Anni had him. Controlled him. From the grave.
Her stomach bottomed out, but before she could react, his fist smashed into her face and she was flying backwards. Her yelp of surprise drowned in the haze of pain and the rush of blood. She hit the ground with a grunt, the gun at her back digging into her spine, almost paralyzing her with agony. Then he was on her, his weight pinning her body and her arms, his fists pummeling her hard and fast, until all she could feel was pain and all she could see was the man she loved battering her. Killing her.
And suddenly Neva was there, in her mind, frantically wanting to know what was happening, what was going on.
She ignored her sister, and screamed both verbally and mentally, “Cade! It's me, Vannah!” But there was no response from him. His mind was locked with Anni's vicious last wishes, and he wasn't hearing anything else.
As she twisted from side to side, desperately trying to avoid his blows, she dropped her shields and arrowed into his mind—only to rebound off a shield similar to Candy's. Anni had protected her handiwork, which meant she had never intended to shoot her or Cade. She'd planned all along to let them destroy each other.
The blows kept coming and blackness washed though her, threatening to sweep her into unconsciousness, and ultimately, death. From a distance she heard Ronan shout. The pummeling stopped, and there was a click and several shots. Then she heard a cry of pain. Female. Trista.
God help her, she had to stop him, before he killed everyone. And there was only one way to do it.
She reached out to Neva, forming a link with her for her sister's talents and strength, dragging on them hard and fast. Then she flung it all—every bit of pain, hurt, fear and love she felt—straight at him. The force seemed to explode into the air, and it crashed through the barriers in his mind as easily as a hurricane tore through trees, shattering not only the barrier but any hold Anni had on his mind. Awareness surged briefly between them, along with dawning horror. Then Cade was torn from her body and flung backwards.
The effort left her drained and weak. She didn't hear him land, didn't see him land. She simply let the blackness take her to a place where there was no pain.
Chapter Fourteen
Savannah glanced away from the mirror as Neva waddled into the small hospital room, and she couldn't help grinning. “Sis, you're looking fatter every time I see you."
Neva grimaced as she tossed a bag on a nearby chair and eased herself onto the end of the bed. “That's because I am fatter. I swear I'm having triplets, even if the doc insists there are only two fatties inside."
Savannah grinned. “Doctors and machines are not infallible. Triplets or even quads are always a remote possibility."
"Bite your tongue. Two mini Duncans are more than enough to contend with.” Her smile faded a little. “Have you heard from Cade yet?"
Savannah sighed and looked back at the mirror. Her reflection wasn't a pretty sight—rainbow-colored bruises, a swollen, cut nose, a fat lip and cut chin. Her torso had fared little better, and right now she looked and felt like a punching bag. In fact, she'd seen punching bags that actually looked better than she did right now. But while she might be bruised, nothing had been broken. Even in the midst of a nightmare, Cade had somehow managed to have some control over his punches—enough to merely batter rather than break.
"No.” she said eventually. “I haven't."
"You want me to go find him and drag him here by the scruff of his neck?"
Savannah grinned. “I'd love to see you try. But no, I don't."
"Damn it, he should be here with you!"
"I can understand why he isn't."
Neva harumphed. “If he tries to leave town, he'll have a posse on his tail."
Her grin grew. “He won't leave."
"You're sure of that?"
"Yes."
"Then tell me why the hell he isn't here begging for your forgiveness and running after your every need?"
"Because he doesn't need my forgiveness, and because he's well aware that I'm more than capable of taking care of myself."
"That doesn't excuse him for not coming to visit you."
Well, no, it didn't. But he had been here, for every single moment of the ten hours she'd been out of it. And while she wasn't entirely sure why he hadn't come back to visit her in the two days since then, she trusted what they had between them enough to know he wasn't going anywhere. He was just walking away from the sight of all the damage he'd done rather than walking away from her.
"I'm going to talk to him now.” She finished putting her hair into a ponytail, wincing a little as pain slithered through bruised muscles.
"You shouldn't even be out of bed yet."