lowering his arm after the last blow. “She’s
not Kristin. She won’t follow you."
Adam lifted his head, exhaustion and a strange
determination humming through him. He ran his gaze over the swollen horizon, grey
with early morning, to the stained corners of the warehouse roof where Iain had
dragged him. Yes...NYPD would be here any second now, if they weren't already.
He could almost imagine he heard the soft sound of footsteps, plastic shields
clinking, guns locking.
They'd be here in a moment - he bit back a
rueful grin. He'd always done his best to avoid them and now, at the very end,
he'd been the one to call in the cavalry.
Literally.
Iain’s men had searched him before taking him to
the Barras, but thankfully hadn’t checked his call history after confiscating
his phone
He lifted his gaze back to Iain and let the
smile finally spread across his battered face. "I didn't do this so she'd
come back."
Iain's eyes narrowed, distracted.
Adam
continued, keeping his attention away from the now shifting corners by the
stairs.
"I did it so she'd leave. And live.”
Adam closed his eyes as his final words slipped
past his lips. It was done. Only one thing mattered. That he keep her safe. And
he had.
Showtime, he thought wryly - and opened his eyes to meet
his death head-on.
Iain's sudden gasp alerted him that they had
moved forward.
Like a fool, the boy whirled frantically,
pointing his gun at the growing NYPD team as if they would somehow feel
threatened by a young gang member and the broken, battered leader at his
feet.
"Back up!" Iain shrieked exactly at
the same time that he was ordered in a deep voice to drop his weapon.
"No - I'll shoot, I swear I will!"
Stupid,
stupid boy.
That was his last thought before gunfire rang
out. A rattling, thundering storm of barks that warped the boy's yell into a
high-pitched scream -
Adam contorted. Pain - shooting, sickening
underneath the screaming...why was Iain still screaming?
"'NO!'"
Adam fought to keep his eyes open. No, not - couldn't be - not her voice.
His darkening vision swam and for the briefest
moment lingered enough for him to see Alina’s slim form dart out of the
stairs.
"N-" he tried to choke in a strangled
voice, but only tasted the metallic tang of blood and sank back, feeling
himself slip into darkness. God, not her
death too - he could bear his own. But not...
Ragged brown
hair against his face, gentle fingers wrapping around him - what was left of
him - her voice, sobbing and beautiful and her,
begging him to stay, to be okay. Her lips against his - warm and trembling
and so very sweet -
His eyes fluttered. Had to...tell –
“Guess even a beast can be a hero,” he mumbled
against her mouth, trying to smile; darkness roared up over him. Pity, he thought tiredly, with distant
sadness as he slipped deeper. He would have liked to kiss her more.
But dead men can't kiss.
I hold it true,
whate’er befall;
I feel it, when
I sorrow most;
‘Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to
have loved at all.
Alina couldn't breathe - couldn't hear, couldn't
see...not the shouts of the police around her, the whirr of helicopters, or
garnet red seeping against concrete.
The only thing real was Adam's body in her arms.
Hands grabbed at her, tugging her backwards.
Trying to disentangle her from his bloody body, unwrap her arms from around his
shoulders, pull her fingers from his hair, her face from his neck.
She screamed and fought and sobbed as slowly,
excruciatingly, they succeeded. In one moment, he was there - solid, warm, and Adam - against her.
Then he was gone, replaced by cold emptiness.
Her arms faltered and fell through the air; sweet
blackness closed over her.
Be near me when I fade away,
To point the term of human strife,
And on the low dark verge of life,
The
twilight of eternal day.
8
“Ma’am?”
Alina raised her gaze to the blank-faced nurse
standing above her.
She gripped the plastic chair rim tighter and
shut her eyes for a moment, escaping into blessed darkness to look for her
sanity, her ability to speak.
“Ma’am?” the nurse droned again.
She opened her eyes. “Is he – what did they do
with...” her voice faltered.
“They just took the body away. We’ve cleared you
and the chief has your statement. You’re free to go.”
Alina staggered to her feet, ignoring the
woman’s bored recitation...they just took
the body.
“No,” she whispered and pushed past the startled
nurse. She plunged into the hallway and paused.
Disorienting whispers, papers and fabric
rustling as doctors and nurses in scrubs hurried past, a disembodied voice
paging a doctor to the third floor, snatches of conversations, wheels squeaking
–
She spun to the left and caught sight of an
orderly disappearing around the corner with a gurney. Alina forced herself to
move forward, panic seeping through the numbness.
“Watch where you’re going, young lady!”
An irate, middle-aged nurse jerked her large
frame away from Alina with an affronted sniff.
“I’m sorry – so sorry,” Alina mumbled, breaking
into a run. She turned the corner and froze.
An orderly’s skinny back was bent over the long
gurney, wheeling it away from her. Motionless, white fabric covered the entire
length – and the body on it.
Adam’s
body.
Alina gasped, the hallway suddenly swaying.
The orderly turned at the sound and she blinked,
trying to stay standing.
It was Lee.
To her shock, he winked, looking completely
unsurprised to see her. He turned back, pushing the gurney to the side around
the next corner. The sudden turn caused a pale hand to slip out from under the
sheet, dangling.
Fingers twitched and curled into a fist.
She smiled, wild elation and triumph shooting
through her.
He was alive.
The end.
Beautifully written! And what a plot twist! I stayed up late last night re-reading the earlier parts so I would be ready when the last segment came out. I can see the scene like I am there. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOh well done!
ReplyDeleteThe ending leaves me with such a happy feeling, but also wishing for more of A&A's story. :D
An entire book? You go gurl! ^_^
LOVE IT! YES, expand it! The story was riveting but there's absolutely potential to do more, to fill in more detail about them and their back stories and their relationship. I'd be so excited to see a full novel.
ReplyDeleteI loved it! You wrote it so wonderfully! Definitely expand it! I'd love to read their whole story in a novel! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is great Grace!! I love it. I would love to read the whole story if sometime, with more details! =)
ReplyDelete~Lizzie
I agree with all previous comments that this story captivated me and I would love a full length version! The ending had me reading until the end, although you left me hanging a bit because I don't know what happens. Does Adam stop leading the gang? What about his criminal record? Many question left unanswered. And I have one more question: would you plan on writing a sequel or just the one book? Loved reading along with your story, Grace, and it inspired me to continue in my writing journey!
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing, Grace! I just read the whole thing. You are so good at creating vivid descriptions and deep, realistic characters. And need I mention that you are the queen of suspense and cliffhanger? I'm so happy I didn't have to wait a week for each of these to come out! Beautiful story! Keep writing!
ReplyDelete