Ripper (Hunter #1)(114)

“Zachary, you have never betrayed your master,” Marcus said with sympathy in his eyes.

Zack’s head shook, a firm negative. “Nor am I betraying him now. She’ll come back. I know she will.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, but before I could answer I was pulled abruptly from Marcus and whirled around to face my brother.

Zack shook his head Jamie’s way, surprise plain on his face. “How did you make it back here? We have a ton of security.”

“I have my talents, too,” Jamie growled at the wolf. “I’m taking my sister and getting her the f*ck out of here and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

I dug my heels in. Not only was I fairly certain Jamie was overestimating whatever talents he thought he had, there were several reasons me leaving was a bad idea. “I can’t go.”

Jamie’s fingers threaded through mine. “You sure as hell can. I’m sorry Nate sold you out like that. I don’t know why he did it but it’s obvious he cares more about his friends than his family. He can go to hell. We don’t have to talk to him again.”

I pulled away from him. “Jamie, stop it. If I let you take me, they’ll come after you, too. I really am what they say I am. If I don’t get this under control, I could seriously hurt someone. If I make it through…”

“If?” Jamie practically yelled.

“When,” I corrected myself. The beast wasn’t the only one who didn’t appreciate my pessimism. “When I make it through this thing, I’m going to get help and I’ll get this under control. Marcus is going to teach me and then I’ll come back and we’ll sort it out, Jamie.”

I would have a lot to deal with if I lived. I could cut Liv out of my life even though it would hurt, but how did I deal with Nathan and my mom?

Marcus moved between my brother and me. He was taking control. Once he’d made the decision to take responsibility for me, everything changed. There would be no more asking permission of anyone. Marcus was in charge. “Mr. Atwood, your sister has to fight. There’s no way around it. If she runs with you, the king will hunt you down and so will the wolves. Daniel has to because of the danger she poses. You’re getting her emotional when she needs to stay calm. You will leave my student alone or I will dismiss you myself.”

Jamie looked ready to explode. I intervened, firmly grasping Marcus’s arm to let Jamie know I wasn’t being forced. “Jamie, I need him. He’s the only one who can help me. Please. I’ll be back in three months and I’ll be better.”

“I don’t understand any of this.” Jamie stared at me and I could tell he was completely lost. I wasn’t the only one who had the world ripped out from under me.

Zack put a comforting hand on Jamie’s shoulder. “I’ll explain everything to you. You might not remember it, but we’ve met before. We played together a couple of times when my brother and your mom…met. Let me walk you through this. I know it’s hard for you to believe, but I will do just about anything for her.”

“I do remember,” Jamie admitted. He closed his eyes for a moment and came to a decision. “Where can I sit? If she’s going to do this, then I can force myself to watch.”

I hugged my brother tightly, making sure I didn’t poke anyone with the pointy end of my weird gloves. “Thank you.” I needed something from him. I needed it more than anything. “Promise me something, Jamie.”

“Anything.”

“Don’t hate him. Don’t leave him alone.”

He knew who I was talking about and his face hardened. “You can’t ask me that. He lied to us.”

“Did he?” Gray had been all I could think about for hours and I’d come to some conclusions. “He’s been your friend for years. He’s been loyal to you. He didn’t feed me those drugs. He didn’t tell us about the contract but…I don’t know. I can believe that he would think he could get out of it. It’s how he works. He gathers everything he needs around him and then he works the problem. I was something he needed. Hell, I don’t know that I wouldn’t have made the same deal in his position. Thirty years is a lot of time to work things out.”

“He was willing to get you pregnant to save himself.”

He wouldn’t look at it that way. “He was willing to get me pregnant because that’s often what married people do. He wanted a family. If it bought him a little time, he was already planning it anyway. We can’t judge him. We don’t know what it’s like to walk in his shoes. I know I can’t be with him, but Jamie, I can’t walk in there knowing he’s going to be all alone. He needs someone. Yell at him. Beat the shit out of him. I don’t care. Don’t leave him alone. I couldn’t handle it if something happened to him.”

“I’ll try, Kels. But only for you.” He turned to Marcus, giving him a forbidding look. “You better be everything they advertised or I’ll be hunting a couple of vampires.”

Zack led Jamie off and it was just me and Marcus.

He gazed down at me, his eyes deepening to a fascinating obsidian. They were so dark. I could lose myself in those eyes. His hands found mine, drawing them up to his chest. “Keep your hands on my body. We need connection. Listen to me. Let everything else fall away. There’s only you and me in the whole world.”