Page 30 of Protect

The letters gleam red against her pale skin, a permanent reminder that she belongs to us. No one can ever take her away now.

The marks will scar, a permanent brand of our ownership.

No matter what happens, no matter who tries to come between us, Hope will always belong to us now. We’ve made sure of that.

“We were wrong,” I mumble as I pull myself back. “We shouldn’t have… marked her. What were we thinking?”

Jaxon scoffs and shakes his head. “No, it was a good thing.”

I roll my neck, almost too exhausted to even ask why. “Why’s that?”

“So she knows she’s ours and we protect what’s ours,” Jaxon interjects.

“Protect?” I mock. “We never protected her.”

“Dimitri, can we not?” Knox says as he stares back at me through the mirror.

“We will, I will.” Jaxon nods and mumbles something under his breath. Even with all these years, I still can’t fully grasp these two.

But I do know we’re as fucked up as Coach is.

“We’re here,” Knox says and I sit up.

This is it. There’s no going back without her.

“Where?” Jaxon snaps.

Knox turns off the engine and sighs. “We have to walk the last part, come on.”

I stuff the map in my back pocket and get out of the car, slamming the door shut. Jaxon and Knox grab their bags from the trunk as I survey our surroundings. Dense pine forest stretches out before us, the air heavy with the scent of sap and earth.

Jaxon is practically vibrating with pent-up energy beside me. Knox scans the tree line, his jaw set in determination. We’re all on edge, fueled by desperation and fury.

“Which way?” Jaxon asks gruffly, shouldering his pack.

I pull out the map Hope drew, trying to orientate us. “Seeing we’re following a map she drew as a kid, I think the safest bet is following the path,” I say, nodding toward a narrow trail snaking into the shadowy woods.

“Come on,” Knox says and takes the lead into the slim path. Branches snag at our clothes as we push deeper into the forest. I keep checking the map, making sure I didn’t miss anything. The further we go, the more overgrown the path becomes.

“You sure this is the right way?” Jaxon grumbles after a while, swatting at a cloud of mosquitoes. “Feels like we’re going in circles.”

“It’s the only way that matches the map and the path here,” I insist, but doubt niggles at the back of my mind. What if we got it wrong? What if Coach moved her somewhere else?

Knox must sense my unease. He claps a hand on my shoulder as we pause to catch our breath. “We’ll find her,” he says firmly.

I swallow hard and nod, folding up the map. “Those cabins can’t be much further.”

The sun sinks behind the mountains. A coldness fills the air. I halt on the spot as Jaxon throws out an arm. He puts a finger to his lips then points through the trees. There, maybe fifty yards ahead, is a cabin. A single light glows in the window. My breath catches. This is it.

We drop into a crouch, scoping around. No vehicles, no signs of movement. Coach likely thinks he’s completely isolated out here, that no one could ever find them.

He’s wrong.

We creep closer, staying low and sticking to the shadows. My heart pounds against my ribs as we approach the wooden cabin. Jaxon motions for us to split up and I nod, pulse racing. Knox circles around back while Jax and I flank the front door.

I peer through the smudged glass window, trying to make out shapes. A flicker of movement catches my eye and my breath hitches. It’s Hope. She’s shackled to a table, her clothes in tatters with her father’s hand around her throat. His grip is so tight that I can make out the veins across the back of his hand. Rage boils up inside me at the sight, my vision flashing red. That sick fuck.

Jaxon trembles with rage beside me and I put my hand on his arm, forcing him to look at me. I pry at the doorknob and sigh, it’s locked. Tearing my eyes from the scene inside, I give Jaxon one more nod and brace myself as I ram my shoulderinto the door once, twice, until it splinters inward with a crack. Jaxon is through in a second, his good luck charm shining on his knuckles.

---