The white was almost gone now. I tried to bring Brooke’s image up in my mind. If I died today, I wanted my last thought to be of her.
Brooke
The scream I let out as Vince sank his hand in Mason’s wound still rang in my ears. The anger that twisted Vince’s expression told me he wanted to end Mason now, as painfully as possible. I wouldn’t let that happen.
I took in a lungful of air and screamed at Vince. “Hey! I’m over here.”
He looked up from where he kneeled at the bear’s side. His fingers still twisted in the bloody shoulder wound, but the bear didn’t move. If it weren’t for the ragged rise and fall of its chest, I might think it was dead. Rage rose in me at the sight of Vince torturing Mason when he was already down.
I jogged backward, continuing to taunt Vince. “You thought you could get me? Not going to happen. Mason won. He saved me.”
Vince gave one last twist of his hand, then staggered to his feet. His right hand hung broken and bloody at his side. Rage-filled eyes turned on me and promised me I was back to being his target. I broke into an uneven run. My ankle was almost numb but still shot tendrils of pain through me. I forced myself to push through.
I no longer watched where I stepped as I moved through the forest. Both Vince and I crashed through the brush. Branches snagged in my clothing, but I kept moving. I needed to put some distance between Mason and Vince. Shifters healed fast. I didn’t know exactly how fast, but I hoped to buy Mason enough time for him to survive.
Chloe had said the sheriff was coming. I hoped he was nearing Mason’s location with Declan and Austin. They would help him.
I was running on pure fury now. My brother was dead because of Vince, and Mason might die too. I was determined not to let him win. I was too slow to outrun him, even if my ankle wasn’t injured, which meant I had to fight him. Vince had a definite advantage in a physical fight, so I had to play it smart.
I burst into a clearing. It was where Vince and I were originally supposed to meet. A fitting arena for our showdown. I pulled out Aaron’s pocketknife and spun to face Vince. It wasn’t the best option for a knife fight, but it was all I had. Aaron’s knife felt heavier in my hand than it ever had as I brandished it.
We moved in a circle, neither making a move toward the other. I needed to put Vince off his game. I’d had self-defense training, but Vince was former special forces. If I gave him too long to strategize, this would end fast.
“You’re getting bested by a woman, Vince.”
The jab landed. His eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring. It wasn’t enough.
“You should be used to losing, though.” I pushed a hint of hard laughter into my voice. “First, Mason ruined your plan to eliminate him on that mission. Then he kept you from shooting me so you could watch him suffer. And now? I’m going to beat you in combat.”
If a man could growl, Vince did. He lunged at me, but I was ready for it and jumped to the left, twisting toward him and digging the six-inch blade into his side. I jumped back as he spun in my direction.
Now, blood dripped from both his hand and his side. He pressed his good hand to the wound, then held it in front of his face, as if shocked I had cut him. He advanced, and I retreated to create distance between us again.
“What would your special forces buddies say if they saw you now?” I baited him again. I doubted the same move would work twice, but I had few other tools remaining in my bag of tricks.
He rushed toward my left-hand side but changed course when I moved to the right. He reached for the knife with his uninjured hand. I twisted and kicked his leg before jabbing the knife at him again. This time he was ready, and he disarmed me with a quick flick of his wrist.
He grinned a wicked grin and waved the blade in my face. “Who exactly is besting who? As soon as I’m done with you, I’m going to go back and finish Mason. I might even make a rug from his bearskin. It will be a nice reminder of my victory.”
My stomach clenched. He had really gone off the edge into madness. My mind raced as it considered and dismissed every option that came to me. I was out of moves. This was Vince’s game now, and my only hope was I’d bought enough time for backup to arrive. If not, I prayed he’d make it quick.
A flash in the forest behind Vince caught my eye. I struggled to keep myself from staring at it. It looked like Mason in his naked human form, blood dripping from his shoulder. I wondered if it was a mirage, brought on by my desperation, but if it was real, I didn’t want Vince to notice me staring past him.
“You don’t need to do this, Vince.” No words would stop him, but I was back to delaying him. I kept my gaze on him, trusting Mason to save me. “I don’t believe you want to do this.”
“You ruined everything!” Vince snarled angrily. “You were supposed to be mine, not his. But you had to fall for him. If you won’t belong to me, you won’t belong to anyone.”
He held the knife in front of him and took a step forward.
“Hey, Vince!” Mason’s voice was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard, despite his painful rasp. Vince spun to face him.
My gaze flew to Mason. He stood there covered in blood, with his wounded shoulder hanging low. His left arm dangleduselessly at his side. But his gaze was calm and steady. As was his right hand, which lifted Vince’s gun and fired as Declan, Austin, and the sheriff rushed from the trees.
Vince dropped to the ground as blood bloomed from the hole in his thigh. The same thigh that Mason injured during the sabotaged mission.
The sheriff stepped toward Mason. “I’ll take that gun.”
Mason handed it to him before collapsing. The sheriff approached Vince, keeping the gun trained on him as he pulled out his handcuffs.
