Page 108 of Surrender
All I could think about was getting her into my arms.
Once she was there, she was safe. I’d make sure nothing touched her unless it went through me first. But before I got close enough, she stopped me cold, waving her hands about as tears streaked down her cheeks.
“You gotta go! Find him,” she cried, cringing and curling in on herself, obviously in pain but desperate to tell me something.
I dropped down onto my haunches in front of her, catching her shaking hand and holding it tight in mine. “Tiny Dancer, stop,” I said, a sharp pain in my chest as I watched her fight for every breath. “Find me, Darcy. I’m here, look at me.”
Her eyes lifted, meeting my gaze, her entire body trembling.
“I’m here, find me,” I told her again, squeezing her hand so she could feel me as well as hear me. “Take your time.”
She shook her head back and forth. “No. I—” She inhaled a deep breath, wincing before she released it. “I… Rafe. Find him.”
Bishop stepped up beside me with a worried frown. “Where ishe?”
She jabbed her finger to the right. “Shot… he fell in… lake.”
No.
Hell-fucking-no.
“Blue. Focus.” Bishop’s voice cut sharp as his eyes locked on mine. “You got this? I’ll take Whip. We’ll find him.”
“Yes. Go!” I urged, already turning my attention back to Darcy as Bishop and Whip raced into the trees.
Darcy kept her eyes on me, each breath slowing a little more than the last as she focused in. It was hard to see her struggling like this, obviously in pain, yet she still hadn’t thought of herself first and what she needed.
She thought of Rafe.
Making sure there was no time wasted getting to him.
I brushed her hair back, ignoring the mess of dirt and sticks that were tightly tangled in it, so that I could see her face. “You did good, baby. It’ll be okay.”
She shook her head, more tears leaving streaks down her face. “I couldn’t do anything… P-Parker shot him.” Her voice cracked, and she sniffled, but her expression quickly hardened, and she grabbed hold of the edge of the planter behind her, shaking it. “This is his graveyard. These—”
“Fuck,” Hawk muttered behind me, an edge to his tone that sounded painful. “This is fucked up.”
Darcy reached for me, her hands shaking as she gripped my arms, her nails digging into my skin. She tried to push herself up, and I moved with her, helping as much as I could without jostling her body. It was clear she was already in pain, and I’d noted the blood on her face and clothing. It was something I’d refer to later when I was ready to remove Parker from this world and send him hurtling into hell.
But other than what I could see, I had no idea what kind of damage had been done to her body.
I’d seen the wreck, the car mangled in a way that could have killed her.
But here she was, still alive.
Still fucking fighting.
I slipped my arm around her waist while she finally found her footing, anchoring her to me as we looked out over the strange garden in the woods. It was meticulous, with rows of planters lined up like soldiers and full of stunning flowers, hidden away in the middle of nowhere.
It didn’t make any sense.
Until I saw the names.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I muttered under my breath, and Darcy clutched my cut in her hands, holding it as if it were her lifeline. Her connection to reality. “That’s not—”
“Where I hid the bodies of my exes? It sure is.” Parker’s voice was like acid in my ears, his tone arrogant and casual about the lineup of coffin-shaped gardens. My head snapped to face him, Cain and Hawk both watching the motherfucker in disgust as he sat up, pressing his palm to his temple like he was fighting a fucking headache.
My arm tightened around Darcy, and I pulled my gun from inside my cut, gritting my teeth as I trained it on Parker.
