The trees blur past, and I barely notice the uneven ground beneath me. I don’t stop running until I break through the tree line and reach the deserted road.
A blinding light pierces my vision. I flinch, throwing an arm up as headlights flood the road, burning against the dark. The rumble of an approaching engine sends a sick wave of déjà vu down my spine. I swallow hard, blinking against the glare.
Damon. It has to be Damon. He left hours ago. He’s coming back.
The tires crunch against gravel, slowing, then stopping completely. Relief floods me for just one second?—
The driver’s door opens.
And Jason steps out.
Everything inside me freezes.
A slow, easy smile spreads across his face, his eyes gleaming in the headlights. “Now, now,” he murmurs. “Running off into the night like this? That’s not very safe, is it, sweetheart?”
“Jason,” I breathe.
He points to the car, and I see the outline of a man holding something up.
Ella! My baby!
Jason grins at me. “It’s time to go home, sweetheart.”
CHAPTER 22
ZANE
I wakeup on my back, the cold damp of the earth seeping through my clothes. My head pounds, a slow, insistent throb at the base of my skull. My limbs feel heavy, sluggish, like I’ve been out longer than I should’ve been.
I push up onto my elbows, groaning as a wave of dizziness hits. The world tilts before settling into focus. The lake stretches out in front of me, dark and unmoving. The air is thick with the scent of damp leaves and something metallic—blood.
My phone lies a few feet away, the screen cracked, the faint glow of a missed notification flickering. I reach for it, wincing as my fingers brush something wet near my temple. Blood. My blood.
Voices drift through the trees, urgent, searching.
“Mia. Ella! Emma!” Asher calls out. “Emma! Ella!”
“Asher,” I rasp, my throat dry as hell. I try again, a little louder. “Asher!”
Footsteps crunch through the underbrush, moving fast. A flashlight beam sweeps over the area before settling on me. Asher steps into view, his jaw tightening.
“Jesus,” he mutters, crouching beside me. “What the hell happened to you?”
I shake my head, trying to piece it together. “Not sure,” I admit, voice hoarse. “One moment I was making the rounds, and the next…” I trail off, sifting through fragmented memories.
A noise. Footsteps behind me. A sharp pain at the back of my skull.
Then nothing.
Asher grips my shoulder, steadying me as I try to sit up fully. His eyes flick to the blood on my head, then to my busted phone.
“You were jumped.” It’s not a question.
I exhale sharply. “Looks that way.”
His gaze shifts toward the trees, scanning the darkness. “You see who it was?”
“No.” My frustration builds. “But whoever it was, they got the drop on me.”
