Page 4 of Crimson Bond

I made it to the clinic before Kannon did. Wherewashe?

If Abbi was that badly in need of blood, why wasn’t he moving faster? I was about to go searching for him when I spotted him coming down the dark corridor. In his arms, he carried a limp figure.

Oh God.No. Please no.

The body in his arms looked lifeless. The sword in my gut twisted and sank in deeper. But no, Abbi had to be still alive—she wouldn’t need blood if she were dead.

And I couldfeelher somehow.

I stepped into the center of the corridor, intending to take her from Kannon and carry her into the clinic myself. If she really was dying, if these were her last moments,Iwanted to be the one holding her.

And I needed to finally tell her the truth.

She might not be able to hear me. Maybe she wouldn’t even care about hearing it anymore—she’d moved on with her life. But for my own sanity, I couldn’t let her leave this world without ever saying it out loud.

Someone stepped out from behind Kannon, and my heart nearly sprang from my chest.

Abbi.

Confusion battled with elation inside me as I realized the person in Kannon’s arms was not her but someone else.

And then I smelled him. A male. Ahumanmale.What the...

At the moment I couldn’t be bothered to wonder about his identity because Abbi had stopped in place, returning my stare. She was disheveled, covered in blood, and... stunning.

The night we’d met, I had thought she was the greatest natural beauty I’d ever seen. The lustrous, dark hair, the huge, innocent eyes, and tempting full lips that seemed more fitting for a model than an Amish farmgirl. She’d been completely unaware of her appeal, which had only made hermoreappealing.

Seeing her now after making do with my memories and imagination for so long was almost overwhelming.

My heart, which hadn’t moved since the day she’d left, gave a hard thump. My eyes drank in the sight of her, scanning from the top of her bonnet-covered head to the familiar plain black boots. There was blood on her long skirt.

From the scent of it, it was a mixture of hers and the human’s. I couldn’t care less about his condition, but at least hers didn’t seem to be serious. She was walking on her own and didn’t appear to be in pain.

“Hello Reece.” She sounded out of breath—from the walk through the caverns? From her injury? From the shock of seeing me?

I was battling a bout of breathlessness myself. But I didn’t want her to see that. If she wasn’t dying, there was no need for a deathbed confession from me. I worked to master my expression and hide my reaction to seeing her again.

Lifting my chin, I gave her a smirk. “I see reports of your demise were somewhat premature. Heather and Kelly said you’d been shot. They said it was an exploding round.”

“Yes. I... I guess it was only a flesh wound. A close call.”

My pulse settled then skyrocketed again as my gaze fell on her necklace—the pendant I’d given her the day she’d left.

She was still wearing it. It was broken. And empty. Wasthathow she’d survived the bullet?

My gaze flew up to meet hers again. The confirmation was there in her eyes—or at least I thought it was.

If itwasmy blood that had saved her life, I was glad. I was also screwed.

3

Million-dollar Question

Reece

Imogen would kill me if she knew I’d given my blood to Abbi. She’d probably kill her too.

In fact, Abbi’s life was in danger just for coming here. Why the hell had she returned? Did she not value her own life at all?

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