She wasn’t about to argue, and she tossed it to the ground. She looked in Alex’s direction, frantic at his stillness and the amount of blood under his head. Under the blanket, she couldn’t even tell if he was breathing.
Reynolds licked his fat lips, making them shiny and wet. “You’re all grown up now, aren’t you, girl?” he whispered hoarsely. She could see the perverted lust in the beady eyes that roved over her body. He gave an ugly sneer. “I should have had you a long time ago, witch. Would have, too, if Bainsworth hadn’t gone all crazy and threatened to shoot my dick off if I came out here. It’s like God’s looking out for me now, though. You and this bastard”—he spit at Alex’s body—“all at the same time, like a nice little present. Yessiree, it’s certainly fated.”
Genevieve struggled to keep her calm while her mind raced. The deputy might be older, but he held the gun competently on both of them, his attention split equally.
Okay, Alex. Your turn to be the hero. I’ll just stall him. Please wake up.“Why did you hurt him? What are you doing here now?”
He shrugged, the look in his eyes not quite sane. “I was supposed to get Bainsworth’s job. He promised me. Kept waiting and waiting for it, and the power. And then that goddamned council had the nerve to pass me over for some goddamned outsider.” He snickered. “But I took good care of that prick, yes, I did.”
Genevieve swallowed. “Alex? Were you the one who shot him?”
Confusion clouded his gaze. “He was supposed to be dead. I thought I was so lucky when I saw him stop his car on that deserted stretch. I had already called the guy in New York, Leonie, to tell him I would help him kill the guy who put his brother away. But he hadn’t showed up yet. Thought maybe I could get rid of Rivera, and maybe even get more money for killing him than I had got just for agreeing to work with the guy to trap him alone.” Reynolds shook his head. “But I couldn’t find his body and then Leonie showed up and yelled at me. Said he’d find him on his own. Said he wouldn’t pay me nothing. I’ve been following him. Have you seen him?” he asked in the most polite tone, as if he were asking if she’d seen an old classmate.
Genevieve shook her head.
Reynolds mulled that over and shrugged. “Oh well. I’d rather have the job than the money. I need to take Rivera’s body so the council will know he’s dead. I’ll say Leonie killed him, and they can make me chief.” He stepped closer to her menacingly, the gun never wavering in his hand. “You’re my perk.” Reynolds gestured with the gun. “Let’s go, you’re coming with me.”
“What?”
“Did you really think I would let you walk away? I’ve been ready to fuck you since you were twelve. We’re gonna make sure this son of a bitch is good and dead and then I’ll take you to my cabin by the lake and keep you there. Who’s gonna report you missing?” His high-pitched giggle emerged again.
She lifted her chin, despite the ice-cold fear in her veins. “You do remember what happened to Bainsworth and Carlyle, don’t you?”
“Those idiots weren’t really cursed. It was just a coincidence.” Yet Genevieve spotted a hint of uncertainty in his eyes that she capitalized on ruthlessly.
“Are you sure you want to risk that? Are you willing to bet your life on it?”
Reynolds was sweating now. “You’re lying.”
Genevieve shook her head with mock regret. “You know, this negative energy amplifies my powers,” she bluffed. “You’d best leave now while you’re still safe.”
For a second, she thought maybe he’d actually do it, just walk away. Instead, his lips firmed, and he took a step toward her.
She felt a sinking sensation in her stomach. Though Reynolds was older, he was still a huge man. She would be no match for him physically.
Her eyes shot to Alex. She almost whooped with glee when she realized his right hand no longer lay on the floor by his head; it had disappeared under the blanket. Oh God, oh God, the man was awake. Bless his heart.
She looked back at Reynolds and tried not to give her excitement away. The deputy was still too close to Alex, and he had both of them in his sights. She had to work out some sort of distraction. She had no idea what, if anything, Alex had planned, but he’d had a gun on him, and anyway, wasn’t the damsel in distress’s best option always a distraction?
Without another second of consideration, she concentrated until Reynolds’s body no longer existed as flesh and blood, but as a miasma of colors. Brushing past the layers she didn’t care for, she found the one she sought and attacked the weakest part of it.
Reynolds’s brow furrowed. “What are you doing?”
She remained silent as he coughed.
“Stop it, bitch,” he gasped. The aura flared a dark, pulsing purple. Not the gentle color of healing, but the rich, complicated hue of death. Part of her brain acknowledged the way his eyes bulged in panic.
The power; God, the power was so heady. It sucked on her, the seductive call of destruction.
Stop it. Stop it. Going too far.
Can’t.
Her consciousness struggled against the excitement of knowing she had her enemy in her grasp, hers to do with whatever she pleased.
Alex.
The darkness within her receded at the thought of him, and she grasped on to it like a lifeline. She couldn’t get sucked in here. Alex would be devastated if she succumbed.
