Chapter 1 #2
His face paled, blood dribbling between his lips as he coughed.
I’d seen death on people’s faces more times than I could count.
Death had a way of revealing people’s true natures.
Some people begged, some threatened, some tried to bargain.
And this idiot I didn’t even know was dying and still trying to help me. I hated him for it.
He started trying to talk again, grabbing at my hands.
“Shut up, dumbass,” I snarled at him, pressing harder at his wound.
He cried out in pain, then quieted as the familiar warmth spread from my chest down my arms and into his stomach.
The bullet had gone clean through his gut.
Normally a death wound, but not tonight.
I could feel his body mending beneath my fingers, all the muscles and organs knitting themselves back together.
His hand curled over the top of one of mine, squeezing gently, and I glanced up to see his eyes full of awe.
The wound closed shut, leaving what I knew would be a fresh pink scar, and the warmth left me.
Head spinning, I dragged in a breath and shivered, chilled like I’d jumped into an icy river. His lips formed a question, eyes alight with amazement.
“Who—”
Time to go.
I jerked away. His fingers moved across his stomach, searching for a wound that was no longer there. I started to stand, listening for gunfire, ready—
Something cracked into the back of my head like thunder, and everything went dark.
—
Angry voices cut through me as I regained consciousness. My head pounded. I cracked my eyes open, a pained groan escaping through my teeth, and everything went silent. I blinked at the pale pink dawn until three male faces blocked my view. They stared down at me, and my heart seized in terror.
I rolled and they lunged. I managed to get to my knees, the world spinning so violently I thought I might be sick, before hands hauled me up to my feet.
I kicked out, but strong arms banded around me, pinning both of mine to my sides.
I threw my throbbing head backward, aiming for his nose, but I wasn’t quite tall enough and collided with his collarbone.
Stars burst in my vision. Before I could recover, he yanked my upper body back while shoving his hips into mine, forcing me onto his knee.
The more I fought, the more he leaned back, pulling me with him until only the tips of my toes touched the ground.
I thrashed, but he was firmly centered, and I had no leverage.
I gave up, helpless fury burning in my chest.
A dark-haired man stepped right in front of me.
He looked older than my twenty-two years, maybe nearing thirty.
His dark eyes matched his unruly black hair.
He stood so close, I could see flecks of gold sparking in his irises as he glared at me, reminding me of the dark grey chunk of flint I’d stolen to make my campfires.
A long scar ran up his left cheek, stopping underneath his eye.
“Juck’s secret weapon,” he said, his voice low and hard.
The roaring in my head threatened to drown me. So the mercs had known. They’d known me, which meant somebody had talked. I thought I’d have more time, I thought I’d be able to get farther away—
“Lot of stories make more sense now,” he continued. “Like Juck’s immortality.”
I glared at him, and he glared right back. A giant muscled man shifted into view, arms crossed. He had dark brown skin and black hair buzzed close to his scalp. Despite his intimidating size, he met my gaze with a calm, steady expression.
“What are you?” the first man demanded.
I stared stubbornly at the trees behind him. Gods, I’d been free for two weeks. Two. Defeat tasted bitter in my mouth.
“Mac!” Both men’s hands twitched toward the guns on their hips as a lanky boy came hurtling through the trees toward us, all gangly arms and legs. “Trucks are moving out. Mercs.”
“Get to the rovers,” the black-haired man, Mac apparently, said. “Load up.”
He turned his back on me and stalked into the trees.
The one holding me let go, dropping me back to the ground.
I shot a glance up at his face to meet the brown eyes of the one I’d so stupidly healed.
I glanced away, tensing further when Muscles stepped forward.
They each grabbed one of my arms and dragged me along after Mac.
I couldn’t see the town anywhere, only forest. I squinted up at the sky, trying to get a read on our location, but it only made my head hurt worse.
We stepped out into a clearing. Mac climbed into a fortified off-road vehicle with two seats in the front and a bench seat in the back, and it purred to life.
A second one behind it already idled. My two guards shoved me into the back seat of the one Mac waited in.
I scrambled over the seat, trying to escape out the other side, but Muscles caught my ankle and yanked me back.
I tumbled onto the floor of the rover but managed to kick out hard with my free leg as I fell, catching Muscles in the chin.
A sick sort of satisfaction swelled when he swore and spit blood.
“Will you fucking hold on to her?” Mac snapped, glancing back.
Muscles hauled me up, blood dribbling down his chin. “You wanna get tied up again?”
I dropped my eyes as my stomach twisted.
My wrists ached with welts and bruises from being zip-tied for so long in that safe.
Satisfied, he shoved me back, then climbed in.
He wiped the blood from his chin, glaring at me.
I scooted away for some space, but Brown Eyes crowded into the other seat next to me, his gaze appraising.
I dropped mine to the floor and tucked my hands into my lap to hide how they trembled.
The adrenaline had faded, leaving me nauseous and shaky.
“On your go, Alpha,” a female voice crackled over a radio.
The rover peeled out, the second one following close behind.
We traveled on a near-overgrown dirt road that snaked through the woods.
The rover bounced over the rough terrain, making my head throb.
The back seat fit two, not three. Wedged between the two men, I tried to make myself as small as possible, but I couldn’t avoid the way their thighs and shoulders pressed against mine.
Skin crawling, I hunched forward and kept my eyes trained on my scuffed-up boots.
We drove in silence for a while, but I could feel the questions brewing.