“No shit?” I question jokingly. “Where’s Malakai?” I ask, recalling how close to death Kai was the last time that I had eyes on him.
Cal snorts. Raithe smirks. “What?” I ask. They both turn away from me, eyeing the open door behind them. I’m about to ask what the fuck is going on when Kai comes running in at full speed.What the fuck?
I track Kai as he sprints past us, past Sloane, toward the back of the room and right at Sabel. Sabel screams, backing herself into the far corner. She slides down the wall, hiding her face like the cowardly bitch that she is. Kai stops right in front of her, grabs her by the hair, and lifts her from the ground. Sabel cries out, pleading for someone to help her. Kai laughs wickedly, causing even me to flinch. He wraps his hands around Sabel’s throat, squeezing as she claws at him to let her go. I almost let Kai take her life right then and there.Almost.
“Drop her, Malakai!” I yell from my place on the ground. Sabel’s death will bemine. I almost think that I see Sloane flinch at the sound of my voice. But when I glance over at her, her expressionless appearance remains the same.
Kai releases Sabel, letting her fall to the ground. She grabs her throat, panting for air. Kai walks over to the guard that Cal tossed to the ground, taking his gun that’s laying on the cement beside him. I glance at Cal, worried.
“Callum,” I warn.
“On it,” Cal says, strolling over to Kai. Cal is acting like he has all the time in the world to get to Kai. Meanwhile, Kai is acting like a psychoandhas a gun in his hand. I swallow my thoughts as Cal makes it to Kai in three long strides, grabbing Kai by the back of his shirt with one hand and the gun with the other. Cal tosses the gun to the side and slams Kai into the nearby wall.
“Snap out of it, Malakai.” Cal sneers into Kai’s face. Kai relaxes, looking around in a panic.
“Sorry, man. I got so ahead of myself, and the drugs fucked with my head. Ya know?” Cal releases his grip on Kai’s shirt. Kai pushes off the wall to stand. I look to Raithe in silent question.
“Brian had to hit him with epinephrine to get him back,” Raithe says, placing a hand over his heart to mimic where Brian injected Kai. That explains the explosive anger and the overwhelming need to release it. Whatever Sabel gave us musthave fucked with Kai for Brian to resort to fuckingepinephrine. I nod in understanding.
I glance at Sabel to see that she’s still a sobbing, cowering mess on the floor where Kai dropped her.Good. I try to move my limbs, but I’m only able to wiggle my toes and fingers.Notgood.
“Callum,” I say, turning my head toward him. “Untie Sloane and bring her over to me. I think I know how to stop the Eden Frequency.” I hope that I’m not too late.
Callum nods, walking over to remove the restraints like I asked. His expression matches my somber one. Sloane glances up at Cal with a slightly wary expression, but remains under the influence of the frequency. Cal makes quick work of the restraints, removing the last one that binds her right ankle. Cal links his forearms under Sloane’s arms, lifting her. She stands, walking with him toward me. He assists her to sit next to me, to which she does not object. She doesn’t doanything, and it infuriates me further. I move my fingers, testing the limits of the paralytic. The sensation in my arms and legs is returning quicker now. I don’t waste any time waiting, though.
“What are you gonna do, man?” Raithe asks. “What if she comes back from it and doesn’t remember you?” His question makes me angry, and I don’t want to consider the possibility.
“Then I’ll start from the beginning and make hermineall over again. There isn’t anyone, or anything, that can keep her from me. Not time, not space, not this stupid fucking mind control bullshit. I willalwaysfind a way back to her.” The words leave me without warning, rendering Raithe speechless for a second.
“So deep, dude. Wow,” Raithe says in amazement. I shush him, needing to concentrate.
I peer up at Sloane, resting my cheek against the cement floor. She’s looking down at me, inquisitively. Her eyes narrow, and she bites her lip, fidgeting with her hands in her lap. Iinstinctively reach for her hair to push it behind her ear. I need to see her face.
To my amazement, I’m able to move. I flip over and onto my knees at the realization that the paralytic has finally worn off. I move closer to Sloane, wanting to grab her and hold her. I slow down, not wanting to frighten her. I place my hands on either side of her face, cupping her freckled cheeks in my hands. She exhales slowly, her eyes searching mine. I brush a thumb over her soft cheek, leaning into her until our foreheads meet. I have to do thisnow.
“Darling,” I say, voice breaking from the wreckage of all of this. “My little nightmare,” I rasp, swallowing to pull myself together so that I can do this for her. “I know that you said that I saw you and met you in the dark, but it’syouwho sawme. It’syouwho made me feel worthy of being seen. It’syouwho not only welcomed my darkness but made a home for it. You aremine, Sloane. Sabel and Sonus don’t get to have you. Not like this, notat all.” Tears that I didn’t even know I possessed are trickling down my face. I pull back to look into Sloane’s eyes, willing her to come back to me.
“I love you, Sloane Keenan. I amin lovewith you. I have been since the moment I laid eyes on yourfuckingbeautiful green ones in the crowd at your first Reverb show.” I place a soft kiss on her lips, and her breathing hitches as she moves her lips against mine. I pull back.
“Come back to me, darling.Please,” I plead, voice cracking.
In an instant, the life returns to her eyes, and I know that I’ve got her back.
“Sloane?!” I say, pulling my hands from her face to grab her shoulders, shaking them. She nods, her eyes now rimmed with tears.
“I’m here, Riven. I’m here,” Sloane sobs, reaching for my cheek and pressing her palm against it. I lean into her touch, placing my hand over hers.
I pull her into me and then onto my lap. She wraps her legs around my waist, and I hold the back of her head firmly against my chest like she might vanish from my grasp. I kiss the top of her hair, drinking in the sweet jasmine and amber like my life fucking depends on it.
“Fuck, Sloane. I thought I lost you,” I say, pulling back to study her face.
“You could never,” she says, nearly a whisper. She drops her head, averting my gaze. “Riven, I—I saw … and I …” She struggles to find the words. I run the pad of my thumb over her lower lip and under her jaw, bringing her eyes back to mine. I never want them out of my sight again.
“I know, darling. I know. Shh, it’s okay. You’re okay. I’ve got you,” I say. There are so many things that we need to discuss and hash out, but I want to be here with her in this moment. She nods in understanding, wrapping a hand around my wrist.
Kai’s voice breaks me from the moment. “Um, guys? I hate to break up thisveryadorable moment, but—” I turn to him, ready to glare him into the afterlife if he doesn’tshut the fuck up.
I don’t get the chance to, though, because Sabel is running toward us at a gravity-defying speed and murder in her bloodshot eyes.
