Page 99 of Healer’s Betrayal

“I don’t care! Find them!” A new voice orders, and I jerk at the sound of Alicia’s voice. “Kill the wolf as soon as you see him.” My body locks up, and terror seizes me. I start to push against Jackson. They can’t find him; I won’t let them find him. Panic so terrible spreads through every inch of me, I can’t catch my breath.

Kayla, I hear his strong voice in my head. Breathe. But I can’t; I can’t find any air to breathe. He’s too close; he’s taking all my oxygen. But if I push him away, they’ll see him and kill him. My panic builds when I can’t get any air into my lungs. I try to push him away, needing air desperately; but he doesn’t move. My eyes burn and tears drip from the corners of my eyes. I look up and lock eyes with him. His eyes burn into me with an intensity that I’ve never seen before. Listen to me. There’s authority in his voice. You can breathe. Take a breath with me. I shake my head.

I can’t. I don’t know if I send it to him or just out into the universe, but he seems to hear me either way.

Yes, you can. Breathe with me, Kayla. There’s an order in his voice I can’t ignore. I try, but it doesn’t seem to work. Again. I try again, but it doesn’t work. Black dots line my vision, and I feel like I’m going to throw up. Suddenly, his hands are on my face, and he pushes on my cheeks. Then there’s sweet oxygen. I suck it in greedily. There’s more, and I do the same thing. I suddenly can’t get enough. Slowly the black dots fade, and reality settles back in. When I come back to myself, I realize Jackson and I are still stuck in this alcove. I open my eyes and meet his fierce gaze. I am not going to let them hurt you again. There’s a darkness in his gaze and his voice.

It’s not me I’m worried about, I manage to send back. She said to kill you!

Not an ounce of worry fills his gaze. Let them try. Neither of us says anything for a moment, and I listen. It’s not as loud anymore, like they’ve moved further down the hallway. Get ready to move, he says after a few seconds. Is there anywhere we could hide out?

I think quickly, trying to process where I’ve been and what I’ve seen. Suddenly, I remember the words the guy said. There are no cameras in the sleeping rooms. At least, there wasn’t in mine; and I got the idea that they were all like that. I look up and meet his gaze. But they’ll see us going into a room, and then they’ll know where we are.

Anything else?

I do a mental run-through. There’s a laundry room.

Where?

Near the elevators.

He takes that in. Okay. On my signal, we’re going to run there. It’s only a matter of time before somebody tracks where we went on the security cameras. I nod, letting him know I’m ready. Let’s go. This time, he takes my hand; and together, we explode from our hiding spot and race to the laundry room. Two males try to stop us, but Jackson deals with them. We burst into the room, and scan the room quickly, trying to figure out where we can hide.

Jackson puts a hand on my back and urges me forward. It takes me a moment to realize he’s heading for the far wall. There’s a long table, probably for folding. There are several industrial-sized rolling laundry carts full of laundry. He pushes me towards the furthest one back. I come to a stop in front of it, but he doesn’t give me a chance to think about it. He puts his hands on either side of my waist and lifts me up and over the edge before jumping over the side and landing next to me. Use the laundry to cover up with.

It takes a minute or two of awkward movement before we’re both lying on the bottom of the laundry cart, covered with sheets. It's a tight squeeze, and I have to turn sideways to fit. Neither of us says anything, and I try to take deep breaths and calm my racing heart. Jackson is just as on edge as I am. I can feel it in the tension of his body. I hear shouts, and my adrenaline kicks up. Vampire senses aren’t as good as a wolf, but they’re better than human. Whenever a vampire enters the room, try to hold your breath and be as still as possible. Also, try to keep your heart rate even.

His words make me panic even more, but there’s no time to panic because I hear people enter the room.

Chapter 44

Kayla

I stare up through the sheets, wanting to be able to see if somebody comes for us. “They came in here. Find them.” My body stiffens at the sound of Alicia’s voice, and I wonder if I’ll never not have that reaction. Jackson’s already tense body stiffens, and I feel him ready to pounce. Neither of us moves a muscle. I can hear them getting closer to us. I hear them moving the other carts, opening and closing washer and dryer doors. Just when somebody is right beside us, an alarm goes off. “Breach!” someone shouts.

“Go!” Alicia shouts.

I hear the sound of running feet, but I still don’t move. Don’t move a muscle, Jackson says through our link. She’s still in here, trying to wait us out. I don’t have to question who the she is; I know he’s talking about Alicia. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to keep my heart from racing. Then Jackson’s voice is in my head once again. I’ll keep you safe, Kayla. If I need to, I’ll incapacitate her. But I want to see if we can keep this hiding place for a little bit. Lay low until we can find a time to escape. The alarm keeps shrieking, and I have a hard time focusing on Jackson’s words.

“Alicia!” A male voice bellows.

Then there’s nothing. I stay perfectly still and try to slow my thundering heart. Is she gone? I ask.

She is. He doesn’t say anything else, but I know what he’s thinking because it’s the same thing I’m thinking. She may be gone, but for how long.

Do we stay here, or try somewhere else? I ask.

He doesn’t say anything at first. It’s a risk either way whether we stay and they find us, or we run and they see us. Let’s wait it out for now.

I take a small breath. Okay.

It’s quiet between us, and I try to calm my still racing heart. I’m sorry I didn’t get to you sooner.

It’s okay—I start.

It’s not okay, he says fiercely. I’m sorry for what you went through these past few days; I’m sorry I didn’t get free sooner.

I don’t know what to say; I’m afraid he’ll argue with anything I say that takes the blame from him. Can you tell me how we got here? I ask after a few minutes of tense silence.