Breaking Emma (A Divisa Novella) (Divisa series 2.5)

by J. L. Weil

  “Em, come out and play with me.” His voice had gone sensual and silky.

  I choked. His idea of play was definitely going to involve his tongue tangling with mine. I was more tempted than I should have been.

  “I’ll pass.”

  “I bet I could make you change your mind.”

  Holy mackerel.

  If he kept up that tone, I was going to need a cold shower. So I did the only thing I could think of. I hung up on him before I did something utterly stupid. His laugh echoed in my ear as I plopped on my bed, trying to calm my overheated body.

  ~*~*~*~

  Those bitches.

  Looking back, I can now see that it wasn’t really Lexi and Angel I was furious with. They were just scapegoats for my anger, which was really directed at my dad, my sad, pitiful life, and Travis for making me want things again. Want him.

  I was a ticking time bomb ready to blow.

  Unlike all the other gazillion morons shopping on the busiest day of the year, I just wanted to grab a white chocolate mocha from the coffee gods: Starbucks. Lo and behold, whom did I run across? None other than the two best friends—Lexi and Angel—joined at the hip.

  I was on my way back to my house when I spotted Lexi’s little red car in the distance. Instantly, I pressed the pedal to the metal, and my SUV zoomed forward on the nearly deserted road. There was no explanation as to what came over me. One minute I was sipping my coffee, and the next I was driving with the worst case of road rage I’d ever felt.

  Pulling up beside Lexi’s compact car, I revved my engine to get their attention, not that I didn’t already have it, but this was going to be a showstopper—literally.

  When I was sure that I had the two of them shaking in their boots, I jerked the steering wheel in their direction, not thinking about anything but demolishing them. The impact of car against truck was more than I bargained for. It threw me back in my seat. My damn coffee sloshed over the rim, dripping all over my console and increasing my anger.

  I was truly irrational today.

  At this point, I wasn’t even conscious of what I was doing. It was as if some vengeful spirit of a bloodthirsty lunatic possessed me. I felt out of control.

  And I hated it.

  But I felt powerless to stop it.

  It was the screaming of brakes skidding over blacktop that snapped me out of it. In my rearview mirror, I watched Lexi’s car halt. Wide-eyed in horror at the crunched-up car, I slammed on the brakes, needing to get my panicked breathing under control.

  What had I done?

  There was no time to dwell on the destruction I had just caused—not only to the cars, but to Lexi and Angel as well—because I was having a full-on panic attack. Kicking my door open, I stepped out of the SUV, greedily trying to gulp fresh air into my burning lungs.

  The next thing I knew, I was being pinned up against my car with a very livid demon in my face. Her hands were around my throat, and I lost the ability to breathe, yet again. I didn’t fight her. It was more than I deserved after my latest performance.

  Lexi’s eyes glowed amber with just a hit of aqua around the rim. She was teetering the line of losing herself to the demon, and when she spoke it had an eerie deep darkness to it. I wheezed as her hand squeezed my neck, but I did nothing to defend myself. Before my bulging eyes, I watched some of the lesser cuts heal on Lexi’s face, which looked anything but sweet and sugary.

  Lexi angled her head. “My brother might be blinded by the past and what you used to be, but I’m a realist. I know what you are. I can’t believe we used to be friends,” she spat in disgust, and I couldn’t blame her.

  The mention of Travis filled me with a longing and regret so intense that I had to bank it quickly before it got out of hand and I made a complete fool of myself. From the corner of my eye, I saw Angel run up behind Lexi with a look of astonishment at her friend. It was my guess that it wasn’t every day she got to see this side of her.

  Lexi carried on. “Is there even a fraction of who you used to be underneath all that hate?” she asked in what I recognized as her last attempt to reach me.

  I gave her no false hope, because honestly I could never be that girl again no matter how much I might will it. The sooner we all accepted it, the better. “That girl is gone. Nothing I can do will bring her back. I can’t turn the hands of time,” I replied in a scratchy voice that sounded nothing like mine.

  Sadness and hurt laced her golden eyes. “No, I don’t suspect you can. But you aren’t the only one who has changed. My brother’s never been the same since you disappeared. He was crushed, frantic by your sudden departure. I want to ensure that he doesn’t feel that kind of pain again.”

  “You want to kill me. So, what’s stopping you?” I baited, not caring anymore. This wasn’t a life worth living. I wasn’t afraid of death. I’d been taught to fear nothing.

  “My brother,” she responded. “Unlike you, I care about him.”

  “You don’t know jack about how I feel,” I hissed, immediately filled with rage, and I strained against the hold she still had on me.

  “Get in your beastie truck and do my brother a favor. Ride out of Spring Valley and never come back.” She let her impossible grip on me go.

  My face drained of all color at the thought of never seeing Travis again, and I realized that I didn’t want to go through that kind of pain. And there it was. The one thing I was truly fearful of. Losing Travis. All those feelings I was confident were gone, were actually still in me. They had been there all along. Acknowledging them filled me with a determination and protective streak that ran wild inside me.

  My emeralds eyes shone with perseverance. No one was going to tell me what to do or who I could love ever again. And I would love Travis until my last dying breath. It didn’t matter what the facility preached; Travis was the exception in my book. I couldn’t control who I loved any more than I was willing to be a pawn in the facility’s twisted beliefs.

  Lexi turned on her heel and walked back to her car with her nose in the air. There was nothing left to be said between us. Nothing I could say or do would erase the damage I had already caused. Right now I needed to make it up to the one person who counted the most.

  Travis.

  Chapter 13

  When I got the call that Angel was in custody, I went numb. My toes went icy, my blood went cold, and fear glossed my emerald eyes, because I knew what went on behind the white walls of the facility. And some way, somehow, Angel had grown on me. I couldn’t stand to see that “screw the world” attitude destroyed. I wouldn’t sick the facility on my worst enemy.

  Since being released, I’d learned to feel again, to think for myself, and trust my instincts. All my intuition said that Angel wasn’t the threat they all thought she was. She was a girl my age, in love and trying to figure out this thing called life, like the rest of us.

  So here I was on some suicide mission to save the girl whose life I contemplated ending not long ago. The way I saw it, ether way I was dead meat. It now was about deciding which was a better way to go.

  The facility.

  Or Chase.

  I chose the damn half-demon.

  “Angel,” I whispered, a shudder tearing through me. The facility had that frightening affect. I had hoped, at all cost, to avoid ever stepping foot inside this building again. Looking down at the groggy misfit lying on the cot-size bed, I cursed under my breath. “Angel!” I called with more conviction.

  If she didn’t get her ass up and going, I was out of here. I could see my window of opportunity closing.

  “Go away,” she groaned, rolling over and ignoring me.

  “Damn it, Angel,” I growled. “We don’t have time for this.” My patience was running thin.

  She rubbed her big blue, sleepy eyes, deprived of any real rest. They were stuffed with fear and finally focused on me. “What are you doing here?” she mumbled, like she just had a dose of morphine. There was an edge of cynicism in her voice.

  I glared at her i
n annoyance. There was no time for small talk, so I spoke in a language we both understood: sarcasm. The corner of my mouth twitched. “What does it look like? I’m saving your sorry ass.”

  She shot up from the bed, swaying on her feet. “Why?” she asked with genuine confusion.

  I got that she had doubts, but I didn’t have time to hold her hand and walk her through a breakout. She was just going to have to trust me. “Do I need a reason?” I said, getting more irritated by the second. “Now get your hybrid butt moving, unless you like it here?”

  She ran an unsteady hand through her scraggly dark hair. “I don’t understand.”

  Why the hell was she arguing?

  I huffed. “Look, mutant. I don’t have time for this. We only have one shot here, and we are losing precious time arguing. Later we can play the fifty-questions game, after we get out of here. Capiche?”

  I gave her a moment of consideration. Then, to my relief, she nodded, tongue-tied and in shock.

  Thank God.

  “You better not be shitting me,” she added as I popped my head out the doorway looking for guards.

  I should have known she wouldn’t keep her trap shut for long. I glanced quickly over my shoulder, placing a finger to my lips, and prayed she got the signal to shut up. My presence here wouldn’t cause too many raised brows, but leaving with Angel would definitely put a red flag on our backs. We needed to maneuver around the guards patrolling the halls.

  As soon as I was sure we had a clear window, I gave the signal. “Move your ass!” I commanded, leaving no room for argument. It was do or die, and I sure as heck wasn’t ready to die. I wanted out of this hellhole once and for all, no longer under the facility’s thumb. It was past time for me to take charge of my life again. To dream again. To love again.

  Angel scrunched her nose at me. “You are the worst rescuer ever,” she muttered.

  Stepping into the hall, I knew that there was a changing of guards, which left us a two-minute timeslot between levels. I ran, praying she would be able to keep up. We passed through the double doors of the dorm hallway and into the training center. Overall, Angel did far better than I had hoped for.

  When I broke into the facility, I was afraid of what kind of condition I would find her in. Would she be able to walk? Would she be lucent or doped up on pills? As we booked it down the corridors, I checked on her frequently just to make sure I wasn’t pushing her too hard, too fast. Her stamina surprised me, especially since she looked like death.

  Staggering, she fell face-flat on the floor, but she picked herself right up (maybe with a little help from me), brushed off the pain I knew her body was feeling, and carried on.

  Angel was a freaking trooper.

  I wrapped an arm around her waist, taking some of her weight, and ran as fast as I could, knowing each second counted. The guards were finishing the change-over and would be back to mindlessly pacing the halls.

  “Thanks,” she said, sounding winded.

  “You can thank me after I get us out of here.” I kept my eye on her. We were relying on each other, and that was a scary thought for me. “You okay?” I asked.

  She nodded, sensing the urgency.

  I was glad she didn’t bombard me with questions and allowed me to focus on keeping us alive. I punched in a key code on the final door and kicked it open. It might have been dramatic, but I had my hands full.

  More or less stumbling outside, we both blinked rapidly, blinded by the sun. Angel lifted her head to the sky and took in a long drawn-out breath of fresh air. I knew how she felt, but there wasn’t time to savor the moment, not yet.

  “Hurry,” I badgered. “We need to bust ass. We aren’t home free yet princess.”

  Rounding the corner, Angel winced behind me. The final stretch stood out in front of us as my blue SUV came into view.

  She gave a short laugh.

  Glancing sideways at her, I gave her a weird look. “I don’t know what you find so hilarious, but I swear if you are losing your mind now, I’ll smack you.”

  She chewed on her bottom lip but remained silent.

  Good girl.

  Swinging the passenger door open, I shoved her scrawny butt into the car and hustled around to the driver’s seat. “Buckle up. We’re in for a bumpy ride,” I warned, roaring the engine to life.

  I shifted the car into gear, not wasting another precious nanosecond, and hit the gas. Swinging my head around, I made sure that we weren’t being followed and headed for the exit gate. This place could be a maze, but lucky for us, I’d spent a year here, mapping out the facility in my head.

  Angel groaned in her seat, and I looked over at her suspiciously. “Get your head out of the clouds. We still need to make it through the gate before we do a victory dance,” I barked, needing her to stay with me. There weren’t going to be any mental breakdowns on my watch.

  Angel latched onto her seat. “Do you have a plan for that?” she asked, shifting restlessly.

  Of course I had a plan, but I was pretty sure she wasn’t going to like it. “Yeah,” I said, punching the gas. “You’re wearing your seatbelt, right?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  I kept my eyes dead centered on the gate. “Good, because it is about to get...rough.”

  Please, God, don’t let this be a disaster. I mean, it always works in the movies.

  Angel was stiff, bracing herself for what was surely going to be a brain-rattling impact. You don’t hit an iron-reinforced fence head-on and not expect to have the bleep scared out of you.

  I watched as the speedometer hit deadly speeds, but I never let up, even when my insides shook. This was going to work. It had to work. Right before my frontend smacked into the gate I closed my eyes, clenched my jaw, and swore.

  It was worse than being locked in a room with a dozen bloodthirsty hellhounds.

  It sucked.

  My head snapped forward and then back again. Metal crunched against iron, screeching like a dying woman. Man I loved this truck. I never let up on the gas, keeping it pinned to the floor, even after we made it through the security entrance. The need to put miles between me and the facility was gnawing inside me. I wouldn’t feel safe until I got Angel back to Chase. Then I would be able to breath again.

  It was only a matter of time before my father was informed of my recent escapade and how I’d helped the enemy escape. I would then be put on the list of traders that needed to be extinguished. I didn’t delude myself into thinking that just because I was his daughter, I would receive a free pass or any special treatment.

  Oh hell to the no.

  Just the opposite.

  I was sure the sergeant would personally see to my punishment.

  Joy.

  I steered the car toward Spring Valley, always keeping a watchful eye on our tail. Angel had been quiet as I hopped onto the interstate and I let her be, but of course I should have known that she just wouldn’t leave it alone—my rescue that is.

  “Spill,” she demanded, resting her head against the seat. “I don’t get it. Not that I am not eternally grateful, but why would you help me?” she asked, sincere puzzlement in her darkened eyes.

  I shrugged, not wanting to admit that Travis had anything to do with my sudden desire to not chop her head off. “My plans differ from my father’s,” I answered nonchalantly. “And your boyfriend is really freaking scary,” I added as an afterthought, figuring she could understand that Chase instilled the fear of God in people, her being the only exception.

  “Chase?” she said his name as if she doubted we were talking about the same half-demon.

  I snorted. “Obviously. Unless you are dating more than one half-breed?” It felt more normal taking digs at each other, and dare I say that without the bounty on her head, I actually liked Angel.

  Her lips tipped at the corners. “I don’t think Chase will let him live.”

  I returned with a small smirk of mine own. “That we can agree on. He is a force to be reckoned with and he knows it. When he figured out
where you were stashed, he—”

  “Chase found me?” she asked as if he might have forgotten her. Was she crazy? That damn hybrid was like a one-track Tasmanian devil.

  Her grin widened, reaching her sunken blues. Angel had seen better days, and I wanted to give her reassurance, though I didn’t know why. “You bet your ass. That man is like a machine. He has been looking non-stop since you disappeared five days ago. And by non-stop, I mean all day, everyday. I don’t think he has slept.”

  “It’s only been five days?” Her voice was laced with disbelief.

  I knew all too well how screwed up time was when you did nothing but stare a four white walls. Time became non-existent, blurring days and nights. My eyes softened with sympathy and understanding. Angel and I shared more than just razor tongues and our love for badass demons. “Once he narrowed your location last night, he went ballistic—ape-shit crazy. He wanted to storm the building and go all demon nuts. Basically get us all killed, including you. It took Travis, Sierra, Craig, and Hayden to hold him back. I didn’t think they were going to be able to do it. If he hadn’t been playing with all of our lives, I would have been impressed. Never have I seen anyone with so much…power. It was frightening. Thank God I brought a tranq.”

  “Wait. What?” she asked. “You tranquilized him?”

  It was clear she thought I had a death wish. Maybe I did.

  Oh yeah. Lover boy was going to be livid.

  “You don’t have to tell me. I know he is going to chop me to pieces the first chance he gets. I’m hoping that breaking you out will earn me some brownie points, or at least save my hide.”

  And keep him from going all ninja on my ass.

  She angled her head, studying me. “Why did you help me? Besides to save your own neck?”

  I shifted in my seat, thinking about how to answer the question. Why had I put my neck on the line for Angel? “Because I know what it is like to be locked up against your will. Let’s just say I’ve been in your shoes, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worse enemy, not even a mutant like you.”

  A flash of anger jumped in her blue eyes.