Page 77 of Whispers of the Dead

Zoey’s hands snap forward to grip Eugene’s wrist, and the knife twists between them. They crash to the floor, limbs tangling, bodies jerking violently against the hard stone. Eugene winds up on top of her. He pins her down, his body pressing into hers. She gasps.

Then a cry rips through the air like a wounded animal, and they both go still. A dark puddle spreads out beneath them.

The table crashes to the stone, and Lola flies through the room, barking and sniffing at Zoey.

Benji’s roar is inhuman.

Damon’s thrashes are so wild that plaster falls from the ceiling where he’s chained.

My vision tunnels. When she doesn’t move, I let out a roar, letting pure instinct take over. My muscles coil, and rage explodes through me like a bomb. The pain in my ribs disappears. I yank against the chains. Plaster rains down around me when I rip the chains from the ceiling. The iron groans, and then snaps like a twig.

I don’t feel the pain. There’s no hesitation. I run.

My hands grab Eugene first, and I yank him off of her before tossing him aside so hard his skull cracks against the stone floor where he lands.

Then I brace myself for the worst. For blood. For?—

Zoey’s chest rises and falls. Her hands clutch the handle of the knife, its blade red and slick with blood. I drop to my knees and cup her face. “Zoey?”

Her eyes flicker in and out of focus. Her fingers twitch. The knife clatters to the floor, and she grabs onto me instead, clutching my arms like I’m the only thing keeping her anchored to this world. “I…I got him.”

I glance over my shoulder at Eugene’s still form, and the deep wound on his side. The pool of blood seeping out and filling in the cracks of the floor. Then I look down at Zoey. She’s shaking, but she’s alive.

I let out a shuddering breath and pull her into my arms, crushing her against me and aggravating my bruised ribs that are far less important than her. “You’re okay,” I murmur against her hair.

Her fingers tangle in my hair. “So are you.”

My head falls forward and I bury my face in her beautiful golden hair. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t be the one to have done that for you.”

She pulls back, and her wide eyes search mine. “Why, Cole? This is something I should have done long ago. Now I’m the monster here.” Her lips tilt up into the smallest, the most broken smile I’ve ever seen.

I tilt her chin up, forcing her to really see me. “You’re not a monster, Zoey.”

She leans in, then, and when she’s a breath away, she says, “Neither are you,” and crashes her lips against mine.

For once, I don’t pull away.

For the first time in as long as I can remember, I let myself have this.

32

ZOEY

The world ceases to exist the moment our lips crash together.

The cold, the blood, the chains, the horrors we’ve endured. It all fades into nothing. Cole is all I feel.

His grip tightens. One arm curls around my waist, while the other cups the back of my head while he deepens the kiss. His mouth is rough and desperate, claiming every inch of me with a fire that sends shivers down my spine.

My nails dig into his bare shoulders, and I hold on to him like he’s the only real thing in this world. Maybe he is. Still, I allow myself to be consumed by him.

He pulls me closer, and I wrap my legs around his waist. He lifts me like I weigh nothing, like he’s not even hurt. His body moves with effortless strength. I gasp against his mouth when his bulge presses against my core, and my fingers tangle in his hair, pulling him closer.

Cole’s lips move to my neck, his breath hot against my skin. A shudder wracks through me, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I don’t feel powerless. I feel alive.

I hear chains rattle, and the sound snaps me back to thepresent for a brief moment. Damon and Benji. They’re still here, still chained up. We’re not safe yet.

Cole turns his head to address them. “Guard the entrance.”

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