Page 44 of Revenant

Every bruise is my fault.

The men are only here because of me.

The thought of anything else happening to them is untenable, and my resolve to keep them safe twists into a compulsion that I can’t ignore, like it’s written into my very DNA.

I always knew I would end up in a lab or an asylum. That it happened sooner than expected sucks, but I refuse to take them down with me. “Jaceson?—”

“Don’t fucking say another word.” He glares at me, not once looking away as he reaches over and starts unbuckling the restraint on his other arm. “I’ve seen his experiments, what thedoctor does to his patients. That will not happen to you. I would rather die.”

“And I’m trying to stop that from happening,” I snarl back, yanking my arm free to drag my hands through my hair, frustrated that the jackass refuses to listen. “As long as we remain alive, we can eventually escape. You dead gets me nowhere.”

Unable to look at him without rage threatening to consume me, I head toward Jameson and work on freeing him next. My fingers are shaking so hard that I fumble with the straps, which only increases my annoyance. I huff out a frustrated breath, the back of my throat aching so much that I can’t swallow. When I speak again, my voice is barely above a whisper. “You think I’m naïve, but I’ve always known this was my fate. You don’t think I know what’s in store for me? You don’t think my father hasn’t threatened me with it my whole life to force me to obey?”

Tears blur my eyes, but I stubbornly blink them back, focusing on the leather strap that refuses to budge. “It’s a small blessing I even had a few weeks of freedom, and I’m grateful for every second.”

I breathe a sigh of relief when the bindings finally loosen. “I refuse to take you guys down with me.”

Just as the leather passes through the loop, Jameson’s arm shoots out and wraps around my waist. The action is so unexpected that I squeak in alarm, and I’m dragged over his chest in an awkward sprawl. My breath whooshes out in a rush, and I find myself staring down at his gorgeous face. He was so quiet that I didn’t even realize he’d woken up.

Instead of my playful devil who would coax me into mischief, Jameson stares up at me with too serious pale blue eyes that hurt my heart. I don’t like seeing him so subdued, the demons he normally keeps contained tormenting him. I reach up with shaky fingers, brushing my fingers tenderly along his cheek.

“You broke your promise.” His gravelly voice cracks on the last word. He doesn’t move as he stares at me, doesn’t even blink, like he thinks I might vanish. “You said you would never leave me.”

My heart officially breaks, and the tears I have been holding back spill down my cheeks. One splashes against his face. He blinks in surprise, and the spell holding him still shatters. He reaches up and brushes my tears away with his thumb, his touch almost reverent.

“I’m so sorry.” A sob swells in my chest, and I lean into the warmth of his touch. I never expected to see him again, and everything I’ve been holding at bay comes crashing down. I don’t give a shit about the torture I endured the last few weeks. Nothing was worse than having the guys taken from me. “I would have never left you willingly.”

He nods once, barely a dip of his head, but the demons haunting his eyes don’t leave completely. Although my shoulders wilt, I don’t blame him. I broke his trust. That it wasn’t my fault doesn’t matter.

“You came for me.” I lightly touch his cheek, uncertain of my welcome but unable to keep from touching him. He flinches slightly, and my chest feels like someone reached in and ripped out my heart. A second later, he releases a shuddering breath and goes lax beneath me. His eyes fall shut, and he affectionately nuzzles into my hand.

I bury my face against his chest, breathing in his light floral cologne, both loving that he’s here with me and hating it at the same time. It takes three trembling breaths for me to lock my tears away.

“Pookie…if you wanted to tie me up, all you had to do was ask. No need to go to such extremes by having me kidnapped.” I blink once, then jerk my head up to stare at him incredulously. He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, a ghost of a smile on hislips. “Now that you caught me, whatever are you going to do with me?”

Chapter Seventeen

GUNNER

Irip out the IV from my arm, then heave myself off the gurney. The cauterized burns along my back and neck from the stun guns hurt like a bitch, my muscles still twitch and tremble from the voltage, and I wince when it feels like fangs pierce my flesh over and over again.

Honestly, I’m fucking surprised I even woke up.

They would’ve been smarter to kill me when they had a chance.

Ellis grimaces when he clambers to his feet, his movements stiff. Hicks appears unaffected, but he’s not impervious to pain, as much as he might wish otherwise. I’m fucking jealous of Jaceson—his injuries at least show he put up a hell of a fight. Rage sits on a low simmer at the back of my mind, my body craving the sound of bones breaking, the feel of warm blood splattering me as I work out my fury on those who took my princess from me.

I stand next to the other guys as Rue and Jameson have a private moment, none of us willing to free him until we know he is stable.

Well, as stable as possible for Jameson, which isn’t much, even on a good day.

Since Rue was taken, we had been worried he would finally step off the deep end. The only thing keeping him sane was the thought of getting her back, and that was only by the skin of his teeth.

Every day, he’s been slipping more and more.

As much as I want to kick his ass for surrendering without a fight, I can’t blame him. For a man whore who flits from one woman to the next like a hummingbird, his obsession with Rue was unexpected.

But after meeting her, I’m not surprised.

---