Sacrifice

by Denise Grover Swank

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Yeah, well, look where that got him.”

  James rubbed his forehead, then returned his gaze to Will. “Look, Kramer swore he’d leave you alone. His men came to me a full week before you two showed up. They convinced me that Emma was using you and that your life was in danger if I didn’t help them capture her.”

  “You knew the minute I showed up at your door.” Emma’s eyes widened as she put the pieces together. “The lodge. You found out where I was staying after I ran off from your place, and Kramer’s men came to get me.”

  “Yeah, only somehow you got away.”

  Her stomach dropped to her feet. “You agreed to come with us after that so you could keep an eye on me and figure out when to try to turn me over again.” Her instinct had been right all along.

  “Will.” James’s eyes pleaded with him to understand. “You were in seriously deep shit. Kramer was pissed that Emma got away and planned to escalate his plan. He told me that his deal to not hurt you was null and void unless I handed Emma over. I knew if I was with you two, I could try to manipulate things to keep you from getting hurt. I planned to turn her over at the compound when we broke in to steal the book, but I realized I’d never get her away from you. You were so goddamned sure you loved her that I knew you’d do something stupid to save her. The only way to make sure you were safe was to separate the two of you.”

  Emma clutched her stomach, nauseated. “Which is why you sent Will into White Horse?”

  “Kramer warned me about your mind-control trick, and after the forest fire incident neither one of us knew what else you could do, so I drugged you. It seemed easier that way. I also knew from Will that you got your power from your pendant, so I took it off after you fell asleep.”

  “I hope Kramer paid you enough money to make it worth your time and trouble.”

  Rubbing his forehead again, James sighed. “That wasn’t the point.”

  The hair on her arms prickled. He presented it all so matter-of-factly, as though he wasn’t talking about her. Like he was discussing the weather. “And Kramer told you I was pregnant? That’s how you knew?”

  “Yeah.” He swung his gaze to Will. “Although I didn’t understand why you never told me, Will.”

  She shook her head. Will never told him because he knew James wouldn’t understand.

  James started to get up, but Will raised his gun higher. “Will, listen to me. We were looking for a way to get Kramer off our backs, and this is it.” He pointed to Emma. “If we turn her over, we can buy our freedom.”

  “You know, James,” Will’s voice softened.“Everything you’ve said makes sense.”

  The hair on Emma’s neck stood on end. After everything they’d been through, would Will really give her to the Vinco Potentia? The old Will wouldn’t, but the new Will didn’t know her at all, and turning her over had been his original purpose.

  James’s shoulders relaxed. “See, I knew if you heard me out—”

  “But there’s one more thing.” He paused. “Why, James?” Will’s voice twisted in pain. “If you knew I loved her, why did you do it?”

  James looked up, his eyes pleading. “Because you didn’t really love her. She branded you with a mark that compelled you to protect her—and then add your savior complex, and you thought you loved her. I could have let it run its course, because we both know you would have figured it out sooner or later, but you didn’t have the luxury of time. Powerful people would stop at nothing to get her, Will. And you would have sooner died than let them take her. As your best friend, it was my job to protect you.”

  “Wasn’t that for me to decide?”

  “No.” James shook his head, his mouth pressed into a thin line. “You were blind to her and the threat she presented. Don’t you see? There’s no way out of this, Will. There’s no way to save her. They will hunt her down until one or both of you is dead.”

  “After they took her…” Will’s voice hardened. “You just let them take me?”

  “No! I swear to you, Will. I had no idea that Kramer was going to take you.” James leaned back. “I spent two days trying to track you down. Kramer told me they’d leave you alone if I turned Emma over. But you didn’t answer your cell phone and I retraced our steps. I decided that Kramer must have taken you after all and went to the compound.”

  “What? You just showed up and they let you in?”

  “Not exactly. I showed up and Kramer said if I could get information about Emma from you that he’d let us both go.”

  “And you believed that?”

  “No,” James growled. “I told you, I had insurance.”

  “Like the book?”

  James pursed his lips and bobbed his head. “That was one.”

  “You have the book?” Emma asked. “With you?”

  Lifting an eyebrow, James grinned, refusing to answer.

  “The book is in the car.” Will’s words were clipped. “We’ll discuss it later. What else did you have, James?”

  James glanced from Will to Emma and back. “I dug up info on all the key members of the group.”

  “Info. You mean blackmail material?”

  “Blackmail’s such an ugly word.”

  Will snorted. “Whatever. So how did we get out of the compound?”

  “When you were passed out—”

  “Drugged.”

  “I didn’t know they were going to do that. I swear.” James wiped a thin sheen of sweat off of his forehead. “Alex showed up and told me to be ready, that he’d help get us out, but he said I’d owe him. He said I had to keep him updated where you were. Getting you out seemed more important at the time. But that’s why I wanted to find Jake. I figured if I gave him something he wanted, he’d back off of you. Still, when I agreed, I had no idea what he was capable of.”

  “You told him we were coming here. To the hospital.”

  “I had to.”

  “And what did you think my reaction would be when I found out what you’d done?”

  James lifted his chin in defiance. “I never thought you would. I guess Alex had other ideas. The question is, what do you plan to do now that you know?”

  Will released a short laugh. “That’s an easy choice, James.”

  Hate hardened James’s face. “Really? You’re still choosing her over me? You don’t even remember her, Will.”

  “I know she’s not shoving her own agenda down my throat.”

  “Are you sure about that? She’s lying to you about what happened before you brought her to me. She made you want to protect her and tricked you into thinking you loved her. I know I’ve screwed up, but I always had your best interest in mind. How can you be sure she does?” James narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. “How do you know she and Alex didn’t set this up together?”

  Will ran his shaking hand over his mouth, looking like he wanted to throw up. “I’ve heard enough. We need to get going.”

  “We?” James asked.

  “Yes. All three of us. I have a feeling you haven’t told me everything, James. And I definitely want more information from Emma.”

  “You’re bringing her?”

  Will stood. “She has answers to what the hell happened to me the last month and a half.”

  James shook his head. “No. No way. How can you trust what she has to say? You choose right here and right now. Emma or me.”

  “Save your breath, Buckner. Just hand over the keys.”

  James pulled the key ring from his jeans pocket and tossed it toward Will. “So you’re just going to leave me here?”

  “Oh hell, no. You’re not getting off that easy. You both are a package deal.”

  “The fuck I am.”

  Will leaned forward. “Think of it this way. If I find out she’s lying, I’ll let you have first shot at getting even.”

  Emma’s eyes widened as Will turned his gaze to her.

  “You don’t have anything to be worried about, do you, Emma?”

  This was a
set-up for disaster, yet she had little choice in the matter. “No.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  They walked through the hallway in the rehab building. Will no longer needed his gun as a threat. James seemed more sure of himself and Emma hadn’t said much.

  Grilling her had been harder than he expected. His love for her overshadowed his caution and that scared him. Feelings only made people do stupid things. Will couldn’t afford stupid.

  Will stopped to the side of the entrance to the parking garage.

  Two suspicious men stood on the curb outside the door. They loitered without talking, one smoking a cigarette despite the No Smoking sign behind him. The other guy cast a sideways glance at an elderly woman entering the building, then looked away with a sneer. It was obvious they were looking for someone.

  “That’s what I was worried about.” Will groaned, moving away from the door. “They’ve been alerted somehow and are now patrolling the entrance.”

  James glanced outside. “So what do you want to do?”

  “They know we’re here. I say we go out, guns blazing.”

  “Are you sure you want to do that?”

  Will’s mouth lifted into a grin, but his eyes held a wicked gleam. “Why the hell not?” He looked outside again. “We’ll wait until there aren’t any patients in the garage. James, you take out the guy on the right and I’ll take out the guy on the left.”

  “What about Emma?”

  Will held her gaze. “Emma, you stay behind me and keep down.”

  She nodded, trust in her eyes. “Okay.”

  Going out there unarmed was a risky move, and in her position he would have asked questions. But she agreed, which implied that she trusted his decisions and trusted him. What had they already been through together?

  They waited several minutes until the lot was clear, then Will nodded to James.

  His stomach balled in apprehension, his instinct telling him something was wrong. James had already headed outside and Will couldn’t leave him uncovered. He glanced at Emma as he ran out the door. “Stay inside!”

  Will hated last-minute changes, but something was off and he couldn’t have her run out behind him defenseless.

  James raised his weapon as the two men turned to him, but gunshots came from behind the men—from two more gunmen hiding behind a sedan. James dived between two compact cars, pointing his weapon over the trunk. Will got in several shots while taking cover behind a trash bin.

  The two men on the curb were down and Will spotted only one of the men behind the sedan. This could take all day and Will didn’t have all day. Glancing at James, he motioned that he planned to rush the attacker.

  James nodded.

  As he prepared to run toward it, the car exploded, throwing Will on his ass.

  Emma stood in the doorway, surrounded by a golden glow.

  Jumping to his feet, Will’s mouth dropped. “What did you do?”

  Her face was emotionless. “I did what I had to do.”

  Will ran over to James and found him seated, leaning against the car. Blood drenched the lower right portion of his T-shirt. Will knelt next to him. “Shit.”

  Emma approached from behind and gasped.

  Will’s heart nearly stopped, but he moved into action. “We have to get him out of here. He’s going to bleed out.”

  James grabbed Will’s arm. “You can’t take me into the hospital. They’ll find us there.”

  Running his hand over his mouth, Will sat back on his heels. “Goddamnit!”

  Emma took a step forward then hesitated. “I can help.”

  Will stood and spun to face her. “How?”

  She bit her lip, staring at James’s shirt. “I can heal him.” She looked up, worry and fear flashing in her eyes.

  James’s eyes widened in horror. “No fucking way! She won’t heal me! She’ll kill me!”

  Will grabbed her arm and searched her face. “Can you really do that?”

  She nodded. “But we’ll have to hurry.”

  Screeching tires echoed through the garage. James looked up at Will, his mouth pinched. “Reinforcements are on the way, Will. Get out of here.”

  “Like hell I’m leaving you here.” He grabbed James’s gun. “Do it, Emma. Do whatever you need to do and I’ll cover you.”

  She squatted next to James. “I promise I won’t kill you, James.”

  “Why the hell not after what I’ve done to you?”

  She put one hand on his arm and her other hand hovered over his abdomen. “Because if you think I’d kill you out of spite, it shows you don’t know the first thing about me. I just killed that man behind the car to save you and Will, and while I did it for a good reason, it still eats me alive. Now shut up and let me fix you.”

  A golden glow surrounded her and she placed her hand on James’s abdomen. “Heal him.” An electrical zap jumped from Emma to James. He jerked as she slumped against the car, but Will didn’t have time to check on either one of them. An SUV pulled up. The windows lowered and gun tips appeared.

  “James! Get behind the back of the car!” Will glanced back. James had gotten to his feet while Emma squatted, leaning against the side.

  “I need my gun.” James grabbed it out of Will’s waistband.

  “She really healed you?”

  “So it would seem.”

  “Is she okay?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Will shook his head in disgust. The gunmen in the SUV hadn’t taken a shot yet. “Why aren’t they shooting?”

  “My guess is that they know Emma’s here and they don’t want to kill her.”

  Will turned to James with a scowl. “Did you have anything to do with this?”

  James snorted. “Don’t be a fucking idiot.” Determination hardened his face. “But we can use it to our advantage.”

  Will recoiled. “After she just saved your ass?”

  “I never asked her to do that.”

  “We are not handing her over.”

  “Fine, I’ll do it myself.”

  “The hell you will.”

  Will dropped to Emma’s side and her eyes fluttered open. “Touch me.”

  “What?”

  “Just touch my hand.”

  Will took her hand, curling his fingers around her palm. The ring on his finger turned icy cold and he sucked in a breath in surprise.

  She smiled at him. “Thank you.”

  Glancing up at James, Will knew he’d fight his best friend to the death before he turned her over. He might not remember her, but it turned out that she was a hell of a better person than James could ever be.

  She seemed to regain her energy and sat up straighter. “Are you going to hand me over?”

  His chest tightened. “No.”

  Relief flickered through her eyes. “I can take out the SUV.”

  “Are you sure? After what you just did for James?”

  “Turns out healing someone takes a lot more energy than blowing things up. Do you have another plan?”

  “No. But if you blow it up, it will block our only way out of here.” Their Toyota was five spaces down and Will had the keys. Will couldn’t believe he was making this decision, yet it felt right. “Emma, let’s go.” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the back of the car.

  “Where the hell do you think you’re going, Will?” James shouted.

  Will ignored him, moving behind the compact car next to him.

  “Will!”

  “Go to hell, Buckner.”

  ***

  She followed his lead, scrambling behind the cars until he stopped at an older Toyota.

  “You should let me drive,” she said. “I’m good and you always had me drive.”

  “Maybe so, but I think you’ll be handier using your power. It will be easier for you to do that if I’m driving. Now get in.”

  She climbed in the passenger seat while Will ran around to the other side and tossed her bag in the back.


  “This is probably going to get ugly.”

  She tried to swallow the lump of fear in her throat. “Doesn’t it always?”

  Gunshots echoed in the garage. James was firing on the SUV.

  Her chest tightened with fear. “What’s he doing?”

  Will’s face hardened. “He’s distracting them and helping us get away.”

  He swerved the car out of the space and tore down the row, skidding around the corner and past the SUV. “My shotgun’s in the bag in the back. Can you get it out?”

  “Yeah.” She leaned between the seats, her fingers shaking as she unzipped Will’s bag. Calm your ass down, Emma. Freaking out would only make her ineffective. She searched blindly through the contents, her fingers brushing cold metal. She pulled the weapon out of the bag. “Is it loaded?”

  “Yes, but we’ll need more ammo. It’s in there too.”

  She found several boxes and pulled them all to the top of the bag. She turned around to the front in time to see the six men pointing guns at them.

  “Get down!” Will’s hand shoved her head between her legs before bullets pierced the windshield, sending glass raining on her head. The sides and back windows shattered and the car fishtailed. She lifted her gaze to Will. His hands gripped the steering wheel and a gash over his eyebrow dripped blood down the side of his face.

  “You’re hurt!”

  He shook his head. “I’m fine. It’s just a cut from the flying glass.” Looking in the rearview mirror, his face hardened. “They’re coming after us already. I hoped to have more of a head start.”

  Emma looked out the now open back window. Three cars were in pursuit. “Do you think James set you up?”

  He shook his head again. “No. They probably knew my mom was here and waited it out, expecting me to visit her.”

  “She works here?”

  “No. She’s a patient.” His terse tone told her that now wasn’t the time to discuss it.

  “Do you have a plan?”

  “Other than try to outrun them in this death trap on wheels, which seems highly unlikely? No.”

  “Then we wing it. We’re good at winging it.” She wished she felt as confident as she sounded, but she had to believe they’d get out of this. She hadn’t just found him for it to end.