Klaus cried, but Jack refused to ease up. He clapped a palm over Klaus’s mouth to stifle his shriek, then broke a finger on the man’s good hand. “I’ll ask again. What did you plan to do with her?”
Jack let him go and watched as tears poured down his cheeks. He looked like he might be going into shock. Jack didn’t ease up.
“Ernst was going to rape her, like he did to Nera. And then we would chain her up, play with her in our cottage in the woods.”
His voice grew singsongy, and Jack realized the man was far from rational.
“We catch them and play with them, where Father cannot see. He doesn’t approve. He likes the death to be quick. But that’s no fun. Ernst and I can make it last for hours and days. We—”
Jack had heard enough. He broke Klaus’s neck without another thought. One less murderer to deal with in a place that seemed to encourage Baer law over all. To think that this man and his brother would have been given control over Heather made Jack see red. He had to find her, and fast, because if Ernst found her first, Heather was well and truly fucked.
Heather ran like she had the hounds of hell on her heels. She hadn’t been sure she could count on Jan, but he’d pushed her away from him and had fallen to his knees with a fake cry, acting as if she’d kicked him.
She prayed Jack would be all right, especially when she heard the gunshots. She cringed, wishing they’d been together, because she could heal him if he needed it. But if he got shot and bled out away from her, he’d die. And all because she’d been too proud to take Owen’s help when he’d tried to give it to her.
Tears filled her eyes, but she heard noise behind her and knew she couldn’t slow down. She didn’t know what to do. Jack had ordered her to get away, but she couldn’t leave him out here. She had no idea of what he was capable, except she’d felt that same danger everyone else had, and it had stemmed from him.
“Find him and kill him,” she heard Ralf Baer shriek.
Oh God. Jack must have really pissed the man off, because Ralf sounded madder than hell.
She continued to move, knowing she had to get away so that she could circle back and help Jack. She wasn’t an idiot. Of the two of them, Jack would be able to hold his own against these men, while she could do little more than heal them. She would be a liability to him if caught, because he’d no doubt surrender himself to save her if asked to make a choice. The idiotic man she loved was like that.
A stupid grin made its way to her face, even though she had never been in greater danger in her life. An idea came to her, and she found the perfect place to hide. She climbed up the tree as fast as she could and perched up in the branches, glad for the darkness of her clothing.
A few men ran by, two of Ernst’s cousins. She wished she had a weapon or radio. Something. Because she didn’t know where she was, and she had no wish to die from exposure or dehydration while Jack searched for her in vain. She could always go back to the trail, but then the men would find her.
What the heck should she do? She sat up in the tree for a while and tried to formulate a plan. More footsteps came, and she tensed. She heard the murmur of voices and concentrated so she could hear them.
“…half are out searching. They’ll find him.”
“…Rather be out there looking for Keiser. Ralf is so angry.” The voices faded.
A while later, she thought she heard Jan say, “Not a good scene, Mikhail. Best get back to town, or you won’t make it out alive.”
Something garbled, then more rustling. The moonlight lit up the woods, and she swore under her breath at the glare of a flashlight on the ground.
“I know you’re up there, girl.”
She cringed. Jan stood at the base of the tree.
“Come on down. Now, Heather.” He pointed his rifle at the tree trunk, reminding her he was armed.
She couldn’t hide up there forever. With a sigh, she carefully climbed down. Jan stood wearing her pack and slung his rifle over his arm. He looked little worse for wear, so Jack must not have found him.
“Is he okay?” came out before she could recall the words.
He grinned. “Your man is just fine. Furious, but okay.” His grin left him. “You’re my prisoner, honey. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it has to be. I’m part of the town, and I can’t ignore what you’ve done.”
“But I put it back. What was missing no longer is.”
“I know. And I’m grateful, but that doesn’t excuse that you lied and schemed to get here. Now you have to come with me. If the others find you, I can’t guarantee your safety. We need to get you back to Ida.”
He made sense, though she didn’t like leaving Jack behind. “But Jack—”
“Would rather have you safe.” He nudged her to walk and steered her to her right. “We’ll take the path back, because I lost my compass. I can’t see worth a shit in the dark either,” he grumbled as the moonlight disappeared again. They walked for hours before he made camp off the trail. The entire time they walked, he refused to answer her questions, and she eventually gave up asking.
He let her go to the bathroom by herself, and she returned quickly before he came after her. Tired and scared for Jack, she couldn’t sleep despite her exhaustion. The Source had taken a lot out of her earlier, and the chaos of the night had only added to her fatigue.
To her dismay, Ernst, Ralf, and Klaus joined them a few hours later. Poor Klaus had been shot in the leg and the side, but he refused to allow her to heal him. The rest of their party continued to hunt for Jack.
“I’m fine,” Klaus snapped when Ernst told Heather to heal him.
Klaus must have truly been hurt, because he always seemed to defer to his older brother.
“I don’t want a Stallbridge touching me.”
Ernst frowned. “But I thought you wanted her.”
Klaus’s sneer turned into a sly grin. “Later. There’s using, and there’s using.”
Ernst laughed. “True enough. If you’re finally manning up for the first time in your life, I shouldn’t complain.”
Ralf nodded at Klaus. “Good boy.” He glared at Ernst. “But you. What the fuck good are you? You didn’t find him, not even a trace? At least Klaus nearly pegged him.”
“I think I wounded him, Father,” Klaus bragged. “I saw blood on the leaves. I trailed him, but then it stopped. He must have tied off his injury.”
Ralf frowned. “He’s smart. Dangerous too.”
Ralf turned to Jan, and Heather made herself smaller, curling herself into a ball while she pretended to sleep, watching them from under her arm.
“Well, Jan? Have you seen him?”
No doubt Ralf referred to Jan’s second sight.
“I have.” Jan smiled.
His wide grin alarmed her. There was no way to fight psychic knowing. All the hunting instincts Jack might have meant nothing to a man who could see the future.
“He’ll be waiting for us in town. Keep Heather alive and healthy. He’ll come for her at Ida’s. And then you’ll be there, Ralf. And Ernst.” He glanced at Klaus and shrugged. “Can’t see you, boy. But the others and me. We’ll be there.”
Heather wanted to curse Jan for betraying them, but Ida had warned her not to trust him.
She tried not to cry, to recover her energy for the trip tomorrow. Another day and a half walking back to town, imagining the worst. She huddled in her misery and fell asleep.
A kick to her side woke her from a nightmare. The kick didn’t hurt her overmuch, but it would leave a bruise or two.
Ernst leered at her. “Wake up.”
She rose painfully to her feet. She’d slept in an awkward position, and the many sticks and trees she’d bumped into while trying to escape had left their mark.