Oh, God, help me! She begged, stifling a gasp—terror surging in her tightened throat.
Abruptly, she stood and backed away from the incapacitated male, razor-sharp knife still gripped in her white-knuckled hand.
She turned and rushed to the door, opened it a crack to peek down the hallway. Seeing it was empty, she risked one last glance at the sleeping, sadistic soldier praying she’d made the right decision in letting him live.
Only in self—defense, she chanted inwardly. I only kill in self-defense. Please help me not regret this, God.
She ran from the room as fast as her legs would carry her stretching her empath skills as far as she could, searching for both friend and foe.
By the time she reached the stairwell, a dizzying wave of exhaustion swept over her.
She leaned heavily against the cold cement of the deserted space and tried to breathe through it.
No time, Meg. No time. Move!
Chapter 48 For Whom The Bell Tolls
“Evan, are you there?” Creed’s voice resounded.
Evan was about to storm the hospital by himself when Creed’s voice commanded him to hold still and respond.
“Oh thank, God Creed!” he breathed pushing his body back into the shadows from which he was about to leave.
“Williams set up an ambush. He escaped. Where are the others?”
“They’ve been captured,” his voice choked the words out for the second time in three minutes.
“Where?”
“They’re still in the hospital, somewhere.”
“Where are you?”
“Right outside the entrance to hospital building, trying to decide what the heck I should do!” his voice was no longer dancing on the verge of panic, he was wrapped in its prickly arms and writhed in its pain. He’d never felt more inept in his life.
“Farrow and I are on our way,” he breathed. His voice commanded respect. Evan felt a rush of thankfulness for the soldier.
“Hurry,” was all he could manage to say as he closed his eyes and slipped down the wall of the building that encased his family like a monstrous mausoleum.
Not ten seconds passed before Evan felt a warm hand on his arm. Startled from his thoughts, the young meta stood tight and ready for battle. Instead of an attacker, he saw the small silhouette of a girl before him. Creed was standing on silent feet a few yards to his left.
“What do you know?” Creed’s voice was hushed and even more commanding in person.
Evan repeated everything he knew. “Mom’s waiting on channel thirteen for our plan.”
Farrow and Evan looked to Creed—the obvious leader of what remained of their group.
Creed reached up and switched his comm. to her channel.
“Dr. Winter?” he whispered.
“Creed? Is that you?” Margo’s voice was thick with emotion and fear.
“Yeah, I’m here with Evan and Farrow. We’re going in to get Meg and Alik. You stay back. I’m going to turn off all comm; do not intervene.”
“You are my children!” Margo voice pleaded angrily.
“You’re human. You’ll be killed. Stay out of it.” Creed’s words cut, but he knew he had to say them to stop her from trying to storm the compound.
All the metas heard a gasp from the woman before she cleared her throat and spoke the only words her heart could manage without losing complete control. “Creed, please?”
“They are my family, too. If they’re in the dark, I’ll go into the darkness with them. I will give my life for theirs.” The muscles in Creed’s jaw clenched, etching severe shadows across his partially moonlit face.
“I love you, Mom.” Evan forced his voice to sound braver than he felt.
“We will not leave without them,” Farrow’s voice held as much determination as Creed’s.
“Comm out,” Creed breathed. He removed the device from his ear, dropped it to the ground and crushed it under his thickly soled boot before looking to the others to follow his lead. Farrow pressed her lips into a white line, nodded solemnly and followed suit. Evan looked between the two metahumans standing with him, ready to go into battle to save his family and felt a surge of strength.
“Pray for us,” Evan whispered to his mother before yanking the comm. from his ear and grinding it into the unforgiving ground.
The End
If you enjoyed the first three books of Winter’s Saga, I hope you’ll recommend them to your friends and take a moment to help maximize their exposure on Amazon.com by writing a quick review. Thank you for traveling on this roller coaster ride with me. It has been, and continues to be, an honor.
Hugs, Karen
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen Luellen loves her witty husband, martial arts/fight movies, the occasional cheesy romance, her iPod and an excellent pair of ear buds, chewy pizza, laughing till she gets hiccups, sweet tea, getting "fur therapy" by snuggling with her pets and getting lost in a story for hours at a time (either reading or writing). She lives in North Texas with her husband Dan and their combined four children. She’s hard at work on book #4 in the Winter’s Saga.