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“Oh, God. I see him,” Grey whispered.
“What? You can see?” Cort demanded, moving around to look at Grey’s face. He was stunned when he found that Grey’s eyes were actually closed, his head bent toward the ground.
“No. In my mind. I can see him. The Asian man sitting in the sand right there.” Grey raised his hand and unerringly pointed down the beach to a man with deep blue-black hair in jeans and a T-shirt. “He glows like this bright blue beacon while everyone is this pale white light. It’s him. Our missing brother.”
“Got it.”
“Also, there are half a dozen pestilents at the top of the beach there, heading his way. We gotta move now.” Grey’s hand shot up the beach toward two groupings of three people walking briskly toward the unsuspecting Asian man.
“Shit. Got it.” Clay pried Grey’s hand off his arm and pointed the man toward Cort. “Take him to the SUV. Lock the doors. If things start getting bad, get him back to the plantation.” Clay pulled his keys out of his pocket and pressed them into Cort’s hand.
“No! We’re not leaving you!” Grey shouted. “Lucien’s car is only two seats. No one is getting left behind!”
Clay ignored Grey and pinned Cort with a dark look. “Keep him safe.”
Cort grabbed Grey’s arm and attempted to pull him down the beach, toward the parking lot and the safety of the SUV.
“I’m not leaving him,” Grey snarled.
“We’re not. I promise,” Cort countered.
Grey’s face swung around, his eyes wide even if they couldn’t see him. “Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not. We won’t leave your family, I promise, but we have to get to safety. If they see you here, it will be a distraction, right? You don’t want to distract Clay or Lucien if there’s a fight.”
Grey frowned at him for a moment before he finally nodded. Thank God he could at least still see reason. They walked as quickly as Grey could manage through the shifting sand, leaning heavily on Cort to hold his balance.
“Has Clay reached him?” Grey asked.
Chancing a glance over his shoulder, Cort spotted Clay talking to the man who was now standing. The stranger’s head was cocked to the side as if he wasn’t quite sure what to make of Clay.
“Yeah, they’re talking.” His gaze continued across the sand until it fell on the other men Grey had pointed out. “Shit! Those other men are now running toward Clay.”
“Lucien?”
Screams broke out among the sunbathers, and Cort was at a loss for words. Three of the men had burst into flames. He couldn’t get his legs to move. He was trained to be a first responder, had helped with accidents in the past, but this…this was so much worse.
“What’s going on?” Grey demanded, helping to snap Cort from his horror.
“Three men are on fire…and Lucien…it looks like his hand is on fire, but he’s not panicking. I need to go help those men. I—”
Grey’s hand tightened almost painfully on Cort’s arm, holding him in place. “No. Those are bad men. They mean to kill me and my family. Please, you said you’d trust me. If you get near them, they will kill you.”
Cort hesitated and finally nodded, then remembered that Grey couldn’t see the gesture. “Okay. Let’s go. Clay is urging the man to follow us.”
“Good. Clay will help Lucien and join us when he’s safe.”
Cort started to move, but he struggled to tear his eyes from the vines that seemed to slither down the beach toward the remaining three men. He had to be seeing things. His eyes were playing tricks on him in the shifting sands. Forcing his gaze forward, he needed to focus on getting Grey to safety.
But it was too late.
A man stood in front of them just a few dozen yards away. Cort didn’t know what it was that told him he was after Grey. Maybe it was the wicked-looking blade in his hand or the evil grin on his lips. Whatever it was, Cort knew this guy meant to kill Grey, and he would happily finish off Cort if he dared to get in the way.
The wind shifted and Grey stopped suddenly before Cort could say anything.
“One of them is in front of us, isn’t it?” Grey asked in a low voice.
“Yes,” Cort hissed.
Grey tightened his hold on Cort’s arm and pulled him backward. “Get behind me.”
“Grey, no!” Cort said, trying to dig his heels into the deep sand but struggled to keep his balance against Grey’s surprisingly strong grip.
“Cort, I need you to listen to me, please. Get behind me.” Grey’s voice was surprisingly calm and tender. “I’ll keep you safe.” He wanted to kiss the man willing to give up his own life to protect him.
“I’m not hiding behind you while he kills you,” Cort bit out while desperately wracking his brain for a solution. They couldn’t run the other way. It was too much risk of Grey losing his balance and falling. He didn’t have a damn weapon on him. He’d never even fought a guy wielding a knife. Didn’t matter. There was no way in hell he was leaving Grey’s side.
