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With every snapped limb or scurrying of a squirrel, Eric tensed. He needed to survive, not only to get Sorrel to safety but to destroy his book. Though now he questioned whether his sacrifice would have its intended effect. Sorrel was proof things weren’t as they should be, that the curse didn’t work how they’d assumed it would. Maybe Sorrel would have the answers—if she woke up. She had to. He had to believe she would. He looked down at her bloodied but beautiful face, more determined than ever to protect her. This time he would make sure he helped her instead of harmed her, even if it meant giving his life.
Eric was relieved when his car came into view. He even smiled when he saw Tara up on his dash playing lookout. Maybe she could get her owner to wake up. With the car in sight, Eric picked up his pace, trying not to jostle Sorrel, who hadn’t moved other than breathing. No doubt her light show and the loss of blood had taken their toll on her.
When he reached the faded and cracked pavement, he heard voices coming from behind him. He wasn’t sure if they sounded familiar, but it didn’t matter. He couldn’t be caught by friend or foe while covered in blood and carrying an unconscious woman. In haste he laid Sorrel in his back seat. Tara immediately jumped to her side. He shut the door and rushed around to the driver’s side. He had just cranked the ignition when he saw his father coming out of the clearing. They locked eyes before Eric threw his car in reverse. Even from a distance he could see the ire burning like flames in his father’s cold eyes. Vincent ran toward him as Eric stepped on the gas. Cranking the steering wheel, he spun the car in a one-eighty and floored the gas pedal.
In his rearview mirror he could see his father and grandfather running as fast as they could after them on the narrow road leading to the main thoroughfare. There was no way for them to catch him on foot. Unfortunately, he knew how calculating they were and how hell bent they would be on revenge. It was only a matter of time before they tracked him down.
Once on the main road, Eric looked back at Sorrel and noticed she had fallen to the floor. Damn. Tara gave him a disapproving look.
“I’m sorry. Did you want to get caught?”
Tara stuck up her nose, not interested in his apologies.
Eric knew he needed to find a place where he and Sorrel could rest and clean up. And he needed a new mode of transportation. Not only would his family be searching for them, but the authorities would be too. No doubt Sorrel’s friends knew by now that she was missing and that it was under suspicious circumstances. Eric slapped his hands against the steering wheel, trying to come up with a plan. He had contingencies in place in case his secret ever got out; unfortunately they involved hiding in the shadows and coercing some of his shady informants to help him get the necessary identifications he would need to start over in another country. There was no way he was getting Sorrel anywhere near those people. He’d already put her in enough danger. Plus a couple of them had enough of a conscience that they would turn him in if he showed up with a bloodied woman.
What they needed was a secluded place off the beaten path. He remembered Raine Peters yammering about her last assignment at some bed-and-breakfast in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia. That was about two hours from where they were. The mountains were probably their best bet until he could figure out a more permanent plan, at least for Sorrel. As it stood, he was still planning on the most permanent of any plan for himself—death.
Once he felt somewhat safe, he pulled over to the side of the road near the river and pulled out his phone to get directions to Blue Ridge. First, though, he jogged down to the river to wash Sorrel’s blood off him. It disturbed him to be covered in it. It was a reminder of his failures and the pain he’d caused Sorrel. The cold, dirty water of the river removed the blood but not the stains on his heart.
Thankfully, he always kept a gym bag in his car. He only wished he’d thrown his workout clothes in the wash earlier. His black tee was smelling pretty ripe. Still, it was better than no shirt at all. He checked on Sorrel, who soundly slept on the floorboard of his car. She looked so broken and lifeless. More than anything he wanted to hold her in his arms until she woke up, but time was of the essence. He pulled out his phone and jotted down the directions he needed before turning it off and chucking it into the river. They were going off the grid. He would take the back roads into Georgia and hope he didn’t get pulled over. Maybe if Sorrel woke up, she would have a better idea. Though he imagined she probably wasn’t going to be happy to see him. The look of betrayal she had given him at her apartment was still fresh in his mind.
