Burned (Keeper of the Flame) (12 page)

“Tell me you want me,” Logan says. His lips
brush the skin above my underwear.

“I want you,” I say. It’s true, I do.

But even as I say it, my hand moves to the
letter opener.

He eases my underwear down and his lips touch
my center. When his tongue comes out, heat against heat, I arch my
back, losing my grip on the letter opener. He splays his hands
against my hips, tongue moving back and forth.

It builds inside me, the heat and the fire,
so fast I can’t stop it.

Fire bursts on his shirt at the floor, and
then on the jeans he’s still wearing.

“Shit!” Logan straightens, hands leaving my
body.

I grab the letter opener and sit up. While
Logan’s on fire, the temperature so fierce it singes my arms, I
rear up. With both hands on the letter opener, I plunge the blade
into his back.

A
cry of anguish
tears from his throat.

My body is still quaking from Logan’s lips
against me and the roll of ecstasy he brought me.

And now there’s a blade protruding from his
back.

He twists, trying to remove it, and I grab my
jeans and shirt. His hand catches me and I yelp.

“No!”

When he growls and tries to stop me, I fumble
into the pocket of my jeans, suddenly remembering the necklace. I
whip it out and hold it in front of me.

Logan winces, tosses up his hands like I’m
trying to shoot him. He groans in pain and sinks to his knees.

I race from the room.

“Willow!” Logan yells.

I run faster, straight to the kitchen, my
clothes still clutched at my chest. I yank on the handle of the
back door and to my surprise, it opens. I burst out into the night,
gasping when I see the moon already starting to rise in the dim
evening.

I don’t stop to put my clothes on until I
reach the gardens. I keep the necklace clutched in my hands and
then listen.

There’s no sound but the wind in the trees.
Keeping to the bushes, I circle around, trying to reach the front
of the house. I need a road, something to show me how to get away
from here.

Rustling in the trees to my right makes me
gasp. Slapping my hand over my mouth to keep quiet, I listen for
more noises. When nothing else sounds, I tell myself to calm down.
It was just a rabbit or some other animal.

The chill of the night air seeps into my
bones, penetrating my short sleeved shirt. I don’t even have shoes
on. Just my socks on the forest floor. At least I’m quieter this
way, though I have a feeling hearing might be one of the heightened
abilities Logan possesses.

I run toward the front of the house in the
cover of the trees. Farther out, I don’t know how far away on the
road, I see headlights. They’re moving swiftly like someone is
passing by. But at least there are people out there. I can flag
someone down, or jump in front of their car if I have to.

My breath is coming out in short spurts, my
heart is racing, and my feet keep crunching on twigs below me, but
I’m almost to the road. I clutch the necklace to my chest, afraid
to look behind me.

When I step in a hole, twisting my ankle, I
cry out as I fall to the forest floor. I try to scramble to my
feet, but someone grabs me around my waist.

I start to scream and a hand closes firmly
over my mouth.

I’m ready to bite down when I hear a familiar
voice in my ear. “Willow, stop. It’s me.”

When I whip around and see Ryan, I’m so
grateful he’s here, I let out a sob. “Ryan.”

“Are you okay?” His gaze travels from my bare
arms to my pants which I didn’t even take the time to button, and
my shoeless feet. “What the hell?”

“I’m okay,” I choke out. “Please‒he’s
coming.”

Ryan grips my arm, then shoots me an alarmed
look when my step fumbles. “What is it?”

“I twisted my ankle. It’s fine, we have to
go.”

He locks his arm around my waist and helps me
run, guiding us toward the road. I see a mass of darkness in the
distance.

“Please tell me that’s your truck,” I
pant.

“It is.”

There’s the sound of footsteps and branches
cracking close behind us.

“No, Ryan‒”

“Hurry,” he says, hauling me forward so fast
I can barely keep up. My ankle twinges with each step.

We reach his car and he yanks the door open
for me. I get in, my eyes racing through the darkness at the same
time, searching for Logan. Once Ryan is on the other side, he
shoves the keys in the ignition.

Before he can pull away, Logan wrenches my
door open. His eyes are as black as the night and there’s blood on
his bare chest.

“No!” I scream, shoving the necklace in his
direction. “Go, Ryan. Go!”

The stone from the necklace glints in the
light of the full moon and Logan cringes. Ryan peels away from the
side of the road and Logan can’t find a grip on the door before
we’re racing from him.

I catch the handle, hauling the door closed
before we take another turn. My hair tangles around my cheeks and I
exhale. My hands are shaking, still clutching the stone as though
it’s a life preserver.

Ryan touches my knee, hand firm and warm.
“You’re fine. You did good.”

“The moon is out,” I whisper. “Do we have
time?”

“Take a breath,” he suggests. But his face is
troubled.

I see headlights behind us and whip around.
“No, that’s not‒”

“I don’t think it’s him. Willow.
Breathe.”

I try to, but my body won’t cooperate. I
close my eyes tight against the image of the letter opener sinking
into Logan’s upper back. I can still feel the way it buries into
the muscle, and hear his growl of pain.

“I stabbed him,” I whisper, eyes still
closed. “With a letter opener.”

Ryan doesn’t answer. When I look over, his
gaze is glued to the road. We’re rushing along the pavement, making
record time to the border.

I press my lips together tightly, forcing
myself to calm down. I’m okay. I did what I had to do. And Logan
will heal. I didn’t kill him, just hurt his shoulder. He’s a
vampire. He’ll probably be fine by tomorrow.

When we screech around another corner, I grip
the handle on the door. Up ahead I see the town welcome sign and
remember driving past it on my way into Shadow Hill.

Ryan’s jaw is tight, determination flickering
off his face from the light of the moon. It’s higher now, and
bright and full, mocking us.

The tires screech on the asphalt when he
stops. He throws his door open and I do the same, jumping out and
meeting him at the front of the truck.

“Do we still have time?”

He casts a quick glance to the moon. “I don’t
know. We have to try.”

I nod, turning to the road again. Ready to
try to leave Shadow Hill.

“Willow,” Ryan says.

I look back, and to my surprise, he brushes
my cheek with his thumb. “Thank you.”

I swallow sudden emotion, overwhelmed with
the entire night. I manage a nod before I walk away.

“It’s just a few more feet,” Ryan says.

I wish I could see some sort of physical
barrier or a mark that tells me when I’ve made it, but the road
looks normal, shrouded in darkness.

Another step. Then another.

When I take the final step, something slams
into me. It feels like I’ve run into an electric fence. My entire
body goes rigid, charged with thousands of volts of
electricity.

Then I collapse.

“Shit.” Ryan races to me, careful to stay
away from the invisible border. “Willow.”

My eyelids flicker. My whole body is buzzing,
muscles useless. Then my breath stalls.

“Willow!” Ryan leans his mouth close to my
ear. “Keep breathing. You can do it.”

I force myself to pull air into my lungs,
even as it catches. My heart is stuttering and all I can do is lie
there, stunned.

“There you go,” Ryan says. He glances around
as if looking for something. “We need to get out of here.”

I clutch his arm and finally find words. “It
didn’t work.”

Relief races across his face even as he
curses. “No, it didn’t. Come on.”

He scoops me up into his arms. As much as I
try to help him, to hold on, I can’t. My limbs are still charged
and tingling and my muscles don’t want to function. “You’re fine,”
he assures me. “I’ve got you.”

He settles me into his truck, tucking the
seatbelt around me and giving my shoulder a squeeze before hopping
in on the other side.

When he starts the truck, I feel my hands
begin to function again. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

He shakes his head. “It’s not your
fault.”

“But…I didn’t get out. Why can’t you
leave?”

“Only witches can travel outside the cursed
area since they’re the originators of the spell.”

He’s still driving quickly, clearly trying to
get away from something. Or to get
to
something.

“Now what?” I ask, shifting in the seat,
flexing my hands.

“We get somewhere safe.”

“I mean, now what I do about leaving? Try
again tomorrow?”

He doesn’t answer.

My stomach clenches. “The next day?”

His hands tighten on the wheel. “No, this was
your only chance.”

“What do you mean?”

“All four original families were inside the
town border when the full moon came out. The first part of the
reversal of the curse has been completed.”

“Meaning?”

He glances at me, eyes unreadable. “Meaning
you’re stuck here now, too.”

~ ~ ~

I must have closed my eyes and dozed because
when I open them again, the truck is stopped and Ryan’s opening my
door. He reaches inside, unbuckling me and lifting me off the
seat.

“I’m fine,” I say, my voice hoarse.

He settles me to my feet, but doesn’t let go.
“Let’s get inside.”

“Are we safe in there?”

“Yes. How’s your ankle?”

I sigh. “It feels better.”

But still, he nearly lifts me off my feet in
his rush to get me up the stairs. He fumbles with the lock and
shoves the door open.

I step inside. “Is it true vampires can’t
come in without being asked?”

“It’s true.” He follows behind me and closes
the door firmly. “Especially now that the first phase is
complete.”

I guess that’s why Logan hadn’t come into my
motel room the other night. He’d lingered at the doorway, kept
asking to be invited in, but never stepped foot inside.

Ryan peers through the curtains before
walking to the living room and closing the blinds. “You can stay
here tonight.”

I look around the house I broke into only
days ago. Now it’s home. At least for tonight.

When Ryan comes back to the entryway, where I
still stand, he stops and looks at me. “What is it?”

“Logan has all my stuff. My bag, my purse, my
phone.” I look away. “My mother’s Book of Shadows.”

He doesn’t answer right away, like he doesn’t
know how to respond. Finally, he says, “We can try to get it
back.”

I nod numbly. It’s hard to process that
everything really happened tonight.

“I think you should rest. I think‒hell, I
think you need to see a doctor.” He shoves a hand through his hair
while he glances to the door. He’s nervous or worried. “What you’ve
been through tonight. Did he…” Ryan clears his throat, unable to
meet my eyes. “Did he hurt you?”

“No.” I sigh. Logan was desperate for this to
work, but ultimately he hadn’t done anything to harm me. “He didn’t
hurt me.”

Ryan meets my eyes, searching for something
more. I feel like he doesn’t believe me. “I think we should take
you do a doctor.”

I laugh and it turns into a cough. My lungs
don’t feel like they’re working properly still, but I don’t want to
leave. Ryan said it’s safe here. I don’t want to risk running into
Logan again, not after what I did to him.

“No doctor,” I say. “I just need some
rest.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. If it’s not…okay for me to stay here, I
can go somewhere else. Or‒”

“No, you’re staying here.” He rubs his hands
over his face and then glances around. “Okay. Let’s get you set up.
Can you get upstairs?”

I laugh again. “Yeah, I’m good.”

My legs feel heavy, but I trudge up after
Ryan. He glances back several times with a frown, but I want to
prove to him I can still be strong. I’m doing okay as long as I
don’t think about his words from the car. I’m stuck here. I can’t
leave Shadow Hill.

“I’ve got extra pillows,” Ryan says, pausing
at a closet in the hallway.

I snap my attention back to him when he hands
me a pillow. I clutch it against my chest, watching as he shuffles
through a stack of linens to grab a pillowcase and some sheets.

When he guides me to his room, I freeze in
the doorway. “This is your bedroom.”

“I don’t have a spare bed,” he says
apologetically. “Just the couch.” Then his eyes widen and he shakes
his head. “I’ll sleep downstairs.”

“No, I wasn’t worried about that‒I just, I
don’t want to kick you out of your room. Maybe I should find
somewhere else.”

Ryan drops his load of linens on the bed and
pulls the pillow from my arms before grasping my shoulders. “You
could have died tonight. You tried to stop this whole thing even
though you don’t know what’s going on, and Logan
kidnapped
you. I’m not letting you out of my sight. I need‒I want‒” He
clenches his teeth. “I want to help you.”

His eyes say he wants to take care of me. I
sense a little guilt, too, though he couldn’t have known this was
going to happen. He was trying to stop it by getting me to
leave.

“Okay.” I nod. “Thank you.”

He steps back and grabs the sheets. “I’ll
make up the bed for you if you want to use the shower or wash your
face or something.”

“No problem.”

I leave him to make the bed and lock myself
in the bathroom. I wait until the water is running full force
before I let out a sob. I splash water on my face and a few tears
mingle with the wetness, but I still feel so numb.