| |
Paige stared at the ceiling, aware that the crawl on her skin was more from the medication than any precognition. She didn’t want to close her eyes. When she closed her eyes, she was no longer safe, and just the thought of it sent her heart rate into a thumping beat.
The dark room did nothing to soothe her fears. If anything, the shadows drilled it farther into her bones. Hunter’s presence hung in the air, and just as her eyelids finally slid closed, his low malignant chuckle filled her ears.
Her eyes flew open to the darkness, and the monitor registered her high-speed heart beat.
“They won’t help you this time.” His voice caressed her skin like a dozen finely sharpened knives.
“You can’t touch me,” she whispered. She prayed both the talisman around her neck and the salt line around the bed that Tom had made before he rolled Austin out of the room would prevent Hunter from hurting her.
The temperature in the room dropped into the frigid zone, and she shivered.
“I brought a friend this time,” he said.
Her heart squeezed as the chair slid across the room and jammed under the doorknob, locking her in with the crazed ghost and locking out any chance for help.
“Why won’t you just go rot in hell,” Paige said through chattering teeth.
“Because I’m here to drag you there with me.” His form materialized in the room, solid enough to see his green eyes glaring in her direction before he shimmered and faded.
The air inside the room began to swirl like a building tornado, and the light from the hallway faded for a moment. The door handle jiggled but wouldn’t open with the way the chair was wedged. The nurse’s eyes appeared in the small window and they widened before she stepped away.
Paige tried to scream over the howling wind, but her voice was drowned by the screeching of equipment sliding across the floor. She glanced down at the salt line, and her heart thundered louder than the wind. Salt grains moved, thinning the line, and once it was breached, she knew Hunter and whomever he brought with him would do unspeakable things.
With each grain that trailed away, her level of fear increased until she found it difficult to draw a breath. The pounding on the door pulled her attention from the dwindling line of protection, and her gaze met Austin’s through the glass.
“Help me!”
Even though she knew he couldn’t hear over the storm in her room, he nodded and brought a phone to his ear.
Paige’s gaze blurred and she blinked the hot tears from her eyes. The last kernel of salt blew to the side, leaving a breach in her protection. The wind in the room silenced. Only her ragged breathing remained as she stared at Austin’s panicked gaze.
A hand wrapped around her throat, pulling her forwards. In the darkness, Hunter’s green eyes shimmered.
“I thought about letting them fuck you to death while lover boy watched, but I think it would tear him up more to see you bleed,” Hunter’s voice whispered in her ear. “And while I promised Max and the boys a good fucking if they came along, they will have to wait until I’m done with you.”
Paige didn’t have a chance to speak before Hunter hurled her across the room. The I.V. in her forearm tore out, leaving a painful gash, and the impact with the wall dazed her. Blood flowed from the cut and the pain from her previous beatings flared, drawing her breath in and locking the air in her chest.
Her gaze darted around the dark as she got to her hands and knees. Austin’s yell from the other side of the door sounded distant among the buzzing in her ears. Icy hands gripped her arms and lifted her off her feet, slamming her against the wall with such force, she let out a yelp.
“I want you in agony.” His voice pierced her, and then she was flying through the air again.
She hit the side of the bed and sent it crashing into the wall. The snap in her arm was as audible as the scream that came out of her lips. Cradling her broken and bleeding appendage, she tried to crawl into the corner, but cold hands dragged her back to the center of the floor before grasping her hair and pulling her to her knees facing the door.
Paige’s arm throbbed and tears blurred her vision, but she saw enough horror in Austin’s eyes to shatter her soul. The pain hadn’t reached the blackout level, but she knew Hunter wouldn’t let her get to that land of bliss.
The punch to her kidney pulled a scream from her, and she arched away from the pain. The grip on her hair released, and then the sting of a backhand sent her onto the ground again. She caught herself with her broken arm and cried out at the sharp pain radiating all the way to her shoulder. She fell face first into the tile.
Sobbing, she was making an attempt to get to her hands and knees when a foot connected with her side, spinning her onto her back. White spots filled her vision and a hand clasped her neck, lifting her off the ground before tossing her on the bed. She landed on her stomach across it, but even the soft mattress couldn’t absorb the pain of impact.
“Have at her, boys,” Hunter growled.
Hands rolled her onto her back and clawed at the hospital gown wrapped around her. Her attempts to wiggle away were futile. The ripping of fabric was shadowed by the slam of the door against the wall. All movement stopped as two figures stood side by side, backlit by the hall light.
Paige blinked at them and Austin beyond them along with the panicked night nurse.
“Let her go,” the voice in the doorway commanded.
Hunter laughed and his form materialized in the room. “You can’t stop us.”
Paige got a good look at the two men when they stepped closer. The door slammed behind them, but neither Tom nor the man next to him reacted.
“Hold that thought,” the man next to Tom said as he turned his gaze from Hunter to Paige.
White flared around her and she closed her eyes against the brightness while screams filled her ears. She curled onto her side and tried to cover both ears, but her broken arm would not cooperate. When the light faded along with the screams, she blinked her eyes open.
Both Tom and the stranger were engaged in a staring contest with Hunter as he rattled off some ancient hex.
It wasn’t until the man next to Tom smirked that recognition set in. CJ Ryan, the famous singer, was standing in her hospital room. He glanced in her direction as the thought barreled through her mind before he returned all his attention to the now solid form of Hunter Garrett.
Every last sharp object in the room rose from the floor and aimed in Paige’s direction. Hunter smiled in satisfaction as he snapped his fingers and they launched at her. Austin screamed in the background, but neither Tom nor CJ moved.
Paige covered her head, and the flair of white light engulfed the room. The heat from it brushed her skin, and Hunter’s angry bellow followed. She squinted into the light and swallowed hard at the sight of the white fire engulfing the ghost. Hunter fought it, but it overwhelmed him until nothing was left but dust. As the light faded, the dust blew in a small swirl before it disappeared altogether.
The door burst open, and Austin was across the room in seconds. Paige met his gaze as tears tumbled from her eyes, leaving hot streaks that pooled in her ears.
The nurse marched into the room and tried to move Austin away, but the glare he leveled in her direction made her hesitate.
“We’ll be taking her out of here,” CJ said as both he and Tom approached the bed. “For her safety,” he added when the nurse sent her sharp stare in his direction.
Paige focused on him and the way he stared down the nurse.
“You saw the assailant get away and had both Miss Turner and Mr. Shelton moved for their safety,” he whispered.
When the nurse blinked, nodded, and shuffled out of the room, CJ turned towards Paige. “Tom, you’ll need to carry her. I don’t think your friend is in any condition to do that.” He turned and walked out of the room.
Tom scooped her into his arms as gently as possible, and she leaned into his solid but soft frame, feeling safe for the first time since they had left home.
Austin smoothed her hair out of her face and glanced up at Tom. “Where are we going?”
“Back to the apartment,” CJ said from the doorway. “My wife is a doctor.”
Paige closed her eyes, grinding her teeth against the pain. Every step jostled her into the world of agony, and she pressed her lips against the sobs that begged to escape.
When Tom set her down in the car, the pain overwhelmed her and she let a whine escape. He offered her a sad smile and his eyes reflected the apology without words. Austin slid into the seat next to her. The slam of the trunk shook the car, and then CJ slid behind the wheel.
“You’re going to be okay,” Austin said as he pulled her against him.
“I’m not so sure,” Paige managed to whisper.
“They promised me you’d be okay,” he whispered in her ear. “And after what I just witnessed, I think they can make good on that promise.”
She glanced at him, but he was staring at the driver with such reverence that she smiled, despite the pain that caused in her cheeks.