There are only two reasons that should happen. Either it’s getting close to the decade mark where it naturally dissolves, shifters acclimated enough they don’t need a sire to protect them anymore. Or, she’s pushing the range we can sense. Even if the two are separated, we’re drawn together; it’s how Mason tracked his down. But once you get a good hundred miles between you, it’s a hell of a lot harder, if not impossible. The tug in your gut is simply a faint nagging in the back of your head, knowing you’re missing something, and maybe pulled in a general direction if you’re lucky.
But there should be no way that anyone could have taken her that far in a matter of minutes, and I don’t see her body on the ground anywhere.
“Gods damn it!”
I slam my fist into the side of the truck hard enough that it dents, not bothering to climb into the driver’s seat, already knowing that we’re fucked. The traffic is backed up to high hell between the people fleeing and the emergency responders trying to prevent it, not letting whoever set the bomb off escape until they can investigate.
All the while, she’s somehow getting farther away by the second. In the last few minutes alone, the tug that draws me to her has faded to barely more than a pinprick on my radar. Despite the way we shove through the crowd on foot, by the time we’ve made it a couple of blocks, everything that connects her to us disappears like it was never there in the first place, like we imagined the entire thing. That small pinprick blinks out of existence, taking all of the light with it. For such a small thing, it leaves a gaping chasm in its wake.
A darkness so absolute that I can barely breathe without suffocating, and there’s nothing left to show me the way out.
Chapter 23
Risa
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Head pounding, I groggilyblink my bleary eyes open. Everything’s blurred, my vision swimming and wavering, so I clamp them back shut for another few minutes before trying again. With a steadying breath to keep me from puking, I give it another shot, finding my bearings enough to realize I’m stretched out across the back seat alone.
My head is behind the driver’s seat, giving me a clear view of the man on the passenger’s side. They must’ve traded off at some point, the one that grabbed me at the wheel so I can see Dr. Bennet, no longer masked. He was the main doctor during my last extended stint in the hospital before I ran away, and it’s another stab of betrayal, knowing all of the sympathetic looks he used to give me were as fake as his platitudes that things would get better.
“You’re awake,” he says with a frown, turning in his seat. “You should’ve been out another couple of hours.” He turns to the driver with a glare. “You said you hit her with the full syringe.”
What I wouldn’t give for something to wash the cottonmouth taste off of my tongue, but as it is, I can’t manage to form any words or sit up, everything still spinning. A semi flies by on one side, rocking the car from the wind, and my heart starts sprinting. Fumbling a numb hand that I can barely feel, I breathe a bit easier as I feel the dull pressure of the seat belt around my waist, even if I’m in a position that might make it useless. But after the wreck and being thrown around the trunk, I can delude myself with a false sense of security as we fly down the highway.
“Pretty sure I did,” the driver counters, not sounding all that concerned. “It was anarchy though, to be fair. Just give her another dose; no need for a bitchfit.” He tilts the rearview mirror to look at me, intense, grey eyes locking on mine. “Sorry for the rough introduction, but I was short on time. It’s nice to finally meet you, Risa.”
Dr. Bennet scoffs. “You don’t need to suck up to the blood whore, Zane. We’ve spent years doing things the nice way, just for her to spit on our efforts. After eight years of hell trying to keep everything from crumbling while tracking her down?” All traces of the former kindness he used to look at me with are long gone as he spits, “She lost that privilege. From here on out, she’ll be kept under lock and key.”
Before his words can fully sink in through my foggy mind, Zane pulls a gun from his side and puts a bullet through Bennet’s skull. The sound is obnoxiously loud in the car, my ears ringing as I startle, shrinking back into the seat. Blood sprays over the window and my feet before his body slumps against the door.
Seemingly unfazed to the blood spatter coating his face, Zane continues driving, changing lanes and taking an exit ramp off of the highway. “I’ve been looking for you for a long time, Risa,” he declares, my heart lodging in my throat.
Several minutes later, he pulls over and parks, reaching into the glove box and withdrawing a syringe filled with a clear liquid. Turning in his seat, he gives me an apologetic look before there’s a sharp pinch in my thigh as he injects it. Chucking the empty syringe onto the floor at Bennet’s feet, he exits the car. Opening my door, he undoes my seat belt and gently slides me out, hefting me up since I’m all but useless in helping move.
Adjusting his grip so that I’m cradled against him, I’m forced to rest my head against his chest as another wave of exhaustion pulls at my consciousness. “Get some rest. Depending on how long it takes me to find a new car, we should either be at the safe house or pretty close by the time you wake up.”
