Page 7 of Fire Bound

His face cracks into a pained, evil smile. “It means he’s even more special than we originally planned for, Nessa.”

Her eyes flare with anger. “No, it means that one day he could burn everything you’ve built—we’ve built—to the fucking ground, Sterling. Look at you, look what he’s already done.”

He waves her off with his healthy hand. “Kaius will fix me up, he always does,” Sterling croaks. “Jax won’t be a danger to us. I showed him today what happens to the ones I have no use for. He knows that he has to be useful if he wants to live.”

I want to live. I want to live so I can do exactly what Nessa said. I want to burn everything down.

I’ll be brave and I’ll be strong like she told me to be. I’ll make her proud and I’ll survivebecauseof her. And then I’ll make them regret it.

Present

My body is drenched in a thin layer of sweat and my heart still beats erratically in my chest when I swing my legs over the side of the bed. Holding my head in my hands, I wait for the effects of the dream to diminish—for my body to return to normal.

I’ve been looking for the man who ruined my life for a long time with little to no luck. I may not be able to find him, but he’s still able to find me in my dreams. Those nightmares I’ve had when I was a young kid locked in a cell, haven’t stopped.

For the better part of twenty-four years, Sterling has been a part of me. Taunting me even while I sleep.

The looming threat that Sterling is going to make his final move soon has made the nightmare worse. They didn’t used to happen every night, but they’re happening more frequently. I dread sleep because of them.

I focus on my surroundings, grounding myself to what is happening now, not what happened in my dream. Birds chirp outside on the fire escape, car engines come from below and down the street, a car horn honks. The wind from the open window blows across my too hot skin, cooling me down.

My phone buzzes in my sheets, pulling my thoughts away from the nightmare and the woman I shouldn’t think about as much as I do. Groaning, I search through the mess of tangled blankets until I find the obnoxious device. I know who’s calling before I even look. There are only two people who contact me on this thing, and one of them only sends texts.

“Demon boy,” she chirps. Pruitt Weylyn is the only one allowed to call me that. As the first friend I ever made, she reserves the right to use the stupid nickname. Anyone else would get their windpipe smashed. “Where are you? You’re late. You’re not bailing, are you? Jax, we agreed you’d participate in these training days. Beau and you know how to—”

“Blondie,” I cut her off before she can ramble anymore. With a glance at the clock on the upside-down plastic crate that doubles as my nightstand, I tell her, “What are you going on about? I’m not late. There’s still fifteen minutes before I agreed to be there. It’s not like I have to account fortraffic.”

“You’re always here annoyingly early.” There’s some shuffling and then a door closing. “You’re never here rightontime. So, what’s wrong with you?”

The cons of hiding away with Pruitt for ten months while an assassin was searching for her means we had a lot of time to learn each other’s quirks. I know this girl forward and backward, and she can almost say the same thing about me. There are some secrets I’m not ready to reveal to anyone. I trust her with my life, but there’s still a side ofmyselfI don’t trust.

“Nothing is wrong,” I lie easily. “I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”

“Great,” Pru says. “Ransom has everything set up at his place. Everyone should start showing up there shortly.”

“Everyone?”

There’s a pause. “I don’t know. She’s still ignoring my texts and calls. I’m not even sure where she’s staying. She just up and left the house one night.”I know where she’s staying. Hell, I even know the room number.The hurt in Pruitt’s voice is palpable. The past six months have been hard as it is, but the strain on her friendship with Remington has only made it harder for Pruitt. “Isabeau said she was going to find her and bring her today, so we’ll see how that goes.”

“You sent Beau after her?”

Getting out of bed, I shuffle around the loft, looking for the pair of pants I took off last night. Holding the phone between my ear and shoulder, I yank them on.

“Yes.”

Grimacing, I mutter, “Bold choice.”

Isabeau is a cut first, ask questions later kind of gal. Remington doesn’t stand a chance telling the vampireno.

“I was out of options, Jax.”

The sound of the toilet flushing comes through the line making me freeze in my search for a clean shirt. “Were youpeeingwhile on the phone with me?”

“Desperate times, desperate measures. This kid is sittingonmy bladder,” Pru groans. “They’re measuring a week ahead of schedule. Which shouldn’t be a surprise, my mate is the size of the goddamnJolly Green Giant.”

Just a hell of a lot lessjolly.

“I’m hanging up now,” I announce. “I’m not answering your calls anymore if you’re going to pee while you talk to me.”

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