Page 136 of His to Burn

“We need to stop somewhere,” I said.

No one, not even Caitlin, said anything.

“Stay here. Keep an eye on her,” I said. “Lourdes, you know how to treat head injuries?”

Lourdes nodded. “I’ll keep her awake.”

“I’m fine,” Asia said.

But her words were slightly slurred, something I didn’t think she noticed. Hearing how fragile she sounded cut me like a knife.

“I’ll be back,” I said.

I hated to leave, but knew we needed to stop.

Asia could be seriously hurt, and the bitch of it all was other than a wet paper towel, there was nothing I could do for her. Bile burned at the back of my throat, and as Iwalked, searching for a place, the anger rose again.

For a split second when I had seen that man with a gun pressed to Asia’s back, a fear so acute—one that I was sure I hadn’t felt since I was a very young child—seized me.

And next, rage.

Rage of the type that I fought many years to control.

Back then, I was just a dumb kid with a temper problem. Wasn’t a kid anymore, but I acted on that same instinct, letting that rage fuel me, and my years of training guide me.

It didn’t even occur to me how the others might take it.

It didn’t fucking matter.

Asia was in danger.

Those motherfuckers had to die.

Now, I’d have to deal with the fallout.

Once Asia came to her senses, if she did, I knew I’d get a lecture about killing people. Miles would stay as far away from me as he could. But none of that mattered. They could all hate me. I’d take every last bit of it if it kept them—kept her—breathing.

I didn’t allow that thought to take root.Instead, I walked, hoping to get lucky. Let out a humorless laugh at the thought. Me and lucky. Those words didn’t belong in the same sentence.

I spotted something up ahead. Two small cabins on a small parcel of land. Other than a few discarded cans haphazardly strewn on the table in one of the cabins, the place was clear and it looked like no one had been here for days.

This would do.

I got the others, and with a firm hand on Asia’s arm, guided them back. Her pulse jumped beneath my fingers, and that tiny proof of life reassured me more than anything else could.

“I have to say, these are not the worst accommodations I’ve seen recently,” Bridget said when we reached the cabins.

“Yeah, this is the Four Seasons,” Elliot added.

He chuckled, and I knew what they were doing. Trying to lighten the mood, claw back some piece of whatever normal was now.

“How does she look?” I asked Lourdes after we secured the cabins.

“Fine. A little drowsy, but okay,” Lourdes said.

“Guys, I’m right here,” Asia called.

She tried, but I heard the pain in every word.