I hurried out the back and ran around to the parking lot in the front, my car already running with Nereus standing guard at the front door.
“He won’t be getting up anytime soon, Briar. We got you.”
“Thank you,” I blurted, about to get into the car when I saw the cherry red Hellfire. I had to bite back a sad smile when I realized that must have been his.
I didn’t know much about cars, but I recognized that one—my dad had had a vintage poster in his garage with one of these, and I’d always thought it looked like the coolest thing in the world.
Of course my mate would drive a Hellfire.
I offered up a small apology to Ravaric, taking the paring knife out of my apron pocket and channeling some magic into the blade. Then I slashed each of his tires to slow him down, earning myself a proud chuckle from Nereus.
“Good call, sweetheart. Now get out of here!”
With a resigned nod, I got into my own car, backing out so quickly I was afraid I’d hit something. I hadn’t driven in years, from even before Victor took me.
Poor college students in big cities where parking was a premium didn’t typically have cars.
I sped off in the direction I happened to be pointed in, even though I didn’t know where I was going. The burner phone Morgana had gifted me was still in my room, but I had kept the one from Accalia just in case, and pulled over to the side of the road so I could get an address from the list of safe houses and punch it into the maps app.
My hands shook uncontrollably as I tried to hold the paper and type, my fingers slipping and causing me to delete and retype several times until I finally got it right. The service out here was abysmal, but it finally connected and gave me a route to follow.
Unfortunately, it was in the opposite direction.
I took a few deep, calming breaths. If I panicked, I was likely to get into an accident, and then I’d really be dead.
Once my heart rate slowed to something less dangerous, I made a U-turn and headed towards my destination.
“You’re going to be fine,” I told myself, the sobs seizing my chest. “It’s just that Victor hired your real mate to deliver you back to him, and if he doesn’t… he’ll die.”
You’re going to be…
Fucked.
31
Sage’s Choice
The map took me to a small, one-room cottage about a mile off the highway, tucked so far into the trees you wouldn’t be able to see it unless you were looking for it.
I parked my car and covered it with the tarp in the trunk, then grabbed my go-bag and headed inside.
Morgana had packed it for me, and it had everything I’d need to spend a few days in isolation—bottled water, dried fruit, jerky, my medication, clothes, a flashlight, and a portable charger with lots of extra batteries.
The cabin had a generator, but I didn’t want to risk the noise or the light, so I lit some candles I found in the kitchen cupboard instead to orient myself to the space.
There was a small pullout sofa that had seen better days, a table, a chair, a few books in built-in shelves, a small kitchenette and a bathroom.
More than enough for me.
I made my bed after shaking the dust off the blankets, opened up a bag of jerky, and sat with my knees pulled up to my chest while I muddled through my options.
The last thing I wanted to do was go back to Victor. Even if he’d never actually kill me—he needed my blood too much—there were far worse things than death, and I had no doubt he had a long list of punishments he was itching to enact once I was back in his grasp.
But if what Selene said was true, that Ronan was a bounty hunter and had likely made a demon deal with Victor to get me back to him, then he would die if I didn’t return.
And unlike Victor, Ronan actually was my mate.
My chest constricted at the thought of him. Just mere minutes in his presence and I’d felt my body slowly untying the knots of trauma leftover from Victor. Like being in his arms would heal all of my scars.
