by KB Anne
My head broke the surface seconds before his did. My body still tingled from the water’s caress. It won’t be long now.
“Wow!” Jude shouted a few feet away. “That’ll wake you up in the morning.”
I gave him a small smile pretending to agree, but really, my chest screamed at the newly opened hollowness in my heart. The last time I swam was with Christian at his granpappy’s cabin. We kissed that night on the water’s edge.
My face flushed at the memory.
Jude’s eyes brightened. He swam closer. I readied my foot. It craved to kick the reason my heart was breaking all over again. And now that I knew the truth of that night, I wanted revenge.
“Heads up,” J.J. shouted from above. Three skis flew into the water. My reflexes were still fast even if my Fae nature was dampened with the blasted iron cross. I squeezed my feet into the bindings then reached for the tow bar.
“Ready?” Jude called over.
I unbuckled my vest. “Ready.”
“Hit it!” He shouted. The motor revved as the boat took off. Both of us rose in the water. Me, with two skis. Jude, with one. Jude was so focused on steadying his single ski that he failed to notice my unbuckled life preserver. I kept my arms pinned to my sides so no one on the boat noticed either.
Sami’s red eyes watched me. Hatred curled her lip. I smiled a wide, toothy smile, acting if I was enjoying myself, as if I was having the time of my life, as if I wasn’t about to fling off my life preserver and dive under.
The boat banked to the right.
“Let’s hit the wake on the left,” Jude shouted.
Exactly where I wanted him to go.
“Got it,” I replied. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him shift his weight to ski over the huge swells. Jumping the wake was always my favorite part. I shifted my weight too, but not to the left. I veered right putting as much distance between Jude and I as I could before flinging the tow bar, tossing the life preserver, and diving into the water.
As my angled hands hit the surface, the water embraced me and tucked me under. I dove deep and far before the trajectory of my dive waned. I dolphin kicked still using the force of my descent to put distance between Jude and the boat. When that slowed, I frog-legged my arms and legs. The pressure on my chest grew intense the deeper I swam. The water was much, much colder down here. It made it hard to breathe, even with my enhanced Fae-ness.
A bubble ripped free from my chest. Then another. Then another. Soon there would be no air left. If I wanted to live, I’d need to take a breath soon, and above all else, I wanted to live.
My head broke the surface surging higher than I intended.
Shouts of “There she is!” echoed across the lake. I took three long gasps, before one short one. Just as I prepared to dive back under, a hand caught my shoulder as another wrapped around my stomach.
Foreign energy shot through me, freezing me in place.
“Starr,” Jude whispered, clutching me closer. “Are you alright?”
My chest heaved in and out, as I panted fighting for oxygen. Jude’s presence made it hard to breathe. His Shadow Fae-ness overpowered my weakened Silver Fae nature.
I silently cursed. He shifted my body to face him, still keeping me too close for comfort. His heart pounded against my chest. He had shed his life preserver to find me. We were skin on skin.
“Starr, are you okay?”
His gray eyes met mine.
“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” I said, through clenched teeth. A new plan formulated in my mind.
“Hey baldy!” J.J. shouted. “Come over so I can rub your head for luck.”
Jude’s lip curled in disgust. Didn’t want to share me, did he?
I glanced over his shoulder as the boat approached. J.J. hung over the bow of the boat. Jovie had her hand on his back to prevent him from falling in. Her forehead etched with worry as she watched me. Thomas stood with his arms crossed. Sami grinned wickedly.
“Got you,” she mouthed.
But did she? Did they? Jude had me in his clutches but did he really have me? His Shadow Fae side was overpowering my subdued Silver Fae nature, but I had other means at my disposal. Back in Webster, Treadwell set his sights on me because I would make the perfect assassin. I was smart. Unpredictable. Explosive.
I could fly without wings. I bunched up my knees and kicked off Jude’s chest. He clawed at my feet but I was powerful. More powerful than him. I back dove into the water dolphin kicking just under the surface. I needed to put as much distance between us before I flipped to my stomach. The water coursed over me, making me strong. Jude’s sour energy flushed out of my system as the water caressed me once more. The whirl of the motor echoed underwater. It spurred me faster. I won every backstroke race I ever swam in. Not one competitor came close to matching my speed, and the win began at the start. The underwater dolphin kick was my signature. I zoomed just below the surface. Clouds above waved at me as I passed by. The elements wanted me to succeed. To get away.
Screams of Starr wiggled into my ears. Jude reverted to my preferred name, but it made no difference to me. My name grew louder. Fingers trailed along the surface beside me. Butterfly beat a backstroke dolphin kick every time.
Shit.
I arched my back pulling away from the surface. I’d need to switch strokes soon. Water rushed beside me. Jude’s face appeared, his wings propelling him through the water at an inhuman speed. “Starr,” he shouted again and again, my name getting lost in the current. Bubbles erupted from his mouth as he screamed for me. His arms reached out as he approached. I jerked away. His eyes bulged as he overshot me. He descended rapidly into the depths of the lake unable to stop. Sea weed wrapped around his legs and yanked. His head smashed into the bottom his body crumbling with the impact. A crevice appeared beneath him widening to absorb his body. The lake wanted me to get away.
His eyes flashed open, as if his subconscious jerked him awake. He mouthed, “Help me,” lifting his hand.
Shit.
I reached for his hand and yanked. The lake bottom clung to his body, not wanting to release its prey. His free hand clawed at my neck. I watched in horror as the orange, blue, and white glass beads along with the corn beads from the necklace Christian gave me floated away in slow motion. The troll’s multifaceted blue green stone drifted along with them. I grabbed for it, trying desperately to retain at least the stone as a reminder of Christian and what we once shared. I reached and reached. I almost had it. If I could…
I used every inch of my body to get to it. My fingers circled around it. I had it. I…
Jude tugged me. The stone spiraled down in slow motion, as if waiting for me. I tried to free myself from his grasp. I had to get the stone. I had to.
“Please,” Jude begged, then his eyes slid shut.
Gods damned it all.
“Give him back,” I shouted. With a rush, the water surged around him, and the two of us shot to the surface.
“There they are,” Thomas shouted.
“Yippee,” J.J. clapped.
The boat drove over. I clung to Jude’s unconscious body as we bobbed over the wake toward the ladder to the lower deck. Thomas reached for me.
“No, take him,” I said pushing Jude toward him.
“Grab him,” he shouted.
Jovie and Sami hurried over and pulled Jude onto the deck. Thomas yanked me by the iron straps around my shoulder and flung me out of the water.
Pain ripped through me as I shot through the air. I cried out in shock. My body smacked against the deck. Before I could recover, Thomas pinned me to the surface. I struggled against him, but it was no use. He was at full Shadow Fae strength and zapped any remaining Silver Fae power from me.
“Let me go,” I screamed. He ignored my pleas. “I can help him.”
Unfazed by my thrashing, he held me with one hand as he pulled iron handcuffs from his pocket.
“Sami, restrain her,” he said handing them to her.
“Happily. This will hurt,” s
he said clamping the cuff on my left wrist and squeezed until it bit into my wrist. Thomas jerked the cuffed wrist to my free one, and Sami snapped on the other cuff squeezing it as tight as the other.
She caressed my cheek. “Now, that’s a good girl.”
“You bitch,” I hissed.
“I’m not the one who tried to escape.”
“Nothing’s working,” Jovie yelled, jerking my attention away from Sami and over to Jude.
I spun around and crawled on my knees over to him. Thomas held my shoulders.
J.J. swayed back and forth on the main deck like he might throw up.
“Call the helicopter,” I yelled at him. “Tell the pilot to be ready to fly us to a hospital.”
“A hospital?” J.J. sputtered.
“Yes, now get your phone and call. Order the Captain to take us back to shore.”
Jude’s lips were turning blue. His skin took on a sickly shade. He needed oxygen.
I reached to place my hands on Jude’s chest, but Thomas’s hulk hands stopped me.
“Either free me or someone needs to start pumping his chest. He needs CPR.”
Jovie positioned herself beside Jude. “What do I do?”
“Position your hands in the middle of his nipples. Lock your arms.” She did as I instructed. “Now, push twice really fast.”
She pulsed her arms against his chest twice.
Jude didn’t react.
“Again.”
She did as instructed two more times. Finally, water sputtered out of his mouth. Jude’s head tilted toward me coughing up water.
Relief washed over me. I despised Jude for what he did to me, but I didn’t want him to die.
“Get him on the boat,” I ordered. Jovie and Sami helped him to a bench seat. Thomas yanked me to a standing position and shoved me between my shoulder blades. Pain shot through them again, but it wasn’t unbearable. The water healed much of what was broken inside, but it couldn’t remove the iron cross.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Starr
* * *
An orderly in blue scrubs walked up to me in the hospital’s special waiting room reserved for dignitaries, celebrities, and evidentially, the likes of me. His eyes skirted over my handcuffs, but he didn’t linger on them. “He insists on seeing you.”
“Me?” I asked shoving my bound wrists toward his chest. “Not much I can do like this.”
He cleared his throat. “Any chance we can free her? I can’t keep the entire wing quiet about her hand cuffs.”
“No,” Thomas grunted.
“Here, let’s do this.” Jovie draped a towel around my body and tucked it in my bound wrists.
“Better?” She asked the orderly.
“That should work.”
Sami walked over to him and rested her hands on his shoulders. “You will forget about the hand cuffs and our faces. If anyone askes, you fell asleep in the breakroom and slept the rest of the day.”
He repeated what she told him, then turned around and walked away. The world was in big trouble if Sami could compel people, but I couldn’t take time to consider the implications of Sami’s new ability. Jude wanted to see me, and since I almost killed him, I felt responsible.
We followed after the orderly. He stopped in front of a room. I peeked through the window and saw Jude laying in a hospital bed.
“Now, go take a nap,” Sami said. He nodded at her with a glazed look in his eye and shuffled down the hall.
I scowled at her.
She winked at me. “Vampires can compel anyone to do anything, and I mean, anything.”
“Not on me.”
She smacked my bound wrists. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Give it a rest Sami,” Jovie said pushing through the closed door.
Sami’s jaw dropped. In all our years of friendship, Jovie always went along with Sami. Always.
Sami’s reaction made me laugh out loud.
“What are you so happy about?” she snarled.
“The joy of possibilities.”
She stepped toward me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I stood my ground. I would not be intimidated by her. “I think we both know what I mean.” My gaze slid over to Jovie hovering over Jude.
Sami’s eyes narrowed.
“Keep it moving,” Thomas grunted behind me. I hurried forward to avoid get another shove between the shoulder blades.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. The hospital room reminded me far too much of Christian and the torture Treadwell put him through.
Jude’s face brightened when he saw me. Jovie’s smile disappeared, and she backed away from his side.
“Let’s go Jovie,” Sami said under her breath. “He’s not worth your time.”
“I’m worried about him, Sami,” Jovie said. “He almost drowned.”
“You’re only saying that because you have a crush on him. He’s obsessed with her.”
“Any normal compassionate human being would be concerned for his welfare. What is wrong with you?”
Sami was taken aback. For the second time in as many minutes, Jovie had stood up to her. A shift in their relationship was occurring.
I wished I had popcorn.
Jude gestured for me. “Starr, come here.” The Sami and Jovie Drama broke apart. Each returning to their respective corner.
My hand twitched to touch his arm. My pesky caring subconscious fought to overtake my loathing for him. It wouldn’t win.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better now.”
My stomach roiled. His reaction to my presence all too similar to Christian’s.
If I had allowed the lake to take Jude, I’d be on my way to freedom, but my conscience wouldn’t let me, and now, the handcuffs served as a reminder of what I lost.
Again.
A nurse bustled in. “Only one guest at a time, no exceptions.”
Sami walked over to her. No doubt planning to compel her too.
“No, no, I’ll have no discussion. Get out,” she said as she shooed her and Jovie toward the door. “You too,” she waved at Thomas. He settled his hand on my shoulder.
“She can stay,” Jude said, reaching for my bound wrists under the towel. “She won’t go anywhere. Isn’t that right, Starr?”
He stared up at me. His face pale. Guilt raked through me. Gods damned my conscience. “No, I won’t.”
“I’ll be right outside the door,” Thomas said. “Don’t try anything.”
“She won’t,” Jude answered for me.
The nurse took his vitals. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better,” he said. “This is the girl who saved my life.” His smile probably melted most hearts. It was ineffective against mine.
“You’re very lucky you found him when you did. Any longer without oxygen, and he would have suffered from brain damage.”
I bite my bottom lip. Way to make me feel even more guilty.
“You will need to stay in the hospital overnight so we can monitor your vitals.”
He tried to sit up. “Overnight? Am I allowed company?”
She flicked the IV line with her nail. “You need rest. Not distraction.”
“Starr won’t distract me,” he whispered, slipping his hand from the handcuffs to my hand. “You’ll stay right?”
“I…”
“Please, you have to stay. You’re the reason I’m here.”
His way of reminding me that I might have saved his life, but I’m the reason he almost died in the first place.
“Let me check with Thomas.”
I tried to pull away, but he gripped my hand. His magic albeit it weak surging up my arm. “Please Starr, promise you won’t leave me.”
I pursed my lips. Guilt was a terrible, weighty thing. “I’ll do my best.”
“Promise me,” he pleaded, his gray eyes watching mine.
“Fine, I’ll tell Thomas to call my grandparents and explain the situation.”
He rele
ased my hand. I hated the way my veins felt with his energy coursing through mine. It weakened me. Plus, it was invasive.
I ran for the door.
“I’ll be waiting for you,” he said. My blood pulsed with his voice, but not in a good way, in a hee-bee-gee-bee-get-it-out-of-me kind of way.
I stepped out into the hall. I couldn’t get away from Jude fast enough. No way was I going back in there. Our contract wasn’t binding, but his magic sickened me all the same. I didn’t like to be used. I glanced around. I didn’t see Thomas, Jovie, or even Sami anywhere. On my way to the waiting room, I pulled up suddenly. I was alone. Completely alone.
I could get out of here. Now was my chance. Another shot of freedom so soon after my last bid? I had to take it. Promise or no promise. Besides, I owed Jude nothing.
I spun to leave. Claws caught my shoulders, digging into the bare skin.
“Where do you think you’re going?” A voice growled in my ear.
Treadwell. I should have known General Clone notified his master.
“I’m going back inside to Jude.”
“Were you? Somehow I don’t believe it.”
I tried to get away from him, but his hold was solid. “Well, believe it.”
His claws shifted to nails as he hooked his fingers through the iron straps and tugged. I cried out.
“That’s only the beginning,” he promised as he yanked me down the hall.
I fought. I kicked. I punched. Then hung like a rag doll pain overtaking all my senses.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Starr
* * *
The open water filled me with dread. We’d left the shoreline twenty minutes ago and still hung in air on our way to the mysterious Island. I had to give props to whoever gave the Organization and the Island their names. He, because it was definitely a “He” in this male dominated hierarchy, was a creative word wizard.
Sami glared at me as if this trip was my fault. She always wanted to go to a tropical destination, but she suspected that our situation wouldn’t include a pineapple filled with a fruity alcoholic drink delivered by a shirtless cabana boy. Too bad for her, Thomas wouldn’t participate in Sami’s fantasy.