Releasing Abby’s hand, I cupped my hand over my mouth and inhaled slowly through my nose. I needed air. Spinning around, I raced outside and down the porch steps. I stopped, bent over, and placed my hands on my knees, sucking in as much fresh air as fast as I could.
“Are you all right?” Jax asked.
I gasped at the sound of his voice and straightened. “You killed her,” I said.
“Isn’t that what you wanted? You agreed to it, remember?” He stood near the far end of the porch, arms crossed.
“Yeah, but…”
“But what?” Jax stalked toward me. “She knew who we were. She knew about Abby. Chances are she knew about you, too. She had to die. It was the only way to protect you.”
“But now we’ll never know what she told Rector.” Tears pooled in my eyes.
“It doesn’t matter.” Jax took a few more steps toward me, and I backed up. He stopped. “You’re afraid of me right now?” Pain laced his words. “C’mon, Chloe. Seriously?”
I swallowed hard as the first few tears slipped down my face. “You killed her, and you didn’t even flinch.”
He laughed bitterly. “She is not the first person I’ve killed. I’m a vampire, remember?”
I couldn’t wrap my mind around what he was saying. How could he kill someone so easily and without any remorse?
Jax shook his head. “It was you or her, and you should know by now that I will always choose you.”
My heart splintered, and I wiped my cheeks. “Jax.” I sighed his name as if it were a prayer, and in the next moment, he was in front of me, close enough to kiss.
“I’m sorry I frightened you.” He hesitantly trailed the back of his hand down the side of my face, and my body trembled. “She was dangerous, and now she’s not. But think about it.” His gaze grew intense. “If she had told Rector about you, or that Isach was hanging out with us, Rector and his entire coven would’ve attacked by now.”
I simply stared back at him, unsure what to say and too afraid to move—not because I thought he’d hurt me, but because I wasn’t sure what I’d do when I finally did move. I’d either kiss him or smack him, and neither option was smart.
“Please don’t be afraid of me,” he said, his tone pained.
“I’m not,” I whispered.
“Chloe!” Trent’s frantic voice boomed from somewhere on the porch.
I whipped around, heart in my throat. “I’m right here,” I said.
He rushed toward me and yanked me into his arms. “No one had any idea where you went. One minute you were standing there, and then you weren’t.”
“I needed some air, and then I—” I spun back around, but Jax was gone. Disappointment landed in my gut. I rubbed my temples in an effort to hold off the impending headache.
“Then what?” Trent asked.
“I got sick,” I lied.
In my head, I could hear Jax’s voice whispering about how I was a terrible liar. An involuntary smile pulled at the corner of my mouth, and I quickly hid it.
“I knew the plan was to get rid of her, but I didn’t think I’d have to see it,” I said.
“I’m sorry.” Trent once again enveloped me in a hug and rested his chin on the top of my head. “I have no idea why Jax did that.”
To protect me. But I kept that thought to myself. “So, now what?” I asked.
“Sean is going to take care of her body.” Trent released me, then took my hand. “Let’s go back inside.”
I hesitated, my feet rooted to the ground. There was no way I could go back in there and see Felicity’s dead body. The image of her like that would haunt me forever.
“She’s gone,” he said.
After another moment, I forced myself to go back inside. Abby sat on one of the couches, face buried in her hands. Isach sat next to her, his arm wrapped around her protectively. At least something good came from tonight—Abby and Isach were back together. We never should’ve snuck out of the house, but I’d been desperate for answers. I still was.
“So, now that she’s gone, what happens next? Rector will realize she’s missing,” I said, cutting through the otherwise silent room.
“I’ll tell him she ran off,” Isach said.
“And then what?” I pinned him with a hard stare. “We still don’t know what she told your father, but we do know he knows about Abby.”
I nearly gagged saying those words—Abby didn’t deserve to be caught up in this mess. She was innocent.
“Which is why I have to keep pretending Abby and I aren’t together.” Isach’s voice was low and sad. “At least until all of this is over.”
My jaw dropped. Based on the timeline I had in my head—four and a half months until the wedding, nine months for a pregnancy, then two months after that until Trent changed me…
“That’s going to be months. You can’t do that to her. It’s not fair,” I said.
Isach stood and approached me, his green eyes fiery. “You think I don’t know that? I never wanted any of this, Chloe, but what other choice do I have? I won’t let my father touch her, and if that means I need to walk away for a while, then that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
I clenched my teeth and balled my hands into fists. “What do you think’s going to happen when your father finds out Felicity is dead? He’s going to react. Then what?”
“I’ll deal with my father,” Isach said, his words clipped.
“How?” I demanded.
If it was as simple as Isach “dealing with his father,” we wouldn’t be in this mess right now.
“If you think this is so unfair, and if you don’t trust me to deal with things, then why don’t you do something about it?” Isach got in my face, but I didn’t budge. He wasn’t going to intimidate me. “You’re the key to all of this, Chloe. If you’d just change, we
