Page 25 of What Remains

I cut deeper.

Three.

Blood is now on my hands.

I vaguely hear Zoey quietly calling out my name in warning to hurry.

Four.

Four and a half.

Four and three-fucking-quarters.

I angle my head, leaning forward so my breath is on his skin, and my eyes are the last thing he sees before I hit five. “Enjoy Hell.” I make the final cut to kill him.

“Easton.” Not Zoey this time. Gwen.

My name from her lips snaps me back to the room. To the present. To her.

I toss the knife and swipe the blood from my palms onto my pants. Rolling off his body, I land on my knees in front of her.

She’s rattled. Shaking hard. Teeth clicking together. Staring at his dead body as I carefully urge her forward so I can get to whatever’s holding her arms back.

I quickly untie the ropes binding her wrists.

“Hurry,” Zoey calls out from the doorway, continuing to cover us.

Yeah, well, first things first. “Are you okay?” I’m careful not to touch her knees, which are pinned to her chest.

For a heartbeat, it’s August all over again, and I’m back in that hospital waiting for her to wake up.

When she finally looks at me, shock clouds her pupils. “E—Easton?” she sputters. My name is even more ragged on her lips this time. A half plea, half anchor. “You’re really here?”

“I am. It’s me, and I’ve got you.” I desperately want to pull her onto my lap and hold her, but we don’t have time. “One second.” I reach out for her jumpsuit, but when I face her again, I realize her ankles are cuffed and I won’t be able to get this thing on.

What’d he do, strip her, then re-tie her? If only I had more time to torture him.

“Are you hurt?” I ask again since she never answered the first time. “Did he . . .?”

She shakes her head no. “You got here in time.”

Relief hits hard and fast in a way I don’t know how to describe, but I temper the emotion when I remember we’re still in danger.

I turn to the side, briefly meeting Zoey’s eyes and getting a We’re short on time look. I locate the key to uncuff her on the table and grab it.

As I free her ankles, she begins to sob.

I have to hold her now. No way around that. I need to feel her heart beating against mine.

I shift to my ass and guide her on top of me. She doesn’t even hesitate. Lifting my eyes to the ceiling so she can lock her legs around me, I flatten her body to mine and wrap her up in my arms, resting my chin on her head.

A round pops off from out in the hall, and when she shudders against me, I tangle my fingers in her damp hair as I keep a tight hold of her for as long as I can.

My other hand skates gently up her bare back to check for lashes, and I find none. Thank God. “We, uh, should probably get going.” Should already be on the run, in fact. “More will come once they realize we’re here.”

Jezebel’s paranoia about being hacked is our saving grace in having no eyes on us now, but someone is bound to stumble on the bodies soon.

Keeping one hand at the center of her back to steady her, I search around for where I dropped the jumpsuit and grab it. “Are you able to stand? To put this on? Or do you need me to help you?”