Page 39 of Within Shadows
“Let’s get a cold pack on this and get you home.” He wraps an arm beneath my knees and one behind my back to lift me. His heavy footsteps crunch across fallen leaves and branches, but there’s another sound further into the woods. I strain my neck, looking over his shoulder as my eyes struggle to cut throughthe mass of shadows that creep through the woods. A flash of something reflects the light, but then it’s gone, and I blink hard, assuming I’m seeing things.
“Are you okay?” Knox asks, brushing his nose against my cheek affectionately.
“You fucked me so good, I might be hallucinating.” I grin, and he shakes his head, his bright smile almost haunting in the darkness. Another cracking sound and Knox tenses, his smile dropping instantly as he continues to walk towards his house.
“Knox?” I ask, unease twisting in my stomach. He frowns, twisting his head slightly, and flicks his gaze over his shoulder. There’s more rustling in the distance, but this time it’s closer, and my mind flashes with images of wolves hunting us. We are out of the woods, nearing the massive driveway, and Knox pulls out his phone, unlocking the gate to allow it to creak open ominously.
“Think you can run again, Thalia?” he asks. He only uses my first name when it’s serious, and my body shivers at the tone in his voice. “You stay in front of me and stay low, get through the gate, and go right to the house. There’s a gun in my nightstand, get it and lock yourself in the bathroom. Do not come out until I come to get you, do you understand?” His voice is low enough that I have to strain to hear him. I nod, my grip tightening on him as he sets me on my feet and presses a kiss to my lips. It’s short and over far too quickly as he pries my hands away and turns me, giving a gentle nudge.
My boots pound across the driveway as I race to the door, but when I slam into it, Knox isn’t behind me. He’s standing on the other side of the gate, his stance casual as he playfully flips his knife in the air. A gunshot rips through the calm night, and I watch in horror as the brick wall right next to him bursts into chunks of debris and dust.
“Go!” Knox roars, squaring his shoulders as he runs towards the psycho shooting at him with nothing more than a knife. I can feel it, my heart breaking as another gunshot echoes. My hands tremble and my vision swims as I struggle to suck in a breath. I pat my pockets, but my phone is gone, and I bite back a screech of rage as I put the code in wrong once, twice, and finally on the third try, the locks disengage and the door swings open. Atticus is lying on the couch and I snag him up, earning myself a disgruntledmeow.“You’ll thank me later,” I pant out, racing through the house until I burst through Knox’s door and almost trip over the shopping bags that still litter the floor.
I carefully lock Atticus in the bathroom and whip around in amildpanic. Dropping to my knees, I rip open the top drawer of the nightstand. The gun is small but still ridiculously heavy in my palm as I lift it and stand on shaking legs.
I run through the house and through the front door, listening to the sounds of a fight. Another gunshot fires off and Knox shouts in pain. The sound rips through my heart like a serrated blade, and I brace myself to run into the fight, no matter what it takes, to save him.
“Maeve,” a familiar voice calls out, making bile crawl up my throat. My head turns slowly, and standing by the garage, a figure dressed in black steps out of the shadows and smiles at me. Oliver is holding my ripped bra in one hand and Knox’s mask in the other with a look of disgust on his face.
“I knew you were a whore, but this is just disturbing. You need help, Maevey. He’s taking advantage of how broken and weak you are. I just want to save you from this and the regret we both know you’ll have once he gets bored with you.” His tone is sweet and honest, and the gun feels like a lead weight in my hand as it dangles at my side.
Chapter 25
Knox
Our perfect night is just getting started, and I struggle to hold back my rage to keep a level head. My beautiful muse looked so stunning as she watched the sunset, her eyes wide to take in every moment with a look of wonder. The stuffy dinner was my poor attempt at wooing her and treating her how I thought she deserved to be. In reality, cuddling on the blanket to watch the sky and being chased into the woods and fucking her like a wild beast was what she wanted all along.
But the peace couldn’t last, and somebody was following us. Keeping Maeve safe is all I can think about, but I still had plans to wrap us in a cocoon of blankets and watch our favorite show until she fell asleep in my embrace. Which means I need to deal with whoever this is and quick, but I have an inkling that I know who it is. Another shot rings out, splintering the tree to my right as I race between the trees, ducking low to limit their target. The moron behind the gun had a terrible aim, but I wasn’t going to complain.
Pulling my knife out, I take a steadying breath and press my bare back to the rough bark of a massive tree. The woods are eerily quiet, except for the stomping of somebody running around with too much confidence—or ignorance.
“I think I hit him,” an unfamiliar, masculine voice quietly calls out.
“No, you hit a tree, dumbass. He went this way,” a second man says, a lot closer than I’d like. I have my knife against two men, and at least one of them is armed. I like my odds. Launching around the tree, I use the element of surprise and swipe the blade, dragging it down the chest of one of the attackers. It’s too dark to make out features aside from the dark gray hoodie that has blood rapidly seeping through the gash in his chest. I do know that I’ve seen these guys before, but I can’t place them.
“Devin, help!” he cries out, falling back as he clutches his chest. This was going to be far easier than I expected. I spin toface the second man and flip my knife, catching it by the slippery blade and throw it at the other man. It lodges into his neck before he can pull the trigger on the gun aimed in my direction. He falls back, letting out a gurgled scream that fades as his body stills. The first man is crawling now, struggling to get his body to cooperate and stand as I calmly walk over to the one he called Devin.
I put my boot on his head and rip the knife free, striding back to the other man. Slamming a kick to the middle of his back, I send him sprawling face down into the dirt and sit on my heels next to him. He’s sobbing, rambling as he begs me to let him go.
“Why were you following us? How long were you watching us?” I grit my jaw and try to seek out an ounce of patience. Every minute I’m out here while Maeve is hiding is a moment too long, and I keep replaying the horror on her face. It was different from the excited fear I see when she’s running from me. These pricks genuinely terrified her.
“We didn’t have a choice, please just let me go.” He finally stops babbling and trying to crawl away, but still won’t lift his head up to look at me.
“Why, and how long?” I snarl the question, pressing the tip of my blade into his neck.
“He was blackmailing us and said he’d get the charges dropped if we helped. Or else he’d go to his father and get us kicked out of school.” The man’s voice is higher, more frantic as he starts talking. “It was a stupid mistake, and we didn’t mean to hurt the chick. We didn’t know how strong the drugs were and just wanted to have a good time.”
My lip curls in a sneer as I stand, rage rippling through my entire being. He takes me stepping back as a sign that I’m showing mercy and tries to stand.
“Oliver?” I ask, and he nods.
“He told the three of us that we just had to deal with you, and he’d do the rest,” the man sniffles. I swing my arm upwards, lodging the blade firmly between his ribs. His mouth drops open wide as he collapses, and I rip the blade free. Maeve’s scream rips through the cold wind, splitting my heart as my head whips in the direction of the house.
My body moves before I can think, my boots slamming to the ground with enough force to crush every branch that crosses my path. My breath puffs in a cloud with every harsh exhale, whipped away as I run towards the open gate. I don’t have time or rational thought to sneak up on them; the cracking sound of my feet hitting the paved driveway announces me as I run towards them.
“Come closer and your pretty little toy will be dead before she hits the ground,” Oliver shouts, his gun pressed to her temple as he chokes her from behind. He is less than eighty feet away, but I can see the horror in her eyes, her face bathed in the garage lights. He presses his face to her ear and disgust has her recoiling, but Oliver holds her tightly. A single tear tracks down her face and I watch as she tosses something onto the ground. My gun clatters as it slides away from her, the metal almost glowing as a beacon just beyond her reach.
“How cute, she actually cares about you. It’s honestly a shame that you nearly ruined such a pretty little thing,” he sneers at me, kissing her cheek even as she tries to turn away.
