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Stacey took in the awesome display in a daze, marveling at the grace and power with which Co
Taking off at a run, Stacey thrust her right hand into her windbreaker and wrapped it around the grip of the Glock. She yanked it free and took comfort in its weight. She'd never fired a gun in her life, but she was more than ready to shoot the hell out of something now.
Stumbling over a tree root, Stacey fell to her knees in a jarring, painful impact. She lumbered to her feet and pressed onward, but the brief delay was fortuitous. It slowed her down, affording her the time to spot the sole of a shoe beside a tree to her right.
Justin's shoe.
Stacey ran toward it. Picked it up. Looked beyond it. Saw the other.
That one was still attached to her son.
"Justin!" She scrambled over to him, her free hand feeling along his body for injuries. For signs of life. He was so pale, his eyes so bruised looking, the side of his face caked with dried blood spatter. She set the gun down and shook his shoulders. "Justin! Baby, wake up. Wake up, baby, please! Justin!"
She thumped his chest and slapped his cheeks. "Baby. Baby, don't do this to me. You wake up! Justin!"
He coughed and Stacey cried out in relief, her vision blurring with tears, her heart aching as he curled up on his side and groaned. She was so focused on him she failed to see the approaching danger until it was too late. A sharp, deep pain struck her arm, then an icy chill spread through the muscle. She screamed and flailed wildly.
A feral, masculine roar filled the air. There was a brief glimpse of golden hair, then Rachel was yanked upwards and tossed away as if she weighed nothing. The damaged woman rolled away with a gurgling laugh, leaving Stacey to find the massive syringe that hung from where it pierced her biceps.
"I will return for what is inside you," the woman hissed, leaping to safety with preternatural strength when Co
"You fucking bitch!" Stacey screamed, reaching for the gun and falling to her back.
Co
Just as blackness began to narrow her vision, Rachel reared up and provided a perfect target. Aiming between her spread legs, Stacey fired one round after another, emptying the clip into Rachel's brutalized body. The woman jerked with each impact, then fell to the ground.
Laughing.
As Stacey lost consciousness, that laugh followed her into oblivion.
Chapter 15
"How are you doing, champ?" Co
"I'm freezing." Dark shadows rimmed the boy's dilated eyes and his skin bore unhealthy pallor-signs of shock. A lock of brown hair fell over his brow, making him appear lost and far younger than his fourteen years.
"I'll get you another blanket."
The front door was open, making the chill worse, but McDougal's men were still clearing out and Justin didn't want to go to his room. He preferred the heavy foot traffic and the drone of the ignored television, because it made him feel safe to be surrounded by so many people.
"Thanks, Co
The gratitude on Justin's face hit Co
"You're welcome."
Pushing to his feet, Co
The boy would still remember the events, but the emotions behind the memories would not be there. His recollections would be detached from his feelings, making him an objective observer more so than an emotionally scarred victim. Healers in the Twilight would help with the rest.
Co
"She's stable, although still unconscious." Aidan stepped closer. "There's something in her brain, Bruce. It's small-about the size of a grain of rice-but it's foreign. There's no telling how her body will react to it over time."
Reaching a hand out, Co
"She's talking in her sleep-" Aidan winced, "-in the language of the Ancients."
"What?" Ru
"Medically, we can't. Not here in this plane, not without killing her. Humans don't have the technology."
The door to the bedroom opened and a man peaked out. "She's conscious."
Co
"She's lucid," the man said.
"Tell her I'll be there in a minute, okay?" Co
Aidan nodded and Co
"Hey," he said, nearing the sofa. "Your mom's awake."
"Can I see her?" Justin sat up from his reclined position and set his half-empty mug on the coffee table.
"Yeah, come on." Co
They entered the darkened space as quietly as possible. Beside the bed, various monitors beeped and flashed with lights. Stacey lay bundled in the middle, a tiny, fragile form that made Co
"Hi, baby," she whispered to Justin, holding out her arms to him. Justin immediately climbed up beside her and began sobbing. Stacey joined him, wrapping her arms around her son and pressing her teary cheek to the top of his head.
The sight made Co
"I spoke with her briefly," Aidan whispered. "She says Rachel intends to return for that thing in her head. Whatever it is, they think it's safer with us than them."
Co
"They didn't." Aidan's countenance was grave. "They've been searching the area since you left. There's no trace of her. Despite her injuries, she managed to escape."
"Fuck!"
"Watch the language," Stacey admonished.
He turned to look at her. She stared at him with glistening eyes and puckered her lips in a kissing gesture. A low sound of longing rumbled in his throat.
"I don't know what to do," he said, facing Aidan again. "I don't know where I should go, or what I should do, or how I should feel."
"You do what I did," Aidan said. "You forget the 'shoulds' and you jump."