And she’s given up. That power within her has drained her will to live down to a nonexistent level.
But there’s always hope—even if it’s miniscule.
I have to find that sliver of hope within her, rekindle it, and bring it back to life.
Her mind is a mess of dark energy, it clouds over her consciousness and I have to force it away. I force it right out of her and I can almost find her beautiful thoughts beneath it all.
Wake up, Alexa.
Alexa, get the fuck up.
Alexa.
My jaw clenches. I feel like shit. I feel responsible. I dragged her into this, when all she wanted was to finish her job. She could have remained beautifully oblivious to all of this if she and I had never met.
Please, Alexa. Please get up.
The desperate plea is all I have left. I can’t make her get up. I can’t make her live this life. I can only support her. The way she’s supported the four of us this entire time.
My head lowers, my eyes clenching closed. I shouldn’t have pushed her so hard.
I’m sorry.
A beat passes in heavy silence.
Fuck, I’m sorry.
“Tylin, get out of my head. I seriously can’t even die without you haunting my mind, body, and soul.”
Shining eyes like the morning sky look up at me. My heart skips a beat just from looking at her. I shove my hand over my face, pushing hard until I can finally meet her gaze again.
“You seriously can’t even die without being a smart mouth, can you?” My teeth rake over my lower lip. The small smile that pulls at the corner of her mouth makes the tension within my chest bursts into waves of relief.
She’s alive. The solace I find with every breath that fills her lungs is momentary at best. Because she’s not safe. She’ll never be safe. Derek will never let her go after tonight. Not after witnessing the level of power Alexa holds.
The four of us knew that Armond and Derek were working together, striving to create a dangerous power source the likes of which the world has never seen.
None of us had realized that such a weapon would exist as a human… and none of us would have guessed that the power source we’d been searching for years for would have waltzed into our damn laps looking like a woman made for sex and sin.
Alexa was their creation.
And I’ll never know how to tell her that...
She sits up slowly, but none of us move back to give her space. The abundance of energy she still holds wracks her body in a wicked shiver, but she’s alive. The rest we can deal with later. Mouse’s hand pushes slowly up her thigh, over the dirt and blood staining her white dress, and she holds his dark gaze while her fingers start to trail back and forth against my knuckles as I hold her hand.
Her attention shifts to Rory and a sigh slips from her lips. He would have died without her. Not that he’s thanking her at the moment. A quiet look is all he gives her.
“Welcome back to the glorious realm of the living, baby.” Jameson leans into her, his palms skimming up the inside of her wrist.
“Of all the names, please stop calling me ‘baby’,” she says in a quiet whisper.
His temple skims against hers, and the lustful tension between them makes me shift at her side.
“If that’s what you really want, my little assassin.”
“Deadly. Your deadly assassin.” Her lips nearly brush his but neither of them close the distance.
Her comment makes him smirk, and I find myself smirking as well. She tilts her head just slightly, her gaze skimming along my mouth, seemingly memorizing the curve of my smile.
