Page 84 of Perilous Healing

“She changed her name,” Yarrow explains. “But I prefer Selena.” He presses a noisy kiss to her temple, and I lunge forward again.

Pain explodes in the back of my head as I’m brought to my knees, the barrel of the gun now pressed against my temple. “I told you to remain where you were,” the man orders.

I look up at him now. He’s tall, likely nearly as tall as I am, his hair bleached white, his dark eyes near black. He looks like a loose cannon, like a man who enjoys causing pain. Something I recognize because River had the same look in his eye as he tortured me all those years ago.

“Easy there, Frank, we can’t be killing him just yet. He might prove useful.” Herman stands, and the maid we haven’t seen since our first night here rushes in to collect his plate. She’s careful to not look at River’s body, though her complexion is incredibly pale.

“It’s true,” Yarrow says. “She was sick. I looked into it myself.”

“I’m sure she was.” The way Herman eyes Bianca makes my skin crawl. I want to rewind time and force her to stay back at camp.

Lord, if You’re listening, please help us. Please keep me strong so I can save them.

“The question is,” Herman says, “what to do with you both.”

“Donotharm Selena,” Yarrow replies. “She’s my fiancée. And hecan’thave her.”

“You don’t need to marry a Culvers anymore, Yarrow. They’re trash. They always have been.”

“Not this one,” he replies. “She’s mine. I want to keep her.”

He’s talking about her like she’s a toy. An animal to be kept in captivity. The shift in Yarrow’s personality is so vast, it’s hard to even comprehend that this is the same man who was River’s number two, when right now he’s behaving like a spoiled and incompetent child.

“We’ll discuss it later. That one needs to be put down if he’s not going to help, though.” He points to me. “I can see that he’ll be trouble.”

“I’ll do it,” Yarrow offers with a gleeful smile. “Happily.”

“No.”

“You don’t get to speak,” Yarrow tells Bianca, crushing her back against his chest.

“We’re moving into place,” Michael says through the earpiece. “Stay alive a bit longer.”

“Nearly there,” Bradyn confirms. “How are the charges?”

“Set and armed,” Elijah replies.

As they converse in my ear, I do my best to hide my excitement. This will all be over in mere minutes.

We just have to survive for a short period of time, and then we’ll be done.

“Hold her,” Yarrow tells the man he called Frank. He hesitates a second, but Herman nods, so Frank grabs Bianca by the arm. Yarrow releases her as I get to my feet. “River believed you were an untamable force,” he tells me. “The man thought you had the strength of ten and the willpower of twice that.”

“What a nice compliment,” I sneer.

“I see you for what you are though. Weak. Pathetic. A coward trying too hard to play hero. Hold him.”

Two men grip my arms. “You seem awfully worried for a man who believes me to be a coward.”

“Yarrow, don’t,” Bianca pleads. “Leave him be.”

“He doesn’t have it in him to do anything,” I tell her, though I keep my gaze trained firmly on Yarrow. I’ll take his anger. His wrath. Because I’m strong enough to do both. After all, I am the distraction.

He slams his fist into my gut. The pain shoots straight through me, but aside from a small grunt, I do what I can to hide it.

“Is that all?” I ask.

Yarrow hits me again, this time striking my face. “How’s that feel, SEAL? Strong man?”

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