Page 120 of Savior

“Y-you’re going to kill Nate?” she squeaked. “He saved your life—the night you were shot.”

I’d known those stitches were too perfect to have come from any club doctor. Eli could handle a lot of things, but a bullet to the chest wasn’t one of them.

“Nate? Why the fuck would I kill Nate?” I asked, pushing through a tangle of branches. “I’m gonna kill Jarvis. Nate can help.”

Kate fell silent again, except for the occasional sniffle and I wondered if she’d fallen asleep. The sounds of water lapping against the shore grew louder. We had to be getting close.

“Daddy?”

“Yeah, darlin’?”

She hiccuped again. “Do you think the baby—”

I jerked my chin. “Baby’s gonna be just fine, sweetheart. Now, just hold on. We’re almost there.”

“But Mama,” she protested. “I know about what happened. How do you know that won’t happen to me?”

My jaw tightened. “Cause I ain’t gonna let it. If I have to trick the sons-of-bitches into following me out onto the lake, I’ll do it if it’ll keep you safe.”

“When you said you were going to kill him, did you mean Jeremy?” Her voice was starting to sound drowsy again, her body fighting to shut down and recuperate.

“Jeremy’s goin’ to the Reaper for what he did to you—”

She gasped. “He told you about that?”

I pressed my arm a little tighter around the backs of her thighs. “Tell me about what? Drugging you to get you here?”

“He drugged me?”

I sighed. We’d been over the events several times, but the sedative kept wiping her memory clean.

“Jamie?” A voice whispered a few feet ahead.

I moved against a tree and lowered Kate back to her feet, signaling for her to keep quiet. The only person who would’ve known we were here was Angel, but I wasn’t putting it past the Sons to call me by my given name to draw me out.

“Goddammit, kid,” he cursed. “I just walked into a fuckin’ spiderweb, so if you’re there—”

I let out a low whistle. “Right here, old man. Comin’ towards you.” Kate draped her arm over my shoulders, and we began hobbling toward him.

The moonlight made the ripples on the lake shimmer like bits of silver as we broke through the trees into a clearing. Angel stood, looking every bit like a guardian angel that had come down just to save us.

“Christ, kid,” he finally said after looking me over. “You look like ya got one foot on a banana peel.”

“Says The Crypt-Keeper himself. What are you now—two hundred?” I joked as he moved to Kate’s other side, supporting her weight fully.

We’d done it.

“Three hundred, but who’s countin’,” he fired back before pointing toward the little green cabin. “Wolverine has a first-aid kit inside. Let’s see if we can’t get the two of you put back together for the ride home.”

I glanced around, but the forest was quiet. “Make it quick. Sons’ll be all over the place before long.”

“Katydid, thought you’d keep your old man company?”

Her gaze moved from the water to the trees and then back to the cabin. “Can we just go, please? I’ve got a bad feeling.”

“Sweetheart,” Angel said calmly as he led her up the steps and picked the lock on the front door. “Me and your daddy ain’t lettin’ those motherfuckers anywhere near—”

The sudden blast forced Kate into my side, the momentum sending both of us down in the entryway. My ears were still ringing as I called out, “Angel?”

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