She rolled across the sand before leaping to her feet, pulling out a knife, and going back at the Savage. Blood poured from its wound, but its eyes blazed a fiery red, and it was far from defeated as it swung out his legs. Charlie jumped to avoid the kick that would have taken out her knees.
The Savage rolled over and staggered to its feet before spinning on her. Not much bigger than her, it swayed as it gave her a look promising bloody retribution before giving in to the effects of blood loss.
Charlie shifted her hold on her knife as the idiotic vamp charged at her with its arms outstretched like Frankenstein’s monster. Charlie hefted her blade and let it fly. It would have taken out the vamp’s right eye, but it had more life in it than she anticipated; it ducked out of the way in time to avoid becoming a cyclops.
It was almost on top of her when Charlie ducked and dove for its knees. The impact jarred her shoulders and knocked the breath from her. As the vamp went over the top of her, she shoved upward to throw it away from her. She grunted when its feet caught her in the ribs, knocking her to the side. When the Savage landed in the sand a few feet away from her, Charlie staggered to her feet as Jack bolted past her.
The Savage rose and turned toward him as Jack swung his fist forward. Bone cracked and splintered as Jack sank his hand into the vamp’s chest.
The vamp fumbled to grasp Jack’s arm as realization set in, but it couldn’t stop Jack from tearing out his heart. Still enraged that this bastard had dared to touch Charlie, Jack gripped the Savage’s heart as he delivered a skull-crushing punch to its face.
Chest heaving, Jack released the heart as the Savage collapsed at his feet. He spun toward Charlie who gazed at him with blood coating her face and clothes.
“Are you okay?” he demanded as he stalked toward her.
Was she okay? Charlie had no idea how to answer him. What she’d just seen… Well, she’d seen plenty of carnage since arriving on this island, but she’d never seen anything like the brutality Jack unleashed.
“I’m… I’m fine,” she stammered out.
Grasping her wrists, he pulled her toward him. He inspected her arms before tenderly clasping her chin and turning her head from side to side. None of the blood was hers.
“I’m fine,” she said again. “What about you?”
Pulling her hands from his, she touched his swollen cheek. Beads of fresh blood oozed from the cut beneath his eye. The Savage had punched him and, in doing so, created a large welt beneath his eye that split his skin. It would heal fast, but the sight of it still made anger churn within her.
“I’m fine,” he assured her, and clasping her hand, he brought it down to kiss her delicate fingers. “We should get out of here.”
Charlie ignored the butterflies his kiss created in her belly as she pulled her hand free and turned away from him. She collected the knife from the beach before going to the first Savage Jack killed.
She pulled her knife from his throat before wiping the blood on the sand and putting it back in its holster. She searched for any weapons on him and discovered a couple of stakes. Having nowhere to store them, she offered them to Jack, who was examining the other Savage.
Jack waved them away. “I’m out of room.”
“Me too,” she said and buried the stakes in the sand while Jack went to retrieve the rifle from the cave.
“We should go,” Jack said. “It’s time to climb.”
Charlie followed him down the beach as they searched for a good place to scale the cliffs.
* * *
Charlie acceptedJack’s hand and allowed him to pull her over the edge of the cliff. She wanted to collapse onto the ground and lay there until her arms and legs didn’t feel like rubber. However, staying here would get her killed.
The sun beat down on her as she lifted her head to take in their surroundings. The woods were twenty feet away, but they stood in a wide-open section that left them exposed to anyone hunting them.
Keeping hold of her hand, Jack pulled her towards the woods, and somehow, her legs managed to keep up as she ran beside him. Heedless of anything waiting for them, they plunged into the sanctuary of the forest before Jack pulled up short and dragged her against his chest.
Charlie didn’t try to move away from him as she surveyed the woods. She allowed herself to lean against him for a second to take comfort in his strength. She didn’t know about the mate bond, and she didn’t have time to sit down and figure it out, but he did make her feel things she’d never experienced before.
Nothing stirred around them, not even the birds as the tops of the swaying trees cast shadows across the ground. She sighed in relief before taking the time to examine their surroundings.
“I think we’re close to the boat ramp,” she said. “If I’m right, we’ll pass it on our way back to the tunnels.”
“Let’s go then.” Jack was eager to see this boat ramp and learn if there was some way he could use it to get off the island.
Charlie led the way through the woods while keeping an eye out for any enemies lurking in the shadows. She kept expecting someone to rush out of the woods and take them down, but nothing emerged.
They were almost to the cliffs above the boat ramp when the distant sound of gunfire and a blaring alarm scared the birds from the trees. Their screeches reverberated through the trees as their tiny bodies filled the sky.
