The possibility of it caused tears to burn in her eyes as the lump in her throat made breathing increasingly difficult. The idea of losing him hurt more than the hole torn into her stomach.
She tried to content herself with the knowledgethiswas not how or where she’d seen him die, but her visions weren’t set in stone. Something could have changed. Fate could have been toying with her and luring her into a false sense of security when it came to him.
CHAPTERFORTY-TWO
A tear sliddown her cheek, but she didn’t dare wipe it away. She’d come to care for him so much; he couldn’t die.
She should have suspected the ogre haunting these caves would return to its killing grounds. Should have known they might have passed by his house on the way here and alerted him that strangers were near his deadly secret.
Or maybe he’d decided to come back here and relive his kills. He obviously kept things arranged a certain way; this was his place, his home away from home, and he returned here often.
But she’d been so determined to get the stone and so sure this wasn’t where Asher died, she hadn’t stopped to think about any of that. Now, Asher was paying the consequences of her carelessness.
She’d known this place was bad, but when she saw the bodies, she assumed they were why she had such a bad feeling about this place. She’d been so very wrong, and now they were the hunted.
Kicking herself in the ass for not seeingeverythingwas a giant waste of time. It was too late, what was done was done, and now she had to get Asher out of here alive because she would not lose him.
She pressed a hand against the blood oozing from her belly as a light flicked on to reveal the location of the bastard who’d done this to them and the rest of these poor souls. How many lives were destroyed, and how many hearts were broken because of this piece of shit?
If she succeeded, he’d be dead before they left this place, and she didn’t care if it affected her ability to go out in the sun or not. She’d gladly tear off his head and use it to beat his still-beating heart to smithereens.
And if he hurt Asher, she’d make it far more painful for him. Her fangs throbbed at the thought of losing him; she’d tear this fucker apart before she allowed that to happen.
Her fingers inched toward her gun, but though she didn’t think Asher was near this guy, she worried she might miss and a ricochet might strike Asher.
The man’s flashlight beam played across the walls and spread over the ground as it crept toward her. She didn’t want to move, but she couldn’t stay there. That light was getting closer, and the second it landed on her, he would fire again.
Right now, she was wounded but still capable of moving. If he hit her again, that might not be the case. Because of the glow of his light, she couldn’t see much, but she could tell his gun was still raised.
The beam was almost to her when she pulled her gun free and rolled to the side. She winced as the movement tore at her injury and the dirt and rocks crunching beneath her gave away her location.
The weapon exploded again with another bang that unleashed a ringing in her ears and nearly deafened her. If she’d been human, she probably wouldn’t be able to hear at all, which meant she had an advantage over him.
Buckshot hit the ground only inches from her head. When it smashed into the earth, rocks and dirt flew up to pelt her face and body. A few shards dug beneath her skin, or maybe that was remnants of the pellets.
From out of the darkness, a hand grabbed her. She nearly screamed but bit her lip enough to draw blood when Asher’s scent assailed her. He pulled her away from the beam and crushed her against his chest as he rolled toward the shadows.
Another shot rang out, and Asher grunted in her ear. She didn’t know if it was because another shot hit him or if debris had peppered him too. This time, she remained protected from the shrapnel by his body covering hers.
“Stay here,” Asher hissed in her ear.
He started to rise, but she twisted her hand in his shirt and jerked him back. “Are you crazy?”
“I’m going after him.”
“You’re wounded.”
“So are you. Stay here.”
Like hell,Brie thought but didn’t voice the words.
They’d already talked too much, and she was far less vulnerable to that gun than Asher. Her stomach hurt, and it felt like someone had taken a blowtorch to her skin as it worked to push the pellets and debris out of her, but she would heal within a couple of days; he wouldn’t.
Asher flattened himself against the wall when the beam played across the ground again. Knowing it would give away his location, and he probably wouldn’t hit the guy, Asher lifted his left arm and fired at the flashlight.
A yelp came from the shadows, but it was more of surprise than pain as the man danced back toward the bend in the cave. With the man back in hiding, Asher took a minute to assess his condition.
Blood loss made him woozy, and his arm throbbed like someone had taken a tire iron to it. Lifting his good hand, he adjusted his hold on the gun so he could explore his injury.
