Undead Or Alive (Bad Things #3)(25)

“I can’t say anything to convince you to let me go?”

His chest burned.

“What is he giving you in return for me?”

He’s giving me what I thought I wanted. Finally. But…Cass couldn’t look away from her eyes. And when he thought of his future, when he thought of a mate, he just thought of her.

“No answer, huh? Guess I should have used that Blade of Truth on you.” She shook her head. “Whatever. I’m good enough to kiss, maybe good enough to f*ck, but in the end, you’d still abandon me.”

“No, I—”

She had already climbed into the plane.

Dammit.

Ivan cleared his throat. Cass glared at him.

The bear shifter held up his hands. “Easy, buddy. I’m on your side, remember?” He smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “You aren’t thinking of letting her go, are you? Because if you went back on a deal with Luke…” He blew out a breath. “Hell on earth will have new meaning for you.”

Cass didn’t speak.

“Right. Okay, your funeral, then.” Ivan pointed to the plane. “You still remember how to fly?”

“Fuck, yes.”

“Then I guess I’ll be seeing you.” Ivan inclined his head. “Safe travels.”

“Thanks.” He climbed onto the plane. Made sure Amber was secure. Then he was in the pilot’s seat, checking the instrument panel and buckling in.

“Didn’t realize you would be our captain,” Amber called. “What else can you do that I don’t know about?”

Plenty.

He settled back into the seat and focused dead ahead. A few moments later, they were rushing down the makeshift runway and soaring into the sky.

Next stop…Key West.

And Luke.

Cass’s chest burned once more. The next stop…would be the end of the line for him and Amber.

***

Amber sat in the front of the plane, her gaze on the land below them. Cass was at her side, flying as if he’d been doing it his whole life.

Every mile they took…it was a mile that brought her closer to Luke.

Closer to her past.

“He wanted you brought back alive,” Cass’s words were rasped. “Dead or alive…that’s how I’ve brought in my prey before. Luke—sometimes he wants prey dead. And sometimes…sometimes he wants them alive.”

Her gaze didn’t waver from the ground. Everything looked small down there. “So he can make them suffer?” She didn’t give Cass a chance to respond. “He has a prison on his island, you know. It’s where he keeps the worst of the worst. Inescapable. If Luke locks you up, you don’t get loose.”

“He doesn’t want you dead.”

Her lips curled. “I know.”

“I won’t let him hurt you.”

She had to laugh. “Do you really think you can stop him? Luke is the most powerful being I’ve ever met. He snaps his fingers and fire erupts. He blinks and people die.”

“He hasn’t faced a Reaper.”

Goosebumps rose on her arms—and not because a threat was close. Her head turned.

The plane bounced a bit.

She stared at his hard profile. “Are you telling me that you can kill Luke?”

“A Reaper can kill any being that walks on the earth. Why do you think my kind was hunted so fiercely? Hunted, captured, our hands cut off right before we were killed…”

She had to swallow twice before she could speak. “You can kill Luke…and Leo?”

His head turned so that their eyes met. “I haven’t put it to the test before.”

So he didn’t know but…What if he can?

“There wasn’t a need to find out,” he continued quietly. “Before.”

The plane bounced again. Her hands flew out, gripping the arm rest.

“Turbulence,” Cass said, not sounding even a little concerned. “Don’t worry—”

But an alarm began to sound, a piercing shriek and the plane didn’t just bounce…the nose tipped down and the plane seemed to drop.

He grabbed for the controls, yanking up hard. “What did you do?”

The ground was rushing up to meet them.

“You said you fixed the plane…” He was fighting and sweating and struggling to get the nose to rise—it wouldn’t. “What did you do?”

She hadn’t done this.

The plane kept shooting straight down. She could smell smoke. Could see smoke coming from the front of the plane. Dark, black smoke that shot into the air. The safety straps dug into her skin. “Cass?”

His face was locked in tight, angry lines. “We’re f*cking going down. We have seconds—seconds! Shit!”

She grabbed for his gloved hand and held tight. “Cass?”

His gaze held hers. The anger faded away. He stared at her…as if…

“Close your eyes, sweets,” he whispered. “Everything will be okay.”

No lie had ever sounded sweeter.

Her eyes closed. And then she felt his arms close around her. In that last moment, as she hurtled straight to her death, held tight in his arms, fear finally broke her.

Luke! Leo! Help me! Her mental call flew out even as the plane crashed down to the earth.