Chapter 68 #2
“Shh,” I whispered.
There weren’t words to describe the fear that lived inside me. I could only grab Quinntessa and pull her behind a tree, hugging her tightly to me so she was trapped between the bark and my chest. I could feel her chest sputter with anxiety, her fingers lacing in my torn shirt.
I took careful breaths and tried my best to remember how to breathe. There was room for me to use this as an advantage. I knew how my people hunted. I knew how the boys would approach. I knew what to look for and where to avoid. I knew what they’d do to us when they found us, especially Quinntessa.
I’d be lucky if they didn’t slit her throat in front of me before we made it out of the woods.
I was a traitor. In their eyes, falling in love with Quinntessa was the ultimate crime against our family.
My blood-bonded brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers.
I had taken an oath when knowingly ready to break it.
Somewhere in the distance, the whistle sounds again. Here. Here. Here. Look here. I tried to search for the gun. It would be trained on us. It would be close enough that I could move and they could get a nice, clean shot if they wanted.
“Do you know why I prefer a bow over a gun?” I whispered in her ear, leaning with her body pressed against mine in case they were shooting from behind us.
“Ability?” Quinntessa mumbled as her fingers brushed my stomach, hooking in the top lip of my pants to grab something for comfort.
The wind blew, and Quinntessa’s hair tousled around. I fluttered my lashes so her curls would give my eyes mercy and continued searching for the whistling taunt as it blended with the powerful gusts coming down the valley.
He wanted someone’s attention. The pattern wasn’t perfect. He either didn’t remember how to communicate with someone nearby, or he wanted to throw me off.
“It mimics a gunshot, but it’s long and sharp enough to rip through flesh.”
Quinntessa groaned against my chest, burying her face from view.
“How romantic,” she muttered.
I wanted to smile and reassure her this wasn’t forever. She deserved that much. The urge to give her affection disappeared when my ears rang at close range, and I finally spotted a twinkle of silver reflecting sunlight.
“Do you hear that?” I kept my voice low. “Hunters use whistles to help their prey migrate in the correct direction, turning when they need a better angle.”
“No . . .”
Quinntessa leaned back against the tree and fluttered her lashes. Her head tilted into the bark, tears pooling.
“I don’t want to die yet, Quince,” she whispered. “Scrabble will think I abandoned him. I’m all my dad has. I finally made the football team. I never even got to . . .” Our eyes met. “I never even really got to love you.”
I cupped her face and slowly threaded my fingers in her wild hair. She looked so beautiful, even all beat up like this. The sweetest face and most caring eyes, even in the face of such danger.
“You’ve loved me plenty, Quinntessa,” I whispered. “And I hope you’ll continue to after learning about the real me.”
Her hand reached up and gently touched the swollen flesh near my eye. I wasn’t sure how bad I looked, but she still looked at me with such devotion. I leaned down and sighed as our foreheads pressed together.
“We’re being watched,” I confessed, making her whimper and tighten her grip around my waist. “I love you. Remember that.”
Her eyes sparkled. A smile built by angels pulled me from hell’s dark seas. Even on the edge of death, she made me feel so alive. Through the fear I felt in her trembling body, she trusted me. She gave me all of herself.
I kissed her softly and closed my eyes. It had been a short moment without the whistle. I stayed alert and listened carefully around us as she whimpered against my lips.
Kissing her like this . . . Fuck, I might just be okay being shot dead right here.
When my eyes opened again, an obvious flicker of light caught my attention. I pulled away from Quinntessa and kissed her head, rubbing her freckled cheeks.
It was the sound of a weapon cocking that made my muscles begin to move again. A quiet cry left my lips as I shoved her roughly north.
“Run.” I gasped for a breath. “Sally, run and don’t stop!”
Quinntessa’s eyes were eaten with confusion. She shook her head and fought my hands pushing against her.
“No!” she protested. “I’m not leaving you!”
“Look at me!” I grabbed her by the collar of my jacket, just as she had done the first time we kissed. She clawed to stay close to me, but I shoved her against another tree and glared at her. “Baby, look at me!”
“You can’t leave me,” Quinntessa sobbed. “I-I get it. I’m not good at this shit. I’m freaking weak when it comes to-to your life. I’m not good at the bad guys, but I care about you. I care a lot about you, please.”
“Look at me!” I gritted my teeth and shook her pointedly. “I am trying to save your life. You are not weak. I know I said some shit, but you are… You’re very strong. No one makes it through what you have.”
“Quincy, please.”
“You need to run. Run like you’re headed to the end zone. Do not look back.”
“But you?—”
“Baby, trust me,” I pleaded. “I love you. Trust me. Trust that I am trying to help you.”
Quinntessa’s eyes squeezed shut. She nodded as tears streamed down her face. I yanked her closer once more and smashed our lips together in a desperate, sloppy kiss. She tried to hang on to me, but I threw her off in the direction I wanted her to run.
“Run, Sally!” I shouted after her.
Quinntessa stumbled over her feet, but for the most part, she took off instantly.
I watched with a heavy heart as her shoulder clipped a tree, her eyes trying to look back at me.
Once she gave up, she was gone. I watched her slowly disappear in the trees, the distant sound of her labored breathing carrying to me on the wind.
“Watch out,” someone’s voice whispered.
It was only a second before I felt hands grab my shoulders from behind, but I didn’t fight back. It was Quinntessa’s best shot to get out of here.
My back throbbed as I slam down onto a thick root. I groaned and hid my gun behind the small of my back.
When I raised my eyes to my hunter, I found black irises glaring down at me like burning obsidian.
“Where is she?!”