30. Jace
Ascream shatters through the night. I’m out of bed and halfway through the apartment with a gun in my hand before the sound of it has even finished echoing off the walls. I snap my gaze around the kitchen and living room while I run, but everything is dark and still and completely undisturbed. As is the front door.
Another scream erupts from inside Kayla’s bedroom.
I yank open the door and barrel inside, gun raised and my eyes sweeping across the space.
Kayla is thrashing on the bed, her arms and legs tangled in the pale sheets.
Moving quickly, I scan her bedroom for signs of an attacker before I shoulder open the door to her bathroom and doing the same.
But everything is empty and quiet.
Confusion and terrible worry courses through me as I dart back into her bedroom.
“Kayla—” I begin.
Another cry rips from her lungs, and she throws her head from side to side.
My heart almost stops as I notice that her eyes are still closed.
They’re closed. Which means that she’s still asleep. There is no attacker. She’s… having a nightmare.
Both relief and even more worry pulse through me at the same time.
Setting the gun down on her dresser, I hurry over to the bed.
Whimpers spill from Kayla’s lips as she twists and tosses on the bed. Her long red hair has fallen across half of her face like a curtain, but I can still read the anguish on her features clear as day.
Pain spears through my heart.
Climbing onto the bed, I kneel next to her on the mattress and reach towards her shoulder. But then I pause, hesitation crashing over me. Fuck, how should I wake her? Am I even supposed to wake a person when this happens? Didn’t someone say that was dangerous? Or was that only for sleepwalking? Fuck, I don’t?—
Another cry rips from her throat.
And it damn near tears my soul out.
I can’t watch her suffer like this. I have to wake her.
Gripping her shoulders, I give her a firm shake. “Kayla.”
She thrashes in the sheets again.
“Kayla!” I snap, fear infusing my voice with unflinching command.
She snaps her eyes open, and her hands fly up towards mine and wrap around my wrists so hard that I’m pretty sure it’s going to leave bruises. But I don’t care. She can hurt me as much as she wants, as long as I never have to watch her suffer like this again.
“Victor,” she gasps, her eyes wild and darting all over the place. “Victor, don’t!”
Panic flashes through me, and I release her shoulders in a heartbeat. Oh God, did someone hurt her? Is that what the nightmare was about? Maybe I shouldn’t be touching her like this. Fuck, did I just make it worse by grabbing her like that?
Her own hands remain around my wrists, her fingers digging into my skin hard, as she sits upright. “Please, don’t. Victor?—”
“It’s not Victor,” I blurt out. “It’s Jace.”
Dread and panic whirl inside me like a storm as I kneel there on the mattress next to her. Because I have no idea what to do. Despite all of my training, I have no fucking clue how to help her. No clue what I should be doing to make this better. So all I can do is sit there and hold her gaze, trying to force a sense of calm that I don’t really feel into her body. I’ve never felt so useless in my entire life.
She blinks then. “Jace.” It’s barely more than a whisper.
“Yes. It’s Jace. I’m here.” I hold her frantic gaze. It takes all of my self-control to keep my voice steady. “I’m here, little demon.”
Her eyes dart around her darkened bedroom, as if finally taking in her surroundings. She blinks several times. And her hands remain wrapped hard around my wrists. Then her gaze returns to me.
“Jace,” she breathes.
I nod. “Yes.”
Her chest heaves.
She glances around her bedroom again. The terrible fear and panic in her eyes is starting to fade. But I still remain completely motionless, letting her mind catch up and finish shedding whatever horrible nightmare she was trapped in.
After a few seconds, her gaze lands on my bare legs. I’m only wearing a pair of boxers since I shot straight out of bed when I heard her scream. Then she shifts her gaze up to my arms.
Surprise pulses across her features when she realizes that she’s gripping my wrists. She quickly releases me. My bones ache from how hard she was squeezing my wrists, but I can barely feel it. All I can feel is an overwhelming worry for Kayla.
“Are you okay?” I ask gently.
She drags her gaze up to my face. Emotions pulse across her features.
“No,” she gasps out.
And that single word sounds like it was wrenched from the depths of her soul. I can’t bear it. I can’t stand the way her voice breaks or the pain in her eyes.
Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her trembling body towards me and hold her tight.
A sob rips from her throat.
Then she wraps her arms around my chest and hugs me closer to her.
And then she cries.
She cries so hard that her body shakes in my arms. Her cheek is pressed against my chest, so I can feel her tears against my skin as they pour out of her. Can feel every heart-wrenching sob that rips from her lungs. Every tremor that rolls through her body.
Pain slices through me, tearing at my soul and damn near ripping my heart from my chest.
Holding her tightly, I stroke a hand down her hair and kiss the top of her head. “I’ve got you, little demon. I’ve got you.”
Another sob racks her frame, and she tightens her arms around me, clinging to me as if I’m the only thing holding her together right now.
My heart aches.
I don’t know who this Victor is, but I’m going to fucking kill him if he is the reason for her pain.