Page 103 of Surrender
Rafe grabbed my hand, yanking me forward, off the trail and into the trees. We half ran, half stumbled away from the road, roots snagging our ankles and branches snapping back into our faces.
Breathing wasn’t even a thought at that moment. I had to trust my body to do it because my only thought was torun.
“Darcy!” Parker’s guttural roar tore through the trees behind us.
It drove me faster, as if we were in some stupid horror movie.
Being chased through the woods by a monster.
Because that’s what Parker was.
A monster.
Thumping and scratching sounds made me scared he was freeing himself, the sound of his voice still floating in the air, but I didn’t look back.
I couldn’t.
Rafe staggered to a stop, panting and looking around. “There,” he said, nodding at where the ground sloped down, a sliver of something wooden in the distance at the bottom. “That must be the cabin… we need to head in the opposite direction… try to find a road.”
Unable to speak, I nodded, trying to save every little bit of air I could for now, because there would come a point where I had nothing left, and the farther we were away from Parker at that point, the more chance I had that Nate might just find us first.
“He’s coming,” Rafe reassured me with a sharp nod. “Trust me. They’re all coming.”
Tears burned in my throat, but they would only slow us down, too, so I threw myself into a run, hoping to force them back down.
Each step was torture.
But it got me closer to Nate.
And farther from death.
It was actually almost sad, the two of us jogging through this beautiful landscape, unable to take in the beauty because we were literally running for our lives. The thought forced a burst of laughter from my mouth, and Rafe almost tripped over his own feet, looking at me with shock and wide eyes.
“I just—” My foot caught on a root, and I shot forward, hitting the ground hard on my knees. “Dammit!” I hissed, pushing forward on my hands and letting my head hang, taking the opportunity to suck in several deep breaths.
“Fucking hell,” Rafe cursed behind me, his voice barely above a whisper.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, lifting my head and suddenly noticing I’d fallen into a small clearing. Trees still shaded the space, but instead of an untouched forest, there were small raised gardens, built up with wood to be about two feet off the ground. Each had different colored flowers blooming bright and beautifully—obviously well looked after, even with words carefully carved into the sides.
Not words.
Names.
“No,” I whispered, scrambling back, my nails scratching at the dirt as I fell back on my ass to get away. “No, no, no.”
Rafe hooked his hands under my arms and lifted me back onto my feet, steadying me for a moment before he crouched down beside the closest garden. He traced the name with his finger, his jaw clenched tight.
“Jasmine,” I choked out, sucking in a deep breath.
Each garden had a name on the side, some fresher than others, and a couple that I couldn’t read at all, which were much older. Then there was one more right at the other end of the clearing.
It was new.
Fresh wood.
Yet to be filled with soil.
But the name was already carved into the side.
