Chapter 66 #2
Dried blood stuck to her face, near her eye. I stepped forward quickly and grabbed the end of the arrow pointed in my direction. She gasped in surprise as I ripped it off the wire and tossed it aside, yanking the bow from her hands.
Quinntessa backed up into the tree behind her and let out a frightened shriek as I grabbed her by the jaw. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears slipping out down her cheeks.
“Stop! Stop!” she shrieked.
Her reaction made me freeze solid. She trembled, pressing back into the tree in fear. I’d seen her scared, but never like this. Her eyes slowly opened as I gently caressed near her wound.
“He . . . he . . .” She stuttered.
“Let me see what he’s done to deserve death,” I whispered, my thumb running over her bruised jaw.
My stomach twisted at the sight. I was close enough to see the multiple cuts it took to make a perfect, eight-point star.
Quinntessa’s heart had been cut out from the skin of her cheek bone, and in its place was the Harrekson star.
It was fresh, an open wound still oozing, most likely infected by a few messy stitches. It was a perfect star design.
“He put the skin in a box,” Quinntessa mumbled, her eyes flickering to me repeatedly. “To give . . . to your dad.”
That fucker.
I released her face and stepped back, giving her enough space to release the breath she was holding. I hated to see her so frightened. When she tried to step away from the tree, I grabbed her wrist and tugged her so gently, it was merely a suggestion to approach me.
And she did. Her eyes met mine as tears streamed down her freckled cheeks.
“I want to go home. Please?” She sniffled.
“We are. You don’t have to worry about him hurting you anymore.” I caressed her face and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “No one will touch you when I’m with you. He’s dead, and I’ll give the same treatment to anyone who tries to harm you. I promise you.”
I stroked the back of her hand, my fingers leaving her wrist to comfort her as much as she’d let me.
Quinntessa’s haunted eyes made the knife in my back twist and turn.
It felt as though someone had shot me a hundred times with different sized arrows, and I had taken every single one to protect her.
“Did you mean it?” Quinntessa looked up at me, the sun around us betraying me and disappearing into the trees. It felt me with a dark void of teary brown to seep into. “That you loved me?”
“I—”
My head whipped behind us when I heard a loud barking approaching. I grabbed Quinntessa’s arm, hearing the distant shouts of a handler.
“We have to go,” I said, tugging her along with me and grabbing my gun from the ground. I dropped her hand and checked the ammunition inside my gun.
Quinntessa watched me with a downward tug of her lips. I chuckled and stepped over Oscar to grab his gun, checking the ammunition inside. I returned to her and kissed her cheek, placing Oscar’s gun in her hand.
“If you ever don’t trust me, shoot.” I stared down into her eyes and smirked. “Think you can handle that?”
“I think so.” She nodded, eyes filling with worry when another round of loud barking echoed off the trees. “Are those wolves?”
“I wish.” I stepped back and tugged lightly on her shirt. “Come on, baby. Be strong for me. We have to go. They’re hunting.”
“Hunting?” Quinntessa limped, quickly catching my attention as I looked down at her unsteady feet. “Shouldn’t we try to flag them down? Maybe get in a tree so the dogs don’t mistake us?”
“They’re hunting us,” I casually, quickly, answered, bending down and picking up her foot.
“Us?” Quinntessa gasped and tried to jump away from me. “What are you doing?”
“Did you hurt yourself?” I asked, rolling up her jeans. I gritted my teeth when I noticed obvious rope burns. “Can you walk?”
“I ran, didn’t I?” Quinntessa grumbled, ripping her ankle back and walking off from me.
“Hey, Sassy Sally,” I teased, tossing my thumb in the other direction. “This way.”
“How do you know?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I grew up in these woods. I was once one of those hunters.” I pointed toward the setting sun. “We need to go west. I know somewhere we can hide for the night. We need to take them off your scent.”
Quinntessa looked over her shoulder and listened to the dogs coming in our direction. She sighed, frustrated tears welling in her eyes as she stomped off to my side.
“I don’t even like camping-camping,” she mumbled. “Gives me hives.”
“Baby, everything gives you hives. Anxiety gives you hives.” I took her hand before she could scratch at her cheek. I stopped her and gently took her chin in my fingers. “I’ll protect you. Take a breath for me.”
“I don’t know if I trust you,” Quinntessa confessed, chewing on her pale lips. She looked dehydrated. I hated how bruised her skin was from this proximity.
“You haven’t shot me yet,” I pointed out, glancing at the gun in her other hand.
“I want to have hope. I want to believe you’re a good person…” She glanced around my face. “Even if you worship Satan.”
“I don’t wor—” I paused when she looked away and rubbed her eyes. “Okay, fine. Yes. You’re correct and I’ll explain soon, okay?”
Quinntessa stared at her feet. She turned to our right, worry in her eyes.
“You have to tell me something. This all doesn’t make sense, Quincy.
” She turned to me and swallowed. Her eyes softened, glancing around warily.
“He told me things, but they’re insane. And-and I think he drugged me or something.
I keep…I keep having these hallucinations.
It’s making me paranoid. My mom—” She sniffled.
“I can’t be like my mom. She has these moments?—”
“You’re nothing like her. He must have given you something.
” I cradled her head and force her eyes to mine.
I leaned in to kiss her, but Quinntessa turned her head away.
My chest throbbed, but I gave her space.
“Let’s get out of the dark so you can rest. I’ll get you some water.
It’s through the river to take them off your scent. ”
Quinntessa toyed with my jacket and frowned.
“Through the river?” she asked, unsurely. “Miller River? What about the current?”
“An extended part of it.” I turned her and slipped an arm under hers to help support her weight. I wouldn’t be the one who took a football star out of commission. “Lean into me.”
“I told you I can walk,” she snapped.
“Quinntessa Dawson.” I shot her a glare when she scowled at her name. “Trust me. Please. Just enough so I can get you out of here.”
She sighed and leaned into me as we walked. I worried we weren’t making enough progress fast enough, but I didn’t want her hurting herself by running again.