I step back, grab a bolt. My fingers slip from the blood and rain. The bolt drops.
He closes the distance fast.
I force the bolt into place and yank the string back until it locks.
Enzo lunges toward me.
I fire.
The bolt slams into his chest, knocking him forward with a guttural sound. He collapses but keeps moving, dragging himself across the ground with one arm while blood spills from his mouth as he reaches for the prod.
My hands shake while the pain in my wrist throbs.
I reload the crossbow, forcing my fingers to work.
I steady my aim and fire again.
The second bolt punches through his skull as he lifts his head, snapping it back. His body jerks once, then goes still.
I hold my breath without realizing it.
I lower the crossbow and stagger back, soaked through with sweat, blood, and rain.
Then I hear it, another set of boots approaching fast.
I spin with the crossbow raised, my finger tight on the trigger because I can't survive another fight.
“Easy,” a low, familiar voice says.
I freeze.
“Seth?”
My heart stalls, then slams back into motion as he steps out from the trees.
Rain slicks over him, beading on the black fabric, streaking through the blood on his skin and dripping from the edge of his balaclava. For half a second, he looks unreal, like something my mind creates to survive this.
Those storm gray eyes lock onto mine.
The forest disappears, and so does the pain.
“I’m here, baby.”
Chapter 29
Seth
We move at the same time.
I cross the distance in a few long strides just as the crossbow slips from her hands, hitting the ground with a dull, forgotten thud. I catch her as she reaches me, the impact knocking the breath from my chest. Rain slicks over us, soaking into our clothes as her arms lock around my neck with desperate strength. Her body shakes against mine.
I tear the balaclava from my face and kiss her.
Rain mixes with blood on my hands and smears across her cheek and jaw when I touch her. I don't care. I don't care about anything except the feeling of her weight in my arms.
She is alive.
That's all that matters.
