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A noise gained on us, closing in around whatever disgusting place they had taken me. My skin prickled as I used all my strength to focus on what I thought I was hearing.
Finally, I confirmed exactly what it was: footsteps.
“Sir,” the brute growled. “We have to go.”
“Oh, very well,” Elliot sighed, as if his impending capture was nothing more than a fly on his shoulder. He leaned forward, pulling in a deep, bone-chilling breath, capturing my chin between his fingers. “Until next time my lovelyRogthna.”
His suave voice froze every inch of my body, I could barely register that he had called me a name I didn’t understand.
Rogthna.What did that mean to him?
He leaned forward, placing a delicate kiss against my cheek before releasing me and rising. He gave me one final look before walking away, two goons by his side as they disappeared together into the shadows.
I wanted to run after him, to tackle him to the ground and arrest him, but my body just wasn’t strong enough—too weak to fight, too drugged to even stand. I tried to focus on what direction they were going, tracking their scent…but just like the mystery person in the alley, they didn’t have one. They disappeared like shadows chased away by the light, making me wonder if they were ever here at all, or if my hazed mind had caused me to hallucinate the whole encounter.
I fell back against the wall; voices drifted to me, but the sedative still had a hold over my senses, the words so muffled that I couldn’t make them out. Finally, after several seconds, the words became clearer, booming toward me from what I had to guess was the floor below.
“Come out, Wells, you coward!”
My heart lurched at the anger laced in every word. He was here.
Nolan had found me.
“Nolan, calm down, she’s here! We can smell her.” Greyson. I tried to figure out how many were running, but I lost count after five.
A small smile pulled at my lips; they were all here for me. My friends. My family.
Footsteps pounded closer and closer, a whimper of relief escaping my lips at the sound. I used every bit of strength I had, bracing my hands and legs to drag myself from behind the stacked crates, my eyes set on the center of the room in hopes they would see me the moment they came inside.
“I’ll kill him!” Nolan’s words matched the frantic beating of feet on stairs coming from my left. “Do you hear that, Elliot? If you’ve harmed one hair on her head, I will rip your throat out!”
“Keep it together!” Liv said; then a smack echoed from not too far away, the distinct sound of flesh against flesh. Had she slapped him?
He snarled, “Get out of my way.”
Finally, they turned the corner, all of them rushing into the wide-open space. They were all here to save me, but my eyes went to the wild one in the center: Nolan.
He was a frenzy of energy, eyes wild, hair disheveled and windblown, a sheen of sweat covering his skin like they’d all run here. His Amalgam Blade was clutched in his white-knuckled fist, the wood blade protruding from one side. His eyes darted around the room, low snarls escaping his lips with every breath. He was so lost in his own mind, his desperate attempt to get to me, that he couldn’t even see that I was right in front of him.
“Nolan,” I whispered.
He whipped around to face me, eyes going wide, his blade clattering the ground the moment he caught sight of me. He stared at me for a moment, blinking a few times as if he was trying to decide if I was real or not.
“Thank the Goddess.” He bolted across the room, sliding on his knees to close the last few feet between us before pulling me into his arms.
Without hesitation, he crashed his lips to mine, fingers reaching up to tangle in my dirty hair, pulling me closer. I melted into his embrace, not caring that all of our friends were watching us from across the room; I ignored them, letting them melt away as I took in all Nolan was pouring out to me. We didn’t hold back, our tongues and teeth licking and nipping, consuming each other in a burst of need to remind ourselves that we hadn’t lost each other. I clawed at his shoulders, fingers bunching in the soft cotton as I pulled him as close to me as possible.
I needed to feel every inch of him pressed against me, his warmth seeping into me, letting me know that I was no longer alone.
Finally, we pulled apart, his strong arms gathering me into his lap, pulling me close and cradling me protectively. I let the tension in my tingling muscles loose, my heavy body aching as the effects of the sedative finally started to wear off.
“I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” he chanted as he rocked me back and forth; my pulse beat a bit, knowing his words weren’t only for my comfort but his as well.
“It’s okay,” I whispered, trailing small kisses along his jaw and throat. “It’s going to be alright. I’m safe now. You’ve got me.”
I cupped his face in my hand, my thumb drawing small circles along his cheek, his muscles loosening a bit.
We were safe for now. But I couldn’t ignore the chilled, foreboding sense that even though Elliot had showed me who he really was, this hunt was far from over.
