Isla knowsexactlywhere she's headed if this asshole has his way. Silas dragged her out here under the pretense of a romantic getaway, and she's been playing along for the last month to get here. If my need to protect her ruins it, she'll never forgive me.
Sheneeds toget out every girl and woman that mightpossiblybe hidden in this place.Part of me wondersjusthow long she'sreallybeen planning this and marvels at how she managed to hide her thoughts from me.
"Sir," I tell Silas, ignoring Isla the way he would expect a man to do, trying to gain his respect, "I really insist on supplying you with some. I've got several in my pack on the mobile, I'll just—"
"Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?" he finally asks, and I freeze.
"I don't think so," I smoothly cover, chuckling. "I've just got one of those faces."
Suddenly, an alarm sounds all around us, the sharp ping of it ringing in my ears. Isla takes a step toward me, only to be stopped by Silas as he keeps his eyes on me, even more suspicious than he was a minute ago.
"I do know you," he takes a step back, keeping Isla behind him. "I killed you. So if you're here, that means—"
A loud, scraping sound from somewhere behind them draws his and Isla's attention. Another man appears, Isla's fearful yet determined eyes locking on wherever he came from. This man's eyes find me immediately once he rounds the corner. "Demon," he growls.
As much as I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, I was prepared for it. From Daphne's control center two states away, she cuts all power to this region, sinking us into darkness.
"What the fuck?"Isla mutters, looking around as if the answer for theloss of power will berightin front ofher.I take a few silent steps closer to her, entering the house past Silas, brushing my hand against Isla's so she knows I'mhereright beside her.
Out here in the middle of nowhere, the loss of power coats the world in pitch black.I knowfrom her blank, darting eyes that Isla can't see more than a foot in front of her face.I didn't want her to becompletelywithoutany ofher senses, but she's trained for this. If I did my job right, she would have already taken stock of every corner, every wall, and every piece of furniture in the common area.
The two hunters scramble, Silas reaching blindly in front of him, either trying to find Isla or searching for a weapon, while the otheronereachesfor something in his pack.
Night goggles, of course.
Once he has them on, he grabs Isla, his gun pointed at me as a clear warning not to step closer, dragging her back towardsthe way they came. If it were anormalgun, I would just take my chances, but I know the kind of weapons they keep, especially here in one of their hideouts. I'm no use to Isla if they incapacitate me with the poison in their firearms.
Isla screams at the rough grip, kicking out with her leg one, two, three times until it collides perfectly with the inside of his knee, breaking it immediately. He goes down, taking her with him until they both crumple to the floor, her scrambling to escape his fierce grip.
Night goggles,I tell her, letting the gun he dropped fall through the Aether far away from his reach. But unless she can knock this guy out, there's no way he'll be giving those goggles up without a fight. I move forward to help her, only to be stopped by the lights coming back on. I knew we wouldn't have long before the backup generator was turned on, but fuck, I hoped it would be longer than this.
In the split second it takes for the hunter to react to the sudden change in light, ripping his goggles off, Isla grips a knife from his belt, slamming it into his stomach without hesitation. He grunts, shoving her away from him, the blood smearing across her hand, making her grip slippery enough that she releases the knife, leaving it plunged into his gut.
Realizing what she did, she reaches her hands out like she might help him, warning him, "Don't pull it out."
But she had to know he wasn't going to listen. He looks at me before looking back at Isla, shock and pain written across his face. Instinct, as stupid as it was, told him to remove the weapon currently lodged inside hisbody. His other hand tries to stop the blood flow, putting pressure on it as he takes half a step toward Isla, forgetting about his already broken knee with the adrenaline of being stabbed keeping him afloat. His face gives away his plan, his frenzy, showing me he's absolutely intent on killing her before the blood falling from hisbodystops flowing.
Falling back to his knees, he swings a wide arc that Isla only barely manages to dodge, the blade skimming her dress, baring her hip, and the white lingerie peeking out beneath it.
"Lingerie?" I chuckle. "Really, Isla?"
She needs the distraction to keep her from panicking. While this obviously isn't her first kill, it's going to feel a lot more personal than those bombs she used before. His blood is literally drying on her hand as he falls to the ground in front of her.
Her big eyes meet mine, her lip wobbling before she manages to brush it off, huffing, "Well, I figured you'd show up to rip this monstrosity off me eventually."
If her new husband heard the exchange, he's smart enough not to say anything. In fact... where the fuck did he go? He's the one I was most looking forward to killing.
"Where's Silas?" Isla pants, stepping over the dead hunter and coming to my side. Just then, I hear the snowmobile gunning to life.Found him.
Fucking coward.
Buried in between my fury that he just took off on our getaway car, so to speak, is relief so palpable I take the first real breath I've had in weeks. I lift Isla into my arms, squeezing her so hard her back pops. A soft sob leaves her throat as she wraps her arms around my neck, burying her face against me.
Unfortunately, the loud noises and lack of power have only brought more hunters up from the depths beneath the house. The wall of books opens up, a yawning blackness appearing behind them as a small team of armed men storm out of it, their firearms raised in mine and Isla's general direction.
They wouldn't threaten Isla directly, but just having that kind of weaponry aimed anywhere near her freezes me. I couldn't live with myself if she got hurt—or worse— now that she's so close to what she's been suffering for the last few weeks.
Slowly, I ease her back to the ground, pushing her behind me and doing a quick headcount of the men before us.
