Creating the vivid details of the scene made Logan’s stomach turn and his head pound. He could barely think of Hope in those terms—dead and rotting in a ditch—but he did what was necessary to protect her, no matter how disturbing he found it.

Chapter 22

Hacksaw’s head pounded. He was barely able to stay on the road long enough to drive home. His eyes kept losing focus. His arms felt weak and heavy.

He walked into the master’s home, ashamed that he’d failed.

Hacksaw fell to his knees before the master’s throne. He bowed his head in shame. He didn’t dare look up. “The woman and her friend are dead.”

“You failed.”

“I’m sorry, Master.”

“How did they die?”

“I . . . shot them. They tried to escape. I had no choice.”

“Where are their bodies?”

Hacksaw looked up, startled that he hadn’t considered to at least bring that much of an offering. “I . . .” He couldn’t think of a single excuse for why he’d forgotten such an obvious thing.

The master’s tongue flicked out over his teeth. “You didn’t bring them?”

His head pounded. He was weaving on his knees, barely able to stay upright. His failure was making him sick, but he deserved every bit of suffering. “No, Master. But I’ll go back and get them now.”

“Come here,” ordered the master.

Hacksaw pushed himself to his feet. He shuffled forward, his legs too heavy to lift.

“You smell of deception. Why is that?”

“I’d never lie to you, Master.”

The master grabbed him by the throat and dragged him forward, forcing him to look into his eyes. Hacksaw couldn’t breathe, but he accepted his punishment, refusing to struggle. His life belonged to the master and he could do with it as he willed.

The master’s hand pressed to the side of Hacksaw’s head. He had only three fingers, but each one burned like fire. It felt like they were gouging into Hacksaw’s skull, drilling into his brain.

What little light there was in the throne room began to fade. A sense of failure weighed down on Hacksaw, driving tears from his eyes.

He’d displeased the master. He’d been chosen and he’d failed.

His legs went numb. Blood dripped down the side of his head. Images exploded in his mind only to be pulled from him.

The master shoved him away. Blood coated his fingers as if they’d been dipped in it.

Hacksaw lay crumpled on his side, unable to move.

The edges of his vision were fading, but he saw the master give a wave of permission to the demons beside him. “Eat him.”

The demons approached, their yellow saliva glowing as it dripped from their jaws.

Hacksaw craned his neck to see past them. He wanted the master’s face to be the last thing he saw before he died.

The mess Krag’s minions had made of Hacksaw was impressive in its enthusiasm. Not that he minded. They’d clean it up before they were finished feeding on his remains, licking every last drop of blood from the concrete floor.

Maybe he needed a rug to cover the stain. Of course that would last only until the next human failed him.

Though Hacksaw’s failure hadn’t been complete. The memory of the girl’s death had been planted by a fucking Sanguinar, but after rummaging through Hacksaw’s mind, the means to find her was also now clear.

The Sentinels would have no doubt hidden her already. Krag would have done the same thing. The trick was going to be drawing her out of hiding so he could find out what made her special—why she appeared, glowing in his mind as if calling to him. Thanks to Hacksaw, he knew just how to do it.

Hope held on to Jodi’s hand while Logan drove like a bat out of hell. Both Nicholas and Jodi were still unconscious, though Jodi had been making some noises that indicated she might start coming around. Nicholas wasn’t so lucky. He was pale and way too still.

Hope tried to keep Jodi’s head from sloshing around as Logan took the next hard turn. “Where are we going?”

“A Gerai house. We’ll be safe here for now. We need a place to rest. And we need a place to talk.”

“About what?”

His pale eyes met hers in the rearview mirror. “Not now.”

Because he was focusing on not sending them flying off the road, Hope let it go. A few minutes later, they pulled up in front of a pristine home well off the main road. It was surrounded by trees, with so much land between it and every other home she couldn’t even see any neighbors.

“I’ll unlock the house and carry them inside. If you could see to lighting a fire, that would be nice.”

“Are you cold?”

“I used quite a bit of power tonight.” He said it as if that answered her question.

“Sure. I’ll make some coffee, too.”

“Thank you.”

Logan slipped out of the car and had the front door open in a few seconds. Hope waited until he came back for Jodi before she slipped inside and lit the fire. Everything was already laid out, ready to go. All she had to do was light the newspapers crumpled under some kindling.

By the time she had coffee brewing, Logan had settled Nicholas and Jodi in separate beds and was warming his hands by the fire.

Hope found the thermostat and kicked it up a couple of degrees, then went and sat on the couch. “You said we needed to talk.”

He didn’t turn around when he spoke, but she could see by the rigid set of his shoulders that he wasn’t pleased. “I touched that man’s mind. I saw what he’s seen. I think I know where your friend Rory is. It’s not good news.”

Hope held back her worry, refusing to let it loose until she heard him out. “Where?”

“That man, Leonard, is controlled by a Synestryn. I don’t know where his nest is, but what I do know is that Leonard had recently seen a woman with dyed pink hair and bright pink high-tops. It could be someone else, but that seems a bit of a stretch.”

Shock shielded Hope from that news, insulating her from the fear she knew would settle in at any moment. “You think he saw Rory?”

“It’s likely.”

“Do you think he was taking Jodi to wherever she is?”

“Also likely.”

For a second, she wished Logan hadn’t interfered. If he hadn’t, maybe they would have found Rory. Maybe. Then again, they could all have died, too.

Logan frowned as if reading her thoughts. “We’ll find her. Nicholas and I will go after her as soon as possible.”

“I want to help.”

“That’s out of the question. Your safety is too important to risk.”

“And yours isn’t?”

He lifted a black brow. “I have superpowers, and apart from your sudden bursts of strength, I’m not aware of you having the same. Do you?”

Hope almost mentioned her ability to see auras, but she wondered if Logan and his kind would want to study her or something. She couldn’t afford to be locked away, kept from stopping whomever was stealing souls from the street. No one else seemed worried enough to look for them. She had to do it herself. She didn’t have time for all the questions her ability would raise.

“Of course not,” she said, hoping she sounded convincing. “Don’t be silly.”

Logan pulled in a deep breath through his nose and eyed her skeptically. “You’re hiding something from me.”

“No, I’m not.”

He tilted his head, scrutinizing her. “You are. Which makes me intensely curious.”

“Stop worrying about me and tell me what we’re going to do to get Rory and the others back.”

A knowing smiled played about his lips, and the sudden desire to kiss him again had her breaking out in a sweat. Her dream of the two of them together came back hard and fast, making her thighs clench together in lust. She sat on her hands to keep them to herself and looked at a boring landscape painting on the far wall of the little house.

“There were other humans there, too. There’s only one way for me to know if they are among the missing as well.”

“And what way is that?”

“You’d have to let me see your thoughts, share your memories of them so I can compare those images to the ones I pulled from Leonard.”

His eagerness was almost palpable, which made warning bells ring loud and clear. “Assuming I let you do something like that, what’s to stop you from poking around where you’re not wanted to satisfy your intense curiosity?”

His smile widened to victorious proportions. “Nothing.”

“I don’t suppose you’d give me your word not to poke your brain into my business?”

“My dear, I find you far too compelling to resist. I’d never paint myself into such a corner. You’re the one who raised my suspicions. You’re going to have to live with the consequences of rousing my natural curiosity.”

While Hope loved the idea of having him inside her again, sharing her thoughts as they had in her dream, she also wasn’t sure just how much she wanted to reveal to him. She didn’t want him seeing her as more of a freak than he already did. She didn’t want anyone seeing that side of her.

“Fine,” she said. “We’ll stick with the assumption that wherever Rory is, so are the others.”

“Assumptions can be dangerous. Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?”

She scooted past him and stood, putting a little distance between them in an effort to help her think clearly. “While I appreciate you saving me, even your charm isn’t enough to get me to tell you my secrets.”

He rose, standing in front of her so she was right on eye level with his throat. “Ah. Then you do admit you have them.”

For a single, crazy moment, she wanted to kiss him there, right over the steady beat pounding in his veins. “I’m a woman. Of course I do. That’s my job.”

“And it’s mine to uncover those secrets.”

Nicholas staggered into the living room, filling the wide doorway.

Logan took a long step back, looking like a kid caught stealing a cookie.

Nicholas’s laser blue eyes glared in suspicion at Logan. “What’s going on?”

Hope suffered through a moment of confusion while she translated the macho-speak. Clearly, Nicholas didn’t like the idea of her being close to Logan, and it appeared as though Logan agreed it was wrong as well.

The idea that two men would decide what was right or wrong regarding her made her furious. This was her life. She may not have known exactly how old she was, but she knew she was a grown woman, completely capable of making her own decisions.

She decided to let them know loud and clear she was in control of her own life.

Hope stepped closer to Logan. He backed away. She followed him until he was close to the fire with nowhere else to run.

“Problem?” she asked sweetly.

Logan lifted his hands to his sides so they were in plain view. “What are you doing?” he asked her.

“I’d like to know that, too,” said Nicholas.

Hope looked at Logan’s eyes, then back to his mouth. His lips were a dark red, full, beautiful. She wanted to kiss him again so much it made her shake.