46. Aspyn
Chapter forty-six
Aspyn
A spyn Aged 22
I don’t want to be their burden. So I keep my distance, I push them away with words and anger.
They don’t go anywhere.
They stay right at the fringes of my life and circle like sharks.
Why do I feel so safe with them, then? My thoughts go back and forth, self-loathing and shame versus grief and yearning.
No, they deserve better than someone who is so broken.
So, I don’t talk. For months, I don’t say a word.
Not to anyone.
P resent Day
I burst back into the house, leaning against the door while my head reels. He’s here.
I don’t know how he’s here, but I can guess what he wants.
The pack isn’t here, still, though I’d thought I felt them. I can feel Gael, and he’s who I’m frantically searching for.
I find him in our bedroom, doing his belt up. I rush in and pull on my sneakers and grab a jacket. What else do I need?
“What’s wrong?”
“Typhor is here. We have to go. They told him how to find us.”
“No, we-”
“He’s got people with him. We have to go.” My voice is shrill with panic. I grab at his arm and pull him, but he resists.
Gael opens his mouth to protest, but I squeeze his hand and look up at him.
“Please, Gael, trust me, we need to run.”
I drag him out the back door, limping as fast as I can and ignoring the twinges in my leg. I’ve got my cane in one hand and Gael in the other.
We get to the garden that borders my yard and theirs, half overgrown and turning into a forest. That’s when we hear it. They tear through the house, smashing our belongings. Yelling. The guys who walk out are huge with bulging muscles and angry faces contorted into bloodthirsty smiles.
If I’d been a minute slower, we wouldn’t have escaped them. I shiver and lean into Gael’s arm as we watch.
There are six huge guys who look like hired muscle. I think there might be a couple in the house. No sign of Typhor, though, which is a relief.
But I can almost feel his toxic influence spreading.
And then I hear him speaking.
“I own this island now. I bought it for a ridiculously cheap sum. You see, I’m a really petty bitch sometimes, and the Raines family has taken my wife, my daughter, my future, my job, and my whole world.” He pauses, and his voice gets louder. “I know you’re here, and you need to understand one thing. This isn’t personal. This is just business. He ruins my life. I’m going to destroy his.”
Kelly, he’s talking about Kelly.
I lick my dry lips and glance at Gael. He’s listening intently, his eyes almost glowing with dark fire.
“All I want is to watch him lose everything.”
I nudge Gael. “We have to go.”
“Fine, we’ll do this the hard way,” Typhor shouts and lets out a laugh that has me crouching back down in the bushes.
I lean forward, watching intently as Typhor appears on this side of the house. Another guy drags out a badly beaten Nat.
“Your precious boyfriends are dead,” Typhor shouts. “The only one left is Kelly. Give him to me, and I’ll let you two go. You can live a nice life somewhere else and never have to remember this nightmare ever again.”
I go still, my eyes widening. Gael does the same. He’s wrong. That’s not true. I grip Gael so hard my nails cut into his forearm.
“Don’t you think they would have come by now? Your precious Ezekial is buried so deep they will never find him. I threw your other boyfriends into the river. Like your father.” The malicious asshole pauses, gloating. “And your sister.”
I make a sound that has Gael whipping back around. He puts a hand over my mouth and pulls me back against his chest. My body shakes, and tears stream from my eyes.
“They don’t know we’re here yet. We leave now. We get her help. He’s lying. Don’t you believe him.”
But I can hear the panic and fear in his voice. He isn’t sure either. Gael lets out a tiny sound of pure pain.
I frantically pull at my broken self, trying to get the willpower to keep going.
“They’re alive!” I whisper. “They have to be alive! Nat needs us!”
I shake my head in protest. Nat looks awful. Her head is lolling, and she needs to be supported. There is blood trickling down the side of her face and from her mouth.
I don’t want to leave her, but if they get their hands on us, it’s all over. They will kill all three of us. As long as they need to capture me, they will keep her alive.
I hope.
I’m torn for a second, and then I turn and lead Gael back down to the beach. I stay in the tree line and work our way through the forest. In one of the clearings, we come across a car.
Gael goes towards it confidently. He looks at me with raised eyebrows. “I am a man prepared.”
We get in, and he drives us to a beach we call Lover’s Lookout. He lets me out and then goes and hides the car before he returns with a huge pack and guides me down to the beach.
“Why here?”
“This is where I became Daane. I welcomed it. It was so messed up, but I was glad they were doing it. Seeing them, something felt right from the moment I met them. But having the choice taken away from me made it okay. They gave me something that helped mend the broken parts in me.”
We sit down near the cliffs, out of sight. The tide is far out, but I notice there’s an inflatable boat hidden.
“Did you do this as well?” I ask nervously. I hope he doesn’t expect me to get in that. The wind lifts my hair and sand hits my face hard.
I look up at the sky, clouds. Wind change. I nervously step back from the ocean.
Gael nods and points to the surfboards. “If we need to escape, we can. Oh, Mitch is a really, really good guy.”
“Why did you do this?” I murmur.
“Because I prepare for what is going to go wrong and hope for the best.”
I swallow hard, looking at the surfboard and then the boat. “I’m not sure I can get on there with you.”
“You can. It will be fine. You have done so many amazing, incredible things. I know you can do this.”
“Do you think he was telling the truth?” I murmur, my eyes fill with more tears. Just thinking about them floating dead in the black torrents makes me feel sick.
“No, they can’t be. Someone would have told us.”
I curl up in his lap, holding onto his arm to keep me safe.
Gael looks up. I follow his gaze and see someone walking towards us.
“Mitch?”
I scramble, but Gael catches my arm and pulls me the rest of the way up.
“I’ve contacted them, Gael.” Mitch pants. He sits down heavily in the sand. “I sent a message. But I don’t know if they got it, Sonny found me. I’m sorry. I tried. But I couldn’t get through.”
Are they dead? Is my pack dead? Wouldn’t I have felt it in the bonds? The panic surges up again, stealing my ability to vocalise.
“Where is he?” Gael asks urgently.
“He’s locked up right now. They are going to find you, though. This island is small, and they are offering a cool million to anyone who helps lead to your capture.” Mitch takes the bottle Gael passes him and drinks deeply.
I choke on the number. A million? People would do a lot more for a lot less.
“You need to get off this island.” Mitch points the bottle at me. “And you need to do it today.”
Fear chokes me. “We can’t. Even if we could, the nearest island is too far, and they have Nat.”
Mitch freezes. “Is she okay?”
My eyes fill with tears. I shake my head. “I don’t think so. We can’t leave.”
“You have to. You have to go now.”
Mitch glances back over his shoulder. The wind picks up, fierce and cold. Sand and my hair whips around me. I cry out, feeling like everything is wrong. It’s bad. We need to get off this beach.
I turn, glancing out at the ocean. The waves have picked up, too, now, showing their white caps.
I’m not getting in that.
On the horizon, black clouds hang low in the sky, threatening danger in front and the human threat behind. We’re trapped.
“If he gets you,” Gael murmurs, “he’s going to do whatever it takes to bring Kelly to his knees because there is no way that Kelly Raines is dead. He has been yours since he first saw you.”
I inhale sharply. He’s right. I can’t let Typhor get his hands on me or Gael. I need to protect Kelly.
“Okay,” I whisper.
“Go!” Mitch says sharply.
Gael isn’t looking at him, he’s looking at the ocean. “Help me drag this out.”
Mitch and Gael grab a side of the boat and rush it towards the waves. The boat lifts almost vertically as a wave crashes into it. They both jump almost impossibly high with it, trying to keep it down. It crashes into a trough and water promptly splashes inside.
My mouth is dry, and my knees are weak. All I can do is stand on the beach frozen, watching what I’m certain is my impending death.
This time, though, the roar in my mind isn’t as loud as the crashing thunder of the ocean.
I swallow hard, fighting the urge to vomit.
Gael holds out his hand. “Come on, Aspyn, it’s time to go.” My fear holds me rigid. I hear my father screaming at me to run. My sister’s crying. But Gael stares at me with a hand extended and so much love and belief. How can I possibly not try?
“Trust me.”
I reach out to take his hand.