This Coven Won't Break - Isabel Sterling Page 0,89

hold.

She fights until her limbs fall to her sides and her eyes roll back in her head, unconscious. Benton catches her before she falls, scooping one hand under her knees until she’s cradled in his arms.

“Get the door.” His voice is choked with emotion as he steps toward us. I rush forward and push open the still unlocked cell door. “Move.” He shoves by me and gently lays Paige inside the cell, swiping the back of his hand over his cheeks before grabbing the gun from her waist.

I’ve seen this Benton before. Cold and unfeeling with a gun held firmly in his hand. My throat closes, and it’s like I’m back in his bedroom. But he tucks the gun in his waistband and strides through the cell door.

“Come on. We want as much distance from here as possible before anyone notices we’re gone.” Benton leads us out of the cell, and then the race is on.

I want to know where we’re going. I want to know what the plan is, but I force myself to trust the boy who just knocked a fellow Hunter unconscious to protect Archer.

To protect me.

Benton uses his thumbprint to open a door to a stairwell that wasn’t on any of the plans we studied and heads upstairs. I still don’t understand why he’s doing this, why he isn’t falling in line like Riley and the others did. But with my heart hammering in my ears and our footsteps too loud around us, I can’t concentrate on anything but running to safety. Running home to my mom.

“We’re almost there,” Benton says, pausing us before the next turn. “Once we’re clear of the building, we’ll be in a rear parking lot. It’s late, so it should be pretty empty. There won’t be much cover, so we’ll need to move fast.”

“Do you have keys to any of the vehicles?” Archer asks, breathing hard.

“Not on me,” Benton admits. “We’ll have to run as far as we can and figure it out from there.”

“If we can get out unseen, how long do you think we’ll have?” Archer glances around the corner. “If there are any older cars in the lot, I can have one hot-wired in a couple minutes.”

Benton shakes his head. “I don’t know. We—”

“Hall? Is that you?” Riley’s voice washes over us, and I tense. We turn and see the Hunter approaching from the way we’d just come. “What are you doing?”

“Not another step.” Benton raises the gun, his voice trembling but his aim steady.

Riley freezes, but even from twenty paces away, I can see the hatred burning in his eyes. “You’re making a huge mistake. Do this and you’re as good as dead, Hall.”

“The Order has lost its way, Ri.” Benton lowers the gun a fraction. “The detective is cured now. He’s human. We’re supposed to protect him.”

His words grate against my soul—the Hunters’ drug didn’t cure anything—but Benton is helping us, and for now, that has to be enough.

“She isn’t human,” Riley argues. “Leave the witch, and I’ll let you go.” He bares his teeth. “For now.”

Benton glances back at me, and I can tell he’s considering the offer. That he’s weighing his options. His brows crease, and he closes his eyes tight before shaking his head. “Please, Hannah,” he whispers. “Don’t make me shoot him.”

“I won’t stay here.”

“I’m not asking you to.” Tears spill down his cheeks. “But I don’t want to shoot him. Can’t you do something?”

Understanding blooms in my chest, but before I can reach for my power, Riley rushes forward. “Look out!” I shout, and then everything happens too fast.

Benton turns.

The gun goes off.

Someone cries out.

And then Riley’s on the ground, clutching his lower leg. He’s screaming and cursing but still very much alive. Benton backs away, pale and shaking. The gun slips from his grip and clatters to the ground.

“Come on.” Archer pulls us both away, his face swollen and contorted with pain.

We stumble after him.

And then we run.

25

WITH THE GUNSHOT ALERTING the rest of the Hunters to our escape, we run into the trees and don’t stop until we can’t breathe. Then we walk until our legs are ready to give out. When we’re about to collapse, Archer slips into an abandoned parking garage and comes out ten minutes later driving an old sedan.

We ride in silence back to Salem, Archer and I in the front with Benton curled up in the back, his knees pulled up to his chest as he stares out at the speeding scenery. He let