Page 48

Once the others were gone, my jailor paid no attention to me.

Instead, he pulled up a chair and lounged with his feet up and his back to the door.

His laziness suited me perfectly. The silence gave me time to consider my options, which was a much better way to pass the time than to give in to the panic looming on the edge of my thoughts.

Plan A involved my rescue, which was the most ideal situation. The longer I could delay Daniel Cole and his ritual, the more time Damen would have to figure out where I was and save me. I had no idea how much time had passed already, but my hands were already numb.

However, if he didn’t make it in time, then I’d be forced into Plan B. While it might work, I would definitely die. However, justice would prevail when the witches wasted their time and limited resources to fruitlessly murder me for their cause.

In both cases. Damen would eventually bring the Cole family down .

Still, only having two plans was risky. I needed another—just in case.

I hadn’t realized I’d been staring at the door until the handle turned, and my stomach dropped. But instead of Daniel Cole’s arrival, the door opened only a crack, and a shadowy form peeked through the gap.

It almost seemed as though they were watching my neglectful guardian.

The static that’d taken over my mind—a place where logic thrived instead of fear—began to crumble as the beginnings of another emotion touched me.

Hope.

I bit back my alarm as the door opened more fully, and Finn stepped into the room.

He didn’t even look in my direction. Instead, he moved to the witch, wrapped his arm around the other man’s head, and slammed it into the smooth, hard wall. He’d moved so quickly that the witch hadn’t even noticed his arrival.

I was unable to breathe until the witch’s form crumbled to the ground, and by the time I sucked in a breath, Finn was in front of me, pulling at the chains.

“Finn!” My voice escaped in a breathless whisper. “What are you—”

“How do you always get into so much trouble?” he asked. “Keeping you safe is a full-time job.”

How dare he. “It wasn’t my fault!” I protested.

He studied my face as he unhooked the chain. “You seem well enough together,” he remarked, and I might have been insulted if not for the concern in his eyes. My arms were a dead weight, and my legs were sore. Once I was freed from the ceiling chain, my wrists dropped as I fell to my knees.

“You’re not hurt?” he asked, following me to the floor .

“I was minding my own business,” I continued, blinking back tears. It really wasn’t fair. “Bryce took me out. I didn’t even do anything.”

“Yes,” Finn was frowning. “I know. I followed you.”

“Why?” I asked, wincing as he rubbed my tingling hands.

“Because I only trust myself. I didn’t see a key to these,” he said, studying the smooth shackles cutting into my wrists. “We’ll have to figure it out later. Can you walk? We need to get out of here.”

He was right. We could fight another time.

“Y-yes,” I replied, sniffling.

Finn held my forearms as I stood. My entire body hurt, and I fell into him as I stumbled forward. “I—I want to leave,” I told him, pressing my forehead against his chest.

This was silly—why was I trembling? The perfect time to panic would have been when I was utterly and hopelessly alone.

Not when I’d been basically rescued already.

Finn hesitated before his sigh brushed over my neck. “Come on,” he said, wrapping his arm around my waist. “Let’s get you out of here.”

He led me out of the room. It was night, evidenced by the darkness outside the full-length windows lining the hallway, and I had no idea how much time had passed.

“W-where are we?” I asked.

“An abandoned hospital a few towns over,” Finn responded, his grip tightening as he pulled me closer. “I’ve sent Damen our location, but who knows how much longer they’ll be.”

My heart stuttered as I glanced up at Finn. “You’re by yourself?”

“Yeah, I ditched Anthony a long time ago.” He glanced down at me.

How did he manage that? The necromancer had seemed very determined in his assignment. I wanted to know, but that wasn’t really important either.

“You—” Darn it, it was getting harder to stay angry at him. “You came to rescue me by yourself ?” I asked him again.

He tilted his head.

“Never mind,” I muttered, looking away.

Didn’t he realize how dangerous this was? I had no idea how many others were around, but he was surely outnumbered.

Why would he take such a risk?

“Why wouldn’t I come?” Finn responded anyway. “It’s not like I’m scared.”

My skin felt feverish, and I watched the dirty tile floor as we moved further along our path.

Why was he like this?

“Almost there,” he told me and stopped before a set of double doors. “There’s a lobby past here, and we can escape through the front doors. Daniel went the other way.”

“I’m not stupid,” Daniel cut in, and my heart jumped. “It was shortsighted of you to assume that I haven’t put up any safeguards.”

Finn’s form tensed, and my breath caught as Daniel Cole stepped into view from a side hallway.

“Come on, Abernathy.” Daniel sighed. “Why are you even here?”

My breath caught in my throat. What if Finn said something stupid? The success of my plan hinged on Daniel's belief that he was privy to special information that not even the boys were aware.

I would not let him use me to blackmail Damen.

“He—he’s my boyfriend!” I gasped, grasping Finn’s arm. He was, in fact, a boy and somewhat of a friend—at least, he had been at some point. “We’ve only just started being serious! ”

“But…” Daniel eyed my hands. “You can’t…”

“It’s a secret!” I told him.

“Yes,” Finn replied—despite not knowing what was happening, he was always quick to follow along. “She’s definitely a pain in my ass.”

“Hey!” I let him go and glared at him. “Why do you need to say it like that?”

Daniel looked between us. “You two won’t work if you’re fighting like this already.”

Finn scowled at him.

“It doesn’t matter,” Daniel continued. “You’ll both be dead soon anyway.”

My stomach dropped as the door opened behind me. Three men had guns pointed in our direction, and, in front of us, Daniel had pulled out his own.

“Give up,” Daniel said, speaking to Finn. “You can’t defeat all of us.”

I clung to Finn’s sleeve with shaking fingers while he remained a firm, steady figure beside me. We might have been at odds, but I was grateful he’d come after me.

“Guns?” he asked, and his lips quirked as he looked Daniel over. “Really?”

However, as always, his mouth was making things worse.

“It’s not surprising that you keep trying to cheat,” Finn remarked. “You don’t have a choice. It never made sense for someone as boring as you to be so powerful.”

“Finn!” I hissed. “Stop antagonizing him!”

He didn’t even flinch at my words, which meant he planned to ignore me.

“You bastard.” Daniel glowered at the blond, and a flush moved over his neck. Apparently, Finn’s accusation had struck a nerve. “You have no right to get preachy with me. It’s not like you don’t benefit from nepotism.”

“Really?” Finn frowned.

“You hardly earned your position.” Daniel pointed the gun at him. “I’m not worried.”

“Is that what you think?” Finn scowled harder. “That I can’t beat you?”

Daniel’s lips twisted in a wry grin. “I think you’re not nearly as powerful as they want people to believe. If it were possible for you to defeat us, you would have done so already.”

Finn’s form tensed. “What—”

“Goodbye, Finn Abernathy,” Daniel said. “I don’t have time to deal with you today.”

I barely felt myself moving. Finn was much bigger than me, but he stumbled when I pushed him. Granted, it wasn’t much, only a few inches.

But thankfully, it was enough.

Finn’s shocked gaze held mine for a half-second before a red-hot pain ripped through me, and I tripped in Finn’s direction as he regained his balance.

“Bianca!” He caught me as I fell, and his fingers shook.

I wasn’t even sure what’d happened. My ears buzzed, and there was a sharp, pulsing pain radiating from my shoulder, pounding with every beat of my heart.

Had I been shot?

My vision swayed as Finn pulled his hand away. His features were tense, and I could see the thin threads of his control unraveling as he stared down at the bright red thickness coating his palm.

I’d seen this expression often in our earliest past, but he’d learned to control his more feral side. But now, he was making no effort to restrain himself .

“You bastard,” Finn snarled as he stood. There was a slithering note that caused my skin to crawl. I’d fallen, chest to my knees, as he turned toward Daniel, and a blistering heat rose over my legs.

“Stay away!” Daniel’s demeanor was no longer confident as he pulled the gun’s trigger once more.

My sight was hazy, and something was wrong with my vision. Because it’d looked like the bullet passed right through Finn before being embedded in the wall behind him.

“What was it you said?” Finn asked him. “You don’t think I’m strong enough?”

What was this suffocating presence in the air?

“I’m an Er Bashou,” he continued, “and my position was more than rightfully earned.”

The agony in my shoulder was forgotten as a newer, more profound torment took control. I curled over my knees and pushed my fists against my chest to control my raging heartbeat. Lights were streaming through my vision, and my jaw was so tense it might shatter.

I couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe past this feeling.

Then, as quickly as it had come, it stopped, and I was left trembling. My hearing felt muffled as something warm trickled across my cheek. Everything around me felt strange and disconnected, but I was eventually able to raise my wrists and touch my face.

It was warm and sticky. My hands shook as I studied my fingers.

Blood.

“I’m sorry!” Finn was kneeling in front of me, commanding my attention as the spots drifted away. “I didn’t mean to!”

Why was he apologizing? Why was I shivering ?

But I couldn’t even ask. An instant later, he’d been dragged back.