Love Spell #Wattys2020

Chapter Twenty Six

I gasped at the sound of my name, my emotions getting the best of me. "Oh my god, you're alive."

I reached for Hunter's head and pressed my hand against his cheek. A sob escaped my throat, my mind refusing to believe my eyes unless I could feel him, touch him.

The once perfect, tanned skin of Hunter's head, mutilated by the angry bullet from the Chief's gun, was gone. In place of mangled flesh was something else. Scarlett-colored patches covered his flesh where new, tender skin grew—a pinker hue than the rest of his body. There was a small section of hair missing where the bullet entered. The skin was healing now, but hair had yet to sprout. I touched his healed wound, my fingertips brushing against him, feeling the warmth of his skin.

"How?" I asked. "I watched you..." My voice trailed off, unwilling to say the words out loud. I watched you die.

Hunter's gaze seemed unfocused at first. His eyes raised to my face where a soft smile of recognition played on his lips. He sat up, slowly at first, and steadied himself. I stood too, reaching out for support. He took two shakey steps, before righting himself.

Hunter's eyes fell on the sheriff, lying limp on the ground. A surprised expression crossed his face and I watched him take in the deadly scene. The spaces where the Chief's eyes used to be were burned out and hollow, replaced with a beautiful azure-colored, magical residue that looked like a starry night with constellations.

Hunter raised a brow, seemingly impressed. "Good girl," he mumbled. He'd always been street smart, and didn't waste a minute. He grabbed my hand and started moving.

I couldn't make sense of what happened. Questions whirled around in my head about magic, about the Chief, about what the hell I'd done to make him collapse in that purple haze. Had I...killed him with magic?

Hunter pulled me away from the cliff's edge and the sound of rushing ocean waves grow quieter and quieter with every step. Hunter pulled me through the dark cover of night, branches and twigs scraping my cheeks. Tears slid down my cheeks, invisible in the shadows.

Had I just killed someone? I was a murderer. Was he dead? He looked dead. Oh god.

I killed a police officer. No, not just a police officer. The Chief of Police. This was bad. Horrible.

Guilt and fear lodged in my stomach. What would happen to me? Would Hunter come to see me in prison? A lump rose in my throat. Did he have a family? We're his kids at home waiting for their dad to walk through the door? 

I tripped over a branch and it jostled me back to the present. Hunter's warm hands gripped me tight and we ran until we reached the road. Bright headlights illuminated the dark highway and we stood still, breathing hard, as we watched it approach.

A classic red Ford truck with rust around the edges slowed to a stop. Hunter pulled me towards it and the driver rolled down the window. It was the man from earlier, Jimmy, from the back of the bar's parking lot.

A relieved smile played on Jimmy's face when he saw us. "I was trying my damndest to catch your scent. Turns out this thing ain't broke yet." He motioned to his nose.

"Jim, you sonofabitch, it's good to see you," Hunter said as he pulled me toward the passenger side. I climbed inside first, settling next to Jimmy on the bench seat and Hunter climbed inside the cab next to me.

Jimmy leaned over and looked at Hunter. "I know you said not to come after you, but I wasn't about to listen. Had to make Johnny think I was heading home. Didn't want any more trouble."

Hunter nodded, pensive, and though I was smack in the middle of our conversation, I felt like I didn't really understand what was being said.

Suddenly, discordant sounds and shouts carried in through Jimmy's open window, coming from the direction we'd just run from. Bullets fired into the night. Hunter's ears perked, listening.

Jimmy put the car into drive. "We gotta go, like now. If I can smell you..." He sped off, accelerating quickly. We drove in silence at first, listening to the shouts grow softer with every turn in the road. The bright headlights of Jimmy's truck illuminated summer bugs flitting through the dark towards his car's bright beams.

Finally, Jimmy asked an important question. "Where to?"

"Somewhere safe," Hunter murmured, reaching for my hand. He took it and held it tight. The thought of comfort, of a safe place, elicited only one vision in my mind. It wasn't a place, but a person. The person who had always been safety to me.

I said her name and was relieved when Hunter agreed.

Jimmy dropped us off in front of Arbella's and I pounded on the door. Despite not seeing another car on the road the entire way here, part of me felt like I would see a police cruiser turning down the street after us at any moment.

I wouldn't feel safe until I was locked inside with Oma and Hunter, tucked away like this had never happened. At some point I'd have to deal with it. But for now, I needed to feel Hunter next to me. I needed to rest my eyes. 

I needed to talk to Oma and figure out what the hell just happened.