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“Fuck. Oh, shit, baby. Let me see you. How bad are you hurt?”
“I think I’m okay.” Still, I pulled him closer. “I wasn’t sure you’d come fast enough. I was so scared. I thought he was going to…” Sobs took over while I held on tighter.
“Shh, I’m here. No one will ever hurt you again. I promise you that.”
My head turned toward the door, fear once again surging to the forefront. “Your brother?”
“Is taken care of.” Zain removed his jacket, placing it around my shoulders.
“Bethany?” I was almost afraid to meet his gaze. I hadn’t heard her in a while.
“The screaming led me and Blake straight in there. We weren’t fast enough. She’s gone. She took a pretty bad beating.”
My head buried into his chest as the tears flowed. I couldn’t stop the part of me that cared. She’d been scared, up to the point of death. It didn’t sit right, regardless of what she’d done.
“Is Slade here?”
“No. He had to stay back so he’d have an alibi. I’d take you to him, but we’re not going there yet. First, I want to get you to a hospital. Then, we’ll talk about leaving.
My head shook. “Leave where?” I wasn’t sure why, but panic once again took the lead. Although I loved Zain, I’d convinced myself for so long that things couldn’t work. I was so confused.
“Your brother is letting us stay at his house in Washington. It’s time we find ourselves again, Lilian. We need to start fresh. But let’s focus on that later. First, the hospital. Did any of them…” his jaw tightened and I knew what he meant.
“No, just what almost happened. I’m fine, really. I don’t want to go to the hospital.” Slade’s name came back into my mind and I let his words process. “Wait. My brother is allowing this?”
“He knows I love you. I’ve made it very clear to him.”
I stayed quiet while he led me down the hall at a fast pace, holding onto me tighter. My eyes drifted over to where Alec’s body was and I briefly squeezed them shut, hoping that would help erase what I’d just seen. The pale shade of his skin left me even sicker. The nightmares were going to be so much worse now and there was nothing I could do about it.
“How is she?” A blond man with huge shoulders and arms met us at the door. At how intimidating he was, I pushed more into Zain.
“I think she’s okay. She doesn’t want to go to the hospital. Let’s take her back home and I’ll check her better there.”
I barely heard their words. At the sight of Marcio standing just outside, I broke from Zain and pushed through the door, rushing into his arms.
“You came,” I said, crying even harder.
“Of course. You should have known I would.”
My head tilted back and I couldn’t fight the upturn of my lips. “Yes, I should have.”
I gave Marcio one last squeeze and stepped back. Zain and the blond were coming through the front door. For the first time, I took in my surroundings. When we’d arrived, I had a cloth over my head. Large trees surrounded us and I turned in a complete circle, stopping back at Zain and the blond. “Where are we? It felt like Jonathan had me in the car forever.”
Zain was already leading me to the SUV. “Not far from home, sweetie. South of San Francisco.”
“But…” my head shook, confused as I climbed in the back. Zain followed, closing the door behind him. “I don’t understand. We were in the car so long after we left the first place.”
“You were on the Oregon-California border the first time. They brought you back. I think it more had to do with my father. He’s here and it doesn’t look good. I think he knows what I’ve done, which may be why he played a part in taking you.”
The SUV pulled out of the dirt drive and began heading down the winding mountain path.
“He knows,” I confirmed. “I was supposed to fly back to Afghanistan with him tonight. They meant to kill you, Zain. They’re going to keep trying until they’re successful.”
Zain cursed under his breath and my eyes came up to connect with Blake’s in the rearview mirror. I had to suppress a shudder. He was unexplainably…off. I could feel it. Although there was no threatening expression present, it didn’t stop the vibe he threw off.
“You don’t have to worry, Lily. I’m going to take care of it,” Blake said, as if reading my mind. “You focus on Zain and don’t worry about anything anymore.”
My Master’s face snapped to the front. “I was only going to let you take out the dealers because I wasn’t expecting my father to be present. I already told you he’s mine. And I’ll take care of him when I get back.”
