by Rivi Jacks
My eyes widen in shock as I look over at the Kihn’s lifeless body, watching the dark stain of blood on the carpet grow larger. I look up to meet Lucas’ dark, terrifying gaze.
“Get them out of here,” he orders with a growl and the next instant Hayes is scooping me up, carrying me out of the room into the hallway with Mateo, carrying Jeannie, right behind us. We stop just outside the door, and I look up into Ryan Hayes’ unreadable expression.
“Put me down,” I whisper. “Please.” I can’t seem to catch my breath.
His eyes settle on my face for a moment before he lowers my feet to the floor. I glance around on shaky legs as Ryan steps over to say something to Mateo, who continues to hold a very pale Jeannie in his arms.
I’m shocked no one is looking out of their rooms to see what’s happening. The sound of two women screaming should have brought people running.
“Are you hurt?” I ask, noticing Mateo seems in no hurry to put Jeannie down. Where is her boyfriend or maybe husband—the guy I’ve seen her with the last couple of days?
“No. I’m… okay.”
“We need to leave immediately.” I turn to see Lucas as he moves toward me, and I catch his nod to Hayes who at once turns and heads down the hallway. “Are you okay?” Lucas asks, his hands framing either side of my face, his silvered gaze fierce as it moves over me.
“Yes,” I whisper. “We’re not hurt.” My voice holds a slight quiver. I think I’m just now realizing how lucky we are to be okay. Lucas looks over at Mateo and Jeannie, and I follow his gaze as his hands move down to my shoulders. Jeannie looks shell-shocked.
“Hey.” He lifts his hand to grip my chin, tipping my face up. As if he’s satisfied with what he sees, he gives a quick nod. “Let’s go.” His hand moves to my arm, and before I realize his intention, he’s leading me down the hall toward the exit door to the stairwell.
“Wait!” I gasp. “We can’t just leave Jeannie here.”
“Sofie, we need to go. Now,” he says firmly as he continues with me in tow.
“Lucas,” —I pull against his hold— “I am not leaving until I make sure she’s going to be okay. She saved me from the Kihn, and I will not leave her to fend for herself—”
Lucas stops abruptly and the anger that rolls off him silences me. “I am not leaving her unprotected,” he snaps. “And you are leaving with me right now,” he growls between clenched teeth, his eyes flashing dangerously. “You can walk, or I can throw you over my shoulder and carry you out of here—it makes no difference to me which way you go.” His tone is sharp.
My mouth drops open. Of all the—
Without warning, he hauls me up against his chest as a muscle leaps ominously along his jawline. “She’ll be safe. Now we need to leave in case that Kihn was not alone.”
I swallow nervously, glancing back the way we came and then back to the way we’re headed. The thought of confronting another Kihn is not something I’m prepared to deal with again this day. I agree that we need to get the hell out of this place.
My hands rest on his chest as I look up into his glittering eyes, and I give a quick nod. “I’ll walk.” I lift my chin to let him know I don’t appreciate his high-handedness, but this is not the time to set him straight.
I can walk, or he can carry me! He needs to stop threatening me with that option.
I step back and turn, heading toward the stairwell. Looking back, I catch his grin, and my eyes narrow at him.
A man I’ve never seen before opens the fire escape door for us. “Hayes is waiting out front sir, and Mr. Racine has an escort waiting for you.”
An escort?
We continue down the stairwell with Lucas’ hand at my elbow, guiding me, which I’m grateful for since my legs are still shaky. As we cross the lobby, Jonas Weber joins us.
“Lucas, I have everything set up. The team will be heading out within the hour.”
“Good. Keep me informed of what you find.” Lucas suddenly pulls me to a stop and aside to Jonas Weber he says, “Please see to the young woman upstairs with Losa.” I don’t think I mistake the significant look Lucas gives him.
“I will. Have a safe flight.” Jonas Weber gives me a nod, and I see a hint of a smile.
We’re leaving? I look up at Lucas. “Lucas—”
He shakes his head. “Not now,” he says softly.
The Range Rover is parked right outside the doors with the one Mateo and Ryan have been driving parked in front of it with another SUV parked close behind it. Lucas opens the Range Rover’s door for me, and I slide in. He leans over me buckling my seatbelt, tugging the strap to make sure it’s secure.
“Can Jonas erase Jeannie’s memory of the Kihn? I thought only you and Max could do that.”
His eyes meet mine briefly. “Yes.” And then he’s shutting me in.
Does his yes mean that Jonas can compel people too or that only Lucas and Max can?
As we head out, I stare at the passing scenery. The silence between us lengthens as I think back to what just happened. That was one of the scariest things to ever happen to me. Even the night in the tunnel wasn’t as frightening or the two episodes at the McNish. There was an incident in one of the nightmares I’d had as a child that came close—I rub my arm in memory of that one—but this was the worst. I unconsciously release a shuddering breath.
“Tell me,” he says in a quiet voice.
I look at him as he stares straight ahead, his eyes on the road. “I saw the Kihn in the lobby about the same time he saw me. Thinking about it now—he was as surprised as I was—he could see that I saw him for what he was. That’s why I had time to get clear of him.” I frown recalling the moment of recognition in the Kihn’s eyes.
I shudder slightly, quickly reaching to turn up the heat as a cover, knowing Lucas doesn’t miss much. I don’t need him asking questions, I have enough questions of my own. Do all the Kihn know who I am?
I take a deep breath, looking back out the window as we enter the town of Jackson, feeling Lucas’ eyes on me.
“What I’d like to know is why the hell you went to the third floor, why didn’t you go back to the room?”
“Because at first I was terrified. The Kihn was right behind me, and I wanted to put distance between us.” When I look at him, he’s shaking his head as if in disbelief.
“Sometimes, Sofie—”
“Sometimes what, Lucas?” I snap.
“If you had just stayed in the room—as I told you to—none of this would have happened,” he growls. I take immediate issue with his tone.
“What was Louisa doing at the lodge?” I feel a small sense of satisfaction when he quickly looks my way.
“I don’t know why she was there.”
I snort softly. “Oh, I know why she was there.” He looks at me again.
“Sofie, I did not invite her. She and Lena Racine have been friends for years.”
I look at him in shock. “Were you sleeping with them at the same time?”
He slams on the brakes, and I instinctively reach for the dash. Ryan doesn’t realize we’ve stopped and drives on, but the squealing tires behind us has me tensing up. Thankfully, the driver gets the vehicle stopped in time. I look at Lucas, and the anger on his face has me suddenly wanting to be in the car up ahead with Ryan.
“Not. Another. Word,” He says in a deceptively quiet voice, his silvery eyes blazing with anger.
“O-kay,” I say. We sit in the middle of the street with the honking of car horns surrounding us as he continues to glare. With an angry set to his jaw, he turns his attention back to the road and accelerates, soon catching up to Ryan who has pulled over waiting for us.
“You’re the one who said you had dark relationships with women,” I murmur just to set the record straight.
I notice his fingers
tighten on the steering wheel. He turns to look at me again with an exasperated expression before sighing deeply, but he doesn’t reply further.
I know I shouldn’t antagonize him, but I think I’m having some type of reaction to the shock of what I just went through. I just faced possible death or—whatever the Kihn have in store for me once they do manage to— I shake off the fear I feel when I contemplate what the Kihn want with me.
I need to pull myself together.
Taking a deep breath I say, “Sawyer will be pissed he missed all that with the Kihn.” Glancing at Lucas, I think I see a hint of a smile on his lips before he reaches for my hand, raising it to his lips. “Can I ask about what you did to the Kihn back there?”
He gives me a quick glance. “You can.”
Not sure if he means I can ask—but that doesn’t mean he’ll answer—I push on nonetheless. That’s one of my stronger suits.
“What did you do to him?” When he doesn’t reply I add, “You separated his head from his body. How can you do that without a weapon?”
Lucas doesn’t respond as he keeps his attention on the road, but I notice his jaw clench. I turn to watch the passing scenery, not really seeing it as my thoughts return to the events of the morning.
We’re soon at the Jackson Hole Airport, and once again, we drive directly to the plane. Ryan circles around and we pull in right behind him. I unbuckle my seatbelt and reach for the door handle.
Lucas takes hold of my wrist, and I look over to meet his eyes, his expression pensive. “Sofie—there are some things… I can’t tell you,” he says slowly, his eyes searching mine before he smiles a little ruefully. “And knowing you, I’m sure that makes you want answers that much more.”
“Can’t or won’t tell me?”
“Both,” he says firmly, looking down as he rubs his thumb over the inside of my wrist which causes me to suck in a soft breath. His eyes flash back to mine with a knowing gleam he doesn’t bother to hide. “There are… things about me that I may never reveal to you.” He frowns and slowly shakes his head. “Facts that I’m afraid you can’t handle,” he murmurs.
His honesty and vulnerability reveal more to me than he’ll ever know. I take hold of his warm hand and bring it to my face, placing it against my cheek. “Nothing you ever tell me will scare me away. I’m not afraid of you, or what you are, you have to know that by now,” I say softly, noticing the guarded look in his eyes.
He cups my cheek, and I turn my face to place a kiss on his palm. Tipping his head to the side, he gives me his crooked smile. “It’s a risk I’m not willing to take with you, my sweet.”
There’s a shout and we both look over toward the plane. “Wait here until I come for you,” he orders, all vulnerability gone as he exits the vehicle.
With a sharp exhale, I sit back in the seat. Sure thing, Mr. Bossy.
I watch the activity outside as Ryan and a couple of men I don’t know move around the cars. Are the unknown men the escort provided by Mr. Racine? I wonder if they’re going back to Sweetwater with us. I know I’m more than ready to be safely back home.
I’m starting to regret my impulsiveness earlier. We were having such a good morning. A pre-dawn hot air balloon ride was a helluva date. The whole trip has been wonderful even if it did get off to a rocky start. Oh no—my new dress! We’d left everything behind, and I would never get to wear the beautiful dress again. Lucas’ gift was so thoughtful, and I’m sad at the loss.
My door opens, and Lucas holds out his hand. I look up into his enigmatic expression, and when I take his hand, he pulls me from the SUV.
“Are you mad at me?” I ask peering up at him.
His eyebrow lifts. “Would it do any good if I were?”
I know that I should let his rhetorical question go, but I just can’t. “Are you being a smart-ass?” I ask before I think better of it.
His eyebrow shoots up even higher. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” There must truly be something perverse within me that enjoys getting a rise out of him. Maybe it’s because I know he gets little opposition in his life, and that’s just not good for anyone.
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t,” he says dryly as he places a man’s jacket over my shoulders. I have a moment to wonder whose jacket, and then I smell his unique scent on the fabric.
As he leads me toward the jet, I have a chance to look it over. Even with my lack of airplane knowledge, I can see that this one is a beauty. It was too dark the night we flew in for me to appreciate the sleek lines and I now see that there’s something emblazoned on the tail of the aircraft—
“Watch your step,” Lucas cautions as we reach the plane.
I look back before ascending to the plane. It’s a cross, one of those embellished ones, and its blood red color boldly stands out against the pristine whiteness of the jet. When Sawyer, Sam, and I were kids, Jake read The Three Musketeers to us and then we spent a summer living by the motto: all for one and one for all. We read everything we could get our hands on of the time period the story was set in. I’ve seen that cross in some of that reading material. I think it’s a Cross of Saint James, but I don’t have time to study it further as we climb the steps. The pilot Bill Thompson, introduced on our previous flight, waits at the top. I give him a smile, which he promptly returns.
“Bill, I want us out of here as soon as possible,” Lucas says firmly.
“I’m working on it, Boss. Shouldn’t be long now.”
Lucas leads me to one of the chairs near the back of the cabin. As I settle into my seat, I notice the door closing and that Ryan and one other guy are the only ones flying back home with us. At the very last second, before the door completely closes, Mateo squeezes through.
“Do you need something to drink?” Lucas asks. “You must be hungry.”
I shake my head, turning my attention to him. “No, thank you.”
He suddenly grips my hand and pulls me up from my seat into his arms, his mouth coming down on mine. This takes me by surprise, and I have a moment to consider the myriad of emotions I feel emanating from him. His kiss is passionate, fierce as he holds my head between his two large hands. Ending the kiss, his eyes glitter down into mine as I sway slightly. “I’m not sure how much more of you scaring the hell out of me I can take,” he growls. With that said, he abruptly releases me, turning to stride toward the front of the plane. His confession and kiss have left me disoriented and breathless, and I sit before I fall.
After we’re in the air, the flight attendant Mike brings me a glass of orange juice and a sandwich. No doubt Lucas’ decision that I do need something to eat and drink. I’m at once thirsty, and my mouth waters seeing the sandwich. It doesn’t take me long to scarf it all down and afterward, I feel more relaxed. I recline my seat getting comfortable as I pick up the magazine Mike brought with my food.
I’ve read the magazine from cover to cover when I look up to see Lucas walking back to join me. My smile falters, however when I see the determined look in his eyes.
I straighten my seat to sit upright as Lucas sits in the one facing me. Leaning forward, he looms over me.
Is he trying to intimidate me?
“I wondered where you were,” I say, trying to gauge his mood.
“There were some things I needed to take care of.”
I search his eyes. “What’s up?” I know something is, it’s plain to see in his expression.
“Sofie.” His voice is resolute, forceful even. “I want to know what your connection is with the Kihn.”
Oh, shit.
I glance to the front of the cabin where the others sit.
“Don’t look at them—look at me,” Lucas commands. “Now, Sofie.”
I inhale sharply and bite my lip as my hands ball into fists. I don’t want to do this. I know I need to, and ther
e’s something deep down inside of me that desperately wants to tell Lucas and let him take it on—as he’s offered to do more than once—but it goes against every rule I’ve ever set for myself concerning the Kihn. And at the top of that list is the rule to never dwell on them or what I went through as a child. It’s just too painful, and there’s no way I can tell him without telling him everything. “Please, Lucas,” I plead softly, shaking my head.
His expression remains unmoved by my plea. “I’m sorry, my sweet, but I’ve let this go on far too long as it is,” he says, his resolve unwavering.
My eyes search his as I frantically fight the panic that’s rising within me.
“Sofie” —his voice gentles— “we’re landing soon and we’re not getting off this plane until you explain what the hell is going on between you and the Kihn.”
My breath stills as a hard knot forms in the pit of my stomach. I wrap my arms around my middle, suddenly feeling cold.
“I know you’re afraid.” His voice is raspy as he leans closer, pulling my arms from around my waist, holding my hands in his warm ones. “But you have to know, I’ll never let any harm come to you.”
I pull my hands free, placing them back in my lap. “I—I’m not afraid.”
Hell no, I’m not afraid. I’m terrified. This realization shocks me. Shocks me because I need to be anything but terrified, for that’s tantamount to weak and helpless. And that’s another one of my rules concerning the Kihn. I promised myself that I would never do weak and helpless again where they were concerned. Ever.
As I’m working this out, Lucas studies me impassively. Finally, he asks, “Why won’t you trust me?”
My eyes flash to his. What I see there causes my stomach muscles to clench. Pain—before he quickly hides it.
“Lucas,” I breathe his name. I sit forward and move to crawl onto his lap. He hesitates a moment, and then his arms go around me. I snuggle against him. “I do trust you.”