For us.
“Buff…” My voice breaks, a rough scrape of disbelief and grief and fury and love all tangled together. “You sold the last piece of her for me?”
“No.” His jaw trembles. “I sold it so at least one of us doesn’t die.”
“What do you mean?”
Then, the words sink in. Actually, they punch a hole right through me.
He’s serious. He’s terrified. He thinks he’s dead already.
And the worst part?
He thinks I’m the one worth saving.
I swallow hard, my throat burning.
“Buff, I’m not leaving you.”
“You have to,” he whispers, stepping back like he’s trying to force distance between us. “They know where you are now. They’re coming for you.”
“What do you mean?”
“He sold you out.”
“Who?” But the question isn’t even in the space between us when I realize I’ve been betrayed. “Froggy.”
“Yeah, he told them where you are, and they’re coming.”
The wind cuts through the clearing, carrying the distant echo of something moving—fast—through the trees.
Buff hears it too, his whole body stiffening. “We don’t have time. Take it. Run. Please, Jace. If you stay… if you stay, they’ll take you like she was taken.”
His mother.
Pain explodes inside my chest, violent enough to stagger me.
I grab his wrist. “No one is taking me. And no one is taking you.”
My voice is low and fierce, but steady. A promise carved from bone. But underneath my false bravado, my blood runs cold. I have to go. Now!
I run a hand through my hair. I can’t. I can’t leave her. What’s to stop Froggy from telling the alphas where she is and how much money she has?
“Fuck!” I know what I need to do.
“Jason…” he whispers.
“I need you to do something for me.”
“What?”
“I need you to go back and clean up the camp. Violet is still going to need a guide dog.” I pull the collar I always keep with me out of my pocket, then hand it over to him. It feels like I’m handing over my life.
“Promise me you won’t let anything happen to her. Promise me you’ll take care of her.”
A tear slips down his cheek, and his lower lip trembles. “No, Jace. I… I’m not you.”
Sadness twists behind my ribs. God, he doesn’t even understand.
