Page 19 of Smoke

I knew what he meant, and I should’ve known he would go that far. I had underestimated both of them, him and Bradley. They were both monsters.

George sat down again, but he didn’t bother to take my hands this time. “You know what I mean, don’t you? Old Riordan and Ellis would be more than happy to take a look inside that brain of yours.”

Even though I already knew he was referring to two of the clan’s mind readers, I shuddered in distaste.

They had always frightened me, even when I was a little girl and didn’t understand their powers. They had a way about them, an energy which surrounded them. They had the ability to dig inside another person’s head and find anything they were tasked with finding—and when they were finished, more often than not they left nothing but a shell of a person behind.

Only a few very strong, very special people could withstand having another presence inside their mind. Much less two presences.

“So, you see now,” he whispered. “Either you go through with the wedding as I dictate, or you sit down with the two of them, and they find out for me why your sister didn’t come back and where I can find her. Understood?”

What I understood what was it meant to be between a rock and a hard place. I’d heard that saying more times than I could possibly count, but it finally made sense to me in a way it never had before. No matter which way I turned, there was no winning. They had me.

“Understood.” I got up, rolled my sleeve down to my wrist, and left the room without another word. There was nothing more to say, anyway.

I tried to imagine myself as Bradley’s wife, but the image wouldn’t come to mind. My subconscious blocked it so fiercely, I couldn’t even imagine a life in which I was married to him.

I should never have left the cave. Why did I leave? Why didn’t I fight to stay? If Smoke knew what I would find when I got home, he would have fought for me. I just knew it.

Or maybe I was telling myself that to soothe the endless, aching misery which had quickly become my life.

I locked the door to my room and leaned against it, just like I had when I first got home. But instead of feeling relieved at my solitude, I burst into heartbroken tears and slid to the floor. I cried it all out, every last bit, until there was nothing left inside. Not a single tear. I wouldn’t cry again.

I struggled to my feet in spite of my weakness. It didn’t matter how weak I was, since it wouldn’t take any strength to let myself fall out the window. I only hoped I would be forgiven after the fact.

Maybe I would see my parents again in whatever world sat beyond ours. The thought gave me strength. I walked over to the window and opened it, then leaned down to peer at the ground. I would die instantly. Nobody could survive a fall like that.

I thought about Jasmine. I thought about Smoke. I hoped they both knew how much they meant to me. I leaned forward…

No!

I heard it in my head, clear as a bell.

So clear that I caught myself and looked around, wondering who had screamed it. Somebody must have seen me. Somebody walking around the grounds.

I hadn’t considered that. I scanned the clearing, then the woods beyond, expecting to see waving arms or a body jumping up and down to get my attention. There was nobody in sight.

Even so, taking a moment to pause had broken me out of my stupor. Was I really just in the process of killing myself? Was I really about to let myself fall out of the window?

I stepped back.

No. I couldn’t do that. As much as I would love knowing George wouldn’t get his way, that wasn’t the right method.

I had to run. That was my only option. Death was final. I didn’t want to give up my life because of Bradley or my uncle or anybody.

And there was only one place I could imagine running to. I looked out toward the mountains again.

If I had to spend the rest of my life searching for Smoke, it would be a life better spent than if I married Bradley.

I’d consider myself lucky to live out in the woods, among the trees, dealing with the elements as they raged around me. So long as I didn’t have to look at my uncle ever again.

A plan started forming itself in my head as I began to pack my things.

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