“NO. NO,” I MUMBLED BENEATH Holden’s hand smothering my cries.
Holden picked me up and started running. I flailed and kicked and elbowed him so hard in the ribs, he staggered, but didn’t let me go. “He’ll kill him.”
Memories of Drake carrying me away as my mother lay dying. Knowing I could heal her and being forced to leave. “Jasper. Jasper.” But my voice hit a brick wall and slingshot back at me. He’d closed himself off.
Jasper. I couldn’t lose him too.
But hadn’t I already? He left because of me. I drove him away because he felt he had to prove to me he meant what he said. He took the job to protect me from any others from killing me.
Did I believe him? Did I trust him? Was he using me for my ability?
But I knew. I felt it when we were together. It couldn’t have all been lies. It didn’t feel like lies. There had been devastation in his grey eyes when I learned the truth. That wasn’t a man who didn’t care.
The way he kissed my scars last night . . . how he held me in his arms . . . how he sat with me after my nightmare. How he admitted to watching me for months. How he knew the little things about me.
He cared. Jasper cared. I knew it was huge because I understood what it was like to lose someone you loved and never want to go through the agony again.
I knew what it was like to lock yourself away. I did it so Drake wouldn’t find me and to protect everyone. And Jasper . . . Jasper did it to alienate everyone so he never had to care about them. Never have anyone used against him.
I hung limply over Holden’s shoulder as he ran down to the river, then across it and up the steep embankment, and into the cover of the woods. Guise was a few feet ahead, but kept looking over his shoulder, his eyes glowing a brilliant gold as he used his Visionary ability.
I expected fear to blanket me again knowing Drake had finally found me, but it wasn’t Drake I feared. It was my fear for Jasper. Because I knew Drake would show no mercy. He didn’t have it in him and yet we were running away. Leaving him. His own brother was going to let him die.
Holden stopped and slid me off his shoulder. Before I could do anything stupid like run back for Jasper, Guise grabbed my hand.
They nodded at one another and then like a well-oiled machine, each knowing what to do without hesitation, we started running again—without Holden.
“Guise. No. We can’t leave them.” I stumbled behind him and he didn’t hesitate as he swooped me up and threw me over his shoulder and kept running through the brush.
After what felt like an hour but was more than likely ten minutes, he stopped and set me on my feet. I took one step to head back where I’d last seen Jasper, which had to be miles away now, when Guise snagged my arm and yanked me forward so hard I fell to my knees. He glared down at me, his face a harsh, unyielding statue of rage. “You’re going to run, damn it. You don’t run, you’re responsible for killing Holden because he is making certain we get clear.”
I blanched, stomach churning as I fought to keep from throwing up.
“We can’t let Drake have you.” He grabbed my other arm and shook me. “No matter what. And I don’t kill innocent women. So, you’ll fuckin’ run until I tell you to stop.” He cupped my chin and locked his threatening eyes on me. “Jasper sacrificed his life for you. Don’t throw it away.”
It was like he kicked me in the chest and tossed me down the mountain as the choking sob wrenched from my throat and pain filled me.
I shook uncontrollably and with each breath, it hurt . . . but I ran. I took Guise’s hand and I ran.
It was a while before Guise stopped and held up his cell phone searching for reception. I collapsed against a tree, bent over, gagging and spitting as my lungs screamed from exertion. I put my hands on my thighs, my hair a curtain across my tear-stained cheeks.
“Xamien.” Guise’s voice seemed far away, but he was right in front of me, his booted feet pacing back and forth. “At the base. Jasper . . . yeah . . . not sure about him. Look for Holden. He stayed back . . . Okay . . . the hotel at the base of the ski mountain.”
He said something else but I’d blanked out as I sank to the ground and wrapped my arms around my knees. I could’ve stopped him. I could have stopped Drake from killing him. Made an exchange. Done something.
“No, you couldn’t,” Guise abruptly said. There was a strong push at my mind as he read my thoughts. I was weak and unable to block him. Did it matter? Did I care if Guise or anyone else read my thoughts anymore? What did I have to hide?
He crouched in front of me. “Jasper fought all his life trying to redeem himself for something he had no control over.” Guise reached out and rubbed his thumb over a spot on my forehead where I undoubtedly had dirt. “He cared for you. Anyone could see it within seconds of seeing him look at you. Well, he got the chance to prove to you and to himself that he was worth something.”
I broke. I wanted to be strong and fight against the anguish that was eating me alive. I knew how. I’d done it for years, but it was gone. The shell had cracked and I was vulnerable to the pain.
I opened up all my shields, hoping if Jasper had any life left in him, he’d hear me. “Jasper,” I whispered his name in my mind, praying I’d hear the hint of his Scottish brogue sweep across my mind.
“Breanna. There you are, my sweet.”
I jerked my head up and Guise tensed, leaping to his feet and taking me with him. My heart thudded at the deep, raspy voice I hadn’t heard in four years. “How did you find me?” He could’ve tracked us to the hotel, but not to Holden’s in the mountains.
“It was a simple deduction once I discovered who was protecting you.” Jasper? “I have many vampire followers, my love. Vampires who really don’t like that pathetic, worthless Scar. Seems he pissed off a few too many a long time ago hunting down those who killed his sister.” His chuckle vibrated in my head. “Once we tracked the car to the hotel, all fell into place. The house in the mountain . . . did you know that the river close by is where Jasper and his sister had been going to swim that evening?” Oh, God. No. “According to the vampires whose friends he killed, Jasper had a house built nearby but would never live there.” He clicked his tongue like he was scolding a child. “Such a shame, he will bleed to death in the same spot his sister had. I give him an hour, if he doesn’t move too much. A lot longer than I gave your mother.” I couldn’t stop my stomach from lurching and I fell to my knees as I threw up. It was a collision of relief Jasper still lived and terror that Drake had him.
I recoiled. Guise was saying something, but I couldn’t hear him as I blocked out everything except Drake’s voice.
“Did you fuck him, Breanna?”
“Don’t kill him.” Jasper was alive. He still had a chance.
He chuckled again. I remembered the sound so clearly and a thread of fear sliced into me. Because I knew what came next. And I’d do anything to save Jasper’s life; that was why Drake hadn’t killed him yet. “You know what I want. Don’t make me chase you . . .” he paused and I could hear him breathing in my mind. “There will be consequences for leaving me and for lying to me, you know that. But I will make it easier on you if you stop running.”
“And Jasper?”
“Max!” Guise’s hands gripped my arms and shook me, trying to get my attention.
“Jasper?” I repeated.
“He’ll live if you come to me. I’ll even be generous and let you heal him. But he leaves and you come back with me. To where you belong, Breanna.”
I had one chance and if I failed . . . I wouldn’t fail. I was stronger now, and if my plan worked, I’d have help. I knew Drake better than anyone. He’d kill Jasper. He’d never let him walk away no matter what he said. His acid-laced lies spilled so easily from his mouth. “I’ll meet you. But if Jasper isn’t alive, I will never heal your Ink.” I had no intention of ever healing his Ink even if my idea didn’t work.
“As my slave you will.”
“Know this, Drake. If he dies, I will never drink your blood. And I will spend each and every day fighting you. I know how you hate it when I fight.” My chest swelled at some of the power I had over Drake. It was no longer fear but determination. It was no longer submission but rebellion. He could torture me and hurt me and mentally destroy me, but what he couldn’t do was take my will away. In order to become a vampire and his slave, I had to willingly drink his blood and I wasn’t the little ten-year-old girl anymore who had no one.
I had something to fight for—Jasper.
“And I will torture him until you do,” Drake said confidently.
“No, because I will heal him and then you will let him go. He walks away first. So, you better make fucking certain he stays alive, Drake.” He hissed, knowing I had the upper hand. “And the blades I hold to my throat. I’m not afraid to die. You made sure of that. Don’t fuck with me, Drake.”
He was quiet, and for a second, I thought he’d left my mind, but the cold, cruel blackness still lingered and I knew he was deciding how far he could push me.
“There is a white house by the road across from the hotel where you stayed . . . with him. Find a way to get there. You have less than two hours. Remember your house burning with your mother inside? That is what will happen to him in two hours if you don’t show—alone Breanna.”
And then he was gone.