Page 30 of White Raven
“Since he led him to you. Yes. Curiously long life for a bird. Don’t you think?” She took another step forward. “Why do you think he came to you? What part of you doesn’t wonder why the one thing that brought you and your mate together, utterlyrevolvesaround him?” She nodded up at the raven, who watched Athan longingly. “It’s good to see her so taken with you. You’re so intoxicating together. A pleasure to watch, too. You fuck like gods.”
Something in the pit of his nauseous stomach flipped. His brows raised, and Sarah’s sharp gasp for breath as she broke away from her host distracted him. He abruptly turned, lowering his weapon and dropping to his knees next to his mate. The gunclattered to the concrete, and he brought his arms around her pulling her back to his chest while she heaved ragged breaths. Her hands violently shook as she raised her palms in front of her. It was messy…her fingers dripped with fresh blood, and the scent darkened his eyes. It was difficult to control himself, but he focused on her…on her and the panic that seized her body as she stared down at the corpse that slumped against the wall.
“No…” she whispered, shaking her head. “No, no…no…” Athan rested his chin over her shoulder, holding her close.
“You’re okay, Sarah…I’m here, I’ve got you.” He knew his words would do nothing for her. This, she’d have to live with for eternity. His eyes flashed to the steps, finding Sykes and his bird gone.
“No!” Sarah shook, breaking into a heavy sob and covering her bloody mouth with her palm. Several sets of footsteps sounded from the other side of the tunnel and Athan pulled her back.
“We’ve gotta go,” he whispered, helping her to her feet. She’d lost one of her black heels somewhere in the drag from the car to the subway. Her black tights were ripped at the knees, and her white collar was now almost completely dyed in stark red blood. The hurried footsteps neared closer, and Athan reached down, checking the man’s pockets. There was an old pocket-watch attached to the only remaining belt loop on his filthy pants. He ripped it off and shoved it into his suit pocket, pulling Sarah along as he swiped his gun from the ground and led her quickly up the steps.
Sarah’s hysterical crying got worse with every quick stride back to his car. “Go back!” she wept, struggling against his arm. “Athan, go back! I can save him…please!”
“You can’t Sarah…he’s gone. We don’t leave them alive.” His heart broke for her. He never wanted this. Never wished this kind of existence for the one that gave him a real future. Thiswas her future now. There was a time when he thought that they could avoid the killing of innocent human life. With her blood, and the good it could do…there was no way that future wouldn’t be a little brighter, even being what she now was. He was wrong. And he’d selfishly asked her to be hiswife. Fuck. How could he have been so naive? He helped her into the car, closing the door and pulling out his phone. Rhaena answered on the second ring.
“Hey! We’re—”
“Rhaena, where is Sykes?” Athan asked, rounding the hood of his car.
“I—I dunno, why? What’s wrong?”
“She’s not who we thought she was. If you see her, don’t ask questions, just fucking shoot.”
“What?!”
“You heard me. You and Jenkins meet me at Sarah’s in ten minutes. Hurry up.”
He hung up before Rhaena could ask anything else and slid into the driver’s seat. Sarah continued to cry, breathing heavily and staring at her hands.
“We have to go back,” she heaved. “I can give him my blood. We could turn him, and—”
“No. We can’t.”
Her pleading eyes locked onto his before he threw the car in reverse and backed down the alley, turning around after he passed the dumpster he nearly hit coming in. “She’s not fucking here, Athan! We don’t have to play by her rules anymore! Why can’t we go back in there and—”
“Sarah!” Athan shouted, startling her. Her lip quivered and he eased his hand to her exposed knee. “Listen to me…it’s not about Dahlia’s rules, okay? It’s about what he’ll become if we do that. He was an addict. His mortal life was spent in desperation for a fix. If we turned him, what do you think he’d do with a hunger like yours? More people would die, Baby. Wecan’t save him. You’ve got to calm down. If we went back down there, I’d have to kill every witness that’s in there trying to figure out what happened. As bad as it sounds, one life is better than dozens. I know you’re dying inside…I—” He loosed a heavy breath through his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, smoothing a hand across the side of her face. “We have to go.”
He switched gears, and pulled back onto the street, heading for their apartment. Sarah spent the rest of the ride in shock. Silent…broken. Terrified and morally crushed in spirit. She wasn’t going to take this well at all. He hadn’t either his first time. About a block away from the gallery, several cops passed them with their lights on, and sirens blaring. Athan swallowed hard. He pulled into an empty parking spot next to Rhaena’s truck, and she stood on the curb next to Jenkins, turning towards him as her phone slowly lowered from her ear.
She knew. The look in her eyes told him she knew.
He didn’t waste time getting out and stepping around the car. Athan reached an arm behind Sarah’s back, the other under her knees and pulled her across the console, raising himself to stand and clutching her to his chest while he carried her to the door. Rhaena and Jenkins looked on in shock at the blood that covered his mate. Nobody breathed a word as they headed upstairs.
“What does he know?”
“Nothing more than there being a reason for his bird that he’s gonna have to work out for himself. She didn’t see me at all.”
“That’s good enough. Where is the raven?”
“On his way back to you. Where I should be.”
“No. Not yet. I want you to stay out of sight. Keep eyes on her for the evening. Report back to me and catch the next flight in the morning. We need to see how the rest of the pieces fell on the chessboard.”
“I don’t think we’ll have any issues.”
“Keep your promiscuity to a minimum, Ryan. And don’t make contact or go back to that precinct. Understood?”
“Understood, sir.”
