Page 15 of These Deadly Dreams

Her shoulders relax, and a small smile pulls up the corners of her lips. I lean in and give her a quick kiss.

“See?” Cade says. “I told you we weren’t going to leave you.” He wraps his arms around her waist and drops a kiss to her shoulder.

“So, I’m a harpy and you’re my Shields. I can use your powers, but what for? What’s my purpose? What balance am I supposed to be restoring?”

“I think to find that out, we need to learn what this warehouse is that Sam kept mentioning,” Sterling says. “Aunt Madge mentioned it, so it has to be important.”

“I agree,” I say as I stand from the chair. “Whatever Sam is doing is definitely the problem we have to solve.”

“How do we find that out?” she asks.

“We keep looking for the warehouse.” Cade pulls her to her feet and hands me his phone. “Take pictures of all of that so we have it for reference.”

I snap the pictures and Sterling reshelves the book. I approach Ellis and pull her in for a hug.

“It feels good knowing I was meant to protect you. I love knowing you have three guardians, Shields, to keep you safe and happy. It’s a job I’ll never take lightly.”

Cade comes up behind her and swipes her hair away from her neck, displaying the mark I left when I claimed her. He runs his finger over the two punctures before kissing the spot. She shivers in my arms.

“You are our world, Ellis,” Cade says, his voice low and filled with sincerity. “From the first moment we met you, we knew you were special. You belonged with us from the very beginning.”

She looks at me with amber eyes, wide and shining. My heart thumps in time with hers, and I close my eyes to revel in the sensation.

“We should get moving,” Sterling says, once again breaking into our little bubble of happiness. “The longer we stay here, the more likely we are to be noticed.”

We sneak out of the vault and I make my way to the counter alone. After thanking the librarian she hands me my stuff, and I meet the others at the car.

“Well, that was productive,” I say, climbing into the back seat with Ellis. “Now we just have to figure out Sam’s game.”

“I’ll get working on that,” Cade says. “After we all get some rest.” He leans around the front seat and grins wryly at Ellis yawning next to me.

“Good deal.” I look at Ellis. She’s wiping her tears away from her yawn. “Come here. Why don’t you close your eyes until we get home?” I stretch my arm out, inviting her in.

“Kai!”

Her scream and wide eyes are my only warning before the sounds of crunching metal and shattering glass fill the air and I’m hit with the force of a freight train.

7. Ellis

I’m thrown into the door as a truck crashes into Sterling’s Land Rover. My head smashes against the window and stars burst to life in my vision. Glass from the driver side windows explodes inward, showering us with sharp, glittering pellets. The Land Rover careens to the side and slams into a telephone pole, whipping us back the other direction before it settles in the ditch on the side of the road.

My ears ring in the silence that follows the collision. All I can hear is my heart pounding in my ears and the breath rasping in and out of my lungs. The scent of burning rubber and gasoline meet my nose, and I know we have to get out of this car in case it catches fire.

I look around wildly, my vision blurred and the world tilting alarmingly as I turn my head. Kai is laying motionless, the door twisted and contorted around his body.

“Kai!” I shakily unbuckle myself and climb over the seat to him. He has to be alive, unless something pierced his heart or head, I rationally know he’s alive. But he’s so motionless, the panic wipes all reason from my brain. “Kai, please. Wake up!”

His chest rises with a breath and his heart pounds as fast as mine under my palm. I exhale on a sob and turn my attention to the front seats. Cade is stirring, blood trickling down the side of his head.

“Ellis?” he rasps.

“I’m okay.” I lean around the seat, only to find Sterling pinned under the steering column, a shard of metal piercing his stomach. “No,” I whisper. “Cade, you have to help him!”

“Fuck,” he groans, holding his head as he sits on his knees in his seat. He spares a glance for me, ensuring I’m really okay. “Kai?” he asks.

“He’ll be fine.” My voice shakes, and I realize my entire body is trembling. “Sterling …”

“I got him,” Cade grunted.

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