I can feel it, the truth of his words branding into my flesh.
“Okay, I trust you.” I exhale, leaning against him.
I should probably get off of his lap…
As if sensing where my thoughts are heading, he loops his other arm around my waist.
“You should call Loki, too, when we stop at the payphone,” Blaine says, sounding strangely quiet. “You’ll need to think of something to tell him.”
“Maybe we should tell him the truth, just in case people show up at the house or something.” I frown, wondering if everyone I care about is in danger now. Maybe even the whole town of Honeyton. “And can someone please explain to me why the heck none of West’s neighbors got up to check on things? Even when Jay was squealing like a little bitch, no one even turned on their lights.”
“Because agents live in the apartments.” West starts massaging my feet.
I’d pull away, except all that running around barefoot made my feet hurt and the tickle of his fingers feels nice, even though it’s probably disgusting for him.
West traces the arch of my foot with his fingertip. “We’ll have a couple of members from Benton’s team check on Loki and Nik if we think it’s necessary.”
“Wait. Benton’s part of the team that Zhara’s with?” My lips part in shock. “Benton, the dude I went to school with?”
West nods amusedly. “I don’t know why you look so surprised. Blaine and I are dudes you went to school with, too.”
“I know, but …” I think about the one time I hung out with Benton and his friends. It was completely accidentally, and I ended up doing a lot of stupid shit. “Are his friends part of the team, too?”
West nods. “Yeah.”
“What about Jett?”
“Yeah.” West massages the balls of my feet, observing me closely. “Why?”
I shrug. “No reason.”
Blaine chuckles. “Oh yeah, I completely forgot about you and Jett—”
I pinch Blaine’s side. “You shush.”
“Ow,” Blaine whines through a soft laugh. “You’re ruthless, Lex. You really are.”
West’s gaze bounces back and forth between Blaine and me before ultimately landing on Blaine. “You sure you want to go with us? You can always back out. We can drop you off on the side of the road.”
Blaine nods. “I already said I was in.”
Tension builds around us, so potent I start to squirm.
“Yeah, but I want to make sure you’re not going to change your mind,” West says. “You do that a lot.”
“Like you fucking don’t,” Blaine retorts, shaking his head.
“All right, you two need a time out from each other.” I wiggle out from West’s arms and lower my feet from his lap, nudging him over so I can squeeze onto the seat between him and Blaise.
West mumbles something under his breath as he slightly scoots over, his legs and hips pressing against mine. Blaine makes no effort to give me more room either, but whatever. It’s better to be squished between them than listen to them bitch.
“Where are we going?” I ask. “I mean, after we stop at the payphone.”
West crosses his arms and lifts a shoulder, staring out the window. “We haven’t decided yet. We’ll probably want to move around for a bit before we settle anywhere.”
I grimace. “At least tell me we can stop somewhere and get a change of clothes. I don’t even have on any underwear or a bra, for crying out loud.”
Not the right thing to say, something I realize when Blaine and West glance at me. And by glance at me, I mean my chest area.
I fold my arms around myself, my cheeks flushing with heat. “Stop it.”
It takes Blaine a second, but eventually, he looks away, leaving only West who needs to turn his head. But instead, he sucks his bottom lip between his teeth as his gaze drops to my neck.
“You can still see where I bit you,” he whispers, brushing his fingers along my neck.
A shuddering breath rushes from my lips as his desire scorches through me.
This is going to get really old fast.
I think so anyway …
Okay, maybe it kind of feels good.
“You marked me.” My tone conveys a warning. “Don’t ever do it again.”
His brow curves up. “You sure you want me to follow that rule?”
I will myself to nod but end up sitting there and silently staring at him like an idiot.
When a smug smile tugs at his lips, I shake my head and narrow my eyes at him. His smile only broadens. Then he turns toward the window, slipping his fingers through mine.
I feel kind of safe as we speed out of Honeyton, an odd feeling for sure since I’m being chased by several different organizations for reasons that are unknown.
I just hope I’m making the right decision. I hope I can trust these guys. I hope my family is safe.
I hope I can get some answers as to what the heck is going on with me before it’s too late.
West
“Why do you think she can only feel my emotions?” I ask Ellis.
We’re standing at the back of the truck, keeping an eye on Alexis as she chats with Zhara on the payphone. I spoke with Benton beforehand, and he assured me that Zhara was and will be okay. Alexis wanted to speak to Zhara herself, though, to make certain, which I can understand and respect.
I still can’t believe they double-crossed us. All my life, I grew up listening to my dad talk about how great the agency was. But the reason they came after Alexis like that can’t be good. If it was, they would’ve simply called us instead of ambushing us. And we barely escaped without getting our asses beat.
Ellis leans against the tailgate, studying me. “I’m not sure yet, but when we stop for the night, I’ll run some tests on you.”
I bob my head up and down, my eyes never leaving Alexis. When I told her to go with Steel, it was because he was the most capable of protecting her. But being separated from her like that and not knowing if she was okay nearly killed me. I never want to be apart from her like that again, which is going to be a huge problem, especially with Blaine being with us.
I can’t tell if Alexis is relieved that he’s here or not, and I know it shouldn’t matter, but it does. If I was being selfish, I would’ve kicked Blaine out of the truck, but the truth is, we need all the help we can get. I just worry about what’s going to happen when he tells Alexis why he was only kissing Masie because of his job.
Is she going to want to be with him?
Am I going to lose her?
God, you’re so fucking stupid. Lose her? You never even had her.
I rip my attention away from my internal agony as Alexis hangs up the phone and jogs back to us.
“Feel better now?” I ask.
She nods. “Thank you for letting me talk to her.” She nibbles on her bottom lip undecidedly then throws her arms around me.
Shock momentarily whips through me as I hug her back. “Fuck, if this is the kind of reward I get, I might just devote all my time to giving you whatever you want.”
“I have no problem with that.” She moves to step back, but I press her closer.
“Just a little bit longer,” I whisper, pressing my palm against her lower back.
Surprisingly, she complies. Well, that is until Blaine wanders out and gives her her favorite candy bar, and then she hugs him, too.
I grit my teeth. Blaine and I have issues that run deep. Issues we’re eventually going to have to work on if we don’t want to end up killing each other.
“We should get going,” Ellis announces. “The farther we get away from Honeyton, the better.”
Nodding, we all pile into the truck; Blaine, Alexis, and I in the back seat, and Steel and Ellis in the front.
As we drive down the road, I silently make a vow to myself to do
whatever it takes to protect Alexis. That I won’t ever let anyone hurt her again. That I’ll keep her safe no matter what it takes. And I hope she can feel that.
Feel how much she means to me.
About the Author
About the Author
Jessica Sorensen is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives in the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.
Also by Jessica Sorensen
Other books by Jessica Sorensen:
Guardian Agency:
The Other World
Untitled (coming soon)
Cursed Hadley:
Cursed Hadley
Enchanting Hadley (coming soon)
Chasing the Harlyton Sisters Series:
Chasing Hadley
Falling for Hadley
Holding onto Hadley (coming soon)
Capturing Magic:
Chasing Magic
Untitled (coming soon)
Tangled Realms:
Forever Violet
Untitled (coming soon)
Curse of the Vampire Queen:
Tempting Raven
Enchanting Raven
Alluring Raven
Untitled (coming soon)
Unraveling You Series:
Unraveling You
Raveling You
Awakening You
Inspiring You
Fated by Darkness
Untitled (coming soon)
Unexpected Series:
The Unexpected Way of Falling
The Unpredictable Way of Falling
Untitled (coming soon)
Shadow Cove Series:
What Lies in the Darkness
What Lies in the Dark
Untitled (coming soon)
Mystic Willow Bay Series:
The Secret Life of a Witch
Broken Magic
Untitled (coming soon)
Standalones:
The Forgotten Girl
The Illusion of Annabella
Confessions of a Kleptomaniac
Rules of a Rebel and a Shy Girl
Fareland Society:
Opposite of Ordinary
Untitled (coming soon)
Broken City Series:
Nameless
Forsaken
Oblivion
Forbidden (coming soon)
Guardian Academy Series:
Entranced
Entangled
Enchanted
Entice (coming soon)
Sunnyvale Series:
The Year I Became Isabella Anders
The Year of Falling in Love
The Year of Second Chances
The Coincidence Series:
The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden
The Redemption of Callie and Kayden
The Destiny of Violet and Luke
The Probability of Violet and Luke
The Certainty of Violet and Luke
The Resolution of Callie and Kayden
Seth & Greyson
The Secret Series:
The Prelude of Ella and Micha
The Secret of Ella and Micha
The Forever of Ella and Micha
The Temptation of Lila and Ethan
The Ever After of Ella and Micha
Lila and Ethan: Forever and Always
Ella and Micha: Infinitely and Always
The Shattered Promises Series:
Shattered Promises
Fractured Souls
Unbroken
Broken Visions
Scattered Ashes
Breaking Nova Series:
Breaking Nova
Saving Quinton
Delilah: The Making of Red
Nova and Quinton: No Regrets
Tristan: Finding Hope
Wreck Me
Ruin Me
The Fallen Star Series:
The Fallen Star
The Underworld
The Vision
The Promise
The Lost Soul
The Evanescence
The Darkness Falls Series:
Darkness Falls
Darkness Breaks
Darkness Fades
The Death Collectors Series (NA and YA):
Ember X and Ember
Cinder X and Cinder
Spark X and Spark
Unbeautiful Series:
Unbeautiful
Untamed