Page 113 of Mine to Protect

“What the fuck,” I said through gritted teeth. “She’s going to kill her.”

“We need a better visual. You can’t just go in there guns blazing, you know that. Stop thinking with your heart and think with your fucking head.”

Damn. He was right.

Not a single plan formed, not one idea on how we could save her.

“How much do you love her?” Peters asked, his tone tense.

“I don’t want a life without her.”

The grip on my shoulder tightened in what I assumed was sympathy. “We need to get Sarah to shine the light around more. I can’t get a shot off without knowing where Birdie stands.”

Without a hint of hesitation, I shoved to my feet and marched toward a crazy woman and the love of my life, praying with each step that Peters knew to save her before me.

43

Alta

My fingers were gone.

Well, I assumed they were gone, since I couldn’t feel them. I only knew my toes were still attached from staring at them the last thirty minutes as we traipsed through the forest. I didn’t say a word, didn’t even try to escape. I was accepting my fate, owning it instead of being afraid. Fear would get me nowhere, but neither would this downward spiral of despair.

Cas hadn’t come, and now he’d be too late.

Even Sarah’s sick goodbye didn’t register any emotion.

“No words of goodbye?” she asked. In a cruel move, Sarah whipped the flashlight up, directing the powerful light into my eyes. With a hiss I turned my head and slammed eyelids closed. “Come on, just look at what Jerry dug for you. I told him to make it deeper than the others. We wouldn’t want any of those pesky animals of yours digging up your body months from now, now would we?”

“Wouldn’t that be terrible,” I deadpanned. “Just get it over with, would you? I’m cold.”

Her fake, over-the-top gasp grated on my nerves, sparking a flash of anger. “Well how rude of me. I should’ve packed you a jacket. One should be warm for their own funeral.”

“She can have mine.”

My lungs stopped working. It couldn’t be. I shook my head. No, it was in my head.

“He isn’t here,” I mumbled to myself. “He isn’t here.”

The light whipped over my shoulder, allowing a reprieve from its bright beam. Blinking past the bright bursts in my vision, I followed the beam of light to the other side of the freshly dug grave.Mygrave. There was no point trying to hold back the pitiful whimper. Happy, scared, angry, terrified—too many emotions swirled at the sight of Cas decked out in all black with guns strapped across every part of his body.

In my ear, the click of a hammer cocking froze every inch of my mind and body. The cold end of Sarah’s gun pressed to my temple.

“Don’t come any closer or your pretty little Lady gets her pretty little head blown off.”

Eyes wide, I watched Cas pause his advancing. His fierce gaze never faltering from mine, he raised both hands in the air.

“Rose, this is the end of the line. We know who you are, what you’ve done.”

I grimaced at Sarah’s scoff, the movement making the gun barrel dig deeper against my temple. One flick of her finger and all this would be over. The realization of how close I was to death made me want to live. Really live. To have a family, to raise kids, and be free from all the paranoia and fear. I wanted a life.

With him.

A snap of a twig in the dark shifted Sarah’s focus, making the gun slip a fraction. Without thinking twice, I tilted forward and leapt into the grave I was destined for. My hands yanked against the binds as I free-fell through the air, hoping for a chance to catch myself before I landed face first, but the wire held.

Gunfire boomed above me. Just as I smacked the ground, a sharp slice of pain ripped through my shoulder. My scream echoed around the deep dirt cavern as its dense walls muffled the commotion going on above.

Dirt floated into my nose and dry mouth with every short breath. Everything from the tips of my toes to the top of my head ached and groaned at the impact. A small bit of relief calmed my racing heart when both feet responded to the demand for them to move. If I survived this, at least I hadn’t broken my back in the fall, leaving me paralyzed.

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