Page 137 of Inside the Wicked

“I think so.”

Every small cry as she slices herself on the pool of glass bleeds through me.

“Good girl, that’s it. Slowly.”

When she’s standing I manage to hook my arms under hers and lift. I know she’s suppressing her sounds of how much she’s hurting.

There’s a moment of reprieve in all this chaos once she’s cradled in my arms, and I duck with Adam behind the car.

“I can’t tell if we’re winning,” Adam says, scanning the area.

It might be hard to check for the serpent identifier our guys have from here. If I were out on the field, I’d know regardless.

“We just have to get Ana back to the car,” I say.

Sirens wail in the distance, and now we really need to get the fuck out of here. Ana needs medical care, but they’d take her from me, and I can’t bear that right now.

“Drive,” I tell Adam, who catches the keys I throw.

I get into the back with Ana, and though it goes against so much of my instinct to leave the field with my guys still on it, I’m America’s most-wanted right now with the president’s daughter in my possession. Xoid will know to clear out now, and I pray we didn’t lose people in this.

“I didn’t want to,” Ana whispers, tucked up on my lap.

“I know, baby,” I say, smoothing her hair.

“I didn’t know about the marriage. He-he made me sign something, and it was reckless of me to do it, but he had your location, and I-I didn’t know. I should have known?—”

“Shh,” I say. “You’re mine, little bird. Nothing can change that.”

She sniffs, giving a weak nod.

“You’re safe now. We need to get you checked out. We’ll go to the Den.”

“No. Please. I’m fine, just cut up and my head aches. I want to go home.”

“Are you tired?”

“Not because I’m too concussed.”

“How would you know?”

“Please, Rhett.”

“Okay, baby.” I kiss her head. “We’ll go home.”

CHAPTER 46

Anastasia

“Ouch.Ouch.Ow!”I’m really trying to be brave, but having micro pieces of glass plucked with tweezers out of the side of my face is making it damn difficult.

“I didn’t even touch you that second time,” Rhett muses.

“Liar.”

I watch the bowl fill up after he’s already plucked from my arm, leg, and side as I sit here in new clean black underwear. I’m starting to feel like a porcupine.

“Just a couple more,” he says. To his credit, he’s very gentle and steady-handed.

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