Chapter 21 - Rachel #2
Anger burst out of me, more than I would have expected. “And what about everyone else? They’ll be safer if I’m out there. This is about you, Sam. Not me. You know I can protect myself.”
“Yes, I do. I know that you can hurt anyone who threatens you with a burst of flame. But you could be a trained martial artist with years of skill, and that wouldn’t change my mind on any of this.”
He crouched until he was at eye level with me, his hands gripping my biceps.
“No matter what you can do, the second you come with us, you’re putting yourself in harm’s way.
There is always going to be the chance that you get hurt.
If you come, all I’m going to do is worry about you.
I won’t be able to focus on anything else.
I know you want to help, but I can’t keep thinking about you and what you’re doing while I’m trying to get Emma out of there. ”
Scoffing, I folded my arms, stepping out of his grasp as I craned my neck to look up at him.
“That’s an excuse wrapped in a pretty bow,” I said.
It was the same one that he had used all that time ago.
I understood where he was coming from, but I wasn’t going to let his fear for my safety prevent me from helping.
And I wasn’t the meek, useless girl I had been then.
I had power. I could fend for myself. We both knew it, even if Sam refused to admit it.
His eyes darkened as he stared back at me. “I don’t care,” he said. “That’s my final say on the matter.”
“In case you forgot, you don’t dictate my life. Your ‘final say’ isn’t law,” I said.
He frowned. “It is when it comes to your safety,” he growled.
Frustration boiled over, and I couldn’t take it any longer. I exploded.
“Fine,” I snarled. “If that’s the case, then why don’t I just tell Elias?”
I tried to step around him. Sam blocked me, looming over me as he glared down.
“I’m not going to let you do this, Rachel,” he said, his voice deep and dangerously soft.
I stared back up at him. “I’m not giving you a choice.”
His eyes darkened as he stared down at me. “Is that your final say on the matter?”
I met his gaze. I wasn’t going to sit back and let this happen when there was something I could do about it.
“Yes,” I said.
He let out a deep breath. “In that case, I’m sorry.”
Before I could react, he had picked me off the ground and thrown me over his shoulder.
I screamed, kicking at his chest and pounding on his back as I squirmed, trying to wriggle out of his grasp.
He ignored me like I was a mewling kitten, simply hauling me down the stairs to the basement without a word as I spewed curses at him.
He didn’t say a single thing as he discarded me in the middle of the room and started walking back up the stairs.
I ran to the case and glowered up at him.
“I trusted you,” I said, my voice breaking. “I trusted you, Sam. How could you?”
He turned to look down at me. Something like guilt might have flickered across his face, but stoic resolve replaced it in a heartbeat.
“I’m doing this to protect you,” he said. “I’ll be back when this is all over.”
“If you do this, I’m never going to forgive you,” I stated, my entire body trembling with rage and indignation. “For as long as I live.”
His jaw tightened, if only for a moment.
“But at least you’ll be alive,” he said.
He slammed the door shut as I raced up the stairs, closing it before I could reach him.
A moment later, I could hear the lock slide into place, sealing me inside.
Over the pounding of my fists, I could hear Sam’s footsteps as he walked away.
A minute later, the front door opened and closed, leaving me alone in the house, trapped.
I screamed as I kicked the door. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have trusted him? He didn’t care about me, no matter what he said. If he cared about me, he wouldn’t have locked me in here like a helpless cub.
Taking a step back, I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to collect my thoughts, but too angry to do so.
I had finally started opening up to Sam, beginning to trust him after years of keeping him at bay.
He had promised me agency. He had sworn that he wouldn’t be this controlling.
And yet, here I was. He had broken that promise.
I knew in my heart he thought he was doing the right thing, but that didn’t soften the sting of betrayal.
I gritted my teeth. I didn’t have time to stew on Sam. I needed to save my friend, no matter what Sam said. And, even if I was furious with him, I couldn’t let Sam die. I was their only hope. I wasn’t going to let Sam’s pigheadedness stop me. Not this time.
I remembered Amelia’s training, telling me to use leverage instead of brute strength. I wouldn’t be able to open the door on my own, but I bet I could find something that would help.
I raced back down the steps and began hunting through the drawers and other items. Eventually, I settled on a lamp with a thick metal base.
I jerked it out of the socket and ran back up the steps.
I hefted it in my hand and slammed the base into the wood of the door.
A satisfying crack reverberated through the air as it connected.
I slammed it down again and again, until the door broke away from the lock and swung open.
My arms throbbed as I dropped the lamp, but I didn’t care. All that mattered was getting to Emma before the wraith could do whatever it had planned for her. I grabbed my car keys and raced out the door, hoping that I wasn’t too late.