Emerge: The Captive: (Book 3)(98)

“I knew you and I were headed for a difficult time.” Her eyes shone bright in the moonlight.

“That’s why you’ve pushed me away since your return,” Lucien said.

“I was trying to distance myself from you. Hoping to save you from this.”

“Please let them go, Jayesh,” Sasha whispered.

“I can’t. There are too many eyes watching me.”

“Go Sasha,” Imogen said. “We will survive this. Jayesh, get her out of here!”

Arms pulled Sasha back, dragging her to her knees beside her sister.

“Wait,” Jayesh said. “I’ll do it.” He took the collar from the Coalition woman. His voice was hard, showing no trace of the careful mentor Sasha had come to admire. Or of the man she was falling for. The enormity of his betrayal broke her heart.

“Leave us,” Jay commanded.

The mortal woman released Sasha but she forced Imogen and Lucien to their feet. “Be quick about it.” She shot Sasha a glare as she shoved her captives toward the waiting van.

“No! You can’t, Jayesh. She’s my sister!” Sasha lunged after them, but Jayesh held her back.

“No, Sasha.”

“Don’t do this.” Tears rolled down her face. “Take me instead. Let them go and I’ll come quietly.”

Jay turned her to face him, keeping a firm grip on her arms. The cold look in his eyes grew warm as he stared at her. “I need you to trust me, angel,” he said softly. “I will not let them execute Imogen and her husband, but they’re going to have to come with me. For now. I have a job to do.”

“No, Jayesh.” She couldn’t fight the tears. “I know what this means now.” She reached to cup his face, brushing her thumb over the tattoo. The lines were old and faded, but she’d recognized the symbol at Amrita and knew it was the same as his tattoo. The ouroboros snake, biting its tail, just like the Soma brand. The symbol marked Jayesh a slave. “Come with me now and you can be free.”

“I’ll never be free of the master who tugs my leash.” He closed his eyes, bringing his hand up to hers.

He was so defeated, she wondered how she’d never realized. He hid it well. A broken Immortal was a dangerous and unfeeling weapon. Immortals like Jayesh spent their lives following the orders of the one who’d done the breaking. But there was a spark of the real Jayesh in there. She’d seen it.

“Go now. While they’re not looking. I’ll see your family isn’t taken to the prisons. That’s the best I can do for them. But if you don’t go now, I’m going to have to bring you with me, and I’ll die before I see you with the Soma brand.”

“Jayesh. I can’t leave you. Not like this. Not again.” Sasha clutched his shoulders, trying to drag him away with her.

“Don’t.” He took both of her hands in his. “Go back to your life. Go back to Quinn. Your family has won this battle and I’ve got to get our people out of here while I can.”

They both flinched as a blood-curdling scream filled the night and the horizon flickered with a golden green light.

“Allie?” Sasha gasped.

“You’ve got to go, angel.” Jayesh pulled her into a tight hug, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Now, please.”

“Come with me. Please, Jay. My family can protect you.”

“I am the only one who can keep Imogen safe. If I stay here with you, the one who owns me will come for me. I can’t have him anywhere near you or your family. Forget about me, Sasha.”

The trucks and SUVs began to pull back down the drive, taking her sister with them.

“Get in the car, Jay,” Selena said, pulling up beside him. “Bring the girl in this time and you might win back the favor you lost when you let her go the first time.”

“Run, Sasha. Please.” Jayesh shoved her hard.

Sasha stumbled backward and then she was running through the trees, her body shaking with sobs she couldn’t control. How many times were the people she loved going to be ripped away from her?

~~~





CHAPTER

THIRTY-SIX





Quinn: Fall—The New Moon


Kelleys Island, Ohio


“You don’t have to do this,” George said. “The pull of your brands seems to have subsided. I see no need to secure either of you in the crypt.”

“I think we’ve outlasted Ryan for now, but he will try again,” Quinn said. He was just grateful to be home and with family. George technically wasn’t family, but he was Aidan’s brother-in-law and that made him family in Quinn’s mind.

The long drive home from New York was excruciating for both Santi and Quinn, but with the growing distance between themselves and Ryan, the intensity of the desire to return to Soma was fading.

“Each time he tries to lure you in and you outlast him, the brand’s influence will fade, as will the mark itself,” George explained.

“So I don’t have to live the rest of my life with this ugly reminder?” Santi glanced down at the slightly faded Soma brand on her wrist.

“You are both strong enough to fight the control of the brand, so for you it will fade. Others might not be so lucky.”

“Thank you, George,” Quinn said, stepping into the crypt cell with Santi.