Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Gasping for air, I pull myself up and turn back to Griffin, who’s watching me wide-eyed.
“It’s okay,” I pant, extending my hand to her.
She takes it, and I help her to her feet.
As we stumble out of the building, Jameson meets us with a swift nod. “I can’t believe you got past my men. What the fuck were you thinking?”
I don’t answer. I have no answer. I was thinking only of Griffin.
Of my baby sister I adored all those years ago. Who adored me.
“Get her out of here,” Jameson grunts. “We’ve got them on the run.”
The relief of escaping the madness is short-lived as another roar shakes the ground beneath our feet. We all glance back at the compound just in time to see the stone walls shudder and collapse in on themselves.
“Fall back!” Jameson shouts.
“Don’t look back,” I yell to Griffin.
We’re out. We’re safe. They fucking destroyed their own compound. The cult members who aren’t caught in the building run amok, only to be chased down by SWAT team members.
Griffin is still shaking, her hand gripping mine like a lifeline.
“Dragon,” she whispers, breathless.
Her voice is a prayer, a plea.
And I understand, even if I can’t find the words to reply.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Diana
No.
I can’t lose Dragon.
Not now. Just when we’ve fallen in love, when he’s finally succumbed to the feelings between us.
I can’t.
I just can’t.
Images blur around me as deafening shots are fired. My own piece is strapped to my ankle, but there’s nothing I can do.
Nothing I can do.
I shield my eyes.
The world feels heavy, my legs like jelly under me as I stumble backward.
A roar.
A deafening crash.
Dragon! Where are you?
“Dragon!” My voice comes out in a hoarse whisper. My heart is a jackhammer in my chest, my mind buzzing with panic.
Something moves beside me. I whip around, my ponytail smacking me in the face. A figure emerges. His eyes are familiar, but they’re not Dragon’s.
It’s Jameson, his face hardened with determination and worry.
“You there!” he yells. “We need to get out of here!”
“Dragon is in there! He went after his sister!”
Jameson grabs my arm.
I yank it away. “I can’t leave him!”
“There’s debris. There are cult members who made it out who are armed. You’re coming with me!”
“But—”
“My people will find him. But you have to come with me!”
His voice cuts through the turmoil around us.
Dragon.
Dragon would want me safe.
I let Jameson lead me away, but I glance over my shoulder.
I gasp.
A figure is emerging.
A male, with broad shoulders. Long hair.
It’s Dragon!
He’s alive!
And he’s holding the hand of a thin blond woman.
My God.
Griffin.
He got her!
I freeze in my tracks, even as Jameson tugs at my arm. Dragon and Griffin. His baby sister who he thought was gone forever is now clinging to him.
Dragon turns his head, and our eyes meet. There’s a second of perfect silence amidst the clamor, a moment where his gaze falters. Where he softens for a moment to look at me.
Jameson pulls at me again, harder this time, and I’m ripped away from the scene.
I’m pulled into the safety of one of the SWAT vans, my legs giving way beneath me as soon as I’m inside. Jameson shouts something into his radio, but his words are lost to me.
All I register is the slamming of the van doors behind me, the distant sounds of chaos growing fainter as the vehicle begins to move. My eyes remain glued to the closing gap, Dragon and Griffin a rapidly shrinking image in my mind’s eye.
“Dragon,” I whisper.
Jameson kneels beside me, his hand on my shoulder. “We’ll go back for him.”
I clutch on to his words as if they’re a lifeline—the only thing keeping me from drowning in this nightmare.
The van bumps along the uneven road, jostling me. I’m a maelstrom of emotions—fear and relief battling for dominance.
Fear that Dragon might get hurt trying to protect his sister.
Relief that he found Griffin.
Then the lesser emotions.
Guilt that I’m here in the safety of a SWAT van while he’s out there in the chaos.
Jealousy, stupid as it may be, that Griffin is the one by his side in this moment of real danger.
The van grinds to a halt, and I lurch forward. Through the windshield, I see a figure slowly approaching us.
Dragon!
Griffin is clutched tightly against his side. Relief floods through me like a tidal wave.
Without a word, I scramble toward the door. The second it swings open, Dragon is there. His face is streaked with dirt and blood, his eyes holding a steely determination. But they soften when they land on me.
“Diana,” he breathes out, his voice a rough whisper. He guides Griffin inside the van, his attention focused solely on her as he murmurs words I can’t hear. But then his gaze returns to me, and all I see is relief.
“Are you okay?” His voice carries a raw edge, and for a moment I feel my own vulnerability mirrored in him.