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He wrapped his hand around my wrist to pull the knife away from my skin. The blade hovered between us as his gaze met mine, his voice hard and confident. “I’ll explain it to them. I’ll deal with Cain. I wasn't thinking.”
Something inside me melted, just a little. Could he really have used that knife on me when he couldn’t stand to see me cut myself for good reason?
His voice softened. “I was just so sick about Sophia. I can't stand not knowing where she is, how she died. She could be anywhere. My little sister doesn't deserve that. She deserves to be at rest.”
Stellan also deserved peace. Maybe he didn’t deserve me, but he deserved peace about Sophia’s death. And so did I.
“We'll put her to rest,” I promised. We'd figure out what happened and for us to do that, I had to do this. I abruptly pulled my hand away from his, digging the knife tip into my skin. It throbbed as if the steel was hot, burning into my skin.
Stellan’s gaze was still on mine. “You’re the toughest woman I’ve ever met.”
If I had been alone, I probably would have bit my lower lip so hard I drew blood. I might even have shed some tears. But having Stellan in front of me with his watchful gaze gave me both a sense of strength and need. I wanted to prove his every worst thought about me wrong. I cared about Sophia. I was capable of that. And I was tough as fuck and capable of this.
“I'm in this with you,” I promised, my gaze meeting his. “We’ll run from Cain together, and we’ll find Sophia together.”
Blood trickled down my shoulder and into my camisole, soaking it to my breasts. And Stellan–Stellan who used to be the All-American boy next door and had been turned into something else–his gaze dropped hungrily to my cleavage despite the blood.
“I'll do whatever it takes to bring Sophia peace,” I spoke into the heaviness between us. “To free us from the past.”
“And I'll make sure you're free from anyone who wants to keep you hostage in the future,” he promised. “Including Cain.”
I pressed my fingers into the wound, seeking something that was hard and metallic, that didn't belong.
“Let me help. It's the least I can do.”
I let my bloody fingers drop to my sides. Agony pressed through my head which felt suddenly light and my knees went weak but I knew how to deal with pain. I knew how to survive. I let my gaze go soft and unfocused, staring over his shoulder as he searched carefully for the chip.
His other hand dropped to my waist, steadying me, his gaze intent on the wound now. This moment wasn't nearly as fun as the one we shared earlier, but there was still something powerful about it.
The throbbing intensified to a wicked burn, and I breathed through the pain, letting my mind float away from my body.
“There.” He sounded as triumphant as anyone could be coated in blood, raising the tick-sized tracker into my line of vision. My blood was soaked into his nail beds. “All right. What should we do with it now?”
“We need to find a car going in the opposite direction.” It was time to send the others on a wild goose chase.
“Always clever,” Stellan said with a smile that reminded me of when we were young and his compliments set a glow in my chest. He pulled off his t-shirt and pressed it against the wound, holding pressure there.
Then he leaned forward and kissed me, his bloody hand wrapping the back of my neck, and even though I knew he was making a mess of my hair and my clothes, I couldn’t help kissing him back.
This time, this kiss felt like a promise.
We stopped at a gas station along the highway and dropped the tracker into the well below the windshield wipers on a random Acura. I hoped they had a good adventure.
Then Stellan and I got into the car and drove away. Night was deep, but dawn was only a few hours away.
Stellan and I had a long way to go to reach our own sunrise, though.
Chapter4
Pax
As we chased Stellan and Aurora, the atmosphere in the car was intense.
Back in the house, I’d stopped the two psychos before they could rush off, egging each other on to violence and foolishness. Somehow, even though I was the professional bruiser, when it came to Aurora, I might be the cool head.
“I’ll drive.” I’d cut in, because Cain and Remington needed me, not that they ever acknowledged that, even to themselves. “Remington will cause a roll-over trying to track Aurora with one hand.”
Remington had looked mock-offended. “I have a lot of experience thinking about Aurora one-handed.”
