Page 63 of The Last Sanctuary

“There’s something you need to know.”

The fog enveloped them in a murky white soup. They stood facing each other, tension sizzling between them like electricity. Her muscles tensed, ready to flee at the slightest provocation.

If he touched her again, she was gone.

“They’ll hunt you now,” he said hoarsely. “They were losing interest, getting bored since they didn’t find you right away, but not now. Dekker won’t stop now that Rex is dead. When it comes to vengeance, he’s like a dog with a bone.”

She stared at him, numb. “It was self-defense.”

“Do you think they care about that? Do you think Dekker will care? This isn’t just anybody.” He took a sharp breath. “Rex is—was—Dekker’s brother.”

A frisson of dread zapped down her spine. All the blood rushed to her head. Dekker was dangerous. The terrible images flooded her brain. Carl’s face imploding. All that blood. Dekker’s flat, dead-fish eyes seeking hers.

Before, she’d been a plaything, an object he could use and then discard. Nothing special or very important. A passing interest.

Before Rex’s death, she could have left like she’d planned. None of the Headhunters would’ve been the wiser for it. They wouldn’t have bothered to search for her outside of the wildlife sanctuary.

Now, she would be pursued. She would be hunted.

Damien’s mouth thinned. “You need to understand. Vaughn wanted to take you in alive before this. To… to sell you, like I told you. It wouldn’t matter what Dekker wanted—he’d have to obey. But now Dekker has a blood debt against you. Vaughn won’t stop him. Dekker will kill you.”

“I got that part.”

“It won’t be pleasant. He’ll… he’ll want to torture you first. I’ve seen it before. It’s how he gets.”

She swallowed hard. Fear pressed up against her throat, making it difficult to breathe.

“You gonna tell me your name yet?”

She gave a sharp shake of her head. “Haven’t earned it.”

“I will.” He shot her a grim smile. For a tense moment, they just stared at each other. Damien cleared his throat. “Want to know why I was hiding in that back bedroom when I first saw you?”

“Why?”

“Because I’m afraid. Okay? I’m afraid, too. Every time Dekker looks at me, I don’t know if he’s gonna smile that slick smile or slide a blade between my ribs. Or maybe both at the same time. He sees me as a threat because of who I am to Vaughn. He’d take over the Headhunters if he thought he could get away with it. He’s dangerous.”

She nodded and licked her dry lips. Her scalp prickled with cold sweat. “I’ll hide the body. They won’t know what happened to him, not until I’m far enough away where they can’t find me.”

“There’s blood all over the flagstone. No way we can get it all out before sunrise.”

“They’ll think it was one of the wild animals. The tiger or one of the bears.”

“Even I know animals don’t kill with a knife.” He grimaced. “Vaughn knows hunting. We wouldn’t be able to make it look convincing that an animal did it. He’d know. I have no choice. I have to tell Dekker what happened—or a version of it. If I don’t, they’ll discover the body anyway, and he’ll suspect me, too. He knows Rex and me went out together. Vaughn won’t be able to stop him. He’ll start cutting off my fingers one by one until he gets the truth.”

There were no good choices. Only terrible ones.

Impotent rage burned through her veins. At Damien, at the Headhunters, at her dead father, at her mother who’d left her all alone, at this whole stupid dying world.

“You have to get out of here,” Damien said. “I’ll wait as long as I can, but I can’t wait too long. It will be dawn soon. I’ll try to divert the search, send them in the wrong direction. It won’t work long-term, but I can give you time. Use it wisely.”

Fear roiled through her stomach. So did something else, something sick and dark. Raven straightened her shoulders, bracing herself. “I’m not running. Not yet, anyway.”

Damien stared at her, aghast. “What do you mean? No, you have to run. Run as far away as you can, and never come back. Dekker will kill you. They’ll all try to kill you.”

“I understand that. They’re hunting the animals, too.”

“But—”