Page 17 of Revenant (Spirit Realm #2)

GUNNER

I rip out the IV from my arm, then heave myself off the gurney. The cauterized burns along my back and neck from the stun guns hurt like a bitch, my muscles still twitch and tremble from the voltage, and I wince when it feels like fangs pierce my flesh over and over again.

Honestly, I’m fucking surprised I even woke up.

They would’ve been smarter to kill me when they had a chance.

Ellis grimaces when he clambers to his feet, his movements stiff. Hicks appears unaffected, but he’s not impervious to pain, as much as he might wish otherwise. I’m fucking jealous of Jaceson—his injuries at least show he put up a hell of a fight. Rage sits on a low simmer at the back of my mind, my body craving the sound of bones breaking, the feel of warm blood splattering me as I work out my fury on those who took my princess from me.

I stand next to the other guys as Rue and Jameson have a private moment, none of us willing to free him until we know he is stable.

Well, as stable as possible for Jameson, which isn’t much, even on a good day.

Since Rue was taken, we had been worried he would finally step off the deep end. The only thing keeping him sane was the thought of getting her back, and that was only by the skin of his teeth.

Every day, he’s been slipping more and more.

As much as I want to kick his ass for surrendering without a fight, I can’t blame him. For a man whore who flits from one woman to the next like a hummingbird, his obsession with Rue was unexpected.

But after meeting her, I’m not surprised.

She caught all of us off guard.

I watch in awe as Rue yanks him off the ledge of insanity without even trying. We feared we were going to have to lock him up to keep him from burning the world around him to ashes. We even had a plan in place. If we hadn’t located Rue when we did, I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened.

A few flirty words from Jameson has Rue blushing like a schoolgirl, and her pupils dilate with lust. I love the effortless ability he has to turn her head with a few simple words…and jealous of it at the same time.

I don’t make the mistake of assuming that Jameson is magically cured. If anything ever happens to Rue, he will snap. But at this point, I think we all will. In such a short time, she became our everything. The truth of that was brutally pushed home to us when she was taken.

Now that we have her back, we refuse to let anything happen to her again.

Hicks stalks forward, not stopping until he looms at the base of the gurney, watching the couple impassively. While he may be a dick at times, he would give his life to protect us.

That now includes Rue, even if she doesn’t know it yet.

It doesn’t take long for a furrow to appear between Rue’s brows, and her cute little nose crinkles when she glances at him over her shoulder. Hicks only crosses his arms, raising an imperious brow. She reluctantly untangles herself from Jameson, then stands protectively in front of him. She narrows her eyes at Hicks and lifts her sassy chin, boldly challenging him. “What do you want?”

It amazes me that she never backs down or breaks under his fierce glower. Even hardened criminals have been known to flinch from his steely glare. “We need to know you’ll be able to keep Jameson in check if we remove his bindings.”

Rue blinks up at him in surprise and more than a little trepidation. It’s an impossible task, but if anyone could do what he asks, it would be Rue. Her critical gaze drops to Jameson, her gorgeous lips pursed as she calculates the probability of being able to keep him out of mischief. It shocks me more than a little that she’s not aware of her power over him.

Fuck…her power over all of us.

She only has to say a word, and we would destroy the world for her.

Since Jameson opened his eyes, he has yet to take his gaze off Rue.

I can’t say that I blame him.

I’m not sure how it’s possible, but she’s even more stunning than I remember. There is something different about her, a siren’s song that I can’t resist.

No, something I don’t want to resist.

Rue crosses her arms and sighs, cutting off my wandering thoughts. “Jameson.”

“Yes, my pookie?” All the anger from the past few months is gone, and he flashes her his most charming smile. I don’t doubt that his rage lurks just under the surface, but I can’t say that I’m any different than him at this point.

Tension eases out of my shoulders to see him somewhat sane. I didn’t think I would ever say it, but I missed the fucker’s chaotic, mischievous smile. Do I believe everything will go back to normal? Fuck no, but our family is back together, and that’s all that matters.

“I know you want to keep me safe, but the doctor will return in a few minutes. If you do anything upsetting, I will be punished. Do you understand what I’m saying?” Rue chooses her words carefully. Though she doesn’t treat him as a child, she does handle him like he’s a bomb about to go off. She’s smart like that.

Jameson scowls, a sulky expression on his face as he pouts. He twists against the restraints, the gurney rocking with the force, but he remains trapped. Thankfully, he’s not like his brother and can’t vanish into thin air.

At her words, even I feel a little homicidal. I can only imagine how he must feel. Jameson is fiercely loyal to his family, his protective instincts dropping into overdrive with Rue. I don’t think there was ever a time when I saw her that she wasn’t sporting new bruises.

For someone like Jameson, it has to be triggering.

“Jameson…” Rue touches his shoulder, and he instantly stills, his attention snapping toward her again.

“I understand what you’re saying, but I can’t make that promise.” He even sounds regretful, his expression apologetic as he pleads with her. “If he hurts you, I’ll snap. Ask me anything else. Please.”

I almost expect Rue to soften at his plea, so I’m startled when her expression hardens. She leans over the gurney and grabs his face, leaving him no choice but to look at her. “If you act out, he will hurt me. You do something stupid, he will hurt me.” She takes a shuddering breath, her grip softening until she caresses his face tenderly. “If you are harmed, it will hurt me.”

Jameson stills at her plea.

Too still.

It usually means he’s seconds away from doing something stupid. Just as I take a step toward Rue, not wanting her caught in the crossfire, Jameson nods. His blue eyes are stormy, a muscle ticks in his jaw, but he agrees.

I stop dead, absently rubbing my hand over the IV site in my arm. We would lie, cheat, and steal from others without hesitation, the twins more than most. The only exception is the family. It’s an unspoken rule that none of us dare violate.

Rue hesitates a moment longer, a hint of doubt lingering in her teal eyes, then she nods and works on releasing the buckle holding the strap across his chest. A little snarl of disgust curls her lips as it loosens, and she throws it across the table like it personally offended her.

As she works on his wrist, Jaceson and Hicks each work on freeing his legs. They’re careful about keeping their distance, not lingering within striking distance. Because although Jameson might have agreed to Rue’s demand, he’s not happy about it and won’t hesitate to take out his annoyance on us.

Not on purpose, but he’s not a guy who can keep his emotions tucked away for more than a few seconds at a time. If he’s feeling something, everyone knows it. The only exception is when we’re out in public. Sure, he’s still Jameson, but he’s more calculating, his charm in full effect as he manipulates people around him to do what he wants.

Just as the straps are released, the door behind us clicks open with a buzz of the locks. We all whirl, and I stand protectively in front of Rue as her first line of defense. The rest of the guys fall into formation around her, the movements instinctual.

Protect the most vulnerable.

Protect our heart.

It doesn’t matter that she can take care of herself, probably better than us in this place, where our contacts, connections, and reputations are useless.

Five armed men step into the room. They are dressed as orderlies, but their military bearing is impossible to miss. While I recognize a few of them from the employee dorms, I haven’t had a chance to befriend any of them.

Which leaves us with no allies.

They don’t move away from the entrance, the door remaining open, but none of us makes a break for it. Both sides study each other, looking for weaknesses to exploit. The stalemate isn’t broken until the doctor steps into the room.

The guys behind me shuffle closer to Rue, and I clench my hands into fists to keep from lunging for the prick and snapping his scrawny little neck. He can’t be more than a hundred and fifty pounds. I doubt he has ever thrown a punch in his life.

He’s weak.

Pathetic.

Unfortunately, he’s also smart and cunning.

Killing him won’t solve our problems.

That doesn’t mean I can’t do it for the pure pleasure of it. I just have to bide my time before I strike, silently vowing to do it before we leave. He can’t be allowed to live. His interest in Rue is too sharp. Now that he knows she exists, he will never let her go.

Rage thuds through my system at the thought, the desire to kill him a lure that is almost impossible to ignore. I’ve always been prone to violence. I thought Rue would soften my savage tendencies, but the opposite is true—she just carries my leash.

If anything happens to her, my beast will snap the chains I have wrapped around it.

My rage is usually white-hot, but it’s different today.

Today, it’s bitterly cold, with the promise of vengeance.

“Great! You’re all here,” the doctor says in a chipper voice, his smile almost giddy as he studies us. When he doesn’t see Rue, a moue of displeasure puckers his face. “The guards will escort you to your rooms. I placed you all next to each other, as per our bargain. You will eat, then rest, and we will begin fresh in the morning.”

When his attention lands on me, annoyance darkens his eyes. “If you cause trouble, I will be forced to punish Miss Rue. I would like to avoid that as much as you.”

Revulsion twists through my insides so strongly that my knuckles creak under the strain of trying not to knit a scarf using his intestines. Sure, he wants her protected, but while we are worried about her safety, he’s worried about her viability as a test subject.

When none of us move or speak, his cold smile widens in real pleasure. “Good. We understand each other.”

Without another word, we’re dismissed from his mind, as though we performed as expected. He flicks open his tablet, almost mumbling to himself as he walks out of the room. While he may be a doctor, the fucker has completely lost his marbles.

Any humanity he might’ve possessed has long ago been stripped away. The Hippocratic Oath means nothing to him.

All that matters to him are results.

If we don’t do as ordered, he will do exactly as he says—he will take his frustration out on Rue.

I don’t know what he wants from her, but it’s not anything good.

I might not be the brightest of the group, but it doesn’t take a genius to understand that he has no intention of letting us go. We will eventually end up as his test subjects, no matter what we do.

It’s imperative we leave before then.

I refuse to allow anything else to happen to Rue.

Not on my watch.

Never again.