to remember. And now that’s washed away, too, just like the water slipping down the drain. I don’t even have that small affliction to remember him by.
My anger finally evaporates, and I crumble in the tub as the water continues to cascade around me. Tears want to form in my eyes, but I hold them back. No. I’m not going to cry.
Crying is something you do when you give up, when you feel all hope is lost. But it’s not.
I will find a way to save him.
I don’t know how long I sit like that. Anger and loss strums through me like the relentless spray hitting my back, but I refuse to believe there’s nothing I can do. I will find a way to save Collin.
I finally get up and turn the water off.
And when I’m standing in front of the mirror, toweling off my hair, a fierce determination blooms inside me. Because if I can’t find a way to make them see that Collin won’t hurt anyone again, my mate will be gone forever.
Which means I have a job to do—a job that I cannot fail at.
∞ ∞ ∞
A knock on the door comes an hour later. I’m sitting on the bed, dressed in a pair of new jeans that fit surprisingly well and a cotton T-shirt that falls to a comfortable length at my hip-bone. They even got my bra size right—36B. The SF is surprisingly attentive to details.
I don’t bother calling out because I know they’re coming in anyway, and sure enough, after that short quick knock, the door opens and a woman steps inside.
“Brianna Keller? We’re ready for you.” She has pointy ears, sharp teeth, and glimmering skin. I may not be familiar with supernaturals, but I’m not an idiot. The woman is obviously a fairy.
If I wasn’t so consumed with Collin, I might have stared in curiosity, but in this moment, I don’t give a fuck how many supernatural species there are or what they look like. Only my mate matters.
“Where are you taking me?”
Instead of replying, she turns and calls over her shoulder, “Follow me.”
I roll my eyes and get up. She leads me down a series of halls, all concrete, but I’m awarded glimpses of the outdoors through the numerous windows. A few steps later, she stops at a door and opens it.
A team of SF members are waiting inside the room for me. Three men and one woman stand around an examination table. They all wear friendly expressions, but considering my surroundings look like a surgical room—with a long table for a human to lie on—I immediately ground to a halt.
“Oh hell no.” I shake my head. “You are not taking away my memories!”
The woman in the group rushes forward as the fairy disappears back into the hall. The door closes behind her, its lock clicking in place.
“You must be Brianna Keller?” the woman says. “I’m Kelly. Now, please don’t worry. We’re just going to lay you down for a minute. Nothing will hurt and then you’ll be on your way. Really, I promise. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Kelly reaches for my hand, but I yank it back. “Touch me, and you’re dead.”
Her eyebrows rise at my threat, but from her unconcerned expression, I can tell she’s undaunted.
“Brianna,” one of the men calls. “Please lie down. We won’t ask again.”
I cross my arms. “No.”
A resigned expression crosses his features before he replies, “Fine. Have it your way.”
He swirls his hands together while muttering foreign-sounding words under his breath. The other men beside him all look bored.
My breath grows shallow since I have no idea what the hell’s going on, but then my feet lift from the ground while my limbs seize like sticks. I yelp in surprise.
I try to fight whatever spell he’s woven over me, but it does no good. He turns me horizontal in the air, my body now stiff as a board as I float to the table. Even my voice is paralyzed. I can still breathe, but I can’t talk.
What an ass!
Anger rises in me at his demonstration of power, but it’s not until I’m lying firmly on the table, completely helpless against all of them that panic sets in.
No!
But it doesn’t matter that in my mind I’m pleading with them to stop. This is it. They’re going to wipe my memory, and then I’ll never see or remember Collin again.
I grind my teeth. I want to scream, to wail, but these assholes have completely overpowered me.