“Oh, I love those words.”
“I did something very stupid,” he sighs. At this moment, I don’t care. Later I’ll wake up and be livid. But right now, I like how he feels in my arms. The worst is over. The words are on the tip of my tongue. My heart screams them.
But there’s a pop of sound. The world stops before it shatters.
Grae lifts his head off my shoulder and blinks at me, confused. There’s a burning in my chest. Pain, but my brain doesn’t register it. The windows break and Hunters rappel in, screaming
“Phoenix hit, Lioness hit.”
No.
No, no, no, no…
Grae slides down my body. I grip him, crying ‘no!’ I just found him and now I’m losing him. Teddy drops next to me with a black box. He flips open the latches to six needles in a perfect line. I know what it is.
“You’re hit,” Teddy tells me, like I don’t already know. On the other side of the box there’s a basic med kit.
I reach for the quick clot bandages and slap it on my chest. “Get my back.”
Teddy does as instructed as I pull two needles out of the case. He tries to hold me back, but I crawl toward Grae who’s already coughing.
“Baby, I’m so sorry.” A decade of nightmares lies at my knees. I stroke his cheek as his eyes water. “This is going to hurt.” Plunging the needle into his forearm, I press my lips to his, kissing his screams of torture, and count to ten.
In my ear Teddy says, “Administering the second shot.”
Grae relaxes in my arms, his eyes rolling back in his head, and it haunts me how familiar this feels. Except this time, I can punish who did this.
I grab the black case. Each step feels like my chest is dripping lava. Breathing feels impossible. But my body can wait to shut down—I’ve got work to do.
There’s a team of hunters dressed in black fatigues around the Deviant. “Off,” I shout and trudge toward him. His bitter laugh echoes around the room. I drop to my knees on his stomach and open the box. He’s about to speak when I put my fingers on his lips.
“Shh.” I drag the first needle out of its foam slot and wrap my hand around his throat. “You wanted Kinsley? You’ve got her. Alana was going to let you rot in a cell. But Kinsley’s fucking pissed.” I slam the needle into his neck and barely push the plunger.
He screams an unholy wail.
“I’m going to dismantle everything your family did.” I pull the needle out and stab it into his sternum, administering another dose. “I’m going to replace everything you hate with strength and beauty.” I jam the needle between his ribs. “When I’m done, your legacy won’t even be a cautionary tale for those who fuck with me. You’ll be erased.”
The last dose goes directly into his stomach. He writhes in pain. His screams rub his throat raw until flecks of blood spill out. I take out the second needle.
“This one will take away all the pain and make you forget the horrors. Your body and mind will be at peace.”
He tries to reach for it. I snap the needle, sending shards of glass everywhere—even into my own fingertips. The glass slices his face as I stroke his cheek, the same twisted method I used on Grae.
“Alana would have taken your life, but Kinsley will take your death.” I stand and stare at my hunters. “If he dies, resuscitate him. He lives until I say otherwise.” By the time I turn around, Grae is being lifted onto a stretcher. He’s safe.
That’s when I black out.
CHAPTER 40
Alana
Day 14
Many hours later.
Macie watches me pack my things. She’s got a ‘this is a mistake but I’m too afraid to say anything’ look on her face.
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s not like I ran over your pet rabbit.” I toss the bundle of blood-covered clothes into a tote bag and hand it to her. She’s well aware of our procedure for clothes that could be evidence.
