Page 116 of The Forgotten

There’s a moment of silence before Deacon takes a deep breath.

“I’m not being insolent, Dad,” he adds.

“No, you’re right,” Cathal grumbles. “Let me go talk to them before I decide to open the doors. We can always just shoot whoever is left and hide the bodies.”

The numbness covering my body is beginning to melt away, and I can feel my body twitching as I feel the ruined skin on my leg begin to scream. I just have to hold strong a little longer. I can’t pass out.

I lose sight of time for a moment, and then I’m being pulled out of this godforsaken vent. As much as it’s saving my life, it’s a very tight fit and my legs are dragging along the bottom of the vent.

Stifling a pained sound, I’m racked with a visible wave of nausea as my skin catches on things that it shouldn’t now that it’s melting off.

Holding me up until I can find my balance, Deacon looks me over, his brows drawing down low as he sees my leg.

“Róisin,” he whispers. “We’ve all been losing our minds.”

Shaking my head, I look at the front door and point to it. Deacon’s gaze moves toward it, his brow furrowing.

“Dead,” I whisper, forcing the word out.

Cathal thinks I’m inside, the cage will be a puddle of metal soon. There’s nothing to keep me from leaving, as long as there’s a way out.

“He thinks you’re dying,” Deacon corrects, his features filled with horror and fear. “Fuck, this is insane.”

He’s wearing a sweatshirt and joggers, and he pulls off the top quickly. Pulling away the blanket, he lets it fall before pulling the sweatshirt over my head. Swallowing hard, he looks at my feet and pulls off his shoes and socks. Dropping to his knees, he helps me put his socks on, careful not to let them touch the burned skin.

“Move faster, asshole,” he whispers to himself. Standing, he pulls out his keys, pressing them into my hand. “Can you drive?”

My father was teaching me how to drive so I could pass my driver’s test, and I remember how proud he was. Yes, I can drive. Nodding, I close my hand around the keys that will offer me a path to freedom.

“Take my phone,” he says, pulling out the chip inside of it and digging into his pocket for a new one. I’m curious about what he’s doing but I remain silent as he replaces the chip and hands me the phone. I don’t trust my voice, and I’ve already said more than I have in years. “My car is the blue SUV. Hurry and make sure to use the navigating system in the car to go to the hospital furthest away. I’ll make sure to cover your tracks.”

Still, I hesitate, my mind full of questions.

“Go,” he barks, forcing my feet to move with the force of his alpha bark.

No one pays attention to me, and then I’m running out the front door. It’s snowing all around me and I click on the key fob, following the beeps to the SUV. I’ve never driven in the dark or the snow, but I’ll manage.

Seconds later, despite how disoriented I am, I’m inside the vehicle, coughing like a three pack a day smoker. Finding a hospital, once I turn over the engine and the car lights up with gadgets, I figure out how to defrost the window and drive away.

Behind me smoke seems to reach after me, making me shudder. Something tells me nothing that Cathal had planned is going as he expected. I hope the entire manor burns to the ground along with the evil.

The pain in my right leg keeps me awake as I drive into the night, and I make it to a hospital a half hour away before I fall asleep. I barely manage to put the thing into park before I lose consciousness, the blaring horn alerting people to my emergency.

I’m glad something is serving as my voice because my body is done after a forced heat, very little sleep, and a fire. Whether I live or die is no longer in my hands.

Fate, please be good to me. Let’s not have a PMS sort of day.

Chapter

Six

DEACON

A dream,that’s what this feels like.I’m not one prone to hysteria, but I just sent my scent match into the snow while hurt. My heart feels as if it’s being cranked into shreds by a cheese grater, and there’s no end to this nightmare.

Balor keeps giving me glances as he stalks across the foyer, his nostrils flaring as he scents our girl. He’s the most connected to her after she bit him. I shake my head slightly as I squat on the ground and shove the discarded blanket back into the vent, making sure nothing sticks out. Then, I quickly screw the panel back into place, wincing as it’s now very hot.

We need to get the hell out of here.The fire department won’t come until we call them, and I can tell that the fire won’t remain contained. The doors are pressure cooking everything inside the room, and opening them will cause the fire to race through the halls.