following it with a hard forward snap kick to Ken's thigh. The second kick took Ken in exactly the same spot, deadening his leg. Before Sean could retract the leg. Ken drove the point of his knife deep into the man's calf, twisted, and jumped back, precariously near the edge of the cliff.
It was a particularly brutal injury. Blood sprayed in wide arcs, and Sean yelled obscenities, desperation creeping into his eyes. 'You fucking freak. You really think Mari could want a man like you? Maybe if you wear a mask to cover the horror of your face.' He spat at Ken. reached down as if to pull the knife from his calf, but snapped upright, throwing his own knife at Ken's chest.
Ken moved with blurring speed, tucking his shoulder and rolling to the side to avoid the weapon. It burned across his right bicep, shaving skin. Sean followed the knife, rushing Ken, certain his heavier body would send Ken over the edge. Ken gripped Sean with two hands, one at his throat, the other on his upper arm, superhuman strength, a vise steadily closing, crushing. Sheer terror swept through Sean. He had been counting on his own enhanced strength and his hatred of this man, but he never expected the enormous strength in Ken's body.
Sean fought like a wild animal, desperately attempting to knock the legs out from under Ken, twice more finding the spot on the thigh he'd kicked. Ken seemed inhuman, a monster!
Nothing affected him, that grip relentlessly tightening. Choking, coughing, Sean flung himself backward with all his weight, his feet scraping for a purchase as the earth crumbled and gave way beneath him.
The weight of Sean's body suddenly was a deadweight on the end of Ken's arm. His grip on Sean's throat was the only thing preventing the man from falling. They stared at each other, Ken on his knees, trying to find a way to dig his toes into the soft dirt for a purchase, to prevent himself from going over the edge with his enemy. Sean gripped Ken's arm, determined that if he went crashing to the rocks below, he would take Ken with him. Blood made his grip slippery, but desperation gave him added strength. He dug his fingers into Ken's skin. The edge crumbled more, sent dirt skittering down the cliff face. Ken opened his hand to allow Sean to fall, but the man clamped on his wrist with both hands.
'I go, you go,' he snarled. 'Pull me up, damn you.'
'Not in this lifetime, you son of bitch. You're out of her life forever.'
'So are you then.' Sean's teeth clenched, his grip tightening like a vise.
The edge was giving way, more dirt and rock tumbling down, Ken sliding with the weight of Sean's body pulling him. He had no leverage to fight, nothing to hang onto, and the earth around him was shifting and sliding.
A hole blossomed suddenly in the middle of Sean's forehead, and then Ken heard the crack of the shot. The bullet had passed close to the top of his head, shaving off a few hairs as it whistled past. Sean's grip loosened abruptly, his fingers sliding away as the body fell to the rocks below.
Ken threw his body backward, rolled over, and stared up at the blue sky, his arm feeling as though it had been torn out of its socket. He was drenched in perspiration, and his leg, where Sean had landed several kicks, felt as if a sledgehammer had been taken to it. He dragged air into his lungs and waited there, knowing Jack would come.
Clouds spun across the sky, casting shadows over the ground. Ken closed his eyes and felt exhaustion roll over him. He was sick inside, his body and mind fatigued. His scars throbbed painfully, too tight for his skin, reminding him that Sean was right. He could no longer hide what he was from the world. Man knew. Mari saw him for what he was. He couldn't hide behind a handsome face anymore.
And she would always have the contrast staring at her every morning if she did stay. How could she look at Jack and not be ashamed to be with Ken? Even so. it didn't matter. He was as pathetic as Sean. He wanted her to stay. To love him. He
He had known, but he couldn't accept it. His heart nearly stopped.
His gut clenched, and he rolled to his knees, sick with the idea of losing her. He retched over and over, knowing absolutely that she left. He couldn't blame her. It was the only smart thing to do, and Mari was smart. He smashed his fist into the ground. Once. Twice.
'Ken.' Jack was there, kneeling beside him. 'I thought I'd lost you.'
He looked up at Jack, not really seeing him. Ken realized he was lost-he'd been lost for a long time. Mari had brought him back to life. 'She's gone.' His gaze jumped to Jack's face; he saw a hint of guilt creep into his eyes and fade. 'You knew?'
Jack sat back on his heels, his gaze watchful, wary. 'Briony is crying. She told me Mari hugged her and said she couldn't stay-that she belonged with the other women.'
'And you didn't tell Logan to stop her?'
'Mari is a trained soldier. I didn't want to risk Logan or Briony getting hurt. You can't keep Mari tied up for the rest of her life; you know you can't.'
'You son of a bitch.'
'Ken. Be reasonable.'
He didn't feel reasonable. He felt like his world was crumbling around him. His mind felt fractured, his head roaring, thunder crashing in his ears. 'How long ago?'
'Take it easy, Ken,' Jack said to soothe him.
'Damn it.' Ken's fist slammed into the dirt, although he wanted to smash it into his brother's face. 'How long ago?'
'She left as soon as she knew Sean was dead.'
Ken surged to his feet, a sudden cold blast spreading through his body. The knots in his belly tightened to the point of pain. His mouth went dry, the air in his lungs rushing out, to leave him gasping. He had time. He had to have time to stop her.
He shoved past Jack and began to trot down the mountain. He didn't dare run full-out; the trail was far too treacherous and his leg was on fire. His steady, ground-eating trot would get him there quickly. He tried to keep his mind a merciful blank, but her image insisted on crowding in. Her smile, her dark chocolate eyes, the way she tilted her chin. He choked back a sob, felt his heart exploding, tearing at his chest.
The mountain, the forest, his world, his sanctuary, was a hostile, unyielding place. He couldn't see its beauty, didn't want its beauty.
Nothing-no one-could take her from him. She was life. She was happiness. She was his only reason to keep going. He needed her desperately. Her sisters couldn't have her. They didn't need her the way he did. He had been so alone, so empty. Each day, he had worked, breathed, lived as an automation, and then she had come into his life and everything in him had come alive.
They couldn't take her from him. The universe couldn't be that cruel. He wanted to scream his denial, but he needed to save his strength. He ran through the trees, leapt over rocks, foliage tearing at his skin. His damaged leg throbbed and burned right along with his lungs, but the image of her rising up to taunt him kept him running. Why had he left her? Why had he allowed them to be separated when she was so uncertain about their future? He had known she was wavering-feeling uncomfortable and unsure of herself in a foreign environment. He shouldn't have been so arrogant and bossy. He could have asked-not ordered-her to go into the tunnels.
He wouldn't let anyone take her from him. She could understand his turbulent nature, his wild cravings, and he understood her need for freedom. He recognized strength in her, an iron will, the same as it was in him. He recognized her loyalty; it ran deep and pure, the same as it was in him. They fit together, two halves of the same whole. They belonged.
He burst from the forest and half ran, half slid down the trail into the yard, his chest heaving with exertion, his
