The look of fear on her face caused self-hatred to drown out his more destructive impulses. Not afraid of him; shecouldn’tbe afraid of him. What had he done?
“Mollie,” he breathed. She stopped backing away, but she didn’t stop looking at him like he was a Savage about to strike. And he couldn’t deny a part of him had been as Savage as any of the monsters hunting them, maybe more so. “I won’t hurt you, Mollie.”
She nodded, but distrust lingered in her eyes; unable to stand seeing it there, he turned his attention away from her. Over Mollie’s shoulder, he spotted Doug helping Aida to her feet before he gazed at the mess beneath him. He’d beaten Raul so severely that nothing remained of his head except fragments of pulverized bone, flesh, and blood. He’d effectively decapitated the man with his fists.
Henevershould have done this in front of her; he should have retained enough control to keep this side of him hidden from her. He’d cautioned her this could happen, and he’dknownit could, but he hadn’t anticipated the complete mindlessness that would overtake him when he saw his mate suffering.
If she ran screaming from him, he wouldn’t blame her, but unfortunately, she didn’t have that option. The other Savages would have heard the gunshot, and there was still enough night left for them to come.
Turning away from her, he used Raul’s clothes to wipe the blood from his hands and face before rising. “We have to go,” he said, barely able to meet Mollie’s troubled gaze.
When he strode toward her, he expected her to cringe away from him, but she didn’t. “Are you okay?” she whispered.
His self-hatred only grew. She’d just been viciously attacked, yet she was concerned about him.
“Areyouokay?” he asked instead of answering her.
He went to cup her cheek with his palm but lowered his hand before he touched her. Blood had caked in the lines of his knuckles, and he didn’t want Raul’s blood anywhere near her.
“I’m fine,” she said. “I’m worried about you.”
“Don’t worry about me, Mollie. We have to go; more of them will be coming.”
She paled further.
Stalking around the walls of the lighthouse, Doug peered over the side as he went. “I don’t see anyone out there,” he said. “We should make a run for it now.”
“And go where?” Aida asked.
“We have a place,” Mike said and then felt a warm hand sliding into his.
He glanced down when Mollie’s fingers gripped his. For a second, he couldn’t look at her as his chest constricted and emotion swamped him. He didn’t deserve her understanding, but he had it. Slowly, he lifted his head to find her beautiful green eyes filled with love while she gazed at him.
Chapter Forty-Two
The sun had risenan hour ago, but Mike wanted to make sure it was high in the sky before they left their small alcove. He also wanted to give Mollie and Aida more time to sleep while he and Doug plotted their next move.
Normally, he would go out to hunt, but if their plan worked, they would make it off this island today, and he couldn’t risk something going wrong while he was hunting and cooking for Aida and Mollie. He’d gone out to get them water shortly after sunrise, and it waited for when the sisters woke.
“The boat ramp is about two miles from here,” Doug whispered as he pointed at the map. “If we carry them, we can cover the distance in no time.”
“What about Jack?” Mike asked. “We can’t leave him behind.”
“I’ll go with you and make sure you get to a boat safely, but I’m staying on the island.” Doug lifted the map, rolled it up, and put it away again.
“Not alone,” Mike said, but his eyes involuntarily traveled to where Mollie sat with her sister in the back of the cave. Her arms were draped around Aida’s shoulders as Aida slept with her head on Mollie’s chest. Mollie’s chin rested on top of Aida’s head.
“You have to get them out of here,” Doug said. “I’ll stay and look for Jack while you find land, contact the others, and bring back help. Actually, bring back an army so we can nuke every last one of these bastards off the face of the earth.”
Mike would like nothing more than to do exactly that. If he had his way, he would torch this place until nothing but smoldering rock remained. “Jack might not be alive anymore. You can’t stay here alone,” Mike said.
“Yes, I can. I survived alone before I found you; I’ll do it again. And no, you can’t send them for help and stay with me,” Doug said as he guessed at Mike’s next words. “You’d never allow Mollie to leave this island, return to the mainland, and fend for herself even if you think you can let her go. Besides, you have something more to live for now, Mike, someoneto live for. That’s more than either Jack or I have, and you can’t risk losing it; I won’t let you.
“Take care of her, get her to safety, and come back with help for us. Besides, I donotwant to be stuck on an island with you if the bond isn’t complete and you have no idea where she is, or if she’s safe. That would make you a bigger risk to Jack and me than every Savage here.”
Mike ran his hand through his hair; Doug was right, but the idea of leaving his friends behind tore at his insides. Before Mollie, he never would have left this island without them, but he had to get her away from here. He couldn’t force Doug to come with them, and he couldn’t leave Jack completely alone here.
Doug rested his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. “I understand why you have to go, and Jack will too.”
