Page 56 of Stitches

“You came here looking forhim. For Mirage. Ah, tut, tut, my little peanut. You found me instead.”

Her bottom lip trembled.

“Want to play a game, firefly?”

She stared at me with tears flooding her cheeks.

“If you can escape me and my friend Sin and make it back to the watchers’ house, I’ll let you go. If you can’t, we get to keep you for the night. How does that sound?”

The violent tremble was all I needed to see. She’d run here out of fear. She’d try to escape.

There was no escape, but she didn’t know that.

I reached out and ran my knuckles along her cool skin. She was freezing out here in her thin white nightgown and no shoes. Quickly, I pulled off my jacket and wrapped it around her small, shaking body.

Before I pulled away from her, I whispered in her ear.

“Fly away, firefly. If we catch you, we may not let you out of the jar we put you in. Is that what you want? To be trapped with me again?”

She trembled harder.

“Mm.” I inhaled her scent. “Better be faster. I’m worse than Church when it comes to the chase. When I catch you, you’re going to scream for me again.” I pulled away from her to see her still silently crying.

“Run,” I whispered. “Run, firefly. Don’t stop, lest the boogeyman get you.”

Her chest heaved with her labored breathing for a moment before she shot to her feet, my jacket falling from her shoulders as she darted into the dark woods.

“What are you doing?” Sin demanded.

“Having a little fun.”

“You knew she’d be here. That’s why you made me come with you.”

“Perhaps. That’s not the point.” I stood and looked at him. “The point is, we need to catch her before they do.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

I cocked my head and smiled. “Nothing. Yet. We’re going to make it happen. If you catch her before I do, make sure you follow your instinct. Always follow your instinct, Sinclair.” I backed away from him. “Now let’s have some fun.”

I didn’t wait for his answer. I loped off into the night, howling like a madman. It was the perfect night to catch fireflies.

SIN

Irushed through the dark forest, irritated out of my fucking mind at Asylum. The last thing I wanted was him to get his hands on her, but the alternative was me doing it. I already knew how much she hated me and how scared of me she was.

I assumed catching her would end badly for me. Again.

But I pushed onward, darting through the thick, overgrown forest, my breath coming out in puffs, my high pushing me forward.

My mind warred with me. I didn’t want to be the one who caught her, but I also didn’t want it to be Asylum. I had no idea what he planned for her, but if either of us got her before Church or the guys did, I knew the inevitable would be for her to suffer through the night with us.

When did shit gets so fucking complicated?

Easy enough to answer. The moment Sirena came into our lives.

Fucking damnit.

A branch snapped me in the arm, making me grunt as I raced through the night. I skidded to a halt when I saw Sirena against a tree, her white nightgown giving her away in the darkness. Her black hair hung in tangles around her. From where I stood, I could tell she was crying.

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