And I’d just gotten him killed.
“I’m sorry, Blake.”
“Go, Henry.Please.Get the fuck out of here.”
It was the please that did it.
Blake never said please.
My jaw clenched.My eyes burned, but I did as he asked.
I took a step back.Then another.And another, until the doorframe was at my back.
“I’ll send help,” I promised.
“I’ll be here,” he whispered.
I held his gaze as I backed into the house.
“Go,” he said once more.
And while I hated abandoning him, I knew he was right.If thiswerea trap, Ariana could be in danger.So I spun around and sprinted out of the house, not stopping until I reached the SUV.
I cranked the engine, the tires spitting gravel as the cabin disappeared behind the curve of trees.Every few seconds, I glanced in the rearview mirror, growing hopeful with each heartbeat that passed without hearing an explosion.
But that hope was dashed when the world behind me erupted, a violent burst of red and orange swallowing the sky.
My vision tunneled.
My hands tightened on the wheel.
But I didn’t slow down.
I couldn’t.
Not after Blake’s sacrifice.
I had to get to Ariana.
And then I’d kill Victor Kane, once and for all.
ChapterThirty-Six
Ariana
I woke with a jolt, my heart punching against my ribs like it was trying to escape.The room was dark.Too dark.The sheets were cold beside me, the emptiness so sharp it felt like a knife sliding along my skin.Something felt…off.
Wrong.
I told myself it was just because Henry wasn’t here.The uneasiness creeping along my spine.The pressure in my chest.The way my breath wouldn’t settle.That was all this was.
Nothing more.
I tossed the covers off and grabbed my robe, slipping it on as I padded across the room, needing some water to quench the dryness in my mouth.
Rubbing my eyes, I opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
I immediately froze.
