Eternal Rider - Larissa Ione [39]
“Cara then?”
He nodded. Even though her very presence would weaken him, he had to find her and keep her close. “She’s the priority, but I have a way to locate her. After that, we need to do everything within our power to protect her.” Ares exhaled on a long breath that was visible in the icy air. “I know myself too well, Than. If she’s killed and I go evil, nothing on this earth can stop me from wiping out every last remnant of the human race.”
Eight
Cara didn’t sleep. She couldn’t. In a daze, she’d called down to the B&B owner for an extra blanket, showered, tried to scrub the weird mark off her chest, and when that didn’t work, she’d put on pajamas and tried to call Larena again, but it figured that she was unreachable.
She sat on the creaky bed in her rented room and stared at the TV. BBC was covering rivers in Africa that were running red with poisonous algae, but Cara barely heard any of it. She was too numb, her mind disconnected from her ears. The last time she’d felt like this was after the breakin.
After she’d killed the man.
The official coroner’s report had cited heart attack, but she knew the truth. She’d seen a heart attack firsthand, when her father had collapsed in front of her.
God, she missed him. He’d loved her even if he’d been wary of her ability. All she’d have had to do was call, and he’d have been on the next plane out of the States.
His death, just one month before she’d moved to South Carolina, had crushed her. She’d only started to get her life back together when, four months after that, the men had broken in.
And now this. She’d finally lost her hold on reality.
Her cell phone rang, and she grabbed it off the nightstand. “Larena?”
“No.”
The deep, resonant voice echoed through her ears and brought an instant surge of both relief and anxiety. “Jeff?” she whispered.
“Where are you? I need to see you.”
See her? “This is going to sound crazy, but I saw you… or thought I saw you. Earlier. On a horse—”
“Cara, listen to me.” His voice was no-nonsense, sharp, commanding, and she couldn’t have put down the phone if she wanted to. “You’re in danger, and I have to find you. Your message said you were in England. Where?”
She shouldn’t say anything. She knew it. But at this point, she was desperate, with no one to turn to, and he was the only link she had to whatever was going on with the dog. “I’m at a B&B in York.” She fumbled through the bedside drawer for the brochure and gave him the address.
“Thanks.” He hung up before she could ask any more questions.
Now what? Even if he caught a plane right now, it would be late tomorrow afternoon before he could get to York. And did she truly expect any answers from him?
A knock on the door had her leaping off the bed. Calm down, just breathe. It’s just the extra blanket.
She opened the door. And stared in disbelief.
“Jeff—”
“Ares.” He stepped inside, ignoring the fact that she hadn’t invited him in. It didn’t escape her notice that he had to duck to avoid cracking his head on the doorframe. Or that his broad shoulders brushed the sides.
He couldn’t have gotten here that fast. And… Ares?
Unless he had been here. On the horse.
He closed the door quietly behind him, trapping her.
“Stay where you are.” She scooted around the bed, putting it between them. “Don’t touch me.”
Ares held up his hands in a nonthreatening gesture, but it didn’t help. If he wanted to, he could have her in two strides.
“I’m not here to hurt you, Cara. I’m here to help.”
“Can you wake me up? Because the only way you can help is if you wake me so this nightmare is over.”
“It’s not a nightmare. What you saw tonight was real.”
Her hand went to her chest, where the weird mark was throbbing. “So… some bloody guy branded me with his palm, and then you and some other guy came out of thin air, on horseback, and fought? Time stood still? I saw people turn into monsters? You really want me to believe that?”
“It would be helpful. Sooner would be better than later.”
She shook her head, even though denial was becoming something that wasn’t worth the effort anymore.