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I punch him again, but the sickening crunch gives me no pleasure. The monster in me howls and writhes against his chains, but I ignore him. This isn’t how this is meant to go.
Fighting my violent nature shouldn’t be so hard, but Remy makes it hard to remember why. Because all I can see is dealing the final blow to end him before I leave. All it would take is for me to let go, and I can go to my family.
Tristan places a hand on my arm, bringing me back to the present with a jolt. “He’s trying to bait you. You know that already.”
I shake Tristan’s arm off. “It doesn’t matter. You know what needs to be fucking done.”
Tristan grips my arm again, harder this time. “There’s another way, Carter. You and I both know it.”
I release a deep breath and glance over at my cousin.
But I’m not seeing the adult who’s become something like a brother to me. When I blink, I see the little boy who stepped out of the shadows to stand up for me, the one who held his hand out when everyone else was too afraid.
The one who would follow me over a cliff.
With a frown, I push the image away and stand up straighter. “I have to get to Isabella.”
“I know.”
I glance over at Remy, who is struggling to his feet, a crazed look on his face. “He has to be taken care of.”
Tristan releases my arm and takes a step back. “That’s why you have a second in command. Go.”
I hesitate. “Tristan, I—”
“Go,” Tristan repeats in a louder voice. “I’ll take care of this.”
Without waiting for my response, Tristan lunges at Remy and knocks him to the floor. Then he glances over his shoulder at me, and I sprint into action. I’m flying out the door and taking the steps two at a time. When I reach the landing, Ernesto materializes next to me, a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. He disappears into the shadows, and the car emerges as I’m trying to reach Anita.
Her phone goes straight to voicemail.
I jump into the backseat before the car comes to a complete stop. The door slams with a thud, and Ernesto peels away from the curb.
Sam answers on the sixth ring, sounding breathless and harried. “She’s in the hospital. Anita is with her doctor right now.”
Ice settles in my veins. “What happened?”
“She went into early labor,” Sam replies in a low voice. “That’s all we know so far.”
“Tell her I’m on the way. Tell her I’m coming.”
“I will.”
I hang up and throw the phone against the window. It bounces off the glass, and I’m thrown to the side when Ernesto veers, the car racing forward at an alarming speed. I dig my nails into the seat under me and resist the urge to punch the glass. In the distance, the hospital complex looms, glistening underneath the pale light of the moon. Wordlessly, Ernesto hands me a bag and gives me a gentle smile in the rearview mirror.
“I don’t think you want Isabella to see you like this.”
I swallow, and my trembling fingers move to the button of my shirt. Once I peel it off, I use it to wipe off whatever blood I can. After I pour some water onto the shirt, I use it to wipe my face again, trying to make myself look as presentable as possible. Then I pull on the clean shirt, my fingers moving quickly and deftly over the buttons.
I lift my head and hold Ernesto’s gaze, giving him a slight nod as I do.
Ernesto screeches to a halt next to the curb, and I hurry out, my heart hammering uneasily inside of my chest. The smell of disinfectant and sweat hits me first when I push my way through the double doors. I nearly collide with a dark-haired nurse with a clipboard who points me to the large rectangular-shaped desk behind me.
After finding out where Isabella is, I weave in and out of the throngs of people. Doctors and nurses in blue scrubs race past me in either direction. In the distance, a monitor beeps, making my pulse quicken.
I round the corner and collide with a nurse wheeling a machine away. After a clipped apology, I race down another blue-colored hallway, panic and fear still clawing their way steadily through me. At the end of the hallway, I see the sign engraved on the glass, and I push myself through it. Anita is standing on the other side, and I almost knock her off her feet.
Skidding to a halt, my eyes dart around the room, adrenaline pumping steadily through me. “Where the fuck is she? Bella! Bella, where are you?”
