I kill the engine. The cabin looks peaceful. Firelight glowing through the windows. Smoke curling from the chimney.
So why is my heart pounding like this?
I get out of the car, my boots crunching on the snow. The silence is absolute. No voices. No movement. Just the wind in the trees and my own ragged breathing.
I'm halfway to the porch when I hear it.
A scream. Muffled. Broken.
But unmistakably her.
Everything after that happens on instinct. I don't think. Don't plan. I just run. The porch steps blur beneath my feet. Myshoulder hits the door and the lock splinters, the frame cracking as it crashes inward.
The scene in front of me doesn't make sense at first. My brain refuses to process it.
Jade is on the floor in front of the fireplace. Face down. Her sweater is torn, exposing the bare skin of her back. Her leggings are pulled down around her ankles. Her wrists are bound behind her with something. Her face is wet with tears, her eyes wide with terror, and there's blood smeared across her cheek.
Marcus is standing over her, his belt undone, his hand fisted in her hair.
Standing over her.
About to?—
Everything goes red.
I don't remember crossing the room. Don't remember making the decision to move. One second I'm in the doorway, the next I have Marcus by the throat and I'm slamming him into the wall so hard the whole cabin shakes.
His head cracks against the wood. His eyes go wide with shock. He didn't hear me coming, didn't expect me back so soon, thought he had time to finish what he started.
He was wrong.
"Phoenix—" he chokes out. "Wait?—"
I don't wait.
My fist connects with his face and I feel something crunch. His nose, maybe. I don't care. I hit him again. And again. And again. Each impact sends blood spraying across the wall, across my hands, across my shirt.
He tries to fight back, shove me off, and to block my blows. But I'm beyond reason. I’m filled with white-hot rage.
He touched her.
I slam him into the wall again.
He is hurting her.
My fist connects with his ribs, his stomach, his face.
He has her on the floor, bound and helpless, and he was going to?—
I can't even finish the thought.
"Phoenix!"
Jade's voice cuts through the haze.
"Phoenix, stop! You're going to kill him!"
Good.
