Unhappily Ever After

Chapter 76 - In Death's Shadow

Jess lifted her chin a little higher. She hadn't guessed it yet, I didn't think. She was still waiting for him to punish us for failing to break the bond. I waited in a quiet corner of her mind, trying to concentrate on getting the air in and out of my lungs.

"Get out," Scott told the men behind him. They made themselves scarce without a backwards glance, and the door swung closed. "And you, Jessica ... need I remind you what's going to happen if you fight me?"

I didn't like the way Scott was looking at her. Not one bit.

"No," Jess breathed. "No, I remember."

He smiled. "I'm glad. The same goes for you, Rhodric. If I hear a shot..."

"He'll kill the baby," Jess finished for him. "So you can't try anything, okay? You can't. Whatever happens. I don't care what he does, Rhodric. Just don't give him an excuse."

I bridled at those words. "Jess, he's not—"

"I told you. I don't care."

"You don't understand," I told her, and it came out rough and harsh to make her listen to me. "I think he's going to kill you."

The silence which followed those words seemed to stretch for an eternity. The tension stretched with it — a thin piece of elastic just waiting to snap. When it finally broke, the recoil was strong enough to stop my heart for a moment.

"So?" Jess demanded.

A wave of white-hot agony ripped through me in the wake of that word. It wasn't the idea of her dying that was jarring, because that was already on the table. It was the utter weariness in her voice. It was the bland indifference.

"If it's me or the kids ... that's not a dilemma," she continued. "So you're going to sit there, and you're going to let him do whatever the hell he wants. Promise me, Rhodric."

Even as she spoke, I could feel her pushing thoughts away. The five-year-old she'd be leaving behind. The baby she hadn't even been allowed to touch. She would have to die hoping that her kids would survive the day. In the span of a minute, she tried to come to terms with all of that — the things left undone and the loose ends she would never see tied.

It was an impossible task. Even if she hadn't been a mother, even if there had been no one in this world she'd cared about ... it wasn't enough time. Not for anyone.

"No," I said.

It was the first time I'd done that. I didn't, as a rule, ever tell her 'no.' It was usually a matter of her saying no and me trying to talk her around. I'd always figured that she knew best, and besides, I'd never found anything I wanted enough to risk upsetting her.

But now ... if I didn't, she wasn't going to be around long enough to get upset. She was trying to do the selfless thing. The selfless thing and the right thing usually came hand in hand, but not always. Not today.

Jessie's panic was tangible. "Rhodric."

Scott was pacing back and forth, muttering things under his breath. He was trying to decide now. Killing her would hurt him, too, but it would be like pulling out a splinter. It was only a matter of time before he made up his mind, and I wasn't going to waste what little time we did have arguing with Jess, so I withdrew from her mind.

With some effort, I opened my eyes and found that I was once again alone with Vik. I needed a rifle, and I needed it fast. My body didn't seem to understand that urgency — the world was spinning around me, and I could barely take a breath without feeling like I was about to faint.

Someone had put me in the recovery position, and the Shadowless Alpha was the only person in sight. There was blood under my nose and filling my mouth. I was pretty sure I'd bitten my own tongue at some point.