Ruined (The Eternal Balance #1)(63)

“He’s controlling you?” he asked, surprised. He tried stepping into my path again, but I pushed him away and continued, undeterred. Chase cursed. “Okay. Forget the logistics. We need to stop this.”

“Not sure what you have in mind. Other than throwing me over your shoulder, I don’t see how you can stop this.”

He chuckled. “Excellent idea.”

One minute I was walking, casual but determined, the next my feet were off the ground and the world tilted sideways.

“How’s that?”

I held my breath. The desire to keep walking was still there, but I didn’t feel the need to kick and scream to get down. Score! But it only solved one problem. “We need to find Jax.”

“Agreed, but let’s get you someplace safe first. I don’t think my brother would be thrilled to know you walked off to meet a demon. Dude might get jealous. Any ideas?”

I thought about it for a minute. How long would this last? And would it get worse? Chase couldn’t hold on to me all night. Then I had an idea. “Kelly’s house. There’s a pair of handcuffs we can use.”

Chase whistled, and I felt his shoulders shake with a laugh. “You in handcuffs? Oh, I’m definitely game for that,” he said, and swiveled toward the parking lot.

“Are you okay?” he asked. The expression on his face was apologetic, and I thought about making a bondage joke, but decided against it. Chase had a habit of taking things a little too literally and that was the last thing I needed right now. Him grabby and me in chains. The only thing that would top that would be Jax walking in on another kiss. Kelly had been talking about repainting the walls, but somehow I didn’t think bloodred was really her thing. “Are these too tight?”

I twisted my wrist in the cuff. He’d secured my right hand with one side, and clipped the other end to the radiator. “As long as it keeps me here where I’m safe, then I’m good.”

“Should try Jax again. Maybe we should use your cell?” We’d tried three times to reach him on the way over. There’d been no answer. If Hank was in my head, that meant that either Jax had been hurt, or he hadn’t caught up to the demon. Either way, it equaled trouble.

“Can’t. Mine’s gone.”

“You don’t have it on you?”

“I don’t have it, period. It ended up at the bottom of the river. Don’t ask…”

He shrugged and pulled out his own cell, turning toward the door to make the call. The sound the phone made as he pushed the buttons echoed through the room. After a minute, Chase shook his head and snapped it closed. No luck. He looked as worried as I felt. They bickered and clashed, but underneath it, the Flynn brothers loved each other. “Maybe I should go look for him.”

“Yeah,” I said with a roll of my eyes. That would complete my craptastic week. Jax and Chase ripping each other to shreds while I sat chained in my aunt’s house. “Great plan. Go in search of the guy who wants to rip your heart out. Lemme know how that turns out for ya.”

He frowned again and set down his cell. “Good point. After all this time, you’re still crazy about him, aren’t you? All this crap that’s happened is technically his fault, and you really do still want him to stay.”

I didn’t want to talk about this. Not with him and definitely not now, but avoiding it wasn’t going to change things. Nothing would. “Doesn’t really matter. He doesn’t want me enough to stay.”

He shook his head. “I don’t agree with the thing you two have going. I never agreed with it. Jax is volatile and dangerous and I was always worried about him snapping on you. But he does love you. Don’t think he doesn’t.”

“Sometimes it’s just not enough, I guess.” I’d lived after he left last time and I’d live again. He was a guy, right? There were plenty of those walking around out there.

The front door rattled.

“Jax?” I called, breath held.

Chase jumped from the chair and waved like a lunatic. “Shh,” he whispered, frantic. “If you’re linked to this thing, maybe it can track you down, too.”

Well, crap. I hadn’t even thought about that.

He crept toward the door, staying away from the windows. He’d almost reached the other end of the room when it burst open and a tall figure stepped into the light.

Hank.

“Look out!” I pulled against the restraints, digging into my pocket in a frantic search to find the key. Only I couldn’t. I’d insisted that Chase take it just to be on the safe side.

Hank’s head snapped up and his eyes zeroed in on me. There was a spark of madness there. A feral, violent gleam, and in that moment, I wondered how I’d never seen it before. How could you hide that?

He started forward. Thankfully he didn’t get far. Chase jumped behind him, half-full bottle of Kelly’s favorite wine in hand, and swung hard. The sound it made as it shattered across the back of Hank’s head, along with the muffled thud his body made as it crumpled to the ground, was a symphony of relief to my ears.

Chase shuffled toward me, eyes wide and brushing tiny bits of glass from his sleeve. “You okay?”

“Me?” I laughed. “You’re the one who went Rambo on a demon’s ass. Quick. Unlock these before he wakes up. We have to find Jax.”