28. Raegan

Chapter twenty-eight

Raegan

It’s not every day you see a man you think you’re falling in love with cutting off the head of your enemy. I try not to think about the sound the metal made against bone, and shiver, anyway. Is it any more disgusting than breaking someone down from the inside out? No. Is the sound going to still spring up out of nowhere to give me nightmares in my future?

Probably.

As soon as he’s done, I call out his name. I need to see his face. To look upon my shadow and savior. My nightmare and hero.

He turns. His face and neck are covered in blood. His hood dropped from his head at some point, so his black hair is exposed and disheveled. I’d put money down that there’s blood in that, too, but his hair does just as well as his hoodie and pants at hiding it.

I’ll need a closer look if I’m going to find and assess his injuries.

His expression is serene, and that’s what worries me most when I look at him. He’s just brutally killed a man, and I know he’s hurting from that first attack Thorne threw at him. But one wouldn’t know it by looking at his face. It’s like he’s above all of that and is now content with all that’s happened, as if it had all gone to plan.

“Jack,” I say again when he doesn’t move more than that. His deep blue eyes snap to mine. Then they run over my body, like they’re seeking any injury or if I need anything. I was able to get one ankle free during the fight, but I’m not going to lie. I stopped everything I was doing when Jackson turned the tables on Thorne.

He takes a step toward me, and then he flinches, and his face tightens.

Shit. He’s really hurt.

I bend forward to try working on my other ankle.

“Let me.” His husky voice is even lower than usual, but he’s crouched at my feet, so I hear him clearly all the same. Jackson takes the picks from my hands and gets to work on my ankle.

Copper fills my nose at his proximity, and I have to take a slow breath through my mouth to keep from gagging. Is it from Thorne or…?

My fingers move on instinct to the back of Jackson’s hoodie while he’s bent over my foot. I lift them up after a simple touch of his saturated hoodie, knowing the moment I make contact that it’s his blood. I stare at the bright red liquid on my fingers.

This is bad.

His head pops up to look toward the wall, and his eyes narrow. “They’re coming,” he tells me right before focusing back on my ankle.

I mentally curse that we don’t have more time. I shouldn’t be surprised with all the noise likely coming from this room between him and Thorne. Or had they watched it all through some cameras to wait for a victor before coming in?

“Got it.” Jackson directs my foot out of the cuff. He uses his gift, I think, to help himself stand because I feel a soft breeze around my legs when he does so. His fingers rub against the collar, and his lips purse. “I’ll get this off once we’re hidden somewhere. We need to get out of here first. Can you use your gift?”

I close my eyes and reach for it, seeking that burning sensation in my gut that usually jumps at the chance to be used, but the container there is still empty. My eyes open. He nods like he can read the answer in them.

He takes my hand and guides me to one of the large windows. There’s something small in the grasp of his other hand, but it fits in it so well that I can’t really tell what he’s holding. Only that there’s a small metal point sticking out from one side that he pounds into the window. Cracks spider from the impact, but they’re small and tight. He does it again and again, and the cracks widen and spread until my hair flies about while he brings his gift into play and the window shatters.

Jackson knocks a few more bits of glass away to give us a wide enough opening. We’re still a few stories off the ground, though, so I’m not sure how he plans on us getting down there with him injured as much as he is.

He uses his gift to swing me up into his arms, and then he gives the barest of grunts when my weight settles into him. I hate that he has to do this, but I don’t see another way out.

The door to the meeting room opens. My eyes lock with Gordon’s a second before Jack jumps out the window, and we sail down to the top of a palm tree. We hop a few more times before he brings us to the ground.

Jackson’s knees buckle as soon as his feet hit the ground, and I drop onto his thighs. I scramble off of him so I’m not weighing him down any longer, then turn to help him up. His jaw is tight, and there’s sweat sliding down the side of his face. His eyes are glazed, and he blinks rapidly. He’s going to fucking pass out.

I hurriedly check around us for somewhere to hide and find a shed maybe a hundred steps away. About a hundred too many, but it’s the only option to give me the time I need to get this damn collar off. If I can get my gift back, we'll still have a fighting chance.

I duck under Jack’s arm and try to lift him, but it takes him putting weight back on his feet before I can get him standing again. It’s not just his weight, but the weight of all the weapons he carries on him. Speaking of, I slide a hand under his hoodie and snag a knife for myself to hold in my other hand in case we run into any surprises, so I’m not completely unarmed.

Technically, so long as I’m close to Jackson, I have my own armory. I’m just nowhere near as good at using them as I need to be to go up against an entire island.

“Boat…” Jackson manages out roughly after a couple of steps.

I keep us moving and shake my head. “We won’t make it. We’ll barricade ourselves in here long enough for me to get this stupid collar off and let you rest.”

The building we landed on was in the middle of the island. The docks are at least a mile away, and I have no idea which side of the island we’re on after flying out the window.

The arm I have wrapped around his lower back is covered in blood where it’s touching him, and I panic that he may not make it at all without medical help soon. We can’t hide out for long without risking his life.

And being on a boat in the middle of the ocean? I have no idea what direction to travel to get back to land or how long it would take.

I chew on my bottom lip for any scenario that doesn’t end up with Jackson losing his life.

Then it hits me. Medical supplies. They have to have some sort of medical room or supplies here on this island if anyone were to get hurt. If I can get us there and patch him up a bit, then it’ll give us more time.

I just…have to find it. And not let them find us in the process.

His weight suddenly doubles, and I stumble, catching us both with shaking knees as I struggle to keep us vertical. “Jack! Jack, please, don’t pass out. We’re almost there. Just a few more steps.”

It’s more like twenty, but he forces his eyes open and takes another step forward. I keep pace with him, encouraging him quietly as we go to make sure he doesn’t lose consciousness.

I reach out to the door handle as soon as it’s in reach and breathe a sigh of relief when it turns. Thank fuck it isn’t locked. I help Jack inside, getting him comfortable before his eyes close, and I know he’s out.

Should I leave him here and bring back what I find? What if they find him here while I’m gone, completely alone and defenseless ?

I curse and start working on barricading the door. This is the only building nearby from where we dropped, so it’s only a matter of time before they search here. It really wasn’t the best option for us to go to, but it was the only one we had where we could have some sort of defensible position.

I pull the lock-picking tools from my pocket and start feeling around the collar for the keyhole.

I bite back a scream of frustration when I find that it’s at the back of my neck. It’s a super inconvenient location for me to work on, not to mention uncomfortable. I stick the tools in anyway and get to work. It feels like I’m doing everything backward, which means the tools slip and fall out of position more often than not. The fact that I know we’re on a ticking clock doesn’t help my patience or control.

My arms ache painfully as time passes, and I’m nowhere closer to getting the damn thing removed. But I refuse to take a break. I’m our only hope, so I can’t give up or stop trying. There will be time to rest after we get through this.

Electricity buzzes through the collar in an instant, and every muscle in my body seizes. My hands unwillingly grip the collar as the shock thrusts through my entire body. It’s over in seconds, but I drop to the dusty wood floor in a heap, my body still twitching and tingling.

I’ve been shocked before, so I know instantly what this is, but that knowledge does shit-all to help me do anything about it. My body suddenly feels weak and numb, and it’s slow to respond to any direction I’m trying to give it. Not to mention that my neck feels like it’s on fire, and my entire nervous system is screaming in pain .

“Oh good, you do still have it on.”

Panic lodges in my throat, and my body freezes. It’s Gordon’s voice talking from above me. They not only found me, but they’re already inside.

Jack!

I force my arms to move. To push myself off the ground and to look at the man who single-handedly brought me to ruin six years ago. The man of my nightmares. I finally make it to my knees and look up at him. He’s smiling down at me like a master recovering his lost pet.

It brings me back to the girl I was under his control. Like I’m sixteen again and powerless against him. Small. Worthless. Alone.

But I’m not alone now, am I?

I tear my eyes away from Gordon to make sure Jackson is untouched in the corner behind me. He’s still unconscious to the world, which means it’s up to me to get us out of this.

Gordon grabs my jaw and jerks my face to look back at him with a snarl. “Look at me!” His tongue clicks as he looks me over. “You’re even more useless now than when I first had you. Might not even be worth the effort.”

“Then just kill her, and let’s get off this shitty island.” Vera steps into view behind Gordon. She looks at Jackson with cold eyes before returning to me. “The other one’s dead anyway. Kill her and leave ’em both here for someone else to clean up.”

“Enough, Vera. I’m taking her back with us. I’m sure her training will kick back in once she’s separated from the others again. I refuse to let my invested time with her in the past be a waste. ”

I smack his hand away from my face. He scowls, and Vera’s smirk intensifies. “I’d rather die than go back with you. Take this collar off and let me fight you to show you I’m not that scared little girl anymore. If I win, then you let us off the island. If you win, then you’ll take us with you and get Jack to a doctor. He’s worth more to you alive than dead.”

I’m making this up as I go, but all that matters is protecting Jackson. Even if they have him, too, I know he’ll be okay. They won’t be able to hold him for long, and at least he’ll get treated first. My chances against Gordon are pretty slim, but it’s a chance I’m willing to take rather than give in. Kellan’s taught me a lot in the months I’ve been with them, and I’d rather go down fighting.

“You bring her back, and I’ll kill her,” Vera snaps to Gordon. “She owes me her life.”

Gordon frowns at her. “Are we going to have a problem?”

The sound of feet pounding on sand draws all of our attention to the opening of the shed. I stand and move in front of Jackson on instinct. Two others I don’t recognize are already standing in front of the shed, blocking me in with Gordon and Vera, but they aren’t the ones coming this way.

“Raegan!”

I startle at the deep voice that I’d recognize anywhere. How did he find me? Kellan, Aiden, Dane, and the teleporting guy—Reid—all stop a few paces back from the shed.

“Vera!” Dane shouts when he sees his sister in the shed.

Aiden looks at me with a pinched brow. I’m probably covered in blood, but none of it is mine. His gaze moves past me to Jackson, and his face tightens further as he realizes the predicament we’re in.

“Holt,” Gordon says in a bored tone. The man in front of the shed steps forward and raises his hand to the sky.

I watch the second they all look up before lightning crashes down on each of them. They fall to the ground when he doesn’t let up, the electricity turning their muscles to jelly and keeping them from moving or fighting against it.

“Stop! You’ll kill them!” I rush at Gordon and grab his arm to turn him to look at me when he ignores me. He’s grinning until he’s forced to look at me, and then it drops to a smirk. “Make him stop. Please .” I know how much he likes begging, and I’ll do anything right now.

Gordon snickers like he’s won something. “Ah, good to see you haven’t forgotten everything. Holt, that’s enough.”

The lightning stops, but all the guys are still twitching and lie immobile on the ground.

Vera’s watching Dane with an unreadable expression, and I wonder if she would have tried to stop it for her brother or if she would have just watched him die without feeling anything.

“Let them go,” I plead, my brain scrambling to figure out what I can even offer him for their freedom.

“And why would I do that?” Gordon asks.

“New deal,” I begin hurriedly, my voice breathless in my rush to keep his attention and somehow turn this in our favor. “We’ll trade. Vera doesn’t want to be around me anyway, so me for her. You let her go home with them, and I’ll come with you.” He doesn’t look convinced so I add, “Willingly. I won’t try to run or escape. I’ll stay with you and do your training or whatever you want, so long as Vera is with them.”

“No!” Kellan shouts from outside. He and the others have crawled back up. Some on their knees with Aiden working to stand. “Fight him, beautiful. Don’t just hand yourself over.”

He doesn’t know that my gift is blocked, but it doesn’t matter. Even with that, I can’t touch Gordon. Not if he doesn’t want me to. I’d never win against him.

I ignore him and lock my gaze with Gordon’s. He likes that I didn’t answer Kell and that I’m keeping my focus on him. Even if he doesn’t like me looking him in the eyes, it’s enough that I see him considering my offer.

No running away. No trying to escape. No trying to kill him to get away.

The perfect pet.

It’s everything he could want. He just has to give up Vera and the guys.

Gordon looks over to Vera, who gapes at him. “Are you serious?”

He gives her a look. “Don’t you want to spend some time with your dear brother again? Without her around?”

Vera shoots a glance my way and then over the other side to Dane. Then back to Gordon. “Yes.”

“Good. I like this deal. It’s a waste to kill gifted folks, and I’ll be leaving with what I came to this awful island for.”

I plaster a fake smile on for his benefit, even though my insides are twisting with panic at what I’ve done. He probably thinks he’ll brainwash me enough to get Vera back in the end, anyway. This deal will get me, and once he sinks his claws back in, he can do whatever he pleases from there.

He holds out his hand. I don’t hesitate to take it. I have to show him that I’m all in on this deal. Because if anything happens to the guys or Vera leaves them, then the deal is off. I’ll uphold my end of the deal so long as he does his.

His fingers wrap tightly around my hand, and he turns to walk us to the opening of the shed. The other two step aside to let us through.

Kellan and Aiden lunge forward to try grabbing me, but lightning strikes down and immobilizes them.

I start toward them on instinct, but Gordon’s grip on my hand tightens painfully. “He’ll release them as soon as the rest of us are through. So don’t dawdle, or their brains will be piles of mush for taking too long.”

The woman who’d been standing in front of the shed waves her hand at the air before us. It shifts and darkens in a long oval in the air.

A portal.

I always wondered how he popped in and out of places so easily.

We step up to it, and I look back at each of the guys for one last look. One last memory of how they all came for me. Dane’s eyes are wide, and he’s slowly shaking his head at me to avoid drawing the lightning guy’s attention to him. He’s urging me to stop. Not to go.

Even with the promise of his sister returning home to him, he doesn’t want me to do this. And it breaks my heart that I have to leave so soon after what he and I just went through together. But this is for the best.

Tears brim my eyes, and I smile softly at him. This is his chance with Vera. I promised him I’d do everything I could to bring her back, and this is as far as I can go. Now, it’s up to him to bring the sister we all knew and loved before back.

I pull my gaze from him as a single tear falls. And then I walk through the portal and leave the life I knew behind.